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dancingamongstdust · 3 years ago

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MHA Scenarios - First Meeting (Part 3)

All Might

There was an ache in your shoulder despite the painkillers. It was persistent, a constant reminder that your time in U.A. was beginning to lower your reaction speed. Perhaps you should consider returning to a full-time career in the hero world instead of taking random jobs here and there.

Sighing, you finished up with your costume and opened the door to find none other than Principle Nezu waiting for you.

“Great timing!” he chirped. “I was about to come and tell you that you’ll be sharing your second-year physical training class today.”

“The class that begins in twenty minutes?”

“That very one. When I found out that you had injured yourself, I thought that it would be best for you to take on an assistant of sort.” Nezu hummed softly to himself, as if wondering if he should continue. “And perhaps it will be a good experience for Toshinori to see how one can balance their time.”

You chuckled, catching onto the principle’s plan. “I don’t think a hero of All Might’s stature would have anything to learn from somebody like me.”

“There’s no doubt that he’s the better hero –“

“You could put that more nicely.”

“But you have far more experience teaching,” Nezu finished. “You take it easy to ensure your continued health and even though you whine about your lack of excitement, you never go out and chase it.”

That was true. Every year, you told the principle that you would be quitting and each time, he would laugh and tell you that you never would. You blamed the students. They were way too easy to get attached to.

All Might was waiting at the training grounds, his hands on his hips and a smile on his face. The latter looked almost painted on. He absolutely towered over you, seemingly taller in person.

“We haven’t met properly before,” you said, giving your name. “But may I just say that I have endless respect for your heroic accomplishments.”

He laughed proudly. “Thank you. Nezu says that you got injured during a fight with a villain, is everything alright?”

There was something about his voice that you didn’t quite like. It just sounded so patently fake. Perhaps that was why you hadn’t been surprised when the news about his true form was shared amongst the faculty. It seemed to you that it should have been a given. Nobody spoke like he did in their day to day lives.

“It’s a shoulder injury,” you said. “In a similar line, you can drop the All Might moniker for a short while if you want. This class is incapable of arriving less than ten minutes late.”

“That’s alright! I’m sure this is a far more useful form.”

“Suit yourself,” you said with a nod. You rolled your shoulder and winced. “I’m going to need to have you taking over the majority of the hands-on training if that’s alright with you? If I push myself now, I’m just going to do more damage to the muscles.”

All Might gave an affirmative and then pondered your words. It was unsurprising when he seemingly vanished into a cloud of smoke, dropping the vast majority of his muscles and showing a far-more human façade.

“Perhaps you’re right,” he acknowledged. “Some rest before teaching would be easier on my injuries.”

You smiled. “The last thing you want to do is let these students think they’re strong enough to take you on just yet. Don’t need that going to their heads.”

Endeavor

It was an accident that led to your first encounter with the recently elected number one hero. And it had mostly been as a result of a very long day filled with endless bad luck.

You had been walking through the parking garage after having coffee spilled on you, losing your keys, and nearly breaking your ankle when an escalator stopped working. It was overall an awful day. And it was about to get even worse.

It must have been as a result of some kind of villain but the exact situation escaped you. All that you knew was that somebody got thrown from out of nowhere. They flew into one of the pillars and cracked it. You jumped and immediately rushed over to them. It was only once you were right beside him that you realised the fire was part of him.

“You’re Endeavor…” you breathed. “Are you alright?”

The hero stood, clearly shaken. A deep scowl covered his face. He was much, much taller than you had thought he would ever be. “Get out of here before you get hurt.”

Before either of you could do anything else though, the ground seemed to tremble, much like an earthquake. You looked up wearily. This was the ground floor so it wasn’t like you could fall through anywhere.

And then the ceiling started to crumble.

You barely had time to react, just screwing your eyes shut and hoping for the best. A wave of heat washed over you. Dust filled your lungs and you coughed as all around you, a cacophony of collapsing rubble filled the air.

An unnatural silence took over.

Slowly, you opened your eyes. It was far too dark with a flickering light illuminating a large cavern of rubble held up by a few of the pillars that were still standing. Powder swirled around you, filling your lungs and making you cough heavily. Then you noticed the reason that you hadn’t gotten so much as a scratch.

Endeavor stood over you, shielding you entirely. He showed no visible discomfort but as you stared, you realised that part of his suit had been ripped and blood trickled down his side.

A few seconds passed and he moved away. In the tight space, he was unable to even stand straight. “Damn it,” he cursed. “There’s no way that Hawks can move any of this nonsense. We’re going to be stuck here until rescue teams arrive.”

You sunk down slowly, sitting against something sharp and putting your hand over your mouth. “I’m going to die,” you whispered. “There’s no air here…”

“Don’t be dramatic,” the pro-hero snapped. “We have plenty of time before the air runs out. If it was just me, I could blast through here in no time.”

“Why can’t you?”

He stared at you as though you were stupid. “Either I would risk bringing the rest of this concrete down on your head or you would stand too close and get burnt. Somehow, I don’t think you would prefer either of those options.”

You shook your head and tried to hold back tears. This day had been worse than any other in your life. Should you call your family and friends? Was it worth worrying them just to hear their voices? Endeavor didn’t seem worried so maybe you should just trust that you would get out and everything would be fine. Or maybe you would die and –

Your thoughts were cut off by him suddenly appearing in front of you. “Relax,” he said. “If you panic, you’re just going to make the entire situation worse.”

“We’re trapped under concrete,” you said. “We could die.”

“You’re not going to die. Now stop being pathetic and find a way to occupy yourself that doesn’t cause a panic attack.”

You swallowed and took a deep breath. “Alright. Alright.”

He nodded, moving considerably further away and then his flames flickered off. And that was your first meeting with Endeavor. Surprisingly, you ended up speaking until you were rescued.

Eraserhead

It had all begun years ago.

You remembered distinctly how you had been sitting in the garden and watching the bees happily buzz past. It was a warm day with a slight saltiness to the air. A perfect time to enjoy the summer as though you had no worries in the world.

Conversation filled the air and you perked up, recognising one of the voices. You had only managed to stand up when a blur of blue hair slammed into your side, pulling you into a tight hug with a happy shout of your name. Laughter filled the air as you nearly fell, unable to even hug back.

“Oboro!” you giggled. “I thought you were only getting back next week!”

He finally let you go and shot you a smile that made the sun look dim. “I was but then my parents said my friends could stay over! Come meet them.”

Oboro had been your closest friend for years but since going to U.A., you had seen less and less of him. That wasn’t to say that you hadn’t kept in contact of course but you missed him greatly.

His friends were… not what you expected.

The exceptionally loud blond was Hizashi Yamada and his quirk was volume-based. He greeted you with a booming shout, apparently having been told about you several times before arriving.

But Shota Aizawa interested you far more. He didn’t speak much and you never did find out his quirk when you were younger. When you’d asked why he wanted to be a hero, he just told you that he liked it. The rest of the week, you developed a bit of a crush on him and spent most of your time trying to impress him.

When the week ended, you didn’t see him again for a very long time and the next time you saw him, it was under circumstances you had never even imagined.

You were wearing a veil to hide your face. There was no dramatic rain or dark thunder on the day of the funeral. Rather fittingly, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. You liked to imagine that was Oboro’s final gift. A beautiful day to celebrate him.

Yamada had put his hand on your shoulder, subdued and quiet for the first time. He was a pro-hero now and you often saw his face on magazines.

Soon, he left to speak to others and you remained by the grave with only one other.

“Being a hero is more dangerous than I ever thought,” you said, not sure why you were speaking but feeling the urge to regardless. “You and Yamada have to stay as safe as you can, alright? He would want that.”

Aizawa glared at you from the corner of his eye. “How would you know that?”

“Because you were the most important people in the world to him,” you said. “Of course that’s what he would want.”

Aizawa didn’t speak anymore but after a while, he turned to leave. Before going, he paused and looked as though he wanted to say or do something. You met his gaze. It felt as though he could see straight through your veil, revealing the tears that streaked your face. The atmosphere wasn’t uncomfortable. It was just sad.

Still, standing there and just existing helped you to remember the loss wasn’t just your own. When Aizawa left, you turned back to Oboro’s gravestone feeling less alone in the world.

You were going to miss him like hell but you wouldn’t be remembering him by yourself.

Fatgum

As a solitary and underground hero, it was quite rare that you were contacted for big jobs. Rarer still that you took them instead of passing them on.

But something was different about this time.

This time, you had a personal vendetta drawing you to one of your least-favourite jobs – working with other heroes. It wasn’t that you didn’t get along with them but many weren’t in it for actually helping people. That put a bad taste in your mouth.

The job wasn’t technically being led by you purely because the information had come through a larger agency. They hadn’t wanted to pass it off to you alone so now you were sitting in the briefing room, listening to them going over everything that your investigations had revealed. No credit given, of course.

You stood toward the end and offered a simple warning. The villain that you were after had little concern about causing collateral. If anything, he relished in it. Your warning was primarily targeted at some of the heroes whom you knew dealt more with casual villains.

Many of them got overwhelmed when they came up against drug dealers and sex traffickers instead of pickpockets.

And then everybody dispersed, each having their own orders about how they would contribute to a safe arrest.

Leaving you alone. At least, you thought you were alone until somebody spoke behind you.

“Do you know what always calms me down? Taiyaki.”

You startled, though you didn’t let it become noticeable. Instead you turned to find yourself absolutely dwarfed by the BMI hero, Fatgum. Somebody you had always known about but never gotten a chance to meet.

“Do I really look that stressed?” you enquired.

He chuckled. “Not to be rude, but you definitely do.”

You sighed and looked at the documents in your hands. It was probably best that you didn’t have a mirror on you. “I’m worried about this case,” you said. “This guy has slipped through my hands a few too many times.”

Fatgum nodded. “I know how that feels but don’t worry too much. Everybody here is a capable hero and together, we’ll get him for sure.”

You raised an eyebrow. Perhaps a few were capable but not everybody.

“You’re too cynical,” he reprimanded though there was little malice to his words. “You should try to trust the rest of us. At least for long enough to get a little sleep.”

You reached up and touched the bags that had formed under your eyes. “Thank you for your concern but I’ll be perfectly fine.” You shoved the documents into a small bag and slung it over your shoulder. Once you dropped them off at home, you could head back out and see if anything had popped up.

“It’s still pretty early,” Fatgum mused. “What are your plans?”

“I’m going to go and see if any of my sources have found new information.”

“Uwabami was meant to be doing that tonight accourding to the schedule,” he pointed out. “But you’re probably not going to be taking the night off. Why don’t you join me for my patrol? You can keep an ear to the ground and also not continue exhausting yourself.”

Sighing, you glanced over your shoulder at him. “We hardly know each other. Why are you so worried about me?”

He shrugged. “Too many heroes drive themselves crazy with this kind of stuff. Come on. My work study students are great, you’ll love them both.”

There was a reason that you didn’t take any of those on but admittedly his two students were entertaining.

Gang Orca

It was all for the sake of the cameras.

You had to remember that when you were getting up before the sun rose. Everything had to be absolutely perfect about your appearance. If it wasn’t then your little ruse would be seen through by every reporter with half a braincell.

Then you had to get to the setup site and speak with the marketing team secretly. You stood with the team leader to one side, discussing everything like old friends over a cup of coffee.

“Essentially, what we’re looking for is a very breathless and awe-struck victim,” he explained to you. “When you speak to the media, try and make it like you never even thought of Gang Orca much before but now his rescue has made him into your favourite. We’re trying to build a greater trust with the public especially amongst children.”

You pulled a face. “I don’t much like working with kids but for a small increase, I can become quite the lover of them for a short while.”

The guy smiled. “You’re one of the best, otherwise I wouldn’t have hired you. You can get your increase.”

“Thank you. Now let’s get to work.”

You made your way to the ‘accident’ site. The costume team ripped your shirt and you had some fake blood dotted around your head. Nothing to make your injuries too severe but enough for some pity.

And then you climbed under the wreck and waited.

Approved photographers snapped their pictures as you were rescued from your metal prison by the tall Gang Orca. His strength alone was enough to pull the door free. He held his hand out to you while using his other to lift the car high enough to help you out. You made a show of crawling free and then stumbling a little.

With one hand on your head, you leaned against him and stared up with a grateful expression. Cameras flashed and he checked the wreck once more before leading you away for ‘medical treatment’.

Once out of view of the media circus, you straightened and wiped some of the fake blood away from your mouth. “Thank you for the rescue,” you said.

Gang Orca didn’t seem very happy about it at all. It was good that his hero image didn’t need too many smiles.

“I’m going to guess that this wasn’t really your idea?”

He sighed. “No. I don’t like the need to fake rescues when there are real people who should be getting help from a hero.”

“But those people aren’t getting paid to better the public’s opinion of you,” you said. “Twenty minutes here can be what knocks you off lists like ‘scariest heroes’ and similar stuff. That way, you get even more opportunities to save people.”

You couldn’t tell if he was grimacing or not but he definitely appeared to be. It made sense. While some heroes relished in the easier work, many didn’t like the media part of their jobs.

“If you’re happy with it, I’d like your autograph,” you said. “It’ll help me sell the whole situation a lot easier.”

“Alright.”

“For what it’s worth, I don’t have a warm opinion of the media either,” you said. “They’re vultures who benefit from the fall of good heroes. What I, and others, do helps stop the best from being sidelined just because they’re intimidating or unmarketable. You’re in this for the right reason but the news organisations don’t care about that.”

He sighed deeply. “It’s unfortunate that you’re right. Of course, that doesn’t mean I have to be happy with these kinds of arrangements.”

“Few people are.”

Hawks

Being a photographer was competitive work, especially in a world where people could have quirks allowing them to grow cameras from their bodies.

You had to go the extra mile in order to compete with them and carve out a name for yourself. Either you had to be there first or you had to see something that nobody else did. A good intuition never led you astray.

And so, when you found yourself walking down the right street late one afternoon, you just knew that it was time to take out your camera.

The event was nothing catastrophic. Indeed, it seemed that the main danger was people’s stupidity. A fire had started on the bottom floor of an office building and instead of waiting for first responders to do their jobs, people were choosing to make things more difficult by climbing out of windows and stuff like that.

Soon enough, heroes were on the scene and you had your camera ready.

Naturally, Backdraft was the first to arrive and you got some great photos of the rescue hero doing what he did best. The light from the flames perfectly illuminated the hero and made the entire situation feel a great deal more dramatic than it was.

The second hero was a young woman whose name escaped your mind. She assisted the civilians as best she could but, no sooner did she help one down, and the person was practically taken from her arms.

Bright red feathers flew across the scene, darting into the building and pulling every person free by their clothing. They were lowered safely to the ground though many stumbled.

You didn’t lower your camera but you cursed out Hawks under your breath.

Never, in your wildest imagination, did you expect to hear him respond.

“Well, that’s not a very nice thing to say.”

You startled, just about dropping your camera on the ground in shock. He was perched above your head, atop one of the streetlights, a smirk on his face and his visor down. His wings were shorter than usual and the only way you could tell he was even helping with the incident.

“You ruined my photo,” you said. “And she had him, you know?”

“She was moving too slow. The poor guy would have been stuck in the air for several minutes longer and that’s just not good on the heart. Besides, I can make up for your lost photo if you snap a shot in the next three seconds.”

You scoffed. “A photo of you sitting on a streetlight? From this angle?”

“What? Not dramatic enough for you?”

“Not unique enough, more like. You’re the most photographed hero in the whole of Japan. The internet is teeming with images of you from every possible angle, distance, and situation. I’ve seen them all.”

For some reason, that seemed to get to the pro-hero a little and you were surprised when he landed beside you. You were very rarely this close to a pro, your bravado disappearing now that he was actually standing there.

“So you’re saying I’m not worth a photo?”

Part of you felt like saying that he was and quickly taking one but your pride didn’t allow it. “Not when there are lesser-known heroes here. They don’t have crazy stalkers willing to chase them around the city for any picture.”

“And aren’t they luckier for it,” he sighed. “Ah well, your loss. I’ll see you around.”

With a flap of his wings, he was gone and you watched him go, fighting the urge to snap a photo the entire time.

Midnight

Some would call you shallow but interviews were one of your favourite parts of being a hero. Getting to answer questions and engage with the people who admired you was an experience that you just adored. Not only that but they were often the best place to clear up rumours or speculations so long as they were edited well.

With a reliable broadcaster and positive outcomes on all of your latest jobs, you were extremely excited to be offered an interview. You knew there was an ulterior motive of some kind but you hadn’t been sure as to what.

But still, you arrived early, dressed in your hero costume, and had your makeup done up as best as it could be.

And then you watched the interview before you and you quickly realised that the broadcast was doing a segment. One focused on hero costumes.

Your own was quite unique, a step away from the usual appearance of heroes. Personally, you loved it.

The public however was divided on whether it was fashion forward or just a flop.

And clearly that was why individual heroes had been chosen.

Being interviewed at the moment and practically being drilled on the ins-and-outs of her costume was nobody other than Midnight herself. She looked absolutely amazing as ever. A natural on the stage and in the field.

You had to admit however that you didn’t feel comfortable with the questions they were asking her. She answered smoothly but mostly in deflection.

The other heroes around you agreed with your assessment. This felt like an attempt at creating a media circus. Few were interested in participating anymore.

The moment Midnight gave her leave, the producers began gesturing at you. You gave them a look and turned around with the rest of the heroes there.

Midnight was in a bad mood but she put on a smirk when you made eye contact with her.

“We’re leaving,” you told her. “None of us were told that this was going to be working off controversy.” You wanted to apologise that she had been the first to get interrogated but you didn’t know how to do that.

She laughed. “You weren’t expecting there to be a catch?”

“I mean, I was but I thought they were a little better than running a segment that’s so clearly focused on… well…”

“Sex appeal?” Midnight asked.

You awkwardly rubbed the back of your neck. “Yeah. It probably should have tipped us off that we were all around the same status. No real big names aside from your own have worked with this broadcast channel.”

“And nobody will again once I speak to a few contacts,” Midnight said, a hint of bitterness finally seeping into her voice. “Guess that will teach me to give new places a chance. They’re all looking for the big ratings instead of actual interest. Maybe I should just go into being a teacher full time at this rate.”

“Aren’t you already doing that?”

She shushed you. “Not if I don’t say it out loud.”

You laughed and stuck by her as your group exited the building, ignoring the clamoring from the higher-ups who were desperately trying to convince you to stay. The type of people who would take advantage of being able to pressure people into things. Lovely.

“Don’t you hate how rude they are to you?” you asked her. “I get so furious sometimes and my questions are always tame compared to yours.”

She shrugged. “At some point, you get used to it. I don’t think there’s a question out there that would shock me anymore.”

You really hoped you never reached that point.

Mirko

The villain pulled experimentally at his cuffs. He twisted around and began shuffling when he met your eyes.

“Where exactly are you trying to go?”

He grumbled something under his breath and stopped moving. You raised a hand to your head and sighed. At this rate, you were going to wind up with wrinkles. One of your favourite outfits had been destroyed by this little altercation and nobody had even bothered to show up yet. Somebody had called emergency services, right?

“Stop moving, I can hear you,” you snapped.

The villain would have been a greater threat if you hadn’t happened to be shopping in the area. Your quirk was the perfect match for his own and it allowed you to quickly take control of an otherwise dangerous situation.

Now you sat on a bench, him tied to the nearest building support bench, and you waited for somebody to arrive and take him off your hands.

There was a thump somewhere to your right and you lazily looked up from your phone. Only for your heart to kind of stutter.

“Aw, come on! I was told there was going to be some excitement over here!” Mirko complained. “What gives?!”

The rabbit hero was absolutely gorgeous with white hair and legs that went on for literal days. She was the epitome of everything you aspired to be as a hero. What she did was on her own terms and she fought for the thrill of it all.

You had just never expected to actually meet her.

“I’ve dealt with it,” you said once you had gotten over your shock. You gestured towards the villain. “No problems here.”

Mirko bounded over and stuck her face way too close to his. Her nose seemed to twitch in excitement. “You don’t seem so tough,” she scoffed. “I got the call and it said that this was setting itself up to be a good clash! Are you just that good?”

Her eyes fell on you, bright and teasing. A strand of hair fell in front of her face and she huffed it away without breaking eye contact.

“I am,” you said, mostly joking but feeling unable to deny it.

She threw her head back and laughed. “That’s a good answer. I like your confidence.” She eyed what you were wearing. “Your costume could use some work though.”

You chuckled. “It’s actually pretty similar to yours when I’m not interrupted while shopping. I’ve always loved your style.”

She nodded firmly as though that was a given. Then she looked around and raised an eyebrow. “If this moron interrupted your shopping, then what are you doing hanging around with him? You have things to get back to, don’t you?”

You gestured around. “I do but the police haven’t shown up yet.”

“Don’t worry about them,” she scoffed. “I’ll bounce this guy down to the station for you. Don’t waste time just standing around.”

She turned back to the villain just in time for you to both see him run around the corner. He nearly tripped but managed to keep his footing. You glanced at one another and Mirko laughed heartily. “You stay here,” she said. “I can deal with cowards in well under a minute. They always do the same things to ‘throw me off’ or whatever.”

“I’ll come with you,” you said. “It’s technically my fault he got away. And I could always learn a thing or two from the best, right?”

She grinned. “I knew I liked you. Let’s see if you can keep up though.”

Natsuo

On a good summer’s day, there was nothing better than the beach. The waves gently lapping at the shore, soft clouds drifting across the sky, and few children due to the earliness of the day. It was well worth getting up early to watch the sun creep its way over the ocean and begin what was scheduled to be the hottest day of the year.

Not that you would be outside when it hit noon. By that time, ice cream and a nice spot of shade became necessary.

For now though, you waltzed along the beach and enjoyed the sand beneath your feet. As you walked, you kept an eye out for shells though there were scarce. People came every day to collect this time of year.

In a way, that made you sad.

But the lack of shells did mean that you didn’t need to watch where you were walking quite as much. At least, that was your thought process. Shells cut your feet and there were none so why keep an eye on the sand.

The answer is broken bottles.

It was a sake bottle, probably stolen away by some kids to be drunk where their parents wouldn’t see. The searing pain made you think you’d stepped on a jellyfish. Cursing, you jerked your foot away, blood running down into the sand below.

A small wave washed up, taking the bloodied sand away to reveal the culprit.

Struggling to balance, you hopped away from the bottle and sat down, lifting your foot to see the damage. It was a rather deep slice that made you feel quite woozy. Sand was already sitting around the injury and your only option to wash it off was the very salty sea.

“Sorry, do you need some help?”

You glanced behind you to see a guy standing on the boardwalk. His hair was pale and his expression kind. Something about him seemed oddly familiar but you weren’t sure why.

“I stood on a bottle,” you said. “It’s alright.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Do you need some help getting off the sand?”

You were going to deny the offer but your entire leg felt like it was on fire. The pain was undoubtedly because of your brain flicking through reminders about the danger of stepping on glass. “If you’re alright with it.”

He made his way down to where you were sitting quite quickly and glanced at your foot. “That’s going to need stitches,” he said. He offered his water bottle to you. “You should clean it off and then put some pressure on it before we move it.”

The cut hadn’t seemed that bad to you but you hadn’t really been looking carefully. “Are you sure?” You still took the water though, hissing as you poured it over your cut.

“Very,” he said. “Do you mind your towel getting blood on it?”

“No.”

He used the towel to put pressure on the cut and then helped you stand, hobbling your way off the beach. Once there, he quickly listed off the nearest hospitals.

“Are you a medical student by any chance?” you asked, trying to keep your mind off the pain.

He blushed. “Sorry, is it obvious?”

You laughed. “Just a little but that’s okay. It was good that you happened to be nearby then. Can I get your name?”

He hesitated but then said, “Natsuo. Don’t worry about my family name.”

Curious now, especially given how familiar he looked, you were tempted to push. But you didn’t and instead thanked him again for his help. He turned out to be correct, of course. You did need stitches.

Present Mic

You stretched before going into the office. Everything was sore – an unfortunate result of your late night. It couldn’t have been helped. Train wrecks were rarely planned.

Principle Nezu greeted you warmly when you arrived and then asked you to sit down. “As I’m sure you’ve heard, there was a recent incident on the grounds. Thirteen was badly injured and we’re in need of a new teacher with expertise in natural disaster management.” He smiled at you. “I thought you would be the perfect match.”

You raised an eyebrow. “I was under the impression you were going to try convince me to take a work study student.”

“I’m sure you will one year,” he joked.

“Unlikely but you can always offer.” You sighed and turned your gaze out the window. “I have little care for children. This will be a temporary position, yes?”

“We’ll see how it goes.”

You gave him a look but the principle just sipped at his tea. He already knew that you were going to accept – if only because you had always been a close friend of Thirteen’s. Taking over one class wasn’t going to kill you.

“I don’t have any experience in this,” you reasoned. “Other schools must have teachers who can come and cover classes?”

“None who are as experienced in the field as you are. So I’ve organised with Hizashi Yamada to take you through his methods of teaching and you can convert them over. He’ll be here soon.”

You sunk further into your chair, rubbing the bridge of your nose. “What would you have done if I said no?”

“Been very disappointed, of course.”

Present Mic was a hero you had always admired but you hadn’t ever expected him to be as loud in person as he was in the media. You just about jumped out of your skin when he entered the room dramatically, calling out a greeting.

Nezu gave the introductions and informed you that before doing an actual class, you had a week of acting as an assistant instructor alongside Present Mic.

“Should I invest in earbuds?” you joked.

He laughed but then actually lowered his voice as though you had reminded him. “Don’t worry. If I yell too much in class, Shota tends to come and glare through the doorway until I quieten down.”

You chuckled. “Do you have similar teaching schedules?’

“No but he claims that he can hear me from anywhere in the school. It’s the best way to find him actually. You just yell until he shows up.”

“I’ll take that as lesson number one in how to teach at U.A.”

“Lesson number one is to not take Nemuri’s flirting seriously,” he corrected. “I know it’s very flattering to think that she’s interested but she’s not. If it makes you uncomfortable, you can tell her to stop but she doesn’t always listen. It’s part of her image, you know?”

You raised an eyebrow at Nezu but he just shrugged. That didn’t seem like it was too professional but alright.

You took a deep breath and tried to pretend that this was just going to be temporary. It wasn’t like Nezu had been trying for years to get you involved at the school.

Temporary.

“Which subject do you teach?” you asked as you followed Present Mic from the office.

“English. No crazy action or anything which means you have to work double time to keep the students interested. You’ll have it far easier.”

Nobody really prepared you for the fact that Class 1A didn’t know how to do things the easy way.

#mha #bnha scenarios #bnha x reader #all might x reader #endeavor x reader #aizawa x reader #midnight x reader #mirko x reader #natsuo todoroki x reader #present mic x reader #fatgum x reader #gang orca x reader #hawks x reader

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guzhuangheaven · 3 years ago

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Guzhuang Appreciation Month: badass dialogues

(but in the novel)

legend of ruyi :: ep 5 // ep 78

This drama is so amazing, demonstrated by these two scenes. Here you have Ruyi and Hongli watching the same play at two different stages in their lives. In episode 5, they are still clearly in love and are happy watching the play together, leaning lovingly against each other and moving in unison as one. They are also being watched fondly by Aruo, who has yet to have ideas of betraying Ruyi. Many years later, in episode 78, we have Ruyi and Hongli watching the same play, but they are physically far apart and their emotional distance from each other is also clear on their faces. They are literally being divided by the presence of Ling Yunche standing between them.

I find the parallel between the closeups of Aruo and Ling Yunche the most heartbreaking, because Aruo, despite how happy she looks for them in ep 5, would eventually try to break Ruyi and Hongli apart. And yet for all her efforts, she never succeeds because Hongli never actually believes her. On the other hand, Ling Yunche never tries to get in between Ruyi and Hongli, but just the mere presence of him is enough for Hongli to drive a wedge between himself and Ruyi. The presence of Aruo and Ling Yunche in this scene drives home the stark contrast in how the relationship has deteriorated between Ruyi and Hongli, and how Hongli went from trusting Ruyi despite all evidence against her to believing the worst of her despite no real evidence.

What is even more heartbreaking is the play they are watching. It’s not made very clear in the drama, but the plot of the play has great significance in the novel. The play they are watching is called 墙头马上 / Over the Wall and Atop a Horse. The play is based on the poem 井底引银瓶 Silver Vase at the Bottom of the Well by Bai Juyi.

The poem by Bai Juyi, writes of a broken relationship/friendship where two people once lived happily in harmony, then one person wronged the other, causing the other person to leave and never come back; the relationship is thus severed.

When the poem was adapted into the play 墙头马上 / Over the Wall and Atop a Horse, the play tells the story of Pei Shaojun falling in love at first sight with Li Qianjin when she was standing by a wall and he was on a horse riding by her house. The two then eloped, and lived together for seven years, having two children together, before they were discovered by Pei Shaojun’s father. Upon the discovery, Li Qianjin was condemned for getting into a clandestine relationship and Pei Shaojun caved to parental pressure and divorced her. She went back to her hometown. Many years later, after having achieved political success, Pei Shaojun went looking for Li Qianjin again, and just happened to discover that the two of them were actually engaged as children. In the play, they then reunited, got remarried and lived happily ever after.

There is however a plot point in the Ruyi novel, where Qingying does not like the ending of the play, feeling that the happy ending was forced. In the novel, Hongli and Qingying only know each other in passing at first. Then on the day that Hongli chooses his wives, Qingying is made to attend by her aunt. Before the selection ceremony, everyone is invited to watch a play, and Hongli chooses Over the Wall and Atop a Horse. Qingying, because she dislikes the happy ending, asks the theatre troupe to change the ending of the play so that in the end, Li Qianjin does not actually get back together with Pei Shaojun but stays firm in her resolve to end the relationship between them. After the play ends, Qingying leaves before the selection, but Hongli becomes intrigued by her changed ending and chases after her. This conversation below ensues, in which you can see clearly how Qingying’s belief on the matter stayed constant with her through the years. In fact, she practically predicts her own fate later with her changed ending.

~*~

Qingying stepped lightly ahead, her gown fluttering in the breeze like a white butterfly in flight. Aruo’s face was robbed of all colour and she was crying in despair. “Gege, what is wrong with you? Everything was well, why did you change the ending of the play? If Huang Hou Niang Niang hears about it, what will you do?”

Qingying shrugged. “At most, Aunt will just scold me a little. I just don’t like that ending. Today, I finally got to see how it should be played out. I’m so happy!”

“Gege might be happy,” Aruo said miserably, “but today is the consort selection. If Gege you are not chosen, then what would we do?”

Qingying’s aunt had already intended her to be the Third Prince’s bride, and now that was not successful, she should be pushed to the Fourth Prince instead? If they needed this one forced marriage to prolong their family’s glory, would that mean all women of the Ulanara clan were little better than slaves? It would be better this way. Regardless of whether she succeeded at being chosen to be a prince’s consort or not, she got to see things done her way, for once.

She only managed a few steps more when suddenly a voice called behind her. “Qingying Meimei!”

No one had ever called her that before. Everyone in the palace simply called her “Qingying Gege”. Curious, she turned her head to find that Hongli was chasing after her.

Thinking that he must wish to reprimand her, Qingying made herself as small as possible.

Hongli only laughed. “I chased after you to comfort you. Xiyue Gege was rude in speech, I feared that you would be offended.”

“Offended? About what?” Qingying asked in a low voice. “Fourth Prince, do you mean to mention the fact that I was rejected by the Third Prince?”

Hongli nodded, frowning. “I only fear such talk will destroy your reputation.”

Qingying laughed, all her teeth showing, against all rules of decorum, which seemed to astonish Hongli.

“I don’t care!” she declared. “There are many things that women can’t necessarily decide for themselves, such as marriage, or family. But at least, I can decide whether to mind those mocking talks, whether to care about them and let them hurt me.”

Hongli looked sad for a moment, whispering, “Your family…” But then he trailed off. Then, with a humourless smile, he said, “Over the Wall and Atop a Horse is the play I chose myself, why did you not like the ending and asked them to change it? I pick a plum blossom, lean against the wall. / You ride off among the bending poplars*. Is that not a lovely image?”

“Yes, it is very nice, it’s just…” Qingying thought a moment then said, “Over the wall and atop a horse we gaze at each other. / I know you, too, must be heartbroken*. From this beginning, the play is full of conflicts, ups and downs, all very compelling, yet in the end, there is a forced happy ending, everyone is forced to be happy, I really don’t like it at all.”

[* excerpts from the poem by Bai Juyi]

Hongli looked displeased, asking, “To be able to mend a broken mirror, husband and wife reunited and at peace again, is that not good?”

“When Li Qianjin was being insulted by Pei Shaojun’s parents, he did not protect her. He watched her leave in humiliation and did not stop her, as if all the love and years they shared did not matter. Such a heartless and weak man who dares not protect his woman, why would Li Qianjin want to get back together with him?”

Her voice was soft, but also full of conviction. Even though it went against Hongli’s beliefs, he wanted to keep her talking.

“To be reunited and together in harmony is the wishes of all families on earth. If Pei Shaojun is willing to start over, why would Li Qianjin not forgive him?”

“Why must a woman always forgive a man for his failings? Wouldn’t that teach the man that it doesn’t matter what hurt he causes? I don’t care, if he hurt her, she shouldn’t forgive him.”

“Women must be soft and gentle, and give into her husband. If she sacrifices a little, bears a little hurt feeling, they can be reunited, isn’t that happiness?”

“If she must be hurt, must sacrifice herself for this forced reunion, then it is already not a good marriage,” Qingying said stubbornly. “In my eyes, Li Qianjin is a woman who is willing to walk away, to severe the relationship, because all trust is gone.”

“If she walks away, wouldn’t that mean she spends the rest of her life alone? Everyone has their own difficult moments, if Li Qianjin is so stubborn, Pei Shaojun is put in a difficult position too.”

“Who isn’t in a difficult position?” Qingying asked. “If the woman can understand the man’s difficulties, can a man not understand a woman’s pain of being cast aside and humiliated?”

Hongli thought for a moment then laughed. “Qingying Meimei, you are much too unbending.”

Qingying merely nodded. “It’s better to live the rest of your life alone, rather than live to old age with someone who already betrayed you once. So it might be harmonious today, but if a conflict arises, what is to say Pei Shaojun will not just forsake Li Qianjin again? It is easy to change mountains**, that is the principle here.”

[** there is a Chinese saying that it is easier to change the course of rivers and shapes of mountains than to change the character of a person… aka old habits die hard but with more stakes.]

Hongli still did not agree with her logic. “Women should place obedience before all and be pliable. If she does not restrain herself and be more accepting for the greater good, then she would just suffer.”

“If one must accept being humiliated for a so-called happy ending, then I don’t want that kind of happy ending,” Qingying repeated.

“Then is Over the wall and atop a horse we gaze at each other so easily forgotten?” Hongli asked, astonished.

Qingyin turned and stared at Hongli. “If it is not easily forgotten, then why didn’t Pei Shaojun protect Li Qianjin? Hasn’t he too forgotten how they once loved each other when he cast her aside?”

Hongli could not argue against her, and finally admitted defeat. “Meimei, you really are something, I don’t know what else to say.”

Qingying laughed in delight.

“Meimei,” Hongli said, stepping closer to her, “you argued so animatedly, you must love Over the Wall and Atop a Horse. Why don’t we go back and hear the play again?”

Qingying hesitated, thinking that it would be a great loss of face if she were to return now. But Hongli was looking at her so earnestly, she found it hard to immediately refuse.

“I’ll go back first, and prepare good tea to wait for you.”

He said ‘wait’, as if he would not move the day along if she did not come. Her heart softened, and she suddenly stopped in her path.

…

[And then of course Qingying comes back to attend the selection. Hongli, who had originally intended to choose Langhua, changes his mind and chose Qingying to be his di fujin, but then Yongzheng interfered and put a stop to it… But the play is one massive foreshadowing plot device that doesn’t get explained much in the drama, but packs a punch when you read this scene.] -h

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nobodyfamousposts · 4 years ago

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BURN THE WITCH! Part 7

Trigger warning for attempted burning, attempted murder due to the aforementioned burning, and talk of stalking.

______________________________

The old pictures of witch burnings and those who conduct them were far from imposing figures. Some nowadays would insist it amounted to people in funny hats, and had difficulty taking them seriously. They certainly didn’t seem scary.

Similarly, Rose Lavillant was far from an imposing figure. She stood shorter than almost everyone in the class and didn’t have a mean bone in her body. She was more likely to break down in tears before she would so much as raise her voice at anyone, regardless of the reason. She was one whom the word “scary” didn’t even seem to be a word in the dictionary for.

But seeing Rose standing there in full Witch Hunting regalia was quite possibly one of the most terrifying things Lila had ever seen.

“Lila Rossi! Welcome to the party!”

Lila drew back—or she tried to, at least, only to end up bumping into Chat. The hero promptly grabbed hold of her wrists, effectively keeping her in place and cutting off any avenue of escape as Witch Hunter continued to approach.

“Chat Noir!” Lila hissed. “You’re supposed to be a hero! So do the ‘hero thing’ and either get me out of here or let me go!”

“So you can try to get Ladybug killed again?” He sneered, looking more disgusted and angry than she’d ever seen him. “Not a chance.”

She gaped.

“You can’t be serious!” He couldn’t be! That buffoon was never serious!

Except the way he was glaring at her looked…very serious indeed.

“You’ve evaded consequences long enough, Lila. And like your lies, these things build up over time.”

“Right you are, Chat Noir!” Witch Hunter exclaimed gleefully as she came to a stop only a couple feet away.

“And eventually, they build up so much that there’s really only one result.” Witch Hunter continued, smirking at Lila.

“…You end up on top?” Lila asked hopefully.

That got a bitter laugh.

“You only win so long, Lila. Then people have enough. And aaaall the people you trampled over on your way up will be there to drag you down.” Witch hunter almost seemed to twirl her closed scroll. “Down, down, down…until your final, well deserved end.” She finished, stepping aside and directing Lila’s attention to the pyre that was waiting for her.

“Tie her up!”

_____________________

Well, the one good thing about finally being alone was that she was able to transform in peace. Despite Tikki’s protests. Which sounded like whining more than anything.

The petty, childish part of her wanted to hold that over Tikki once things returned to normal. Moral Tikki, Kwami of Creation, steadfast voice of goodness and order, whining like a child not getting an extra cookie.

Hey, she’d have to take whatever humor she could get at this point before she would be forced to charge yet again into the insanity.

Since Lila was with Chat Noir and possibly safe for now (though with Lila involved, anything could have happened in the span of a few minutes), Marinette decided to try and locate the akuma. If she could find out where it was, she could plan.

She moved to the rooftops for a better view. There was no smoke yet—always a good sign. And the streets around her were still mostly devoid of people. But she could hear some commotion from a distance away. Following it, she noticed that it was growing louder the closer she got to the Eiffel Tower.

As were lights.

And party streamers.

And people. Whom were acting like they were simply going to a festival.

That was odd.

If the Tower was being used as a safe area, then why were people setting up this way? This wasn’t safe, it was extravagant and frivolous. It was bound to get the akuma’s attention.

There were kiosks, tents, a pyre, carnival games, food stands—back up, what was that?

…

Sure enough, looking back, she noticed a central area of the festivities specifically arranged in a rather distressing manner to create what was unmistakably a pyre reminiscent of what was used during historical witch burnings.

At least now she knew where Rose probably was. And where they intended to take Lila to.

“So this is where they’re going to try and burn Lila?”

Wait...

Chat had told her to go to the Tower. He’d said it was where everyone would be.

She groaned as realization hit her.

“He’s affected too.”

Because of course he is!

Why else would he direct Marinette there? He probably wanted her to make it to the “show”. He had been trying to be helpful so Marinette wouldn’t miss out. And he had helped…just not the way he probably intended.

Because now Ladybug knew just what her obstacles would be. She would have to deal with Witch Hunter and finding her akuma—as well as the crowds including her own partner that would no doubt not take kindly to her interference—all while trying to protect Lila. The girl who hated Ladybug so much that she would willingly work with a supervillain regularly attacking the city just to ensure that Ladybug is destroyed regardless of whose hands it happens by or what would happen afterwards.

Even if it was in Lila’s own interests and meant the difference between her own life and death, Ladybug couldn’t trust that she wouldn’t do something to sabotage any efforts to save her if it meant that Lila could take Ladybug down as well. So she couldn’t even count on Lila in this instance to simply stay out of the way.

Chat was affected. Master Fu was affected. Most of Paris was affected. Her own kwami was affected. It was down to her.

She was alone.

“Ladybug.”

Well...not completely alone.

At her side, Longg looked up to her.

“Whatever you decide to do, I will aid you.” He promised her.

That…

That really helped to hear. It was nice to be supported in a way that DIDN’T involve allowing murder. Just having one person backing her to do what she knew she should really helped.

She smiled in relief.

“Thank you, Longg.”

_____________________

It was a rather lovely gathering, all things considered. People simply going about festivities without a care, looking at food, playing games, buying souvenirs. The Mayor gave a speech. It was a nice speech, even. Yes, everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun and just a grand old time this beautiful sunny day.

Except for Lila, who was glaring pettily from the pole she was now tied to.

She was rather vexed about the entire matter. Possibly because she couldn’t join them. But more likely because the festival in question was solely dedicated to her humiliation and theoretical demise. Not that they’d follow through with it, of course, because certainly Hawk Moth wouldn’t let Rose actually hurt her, but still! It was the principle of the thing!

She had wanted to be the center of attention, but not like THIS!

“Enjoying yourself, Lila?” Witch Hunter asked sweetly as she secured the final knot.

“Okay, you’ve had your fun.” Lila growled with a glare at the smug akuma. “But don’t you have a job to do?”

Witch Hunter grinned. “I’m already doing it!”

“No!” She shouted, stomping her foot—or at least as much as the ropes would let her. “Your job is to take the Miraculous! Remember? Ladybug and Chat Noir? The heroes? Your enemies?”

The akuma shrugged in response. “Yeah, but who knows where they are or how much time it would take to find them?”

“He’s right there!” Lila exclaimed angrily, nodding her head in the direction of Chat, who was indeed only twenty feet away. “He’s not even doing anything useful!”

Chat Noir, for his part, was cheerfully engaging with a group of children. Unconcerned with Lila now that she was caught, he was instead focused on using his claws to whittle a number of sticks to fine points, much to the awe of his juvenile audience.

"Marshmallow, marshmallow! How fluffy you could be! So near a flame, let's see how toasted you could be!"

Lila watched the scene in initial confusion until he started poking a large marshmallow on the end of each stick, much to the glee of the children and some sickening realization for Lila.

“Here you go!” He said as he cheerfully handed each stick to one of the kids.

“Yay!”

“Thank you!”

“Mallow!”

“Can I eat it now?” One asked, eyeing the puffy treat hungrily.

“If you do, you won’t be able to toast it.” Chat replied. “We still have to get the fire going. It won’t be long now.” And here he gave a side-eyed smirk to Lila.

…Yep. Realization and dread was setting in.

“You can’t be serious! You’re actually going to burn me?” She demanded of the akuma.

“Well, yeah, that’s the plan.” Witch Hunter responded as she went to grab two containers of lighter fluid. “I haven’t made it a secret, you know.”

“But you can’t!” Lila shouted, horrified.

“Sure, I can! There’s plenty of wood to keep the fire well fed. Plus my torch is magical, so—”

“Hawk Moth wouldn’t allow it! You said it yourself, I’ve been helping him! So that makes us on the same side!”

“Were you on my side when you stole from me? When you lied to me? Used me?” Witch Hunter questioned with a look of disgust. “Tell me, Lila, when did this supposed camaraderie between us suddenly start to matter to you?”

Lila scoffed. “I got you power, didn’t I? Now look at you! All of Paris is under your sway! Even the heroes are willing to follow you into whatever silly good acts you’re interested in. You could just tell them to hand you the Miraculous and they probably would! With that, you could have the power to do any of the goody-goody things you want.”

“I DIDN’T WANT POWER!” Witch Hunter shouted. “I WANTED A FRIEND!”

“And we were friends.” Lila replied, unimpressed. “As you were helping me, adoring me, doing so many favors on my behalf…” She smiled. “That’s just what ‘friends’ do.”

It’s what they were supposed to do.

After all, a “friend” was just a label for people who could do things for you.

And wasn’t she a wonderful person for letting them? For allowing them to be useful?

It was just the way the world worked.

Whose fault was it really if Rose didn’t like her place in it after all?

Witch Hunter looked at Lila in disgust. As did Chat Noir and a number of those nearby.

“So you just use people? That’s what a friend is to you? Someone to use?”

Lila shrugged. “Everyone uses someone. Even Hawk Moth is using you for the Miraculous.” Her eyes narrowed. “Which are supposed to be your goal”

Of course. Because let’s not forget who was really in charge here. Not the pitiful little akuma in front of her, but the man behind the mask—so to speak.

Lila had done her part. More than done her part by this point given how far this akuma had gotten compared to any other before. He certainly wouldn’t have made an akuma this powerful without her help.

“So Hawk Moth!” Lila hissed. “Hurry up and order your akuma to do its job!”

Witch Hunter appeared to be seething before the glowing mask formed, indicating Hawk Moth communicating to his minion. Good. She was learning her place then. Likely being told to focus on finding Ladybug and to leave Lila be. She finally felt herself relax in relief.

Of course, she wouldn’t mind playing the damsel in distress. Well, she would mind actually, since it would leave her tied to the pole to keep up appearances, but if it meant drawing in and finally crushing Ladybug once and for all, it would be a small price to pay.

There was a long silence. Lila waited, feeling smug. Her confidence only grew when the akuma regained focus and turned to her.

“Ah yes.” Witch Hunter drawled with a dark smile. “Hawk Moth has a message for you.”

A message? Lila frowned. His message should be to his akuma, ordering his minion to let her go! What could he want to say to her?

“Hawk Moth thanks you for your assistance.”

With a smirk, Witch Hunter leaned forward so she was eye to eye with Lila.

“But your services are no longer necessary.”

Lila froze in shock.

“What?”

She tsked at the other girl. “You have a talent for manipulation, sure. But you waste it on big gambles that ultimately have little payoff even if they do work out in your favor. You lack subtlety and you try to reach too far. All too soon, you’ve overreached and now look at you.”

Witch Hunter spoke, and with her candid way of speaking and impassive stare, it was difficult to tell if it was Witch Hunter or Hawk Moth himself speaking. She had a feeling though…the strange sense that she was hearing Hawk Moth’s words as if from him directly.

“Your true nature has been revealed. The heroes have already long since known not to trust you, and now that the entirety of Paris is aware of your actions as well, your ability to influence and manipulate…your one worthwhile trait…is worthless.”

Lila gaped, uncomprehending. Because this…he wasn’t saying what she thought he was saying, was he?

“What did you expect would happen once you were caught? Nobody will trust you now. Everyone knows what you’ve done. What you intended to do. Who will fall for your lies now? And even Hawk Moth isn’t about to go out of his way to help someone who has fallen so far.”

“You can’t do this!” Lila shouted. “We are partners! You need me!”

“It would appear that you have overestimated your value and the nature of this relationship.” Witch Hunter replied, sounding far too old to simply be the akuma speaking. “A partnership requires equal footing, and you appear to have lost yours. Over some extra play money, no less.”

He/she sighed. “And your reveal didn’t even generate enough emotional turmoil for another mass akumatization. Though I suppose you deserve credit for this masterwork of an akuma. But between the two of you…well, it is no contest. And I am not about to risk one tool to try and save another that no longer functions.”

Witch Hunter giggled at Lila’s dumbfounded expression.

She leaned in close, speaking in barely a whisper.

“Don’t look so shocked, Lila? A tool is only useful as long as it can be used. But I’m sure you already know all about that.”

She sneered.

“Friend.”

Hearing that word, said in that way, being used against her for once made her go cold. As her label for “people who were useful to her” was turned around on her, she got a feeling for the first time just what her former “friends” had probably felt.

It was the use of that word which really made the situation hit home. At this moment she realized that this was real. This was happening. And unlike any other situation—whether before, after, or during the akuma attacks—this was one time when her charm would not be able to get her out of it.

The akuma didn’t just want to get rid of her as an obstacle like Oni-chan had. She flat out wanted Lila burned.

The entire city was backing her. Her classmates. Their families. And Chat Noir—one of the city’s heroes had helped to trap her.

Hawk Moth was not going to risk losing such a powerful akuma simply to protect one girl. Especially not one he no longer saw a use in.

This was it.

She was really going to die here.

And this time, no amount of lies, promises, or words would save her.

It was only once Witch Hunter put her torch to the pyre and the sounds and smell of the first bits of wood starting to catch aflame that Lila snapped out of it. Only to be greeted with the cheers of the crowd, all of whom were watching her execution with eager eyes. many were holding up their phones to record the moment for history. And one particularly brazen citizen had chosen to get a head start on the marshmallow roasting and held their treat on a stick over the flames that were starting to catch on the wood around her and creeping ever inward.

“Don’t worry, Lila! The smoke inhalation will kill you before the flames do.” Witch Hunter said with a smile. “That’s not to say you won’t be burned or suffer pain first, of course. But still, small mercies, I guess?”

Lila opened her mouth to respond, but couldn’t speak.

There were no words she could say.

So she simply screamed instead.

Loudly.

Senselessly.

Begging without words for something—anything to help her.

And at that moment, as if by a miracle, it began to rain.

___________________________

By all appearances, it wasn’t a natural rainfall—given the clear skies with nary a cloud in sight. Or the sudden wall of water that washed through the area and took out all torches. Though it could be argued that Longg was the original source of storms and weather to begin with, and thus any rain caused by himself or his power were indeed natural.

But that’s just semantics.

The point was that it WAS raining. On a cloudless day. Conveniently falling solely within the single area around the base of the Eiffel Tower that made up the whole of this “Witch Burning Festival”.

And most importantly, on the pyre that Lila herself was tied to, getting her wet and dousing the flames that threatened to engulf her.

A number among the mob responded as many people do in a flash downpour and immediately sought shelter from the sudden and inexplicable rainstorm. Chat, not being one for water, hissed and bounded away somewhere higher up and out of the splash zone. Alya, ever the reporter, dashed to a barrier to protect herself from the worst of the wave and continued to film the scene, grateful that her phone had a water-proof casing so as to not be damaged.

Witch Hunter, however, stood her ground. After her initial confusion at the unexpected storm, she realized quickly enough what had to be the cause and glared at the sudden accumulating mass of water with clenched fists and gritted teeth. “Ladybug!” She bit out with all the savagery of someone who had just literally had someone rain on their parade.

Because who else could it be?

___________________________

“You know the plan?” She asked her companion a few minutes previously.

“Yes. It should work. The water power will last until you fully reform, and even then you will not lose my power until you have used all three of the elemental abilities.”

Good to know. It seemed rather unfair given that she and Chat could only use one ability one time before their timers started, but for now, she would take it.

“Okay, then I can just wash out the square, douse the fire and any fire-causing sources, and dampen the wood enough that it can’t be lit again. Then focus on Witch Hunter.” She started pacing as she thought.

Longg nodded. “From what you have said, it seems Witch Hunter lacks much else in the way of offensive abilities. The other two elements may be useful, but shouldn’t be necessary.”

That was good to know. Longg was apparently quite the strategist, it seemed. It helped her to relax knowing she had someone on her side to work with.

A pause.

But just in case…

“You’re not going to advocate for her murder, are you?” She asked warily.

Better to make sure, after all.

The kwami tilted his head in curiosity.

“I do not know this Lila Rossi or what would warrant her to be set on fire. We couldn’t hear anything when we were within the box.” He assured her.

Oh. Well, that was a relief.

“But I can encourage you if you want me to.”

“No, thank you!”

___________________________

Lila spluttered as the wall of water splashed her. It was cold. It was wet. And while it did save her from the fire, it just put her back in the state of being drenched after she had already mostly dried off from an hour before.

The water coalesced into a singular form and rapidly regained color and flesh to reveal Dragonbug. She appeared tense and much like Witch Hunter, ready for a fight.

“M’lady! You made it!” Chat cheered before frowning, a bit put off. “Though we could have done without the water show…”

“My marshmallow...” One particularly unhappy civilian mourned.

“Ladybug!” Lila shrieked. Though it was hard to tell if she was actually glad to see her or not. “You did that on purpose!”

Not glad to see her then.

Regardless, Ladybug stayed silent, not denying it.

Okay, it was petty of her. But come on, after everything she had done today, she’d earned this.

“Why are you protecting her?” Witch Hunter shouted, waving her now doused torch in anger. “Do you even know what she’s done?”

“That doesn’t mean she should be lit on fire!” Ladybug countered.

“Sure, it does!” Chat Noir exclaimed from his position. “Like the old rhyme: Liar, liar, pants on fire.”

“That’s right!” Came a shout.

“Burn the witch!” Came another.

“AVENGE MY MARSHMALLOW!”

Ladybug groaned. Right, right. You couldn’t argue with an angry mob. It was a waste of time and only made them angrier.

“Chat!” She groaned. “You’re a hero! This isn’t what heroes do!”

But he remained firm. “Ladybug, I don’t want to fight you. But Lila is only getting what’s coming to her. She’s helped Hawk Moth. She’s hurt my friends. She tried to get you killed!”

He clenched his fists in anger.

She started in surprise. She knew these things, yes. But she hadn’t realized just how much her partner had been affected as well.

It was no wonder he fell to Witch Hunter.

“She fooled me, too.” He growled, bitter in his admission. “I trusted her so many times and only got burned. Even when you warned me, I didn’t listen and people only got hurt because of it. And still I gave her second chance after second chance and I’m tired of it!”

Even under the effects of Witch Hunter’s influence, she could hear the raw hurt and anger. As kind and trusting as Chat could be, he had negative feelings as well—she knew that better than anyone. He hid them, but they were there.

And right now…

She could tell that this was really how he felt.

“Chat…” She started.

“I won’t fight you, my lady.” He told her, backing away. “I just want to see justice done and the removal of a threat.”

Well, she supposed that was the best she could hope for.

“Shouldn’t you be untying me now?” Lila demanded in annoyance as she wiggled at her post.

Unfortunately, Lila had chosen a rather inopportune time to remind everyone she was still there.

If the situation were different and Lila was almost literally ANYONE ELSE, Ladybug may have considered it. But the fire was stopped and Lila was safe, if only for the moment. Attempting to directly rescue the girl would only leave herself vulnerable to the akuma and open to further sabotage from Lila.

She had to focus and deal with the akuma now.

“Rose, this isn’t like you!” It was fruitless and she knew it, but she still had to try to get her friend to see reason.

But it was clear the girl was too angry and the akuma was having none of it.

“She doesn’t deserve protection!” Witch Hunter snapped, holding out her scroll and letting it unfurl.

Realizing what she was about to do, Ladybug charged.

“Lila stole the book from Mr. Agreste and nearly caused Adrien to be taken out of school!”

She knew that, she thought as she ducked a punch.

“Lila was hiding in Paris for months while pretending to have been traveling around the world!”

She knew that as well. Another punch dodged.

“Lila helped Hawk Moth as Volpina on Heroes Day!”

And that. She tried to make a grab for the scroll but missed.

“She manipulated her way into Adrien Agreste’s house!”

That too. She jumped back several feet when the akuma made a counterattack.

“She framed Marinette and got her expelled!”

She was Marinette and she knew that.

At this point, even with the reminders of all of Lila’s past misdeeds being brought up, Ladybug couldn’t find it in herself to be angry. She wasn’t even surprised at any of the claims.

Was there really anything Lila had done that she didn’t already know about? Or that she didn’t already believe Lila to be capable of?

“C’mon, Ladybug!” Chat called out to her imploringly. “You already know how bad Lila is. Can’t we just get rid of her and save Paris the trouble?”

“It’s only justice!” Witch Hunter shouted, pointing to Lila.

Lila, for her part, tried to shrink back as far as the pole and her bindings would allow.

“That’s not justice, Rose. That’s just revenge.” Ladybug replied, in perhaps the first true bit of feeling she’s had since this battle started. “If we let someone suffer just because we didn’t like them, could we really be called heroes?”

“SHE HURT ME!” Witch Hunter shrieked. “She LIED to me! She TRICKED me! SHE USED ME!”

“That makes her a monster. But you’re not one, Rose!”

“Hey!” Lila shouted, indignant. “I’M the victim, here!”

Witch Hunter spun on Lila in a rage. “I have your crimes right here, Lila Rossi! You’re the furthest thing from a victim and any court would agree with me.” She smirked, shaking her scroll. “That’s why MY court is the only one that matters right now! And you’ll see that soon enough!”

She spun back to Ladybug with a dark gleam in her eyes before she looked down to the scroll and began reading again. Much more quickly this time.

“Lila tried to sacrifice Marinette as a distraction to save herself! Lila lied to Chris about inventing Freestyle Crash! Lila made a deal with Oni-chan to get her to try and kill Ladybug!”

Ladybug’s eyes widened.

She hadn’t known about that. It didn’t surprise her that Lila would do that, but it was something she hadn’t known.

Okay, she had to take out that scroll before Witch Hunter could find something that WOULD upset her.

“LUCKY CHARM!”

In a swirl of magic, an item formed and dropped into her hands.

“Lighter fluid?” She gaped.

‘Dammit, Tikki!’

“Looks like even the Lucky Charm agrees, m’lady!” Chat called to her, being absolutely NO help whatsoever!

Ladybug felt her eye twitch.

Though at least he wasn’t trying to fight her either, which was a nice change of pace from the other times he’d been put under an akuma’s influence. But still!

“Lila has been acting as a spy for Gabriel Agreste! She’s been using this connection to try and gain influence over Adrien!”

FOCUS!

Ladybug looked around for anything the Lucky Charm could be used with. Because there had to be SOMETHING she could use it for.

Something that DIDN’T involve lighting Lila on fire!

“She’s kept the school from reaching her mother about her absences!”

Think!

“She’s lied to her mother about the school being closed!”

Think!

“She’s lied to her mother about akuma attacks! She claimed that Ladybug and Chat Noir were too incompetent to deal with them and let them run wild for months!”

She felt a flare of indignation at the lie regarding her capability, but forced herself to squash it quickly with the memory of how Lila had tried to disparage her superhero self to Adrien previously. If she could put down a hero she was supposedly “friends” with to a cute boy to make herself look better, it stood to reason she would insult Ladybug in other ways to other unsuspecting people. So no, Ladybug couldn’t be outraged.

Chat, however, was. “Hey!” He snapped, sending Lila a glare. Lila for her part merely looked away with a dark mutter.

Witch Hunter continued. “She’s lied about being Adrien Agreste’s girlfriend!”

Ladybug’s vision seemed to narrow down on Witch Hunter’s scroll.

…..it couldn’t be that easy, could it?

“She was willingly akumatized! TWICE!”

Screw it.

“She’s a liar! She’s evil! She’s horrible!” Witch Hunter shouted, growing only more frustrated angry. “SO WHY DO YOU KEEP PROTECTING HER?!

Good question. There’s no single clear answer, but it was a good question.

And in the midst of Rose’s growing fury, she was caught up in her own feelings that she had stopped really paying attention to her surroundings.

Taking advantage of the akuma’s distraction, Ladybug threw out her yoyo, wrapping it around her.

“Hey!” Witch Hunter cried out as her arms were pulled towards her body in an awkward angle that left the scroll in easy grabbing range.

Ladybug lunged and within seconds, had grabbed her arm that held the scroll with one hand and pulled the scroll from her grip with the other. She didn’t want to risk splashing Rose, after all. With Witch Hunter tied up and unable to stop her, she poured the lighter fluid on the scroll. And then—

“Lightning Dragon!”

It was only her hand that was covered with electricity. She didn’t need too much power. Just enough to create a few sparks. And when those sparks hit the scroll where the fluid had soaked through…

It only took a couple of seconds

“NO!” The akuma shouted as the scroll caught aflame.

And as the scroll started to burn, a black butterfly escaped.

Ladybug didn’t even bother with her normal catchphrase as she simply caught and purified the akuma. After everything that had happened, she just wanted this day to be OVER.

She breathed a sigh of relief as the butterfly was released—now pure white—and Witch Hunter changed back into a confused Rose.

“MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!”

The flash of light and loveliness of ladybugs brought with them a sense of relief to Marinette. All signs of the festival were cleaned away. What few people remained were looking around in confusion, as if unaware of what they had just previously been attempting to do. The stand and pyre Lila had been trapped on vanished. Lila herself was sent sprawling to the ground with a loud “oof!” in an act that may have been just a little petty on the part of the Cure.

Not that Ladybug was going to complain.

The Cure seemed to finish with Ladybug herself, which hopefully meant that Tikki would be back to normal once she detransformed. Though she wasn’t in a position to check just yet. She had a few other things to attend to first.

One of which being the liar herself.

Now free of her bindings and no longer under attack from an akuma or angry mob, Lila seemed much more confident—if not still somewhat shaken. She took to brushing herself off and trying to straighten her still damp and disorderly hair.

Lila sniffed and glared at the heroine.

“Here to lecture me again?”

She wanted to.

Oh, how she wanted to.

There was so much she wanted to say to the lying little witch. And after the day she had, she really wanted nothing more than to just full on RANT at her. As Marinette or Ladybug. Or both. She probably had two or three more good rants in her before Hawk Moth could scrounge up another akuma to target her. She could air some of those well-warranted grievances.

Except…

“No.”

Lila raised an eyebrow at that. “What?”

"No. I'm not going to lecture you. It'd simply be a waste of time at this point. Because if after everything that's happened today none of that has gotten through to you, then there's clearly nothing I could say that would."

She blinked. “So…you’re giving up?”

Ladybug leaned over Lila, looking…much more fearsome than the other girl had ever seen her. More than she had ever appeared to anyone.

“Let’s make something clear, Lila. I know you are a horrible person. I am fully aware that there are no lows you wouldn’t sink to. I know you’ve worked with Hawk Moth of your own free will and the only reason I’m not going to police and having you escorted from the city is simply that I don’t yet have proof you wouldn’t lie your way around and quite frankly, I trust you less out of my sight.”

Lila backed away.

“What…what are you saying?”

The hero clapped her hands together, looking eerily cheerful. “I’m saying that you and I are going to be spending much more time together! I will be watching you every day of your stay here in Paris. I know you’re connected to Hawk Moth, after all, so that’s all the more reason to keep you around.” Ladybug smiled. “Just think about it. I’m going to be aware of you at all times. When an akuma shows up, you’ll be the first person I’m looking for. If anything goes wrong, you will be the one I’ll know to be in the middle of it. Where you go, who you interact with, anything you do…I’m going to be right there.”

Ladybug’s grin was practically feral.

“You, Lila Rossi, are going to be my new. Special. Friend.”

Lila blanched, her eyes wide. “Y-you can’t do that! That’s stalking! I’ll—I’ll tell everyone you’re harassing me!”

Ladybug laughed. “Oh, Lila…”

She leaned forward and wrapped an arm around the liar’s shoulders.

“You said it yourself in your interview, remember? As far as anyone else is concerned, I’m only spending time with my best friend.” She said, poking Lila in the cheek as she reminded her of her own words.

Lila paled.

With her arm still around Lila to keep her from trying to pull away, Ladybug shrugged and gestured with the other arm. “And sure, you could admit to everyone that our friendship was a lie. But that would require you to admit that you DID lie. And which of those stories sound more realistic, do you think? That teen model Lila Rossi is being stalked by a superhero after she lied about being that hero’s best friend? Or that Ladybug is keeping a protective watch over a civilian who was foolish enough to claim a connection to her so that said civilian doesn’t herself get killed by a supervillain?”

She gave Lila a deadpan stare.

“After all, given what happened today, it doesn’t look like you’re Hawk Moth’s favorite accomplice anymore. There’s no telling how much you know…or what he could do to make sure you can’t reveal how much you know.”

Ladybug tried not to take satisfaction in the fact that Lila was starting to tremble.

“But I guess that’s what happens when you work with criminals for petty reasons.” She shrugged before smiling broadly. “That’s why it’s such a good thing that I will be going well out of my way to protect you. From anything. Ever.”

“But—”

She continued to gush. “And if that protection involves hunting you down during every akuma attack—or anything that I even suspect could become an akuma attack to get you out of the way…well, I'm just making sure my DEAR FRIEND Lila is safe. Sure, I tend to be in a rush, so I might be a little rough when I find a good hiding place for you...."

Ladybug tapped her chin thoughtfully.

“How do you feel about closets? Lockers? The sewer? Maybe another dip in the Seine since you seemed to handle it so well this time? Just to make really sure?”

Lila’s look of sheer disgust was all the answer she needed.

“Whether it’s an akuma attack or a squirrel, I promise to keep you safe. Day and night. Anywhere you go. For as long as this threat to you persists.” She swore, admiring Lila’s expression of growing anger.

“How about it, ‘Bestie’?” She finished with a giggle, drawing Lila even closer to her and tapping Lila’s nose. Perhaps she was enjoying this too much?

Still, this finally seemed to be enough for Lila as she slapped Ladybug’s hand away and shoved out of her grip.

“You don’t scare me!” She shouted this, but her voice quivered and her hands were shaking. “I’ll tell everyone! I’ll turn everyone against you! I’ll make you sorry!”

“There are so many reasons that would be a bad idea, the least of which being that you’ll open yourself up to an attack by Hawk Moth. But well, if you want to try it anyway, by all means go ahead!” Ladybug chirped. “I mean, really…”

Her eyes narrowed as she gave a rather evil smile.

“Who’ll even believe you?”

Lila gave a rather high pitched screech before storming off.

Ladybug smiled brightly as she waved. “Ciao! See you later, Lila!” She kept it up for a few more seconds until Lila was well out of earshot, at which point she immediately dropped the facade and glowered at the girl’s retreating back. “And it’ll be all too soon.”

“Ladybug?”

Oh right! She forgot for a moment there were still others.

She turned to see a worried-looking Chat.

“Did we…?”

She shook her head and he seemed to slump in relief.

“Oh. Good. That’s…that’s good.”

Yeah. She didn’t want to consider how Chat or anyone else would react if they learned they had killed someone.

A sniffle drew the attention of both to a particularly upset Rose. She appeared to be a mix of sad and horrified. Tears were spilling and she appeared a mess.

“I’m…so sorry!” She sobbed, rubbing at her eyes helplessly.

“It’s not your fault, Rose.” Ladybug rested a hand on her shoulder. “You were upset and you had every right to be.”

But Rose shook her head insistently. “No! If I hadn’t believed her…if I had just checked with Prince Ali first, none of this would have happened! And now…” She gave a sob. “Ali hates me! And so many people were lied to! They’ll be disappointed and their money was stolen and it’s all my fault!”

“You didn’t know.” Chat told her. “You thought you were doing the right thing.”

Rose sniffed. “But what seemed like the right thing really wasn’t.”

Something about that made Chat wince. “Yeah…”

“You can’t change what happened, but you can take steps from here.” Ladybug told her. She drew back from Rose and tapped her chin, thinking for a moment.

An idea struck and she snapped her fingers. “Since this was for a charity, didn’t you keep a ledger of the funds you received?”

Chat brightened. “Hey, yeah! You can use that log to note how much was stolen and take it to the proper authorities. That way, you can try to get the funds back.”

Rose seemed to calm as she considered the idea. She sniffed and wiped away a few tears.

“It’s worth a try. Thank you.” She gave a weak smile. “It doesn’t fix everything, but it’s at least an option.”

“You’re a wonderful person, Rose. Don’t let this change that.”

Rose smiled back at her. And for a moment, it truly felt like everything would be all right.

Then her earring gave a final beep and her transformation gave out.

Rose squeaked in shock and covered her eyes. Chat, for his part, spun around in an attempt not to see. It was heartwarming that they were so considerate of Ladybug’s privacy. Even Tikki gave a little gasp once she was free and flew to hide behind her. Fortunately, to her relief as she patted herself down in a panic, it was only her Ladybug transformation that had given out. The Dragon Miraculous was still very much activated and in effect.

“I’m okay. Sorry to worry you.”

Chat took a glance over his shoulder and gave a smile. “Perhaps we should cat-ch up another time.”

Talking was indeed not a free action. And while she had dealt with the akuma fairly quickly, she had spent a little too much time dealing with Lila.

….still worth it, though.

“Bug out!” She called as she took off.

_____________________

The Dragon Miraculous was different than what she was used to. The Ladybug Miraculous in combination with it had mitigated some of the differences, but they were still there. And now it was even more pronounced with her other transformation gone. It felt heavier. Her movements seemed more forceful. And there was an undercurrent of some feeling reminiscent of static that seemed to cling to her. Plus, she was without her yoyo, so traveling took a bit longer.

Once she had made it back to the bakery and was sure she was out of sight of everyone, she hopped over to her balcony and back into the safety of her room.

She waited for a minute, listening carefully to make sure no one would catch her. Then she sighed in relief and detransformed, leaving just Marinette with two kwamis in her room.

“Thank you, Longg.”

The Dragon gave a simple bow. “It was my honor.”

“I’ll make sure to return you to Master Fu later.” She promised him as she took off the choker and put it back in his box.

“Then until we meet again…” He said in farewell before disappearing.

Leaving her alone with Tikki.

Dead silence followed. Neither seemed willing to speak. What could she even say after what she did?

‘I’m sorry?’

But she wasn’t.

‘I was wrong?’

But she had only spoken the truth.

‘I shouldn’t have done that?’

But she…she didn’t regret it.

She should regret it. She knew she should. It was mean and cruel of her and she knew she shouldn’t have let her anger get the best of her…

And yet…

She’d just wanted to air her grievances for once.

…but she’s Ladybug.

Ladybug has to be the bigger person.

Ladybug has to do the right thing.

Always.

She sighed. “Tikki—”

“I’m sorry, Marinette.”

That wasn’t expected.

“Wait—what?” She gaped.

“I’m sorry.” Tikki repeated. She was floating in front of her, but appeared so weighted down. She had never seen the ancient being look so sad.

“What’s going on, Tikki?” Marinette held her hands out in front of her, allowing Tikki a place to perch. The kwami accepted the offer and the comfort that came with it, nuzzling into Marinette’s thumb.

“I meant what I said before.” Tikki told her. Which…was an answer without actually answering anything.

“Before?”

Tikki seemed to slump in on herself. “You have every right to feel angry.”

Wait…wait…wasn’t that…?

Marinette gasped. “You remember?”

Tikki nodded, looking miserable. “It’s blurry at times. I remember being angry. I remember why. I remember some of the things I said…”

Marinette looked away, fumbling for something to say or some way to respond to that revelation. “W-well…I mean…it wasn’t really you—”

“It was.” Tikki admitted.

“I’m sure you didn’t mean it—”

“I did.”

Marinette tensed.

“Please don’t tell me you still want me to light Lila on fire.”

She just couldn’t deal with anything else at this point! She just couldn’t!

Fortunately, Tikki looked horrified at that. “What?! No!”

"Maybe a teensy bit? You know, liar liar pants on fire?"

“NO!”

She sighed in relief. “Oh, good.”

Honestly, she’d had more than enough of that. It was like the world was telling her it was okay when she knew it wasn’t. And with every stunt Lila pulled and each person who tried to reassure her that Lila’s reign was over and she would finally be getting some comeuppance…

It was everything she’d been wanting to hear. Everything she had wanted to have happen. But it was all taken to such an extreme and it was only happening at all because of an akuma, so she couldn’t even feel relieved or vindicated because it didn’t feel real.

It wasn’t fair.

It was hardly simple temptation. It was like the world was trying to tell her to take what she wanted in the worst way she could and that nobody had to know. Or care.

But she would.

And while she certainly wasn’t inclined to go along with it, Marinette was just…tired by the end.

Exhausted, actually.

Not because she was tempted, but because she was just done with having to be the responsible one in the situation where everyone seemed intent on pushing her to do the wrong thing.

“Marinette?”

Tikki’s concern broke her out of her thoughts. The little kwami was looking up at her in worry, her little hands resting on Marinette’s thumb.

“I’m fine, Tikki.”

Tikki, for her part, only gave a small smile.

“I’m really proud of you for how you handled today.”

How could Tikki say that? She let her anger take over. She used the opportunity to truly let loose her feelings against Lila. And yes, she had been needlessly petty in some of her responses. She wasted time yelling at Lila as Marinette, which allowed Chat to find them and take Lila to the mob—not that they had known he was one of them at the time, but still! And then as Ladybug, she had wasted more time with Lila to the point her timer had run out and her transformation had dropped when she finally tried to comfort Rose.

Marinette winced. Those…weren’t really things to be proud of. “I yelled at Lila. Twice.”

“But you helped her more times.” Tikki countered. “Even when you didn’t have to. And Lila getting caught in the end was on her. From the sounds of it, she had multiple chances for safety and ended up losing them all because she kept trying to lie and hurt people instead.”

Well, that wasn’t untrue. How much of this could have been resolved so much faster if Lila had just stayed in the closet where Marinette put her? Or if she hadn’t tried to manipulate Luka and Anarka? Or if she hadn’t tried to betray Marinette to the mob? Or if she just didn’t lie about the charity in the first place?

Yeah, there was a lot of things that Lila had done to kind of bring misfortune upon herself.

“But it’s still my fault Lila was like this in the first place. I called her out as Ladybug the first day I met her because I was angry with her lying about being my friend to get close to people only to turn around and badmouth me to make herself look better.”

Which, looking back, probably hadn’t been that big of a deal. Surely no one would have thought less of Ladybug regardless of what Lila claimed—especially for a supposed “famous hero” like Volpina was supposed to be when she’d never even been heard of before. If anything, maybe this claim would have led a hero-fanatic like Alya to look into things and discover Lila was lying sooner?

Tikki frowned. “What Lila did wasn’t your fault!”

Marinette covered her face with her other hand. “But I embarrassed her in front of Adrien! No wonder she hates me!”

Tikki wasn’t having it though. “She embarrassed herself because she lied and was caught. And it would have been worse and more embarrassing if it had gone on longer.”

“If I had just kept my mouth shut…”

“Would it have really changed anything?” Tikki asked.

That…made her look up in surprise. “Well, she wouldn’t have a grudge against Ladybug.”

“Not calling her out then might have prevented her from considering Ladybug an enemy, but it wouldn’t have stopped her from lying and using people.” Tikki reasoned. “And it wouldn’t have stopped her from helping Hawk Moth if she thought he could give her something she wanted.”

True…Lila had agreed to work with Hawk Moth for revenge against Ladybug. But even if she hadn’t made herself a focus of Lila’s anger, sooner or later, someone was bound to call Lila out on her lies. And once Lila felt slighted, she would no doubt target them as she had Ladybug and Marinette.

She closed her eyes and took a breath as the realization really took hold.

The only one responsible for Lila’s actions was Lila. She chose to lie. She chose to do things that hurt people. And if this entire day should have taught Marinette anything, it’s that doing nothing and letting Lila continue only caused more harm in the long run.

After all, Rose hadn’t done anything but believe in Lila and try to help her. And yet she was still hurt. Even more than Marinette had been as either herself or Ladybug.

“And how long would it have taken, do you think, for Lila to covet the Miraculous for herself regardless?” Tikki asked. “You had something she didn’t. She was already using and trying to undermine Ladybug to promote herself before even meeting you. She was already pretending to have a Miraculous before she even knew what they were or what they could fully do. Do you really think that she wouldn’t have decided to work against you anyway simply because Ladybug had something she didn’t?”

“But…” Marinette seemed to struggle for a moment. Because it couldn’t just not be her fault at all. She had upset Lila and caused her to target her in the first place—on both sides of the mask. “I still could have done better. You always push me for that.”

Even if Lila was in the wrong, that didn’t make what Marinette did right.

Tikki tilted her head, looking up at her human.

“I expect the best from you because I know you’re a wonderful Ladybug. I hold you to higher standards than anyone else because I care about you so much. But sometimes…the expectation and burden can be too much. And I know I haven’t always been the most supportive of you.”

Marinette jumped at that. “What? What are you talking about? Of course you have!”

Tikki shook her head. “There were times when I’d admonish you for doing the wrong thing, but I didn’t really tell you what the right thing was because I expected you to be able to figure it out and do it on your own.” She gave a little bitter laugh. “I somehow expected you to automatically know what I wanted and blamed you when you didn’t meet my expectations…”

Oh come on. Marinette gave a little laugh. Now Tikki was just being silly. “No, you haven’t. When did you ever—”

“Like with the school picture when you tried to help Juleka? Or the lie you told on Heroes Day? What about when you were almost akumatized after being expelled? Marinette, something terrible had just happened to you and you had every right to be upset! But instead of comforting you when you needed it—especially when it seemed like everyone else was against you—all I did was lecture you for how you were feeling!” Tikki wilted at the reminder. “I disapproved, but I didn’t really help you. I didn’t really support you the way you needed.”

She looked up at Marinette, her eyes big and teary. And somehow so old.

“I forget sometimes just how young you are. And that you’re just as capable of making mistakes.”

“But Tikki, I have made some bad choices.” Marinette stammered. “I’ve been selfish and acted rashly. I’ve done things because I was angry or jealous.”

“You’re not blameless for your choices.” Tikki agreed. “But you’re also not responsible for everyone else’s. You’re not wrong for feeling upset when you’re being hurt.”

She hugged Marinette’s thumb.

“And I’m sorry for making you feel like you were.”

It was like a huge weight came crashing down.

No, rather that a weight she was carrying was finally loosened and falling from her shoulders.

It…

Was this…really the first time anyone had supported her like this?

When was the last time someone had validated her feelings?

She had been Ladybug for over a year now. In all that time, it had become ingrained in her that she had to be perfect. That she couldn’t make mistakes. That anything she did could mean the end of the world—literally, in the case of the future she narrowly avoided with Chat Blanc.

People needed her.

Paris needed her.

She couldn’t afford to make mistakes.

That was why any mistake she did make—or even the actions of others seemed to weigh so heavily on her.

She had to be Ladybug. She had to be the final line of defense in facing any akuma. She had to be incorruptible lest she risk irreparable harm. But she also had to be Marinette, who also had to be there for her friends and make them happy and be Class Rep and fix their problems and protect people from Chloe or Lila or akumas. She had to be responsible and fix her mistakes and apologize and make things up to other people regardless of what she did or what they did. But she also had to be the support for Master Fu and learn what he knew as the Guardian in case anything happened to him and…

Wow. That was a lot.

That was…that was more than she’d realized.

She started to feel her eyes well up. But she couldn’t let them free. Because that meant she was…because what if…because Hawk Moth could…?

A tap to her head drew her gaze to her kwami.

“I’ll protect you.” Tikki promised, giving a kiss to Marinette’s forehead.

“So please…be honest with me.”

It wasn’t the first time Marinette had let herself cry.

But it was the first time she truly felt safe to.

#ml fic #miraculous ladybug #ml fanfic #witch hunter #BURN THE WITCH!#marinette dupain cheng #rose lavillant #Lila sucks #chat noir #tikki #marinette and tikki #ml angst #ml humor #ml salt #ml catharsis

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sarahjtv · 3 years ago

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BNHA Chapter 319 Spoiler Analysis: Found Family

Holy crap what a phenomenal chapter! This arc in general has been great, but this chapter might be one of my favorites of the arc. Not just because it focuses on Class 1-A (I’m so glad to see the kids again), but because of the growth we see in these kids in general especially Bakugo and Shoto IMO. Like, holy shit ESPECIALLY BAKUGO! I stand by my opinion that Bakugo is one of the best developed characters in the series. There’s so much I want to say about this chapter and I’ll try my best to do so if my poor injured left hand will let me 😭:

The chapter starts off with the first of 3 colored pages we’re going to get over the next few weeks to celebrate 7 YEARS OF MY HERO ACADEMIA!!! CONGRATS, HORIKOSHI-SENSEI!!! This series revived my love of anime/manga and really helped me in some really rough spots in my life. I will forever be grateful towards Horikoshi for bringing this series to life and blessing us with such an incredible story full of beautiful characters. MHA may be a little overrated, but I still think it deserves all the love it can get.

Anyway, the color page. It shows Uraraka, Iida (who has red eyes here, so IDK why the anime gives him blue eyes though I do think they work better for him personally *shrugs*), Shoto, Tokoyami, and Bakugo after basically figuring out where Deku went. Bakugo is shown tearing up his letter (which says something like “Thank you for being there, Kacchan”; there’s more but I can’t translate it 😭) and you can kinda see some bandage wrap around his arm where he was stabbed. Also, both Bakugo and Shoto still have some visible injuries on their faces and Bakugo’s hands, so they’re still recovering from the War. It’s a really pretty page in general and I can’t wait to see what the next 2 color pages are going to look like. I also kinda want Horikoshi to take a break after this too again so he doesn’t overwork himself. Maybe he’ll treat himself to the MHA: World Heroes Mission movie 🍿.

So, Shoto and Bakugo have figured out that Deku is most likely with Endeavor, Hawks, and Best Jeanist. Problem is that none of them are answering their phones. I like that Bakugo calls Best Jeanist “Pair of Denim Pants” 😂 and Shoto’s image of Endeavor is still a very angry version of his old man. Shoto’s still making amends with his father, but he’s still not THERE yet. Regardless, these kids are smart enough to know that something’s up. Especially since All Might hasn’t returned to UA either.

It’s basically confirmed by Ojiro that because classes have been suspended, our Class 1-A kids are still 1-A; they haven’t moved into their second year yet. That clears up the confusion on whether we should still refer these group of kids as 1-A still or not.

Now Bakugo’s showing how much of a genius he really is despite his personality. Bakugo figures out that the Top 3 and All Might are working together as a group based on how they all connected with each other back at Central Hospital. Also, Bakugo concludes that All Might snuck Deku’s letters under their doors while Deku started running. Ultimately, Bakugo does know more about Deku and All Might more than anyone else does. He’s been around his childhood friend and he’s admired his idol longer than most people have. Bakugo understands how bad the situation is and he’s ready to take action.

As are the other kids. You can see how determined they are and you can see Kirishima’s black roots coming in 🥺! Even Uraraka gets some shine here by bringing up the idea to trick Endeavor to come via getting help from Principle Nezu as Endeavor was a UA student. It’s really interesting to see Ochako in a more serious roll than usual, but I actually like it. I hope she’s still as bubbly as she always was at the end of the day, but she’s definitely matured and grown a lot over the corse of the series. Even the simple things like her hair show it as it’s not as floaty as it was before. I love it when Horikoshi shows small details like this. It adds to the characters and stories a lot. Also, the art in this chapter is amazing.

And now it’s Endeavor vs. Class 1-A in a much needed conversation. All the kids are wearing their school uniforms to make this as formal and serious as they can. EVEN BAKUGO IS PROPERLY WEARING HIS TIE YOU KNOW SHIT’S ABOUT TO GO DOWN!!! And, I must say, Bakugo looks damn good with a tie 😳. You can also get a decent height measurement on the kids here if you want. Ngl, sometimes I forget that Shoto’s about 2 inches taller than Bakugo. It’s definitely the hair.

Shoto’s the first to step up and he scolds the hell out of his old man. Rightfully so tbh. Endeavor shouldn’t have ignored Shoto’s calls even though I kind of understood why. Shoto reminds Endeavor of their plan to stop Dabi though thankfully that’s what’s pushing Endeavor forward so he hasn’t forgotten. Shoto calls his father “Endeavor” and gets mad at him fro leaving Deku and All Might alone. The rough translations say he called Izuku “Deku” here too btw. Endeavor has no response. I think this anger Shoto’s unleashing is very justified and has been burning inside him since Deku left UA. His best friend just up and left him and his friends with nothing but a letter to kinda explain things. Also, Shoto and the rest of 1-A (minus Bakugo) have basically been lied to for about a year. I’d want answers too if someone did that to me.

Bakugo steps in by putting a hand on Shoto’s shoulder (🥺) to calm him down a bit and to say his piece. Ultimately, he thinks what Deku is doing is right, but that the way they’re all doing it is wrong. I love Deku and All Might, but they’re sacrificial idiots. They care more about others than they probably ever will themselves. That’s how All Might lost his OFA in the first place. It’s because of that that All Might doesn’t have it in him to stop Deku from going down this path. They shouldn’t have been left alone. Someone should’ve kept a closer eye on them. I know the Top 3 were all worried about getting too close to Deku before, but really, someone should’ve been watching them closer on the sidelines.

The next page is a really cool drawing of Endeavor flinging his phone to the kids to catch. The previous panels showed Endeavor with this face that’s regretful and I think he realized something: That Bakugo is right and that the kids might be better off finding Deku than he is. So he basically gives the kids his GPS on his phone. Those are just my thoughts, but it does look like that. I don't think Endeavor’s just going to up and give up though. He’s probably going to start rethinking things though.

As Sero manages to catch Endeavor’s phone, he and the rest of the kids think about how even though they’ve only known Deku for a year, they still think of him as family and cannot let him go down this thorny path alone. They’ll carry the OFA burden with him if they have to. They can’t smile without Deku around. These kids truly have become a family over the year. It’s amazing to see. Everyone’s like a brother and sister and it’s really nice to see. I just love Found Family stories, guys 😭❤️

And really quick, I want to focus on my ❄️🔥 boy, Shoto, really quick. As he’s thinking about Deku, he mentions how shocked he still is about Deku keeping OFA from them and how Deku thought just a letter would suffice. He has this sad look on his face like he’s trying to say: “I still can’t believe my best friend hid this from me for so long. Why? Did he not trust me?” That’s just my interpretation. Still, I can’t imagine how upset Shoto must feel. I think he still cares a lot about Deku enough to go out and find him, but he’s gotta feel some sort of betrayal. More so than the other students outside of Bakugo because, again, Deku was essentially Shoto’s best and closest friend 💙😭

Endeavor is rightfully worried about letting the kids out in the state of Japan right now, but now Principle Nezu speaks up and praises the kids on growing up so well. He’s also took into account Deku's feelings about his mission which is why he agreed to the team up. Also, Deku’s still welcome back to UA whenever he wants thank god ☺️. He’s a student who has to be protected. There’s a cute panel of Uraraka and her mom crying happily after getting her acceptance letter too. Not 100% why this is shown other than Acceptance Letter part, but it’s cute to see. Maybe Ochako realizes how much Deku needs to be protected or something.

As for the refugees, Nezu had the security system strengthened in time for the Cultural Festival earlier, but they never used it before. It’s call The UA Barrier. God, how strong is this thing? Is it strong enough to stop Shigaraki who was able to Decay the last barrier? This seems like something that’ll be used in the final battle TBH.

So, Nezu trust the 1-A kids to bring Deku back home. Which is exactly what they plan to do as all 19 of them enter Kamino in a badass full page. I actually wasn’t sure if all 19 of them were there at first since I couldn’t find Shoto for the life of me, but then my eyes saw the BIG-ASS ICE WALL IN THE BACK AND I THOUGHT “OH THERE HE IS!!!” LOL 😂

The next panel actually does show Shoto with Momo as they capture the villain from the last chapter. Momo politely calls Bakugo “Bakugo-san”, but Bakugo demands that he be called his insane hero name: “GREAT EXPLOSION MURDER GOD DYNAMIGHT”! I CAN’T WITH THIS DUDE SOMETIMES WHY DO I LOVE HIM SO MUCH 💥🧡

Deku sees his friend and wonders why they came. Ochako answers because that they were worried about him, but Deku tries to convince everyone (including himself) that he’s fine. He’s obviously not and Bakugo calls TF out on him! He even drops a good F-bomb for good measure. Bakugo mocks Deku for trying to act like All Might and asks Deku if he can even smile right now. I actually really like it that Bakugo’s calling Deku out on his shit. I think Deku needs some good tough love right now to knock some sense into him. Who would be better to do that than Katsuki Bakugo himself?

As Deku is trying to convince everyone that’s he’s fine (while still looking like a demon btw), there’s a small focus on Iida. Actually, a few panels this chapter have focused on Iida. Maybe he’s remembering the time Deku saved him back when they went up against Stain. Deku saved him then so it’s now Iida’s turn to save Deku. Also, Iida hasn’t gotten much focus lately and I really like his character, so I’m glad he’s being brought back to the forefront again. Also, I like hearing Kaito-san’s voice in general so I’d be happy to hear him again (thanks for that one, Haikyuu).

The final spread shows Deku telling everyone to move away while Bakugo, Iida, and Ochako get ready to stop him. IT’S DEKU VS. CLASS 1-A!!! WE’RE ENTERING CIVIL WAR FOLKS!!! Seriously, though, this is great. I was thinking that it would be just Bakugo and a few other students finding Deku. Instead we got the whole class. And looks like that “helping hand” thing will happen later because we got a battle to fight first.

Bakugo’s become a damn fine leader and I love to see his growth every freaking time🧡! I like how Iida has his hand on Bakugo’s back to support him btw. It’s weird that Shoto’s not in this page though. He’s one of Deku’s best friends, so I would think he would be in this page along with Bakugo and his first 2 friends (Ochako and Iida). Maybe Horikoshi’s saving Shoto for a more 1-on-1 conversation with Deku. God, I hope that happens because I think along with Bakugo, Shoto deserves a good talk with Deku the most.

Honestly, I’m not sure who would win this battle. I’ve been going through scenarios in my head on who would win, but I can’t come to a solid answer. Class 1-A has 19 versatile Quirks under their belt and they have more energy than Deku to fight, but Deku still has 6 insanely powerful Quirks that he’s been practicing for a while. The kids could probably win if they strategize enough and use Deku’s exhaustion against him, but again, Deku has OFA and multiple other Quirks. If he could beat Lady Nagant, one of the best snipers around, he might be able to beat the 1-A kids. He could just escape with Smoakscreen, Black Whip, and Float if he wants to really. That would put 1-A on another wild goose chase. There’s also Deku’s Danger Sense which will be a pain to deal with. Also, Deku said that he’s as strong as All Might was in his prime with Fa-Jin and OFA combined. Only AFO and Shigaraki were strong enough to take on THAT. Plus, we still don’t know what the 2nd OFA Holder’s Quirk is yet. Deku might use it in this battle. God, I have so many theories in my head now. I think this battle will be awesome, but ultimately, I want Deku to come home 😭💚

Me reading and loving My Hero Academia:

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robininthelabyrinth · 4 years ago

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Prompt: a continuation of you NMJ/WWX ficlet. LWJ chaperones their courtship meetings while desperately pining, torn between proposing to WWX himself and not wanting to jeopardize WWX and the Wen's chance for safety. Either NHS or NMJ are well aware of his crush. Thank you for writing for this rarepair! I love all your stuff

continuation of this fic

Lan Wangji knew that duty sometimes – often, even – called for sacrifice. Personal sacrifice. It was something he had long ago accepted: to be good, sometimes one had to suffer.

And oh – how he was suffering.

He’d been at Qinghe when Jiang Cheng had arrived with his proposal, visiting alongside his brother in a way he tended not to do if the visits were to Koi Tower instead of the Unclean Realm; he’d waited outside while they’d had a discussion between sect leaders, more than happy to absent himself from the trouble –

His brother had explained it all, after, and had asked him if he would consider acting as a chaperone.

A chaperone to Wei Wuxian, who would be marrying – Nie Mingjue.

“He’s not a cutsleeve,” Lan Wangji had blurted out, then checked; the expression of those around him indicated that his tone had remained indifferent and above it all, stating a mere fact that didn’t relate to him, and only his brother’s eyes started to widen a little.

His brother had always understood him too well.

“He’s not not a cutsleeve, anyway,” Jiang Cheng had said with a shrug. “He indicated he was willing – and it’s better than the alternative. My Jiang Sect can’t defend him right now…it would be very good if you would agree to be chaperone, Hanguang-jun. Not only is your reputation flawless, you would add the implicit support of the Lan sect; it would give it additional legitimacy.”

“I’m not sure –” Lan Xichen had started to say, but Lan Wangji had known that he was only refusing because he’d just realized that Lan Wangji wouldn’t be happy to see Wei Wuxian marry another, that he’d wanted – that he’d –

“I’d be happy to go,” Lan Wangji had said at once.

“I wouldn’t have anyone else,” Nie Mingjue had said, and that had been that, no matter how Lan Xichen tried to talk to him about it later.

He hadn’t wanted to talk.

There was nothing to talk about. The Lan sect was still rebuilding the Cloud Recesses – they, like the Jiang Sect, couldn’t afford to shield someone so inconvenient as Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch.

Inconvenient. It was a good word for Wei Wuxian: he was very inconvenient. Inconveniently appearing in Lan Wangji’s thoughts, in his dreams, in his heart –

It didn’t matter. The Lan sect couldn’t stand against the entire cultivation world for him, and so even if Lan Wangji were willing to do so, it wasn’t a good match. And that was that.

And now he was here, at Yiling, and Wei Wuxian kept talking about it.

About – him.

Nie Mingjue.

Lan Wangji sincerely respected the man: he was a brilliant cultivator, an awe-inspiring swordsman, an effective and admired sect leader, a just and upright man with solid principles that he never backed down from. He was skilled in virtually all of the six arts – music excluded, as he couldn’t play an instrument to save his life, but it really wasn’t fair to hold being born half-tone-deaf against him.

Wei Wuxian didn’t talk about any of that. No. That would be too easy – Lan Wangji would agree with him, and that would be fine.

No, what Wei Wuxian wanted to talk about, apparently, was the man’s body.

“– and his arms. Did you see his arms?”

“En.” Lan Wangji hoped his admission that he had, in fact, observed that Nie Mingjue had arms would be enough to forestall Wei Wuxian.

It was not.

“Magnificent, aren’t they? Big as a tree branch. He went out for saber training earlier in that outfit, didn’t he, the tight one without armor to cover them up; maybe he’ll swing by this way on his way back and we’ll see them again…”

Lan Wangji wanted to die.

“I never knew I liked arms so much before, you know? I’ve only been noticing lately – you have excellent arms yourself, actually – huh! These robes really cover a lot, don’t they? But in fact your arms are quite sturdy –”

Wei Wuxian was touching him. Lan Wangji pulled away as quickly as he could, which was probably not as quickly as someone else could.

“Oh, Lan Zhan, why do you always ruin my fun? It wasn’t as if I was stripping you down, I was just feeling them through the robes; even you can’t object…object to…”

Wei Wuxian trailed off, staring at something over Lan Wangji’s shoulder.

Lan Wangji turned.

Nie Mingjue had, in fact, taken this route back from his training. However, he was no longer wearing the tight robes – old ones, clearly designed for use during training – and was, in fact, not wearing anything on the top half of his body at all, the robes bunched up on his arm and clearly messy with mud and dirt; someone must have played a prank or something, to judge by the irritated look on his face.

Not that Lan Wangji was spending a lot of time looking at the man’s face.

Not when there was so much else to look at: sloped shoulders, a collarbone, rich supple flesh glistening with the slightest sheen of sweat –

Wei Wuxian was right about Nie Mingjue’s body being very nice, he found himself thinking to his horror – why was he thinking about this, he’d gotten over this years ago – and he shook his head and turned back to Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian, who was staring at him with a growing grin.

That was not good.

“You like him!” Wei Wuxian declared and no, no, this was not happening. “You think he’s attractive.”

“No,” Lan Wangji said firmly, and sat down, determined to ignore Wei Wuxian.

Predictably, it went about as well as any of his previous resolutions to ignore Wei Wuxian.

“How long has this been going on? When did you first start noticing him?”

“No.”

“Tell me! When did it start? How long has this gone on?”

I was six, he picked me up with one arm and told me I was a good boy and later that night I asked Brother if I could marry him and Brother thought I was joking but I wasn’t and then when I got older I had spring dreams about him right up until I met you.

“No,” Lan Wangji said again.

“‘No’ isn’t ‘I don’t’,” Wei Wuxian crowed, far too delighted by this revelation of Lan Wangji’s inappropriate interest in Wei Wuxian’s future husband. “You have to tell me, please. I’m dying of curiosity. You of all people had a crush! On Nie Mingjue! I have to know everything! Please, you have to tell me, I’ll do anything!”

“What is anything?” Lan Wangji asked, because his voice was a traitor that did things without consulting his mind, and anyway this would be just like that time in the cold spring where Wei Wuxian had offered him ‘benefits’ and it turned out he meant that he’d introduce him to girls…

The next thing Lan Wangji knew, Wei Wuxian had thrown himself into his arms, disregarding all propriety. “I don’t have anything you want,” he wailed, and that was the most wrong thing that had ever come out of Wei Wuxian’s mouth. “You have to give me a hint, I can’t live without knowing, Lan Zhan…!”

That, of course, was when Nie Mingjue walked in.

Lan Wangji froze at once. This was horrifically inappropriate – not merely as a breach of etiquette, but of principle. He’d known from the beginning that he was the wrong man to stand chaperone for Wei Wuxian, but he’d agreed regardless, thinking that he could force himself to be righteous; he’d even convinced Lan Xichen that it would be better for him to feel the sting of the loss all at once, from close by. And what was he doing instead?

Allowing Wei Wuxian to clamber all over his lap as if he were an especially affectionate monkey.

In front of his future husband.

He opened his mouth to say – something. Anything.

Nothing came to mind.

“Huh,” Nie Mingjue said, his voice low and amused. “Huaisang has been handling the details of all of this, but he really should have mentioned it if I was going to be marrying both of you.”

Lan Wangji blinked.

“…no?” he said. It was both hesitant and a question, neither of which he meant for it to be.

“I think you mean yes,” Wei Wuxian said, looking as though it were his birthday and New Years all at once and he’d just been given every present he’d ever dreamt of as a child. Lan Wangji could very nearly sympathize with the feeling. “That’s a wonderful idea!”

It was a terrible idea.

For…reasons.

None of which were coming to mind right now, but Lan Wangji was certain they existed.

Didn’t they?

#mdzs #lan wangji #wei wuxian #nie mingjue #jiang cheng #lan xichen #my fic #my fics #everyone in this fic is so thirsty #wangxian #lan wangji/wei wuxian/nie mingjue #mostly lan wangji/suffering #notdexterousatall #pasttime with good company

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princesssarcastia · 3 years ago

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first hp and now MCU *sigh*

sighs. anyway the reason the jane foster au thing is taking literally seven years is that I’m physically incapable of writing for the MCU without fixing everything I thought was dumb about it. can’t just do a canon re-write because I Refuse To Condone XYZ. The things I thought were dumb are many and myriad, but here’s one of them:

In Infinity War, they won’t destroy the mind stone while it’s still attached to Vision because they “don’t trade lives,” even though Steve made the same damn sacrifice, whatever. But the thing is the avengers then immediately travel to Wakanda and start trading Wakandan lives for Vision’s. They trade so many lives for Vision’s, and in the end it doesn’t even matter because they have to kill him themselves anyway. SO all those Wakandans died for nothing. They died for the aesthetic of the avengers having an army. They died because no one thought through “yeah, T’Challa is totally down to sacrifice his people’s lives for one android he isn’t close with.” They died because, let’s be honest, the lives of those random Wakandan soldiers meant less to not only the white main characters, but also the white movie creators. hmm. what could possibly be the impetus there. mostly stupidity, but probably also some racism, lbr.

anyway. all this to say what follows is a snippet where a) the battle to save vision isn’t taking place in Wakanda proper because the avengers don’t trade lives...other than their own. In fact, it’s taking place in the arctic circle, where Wakanda has a shielded research station with no civilians that Shuri can appropriate to fix Vision without having her citizens die needlessly. b) it’s just the avengers there, because they’re willing to put their own lives on the line for their friend and their principles. c) they’re using the mind stone as a lure to keep Thanos’ giant monster army focused on them, in this unpopulated place, rather than a city or a country.

you didn’t really need to know that, actually, because this fic snippet is about bruce banner. explicit tw in the tags you may want to check for if you don’t mind a spoiler. anyway, oh well, long walk for a short drink of water:

The walls shake with something other than the wind, and Bruce grits his teeth against whatever extrasensory response the other guy is having. If he doesn’t want to come out to play, then he doesn’t get to raise the hairs on the back of Bruce’s neck.

The other guy. After two years being trapped while he gets to play, maybe Bruce is the other guy now. Maybe the Hulk—

“Doctor Banner,” Shuri says without looking away from her interface. “If you’re going to help, then help. Otherwise stop distracting me and get out.”

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four...”You’re right. Sorry.” He turns back to his equations and keeps calculating what kind of energy source they can create here to replace the mind stone. Vision may be able to survive without it, but it’s ridiculous to ignore that it serves a purpose in keeping him not just alive, but functional. There’s a difference between surviving and living and the Avengers aren’t risking their lives just so he can—

Boom.

Dammit.

Shuri’s guard, the one T’Challa left with them—Ayo? Was that her name?—steps further away from them and speaks into her bracelet—kimoyo beads. Bruce strains to ignore it because he doesn’t need to know what he’s missing outside, doesn’t need to know how poorly the battle is going for his friends, his—his shield brothers, Brun would call it, without him. There’s no doubt in his mind Shuri could save Vision without him and there’s no doubt in her mind, either; he’s here as a courtesy and because it’ll go faster, at least. Because he’d be useless otherwise, sitting there with his thumb up his ass while his friends fight and die without him, without them, dammit Hulk—

“Princess,” Ayo calls.

“Not yet.”

“How long?”

“I don’t know how long, I’ve never done a neural reprogramming for an android before.” Shuri purses her lips. “Longer than this, certainly, to revolutionize a field that doesn’t even exist yet.” She reprograms another synapse. It looks like maybe thirty percent of them are done. Thirty percent, after four hours.

Bruce glances at Ayo from the corner of his eye because he’s a masochist and he can’t help himself. Her face is troubled, and so is Okoye’s on the projection hovering over her wrist.

“Ayo, tell her she needs to hurry up!” The projection twists like the general has taken her hand from her face. There’s a flash of silver, a war cry, and a brief, incomprehensible glimpse of something black and twisted and horrible. It cuts out in the middle of the creature’s answers screech.

Ayo slowly lowers her hand back to her side, and Bruce tries to focus back in on his work. Tries to focus on the math, on the energy readings, on Vision’s life in here instead of all the death out there, because if he doesn’t—

“I really am going as fast as I can,” Shuri says in a small voice. Twenty. She’s just twenty years old, what was Bruce doing at twenty?

Don’t go there. Don’t go there, Bruce. Shouldn’t have come back to the Arctic, that was just asking for trouble.

Focus.

What would happen if he lost it, and the Hulk refused to come out?

Focus. Focus on Vision, on saving his life. Save lives. Save his life.

“So you're saying that the Hulk... the other guy... saved my life?”

Another explosion rocks the room, rocks the station, rocks the damn arctic ice pack they’re standing on. It’s the biggest one yet. “Evacuate the southeast quadrant. All personnel in the southeast quadrant, evacuate to the next defense point.” The intercom doesn’t even crackle as it activates over their heads and Bruce is struck by how odd that is; it’s almost more unnerving that the idea of the situation escalating to the point of evacuation. Ayo pulls up a map of the station on her kimoyo beads and manipulates it, pulling up what he assumes is the southeast quadrant.

“That's nice. It's a nice sentiment. Saved it for what?”

“How bad is it?” Bruce asks.

Ayo’s eyes dart to Shuri, who is nothing but relentless; he hasn’t seen her stop once this whole time. “Bad. They have breached the facility’s outer defenses. Princess, perhaps we should—”

“No!” Shuri all but shouts. “I will not evacuate, I will not abandon this mission, we’re not finished yet. Tell someone to come fill the gap.”

“Princess, if they have not already done so, then they may not have the manpower to do it.”

“Then call reinforcements!”

There are no reinforcements because this is a hail-Mary, vigilante mission and all the Avengers on-world are already here. T’Challa isn’t bringing any more of his people into this, and Steve and Natasha and Tony would never ask him to. When they fail, that’s it, it’s done. And so is Vision, and this will all have been for nothing.

“I guess we'll find out.”

Bruce pushes his glasses off his nose and pinches his brow. He can’t even think about this; he’s thinking about it without thinking it, a glaring absence that lets you see the shape of it regardless.

“This wasn’t just a Wakandan station, right? I mean, you guys opened it up to other countries for the science and information exchange?”

A pause. “Yes.”

“Any military?”

A longer pause. “...Yes. Dr. Banner, what are you...”

She trails off as Bruce looks up. There must be something in his face.

“Did they leave anything behind when they airlifted out earlier? Weapons?” He adds, because there’s no use beating around the bush. No time.

“Probably, but you will find nothing there of any use. Wakandan technology—”

“Is much more advanced, I know. But you don’t really have any projectile weapons.

Ayo’s nose crinkles up in disgust, but is already turning back to her charge. “Of course not. So primitive. Princess, we will need time to evacuate to the ship, please.”

Shuri cuts a glance at him, seemingly ignoring Ayo. “What do you need a projectile weapon for, Dr. Banner?”

“Something desperate.” He pulls his glasses off and sets them on the table. “Stay here, Shuri, finish your work. Save him.”

Bruce has never asked anyone else to risk their life when his own would do. He’s not fucking starting now, when the whole universe is at stake.

Between him and Shuri, Ayo reluctantly lets the issue go, but he can tell if Thanos’ army gets a single step closer to her Princess, Ayo will throw her over her shoulder and sprint for the quinjet, mission be damned. He marches out of the room and follows Ayo’s directions to the nearest storage area; the American one, as luck would have it. Because of course the American team brought guns to the Arctic Circle on a science and information exchange program. Of course. A few M11s just lying around, lost in the hasty shuffle to abandon this place. Bruce picks it up and just holds it. Feels the weight in his hand. Ayo was right, they are primitive; primitive and ugly and violent and only good for one thing. Another impact. The station shakes again, and the lights flicker above his head. Now. It has to be now. He doesn’t have a radio, but he knows where the southeast corner of the building is, so he keeps the gun in a tight grip and heads that way. Three corridors away and he starts to hear noises. Yelling. Screaming. Gunfire. Energy bursts. The ring of Steve’s shield, the whine of Tony’s repulsors. And above it all that same horrible screeching noise from those creatures invading their planet at the behest of a genocidal maniac trying to kill Bruce’s friends. Kill the Hulk’s friends. Louder, and louder, and louder, until he can’t even hear himself think which is good because he doesn’t want to think about this he never wanted to think about this again even though he did, a lot, like after Lagos and Sokovia and Sakaar. The team has driven them back from the breach in the facility, that’s good. Wind and snow come howling in through the massive hole and Bruce shivers and tells himself its from the cold. Outside is...pandemonium. His friends are like brief sparks of light in a sea of writhing, angry, violent darkness trying to tear them apart. There are so many of them he can barely see the horizon and they show no sign of stopping. In the distance, he makes out Steve, locked in fierce battle with something that looks less like a bargain bin eldritch horror and more like one of those Black Order people. He’s losing. Even Bruce can tell that. “Now would be a really good time for you to get angry” He’s always angry. But the anger isn’t enough anymore. “Bruce, what are you doing out here?” Tony screams at him, flying towards him with his hands still targeting energy blasts at the enemy. “I thought you said the Hulk can’t come out, you can’t be here! Go help Shuri!” Ten, nine, eight, seven—oh, fuck it. “Won’t, not can’t, Tony.” One breath. Two breaths. He squeezes the grip so hard it starts denting his palm. “Those are functionally the same, big guy, so get the hell out of here. We got this!” “No you don’t, we’re losing!” Bruce takes a short inhale through his nose. “They’re not functionally the same when I can force his—our hand.” That finally makes Tony look at him, and Bruce doesn’t know if he catches it on his own or FRIDAY points it out to him, but he finally sees the gun. He dissolves his faceplate and looks at Bruce with wide, exhausted eyes. “No, no, Bruce, don’t you dare, Bruce!” He lunges, but he doesn’t make it before the gun goes off, the bullet tears through Bruce’s mouth and then—and then nothing. The Hulk roars. Anger isn’t enough anymore. Self-preservation will have to do.

#tw self-harm #not quite suicide but he shoots himself in the head #this was another thing that bugged me #the whole 'the hulk won't come out' c-plot/running joke #if they had actually done something meaningful with it #like on screen character growth for bruce + the hulk #or resolution of his issues #that would have been great!#but instead it was just a way to nerf the hulk so he couldn help beat thanos' army #this is like a kinda dark answer to that but *shrugs*#bruce banner #shuri #infinity war #mcu #mcu fic #god what am i doing with my life that it's come to this #ugh #the plot bunnies #they're trying to kill me.

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sleepless-in-starbucks · 3 years ago

Note

14 (bodyguard AU) and 46 (blind date) sounds fun,,, your choice of ship ( ˘ ³˘)♥ ( ˘ ³˘)♥ ( ˘ ³˘)♥

14. Bodyguard AU || 46. Blind date

Random choice generator got me creativisleep!

roman's a semi-popular actor- he's never really been to an awards show, and he's not been in That much, but he had a small but strong role in a real popular film and plenty of leading ones in lesser known movies. he's got enough of a following to be satisfied with himself, even if it isn't That huge of one

because of this, roman didn't take the possible dangers of his fame seriously... until he got jumped by one fan at a play in his hometown. he came out fine (he's always fine ;p) but it made him reconsider his choice to not have some sort of protection

he ends up hiring remy to be his bodyguard, a choice he Slightly starts regretting when he realizes remy, despite having excellent marks out of bodyguard school, is about as professional as a golden retriever

they take roman's food out of his fridge Whenever, borrow Way too many of his shirts (and roman hasn't seen his BMC 'boyf riends' hoodie since they got their hands on it), and is never in typical bodyguard wear (they wore a suit for the interview and never again)

but they also bring roman coffee (when did they get his regular figured out...?), talk to him like he's just a Person and not a celeb, and have yet to try and kill him themself so. roman's alright with them staying

(plus, is it so wrong if roman enjoys how they look? he deserves for a bit of an eye-candy sorta bodyguard, damnit, they're with him all the time after all)

remy's been with roman as his bodyguard for a few months when roman decides he cant just keep Lookin at a pretty person, he deserves to have a pretty person to kiss and cuddle with too!! so he pokes around for a bit, finds a non-homophobic service (he's pan, so he could Technically use a plain ol' straight service, but he refuses on gay principle), and uses it

idk how datin apps work but this one that im makin up is a blind match up app, which takes ur information and uses it to randomly pair u up with random accounts. the app keeps account info privated until After the first date has been gone on, to really maintain the 'blind match' aspect. the matched up people play a mini guessing game through the app about places they can go for a date until location and time is determined

roman likes the idea of the app mostly to keep his own identity secret as long as possible- he doesnt want people pickin his account Just bc he's a celeb, y'know?

the first couple of blind dates dont go well tho... most are nice people who roman just isn't compatible with, one was a straight woman who spent the entire date being Very homophobic despite roman's rainbow heart + pan flag pins, and someone who was clearly Too Much Of A Fan (remy had to physically pull them off of roman and help him escape the park before they could latch back on)

oh, did roman not mention? remy's been coming on all his dates with him

because of course they are! they need to protect roman! whether that's by eating dinner in the booth over or sitting two rows back at the cinema or awkwardly half-stalkin roman and his date while they walk about

so they're always there, to bring roman there and take him home, and listen when he complains about the bad matches and lament the almost-winners, and convince him he is a catch that needs to try again because eventually Someone will realize he really is too good to pass up

(remy always says that line in a weird way)

so he keeps trying... until roman has possibly the worst date ever

because he gets stood up. it's fifteen minutes past the scheduled date time, he's gotten no text explainin where they are, but he's sittin at the restaurant alone and starting to become rather upset by the pitying look the server gives him when he says he's still waitin on someone else before he orders

remy slides into the seat across from him at the 20 minute mark. shoots roman an apologetic smile that an outsider would mistake as a 'sorry im late' one when roman knows it's a 'sorry they didnt show' one

roman appreciates the gesture to save him, but he almost just wants to go home at this point. he's tired and bein stood up feels like Shit, actually, and he's about ready to call off the whole dating thing really, dramatic as that may be (like it's not his middle name)

but remy says smth about this place having really good sandwiches, and it's clear they're tryin so hard to help roman out here, even a little, and roman can't just dismiss that effort, so he picks up his menu again and orders smth and tries to ignore the way his face heats up just the slightest at the relieved smile remy flashes next

lunch with remy is great, actually, better than it would've been with whoever couldnt be bothered to show or apologize or Anything. remy even knows the way to an ice cream shop on the way home, sayin it's for roman's 'broken heart' as they pay for it

except, well... roman's heart isn't feelin so broken anymore

it's actually feeling pretty put together. really functional. functioning really fast. especially when roman's looking at remy. or when remy's lookin at roman. or when they smile. or when they laugh. or when they speak. or when they-

roman doesn't fall asleep until 2am that night, heart still racing a bit, screaming into his pillow a bit as he acknowledges he is wholly and totally head-over-heels for his bodyguard

he tells remy the next day he's done with dating for a bit, saying he's still upset over being stood up. he doesn't mention that it's also bc remy's ruined all other people for him

things try to fall back in routine from there, but it's a bit harder when roman's trying to not be so in love with someone who just works for him. and remy's definitely started pickin up on it too- they had asked him just last if he was okay, that he didn't seem as upset by remy takin his clothes anymore, and that didn't seem like him, was he getting sick?

the opposite, actually, absolutely nothing makes me feel better then seeing you walk around in my shirt or jacket or whatever else, please never stop and also kiss me?

roman just said he was tired

eventually... roman decides this can't keep going on. remy's giving him more weird looks these days, and roman is pretty sure being around remy so much without Any kisses is starting to cause brain decay (it's not, it's really not, remy always bein on his mind is just a side effect of.... pretti........). so, he takes matters into his own hands

admittedly, maybe firing remy wasn't the best way to go, given remy immediately demands to know why, what they did wrong, even asking if roman's being blackmailed into this

"blink once for yes, twice for no" remy asks, lowering the sunglasses they always have on to look directly at roman's eyes

roman doesn't blink for a full minute. he might not be breathing for that minute either. has he ever seen remy's eyes this close? has he ever seen them at all? they're such a brilliant shade of brown. roman could drown in them. he might be already

roman's pretty sure he started this conversation standing up, but maybe not, because when he finally blinks and remembers things outside of remy's eyes exist he's sitting down and remy looks extremely concerned

"okay... what's wrong, hun?" they ask, and oh no, they look so sad, and worried, and that's not good, roman should fix that right now, regardless of whatever he was doing before (he's forgotten)

"im gay" he responds intelligently. this will fix everything

remy, however, just looks confused. "yes?"

"for you" roman adds, helpfully, sure that Now remy will understand they're just really very pretty and nothing's wrong and if they feel bad still they should look in a mirror because then they'll be good again

now it's remy's turn to sit in silence, expression frozen in one of shock. they still havent put their sunglasses back on, so roman doesnt mind, bc this gives him more time to stare at remy's eyes

"you're having a breakdown because you're gay for me???" remy finally asks, expression unfreezing to look incredulous and a little hurt

roman returns a similar look. "im not having a breakdown!"

remy scoffs. "yeah, sure, right, that's why you suddenly froze and completely stopped breathing and minorly collapsed after i... look off my shades to look at you..." they suddenly break out in a smirk. "oh my gods, you're a gay disaster"

roman doesn't try to deny it, especially with the knowledge he apparently did stop breathing to admire remy's eyes. they have a point

"how long?"

"since that date you hijacked after i got stood up" roman admits. he finds it extraordinarily rude when remy starts laughing

...until they're pulling out their phone, hurriedly opening up the exact same dating app roman had been using, showing a log of all the dates they had planned- there's only one marked as having actually been attended

same date time and place of the one where roman had assumed he had been stood up

"you broke my heart!" roman says as remy puts away their phone, over-dramatically, not actually giving a damn, just feeling gay and a bit giddy at the thought remy hadnt gone to any of the other dates, just theirs

no longer worried quite as much about roman for the moment, remy's smirk just grows, smoothly moving from being crouched in front of roman to being set firmly in his lap, lazily brushing hair out of his eyes and wow was remy always this warm? and stunning? and perfect?

"i dunno babe... sounds more like i stole it" remy teases, movin from playing with roman's hair to cuppin his cheek, leaning in close and not even bothering to pretend to be looking at anything other than roman's lips. "which, yeah, bad bodyguard etiquette... i hope you can forgive me..."

roman doesn't need his words to answer that tease

#oops this got long ':) i got distracted by the gays... happy pride month djhbvcfjds #fanfic #creativisleep #ts roman #ts remy #nb!remy #the cryptid speaks #meri #yeah roman just. has an all out gay panic disaster moment right there #poor man 😔#also my characters keep ending up kissin in each other's laps can y'all tell im a touchstarved gay yet /hj

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nitewrighter · 4 years ago

Note

Satya being unsure about how to approach Pharah and Zen offers words of wisdom?

I just edited a couple fics to better accommodate the Symmetra & Zen friendship so it’ll be nice to give them a catch-up fic! Ahhh it’s been so long since I got a Symmarah prompt! Wingman Zen to the rescue!!

-----

“Hmmm...” Satya was standing on a construct of hard light that arced upward in stairs then extended in a long pathway from one of the upper platforms in Gibraltar’s hangar, frowning at the loose cables hanging from the ceiling, “Disgraceful,” she muttered, replacing missing ceiling panels. She glanced down at the hangar below before bringing up specs for potential turret locations on her prosthetic arm. She would need to discuss just how much security she would be allowed to adjust with Winston. Even with all her vetting complete she didn’t feel comfortable changing too much without running it by the others first. Loose wires and age-ravaged ceiling panels, however, were unacceptable. You’d think someone capable of inventing their own shield generator would keep the Watchpoint in better condition... then again, she knew the tunnel-vision of creation, and she could only imagine how lonely or how difficult being alone on this Watchpoint must be. Besides, while this was far from her favorite kind of work, it felt good to build something for people other than herself, to build something outside of Vishkar’s parameters. She turned her attention back to the scrappy ceiling and with a few sweeps of her arms and waves of her wrists, gestured another panel into light, placed it against the ceiling, and with a deft flick of her fingers, solidified it into existence.

“Ah, a significant improvement,” a tranquil voice with a slight metallic ring spoke up from below.

“Thank you,” said Satya, still looking at the ceiling, “But it’s still a bit patchwork. Obviously function is prioritized over form here, but seeing as this space is also used for training I don’t see why we shouldn’t--” The sound of the voice suddenly connected with a memory in her head and she pivoted on her heel to look down. A familiar silver and bronze figure in sunny Shambali robes gave her a polite wave from the floor of the hangar.

“Zenyatta!” she exclaimed more loudly than she really meant to before quickly making sweeping gestures at the hard-light platform she was on. The platform bent like a swan neck towards the floor and Satya jog-walked then slid down the slope of hard-light, coming to a slightly stumbling stop in front of Zenyatta who clasped her forearms in his to help balance her.

“Goodness!” a chuckle shook Zenyatta’s voice, “It is good to see you, Satya.”

“It’s been so long!” she spoke excitedly.

“I meant to come sooner when I heard you had joined Overwatch,” Zenyatta spoke warmly.

“You are with Overwatch as well?” said Satya.

Zenyatta gave a nod, “I assist and advise to the best of my abilities, but I am also called by my own mission in uniting humans and Omnics, both with the Shambali, and on my own. Finding the balance between the two is proving... a unique challenge.”

“Yes, there is a lot to get used to,” Satya smiled, then looked down a little sadly. “Last time we met,” she started hesitantly, “I... I was still with Vishkar... I still believed...”

Zenyatta placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Your gift to the people of Suravasa came from a profound desire for goodness and understanding. Regardless of your association with Vishkar, your intentions have always been very clear to me.”

Satya blinked a few times. “Thank you,” she said a bit softly.

“Come,” said Zenyatta, “I should like to hear all about the journey that has brought you here,” he paused and glanced up at the ceiling, “However, I could also come by later if you’re busy with--”

“No--!” Satya shook her head but then caught herself and cleared her throat, “I mean ‘no’ as in I can stop--That is--I would be delighted to walk with you.”

Zenyatta chuckled again. “There seems to be a new light in you,” he said as they headed out of the hangar.

“New light?” Satya tilted her head.

“You seem more open. More expressive,” said Zenyatta.

“Ah... “ Satya snickered a little, “I... suppose I don’t worry as much about coming off as odd, given my new company.” She clasped her hands in front of her as they walked, tracing her organic fingers around the knuckle joints of her prosthetic. She gave a smile to Zenyatta, “But your presence has that effect as well.”

“So... how did you join?” said Zenyatta.

——-

“And then she leapt and we were falling. And then I was screaming. And she was screaming. Was she screaming? She wasn’t screaming--” Satya’s words were tripping over each other, the memory seemed somehow both so stark and such a blur, “But then we were in this garage, and Lúcio was there--oh I was very rude to him--but then she--Fareeha--she told me to get in the teleporter, so I ran to get into the teleporter and it dematerialized right behind me!”

“Oh dear..” said Zenyatta. They were both on the observation deck overlooking the tarmac, Satya’s hands wrapped around a mug of tea from the mess hall.

“But I was able to construct a new teleporter, and she came through and her armor was.. all scuffed and rugged,” Satya’s voice seemed to hang on the words, not with her usual disapproval of the messy, “And-and she had blood here--” Satya pointed at the side of her forehead, “Lúcio helped her clean up...” her voice trailed off, “She saved me,” she said quietly, bringing her hand back down against the warmth of her mug. “And they brought me here and... I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stay at first but...” she glanced off, “If Vishkar and Talon are working together, I cannot allow them to use others as they have used me.”

“An admirable goal,” said Zenyatta, “But Satya, you are a creator. There are ways to help without putting yourself at risk. While I support you, I hope you are not endangering yourself out of guilt for your past with Vishkar.”

Satya weighed his words carefully. Was that what she was doing? She knew there was a well of pain in her like a fire, a fury at herself and at Vishkar for being deceived for so long--but no. That wasn’t it. That wasn’t all.

“I want...” Satya started and then paused, She remembered the feeling of Pharah’s armor pressed all around her, Pharah’s arm supporting her as she used the other to fire a concussive blast at Satya’s would-be assassin, “...I want to protect people,” she said, smoothing her prosthetic hand over her hair. She looked out over the watchpoint.

“I see,” said Zenyatta.

“For Fareeha it comes much more easily, I think,” said Satya, “But... I... I would like to have the presence for others that she and you have had for me. I would like to put that feeling out into the world... though I think I have more to learn before I can have that effect.”

“You seem to admire Miss Amari greatly,” Zenyatta observed.

“Of course,” Satya answered easily, “She seemed... uncouth at first, but she’s... deeply kind. And understanding. And honest. And principled. And brave. And intelligent, when she has the chance to be. And---and she can throw me off balance but she just... wants to do good and it’s so genuine for her, it’s so much of her---” Satya felt the blood rushing to her face and cast a quick glance at Zenyatta, who was looking at her with his head tilted and a resonant warmth. She caught herself and quickly cleared her throat. “That is--well---” she quickly took a sip of her tea, “She has a very strong character,” she said with her aristocratic crispness.

“I’m sure,” said Zenyatta.

He didn’t press the issue, and to be honest, Satya was a bit grateful for it. There was so much to deal with already just between all the work that had to be done on the watchpoint, the joy of reuniting with an old friend, and just readjusting to this strange new life with Overwatch in general. But even just by virtue of his presence, Zenyatta had a way of making her aware of feelings she felt she hadn’t the means to articulate before.

She looked at him and cleared her throat once more. “But... to answer your question earlier.... about putting myself at risk... Perhaps I can’t take the fight to Vishkar and Talon like the others... not yet, but I can make sure Talon and Vishkar can’t attack us here. I will do everything in my power to make this place a sanctuary.”

“And you will do wonderfully,” said Zenyatta. A pause passed between them, not uncomfortable, but a warm space in which to weigh everything they had talked about.

“Zenyatta,” Satya spoke slowly, “When I say I am reassured by your presence, I--I want you to understand that it’s not only in that I consider you a friend--I mean--that part is important! It is very important!”

“I understand,” Zenyatta said giving her a gentle nod to keep going.

“But.... having you here... makes me feel so much more sure I am on the right path, and... I cannot express how much that means to me,” said Satya.

“We all find our paths in our own time,” said Zenyatta, “I had no doubt you would find yours, with my help or not. But it was an honor to help, as well as humbling and enlightening,” His mechanical shoulders shifted as he slipped his hand into one of the pockets of his voluminous pants, and he withdrew an etched orb, “I am not sure if you still need this in your meditations, but I would like you to have it.”

Satya took the orb from him and traced her fingers over the familiar etchings, “The Orb of Perception,” she said quietly.

Just holding it seemed to calm her, listening to it chime as she rolled it between her palms with the virtually unconscious practiced movements she had picked up in Suravasa, seemed to put her in contact with both her mind and her senses. She could smell the clean brininess of the sea and the industrial smells of the watchpoint, hear the screech of gulls, squint in the glare of the sun off the water, feel the metal of the platform beneath her feet, and the Rock of Gibraltar itself below that, feel the delicate etchings of the orb, the coolness of the metal on her palm, and in her awareness of those sensory experiences, there was awareness of her mind as well--awareness of her fear of the unknown, of the unsureness of her future, awareness of the strange, confused giddiness that seemed to occupy the spaces of her once filled by Vishkar’s doctrine, awareness of that light that Zenyatta had spoken of earlier, a new warmth in the pit of her chest that she was still trying to understand.

“We never stop learning new things about ourselves,” Zenyatta said, a near-chuckle in his voice as he watched her shift the orb around, “And I hope we will both continue learning together, my friend.”

Symmetra turned the orb over in her hands, smiling, first inwardly, then looking back at Zenyatta, warmth in her gold eyes, “That is my hope as well,” she said.

#overwatch #symmetra #satya vaswani #zenyatta #symmarah #me sobbing and pounding a fist on the ground: THEY!! ARE!!! FRIENDS!!!!

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overfedvenison · 3 years ago

Text

There’s this Traditional Architecture movement I see sometimes. It’s interesting to see it gaining traction. Personally, I’m pretty skeptical of them... But kind of in an optimistic way. I see potential here in their philosophy, even if I think it has some deep flaws I can’t quite articulate.... These guys also tend to annoyingly infest architecture resources, so by being an artist I see them a lot. And they’re kind of weirdly varied, from genuine movements to make streets more walkable to history people to weird politics people, and a lot that just seem to really hate modernism. But at it’s core, it’s got a few concepts. So I guess I’m trying to parse the core of what they’re saying, you know? To summarize the rather broad movement, I see a lot of the following from these Traditional Architecture people: - “Traditional architecture evolved to it’s environment and this is important to the quality of daily life.” ...There is an idea here that much of our modern architecture is over-reliant on technology and doesn’t consider enough the practical purposes of these traditional styles; such as tall ceilings in Southern architecture giving a cooling effect or the trees around the house dramatically reducing heat. Architecture, they say, should suit the local environment and tie into it in ways that mitigate environmental factors; this also makes it cheaper to maintain Additionally, they say that a majority of people find modern architecture styles disheartening; I don’t know how true this is, but it does seem like traditional stylings are more populist. - “Our reliance on modern architecture and city design is unsustainable and we need to build for long-term sustainability” The idea is that modern architecture tends to be largely disposable, opposed to the more permanent buildings emphasized in traditional styles. There are roman ruins still standing, and some still functional, thousands of years later. But modern buildings are not really intended to last in perpetuity; this is both highly wasteful and also impersonal as many traditional styles are built to make maintenance easier There is a notable idea here about long-term sustainable living, I find this interesting because this is largely more of a right-leaning movement; they seem to use a traditional lifestyle as the basis for a sustainable lifestyle. It’s not like they think that alone is enough, but it’s sort of a reactionary philosophy in the respect that it thinks a proper respect and adherence to what has worked in the past is a good path to the future - “Architecture should be beautiful and something that inspires the people” So the short of it is that they want buildings that look nice, opposed to depersonalizing people. They say that modern architecture tends to devolve into a really depressing look once reality gets to it; I find it notable that even proponents of brutalism tend to call it a kind of ‘architecture of doom.’ The argument here is that architecture should, mostly, serve the people and not the architect. You want to build a -space- and not a -building- if that makes sense, and you want those spaces to inspire people. This isn’t without merit; you know the old idea that areas with broken windows are more likely to be vandalized? This is the opposite; if an area is beautiful, people will be more inclined to keep it nice. This also helps build a community, etc Now... I don’t really think this is exclusive to traditional architecture. A lot of people note that non-traditional architecture is just as capable of inspiring awe, and those people have a point. I think a lot of this sorta ties in to a respect for the past and tradition - “We should restructure society to be more ‘human-scaled’ as in the manner traditional towns evolved, instead of dividing things into clusters of residence and large mall centers accessible primarily by car. There should also be more communal areas in cities.” Right, I want to say right off the bat that this is one of the more utopian and radical ideals, here. But it’s rather core to the whole point, I think... So it’s like, a strong emphasis of the traditional architecture movement is to be ‘human-scaled’ opposed to built around cars. So they want like, fewer roads and wider walkways to encourage walking instead of driving; and, to this end there is more of an emphasis on human-scaled habitation - They do not want this city planning design where there is this area for commerce largely detached from a residential area ass connected by roads. Instead, they kind of want these clusters of communities centered around public spaces all pretty walkable; this is based on how old cities were before everyone had cars. And, they seem to really like trains connecting these communities. Thus, instead of these clusters of malls, you may have smaller shops all closer together and build around areas of public spaces So like... Imagine a park and local garden, and on a little sidewalk next to this park are small shops; say a bakery and some small grocery stores. Above the stores are some apartments. You can thus just kind of... Exit, walk over to the garden, get grocery shopping done, and walk home. It’s this kind of idea; this idea that no matter where you are in a city you should be in easy walking distance of whatever you need and that this should be attached to the local community A lot of the time they also want more trains as a method to connect these things, and point to Tokyo as an example of an impossibly large city that has managed to achieve a generally clean environment largely based off of these principles .... Uhh, I see a lot of people questioning modern city design, and in particular there are a lot of people opposing ‘lawn culture’ and the like as this inherently wasteful, nonsensical thing. So it’s sort of like, there are a lot of these opinions building up over the generations. I think the Traditional Architecture movement tends to get stereotyped as these weirdos that want society to be castles and wheat fields. There is honestly a lot of people who don’t think deeply, and it kinda just feels like they want to live somewhere pretty. But those that do delve into it beyond the traditionalist bend... bring up good points Now, I don’t think we should just let them all run wild with things; I find the Traditional Architecture people’s ambitions have some queestionable aspects at times. But I think it will kinda go hand in hand with those people questioning car dependency, monoculture lawns, seeking more bicycles in cities, seeking public transport support, and more progressive takes on sustainability as we move forward. What’s my point, overall...? I have no idea. I guess I’m just trying to parse this weird movement I see cropping up. It’s something I see a lot that’s like, ‘Yeah, you make some good points,’ but I’m often left with this idea that something is not really thought through on it. I see a lot of people mocking it, but this traditional architecture focus... there’s some deeper ideas there, deeper than ‘I love tradition and greek statues and want a tradwife’ like we often dismiss this as. There are... A surprising amount of futures in fiction that tend more towards the ghibliesque. I think, this idea they have, it might be a nice world. A humanity that uses more traditional principals to live in harmony with nature... At least, it’s an interesting concept to think about. We should obviously do more than simply recreate the past, but then, that will come regardless.

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phantomato · 3 years ago

Note

Do you have any advice on how to end a fic? Specifically the very last line? I find that my fics almost always end with "I love you" or something asinine. Thank you!

This is a very good ask! Thank you, anon.

Fortunately for you, qualitative data analysis is kind of my thing, so I pulled all of the final paragraphs out of all of my fics, dropped them in a doc, and took notes. Here’s what I learned from 20 finished fics:

Final Paragraphs, Not Sentences

I usually end on a paragraph with more than one sentence. You don’t make clear whether there’s context surrounding “I love you,” but even when I finish on dialogue, I tend to have a dialogue tag and a sentence or two of action. Some of my fics have full-ass ending paragraphs, like 5 sentences of content to close it off. Only a fifth of my stories make a sentence stand on its own as the final line. I’ve gotten shorter over time, but we’re still talking a minimum of two sentences, sometimes two long sentences, for most stories. Give yourself more room to work, and take the pressure off of each individual word—spread the burden to more text. I feel like I’m going to be more successful at communicating the theme/mood/emotion I want if I’m giving myself 10+ words to do so.

Call to Future Action

Every ending I’ve written suggests an unbroken continuity into some future for that universe. Regardless of story tense—sometimes there’s an explicit shift to future tense, but often, it’s just the implication that the characters are looking ahead to something yet to come. I knew this about myself, but it was amazing to see my consistency in action! I don’t want my stories to feel like a perfect, neat little package. I want my characters to feel like they existed before we met them and will continue to exist after we leave them; I want you to be able to imagine what their lives look like after the fic is over, whether you’ve spent 2k or 100k words with them. Call forward! Highlight their hopes or dreams or just what they’ll be doing the next day.

I think there’s a definite temptation in HP fandom to do the flash-forward epilogue, since the series set that trend for us, but what I can dislike so much about epilogues is the sense that the author wants to provide finality: the couple had three kids and was happy forever, believe me, I wrote them. I should feel that from the mass of story that led up to this, I think. If I haven’t persuaded a reader that my ship has potential through the meat of the fic, an epilogue that tries to assert the characters’ happiness is already settled won’t win that reader over. By the last paragraph, you have made up your mind about my story, and I want my send-off to provide gentle, open-ended hope. You can apply that hope however you like; I’m not going to dictate your interpretation.

Don’t Forget Story Structure

The last paragraph of a story is rarely the emotional climax. I think back to my grade school English instructor drawing a bell curve on the board and labeling the rightmost tail “denouement,” but whatever does it for you—the end of the story resolves threads. The climax probably already happened, or if it’s just happening, there are almost definitely more questions that a reader wants answers for before we sign off. And you never have to answer everything for a reader! I love open endings—see above, my discussion of the future and hope. But I almost always budget the entire final chapter of a fic, sometimes the final two chapters, to bringing us back into a state of stability after the climax. (Or final scene, or final few paragraphs—the principle scales for the length of a fic.) Stable doesn’t mean unemotional, doesn’t correspond to filler, by the by. Stable means that I am not introducing new plots or conflicts, and I’m demonstrating that at least some of the longstanding arcs of the story have been resolved. The last line can’t resolve everything, and the last line probably shouldn’t introduce a new issue. (Unless the story is sequel bait, I suppose, which I haven’t written.)

Reinforce Themes

I’m ending on the most obvious one, I suppose! But, yes: my ending paragraphs tend to call back to the opening conflict of the story. If it’s a story about learning to communicate with a partner, I end on proof of good communication. If it’s a story about finding family, I give proof of family. If it’s a story about reclaiming one’s sexuality after trauma, I end on an orgasm. I usually write with a strong central theme and so I find that this comes naturally to me, but I think the principle could apply to whatever typically drives your stories. Callback to the title? Repetition of phrasing from the introduction? Showing what the characters accomplished in the course of the plot? IDK, man, but it’s nice to use the space to reiterate what you want a reader to remember.

And like, overall, I want to say that I barely remember the closing paragraphs/lines from my own fics, let alone those I read. It’s good to hit a strong note, of course, but mostly because I want to be proud of the story I’ve written, not because I think a final line is going to be the decision point for whether or not a reader likes a story. Your reader probably likes it, or doesn’t, long before they finish. Think about making it a satisfying finish for the people who already enjoy the world you’ve crafted, and trust in their agency as readers.

#ask

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recurring-polynya · 4 years ago

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9, 13, 19, 23 for RenRuki OTP meme!

9. Have they made each other cry?

Neither Rukia nor Renji are criers by nature, but absolutely yes.

I looked it up, and weirdly enough, Rukia does *not* cry in the manga version, but she does cry in the anime when Renji tells her to go to the Kuchiki. Regardless, I think they both had some wet face syndrome in the days following that.

Rukia was having a pretty tough time in the Academy, and Renji was in a constant state of unconsciously rubbing it in. I bet he made her cry at least once, although she is way too stubborn to actually do it in front of him, I think she did it in private, later.

I’m not sure crying over someone is the same as them making you cry, but I believe with 100% of my being that the “fear she was trying to avoid” in the As Nodt fight was Renji-related, and even though she held it together pretty well at the time, I hope homegirl went home and had a good cathartic sob after the fact.

In the same vein, it’s very believable that Renji had at least one tearful breakdown at some point in the Soul Society Arc. I imagine he came home and puked his guts out after he had to arrest her and throw her in a holding cell and there could have been some tears that went along with that, and possibly also after he found out that Byakuya had no intention of lifting a finger to stay her execution. (I just realized this is not the first time I have headcanoned Renji puking out of grief and it’s true, I think he does, it’s great, I love my brain, thanks)

I would bet money that Renji (possibly both of them) teared up a little when Ichika was born, and/or when they found out about the pregnancy.

Also, not to ruin the vibe, but it seems highly likely that at some point in their acquaintance, probably in their Inuzuri days, Rukia kicked Renji in the nards hard enough to make tears come out of his face.

13. Name something they would never do for the other person.

Like the dealbreaker question, this one is really hard because they are both really intense people who are absolutely ride-or-die for each other (as well as everyone else they know). I am still sticking to my guns that Rukia became a shinigami in the first place for Renji’s sake, and Renji’s entire first character arc involved him binning 40 years of hard work and career ladder climbing to be with her.

That being said, though, they do maintain a fair amount of personal autonomy that I think they would stick to. Renji would never get his brow tatts removed, for example, no matter how much Rukia hates them (or conversely, I think he didn’t tell her before he got them because he knew she’d tell him not to, and he was determined to get them and wouldn’t have listened to her anyway). Likewise, if she asks, he will refrain from wearing a particular pair of extra-terrible sunglasses to a Kuchiki family picnic, but he’s not going to get rid of the sunglasses collection for her. I honestly can’t imagine her seriously asking him to do either of these things-- she’d rather just drag him for them.

I think the part in WDKALY where Rukia decides to keep “Kuchiki” as her professional name was written in a kinda stilted and dumb way, but I do not disagree with it. I am reasonably sure that this was decided at an editorial level, because if they have a Bleach continuation, they would want the character to keep her more familiar name, but then they added the fact that she took his name more generally because people are weird about women who don’t take their husbands name (and then people argue that her keeping her name is “evidence” that she doesn’t love him... so, honestly, there’s no winning either way). Personally, I didn’t like that they waited until they were actually in line at the Soul Society DMV to have this discussion (with Byakuya standing around, no less), but but otherwise, I think it’s a nice compromise, and that Rukia would want to use the names of both the men she considers her family. Renji seemed vaguely disappointed that she wasn’t taking his name entirely, and I can see that, but also, it’s her choice and he doesn’t make a stink about it, which rings true to me.

In all of these examples, the principle is that, all else being equal, each of them will take input from the other, but they would stick to their guns when it comes to decisions about themselves. That doesn’t mean they are going to die on these hills out of sheer stubbornness. I wrote a fanfic once where Byakuya died and Renji married Rukia in order to help her consolidate power in the family, and he took her name and very vehemently made everyone call him by it.

Also, I am sure there are some household chores that Renji would like done to some particular specifications, and Rukia just will not. Like, she refuses to rinse the dishes before she puts them in the dishwasher and she won’t squeegee the glass after she showers, or whatever the Soul Society equivalents of these things are.

19. If they could each write a single line in their marriage vows, what would they be?

I cannot emphasize enough that Byakuya paid for their entire fancy Kuchiki-ass wedding and even though they are constantly on their best behavior around him, he knows how they are and he would never, ever let them write their own vows.

So, here is a dispatch from some secondary drunken, backyard wedding that they had for close-friends only (Byakuya was also there, but Isshin slipped him a pot brownie and he was feeling very at one with the universe at the time)

Who the heck writes a single line of their wedding vows?? I gave them each a paragraph.

Rukia:

People have been joking a lot, every since we started dating, how lucky you are, but the fact is, I am the lucky one. I’ve been so fortunate, in my life, to have such good friends and family, but I feel luckiest of all to have you-- you’ve always been there to cheer me on, to pick me up, to make me pickles. You’re brave and you’re handsome and you have really, really great hair, and I feel like the luckiest person in Soul Society that I get to marry you. I love you so, so much, you big dummy.

Renji:

I used to think that I would be content if I could just love you from afar. That just being able to see you and hear your voice and know that you were happy was enough for me. But I was wrong, as it turns out, because being able to touch you and kiss you and tell you I love you a hundred times a day has made me happier than I ever thought I could be. I expect that being married to you is going to make me more powerful and obnoxious than anyone here could possibly imagine and I am absolutely not sorry. I love you so, so much, you little dummy.

See, Byakuya, that wasn’t so bad! (maybe it was)

Bonus! In the dead Byakuya fanfic I mentioned above, I had them get married under Gotei authority and I wrote some (partial) shinigami wedding vows that are basically perfect for them and also I was really proud of them:

How will you meet your enemies? As one, we shall meet them, as one, we shall fight.

And how do you swear this? We swear on sword and soul.

Let it be so. With this, you are forged together, a single blade. May your battle be long, and when you fall, may you fall together.

23. Write a ~300 scene between them with no dialogue, only body language.

Wow. Dang. This felt like a personal attack. Anyway, it was really hard, and I did it, but I didn’t like it.

Here’s the scene right where Renji hauls Ichigo off to go fight Ywhach, because I am always thinking about this scene and willing it to make sense (Rukia should have gone with Ichigo, I will die on this hill!!!!), and I think it only works if there’s a bunch of unsaid subtext. It’s depressing, but it’s only 511 words, which is very much like 300 words, almost exactly the same, honestly.

The others don’t see it, because they are busy watching Orihime restore Ichigo’s sword, his swords, for maybe the last time, but Rukia does, because she needs an explanation.

Renji’s shoulders slump, his chin tips down, his hands are open at his sides.

He is sorry.

He better be sorry! Rukia clenches her jaw, her eyes burn at him. She is the one who should have yanked Ichigo to his feet, she is the one who should go with him to his death.

Renji’s eyes slide upward and meet hers. His jaw is set.

He is right, and she knows it.

Orihime is hurt. Her lungs are making ominous bubbling noises as Zangetsu pieces itself back together under her care. Rukia is exhausted, but she can manage the kaidou that will save her friend’s life. Renji cannot.

It is more than that, though. Rukia’s bankai is perilous. Ichibei warned her that she should use it sparingly-- that it will take many hours of practice before her body can handle the wrenching temperature shocks. She has used it too many times already in the last 48 hours. She still can’t feel all her fingers and toes since she came back from killing As Nodt. Another go at it so soon may kill her before she even has a chance to be useful. It could kill her and everyone in her blast radius, which might be helpful, but probably...not. Her hand rubs nervously at the hilt of her sword. She tries to flex the dead pinkies, but they deny her.

Renji sees the motion, and he grips Zabimaru confidently. His bankai is new to him, too, but Hihiou Zabimaru was like a weighted practice blade-- So-oh Zabimaru is familiar enough and easy in comparison. Sode no Shirayuki and Zabimaru are both temperamental blades, but Zabimaru has always been at their most dependable when the odds are stacked against them.

Rukia reaches out and gives Orihime’s hair a gentle pat. She will stay, but she will not like it.

The side of Renji’s mouth ticks up in a rueful half-smile, and his eyes glitter with the last bit of humor he can muster. She can beat him up all she likes when he gets back.

Rukia flings an arm around Orihime, and stuffs her face into her friend’s shoulder. None of this is fair.

Renji’s eyes soften briefly, and his eyes are filled with so much love for her. He knows he has the easy job. There aren’t any words to thank her enough for letting him go on a suicide mission with Ichigo while she stays back to give them something worth fighting for.

Then he stiffens, and squares his shoulders once again. He jabs Ichigo impatiently with one foot and screws up his face into the same scowl he always uses to armor his heart.

It won’t work, Rukia thinks, as Orihime finishes her task and slumps backward. She will keep Renji’s heart here with her, and Orihime will keep Ichigo’s, and no matter what, none of them will die alone.

#otp meme #renruki #rukia kuchiki #renji abarai #this was one big portions for foxes callback post wasn't it?#why can't i ever stick to the rules of these things?#i don't know #there's something wrong with me #thanks for the ask!!

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khristinewriteandcapture · 4 years ago

Text

Series Reviews (2020)

4. Itaewon Class

Follow your heart and be yourself. A life without regrets regardless of consequences. Everything is all about timing. When you get the timing right, all is well.

This drama has taught me so much. Right now, I am in a state where just like Yi-Seo, I don't know what I want and wondering if life is really worth living.

It is truly great to feel acknowledge by someone. Saeroyi kept that in mind and always do it to his employees. He is a true leader by being with them and helping each other. I didn't know Park Seo Joon can have this inspiring aside from being handsome and funny in romantic comedy dramas. He can also be a role model and inspiring actor. It's nice to know that there are dramas like this who want to inspire everyone to believe in the power of their dreams and desire. The only bad thing (for me) about this is that some desire was ignite with revenge. It's not a healthy way of living to be honest.

Being fueled by anger and wanting to take revenge is not healthy to someone but by Saeroyi's case, that ignition of avenging his father's death made him stronger in a good way. He wanted to make his father's dream come true as well but also want to people who make his life miserable pay for what they've done.

Itaewon Class is truly an amazing drama to watch. It will surely give you lessons in life that you eventually want to do.

They also have interesting set of cast. All have different stories to tell and I think their stories also make it more inspiring to watch.

I want to talk about Chairman Jang first. His power and manipulation really irritates me at first. He said he build Jangga Co. for his family but I guess he did not. He build it for himself. For his pride and status. He lived his early years being poor and having to be at other people mercy so when he got the chance to have power, he easily grabbed it and never let go.

He's just like everybody else. Afraid to be powerless. Also, even though he want to look like a manipulator who doesn't have a heart, he still want warmth. He's human anyway.

To the actor who portray Chairman Jang, I knew him in another drama, I was shocked when I first saw him because his role in the other drama which he started in was way different from his role here.

If you watched Strong Woman Do Bong Soon and remembered his father. Here he is now. He's not a walnut and a battered husband anymore. He's the Chairman and a cunning strong tiger.

I wanted to get angry with him but I can still see the father of Do Bong Soon. He was a great father there and even though this was a different role, I still see him as a softie. I get irritated by him.

After Chairman Jang, let's move on to his sons. The Jang Brothers.

First off, the legitimate one. Jang Geun-won. The black sheep heir. The trouble maker and good for nothing son. He's the reason why the whole revenge thing happen. It's all because of him. And if not because of him, there wouldn't be any story. So, even though he's a pain, he is also the main reason we have this drama. Let's give him that credit.

Jang Geun-won also has this habit of being undeniable stupid for some reason in this drama. He cant stand up for himself and always hide in his father's back. But behind all of that, he is just a son who clearly doesn't know what to do with his life. Ever since he was young, he was entitled to be the next chairman of their company. Everything was easy for him so when shit occurs, he doesn't know what to do.

He was like a lost child. I feel sorry for him. And all those years, all he wants was Oh Soo-ah to notice him even for a bit. Even if he was the next chairman and all the attention was on him, the attention from a specific he needed the most was not given to him. So, he acted crazy.

Why do we have to accept the love we think we deserve and not the love given to us? Or simply, why do we like someone who doesn't like us back? Poor Jang Geun-won. You'll get your happy ending. But first, be good.

After the elder one, next is the baby brother. Baby half brother. Jang Geun-soo. Yi-Seo's pushover but turned cunning and irritating antagonist.

He was cute really. Until he wanted to take over Jangga Co. Okay, he wanted Yi-Seo but all the things he did just to make her like him. That is not the way to make a girl fall in love dude! How can you make her yours if you're destroying her?

He's smart, I'll give him that but he's also stupid for doing such things.

How can someone be trustworthy end up betraying you?

Jang Geun-soo wanted to be loved just like his brother and just like him, he acted crazy. I feel sad for this father and sons.

Okay, so up next is Oh Soo-ah. The competent and beautiful Oh Soo-ah. The 15-year love of Saeroyi.

She is competent. But her values in life is want irritates me. She doesn't want to end up like Mr. Park (dad of Saeroyi) so she studied hard and eventually because successful by entering the company who destroyed the life of someone she cherish.

At first it was a slick move. Maybe she has something in her sleeves. Maybe she'll get revenge. But no. In the end, she was used to be torture Saeroyi.

She was manipulated because all she wanted was a relax life. She was an orphan. She wanted to live a life where she can never feel being sympathize again.

Also being confident about Saeroyi's feelings for her was a little annoying. She knew about his feelings but always took it for granted and when she had the chance to say hers, it was too late.

Soo-ah just wanted to stop her life of misery. She just wants to be happy but now, the only person who she want to be happy with no longer feel the way he felt before.

Timing is everything.

This review is getting longer than I thought and I still want to include all the members here. My mind is in fire right now. I think this is the longest review I've done. I dont think anyone would read this shit post. Hahahaha! It's so long! But, hey. It's my blog anyway.

Soooooo!

Let's move on to the main cast!

Itaewon Class or IC Co is the company name of DanBam. DanBam is a pub located at Itaewon. A place in Korea where you can see the world. Different nationalities are gathered in Itaewon.

I should be saying this to the beginning but anyway! DanBam consist of 5 employees turned into shareholders. 4 of them are now shareholders and of course, the fifth member is Saeroyi himself. He's the CEO.

Let's talk about Toni. The foreign looking dude who happened to end up working to DanBam while looking for his korean father. I was surprised to see an african guy in a korean drama not that I don't expected but it was surprising and he was so fluent in hangul. I was in awe.

I can say Toni was the type of guy with compassion and sensitivity. For a foreign looking guy to claim hes korean was brave of him. No one can tell you who and what you are. You are the one who thinks of yourself. You know yourself better than others.

Wow. I should tell that to myself.

Next is Seung-Woo, the hard headed, oldie, classic style Seung-kwon.

He is literally hard headed because at some scene, he was hit by a bottle of bear but I guess it didn't hurt him. He looks old and his moves are waaaay funny but what I like about him is that even though he was from a bad past, he left that all behind him and started a new life with Saeroyi. He was also inspired by what he said and wanted to live just like him. He devoted his life for him. Having someone loyal like him will make you at ease all the time. Even if he sometimes annoy you.

He can be really annoying but when you need him to cheer you up, he'll be there.

Ma Hyun-Yi. You all know her right? Do you also know Seon Ok from Weightlifting Fairy Kim Book Joo? Yup. It is her. The mighty Seon Ok. She changed her career from weightlifting to cooking. Hahahaha! Just kidding.

I knew Seon Ok will be a very promising actress after WFKBJ. I was also waiting for this break for her.

She portray a very special role. Stating that you should not be afraid to be who you are. You don't also need to explain yourself to others or get their approval.

Just like what Saeroyi's principles, follow your heart and be yourself.

Hyun-yi became true to herself and end up being happy and successful by the way.

After that, we now got the most powerful woman in Itaewon. The one who made a small pub became big. Featured in one of the businesswomen in Forbes Magazine. The one and only, Jo Yi-Seo.

Who would have the thought? The crazy party girl would be a most competent businesswomen in Korea at the age of 24? Yup. I think it can happen in real life

Anyways, Yi-Seo. She's like someone I want to be. Full of confidence. Smart and slightly cunning and determined. At the first part of the drama, I can see myself to her. Literally. The words she said and how she felt about living.

And the everything changed. When she met him.

I don't want to think that I really need to meet a certain someone to be really determined in life but...maybe...maybe I needed that. But how? I don't want to go out of my room. Hahahaha.

Anyway, Yi-seo was on the verge of giving up then he met Saeroyi. Her life changed as she wanted to help him. Not going to college and working at the age of 20 was like the greatest decision she made (and she never regret it).

Again. Timing is everything.

Yi-seo was right on time when Saeroyi needed someone the most.

She love him with all her heart and willing to help him even if he likes somebody else. If its not love then I don't know anymore. And I felt sad to know that she want to be competent for Saeroyi to need him. She badly needed to become someone he needed so she can stay with him. She don't want to leave him.

They say that behind every man success is a competent and understandable woman. And that is Yi-seo. She's the woman in Saeroyi's success. And if her feelings still don't reach him, she will do everything she can to reach him.

You see, Itaewon Class is not an ordinary korean drama. Some of you might liked Crash Landing on You. I recommend you watch this drama too. You'll never regret.

#series reviews #reviews #itaewon class #park seo joon #kim da mi #korean drama

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jaxsteamblog · 4 years ago

Text

Matchmaker Iroh

Click here to read the full fic on AO3

Suki and Sokka wouldn’t allow her to call the beach trip a bust, but it was definitely not as relaxing for Katara as she had hoped. Zuko was called away every night to eat dinner with his sister at the royal family’s beach house. Katara, having not talked to Zuko about what she had overheard, was anxious about it every time.

It didn’t help that he didn’t seem to have much to say each time he returned.

On their last night in the beach house, Zuko ignored Azula’s summons and stayed with them. Suki found a closet where a bunch of old board games were stashed and they gerryrigged a system to make a drinking game out of Capitalism!

In the morning, as Katara cured everyone’s hangover before rushing to clean everything up, they realized that may have been a bad idea.

Going through the airport was easier this time since they were leaving the country, and Katara relaxed. She was able to enjoy first class, burying herself under everyone’s blankets and wearing the facemask that came in a sealed cellophane bag. Zuko got them champagne again and Katara heard the sound of the instant camera before a wave of laughter.

Smiling, Katara ignored them and attempted to move her arms over the bulk of four blankets to drink from her glass.

Customs in the Earth Kingdom gave her anxiety, but that was normal for any time she crossed a border. Still, they passed quickly and they moved together out of the airport.

“Did we want to get dinner?” Katara asked.

“No offense Katara, but I would like to spend some alone time with my bride-to-be.” Sokka said, putting his arm around Suki’s shoulder.

Katara rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine.”

“Want to go to the Jasmine Dragon with me?” Zuko asked. Feeling small, and unable to really say no without making it awkward, Katara nodded.

“Sure.” She said.

The taxis pulled up and Sokka and Suki waved as they grabbed one. Another followed and Zuko held the door open for Katara. Despite sending so much time with him, and sitting next to him during the flight, Katara felt cramped when Zuko slid in beside her and shut the car door.

His presence was much like his clothing, larger than she assumed and far too comfortable. He seemed relaxed and Katara put her elbow on the armrest inside the car door. Propping up her chin, the highway traffic passed over her eyes as she thought.

But to be fair, she wasn’t really thinking about anything. It was as if a neuron in her brain would suddenly go “Zuko!” and the others would nod sagely, as if coming to agreement over the concept of him as a being. Other thoughts like “I should see a therapist.” or “Spirits, what does being Queen even mean?” were met with similar chemical murmurings.

Zuko just sat next to her like one of those salt rock lamps. He felt calming, but his actual calming properties were yet to be determined.

When they got to the teahouse, Zuko pulled out their luggage and Katara started to fidget. Zuko, as he typically did, always looked casually formal. His jeans alone cost more than her whole outfit and his shirt came from a store Katara had never heard of. He would be fine strolling into the teahouse regardless of his standing as a prince.

Katara on the other hand was wearing hand cut jean shorts, a tank top that she picked up at a music festival, and tattered sandals.

Iroh’s comment about her youth clothing her in something enviable was falling flat at the moment.

“Ready?” Zuko asked, rolling her suitcase to her.

“Sure.” She replied, grabbing the handle.

They walked in together and Zuko smiled at the hostess before immediately diverting to the right. Walking past the main tea room, Katara realized there was a hall that fed to multiple rooms, even turning a corner.

“What’s in there?” Katara asked.

“Let me show you.” Zuko said and stopped at a door, opening it gently.

“Oh.” Katara peered in, looking at the neat little space.

“They’re for private events. There’s some temporary walls to open them up in a bunch of different configurations.” Zuko explained.

“How come I didn’t notice them at the party?”

“A lot of them were open, and they don’t actually fill the length of the main building. A lot of the nobility actually had their tables in here.”

“There was nobility?” Katara asked, half-laughing with shock.

“I’m telling you, there’s almost no difference between rich people and nobility except that rich people can make a vague claim to having an actual job.” Zuko replied and smiled.

“So where are we going?” Katara asked.

“To the last one.” Zuko said, shutting the door and continuing on. When they got to the last one, Katara could smell the cooking meat before Zuko even turned the handle.

Katara smiled as she saw Iroh, dressed in a kimono, crouched next to a grill with his sleeves tied back.

“Welcome back. You are just in time.” Iroh said, glancing up at them briefly before flipping over cuts of meat with his chopsticks. Katara and Zuko rolled their suitcases to stand next to the wall before kneeling at the table.

“Thank you for doing this Uncle.” Zuko said, picking up his own chopsticks and flipping over meat.

“After you had such a stressful time, I was glad to offer some respite.” Iroh replied.

“Stressful? Suki and Sokka got engaged.” Katara remarked.

“Yes, I heard! That is very exciting news.” Iroh said and sat back. As Zuko took over the cooking, Iroh freed the sleeves of his kimono while looking over at Katara and smiling.

“Do you suppose he will supply his own flowers?” Iroh asked her and Katara snorted.

“Are you kidding? Sokka is a meticulous planner, he wouldn’t let anyone else near it.” She replied.

“When do you think they’ll have the ceremony?”

“I’m not certain. It was a surprise to find out they wanted to get married.”

“Seriously?” Zuko interjected as he added vegetables to the grill. “Sokka has a domestic streak a mile wide.”

“Yeah but neither of them seemed the type for the frill.” Katara replied. Zuko shrugged and focused on his basting.

“Not every wedding needs frills.” Iroh added and Katara sighed.

“And not everyone gets the wedding they want.” She said, leaning against the table and resting her cheek on her fist.

“Are you engaged, Katara?” Iroh asked. Katara raised an eyebrow but shook her head, awkwardly as she didn’t move it from its stand.

“No, just prophesizing.” She said idly.

“Which we already established you are bad at.” Zuko stated and Katara rolled her head back to glare at him.

“Well, I will go and get the tea. Maybe it can help part the veils of the future for you.” Iroh said and huffed as he pushed himself up.

Katara smiled and blinked leisurely, looking around the room. It was nicely decorated but reminded her of a hotel room. It lacked personality.

“Are you doing okay?” Zuko asked.

Katara leaned back and flopped onto the table, watching him remove the food from the grill. He delicately laid everything out on plates and started to stir little dishes of sauce.

“When did you learn how to cook?” She asked instead of answering.

“Like I said, I lived with my uncle for a good number of years. Some of that time we were marching with his army down the western coast of the Earth Kingdom.” Zuko said. “Some nights if I wanted to eat, I had to make it myself.”

“You don’t sound like either nobility or rich people.” Katara said.

“And look at you, your royal highness, slouching all over the table.” He quipped.

Frowning, Katara sat up and took up her chopsticks, tapping them on the tabletop.

“Zuko there’s something I wanted to ask you.” She started.

Zuko looked at her, sliding over a plate.

“What’s up?” He asked.

“Did you ever-” Katara jumped as the door opened and Iroh returned with a tea tray. Setting it down, she helped him unload it as Zuko slid over his own plate.

“Tell me Katara, did you get to enjoy Ember Island? I know it is one of Zuko’s favorite places.” Iroh said.

“Is it?” Katara asked slyly, casting her gaze back to Zuko.

“We used to take family trips there when I was a kid.” He said and shrugged one shoulder up, picking at his food with his chopsticks.

“His mother had a fondness for the local theatre troupe there as well.” Iroh paused to chuckle. “They were awful.”

“It’s a shame we didn’t get to take in a show.” Katara said and picked up a grilled green onion.

“I had wanted to.” Zuko said with a sigh.

“Did they not have a show?” Iroh asked.

“They did. They’re doing a run of ‘Tales of the Avatar,’ but Azula kept calling me up for dinner.” Zuko said.

“Did you get everything sorted?” Iroh asked.

Katara narrowed her eyes as she looked between the two men.

“Solved enough. I’ll have to wait and see.” Zuko answered.

“What-” Katara began but stopped as Iroh picked up the teapot.

“My goodness, I haven’t even poured the tea. Here, Katara, let me have your cup.” He said.

The tea was good, a tangy sort of sour that went oddly well with the grilled meat. They talked and Iroh told stories of Zuko as a child. There was an incident with a turtle crab that, from Zuko’s face, didn’t seem like an accurate retelling.

To make him feel better, Katara related how, when she was first learning to control her bending, she had soaked Sokka while out fishing. And that for a long time, she would often have to change her direction so that her water went where she wanted it.

It was then that the conversation turned to bending in general, and the benefits of using other elemental styles. Katara agreed that it might work in principle but that the elements were too different to see any real use out of the other styles.

“Zuko, show her the Wyvern form.” Iroh said and gestured with his chopsticks. Zuko smiled and put his hands down on the table as he stood.

“Here.” Zuko said, holding out his hand. “It’ll look familiar.”

Katara felt her face warm as she looked at his hand but placed hers on his palm. His hand was warm and dry.

Helping her up, Zuko got into his stance and Katara tried to mirror it. Firebenders were light on their feet and displaced their weight differently, so it was an awkward placement. Zuko chuckled and walked to her, gently moving her feet by pushing on them with his. Then he held her waist as he angled her hips. Then he pushed out her arms, patting them when they were in place.

“Okay, so the movement is just based on circles.” Zuko said as he took his stance again. “Just follow me.”

She watched his movements, trailing her arms like a weird after image. When she fumbled, he stopped and approached her again.

“Here. It’s like your water whip.” He said and took her hands. Pulling them through some motions, Katara did recognize the feeling. But the water whip needed a deeper stance since she would have to pull the water around her. This form worked because the Firebender could produce their own flame.

“It’s not useful. It wouldn’t be able to hold much water.” Katara said, stepping quickly away from Zuko.

“But it could hold a nice array of ice shards.” He replied and sat back down at the table. Katara blushed and returned to her seat, taking up her teacup and drinking.

“Are you enjoying the tea, Katara?” Iroh inquired.

“Yes. But it’s,” Katara looked down into her cup, tilting it. “Different.”

“It’s sakura tea. The cherry blossoms are pickled.” He said.

“Uncle!” Zuko sputtered and Katara looked at him.

“I’ll go and get some more.” Iroh said, smiling in a grandfatherly way.

Zuko sighed and rubbed his face.

“What’s sakura tea?” Katara asked as Iroh rose and picked up the tray. He chuckled as she shuffled to the door.

“It’s served at weddings. It’s a lovers’ tea.” Zuko answered.

Katara spun around to see the door shut.

“He does know you have a girlfriend, right?” She asked.

“I don’t actually.” Zuko said and Katara turned back to him. “Not anymore.”

“What?”

“Mai and I broke up. It wasn’t going to work out the way we had thought it would.”

“Oh?” Katara asked, her voice shaky and lilting upwards to make it a question.

“She showed me that I deserved better than just living a repeat of my parents’ marriage.” Zuko shook his head and reclined on his cushion. “When I get married, I want it to be for love.”

“Right. The future.” Katara said. She frowned and nodded. “That makes sense.”

“It’s what we’ve got to deal with right? As royals?” Zuko said and Katara groaned.

“Don’t remind me.” She muttered.

“Hey, I’ve got your back. Anytime you want to talk about statecraft, you can give me a call.” Zuko said.

“Statecraft?”

“Sure. But we’re friends, you could ask me anything.” Zuko said and Katara blinked. “Except for anything about school.”

“School?”

“Summer’s almost over, Katara.”

“Right.” Katara said flatly. It was like her lungs couldn’t take in enough air.

“Did you need help moving?” Zuko asked.

Katara looked at him, feeling like her body was moving slower than the rest of time.

“Uh, no. Sokka and I usually make a day of it.” She answered. Zuko nodded and picked up his teacup to examine the contents.

“Well you’ll have to let me know if there’s a goodbye party.” He said.

“Yeah.” Katara drifted but caught herself and shook her head. “Yeah, no, of course.”

What just happened?

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#zutara #fanfiction #jax writes #modern au #zutara month 2020 #the fic that prompts built

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