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undreaming-fanfiction · 2 years ago

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No Such Thing As Stupid Question

This one is for you, Anna! @unclewaynemunson! Congratulations on your academic progress, I'm so proud of you!

Also on Ao3 for your convenience :)

As someone who showed as little interest in romance as possible, Wayne Munson didn't really expect to be come a parental figure. Maybe he'd get a dog when he retired, some older mutt from a shelter, and they'd sit in front of the trailer in quiet company, perhaps a bark here and there as Wayne sipped his beer. Wayne could imagine that. But a kid, never.

But of course, life had a peculiar sense of humor and his younger brother hit a new low - sadly admirable, given that he was already at the very bottom, but someone brought a shovel with him. Grand theft auto, petty crimes all over, domestic disputes (to put it mildly)...Wayne breathed a sigh of relief when he found out he got locked up before he escalated even further. He didn't want to believe Danny had it in him to seriously hurt someone, but given the right or wrong circumstances, he couldn't guarantee there wouldn't be a casualty like a random witness, someone trying to protect their property...yeah, Danny was definitely better off where he ended up.

As for his son Eddie...Wayne couldn't guarantee the same, even though he vowed to try his damn hardest.

Eddie was a scrawny kid with an ugly buzz cut and dark eyes so large he seemed afraid of anything and everything. When Wayne met with the social worker and they talked over coffee, Wayne couldn't help but notice how Eddie grasped his milkshake, as if someone would take it from him the very next second. His twitchy fingers wrapped around the glass in a vice-like grip and even though Wayne was convinced he was listening to every word said, he kept stubbornly staring into the drink, refusing to meet anyone's eye. And even though the kid was barely in middle school, Wayne found the rigid focus all too familiar, painfully so. It was the first time he found himself truly and purely hating Danny, feeling a burning coal in his chest at what his so-called upbringing did to this boy.

In the end, Eddie was sent to live with him, only a bag with clothes too big, a few trinkets and a single book, worn from constant reading. The Hobbit.

The first day, the now joint Munson household was quiet. Eddie was chewing on an improvised pasta Wayne had made - on his own, thank you for asking, with all three ingredients - and looking anywhere but at his uncle. And Wayne was a quiet man himself so sure, they could stay in silence until Eddie graduated and moved somewhere else, but there was a part of Wayne that didn't want this for Eddie. He wanted at least one Munson to turn out alright.

"Hope it's edible. I...don't cook much," he tried, swallowing a lump of poorly mixed spices.

Eddie's eyes were fixed to his plate. He nodded, the movement almost indiscernible, and then returned to his pasta.

So Wayne tried again. "I saw that book you have," he mentioned and boy, was that a wrong move. Eddie almost curled into himself, his eyes darting to Wayne for the first time - but not with curiosity. With defiance and fear.

He didn't say anything, only stared at Wayne. As if he was daring him to say something, do something.

So Wayne did. "It looked interesting. The Hobbit? I've never heard of it. Is it any good?"

The slight relaxation in Eddie's shoulders seemed promising. "It's my favorite," he said, his eyes returning to the pasta, stabbing a few offending pieces with his fork. "It has an adventure in it. An unexpected one."

Wayne huffed a quiet laugh under his breath. "Ah. So somethin' like this?"

Eddie looked at him again with those large dark eyes. "...yeah."

And then it was quiet again, but this was less forced, less tense. Wayne thought that maybe this was how Eddie would be normally, a withdrawn soul just like himself, but just as he chewed on the last mouthful of less than ideally cooked pasta, Eddie broke the silence.

"Why'd you take me in?" Eddie blurted out and seemed to regret it immediately, biting in to his own lip. "It's...it's not like you knew me before and you could have refused, I...I would understand that. I think. But you agreed to let me stay and I'm grateful and all, but...I just don't get it. Why?" Pausing for a moment, he added "sorry if that's a stupid question. I just want to understand."

It might have taken Wayne a second longer than ideal to answer, but he didn't want to spit ketchup on the poor boy who already seemed flustered enough. He held his finger up and quickly washed down the food with a gulp of soda. "First rule of this house, son," he said and smiled at Eddie, actually smiled, although his facial muscles protested. "Ain't no such thing as stupid questions. Anything you want to ask, just ask. And if I know the answer, I will give it. Understood?"

Eddie was maintaining eye contact now and he nodded eagerly. Almost too eagerly. It made Wayne reconsider in that very second, because this wasn't a withdrawn soul like he'd suspected - this was a boy who wanted to open up to someone so, so badly. "Yes," he muttered and Wayne couldn't help himself, he reached out, slowly, and ruffled whatever hair remained on Eddie's head. And Eddie didn't move away, just watched his hand like a hawk and, when he ensured he wasn't in any danger, even leaned into it, giving Wayne a small smile.

Returning to his side of the table, Wayne leaned in. "Why'd I take you in? I could give you a bunch of reasons, none would fully cover it. Obligation, sure. You're family, that's another thing. But most of all, I just..." He trailed off, finding the correct words, the truthful words. Throughout all of it, Eddie was watching him, waiting. "I guess I just want to give you something better, Eddie. Danny and I, we didn't have the best family, not sure how much he told you. And there ain't much we can do to fix ourselves, but I look at you and I think...maybe I can make a difference right here. Because you seem like a bright kid to me and I just...I just want to do right by you. Even if I'm the only one."

Eddie swallowed thickly, fidgeting. "And...and if I turn out like him?" he mumbled, struggling to keep the eye contact. "What if you...you do that, but I still fail?"

Damn, Wayne Munson did not cry, but the fear, the insecurity in Eddie's voice tugged at something in his chest. He reached over again and grasped Eddie's bony shoulder. "Then you'll still have home here for as long as you want. All I want from you is to give it your best shot. That work for you?"

The boy smiled at him and nodded, wiping at his eyes. "Yeah."

"Good." They were grinning at each other over dirty plates, the smell of ketchup and cheap soda between them. "And I meant what I said. Anythin' you want to ask, go for it. No question is a stupid question."

Eddie smirked at him and Wayne might have detected a glint of mischief in his eyes. He thought he'd bend over backwards to keep it there, to give this frightened kid a bit of childhood back. "Anything, huh?" he asked.

"Yup. But count on me askin' a lot of stuff too. Like," he paused, rubbing his chin in deep thought.

It was ridiculous. But Wayne remembered what the doctors told him when he returned from Vietnam - sometimes to get moving, you need something unexpected, something to confuse the anxiety right out of your brain. So he dug deep and hard into his imaginative side and pointed at Eddie. "What is the single superior animal noise? No long thinking, go."

Eddie blinked at him, once, twice, and then he burst out laughing. He kicked his knee into the table and the dishes rattled around, but he couldn't stop himself. He was wheezing, grasping the side of the table and trying to breathe. And if that didn't make Wayne's heart swell. "You...you looked so serious!" gasped Eddie between snorts and giggles.

"It's a serious question. Now, Eddie, what's your answer?" Wayne tried to keep his face under control, but Eddie's grin was contagious.

The boy cleared his throat and leaned forwards, brow furrowing in concentration. "So many fine choices," he said in a contemplative voice that made Wayne nearly choke on his soda because it sounded like a poor imitation of a British TV celebrity. "I have to go with ribbit. Unique and well-balanced." Glancing at Wayne, he shot back. "The soup to beat all the soups!"

Wayne smirked and crossed his arms. "That's an easy one. Bean soup. And before you ask - not from a can."

"Knew it."

It gradually becomes their thing.

Whenever Eddie is lost in thought, when he comes back from school with a new bruise, Wayne shoots a ridiculous question at him, what is the best race in the Middle Earth for a basketball tournament, what is the ideal number of dried peas to have in your kitchen, and Eddie's smile is back, as radiant as ever.

When Wayne returns from the plant, grumbling about the stupid idiots from the previous shift making his job harder, he finds Eddie bouncing on his feet, waiting for him to come home to ask what is the ideal sole color for running shoes. "Not the shoe color, the sole, Wayne, what is the sole color that makes you just want to run? No thinking, go!"

Even years after Eddie's hair has grown into the thick wavy locks that Wayne isn't envious of, nope, not at all, they still randomly yell questions at each other across the trailer. Eddie hollers "WHAT'S THE FUNNIEST FRUIT IN THE WHOLE WORLD WAYNE?!" and Wayne shouts back "IT'S PEACH BECAUSE IT'S STUPIDLY HAIRY JUST LIKE A CERTAIN NEPHEW OF MINE AND STOP YELLING, BOY!". Wayne asks between quiet puffs of smoke outside "if you had to wear a hat for the rest of your life, what hat would that be?" and Eddie blows out a circle and snickers "a top hat." There's a joke there and Wayne smiles to himself, wondering if he should acknowledge it.

And eventually, when his boy is returned to him after the hell that was March of 1986, when Eddie slowly heals and the Harrington boy doesn't leave his side, Wayne has the perfect question but he bides his time, watching the two fools dance around each other like the foolish fools they are (has he mentioned they are fools? Because they absolutely are). He's hoping he won't need to ask the question, maybe it will be enough to just wait, but nope, he's had enough. Life is too short for people like him and Eddie. So he grabs a couple of beers, drags Eddie to the porch of their government-funded house and after a couple of cans, starts their favorite pasttime.

"What's the best pink thing to ever exist?"

"Plastic flamingos," responds Eddie and sips his beer. "The one piece of clothing humanity should have never invented?"

"Ties, who's supposed to learn to tie that thing...the best cat name?"

"Household or wild?"

"Wild."

"Fluffles. Imagine being eaten by that in the woods. You'd never live it down, even after dying. The most humiliating job ever?"

"TV weather guy. Must suck to be wrong all the time." He doesn't even pause, just continues in the disinterested, flat tone they always use for their late night rounds of no-stupid-question. "The best place to take Steve for a date?"

"Somewhere calm, I think a picnic, he doesn't do well with a lot of loud noises or people," replies Eddie immediately. He sips his beer and freezes, mid-gulp, when his mind finally catches up with his mouth.

Wayne just pats his shoulder reassuringly. "Sounds like a great plan to me." When Eddie doesn't answer or move, he adds "swallow, boy."

Eddie pours the rest of his beer into his mouth and chuckles at Wayne, breathless. "That sounds more like a second date idea. Uh, shit. Sorry. I mean..."

"I'll pretend I stopped listening at the picnic," says Wayne, but the smile tugging at his lips betrays his sternness. "Just stay safe, Eddie. But if I have to keep watchin' you and that pretty boy dance around each other for a week longer, I swear I'll have you two sit down and talk it out, kindergarten style. So you'd better ask him out before I give him the talk."

With the corner of his eye, he sees Eddie nodding, grasping the can for support. "Will do. Just...are you..." He bites his lip, turns to Wayne. "Does this change anything?"

"I sure hope it does!" Wayne flicks the ash off his cigarette. "For one, I'd expect your room to be much cleaner when you get a boyfriend."

They're both chuckling now, clinking their empty beer cans together. "Smart ass," says Eddie but it has no bite, no venom. "Thank you, dad," he says quietly, and Wayne can't help himself, he throws his arm over Eddie's shoulders and pulls him into a very uncomfortable sideways hug. It's the best hug in his life.

When Eddie throws open the door the next Friday and hollers "WHAT IS THE BEST CHAPSTICK FLAVOR FOR KISSING?" and Wayne answers, he gets corrected for the first time. "Wrong," says Eddie and wipes at his mouth, still grinning wildly. "It's cherry."

And Wayne gets proven right once more when, not even a year later, after rebuilding of Hawkins, practically adopting Steve into their small weird family, Eddie proves to him that he's not just scarily observant, but he learns the worst tricks in the book.

Because sure, Wayne might have buried his own needs and desires so deep they're practically at the Earth's core, but then there was a sympathetic man close to his age, maybe a bit younger, who approached Wayne and told him he's so happy for him that Eddie is back, that he taught Eddie in middle school and he never believed a single word about his involvement because that boy is incapable of harming anyone, that's what he said. And he invited Wayne for a beer because some people were still treating the name Munson as the plague itself and Wayne might be finding himself looking at Eddie and Steve, wishing that he was younger, he had more courage...

So he's still mostly lost in those thoughts when Eddie starts pestering him during one of Steve's shifts, meaning they're home alone and bored. It's late July, they're both sitting on the porch, sipping beer again, and Wayne has already answered questions about the mug to end all mugs, whether soccer would be more fun to watch with human-sized insects and who is the single person from all Hawkins to be sent to Mars to never return. And then Eddie asks "what's the best movie to take Scott Clarke for the first date?" and Wayne's brain short circuits.

When he comes to, Eddie is smirking at him sympathetically, offering him a new can of beer because Wayne dropped the old one. "Come on, did you think I wouldn't notice?" he asks and nudges his shoulder. "I can sense the "desperately in love" Munson eyes from a mile away. I've got them patented, you know. So. Your answer?"

Wayne coughs and stammers out that it would have to be something smart because Scott is smart. And that he isn't smart enough to figure out what he'd like, so it's not really a good question...

But Eddie just shakes his head and reaches into his pocket, producing two tickets to the Hawkins movie theatre. "Wrong, Wayne. Or not completely. Mr. Clarke - Scott, shit, that's difficult to get used to, he loves smart things, but he's also a massive nerd, as our lady Applejack loves to call him and everyone within a certain interest group. And I happen to know there's something called RoboCop playing tomorrow. I also happen to have two tickets right here, to know that Scott is free and that he'll be waiting for you 15 minutes before the movie starts."

Wayne gapes at him, mouth hanging open and speechless for the first time in his life. His eyes are traveling between the tickets and Eddie's smile while he's desperately trying to stomp out the flames of hope in his heart. "But...but what if he doesn't see me like that?" he asks and he hates how small and insecure he sounds, but Eddie needs to understand that things are different for people like him, for his age, his...whole person.

His nephew - no, son - throws his head back and laughs into the setting sun. "Look at that," he grins and shoves the two tickets into Wayne's hand. "That has to be the first stupid question I've ever heard from you. Let's see..." he taps on his chin, pretending to think. "Ask me again tomorrow after the movie, okay? If you still need to ask."

The next evening, Eddie leans next to the door when Wayne returns from the movie. "So..." he drawls, raising his eyebrows. "Do you still need me to answer?"

And Wayne huffs out a laugh and shakes his head. "Nah, no more stupid questions in this household."

#steddie fanfiction #steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #academic fairy godmother Aneta #clarkson #wayne munson #scott clarke #steddie drabble #stranger things #stranger things fanfiction

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lupizora · 5 years ago

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No One Left Behind

This was my super late gift fic to WhatIsMagic over on the Boku no Ship Academia discord server for their Secret Santa 2019. Admittedly, lots of RL issues popped up to make the process more difficult than it already was. But procrastination is a bitch too... ^^” I’m happy with the end result though! It was my first time writing from Kirishima’s POV and the sunshine OT3, which turned out to be more fun than I expected~ Hope you enjoy!! ^w^

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure/Romance

Pairing: Kirikacchako

Rating: T

Word Count: 5,235

Summary: Kirishima's life was simple. Along with Bakugou, his partner-in-crime, they roamed the land in search of a place to call home. They even had a solid plan in his opinion. But life doesn't get any easier because you're a fire-breathing dragon. Especially not after meeting a charming yet tougher-than-she-looks witch that's asking for a fight.

Fight us? She’s so tiny! Kirishima had thought upon landing his gaze on Uraraka for the first time.

From barely reaching the knee of his dragon foot to the deteriorating state of her clothes, the Mage hadn’t appeared to be a threat. Not until she managed to knock down Kirishima with a single attack.

This infuriated his partner-in-crime and the land’s most dangerous bandit, Bakugou Katsuki. No amount of foes had been able to do that before, neither this fast. So he attacked Uraraka without holding back while Kirishima tried to stand again, pain traveling on his long skull like ripples on a lake.

Their fight seemed endless. Through his dragon vision, Kirishima could follow it easily despite the dust cloud they raised while dueling. It had been forever since he had last seen Bakugou being equally matched by anyone. Yet, this girl made him struggle with her wind magic, forcing him at some point to use his explosive fire magic. It resulted in leveling the first line of trees surrounding the glade Uraraka had found them.

As the aftershocks of that clash resided, Kirishima decided this had run long enough. Someone from the nearby village would come to chase them out; bringing more trouble than this dispute was worth. He could admit the Mage had guts though. Holding her ground against Bakugou with ferocity akin to a mother bear was an admirable feat. But they had to stop. Kirishima sprained his mind, trying to figure out how to resolve this fight without hurting their pride. All he came up with was sitting in between them during a pause for breath. This effectively blocked their path of attack, redirecting their general frustration at him.

“What the hell are you doing?” Bakugou shouted, striking his blades against the dragon’s scales.

Kirishima couldn’t feel anything so he left him to rage and addressed the Mage. ”We aren’t going to hurt anyone. We’re simply passing by on our way to the Elderworm Forest.”

She stared at him with wide eyes as if it was her first time seeing a dragon talk. The attention felt different though. Sure, she stared but it wasn’t the unsettling glare most peasants gave Kirishima like they pondered whether he would eat them or not. Her smell was flowery sweet like awe and wonder, instead of the sharp tang of fear. Flames danced in his stomach like fleeting butterflies.

“I see,” said the Mage. “If that’s the case, uh… Mr. Dragon.”

“Kirishima,” he said with a snicker. “Just call me Kirishima.”

“Alright…You seem kind, Kirishima, so I believe you.” She grabbed her staff tighter and tried to glance over at Bakugou. “But he—”

“I’m what, Round Face?” Bakugou sneered. “Not worth your time?”

“I’d say rude and tactless but you know that already,” she mumbled loud enough for everyone to hear.

“You got some nerve! Third-class Mages like you should know their place.”

“Oh? I wonder what your bandit brothers will say when they find I swiped the floor with you!”

Kirishima placed a paw on Bakugou’s head to prevent him from attacking her again. “How about we all calm down and eat something? It’s getting late and dinner tastes better with a company, don’t you think?”

Both adversaries huffed in annoyance. Their growling stomachs betrayed them though and they reluctantly agreed to the idea with blushing faces. Leaving them at opposite sides of the clearing, Kirishima set up camp. He had plenty of fallen tree trunks at his disposal to create a small pure in the middle. After lighting it up with his dragon breath, he forced Bakugou to quit his sulking and unpack their things from Kirishima’s back. They were running low on vegetables and other spices the bandit used in their meals but had enough meat to last them until the next big town. So Kirishima wasn’t too worried. After all, Bakugou could make everything taste good even with the bare minimum of materials. It was one of the reasons the dragon enjoyed traveling together. Things used to taste very bland before.

Soon, the smell of a freshly cooked meal spread in the clearing. Kirishima’s mouth watered, saliva dripping on the ground and sizzling whenever it hit the burning embers of the fire.

“Watch it,” Bakugou scolded him. “You’d get drool all over the food!”

He whined in return and dropped his head between his front legs, wagging his tail like a puppy dog. Of course, this motion raised quite the racket coming from an overgrown lizard. Annoyed from this distraction, his friend eventually threw him a half-cooked rib. Kirishima gobbled it whole in one go.

As he was licking his snout in delight, his gaze fell on the Mage. She was sitting on a log at the furthest point the fire could reach. They had introduced each other properly while setting camp earlier. Her name was Uraraka Ochako, a wandering Mage currently in her thesis quest. She had to complete the quest to graduate from her Master Wizard school. It sounded like a lot of trouble for a seal of approval to Kirishima, but humans always had to make things more complicated than they should.

Picking another freshly cooked piece of meat from Bakugou’s makeshift pan, Kirishima approached Uraraka and placed it on a smooth rock in front of her.

“Is that for me?” Uraraka asked, surprised.

“Yup!” He took a seat next to her. “And it’s not poisoned if that’s worrying you.”

She cooed and picked it up bare-handed. “That’s so sweet of you. I’ve been starving actually!” Ignoring the look of hatred Bakugou directed at her from the other side of the fire, she inhaled the food in a matter of moments.

No lie. She must have been really hungry, Kirishima thought.

He hadn’t seen a human woman eat so carelessly and messy before. It was different in a good way; like everything about her seemed to be.

They spent the better of the night talking about this and that until both Mages fell asleep. Kirishima stayed awake a little longer, self-conscious of Uraraka’s back leaning against his side. Her body heat was nothing compared to the raging inferno in his gut. But it made his thoughts travel far and wide.

Maybe those exact thoughts were the reason when—come morning—he asked Uraraka to join along in their journey to the Elderworm Woods—much to Bakugou’s loud and very vocal objections.

“No.”

“We’re all headed in the same direction.”

“I refuse!”

Kirishima dropped his shoulders with a sigh. “Technically, I’m the one carrying the bags so it’s my shot to make.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Bakugou said. “I’m the one in charge.”

“Please don’t make me say things I’ll regret, man.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, huh?”

“That you just don’t want me along because I kicked your butt,” Uraraka said. She had perched on a tree branch, observing the scene at a safe distance from Bakugou’s fire-like powers.

He turned around, pointing his finger at her. “You stay out of it! This is between me and my partner.”

Seeing this was going to turn into another fight, Kirishima donned his human form and stood in between them again. “She’s coming or we’re walking there and that’s final.” He said to Bakugou.

He appeared firm and serious, but his insides were coiling with anxiety. It was rare for the dragon to directly challenge Bakugou’s ‘authority’ like this. More often than not, Kirishima let Bakugou take the initiative because their goals aligned, not out of fear. Kirishima could withstand most magic attacks with ease after all. Except when it came to Uraraka’s magic. He couldn’t understand what had come over him regarding the Mage. It worried him not that she beat him. There was a first time for everything and Kirishima wasn’t the strongest dragon in the land at the end of the day. He told himself that her coming along wasn’t just to keep a close watch on her. He wanted Uraraka to come, simple as that.

Bakugou crossed his arms, still scowling. “Fine. But she’s cooking her meals.”

Kirishima grinned. “Aye, sir!” He turned around but his words were cut short.

Once she got a glimpse of his face, Uraraka fell from the branch into the bushes underneath the tree.

“Gods!” Kirishima rushed to her and parted the vegetation. “Are you alright?”

Uraraka straightened her hooded hat. “Yes! I...lost my balance is all!” she said with a cheerful high-pitched squeak, taking his offered hand. After standing up, Uraraka continued holding onto it. Her fingers trailed the larger scales along his forearm before stopping on the underside of his human arm. She seemed mesmerized from the smaller pebble-like scales he had there instead of smooth skin.

Bakugou’s curt cough snapped her out of whatever trance she had entered.

“Ah! I’m so sorry, Kirishima!” Uraraka said, blushing and waving her hands in front of her. “That was rude of me. I should have asked you if it was okay. I’m very sorry!”

The dragon returned his gaze on his arm. Warmth, unlike any he’d felt before, spread from the spots she had touched him. “You don’t have to apologize,” Kirishima stammered, scratching the back of his head. “I don’t remember the last time anyone grabbed my hand so carelessly.”

“I see.” Her rosy cheeks turned, if possible, redder. “If that’s settled then...I should get my things ready! Bye!” She bolted in the direction of the camp.

Her reaction puzzled Kirishima but he didn’t press the matter any further. They had an entire trip ahead to figure out things if they had to.

Bakugou remained uncharacteristically silent for the rest of that day.

***

Uraraka turned out to be a pleasant company indeed. With a spring in her step, she filled the following weeks with joy and excitement. Everything amazed her. From flowers growing on top of ancient columns, to the way Kirishima’s scales glistened when the sun hit them just right. It was contagious.

Even Bakugou started warming up to her. Especially after discovering how terrible were her actual cooking skills.

“No one can burn boiling water,” he said while throwing away the remains of Uraraka’s shoddy kettle, “or turn perfectly solid meat into slime. How you made it this far is beyond me!”

The Mage joined her hands together with an awkward smile. “People’s generosity?”

Bakugou shot his meanest stinky eye and begrudgingly accepted to involve her in their meal plans. He didn’t change his overall attitude towards Uraraka though; always keeping his distance as if uncertain of what to think of her. In Kirishima’s eyes, it was a tentative first step forward at least.

They eventually fell into a peaceful routine in their traveling. Guards stopped chasing Kirishima and Bakugou the moment they spotted them in town, allowing them a couple of hours to browse for supplies before sounding the alarm. As the group traveled mostly through the air, they had already covered a great distance by the time kingdom forces were alerted.

Kirishima had been worried Uraraka might come to the wrong conclusions. The duo weren’t criminals. Bakugou had simply ridiculed the current ruler once, and the King hadn’t taken it lightly. But Uraraka laughed her heart out when the dragon tried to explain the situation, calling it silly and dropping the subject. Relief washed over Kirishima. He let her ride on his head for the rest of that flight, smiling all the way. His partner, surprisingly, didn’t complain about the sitting arrangement for once.

This serenity was a fragile and fleeting state to remain for long though.

***

Things started going downhill when they reached the Great Mountains. Those massive blocks of earth, rising white and blue from the mist, were the last barrier before the Elderworm Woods. Plenty had attempted to cross them in the past; most giving up from the harsh cold and lack of proper passages. However, Kirishima had been confident about making it across when he had first suggested it to Bakugou. He could keep the Barbarian warm even if his winter garments and furs failed him. But the dragon hadn’t planned for a third person in their group, more so how it would distract him from his duties. The Gods had their way to jog his memory though.

On the third day of their crossing, while they were scaling a steep slope, Bakugou slipped. Kirishima could only stare in shock as his partner fell, his cape billowing behind him. Something passed next to Kirishima in a blur. It was Uraraka free-falling. The action startled him enough to snap out of his trance. Kirishima jumped after them, his wings unfolding from behind his back as he regained his dragon form. Passing through the clouds that had settled around the cliff, he found them suspended in midair. A pink aura was covering both their bodies like a shimmering cloak, but it flickered around Uraraka. She continued chanting; hands shaking around her magic staff. Her levitation spell wouldn’t last long.

With Bakugou too dumbfounded to reason, Kirishima just hovered below him and called for Uraraka to drop him. She did with a relieved sigh. Feeling Bakugou’s weight settle on his saddle, Kirishima flew upwards and picked the Mage midair. They reached the top and landed smoothly on the plateau there.

As Uraraka stroke Kirishima’s snout, Bakugou approached them with heavy steps and turned her around to face him.

“What did you do?” He yelled.

Uraraka stared back, the sharp scent of fear emanating from her body. “I saved… you.”

“Get one thing straight, Round Face. I didn’t need your help! Not now, not ever.”

“But you’d have died!” She released her arm from his grip. “I couldn’t just stand there and let you perish!”

“Spare me this shit,” he snapped back. “I have a motherfucking dragon on my side. Kirishima would have caught me before I hit the ground.”

“I wouldn’t.”

Both turned their questionable gaze at him.

Kirishima stared at his feet, his two hearts beating erratically. “I froze for a moment back there. Yeah, I might have had reached you but I can’t say that for sure. If Uraraka hadn’t intervened…”

Bakugou huffed and withdrew to the furthest corner of the plateau.

The Mage and the dragon set camp by themselves, occupying their thoughts with small talk and jokes.

Later on, when night had spread her silky midnight veil over the horizon and Uraraka had fallen asleep against Kirishima’s side, he heard the shuffling of clothes and steps approaching. The faint aroma of caramel Bakugou gave off was the only reason Kirishima wasn’t alarmed and continued to pretend to be asleep. The steps seized when they reached the dragon’s right side.

“You didn’t have to side with her,” Bakugou said.

Kirishima finally opened one eye to look at him. “I was being honest.”

“Bullshit.”

“It was the truth and you know it. You’d have been injured or worse, dead.”

“I’m not afraid of death,” Bakugou said. “It comes for everyone in the end.” Stepping on Kirishima’s snout, he scaled the dragon’s head to sit between his horns. “Your tongue has been getting ahead of itself lately.”

“Is that a problem?” Kirishima didn’t need to study his partner’s face to understand this was troubling him.

“It’s a bother, that’s what it is.” Bakugou flopped backward. “Where is this audacity coming from?”

“I’m not saying anything different than I did before.” Kirishima snorted. “You react to it more now.”

“I do not!”

“If you say so, man.”

Bakugou huffed. “She was being reckless,” he said, returning to their previous argument. “The idiot could have killed us both with that risky plan.”

“I thought it was brave,” Kirishima said wistfully. “And Uraraka did save your life, dude. You gotta thank her!”

“Whatever.” His cape slipped over the dragon’s right ear as Bakugou laid on his side. “Just go to sleep.”

Typical, Kirishima thought with a fond eye-roll.

His partner would prefer to set himself on fire before he acknowledged anyone’s help, even if that assistance had saved him from plummeting to his certain death. But if there was one thing bothering Kirishima was his own reaction back then. He prided himself in his quick reflexes. And yet, Uraraka’s smile had distracted him.

Could this be dangerous? he wondered while drifting asleep.

***

After the fiasco with the cliff, Bakugou decided he had his fill with scaling the mountains. If they could fly to reach them, they could fly across them too. No one objected to this plan at first, but it quickly turned into an extremely awkward ride. Bakugou hadn’t exchanged a single word with Uraraka since the incident and neither did she. Having to sit close, due to the harsh cold, didn’t prompt them to mend their differences either.

This negativity tired Kirishima. He was doing all the hard work. Couldn’t these two clear the tension between them? If only until they reached their destination at least.

The Gods granted his wish in the form of a snowstorm. Strong winds were bending his wings in the wrong directions. His second eyelid protected his eyes from the snow, but Kirishima couldn’t see clearly from the fogginess it accumulated.

“Hold on!” He shouted as dark shapes sprouted in front of him. The last thing he heard before colliding with something solid where his party’s screams.

When Kirishima opened his eyes again, everything was white. Ice and snow slid from his belly as he turned around to stand on all fours. His ears were ringing and his front was sore from his fall. Still, he craned his neck to find his saddle empty.

Panic flared in his chest as Kirishima scanned the horizon.

Oh, no… How long has it been?

There was nothing but plan hills made of snow as far as his eyes could reach.

No. I didn’t ask for this.

He dashed ahead, the ground parting beneath him in waves.

No! That’s not what I wanted.

Sure, things would be better if they got along. Bakugou was his friend, his partner, the closest thing he had to family anymore. The world could be against him and his personality had seen better days, but Kirishima had sworn to be there for him, in thick and thin. Compared to that, his relationship with Uraraka was still fresh; an uncharted, delicate bond Kirishima was only starting to make sense off. But if anything happened to her, none of his hearts wouldn’t take it.

Something shimmered on his left. The air was different around that terrain as if there was a boiling pot buried underneath. Kirishima bolted in that direction, not paying any attention at how the snow got deep enough to reach his shoulder. It was getting warmer.

After a long final jump, he landed on something soft and squishy. Releasing his fire, Kirishima melted the ice around it to reveal a pink force-field. Two forms were huddled together in its center, under Bakugou’s fur-lined cape.

“Guys!” Kirishima shouted.

Uraraka’s eyes fluttered open and she offered him a weak smile. The field started dissipating, allowing him to enter. Kirishima didn’t waste time and curled around them, offering his body’s heat. Relief washed over him, filling his eyes with water. Just as Kirishima settled his head on his tail, his gaze crossed with Bakugou’s red.

“Why are you crying, idiot?” The Barbarian murmured, exhausted.

He sniffed. “I almost lost you again.”

Bakugou scoffed and rapped his knuckles against the dragon’s scales. “You’re here now and that’s what fucking matters.”

***

When they resumed their traveling, the tension was gone. Uraraka even settled in Bakugou’s lap and he had to hug her to hold the reins. At first, Kirishima didn't pay much attention to it. They had been in mortal peril before, almost freezing to death. Of course, they would cuddle for warmth. Kirishima went as far as to congratulate Uraraka for convincing his stubborn partner to go with the original plan. Her flustered reaction tipped him off that something was amiss though. Ignoring the sour taste it left in his mouth, Kirishima focused on getting them away from these cursed mountains instead.

The rest of the trip was uneventful and after a particular steep peak, the Elderworm Woods unfolded before their eyes; a vast green sea, full of creatures with every size and color under the sun. Giant trees—taller than the High Castle itself—spread over the terrain. Magic rode on the wind like sparkly ribbons made of stars. Kirishima could sense it, filtering through his wings and bouncing on his scales.

It felt like home.

His excitement carried over to the others. Uraraka was tracing her fingers through the air with glee. A small smile spread across Bakugou’s face as he tried to see everything at once.

They were happy and it should have been enough. Kirishima didn’t want to think about the consequences of reaching their destination. But as they settled for the night, he was unable to sleep. Scenario upon scenario bounced around his head like excited fox-squirrels. What all of them had in common was Uraraka or Bakugou or, Gods forbid, both leaving him behind. He could stay in this forest forever but could they?.

The blooming romance between the two only increased Kirishima’s worry. Bakugou wasn’t the type of guy to sit in a field of flowers with anyone before; more so with someone, he had been on the fence for a while. Whenever Kirishima asked him about it, the Barbarian claimed he was helping Uraraka with her thesis. The sooner she finished, the better for everyone. Uraraka would return to her Academy, he and Kirishima would return on their adventuring. Yet, by observing them, it seemed more like Bakugou stalled on purpose. Chasing Uraraka around while she was gathering herbs. Climbing with her on trees to stargaze or exploring the forest together.

Kirishima couldn’t ignore the truth anymore. He didn’t want to get in the way of their happiness either.

So one day, while Uraraka went on her regular herb-hunting, Kirishima grabbed Bakugou and flew to the nearest hill. Despite his protests, the Barbarian remained quiet after their landing. Transforming into his human form, Kirishima took a seat on a boulder. He had gone over his words several times. Still, he didn’t know where to begin.

“If you have something to say, just get this over with.” Bakugou crossed his arms. “She’s gonna get worried and whine about it.”

Kirishima took the crumb, like a drowning man looking for a lifeline. “That’s what I wanna talk about.”

“Uraraka’s whining?”

“No! Uraraka in general.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “And she’s kind-hearted enough to worry about us. You should give her more credit about that.”

“Fine. What about her?”

“I’ve noticed she acts differently around you lately. I mean you still have your arguments and rivalry going on, but it’s more mellow than before. Almost like teasing,” Kirishima said, pulling at some weeds. “I don’t think you notice it but you have this look on your face whenever Uraraka is around like spring has come early.” Saying his observations aloud wasn’t supposed to hurt. But Kirishima’s insides were twisting; as if the fire in his lungs had escaped to the rest of his body. “All I’m trying to say is that it’s pretty obvious that you like her and she does too. So I—“

“Huh?!” Birds flew away from the foliage nearby, Bakugou’s yell scaring them off. His eyes were so wide, they might as well had popped up from their sockets at any moment. “You serious?” He said, calmer but still in a tone of disbelief. “Are you blind? She likes you!”

“What?” It was Kirishima’s turn to stare as if madness had contaminated his partner.

Bakugou started passing. His cape swiped the ground, raising dust behind him. “She never shuts up about you. Always has a nice word and a smile for you. Haven’t you learned anything about human courtship all these years?” He turned around to point dramatically at him. “You obviously like her back too. Giving her the best part of the meat. Offering rides. Looking at her as if you worship the ground she walks on. So don’t joke around!”

“I’m not! I’m not human, man. I may look like the part from time to time. Deep down though, I’m too different to completely understand her,” he said. Clenching his scale-covered fists, Kirishima stood up to reason with his partner. “I’m a monster. That’s why she’s better off with you anyway.”

“Bullshit!” Bakugou bonked him on the head. “You’re soft-hearted to a fault! People see someone big that breathes fire and they think he’s dangerous. We both know that you’d be better off at some secluded cave in the mountains than go around burning villages,” he said with a wave. “So what if I am human? They are scared of me! Who, in their right mind, would want to be around someone who half the kingdom is asking for his head?”

“You’re not that scary, man,” Kirishima said. “I’ve stayed by your side for so long, didn’t I?”

“You don’t classify as ‘someone in his right mind’ for exactly that reason.” Bakugou took a deep breath. “Never. Not once, I got that reaction from you. As if you aren’t fazed by anything and everything in the world is your friend. So don’t give me this crap of being a monster. If there is one, that’s me. And Uraraka is better off with someone that can treat her right.”

“But she’s so head-over-heels for you, dude!” Kirishima shook him by the shoulders. “You just don’t want to admit it.”

Bakugou grabbed him by the horns and pressed their foreheads together. “You are the one in denial and projecting your feelings on me.”

“Just admit it!”

“You admit it!”

“Don’t I have a say in all this?” Uraraka’s voice, albeit sweet with a tinge of a hidden laugh in her tone, dropped like lighting right then and there.

The boys untangled themselves and stared back at her. Uraraka held her wand on one hand and a patch of herbs under the other. Her hair and clothes were a mess. She probably flew to this hill too since their camp was at least a mile away. Her body language wasn’t showing any angry signs. But Kirishima could smell the anxiety oozing from her in waves.

“I thought something happened,” Uraraka said with a sigh. “And here you are, arguing over something so stupid!”

It stunk. Was there a possibility she wasn’t romantically interested in either of them and they had made a fool of themselves, treating her as an object and not a person with her own will?

“What do you mean?” Bakugou demanded to know.

“I have two hands!” Uraraka exclaimed frustrated.

Kirishima didn’t understand the statement and by Bakugou’s blank expression, neither did he.

“Of course you have two hands,” the dragon offered. “You’re a human. That’s normal.”

Uraraka huffed. Leaving her staff and the herbs on the ground, she approached them with a confident stance. Both boys took an involuntary step back, not sure what to expect of her. When Uraraka finally stood in front of them, she took ahold of one hand from each.

“See?” she asked with a blinding smile. “We can all stay together this way.”

Bakugou figured it out first. His whole face turned the same shade of red as Kirishima’s scales. Heat emanated from his body, small wisps of smoke trailing from his free fist.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” the Barbarian muttered, not looking any of them in the eye.

Kirishima scratched his cheek, still staring at their joint hands as if it was a puzzle he couldn’t solve. “I don’t get it,” he said.

"It means I like you both, silly!" Uraraka said as if it was the simplest concept in the world.

"Oh."

"Oh?" Bakugou grabbed Kirishima by his jacket. "That's all you have to say?"

The dragon allowed his body to be rocked sideways. "Why are you angry, man? This great! I haven't heard of a three people's mating but it could work, right?"

Bakugou's face turned, if possible, redder than before. "Like hell it is!" He turned to Uraraka. "And you. I don't know what possessed you, Round Face. This idiot here isn't some pet you keep in your backyard and throw away when it's too big to fit there. He is someone with feelings you can hurt with statements like that. Last week, he cried because he thought he destroyed a badgers nest!"

"I know! That's why I like him!" Uraraka said. "For his heart is his biggest strength and his smile is...” She blushed. “Adorable.”

“Really?” Kirishima pointed at his razor-sharp teeth. “Don’t you think it’s scary?”

“Says who?” Bakugou scoffed. “It’s badass, that’s all.”

Uraraka cooed—to the Barbarian’s embarrassment—before her grin turned into a frown. “I still can’t believe both of you like me. I thought I was getting between you two.”

“What?!” The boys cried.

“Hear me out!” she said. “You called each other ‘partner’ all the time.”

“Yeah,” Bakugou said. “Because we are comrades-in-arms.”

“I was watching you two from the day I met you. It always looked like something more.”

At that moment, a particularly challenging battle flashed before Kirishima’s eyes. Bakugou and he had been separated. Soldiers were surrounding the dragon to stop him. Kirishima did feel a bit sorry for them when he resumed his human form and broke through their blockade. It hadn’t lasted for long though, as the mindset of battle overcame him. With half a mind, he continued searching for his partner. Deep down, Kirishima knew it was unnecessary. Bakugou was a powerful wizard and a merciless warrior; he didn’t need assistance. But he was also human and not having him in his sight, made Kirishima worry.

During a lull in the battle, he finally spotted ash-blond spiky hair in the distance. The Barbarian had lost his cape, fighting bare-chested with his trusty curved blades on both hands. Bloodstains littered his body but they weren’t from his wounds. Kirishima dropped the soldier he had just defeated, watching mesmerized while Bakugou fought simultaneously against three enemies with a wicked grin on his face. It was a memory the dragon held dear in his two hearts because it was what real freedom looked like to him.

“I guess that’s true,” Kirishima said with a shy smile.

Pulling his hand away, Bakugou turned around with arms crossed. His scent was resembling more of burnt caramel and smoke escaped his clenched fists in bulk.

“Said something wrong?” Uraraka asked.

Although his expression wasn’t visible, Kirishima knew they didn’t have to worry. If anything, the Barbarian’s ears still had a touch of red to them.

“No,” Bakugou grumbled. “You’re just disgustingly corny.”

The dragon and the Mage exchanged a knowing look before both tackled him from behind.

“Get off me!”

“We love you, too!” Uraraka chimed.

Kirishima’s hearts were hammering so loud in his chest. Joy, unlike any he felt before, filled him to the brim like a magic boost. Without Kirishima realizing, his wings unfolded and he shot to the sky above them with an excited roar. He didn’t have to choose between them nor would he be left behind. They could stay together for as long as they lived.

“Put us down, you idiot!” Bakugou shouted over the wind. “You can be happy on the ground too!”

#kirikacchako #kirishima eijirou #bakugou katsuki #uraraka ochako #dragon!kirishima #barbarian!bakugou #witch!uraraka #bnha fantasy au #fantasy rpg au #fantasy au #boku no hero academia #bnha #bnha fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #secret santa #bnsa secret santa 2019 #wolfswriting

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silly-anshe · 6 years ago

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Different approaches to the truth: Dænerys, Jon and the Iron Throne

(this is in response to this post)

The Starks vs. Dænerys clash is very clear, especially in ep. 4. So we have two scenes in which Jon seems to be in the middle of this clash: both sides want him to pick them. But from what I’ve seen all week is that something really important is flying over people/stans’ heads, and that’s their reasons. While the clash started as something purely political, it turned to be extremely personal (for Dæny in 8x02, for the Starks in 8x04). The conflict is still very much political, but now in a way that not only affects the North but the whole Seven Kingdoms, and it’s personal because it puts at risk the last of two of the greatest Houses in Westeros, all because of RLJ.

While the Starklings view this issue as a personal one, one that has political connotations; for Dænerys is the other way around: this is a political issue that happens to be personal as well.

The scene really start when they kiss, because that will be the catalyst for their conflict in the scene: the fact that Jon is Rhaegar’s son and what that means, both personally and politically.

D: I wish you’ve never told me. If I didn’t know, I’d be happy right now. I try to forget, tonight I did for a while, and then I saw them gathered around you

D: I saw the way they looked at you. I know that look. So many people have looked at me that way but never here, never on this side of the sea.

She wants what Jon has: the people’s devotion. Just as she was Mhysa in Slaver’s Bay, just as she’s the great Khaleesi to the Dothraki, she wants that same devotion from the Lords and Ladies of Westeros, but the thing is Westeros is not the same as Essos. In Essos, she broke chains; in Westeros, she’s trying to subjugate people. Of course people won’t look at her the same way people did back in Essos. She’s been aware of this ever since she set foot in the North:

The fact that she witnesses the loyalty and trust Sansa also has is noteworthy. This ultimately becomes an issue for Dænerys. I believe one of the biggest issues Dæny has with Sansa is the fact that she has the things she so desperately wants: the people’s love, loyalty and trust. And she ends up resenting her for it, as we’ve seen in 8x04.

J: I told you I don’t want it

D: It doesn’t matter what you want

D: You didn’t want to be King in the North. What happens when they demand you press your claim and take what is mine?

Well, there’s a lot to unpack here. First of all, Jon is telling her he has no interest on the Throne. She can keep it. But Dæny offers two good points: he didn’t want to be KitN and he ended up being one and she’s factoring in the will of the people. I know we joke around saying she lacks self-awareness (it’s not really a joke if it’s true but that’s not the point), but right now, in this moment, she’s self-aware. She’s aware she doesn’t have the support of the people, that her chances of getting the Throne rest on her firepower and the support of the Lords. 8x01, 8x02 and the feast in 8x04 made her and us see that. She does not have the people’s loyalty, nor does she have their love. Who does though? The Starks, namely Jon and Sansa.

J: I’ll refuse. You are my Queen. I don’t know what else I can say.

D: You can say nothing to anyone, ever. Never tell them who you really are. Swear your brother and Samwell Tarly to secrecy and tell no one else

D: Or it will take a life of its own and you won’t be able to control it or what it does to people, no matter how many times you bend the knee, no matter what you swear.

Like I said, this is the first time in a while we’ve seen Dæny this self-aware, in this case, of her fragile grasp on the little power she has. While she asks Jon not to say a word, she’s passionate and vulnerable, a stark contrast to, let’s say, the audiences in 8x01 and 8x02, the war council in 8x02. Even during the reveal in 8x02, she had her “queenly mask”. But not here. Because she’s looking the truth at the face. While asking this of Jon, she’s acknowledging how fragile her power actually is. Because, in a land where people chose who should rule them, she knows she wouldn’t be first choice.

But there’s also another thing. She’s openly rejecting Jon as a Targaryen. For her, the complications of Jon being her nephew are purely political. Jon is a threat to her claim. So, to neutralize the threat, she asks him to keep the truth a secret. To make him consciously live a lie, all so she can get the Throne. And to be fair with Dæny, I get it. I fundamentally disagree with it, but I get it. She’s been on this journey for years. She suffered a lot in order to get where she’s now. And just when the Iron Throne is at the reach of her hand, another contender for the Throne appears. A legitimate Targaryen with a higher claim than hers who is loved and respected by northerners, the wildlings, the Knights of the Vale, and even some of the Lannisters. From her POV, it’s as if everything’s falling apart, just when she’s about to get the one thing she’s been after for so long. After facing many foes, after being abducted, after crossing the Narrow Sea, after losing Viserion, after losing a large part of her armies, after losing Jorah; it turns out she’s not the last Targaryen and she’s not the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. But she’s been isolated for so long, unapproachable, alone in that bubble of hers, all the while she feeded the idea of destiny, of being the princess that was promised, that she has a warped version of reality. So when she finds out Jon is her nephew, her family, she isn’t happy. Instead she sees it as a threat to what she’s set up to do. All of this contrasts the dynamic Jon has with the Starks:

But let’s go back to the Jon-Dæny scene.

D: I want it to be the way it was between us.

J: I have to tell Sansa and Arya.

I’ve given a definition (according to Roland Barthes) of a romantic scene in a previous meta:

In a romantic narrative, the scene is a back-and-forth. The two (they’re always two) argue or exchange remarks and they want to prove to the other that they are the ones on the right. They both seek to have the last word. As this is a back-and-forth, neither of the two is above the other; they’re on the same level, they’re equals, but most importantly, they need each other. It’s a confrontation, but neither of the two will leave the scene or submit to the other; it’s a way for the characters to have pleasure without it being physical: it tortures them, it’s perverse, but they will give into it.

For the scene to work, there must be a bait, something that will get the scene started. The bait can either be a) a fact (one affirms it and the other denies it) or b) a decision (one imposes it and the other rejects it). There is no way the tension in the scene can be resolved, there’s no agreement, simply because what’s being disputed between the two is not a fact or a decision, it’s something that lays outside the scene: it’s subtext. So the scene has no object or loses this object (the reason they’re arguing) very quickly. The scene builds in like a crescendo, what one character says reinforces the opposite idea of the other and so on and on. Silence is a powerful tool. It doesn’t stop a scene, it strengthens it. There are three possible ends to a scene, all external to the scene’s structure:

-both characters are fatigued -a stranger arrives -the aggression changes into desire

At first, one could read this scene as romantic. But it’s not. This scene plays like a reverse romance scene. It starts with desire (the kiss) but it quickly changes to aggression. There’s also the fact that Jon and Dæny are not equals. Jon tells Dæny she’s his Queen twice, one of them while he’s on his knees. She constantly brings up the power inbalance in their relationship (”it doesn’t matter what you want”, ”take what is mine”, “never tell them who you really are”, “no matter how many times you bend the knee”). The scene, instead of working as a back-and-forth, gives the impression of Jon trying his best to reassure Dænerys that what she’s saying that will happen won’t. It looks like the bait is a fact, the matter of Jon’s parentage and its impact, that one is affirming it and the other one is denying it. But Jon’s denial of what Dæny is saying comes from a place of submission. Jon denying what Dæny is affirming is him trying to appease her doubts and fears, nothing else. What’s my basis for saying this? The fact that there is no subtext. The conflict is explicit, it’s part of the text. This is not a romantic scene.

D: Sansa will want to see me gone and you on the Iron Throne.

J: She won’t.

D: She’s not the girl you grew up with. Not after what she’d seen, not after what they’ve done to her.

J: I owe them the truth.

I’ll repeat myself (for the third time). God knows I have my issues with the dialogue in this episode (x) (x), but one of the things D&D manage to do right is to make Dænerys aware of the situation at hand. She’s not been in Winterfell long, but from what she’s seen, Sansa is a respected and loved leader, one that defends her own interests (her fierce allegiance to her House) but that of her people (Northern Independence). Whatever she says, it will be heard and it will be taken into consideration. And for Dæny, that’s a problem, because Sansa and the North’s interests go against her own. And from the little time they’ve spent together, she knows she cannot sway her nor subdue her.

And the fact that she sees only Sansa as the problem goes on to confirm that Dæny sees this conflict as a political one first and a personal one second. She can’t see the deep bond the Starklings have with one another and how they make their decisions as a pack, as a unit, moved by their sense of family.

D: Even if the truth destroys us?

J: It won’t.

D: It will. I’ve never begged for anything... but I’m begging you, don’t do this. Please.

Again, Jon is trying his damn best to appease her doubts and fears. He tries to reassure her that him telling Sansa and Arya won’t be a problem, but Dænerys continues on challenging him. But what’s interesting is that she’s really vulnerable here. She begs him not to tell them. IMO, this is the closest thing we had of them being shown at “a same level”, of them being equals. In this part of the scene, she’s not Dænerys Stomborn, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. She’s just a girl begging her boyfriend to keep his mouth shut. But the fact that this is the closest thing we’ve had of them being equals goes on to show how disproportionate the power dynamics are in this relationship.

J: You are my Queen. Nothing will change that. And they’re my family. We can live together.

D: We can. I’ve just told you how.

What I like about this scene (after rewatching it a couple of times and forgetting about that god-awful line) is the fact that Jon himself reinforces the Starks vs. Targaryen conflict. He sees Dænerys as a figure of power/authority and he sees the Starks as his family. This is huge. For all the POV blocking he’s fallen victim to, Jon basically tells the audience that his allegiance is to the Starks, though it’s subtle. This is reinforced by the fact that, after Dæny begged/ordered him to keep his mouth shut, he still makes sure Sansa and Arya find out the truth.

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writingmessynaruto · 6 years ago

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Me Trying to RP My OC Maybe

BASICS.

full name. Ado Yari

pronunciation. ah-dow yah-ree

nickname. Not a huge fan of nicknames, nobody really gives her any

gender. Cisgender Female

height. 180cm

age. 29

zodiac. Scorpio

spoken languages. Japanese

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

hair colour. Dark brown

eye colour. Purple

skin tone. Light Tan

body type. Buff; she is often misgendered.

accent. Probaby Hiroshima Ben, but I don’t know much about Japanese dialects. She doesn’t talk too much; she considers wittiness to be foolish and probably compensation for poor fighting ability (she’s also just not good at being witty, so maybe it’s slight jealousy). When she does speak, she’s short, to-the-point, and generally informal (not necessarily rude).

dominant hand. Somewhat ambidextrous, but mostly right-handed.

posture. Opposing, Intimidating

tattoos. None. She does have electrical shock scarring, mostly on her arms and chest, which appears as fractal Lichtenberg figures.

most noticeable feature. Her arms -- she is naturally toned, and her arms have a crushing power that requires no chakra. When she uses lightning, she summons and discharges using her arms, so a stored charge would appear as faint, yellow arcs around her biceps and forearms.

CHILDHOOD.

place of birth: Kirigakure

manner of birth. Natural Childbirth

first words. “kami” - “gods”

siblings. One: her twin sister, Tinbe

parents. Hachiro (father), Fumiko (mother)

parental involvement. Mother gave the twins their names. She died early on in their childhood. Yari blames her father for this, even believing he killed her himself. Following their mother’s death, Hachiro made a habit of separating the twins. Since Yari was never very “feminine” (like Tinbe), she was considered by her father to be a failure of a daughter. To add to it, when it was discovered Yari was infertile, her father, desperate for male heirs to continue the clan’s pure lineage, became sexually abusive toward Yari. He forbade ninja training for both of the women, but the two met in secret to train (under severe threat), eventually learning their respective trades. Soon after, they came to plan their family’s murder.

ADULT LIFE.

occupation. Bounty Hunter, eventually loosely employed by Akatsuki (default)

current residence. None: she is nomadic; depends on who she works for.

close friends. Tinbe.

relationship status. Casual sexual relationships, sometimes orgies. Maybe one complicated romantic relationship. It’s fair to call it all complicated.

financial status. Middle Class

driver’s license.

criminal record. S Rank -- She and her sister were declared missing-nin by Kirigakure following the “accidental” of the rest of the Ado clan. A story Kiri would like to keep tightly under wraps for its reputation’s sake, the massacre of the already dying clan is viewed by the sisters as a necessary act of justice. Kiri refuses to recognize the clan’s death as a murder (even though it totally was, and it was totally the sisters’ doing), but they also refuse to let it be disputed, so the twins were never tried for any crime, and are considered “missing” by Kiri. Other village leaders have their own theories about the situation, but none of them get it fully right. Intel about the twins is of vast interest to villages like Konoha and Suna. Tinbe’s location is unknown. Yari works for whoever can pay her the most, and village ANBU forces attempt to track her constantly. Often, the villages compete with one another, and with black market pricing, just to get Yari into their own hands. They desire to use her as a pawn or weapon, to find out more about her history, and to keep themselves safe from her. But nobody pays a bounty hunter quite like Zangei, so the villages are usually outmatched.

vices. Wrath.

SEX & ROMANCE.

sexual orientation. Bisexual

romantic orientation. Biromantic

preferred emotional role. submissive | dominant | uninterested | it’s complicated (yes, both)

preferred sexual role. submissive | dominant | uninterested | it’s complicated

libido. Active

turn ons. Voyeurism (watching and being watched; hearing and being heard); Power Play/Struggle (when she wins / is dominant).

turn offs. Controlling Behavior; Manipulation; Distrust; Forced Submission

love language. Talking; Vulnerability; Touching; One-On-One Time; Public Sexual Activity -- she can be very giving with someone she deeply loves -- particularly public quickies in “dangerous” situations. Dressing rooms, closets, bathrooms, outdoors/parks, etc. But she has to really like her partner(s).

relationship tendencies. Mainly Sexual Relationships; Casual; Generally Polyamorous; Trust Issues; Won’t be emotionally active unless she fully trusts the other person/people. Emotional relationships are possible, even ones where she is occasionally submissive, but these are difficult to achieve with her--it has to be someone extremely special, under the right circumstances. She has to feel safe. She is generally too paranoid to get this far with many people.

MISCELLANEOUS.

character’s theme song. "Your Lips Are Red" (St. Vincent). Naruto OST: “Kouen” (Crimson Flames) .

hobbies to pass the time. Sleeping, Walking

mental illnesses. PTSD, Anxiety, occasional anger problems.

physical illness. Occasional electricity burns/shocks.

left or right brained. Left.

fears. Betrayal, Loss, Emotional/Sexual Pain.

self confidence level. Yari is fiercely confident with her fighting abilities, and knows herself well enough not to push too hard (unless emotions get involved). She is generally smart, logical, and knows a weakling when she sees one. The “strike first” attitude runs strong with her, and she’s physically competent to back it up.

vulnerabilities. Tinbe. Her sexual fears, fears of abandonment or betrayal. Anyone who might take advantage of her. Lack of reliance or trust in others. Her unchecked, bottled up emotions. Anything that enrages her can easily affect her normally controlled strength; this makes her vulnerable to self-injury, and dulls her ability to think logically.

Tagged by: Copy-pasted from @sennokami

Tagging: Anybody who wants to! :)

#naruto #rp #oc #profile #bio

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snicketsleuth · 8 years ago

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Was the publication of “A Series Of Unfortunate Events” nothing but a marketing scam?

The success of the series remains a mystery to this day: why would any publisher in their right mind publish and promote a book that prides itself on being terrible, let alone thirteen? There was simply no market for it. Although its sales could retroactively be explained as a collective enthralling of morbid fascination, it must have been hard for Daniel Handler to get his foot in the door. Someone, somewhere, apparently thought that an abysmal product which revels in its own filthiness was a good idea. So where was the profit? Who was originally supposed to benefit from Daniel Handler’s ill-conceived and ungodly experiment?

Other writers, that’s who.

See, the joke’s been on us the whole time. Daniel Handler is exactly what he pretends to be at his book signings: Lemony Snicket’s legal representative, his agent. But the idea that he’s the actual author of these books is simply ludicrous. He essentially gets a share of revenues to pretend being the creator, while claiming plausible and legal deniability because of the pseudonym. But the actual author is still at large. The answer has been hidden in plain sight: the series was, for its entire run, ghostwritten by other literary figures who wish to remain anonymous.

“A Series Of Unfortunate Events” masquerades as a parody of children’s literature, but it was more of a mad scientist experiment. It was a pure product of the market, designed to test and implement new ideas. Terrible, terrible ideas. Whenever an author or a publisher had doubts about his/her own production, he/she quietly submitted the idea to Rupert Murdoch (owner of Harpercollins) who previewed it in Snicket’s books. And when readers complained, Daniel Handler claimed it was done on purpose for the sake of being atrocious. But when readers didn’t complain, the ideas were deemed as “safe” by the higher-ups and greenlighted for other series.

This process started very early on. It’s become pretty well-known that “The Bad Beginning” was designed to explore the desire of easily swayed teenage girls for gross and abusive older men. The popularity of the Violet/Olaf relationship in fanfictions following the publication convinced publishers all over the world that the time was right for a new trend of February-December romance. Stephenie Meyer has repeatedly thanked Daniel Handler for his work, claiming that Olaf’s forcefulness was a major inspiration for the character of Edward Cullen. Without “The Bad Beginning”, the “Twilight” series would probably never have been published. Daniel Handler would later be rewarded for his pioneering works with a contract at Little Brown, the same company which published the “Twilight” series.

Likewise, the last book in the series seems to have been commissioned by Damon Lindelof and J. J. Abrams (of “LOST” fame). Both “A Series of Unfortunate Events” and “LOST” feature an increasingly complex net of interrelated mysteries which never go anywhere nor see any resolution. Both involve a not-so-desert island. And both last episodes of these series are called “The End”. Coincidence? The most likely answer was that the last book of “A Series Of Unfortunate Events”, published in 2006, was a training ground for the last episode of “LOST”, broadcast in 2010. Lindelof and Abrams wanted to see how much shoddy writing they could get away with, and how negative the audience’s reaction would be. The commercial success of the book alleviated their fears, and Daniel Handler got very rich in the process.

Most connivingly, it’s hard to deny that the character of Sunny Baudelaire recalls some pocket monsters of an obscure Japanese video game franchise. Her unintelligible shrieks, deep attachment to her owners and fantastic combat abilities make her more of a beast than a child. And her creation coincides with a time when the popularity of the “Pokémon” franchise was dwindling. She was nothing but a test run for a new generation of semi-sentient creatures. The writers of the TV show “How I met your mother”, on the other hand, have admitted their admiration for Snicket’s series’ ultimate twist regarding the character of Beatrice.

Of course the legality of the entire arrangement was shoddy at best. J. K. Rowling allegedly promised Daniel Handler a million dollar check to kick-off the mystery of the three initials (V.F.D.) in “The Austere Academy”, an obvious set-up of the mysterious three initials (R.A.B.) she was preparing for “Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince”. When it turned out that every single reader guessed who the mysterious R.A.B. was minutes after the book was published, Rowling angrily refused to pay Daniel Handler for his prep work. The legal dispute eventually escalated into a full-on fistfight at court, during which the phrases “washed-up Stevie Nicks wannabe” and “gluttonous B-list yankee” were reportedly exchanged. The fact that two of the most successful children’s literature authors of today have never been seen in public speaks volumes of how much bad blood there is between them.

The list goes on, but naturally not every plot point eventually found its way back in mainstream media. Some ideas were just considered too weird or risqué to implement in other works. G. R. R. Martin’s “A Dance With Dragons” was eventually supposed to end with Sansa Stark’s valiant ascension of the Eyrie with her bare teeth, but criticism of “The Ersatz Elevator” convinced him otherwise. Famous Madonna impersonator Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta also submitted a number of costume ideas for the character of Esmé Gigi Geniveve Squalor, all of which were rejected on the account of being, in Daniel Handler’s words, “too stupid, even by Esmé’s standards”. The notion of forcing every witness to wear blindfolds during legal investigations (just like in “The Penultimate Peril”) has also been in discussion within the U.S.’ Republican party for quite some years, but was eventually scrapped off for budget reasons. Daniel Handler has so far denied any involvement, before excusing himself from the heat with a custom fan made out of dollar bills.

Here is the truth: Daniel Handler must be stopped. This evil genius has committed what amounts to the dirtiest piece of garbage in the history of modern literature. Not only is it horrible, but it encourages other content creators to be horrible. So few of us know of his true nefarious nature. But we have seen the light, and our numbers are growing. You are a part of us. There is no escape. What was that noise just now? They’re here. Now they know you know. They’ve found you. They’re coming for you. You must fight, for you cannot run.

N.B.: this article was originally published on April 1st, 2017. Do not send us e-mails.

#0467 #crack #various #Lemony Snicket #ASoUE #a series of unfortunate events #daniel handler

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uomo-accattivante · 8 years ago

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#oscar isaac #the promise #eric esrailian #the washington post #armenian genocide #the ottoman lieutenant #christian bale #charlotte le bon #survival pictures #open road films #michiel huisman #josh hartnett #hera hilmar

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i-just-like-commenting · 8 years ago

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Yes, the books were adaptable, part 2: Season 4 rewrite

Ideally, season 3 would have been 15 episodes long, to let them cover the remainder of A Storm of Swords, and season 4 another 15 episodes – but budgets and contracts being what they are, I can see using the Red Wedding as a finale.

What then becomes a problem is the scarcity of plot left in the book. My solution? Work as much of book 4 into this seasons as possible, from full plotlines to introducing characters ahead of time. This season will still, though, be more focused on character interactions because there is less plot, but that will be a breather before the plot-heavy next season (wherein we will cover most of books 4 and 5). I’m going to try to integrate this with the tone/prior changes of the show as much as possible, as well as reducing characters when it works. Spoilers for books 4 and 5 (and also lots of words) are under the jump:

Our first addition is incorporating the early stages of the Iron Islands arc. In the first episode, Yara makes her way down the coast; she passes a mysterious ship headed in the other direction. Back on the Iron Islands, Balon is fuming that his “rightful heir” is off on a fool’s errand (you might need some setup references to his two lousy brothers added to season 3). He gets killed by a reappearing Jaqen, and that mysterious ship roles into Pyke. It turns out it is Euron, who declares himself king. Younger brother Victarion protests on the basis of his “godlessness” (merging bits of Aeron into him to consolidate characters) and it looks as though the islands are heading to civil war. Yara gets the news and, frustrated, abandons her quest for Theon and returns to the islands. She calls for a kingsmoot to settle the dispute, and Victarion agrees. The arc ends the season with the kingsmoot, where Euron is declared king, Victarion joins him, and Yara flees to the North to find her brother.

Speaking of the Theon, Ramsay is playing hunting games with Reek until Roose shows up and puts a stop to all of this nonsense. Clearly Ramsay is not pleased about having his power taken away, but there isn’t anything he can do about it. Roose sends for “Arya” from King’s Landing to legitimate their power. We introduce a Jeyne character, who isn’t Jeyne from the book but can keep her name, as Tywin picks out a prostitute (excuse for a brothel scene!) to train to pretend to be her. As we see scenes of Roose and Ramsay trying to placate upset lords in the North, with some scenes of Theon’s abuse, we grow increasingly terrified for her, as she has no idea what she is getting into and thinks this is her chance to leave sex work and be “a real lady.”

Elsewhere in King’s Landing, Oberyn and Ellaria arrive…with Arianne, introducing her ahead of time to get our “in.” We add a romance with her and Bronn to give us more sexy times (and yes, he will be replacing Arys since the show already seems to not care about his actual story, and it was kinda problematic anyway). The Purple Wedding happens. Sansa escapes in the aftermath, and she and Tyrion are accused of conspiracy to murder.

Jaime and Brienne show up, at the right point in the story this time. Brienne is immediately arrested. Her arc will be extended by having Loras be on her side (since he didn’t believe she did it) and they can bond over memories of Renly, to give back story and character development. Jaime and Loras can also start their friendship over helping Brienne. Yes, this renders her somewhat passive for a season, but she’ll get more to do in season 5 than sitting around watching for a candle as a result.

Jaime and Cersei’s sept scene should be…disturbing and ambiguous enough in terms of consent to make audiences uncomfortable, but not violent rape. Jaime and Cersei’s relationship is strained both by his desire to reveal their relationship and by him helping Brienne. Jaime later rejecting leaving the kingsguard to get her out of being sent back to Casterly Rock, and siding and visiting with Tyrion doesn’t help Cersei’s mistrust either.

Oh, and we can include the scenes mentioned in the book of her offering a threesome and a marriage to Oberyn to get him to throw the trial. Instead Tyrion, helped by Bronn and Arianne, convinces him to be his champion. Shae is shown being threatened by Cersei and Tywin; once she sees the trial and realizes Tyrion is doomed no matter what she does, she asks for the protections he promised in exchange for betraying him.

As for Oberyn and Ellaria’s sexualities...sure, have a scene where someone is poking fun at Loras and Oberyn is all “I dunno, I’d tap that” to shut them up, or show them visiting a brothel to find their threesome but emphasize that (1) they’re a happy couple looking to spice up their sex life and (2) are also doing this as part of information hunting, hinting at Oberyn’s role as a spy. A cool sexy spy - but not screwing everything that moves.

Mountain vs the Viper should take place in episode 8. In the next episode, Shae refuses to sell out Sansa to Cersei, and her protections are revoked. She goes over Cersei’s head to Tywin. Jaime gets Brienne released, then visits Tyrion and lets him out; we keep the Tysha reveal and Tyrion’s response of telling Jaime about Cersei’s affair with Lancel. Tyrion kills Shae and Tywin, and this time the viewer knows Shae always loved him, only did this under duress, and we are so angry at Tyrion for killing her unjustly.

In the final episode, the twins find Tywin’s body. Jaime feels guilty, and he runs into Lancel, setting up hints of his jealousy. Cersei puts out price on Tyrion’s head, and foreshadows her prophecy, saying something like “I always knew he would betray me…I won’t let you take Tommen.” The full flashback can be next season.

Oh, it would also be good to hint heavily that Varys is Up To Something this season, getting and sending mysterious letters, to set up the reveal of Griff in the next season.

Sansa, after fleeing, is off to the Eyrie, where Littlefinger tries to turn her on Tyrion, and she recalls out loud the people who were good to her in King’s Landing: Tyrion, the Hound, and the Tyrells – not Littlefinger. “But who is helping you now?” he replies. Can she trust him or not? Tension!

He marries Lysa and they go the Eyrie. There, Sansa ably poses as Littlefinger’s daughter. She meets Robin and sees him have an epileptic fit, as well as his mother’s poor parenting. The snow castle scene and the kiss happen, and Lysa turning on her before being murdered. This arc ends with Sansa testifying that Lysa committed suicide and Robin saying she’s his mother now. (The show was actually pretty close on all of this, tbh.)

On Dragonstone, Stannis gets word of Balon and Joffrey’s deaths. Melisandre blames Davos for sending off Edric too early and tries to have him executed as a traitor. Stannis waffles, until Davos gets word from the Wall…

Up at the Wall, Sam is uncomfortable with Gilly telling stories of his defeat of the White Walker, but Jon is using the knowledge about dragonglass. Ygritte’s party attacks the Wall, she dies and it is sad. Jon has a wolf dream (see below) and it freaks him out. Gilly gets to exposit wildling knowledge on skinchangers, including the Second Life. Meanwhile there’s also rumblings in the Watch against the incestuous origin of her baby (”It’s cursed; maybe we should just let it die?”) The siege begins; Janos Slynt finally arrives from King’s Landing and Jon is betrayed and sent to the wildlings. Stannis shows up in episode 8 or 9 (depending on how full these episodes are). This arc ends with Jon being appointed Lord Commander by Sam’s political maneuvering.

Beyond the Wall, we’ll take the show’s idea of Bran running into the deserters at Craster’s Keep, but it will be Coldhands (who can be Benjen to save an actor, fine, whatever) and supernatural forces that slay them, not Jon. Bran will have a wolf dream where he reaches out to Jon and awakens his powers. Ends with Bran and the group battling the wights and making it into the caverns where they meet the Three-Eyed Raven.

Over in Slaver’s Bay, Dany will start moving towards Meereen. Backstory about Aerys and Rhaegar get provided by Barristan (which will reinforce Oberyn’s revenge motive). She eventually reaches Meereen. We can include the champion combat from the book as her initial idea, with Grey Worm filling in for Strong Belwas, only the Meereenese back down after he wins. Yeah, it’s padding, but we need it, there’s not much plot left. Dany gets a message from inside that the slaves are ready to revolt if she attacks in such-and-such a way, and she does, and Meereen falls.

In all of this, Jorah is being super jealous of Daario and it is grating; his pure good guy status slowly erodes as his love becomes obsession. Inside Meereen, a red priestess gives Dany the biggest points of her prophecies from Quaithe and the House of the Undying (betrayed three times, mummer’s dragon, must go back to go forward). When she pieces together from Barristan’s story about an informant that Jorah betrayed her, she concludes he’s betrayal #2 and sends him away. Dany decides to stay and rule Meereen.

In the Riverlands, we have two plotlines. The first is Arya and the Hound. In the book, they head towards the Eyrie and stop at a village on the way. Here we will condense that into the Quiet Isle, to introduce them early and give some foreshadowing. They will be hosting refugees, letting us see more of the devastation from the war. The sparrows will make an early appearance visiting the Isle and declaring that they intend to take the complaints of the commoners to the capital. One of them recognizes the Hound, so he and Arya skedaddle.

Meanwhile Gendry is still hanging out with the Brotherhood, with more scenes of war devastation. In the very first episode, Beric and Thoros find an unidentified body by the river, and Beric gives up his life, freaking out Thoros. Said resurrected figure, the mysterious Lady Stoneheart, remains hidden in a cloak most of the season. Walder Frey sends out men, including some sellswords based on the Bloody Mummers, and Locke, to take out the Brotherhood, and sends Edmure as a hostage to try to retake Riverrun. Sandor gets injured when they get caught up in a fight with said Freys (featuring an audience-teasing almost-meet between Arya and Gendry), then Arya leaves the Hound for dead and heads off to Braavos. The final scene will be Locke apprehended by the Brotherhood and sentenced to die…and the final shot of the season reveals the identity of Lady Stoneheart - Catelyn Stark.

This may get talky in some places, but I think with enough good dialog you could get ten episodes’ worth of material. Keeping the Brotherhood can give you extra battle sequences as they fight Frey mooks; Craster’s Keep gives us supernatural action; and of course we get big twists and shockers for our final episodes the way the show likes.

#asoiaf meta #a song of ice and fire #game of thrones #the books were adaptable

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