#if anything I think king would probably match up to the pilot best | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cryptidghostgirl · 2 months

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Are your requests still open? I was hoping for a request for a Lucifer x sinner reader where she was once in love with someone when she was alive but they betrayed her leading to her death causing her to be afraid of letting others in. She's been a resident of the hotel since the pilot, but doesn't really talk much about her feelings or past life but is convinced by Charlie who says singing helps her when she needs to get out her own emotions. So when she thinks everyone is gone for the day on one of Charlie's bonding field trips, she uses the piano in the main area to sing her heart out, not realizing Lucifer decided to stay. The song I'm thinking of is "Perfect Doesn't Last" by Beth Crowley. So when she sings it and he overhears listening and watching her he's reminded of Lilith and feels for the reader understanding her more than when they first met during his first visit to the hotel (ep 5). I'm not sure of how to end it, so if you want to add anything to it I'm totally up for it. I just thought this song would match him so well.

A/N this is my first time writing for this man. Also,, i think it’s so funny that everyone is just like “short king” even tho alastor is canonically at least seven feet tall and charlie is at least like six feet tall. that’s so silly of us.

Encore (Lucifer x Reader)

Paring: Lucifer x Reader

Warnings: Domestic abuse briefly mentioned.

Word Count: 2,169

Master Lists:

Master Lists

Hazbin Hotel Master List

Lucifer had just wanted to visit Charlie. With their relationship on the up and up, he was eager to not give up his chance to fix things with his favorite and only daughter. However, when he arrived at the hotel, throwing the doors open in unadulterated excitement, it was to find the normally busy lobby area empty.

The door fell shut behind him and his smile slipped from his face. Carefully, he ran his eyes over every inch of the room. There really was no one to be found.

"Maybe they're just all in their rooms, yeah." he said aloud to himself, "Charlie is probably... in her office! It must take a lot of work to run a place like this. Yeah, that's what it is."

Charlie, Vaggie, and Alastor had asked her to come with them to the movies. It was supposed to be a reward, for how hard they had all been working. They had really tried their best to convince Y/n to join them but, as always was the case when activities that took them out of the hotel were not required, Y/n had declined the offer.

Y/n was still getting used to Hell in all its big scary wonder, she still hurt. Everything was so complicated and while spending time with her thoughts didn't make her feel good per-say, spending time with others had been making her feel even worse. Besides, Charlie had given her some advice a few days ago she wanted to test out and she didn't exactly feel comfortable doing that while the hotel was crawling with people.

Y/n trusted Charlie. She was the first person to have extended a kind hand in her direction since her arrival in Hell. When Charlie had found out Y/n had been a concert pianist in the living world, she was elated.

"That's perfect!" she had said, leaning across the desk towards her, "We have a piano in the Hotel's auditorium!"

"I... I don't know if I really can... perform, right now. If that's alright." Y/n had replied, wringing her hands and unable to keep eyecontact.

"What? Oh no! That's not what I meant at all. It just seems... well if you did it for a living, you must have loved it. And it seems like you always have a lot on your mind, lots of stuff to process, and I know you don't like talking to people about it and, well, music always makes me feel better. It feels freeing, like I'm getting everything bottled up inside me out when I sing."

"I... I don't think I've ever really thought about it that way." she had admitted in response, "It was just something I had always done. I started lessons when I was three."

"Well, you should try it some time." Charlie had smiled back, "Maybe it will help."

Once she was sure everyone was gone and the hotel was hers alone, Y/n had slipped quietly from the confinement of her room. It had taken her a bit to find the auditorium. When she finally did and saw the piano it held, her breath caught in her throat.

It was a beautiful old baby grand made out of a warm cherry wood that matched the hotel's theming well. The lid had creaked when she had opened it, the keys had been dusty to the touch.

It had been a long time since she'd played. With mild joy, she let her fingers run the usual scales and arpeggios, finding a comfort in the familiarity of it all. Once satisfied her fingers were all warmed up and ready to play something real, she posed them over the keys.

Lucifer had lost himself in the depths of the labyrinthine hotel. The twists and turns of the hallways were unfamiliar to him despite the tour Charlie, Vaggie, and Alastor had lead him on. His hope at finding his daughter and spending some time with her had long since flickered out. He was on the verge of going home, his hand half raised to open a portal, when he heard it.

A faint echo of music flooded the hallway and Lucifer froze. It was haunting and distant, it drew him in. His sights set on a new sort of entertainment for the afternoon, he listened carefully and began to follow the sound.

As he got closer to its source, Lucifer realized that who ever was making the music was not just playing the piano but singing. Their voice was soft and lovely, nearly ethereal in its sheer humanity and anguish.

I would have bet on us

We were untouchable, you and I

I couldn't get enough

It was a fairytale come to life

Lucifer at last reached the half open door to the room the music appeared to be coming from. Not wanting to disturb the artist just yet, he transformed into a snake and slithered his way silently into the room. There, sitting at the piano on the stage, was Y/n.

I had your heart

At least that's what I thought

Now I'm second guessing every moment

Wondering where we went so wrong

He didn't really know much about Y/n except that she was new to Hell. Charlie had mentioned off hand that she had died in an incident of domestic abuse. Lucifer had no idea why she had ended up in Hell or what she was really like. When he had visited the hotel the first time, Y/n had been quiet and reserved. She had stood to the side and watched, barley even introducing herself to him.

At first, he had thought it to be disrespect. Not every demon in Hell was his biggest fan after all and while he was used to it, it still stung that even one of his daughters would be reformed sinners would be blatantly rude to him. He had quickly realized however from her flittering eyes and the way she clutched at herself that it wasn't disrespect at all. Y/n had been nervous.

Of course, Lucifer had made an attempt to make her feel more comfortable but, when he had extended his metaphorical hand, Y/n had just closed herself off even further. According to Charlie and Angel Dust, that was just what the demoness was like. She was shy.

You got inside my head

Taking up every inch of space

'Til there was no room left

Her hands flew across the keys with a practiced grace. Lucifer felt she knew he was there, watching. He felt that she just might be performing for him.

So many parts of me erased

You had my heart

And tossed it in the dirt

As he listened to the words she sung, they resonated with him. For a split second, he could have sworn it was Lilith sitting there at the piano, not Y/n. He shut his eyes, shaking his head slightly. He was oddly grateful when he opened them again to find it had just been his imagination.

Now that was a first. Since Lilith had disappeared seven years ago, Lucifer had been a mess. Lucifer was always a mess but, Lilith leaving like that really did him in. She had been his rock, his guiding light, his everything. He had risked everything for her and he had lost. At least, back in the old days, he had gained something out of the chaos. A daughter, a wife, a world to try and shape. One after another, they were all taken from him. Even now, even with their relationship improving the way it was, he felt Charlie slipping away again.

Now I'm second guessing every moment

Wondering where we went so wrong

I just keep asking

Would this have been worth it if I knew the ending all along.

Without really thinking about it, Lucifer retook his normal form and sat down in one of the auditorium's front row seats. Thankfully, Y/n was too wrapped up in her own world to notice and she just continued to play.

What started so perfect was over too fast

I should have seen the warning signs

'Cause perfect doesn't last

Perfect doesn't last

Light shined off her face, that was how Lucifer had realized she was crying. Despite the tears, her voice never wavered. A performer at her core, just like him.

I would have bet on us

We were untouchable, you and I

As the last lingering notes echoed through the room, he began to clap. Y/n jumped at the noise, turning to face him with wide eyes and cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. Lucifer was undeterred and, getting to his feet, gave her a standing ovation. After a few moments, he ceased in his applause.

"That was beautiful." he said, breaking the new silence that had fallen between them.

"Um, I'm sorry." Y/n's gaze fell back to the piano.

"No! No no no!" Lucifer exclaimed, jumping up onto the stage.

He kneeled before her, lifting her hands from her lap and taking them in his own. She turned to him, surprise drawing out the features of her face once again.

"Don't apologize for taking up space."

"I... I just didn't mean to disturb you is all. If you're looking for Charlie, she's out at the movies with everyone else."

"I was but, I can talk to her later, when she gets back. You didn't disturb me at all, Y/n. As I said, it was beautiful. It was..."

He trailed off, the smile slipping from his face.

"Oh fuck!" Y/n exclaimed, "I didn't mean to upset you! I'm really sorry, what can I do to make it better?"

"You didn't upset me." Lucifer shook his head, "You just... somehow managed to put words to the very things I've been struggling with the past couple years."

A smaller, much kinder and more genuine smile made its way onto his face.

"If you'd like to play more, I'd love to hear it."

Y/n's cheeks flushed red again.

"Theres no pressure." Lucifer shrugged, "Just giving you the option."

"An audience of one... well, it's a little intimidating." she admitted bashfully, "I'm used to the faceless mob of the crowd."

"I can see why. You have an undeniable gift."

"I guess... I don't know. Charlie just said it might help me process stuff. To play again, I mean."

"Was she right?"

Y/n paused in thought for a moment before nodding slowly.

"I think she might have been. My chest does feel a little lighter now."

"Then play."

"Um, mister... king of Hell? Sir?"

Lucifer laughed.

"You can just call me by my name. No formalities necessary. 'Mister king of Hell sir' was my fathers name."

Y/n laughed lightly at his terrible joke. The sound sparked a sudden joy in Lucifer's chest, one he hadn't felt in quite a long time.

"Well, Lucifer." she began again, stumbling a bit over his name.

"Yes?"

"I'll... um, I'll need my hands back. If I'm to keep playing."

"Wh..."

He looked down and his eyes widened. Lucifer hadn't realized he had still held her hands in his. Immediately he dropped them, getting to his feet and looking away in mild embarrassment.

"Sorry, about that."

"Don't apologize for existing." Y/n parroted his earlier words.

When he turned back to her, it was to find she was smiling slightly.

"How bad would it be if I said sorry again right now?"

"You'd be sounding like me."

"Lets make a deal then: no sorries unless something is actually wrong."

"What if I can't tell if your mad at me or not?"

Lucifer looked down at the seated demon. In not one of his wildest dreams could he ever imagine being mad at her but, that wasn't exactly something he could say.

"Then you can always ask."

"And you promise you wont lie to me?"

"I promise."

"Promise promise?"

"Yes!"

She eyed him suspiciously for a moment before nodding her head. Turning back to the piano, her hands found their place on the keys once again. She hesitated.

"I..." Y/n shot Lucifer a look over her shoulder, "Thank you."

"Thank you. There is some solace in knowing someone else out there feels the same way I do, if for different reasons."

"Yeah. There is, isn't there? Maybe part of our deal can be helping each other figure that all out too."

The suggestion had been half thought out. Y/n hadn't really meant to give it a voice, it had escaped her locked lips. She quickly turned back to the piano.

"Sorry. That was dumb."

"What did we just say about sorries!" Lucifer exclaimed, "No apologizing for existing. I think that suggestion sounds rather nice."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Okay. I... I'm actually going to play now. Is that okay?"

With a snap of his fingers, Lucifer reappeared in the seat he had previously inhabited. He crossed his legs, resting his hands on his knee.

"Whenever your ready."

----

Song is Perfect Doesn't Last by Beth Crowley as requested :)

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darthkruge · 3 years

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heyy Megan, I'm trying to do a character study on Anakin but im finding very limited information online. what do you think are some of his worst and best traits? his personality, humor and like his values? thank you so much,, hope you have a good day/night

omg hi!! thank you for asking me!!

*cracks knuckles* let’s get into it

anakin skywalker character analysis

best traits:

intelligence, overall skill, curiosity

anakin was building droids from scraps when he was a child. he spoke huttese and basic from a young age, as well. he’s an insane battle strategist, wonderfully skilled in battle/with a lightsaber, and incredible pilot! he can pick up new skills quickly, as well. i’m just gonna link this post by @chokemeanakin bc it just sums it up real nice.. but yes smart boy love him

compassion, capacity for emotions, empathy, understanding

anakin feels things deeply. i’ve talked about this a lot before lol. but yeah he is frequently in conflict over the sheer weight of the emotions he carries. further, as a jedi, this is not something his peers could relate to. but he always tries to be there for his friends and would do anything to ease their pain. and i think that anakin seeks to understand others. he’s spent so much of his life feeling alone and like no one related to him; he wants to know how other people work, feel, and think.

loyalty, friendship, caring

anakin is so fucking loyal to those he loves. and, tying into my previous point, he loves deeply. he cares, he always has. he treats droids as humans and forms attachments, even though they may be forbidden. he held onto that need for love, for connection even after he joined the order. and he would defend those he loves til the very end...

selflessness, protectiveness, bravery

anakin would literally dive headfirst into danger to save someone he loves. he doesn’t care about hurting himself or honestly whatever happens to him, as long as those he cares for are safe.

worst traits:

impulsivity, recklessness

i think we’ve all seen anakin be a bit impulsive at times... sometimes, he just doesn’t think everything through. this is especially clear when someone he loves is in danger. anakin’s lost so many people that when he’s faced with the threat of losing another, his judgment can become clouded.

insecurity, jealousy, fear

anakin is frequently jealous, which stems from his insecurities. he was probably conflicted a lot; brought into the order as a young child and told he was the chosen one. the weight of the galaxy was placed on his shoulders and, yet, he was held back in classes as a padawan, he didn’t make rank (canonically). i think these things are what allowed palpatine to manipulate him; palpatine knew anakin was afraid, insecure, and, yet, arrogant (my next point dw). he tapped into this and because anakin and the council did not have much mutual trust (aside from like obi-wan), it was easier to get to him. especially because palpatine used anakin’s fear of losing padme and his unborn children to do so. fuck palpatine bro-

arrogance

yes, anakin was insecure. yes, he was also arrogant. let me explain myself. he occassionally rushes into things without thinking, thinking he can handle them. i think a lot of this stems from being told he was the chosen one from such a young age. that title combined with his skill?! it makes sense he’d internalize it. i am now going to stop myself before i rant about how the gifted education system is a fuckfest. this is coming from someone who spent years in that program. anyway-

personality/overall rant about his life/motivations:

i think i summed up a lot of his personality within the best and worst traits because i got ahead of myself but im going to say some more!! i think a lot of anakin’s personality is dependent on his deep capacity for emotions. you can see that throughout ROTS, he was conflicted almost all the time. he grew up as a slave and all he wanted was to protect his mother. he built droids to help her and competed in podraces to tryand get them anything that could help.

then, he was taken to the order. suddenly, all these amazing traits he has make sense!! but then the person who’s supposed to train him (qui-gon) dies after anakin’s only known him for a short period of time. anakin’s attachment issues are abundant (i don’t think i need to explain that one) so of course he grows close to obi-wan! but obi-wan was trying to be strong for anakin. even though obi-wan struggled himself with attachment, he tried to be strong and put up a front as a “good” jedi for anakin to look up to. while this was helpful, anakin probably just felt more conflicted, as no one in his life could relate to the bredth of emotions he felt. this caused him to be more introverted and withdrawn (i talk about that in this post)

then, he loses his mother, she dies in his arms. the only person he’d wanted to protect from a young age, who he left to join the jedi, dies in his arms. he blames himself for this, thinking he should have gotten there faster, should have done something more. he probably also blamed the jedi, to at least some extent. why do these powers matter if they can’t save the people he loves? i believe he acted out of anger, killing the tuskens, because (at least to some degree) of the jedi. instead of teaching him how to express his emotions (pain, fear, loss, grief, etc.), they train him. to some degree, he might think all he’s good for is these skills. so he acts out of anger, slaughtering them.

and then finally he finds someone who loves him in the way he wants to be loved. padme stays by his side, even after he killed the tuskens. she sees the good in him and treats him as a man, not a prophecy. but once again, this motif of fear remains! he has to hide this love, one of the only pure and good things in his life! he has to live in fear every second of every day because, if the council finds out that he found happiness and love, everything is ruined.

but then he starts getting the vision’s that padme will die. and not just padme, now his unborn children could die, too. the one thing he has that is good and purely his could now be ripped away. he knew he was helpless, knew there was nothing he could do to stop it by himself. the council isn’t that helpful, telling him to learn to let it go with the force. while that might help any other jedi, it just pushed anakin away. he would never be able to just surrender and let go to the force, not when the life of his entire family is at risk!

and he finds palpatine, someonoe who has spent years trying to manipulate him. but palpatine is smart, he’s cunning. anakin didn’t know what the real intentions were and, truly, he probably didn’t want to know. he was blinded by his fear and if anything could save padme, he would do it. then the council try to get him to spy on palpatine. again, conflict. anakin’s loyalty is repeatedly questioned and pushed and prodded, he was probably so confused! he didn’t know who to trust. but, when you combine the current situation with his backstory with who he is and what he cares about, it makes sense why it all happened.

this is what i mean when i say conflict. he was pulled in a million directions constantly. and we all know how his story ends and i don’t want to cry so i’m not gonna detail it...

also: i’m not saying any of this excuses all of his choices, but it does explain them.

humor:

lowkey a dork

he is. and i love that about him. you can see this in the way he flirts with padme sometimes... like floating the pear to her and the whole “i don’t like sand” thing. he’s a fucking dork. can’t exactly blame him nor do i hold it against him! he didn’t have many close friends growing up and he was like pining for padme for years so it’s not like he spent that time creating a playbook

he’s also witty!

i think this comes with his intelligence; he’s witty and he’s quick. example: “general grievous, you’re shorter than i expected.” i mean he’s no sass-king obi-wan kenobi but anakin definitely can hold his own in a verbal sparring match!

also i headcanon him as having horrible puns but loving them!

values:

love, friendship, connections

at his core, anakin just wants to find someone who understands him and his emotions. who can relate to him. he wants those connections; in fact, he actively seeks them out. love is a key part of his identity. i talk about this in this post about his love languages so imma just link it there!

success, validation

tying into his determination, anakin wants to do well! he pushes himself and i think he’s a perfectionist, too. you can see this in the way he holds himself as a general; he doesn’t slack off, doesn’t not care. he understands the responsibility he has in that role and he takes it seriously! and just in his overall skill level, even though he was a bit of a child-prodigy, he clearly spent a long time training. he probably also had some imposter syndrome going on and was constantly trying to prove his worth.

----

uhh yeah i think i got everything?? yes?? he’s so complex and i legit love him immensely. doing character analysis for anakin is my favorite thing in the entire universe! if anyone has anything they want to add, please feel free!!

#anakin skywalker #anakin skywalker character analysis #anakin character analysis #this is a rant i apologize #anakin thoughts #character analysis

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yellowmagicalgirl · 3 years

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Once and Maybe Future Chapter 14: Incognito Patrol

When Nimue sees a girl with far too many hairclips and radiating dark magic, it's up to her and Douxie to save Arcadia.

Heyyy, yes I know it's been over six months since I last updated and this fic is now very much not canon compliant. At least this chapter is half the length of all the previous chapters combined.

Originally this was going to be a single chapter covering the events of both "Night Patroll"/"Terra Incognita II" as well as "So I'm Dating a Sorceress" and "The Exorcism of Claire Nuñez", but due to the length I decided to only have it cover the events of "Night Patroll"/"Terra Incognita II" in this chapter; another chapter is going to finally get around to the Clairegana-and-Douxie confrontation and not just the aftermath.

AO3

FFN

It was a normal day at the Zimue records store.

Which was to say, it was absolutely boring, but there were enough customers around that Nimue couldn’t practice magic… or even really do homework for her independent study courses, considering that her manager was here today.

The door opened and closed with a blast of warm late May air.

Nimue shivered and grabbed the counter as the flashback overtook her.

Nimue-the-first did not leave her lake often. She was busy enough with her forge, and she didn’t care much for most people, especially not in crowds. She frowned as she saw wagon tracks on the road; she was getting close to a village or at least a farm. She preferred for her adopted son and his family to visit her rather than the other way around. They may be royalty, but she was a sorceress and far older. They could show her some respect.

Instead, she’d be paying her last respects to her son and her daughter-in-law.

There was a war outside her lake, and there was dark magic fueling it beyond what the Gumm-Gumms could normally use. It had been a long time since she had last seen Uther’s stepdaughter or her green-eyed gaze, but Nimue-the-first knew that Morgana had corrupted herself and was fueling the war. That, or the war was fueling Morgana; Nimue-the-first could feel it in her bones.

Nimue’s bones ached as she was released from the flashback to her first lifetime. She glanced around, trying to figure out just what had caused the flashback this time. However, there was nothing new in Zimue, nothing that would’ve set her off, and definitely not anything that would’ve caused her to flash back that far. Nimue inhaled deeply, trying to see if maybe Douxie was cooking something up next door, potion or otherwise. That had set her off once. She had been tempted to tell him then and there the truth about why she had magical powers, but she had stopped herself. Wizards were normal. Relatively rare compared to most of humanity, but normal.

Reincarnation, as far as she knew, was not. Heck, every legend about King Arthur returning was propaganda, so it wasn’t like he’d reincarnate, much less anyone else from her first lifetime.

It was kind of lonely, walking around with so many memories of bygone eras, but it had been Nimue’s life since she was twelve. Besides, the magic was more than enough to make up for it.

Then again, Douxie would never practice dark magic, and even if he wanted to surely Archie would stop him. She squeezed her eyes as she manned the register. She felt worse with every customer, though it was possible that she just was getting a headache and mistaking it for dark magic. Dehydration, maybe, as ironic as it was.

A girl stepped to the front of the line, holding the new Papa Skull album. She had a white streak running through her dark hair, with multiple colored hairclips and a matching Papa Skull shirt. She looked a little sick, a little sleep deprived, a little younger than Nimue.

Nimue gulped as the girl placed the album on the counter. The girl smiled shyly before coughing into her elbow, loud and shaking.

Magic radiated off the girl as Nimue rung up the album. It was old, and it was dark.

Perhaps being the only one with magic and memories from bygone eras would have been for the best, as lonely as it was.

The girl walked out, taking most of the dark magic with her. There were some traces of it lying in the air like a miasma.

Nimue quickly swiped her hand over her pocket to make sure her phone was there. She’d ask her manager to let her take a break, text Douxie, and the two of them would go after the girl with the dark magic. Hopefully she was just some kid with latent talent who found a dark magical spell on the internet.

“I’m taking my lunch break,” her manager told her right before she could open her mouth. “Make sure we don’t get robbed.”

Nimue made sure her back was turned to her manager before she grimaced and hoped that she had enough hay fever that it was distorting the amount of dark magic she was sensing.

“Nimue, calm down and talk a little more slowly,” he said. They were both on break, her from her day job and him from band practice with Ash Dispersal pattern. Specifically, Hank and Raoul were off to grab burgers for their lunch.

Nimue took a deep breath. “Look, this girl came into Zimue and there was something bad about her. Like, I could feel the dark magic coming off her in waves.”

Douxie decided not to ask her just how she knew it was dark magic, though he did wonder. For someone who had had no training outside of spell books on the internet and his father’s attempted tutelage of the two of them, she progressed remarkably fast. Douxie hoped that Nimue wouldn’t be able to sense years-old dark magic. “Okay, do you want me to fake being sick and go after her?”

“Uh… she left the shop an hour ago.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Douxie was secretly glad. Nimue’s reaction to dark magic users scared him.

“Because my manager already doesn’t like me and this was the soonest I could go on break… it could be hay fever, but I made sure to take my allergy meds and I don’t think it is.”

“Okay, okay, well, what does this girl look like?”

“Uh… brown or black hair with a white streak, green, wait, no, brown eyes…” That certainly didn’t narrow down the field that well, but it did help affirm the fact that there was something about the girl Nimue had seen that had her spooked. “Oh, yeah, she was wearing a Papa Skull shirt, and hairclips? Uh, like, two, no, three, no, there might’ve been more… it’d be easier if I could show you.”

“Nimue, we both know that the extent of your drawing abilities are runes and stick figures.”

“No, not a drawing, there’s surveillance video in the store, and she came straight up to the register.”

“Isn’t that illegal? Somehow? We don’t need the law coming in and messing things up somehow.”

“I mean, technically the improvements on your pipes might also be illegal since you didn’t tell your landlord about them and they’re also giving you extra water.”

Douxie grimaced; he still wasn’t entirely sure if one day he’d have to deal with the magically enhanced water turning what was supposed to be his dinner into a potion of some sort.

Zimue closed at 7 PM every day, so at 9:30 PM Nimue snuck out of her house to break in. Her parents thought that she was sleeping after having prepared for finals she’d be taking. She wore a beanie and long sleeves to cover up her dyed hair and magically induced tattoo.

“Douxie, I thought I told you to do something that would make you less recognizable,” she said. He was wearing what he wore every day, except he didn’t roll up his sleeves.

He dramatically placed his hood over his head, and then awkwardly tucked his dyed bangs behind his ears. “Why’d you want the water bottle?” he asked, pulling one out of his pocket.

“For this,” Nimue said, sighing wistfully. She preferred shopping for clothes in the women’s section, but she missed having space in her pockets. She took the water bottle, uncapped it, and then upended it. As she handed the water bottle back to him, she made a swirling motion with her other hand.

Another good reason for wearing long sleeves: her tattoo was probably glowing right now.

A thick fog surrounded the two of them and the storefront.

“Oh. Cool,” Douxie said.

“Wish it could’ve been a smoke bomb instead of a steam bomb, but this is good enough, I guess,” Nimue said. “Besides, we don’t want to set off a smoke alarm.”

Douxie knelt next to the door, pulling out a pair of straightened paperclips. He inserted them into the lock, wiggling them around. His expression grew frustrated, and he closed his eyes. When he stood up once more, he held the lock with one of his hoodie sleeves.

“I thought you could pick locks,” Nimue said. “Well, without magic, anyways.”

“Last time I picked a lock I was in foster care, and before that…” Douxie stared off into the distance, a morose look on his face.

“Before that?”

Douxie blinked and put on an obviously fake smile. “Eh, tragic backstory stuff.”

“That joke stopped being funny halfway through ninth grade.” Nimue pushed past her friend and opened the door. Fog filtered in, covering the cameras. “Okay, so we keep the security footage over this way.”

Douxie closed the door behind him. “You know, I don’t even know if the magic shop has security cameras.”

“Good thing mystery dark magical girl came here, then.” Nimue pulled up the footage. “And good thing my boss showed me how to go through this in case we ever get shoplifted from or anything. Not that we probably will, ever. At least, if we do it’s probably gonna be on my day off. And, there!”

Douxie looked over her shoulder at the slightly grainy video, taking a photo of the girl. “She goes to our school. I saw her outside Mrs. Barros’s office last year. I think she’s a year younger than us?”

Nimue groaned, standing up and beginning to erase the evidence that she and Douxie had broken in. “If she’s a year younger than us, then she might be a member of that stupid pilot program where freshmen could graduate in a year and a half.”

“I can ask the guys; they might know since they still go to actual school.”

“Make sure you get a name; it might make it easier to go after her.”

“Hey, Nimue?” Douxie asked. She threw a glance over her shoulder as she locked up the store.

“Yeah?”

“What are you going to do to her, once we find her?”

“I don’t know exactly, but she’s got dark magic. She’s dangerous, and we’re the only non-dark wizards in Arcadia. We need to stop her.”

Douxie gave her the same sort of faraway, morose look that he did whenever he accidentally shared a detail about his childhood before foster care. Without a word, he turned away and walked to his apartment.

Nimue let the enchanted fog roll away and began to walk home. She tried not to think about Douxie’s question too much. Anyone who used dark magic had to be evil since they’d know better than to use it. They deserved what was coming to them.

“Hey, does this girl still go to our school?” Douxie asked, holding his phone out to the other members of Ash Dispersal Pattern.

“What, do you wanna ask her, wait, no, sorry, forgot you were gay,” Raoul said. Honestly, Douxie was still a little surprised that he had even had to come out to Raoul and the other guys last October. After all, Douxie trying out for Ash Dispersal Pattern had been him trying to confess his crush to Hank back in freshman year. Not that it mattered, anymore, since all the other guys in the band were straight and Douxie had moved on from his crush six months after the band had formed. “Uh, I don’t know?”

“Nimue saw her at the record store, fiddling with a ring, and she dropped it. Nimue found it after she’d left, and she wanted to try to find a way to give it back to the girl. I remembered seeing her outside of Mrs. Barros’s office last year, but I’ve got no idea about if she’s in the year-and-a-half program.”

Hank walked over and squinted at the photo. “She doesn’t go to our school; she transferred to mole high. She’s friends with my ex; the girl’s name’s Claire. Do you want me to go over?”

“Dude, Mary isn’t gonna get back together with you,” Dominic said.

“No, well, I have no idea about Hank’s ex. But no, I’ll go over,” Douxie said.

“Hand out the Battle of the Bands flyers when you get there, will ya?” Douxie took the stack of papers from Dominic. Good, now he actually had a reason to go there.

Multiple female students of Arcadia Oaks High swarmed Douxie, but not as many of them grabbed the flyers he was passing out. None of them were Claire, either. One of them mentioned the nickname that Nimue hated. Personally, Douxie wasn’t sure why it was such a problem; Hank had gone through a phase where he’d called everyone by their first initial, but there were two guys with a name starting with the letter “d” in the band and Dominic was significantly shorter than Douxie. Therefore, “Big D” and “Little D”.

A girl pushed through the crowd and tripped, dropping her books. Douxie knelt next to her helping her grab her books, and then he felt the waves of dark magic coming off of her. Something about them felt familiar, but how? Douxie placed a smile on his face.

“C-Bomb, is it? Consider me blown away, because you are nuclear.” If she knew that he was a wizard, then she would understand that this was a sign of respect. A sign that he recognized her power, but also a sign that he recognized the danger she radiated.

She smiled back but said nothing. Hmm. Maybe Nimue’s theory of Claire being an inexperienced wizard who accidentally cast a dark magic spell was possible, but that powerful without knowing how to sense for magic? That was strange. Perhaps she was goading him?

A boy in blue walked up to them, slinging his arm around Claire’s shoulder. “So, what brings you to our humble school?”

The boy placed a hand on Douxie’s chest, pushing Douxie away as Claire began to cough. That was nice of him. Something about the boy felt oddly familiar, and not just because Douxie remembered seeing him at Benoit’s multiple times. No, Douxie almost felt caught in a feedback loop, like he had sent his own magic outwards and then it got sent back at him. Almost. The magic that got sent back felt purer, less tainted. Innocent, and not yet marred by necromancy.

“The Battle of the Bands is coming up,” Douxie said as he handed a flyer to Claire. “Ash Dispersal Pattern – that’s my band – will be crushing this.” And maybe the hand motion Douxie made was a little too threatening, but there was something odd and Douxie felt like he had to do something to show a little of his strength. Not too much, but enough to make himself seem like he wasn’t a victim. “But, we’re encouraging others to give it a shot.”

Claire coughed again after congratulating Douxie on Ash Dispersal Pattern’s headline performance for Papa Skull last fall. Douxie couldn’t help but wonder if it were a regular cold, or if perhaps the illness were magical in nature. If so, maybe he, Nimue, and his father could find –

No. Douxie would have to help her on his own. Nimue and his father thought that dark magic users were evil and dangerous. They would probably advocate for letting Claire die if the illness caused by her own meddling in dark magic, or perhaps the two of them would grant “mercy” to Claire by killing her. They would probably do the same for Douxie if they ever found out the truth.

Two girls rushed over to Claire, exclaiming that they should be a cover band. Neither of them seemed to have anything magical going on, but Douxie was pretty sure one of them was Hank’s ex.

“I don’t know,” the boy said, pushing Douxie away once more. “We’re pretty busy with our after-school activities.”

Hmm. Were Claire and the boy perhaps trying to learn magic together, much like Douxie and Nimue were?

Claire took the flyer back from the boy and agreed with the girls about starting a band. Douxie glanced to his hands and quickly put them in his pockets. They were empty, and they were trembling. But why? Claire seemed powerful, but not necessarily threatening.

“I look forward to seeing you again, Fair Lady Claire,” Douxie said before walking away. Yes. Perfect. That was exactly the right amount of respect to show to a fellow wizard whose diplomatic position towards you was still unknown but was clearly dangerous due to her clearly dark but hidden power. It was good to know that, after a millennium and a half for everyone else and eight years for himself, his diplomatic training as a prince had finally paid off. If only his parents, Merlin, or Uncle Kay could have been alive and in the right mind to see him.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. This whole morning was stupid. Nimue had been so stupid as to tempt fate. She glanced up from the tile she was trying to kill with her eyes when the door opened and closed, and her best friend walked into Zimue Records.

“Everything okay?” Douxie asked.

“We got fucking robbed,” Nimue said. “This wasn’t supposed to happen to me! If this was going to happen, why not on my day off?”

“Well, at least you have security cameras. Was anyone hurt?”

“No, though the shoplifters played dumb like they didn’t know what shoplifting was. Ugh. At least some cop got there so no permanent damage was caused and I didn’t even need security cameras. How’d flyers go?”

“Fine, I found Claire.”

“Okay, and?”

“And what?”

“And what have you done about her? Fireballs? Potions turned Molotov cocktails?”

“What? No! I’m not blowing up our rival school, and neither are you! No, I just got a feel for her, and I treated her with the proper amount of respect.”

“Proper?”

“Yes. Given that she’s powerful, I called her by the term Lady,” Douxie said as Nimue smacked her forehead. “What? There’s no need for her to immediately want to kill us for disrespect!”

“Douxie, this is why people think you’re straight.” She wrinkled her nose. “Please tell me you’re just being cheeky when you call me Lady Nimue and not trying to curry favor.”

“I’m being respectful to you because you’re my friend… but also sometimes it bugs you.”

Nimue rolled her eyes. “Okay, so what are we going to do about Claire? You have any ideas about how to fight a dark wizard?”

The door opened and closed, but no human walked in. “You two won’t be.”

“You told him?” Nimue said.

“No, but he should have,” Archie said. “You two are louder than you think.”

“I didn’t want you to worry,” Douxie mumbled.

Archie raised an eyebrow at Douxie. “Between raising you,” he said before turning to Nimue, “and teaching you my fur has gotten plenty grayer without the two of you taking needless risks like tracking down a dark wizard.”

“But she could be hurting people! And we’re the only ones in Arcadia who could save the day! If we pull off some sort of sneak attack – “

“You won’t be,” Archie said. “If the two of you are to be fighting another wizard, which you won’t be, I expect you to fight with honor.”

“She’s a dark wizard. She’s evil.”

“Or she’s young and hasn’t had the training that you have. She might not know the difference between regular magic and dark magic. After all, did you know the difference when your powers first awoke?”

Nimue’s breath caught in her throat. Of course, she did; she knew so many things instinctually from her past lives.

“Or Claire’s desperate,” Douxie mumbled, breaking Nimue from her thoughts. Archie turned to him.

“That’s not an excuse to use dark magic, and it’s especially not an excuse I want to hear coming from your mouth – either of your mouths,” Archie said. “If this girl turns out to be a danger to others, or to be using dark magic while being fully aware of the consequences, then fine. I will guide the two of you in planning an attack. But I do not want either of you getting near this dark wizard without me. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Archie,” the two of them said in unison.

“Good. Now, how is studying for finals going?”

#toa zoe #claire nuñez #hisirdoux casperan #jim lake jr #toa archie #tales of arcadia #trollhunters #3below #once and maybe future #my writing #toa mordred #ash dispersal pattern #tight jeans hank

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dettiot · 4 years

Text

the king and his bodyguards

I was reading this post about Jedi Padme and Senator Anakin, and then . . . this happened. Changing canon a bit to make Anakin thirteen and Padme eighteen, so Padme is actually a Padawan while Anakin is King of Naboo.��

When Anakin stepped into the room, the conversation immediately died. He frowned and looked at his best friends: his faithful bodyguards and doubles.

“What’s going on?”

“Oh, nothing,” Taliesin said innocently, while Zeppelin and Kaladin started snickering. Augustin rolled his eyes while Valentin grinned.

Anakin looked at his best friend, Benjamin, who sighed. “It’s nothing, your highness. We need to begin preparing you for the celebration ceremony.”

“All right,” he said slowly, still wondering what was going on. Everyone seemed pretty amped up--but then, Anakin felt the same way. After all, they had managed to save their planet from an invasion force, thanks to the help of the Gungans and a few new friends.

And if his thoughts lingered a lot on the pretty brunette who had helped them so much . . . well, no one knew what was going on inside his head or his heart. And no matter what, he would do his duty.

Just like his friends would. Selevin began arranging the pieces of his wardrobe while Anakin shucked off his casual trousers and tunic. Soon he was standing in the middle of the room as Selevin and Kaladin dressed him in the form-fitting white trousers and flowy tunic, and the matching vest with silver scrollwork.

Augustin, who was the best of them at writing ceremonial addresses, helped Anakin as he recited the speech Augustin had composed for this occasion. With a small stepladder to help him, Taliesin darkened Anakin’s hair and combed it back from his face, to get him ready for the headdress he would wear today. Zeppelin and Valentin were hanging back, looking at something on a datapad--probably Valentine checking on the makeup he would apply to Anakin’s face soon.

“. . . this new compact of understanding between the Nabians and the Gungans reflects the beauty of the Republic: how peoples can join together, in a common cause, and--” Anakin stopped as he searched for the next words.

“‘And preserve justice and freedom for all’,” Augustin said.

Nodding, Anakin repeated the words, and then continued the speech, reaching the part he liked best. “I am most grateful to the symbol of the Republic’s justice, the Jedi, for assisting with our struggle for freedom. Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi protected me and lead the fight here in Theed. And in the sky, Padawan Padme Naberrie became a most unlikely, but most welcome, hero to all of Naboo. But most especially to me--”

The soft snicker from Zeppelin made Anakin stop and whirl to face him. “Okay, what?!?”

“Your highness,” Benjamin said, in that annoyingly calm voice of his, but Anakin wasn’t about to be handled right now.

“What’s so funny, Zeppelin?” Anakin asked, pinning his bodyguard with his glare.

Zeppelin grinned at Anakin. Out of all his body doubles, Zeppelin was the one who doubled for him the least, but his skill at slicing made him invaluable to Anakin. And while his sense of humor often defused tension, right now Anakin felt his blood grow hot at his friend’s attitude.

“I guess I’m the only one willing to talk about the massive crush you have on Padme,” Zeppelin said, folding his arms over his chest.

Anakin felt his face grow hot, but he tried to ignore it. “What? That’s ridiculous--I don’t have a crush on Padme--”

At this, all of his bodyguards reacted, their expressions different but all showing disbelief.

“I don’t!” Anakin said, putting his hands on his hips. “I mean . . . she’s very pretty, yeah, and she’s a good pilot, and she helped save all of us, but--but she’s a Jedi. She’s going to go back to Coruscant after today and I’ll probably never see her again.”

He had wanted to sound defiant, forceful--like a king. But saying the words, putting voice to a fear he didn’t realize he had . . . he felt like a little boy again.

Looking down at the floor, Anakin swallowed, trying to get control of himself. It just--it wasn’t fair. He had wanted to be King of Naboo in order to help people, but he felt like he wasn’t doing anything to make life better for those who really needed help.

And Padme . . . she had made everything seem so clear.

A hand rested on Anakin’s shoulder, and he looked into Benjamin’s blue eyes. Eyes that were a lot like his--which was why he doubled for Anakin the most often.

“Anakin, you know we’re all just worried about you. Because you’re right: Padme is a Jedi and she’s going back to Coruscant soon,” Benjamin said quietly.

At least Benjamin wasn’t bringing up the age gap between them. Because even if Padme wasn’t a Jedi, what would a beautiful, mature woman like her want with a too-tall, awkward kid like him?

Anakin rubbed a hand over his eyes and blew out a breath. “Can someone go get my mom, please?”

“On it,” Zeppelin said, pausing by his side. “I’m only teasing because Padme likes you, too.”

“You think so?” Anakin asked breathlessly, only to bite his lip as he prepared himself for Zeppelin to laugh at him.

But to Anakin’s surprise, Zeppelin just nodded and smiled. “Yup,” he said with a light punch to Anakin’s shoulder, prompting Selevin to mock-gasp and rush forward to smooth down Anakin’s clothes.

With that, Zeppelin slipped out of the room with a grin and Anakin reassured Selevin that his clothes were fine, even as his mind was busy going over every interaction he had experience with Padme since they had met, looking for the truth in Zeppelin’s words.

Yes, Padme would be leaving soon. Yes, she was still a Jedi. But . . . but that didn’t mean his feelings had to change. He just had to accept that nothing would come of them.

He was pretty sure that liking Padme could only lead to good things. So Anakin Skywalker, King of Naboo, resolved to himself that whatever his feelings for Padme Naberrie, he would like her for the rest of his days.

End.

#anakin skywalker #anidala #star wars #GIVE ME ALL THE AUS #Jedi Padme and King Anakin

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shakespeareanwannabe · 4 years

Text

New Beginnings

Santiago ‘Pope’ Garcia x F!OC/Santiago Garcia x Rebecca Cooke

Summary: A year after leaving Colombia, Santiago ‘Pope’ Garcia returns home, ready for something...more.

Warnings: References to death and PTSD, swearing

A/N: Hi everyone! I was blown away by the response to ‘Protective Instincts’, so I wrote a sequel that’s based off of part of one of clarke’s headcanons. This was so fun to write, and I’m really wanting to write more about Bex and Pope, and Pope and Frankie, and the baby, so I’m hoping you all enjoy this as much as you enjoyed the first one! If you want to be added to the tags, please let me know. I just used the tags list from ‘Protective Instincts’ for this one.

**********

In…Out…In…Out…

It was stupid.

This was stupid.

Why was he nervous?

He was being creepy. He needed to stop that. It was creepy enough when he stalked Tom down to the last condo he was showing and waited outside by his truck, scrambling to come up with a witty, cocksure line to make his old commanding officer laugh.

This…this was different. There were no ulterior motives this time around, no lies, no cash-grabs. Just an honest man who knew how badly he had fucked up, preparing to go hat in hand to the only person he thought would still give him another chance.

Would he still give him another chance?

In…Out…In…Out…

Of course he would, this was Frankie they were talking about. The man who, after he got their commanding officer killed, still cupped the back of his head and pulled him into a hug that was both amical and familial. The man who had always, always, had his back. Ride or die since day one. He wouldn’t hold Colombia against him…

Would he?

In…Out…In…Out…

They had parted ways fairly amicably, their farewell consisting of that hug that had almost brought him to his tired knees and back slaps and “take care of yourselves”.

Then again, Frankie had never wanted to go on the mission in the first place. He’d gone because Pope had used every tool in his repertoire to get his best friend to join him. And, when it had gone sideways, Pope had been able to see the exact second when that switch in Frankie’s brain switched from “civilian doing recon” to “soldier on the battlefield”. After so long away, after years of therapy and good old-fashioned love, Frankie had become a newer, better version of himself, and Pope had torn it all away with the promise of money that would benefit Frankie’s family.

But they had parted ways on good terms, right? That meant everything would be okay.

In…Out…In—

There he was.

Pope sat forward in the front seat of his new truck, eyes eagerly following his best friend’s movements.

Frankie was pacing the length of the porch, a baby perched in his arms. Even from where he was parked, Pope could hear the crying.

It probably wasn’t the best time. If Frankie’s kid was crying, then Frankie’s senses were probably all strung out. Plus, it was 6:30, so it was probably close to dinnertime. Frankie needed a schedule to help keep the wolves at bay, and he always ate around 6:30.

He should probably go. Dinner and a crying baby would have his friend all over the place. Not exactly good timing for the apology and ask of the century.

He should go…

He needed to go…

He couldn’t do this…

He needed this but he couldn’t drag Frankie back into his bullshit…

When Yovanna had told him, tears in her voice, that she couldn’t take it anymore, that he needed to go home, his mind hadn’t gone to a place. He wasn’t going to go back to his mother’s country of birth, or his father’s. He wasn’t going to go to Texas or Maine or New York. He was going to go to South Carolina. He was going to go to Frankie. The ballast of his ship, the eye of his hurricane, the—

“Santi?”

Pope hadn’t even realized he had been walking until his boot clipped the bottom step of Frankie’s porch, alerting the pilot to his presence.

“Hey ‘Fish,” he replied, a little too brightly.

“Jesus, man…” Frankie adjusted the whimpering, no longer crying, child in his arms and pulled Pope into a one-armed hug. “What are you doing here?”

Pope listened to the question, hunting for even a hint of suspicion or anger, and found none, only genuine curiosity and warmth.

“Was in the neighborhood…”

Frankie fixed him with a piercing look. “Thought you were headed to Australia to see a girl about a life?”

Pope shrugged. “Didn’t work out.”

Frankie nodded lightly. “Huh…” He looked down at the baby in his arms, no longer crying. “You settled now, mijo? You’re not gonna make Mamá tear her hair out by crying again?” The baby blinked up at Frankie and cooed, one chubby hand extending to pat Frankie’s beard. “Alright, kid. Let’s get you back to Mamá. Give me one sec, man.”

Frankie disappeared into the house and Pope took a deep breath. He still didn’t think he should be doing this, considering last time he interrupted his friend’s life, he had nearly gotten them all killed, but he couldn’t deny the calming effect Frankie was already having on him. Already, he felt like he could breathe easier and his heart wasn’t racing.

Frankie had always had that sort of effect on him. The cool, calm, and collected pilot versus the hot-headed, shoot first and ask questions later lieutenant. Their friendship, their bond, shouldn’t have worked. Like fire and water, oil and vinegar, they never should have gelled the way they did, but they did. Santi brought Frankie out of his shell, encouraged him to take control and step up when they needed his voice of reason. Frankie cooled Santi off, reminded him to stay grounded, to stay alive to fight the next fight, that he was still human underneath all the Kevlar and camo.

Frankie tempered Santi’s fire, and Santi boiled Frankie’s water. A perfectly balanced pair.

“You gonna take a seat and stay awhile, or are you gonna bolt?”

Santi turned back towards the door, not even realizing that he had been standing there with one foot on the porch steps while Frankie had been inside.

“That an invitation?” Santi accepted the beer that Frankie held out towards him and sat in one of the wooden chairs set out around a wrought iron table.

“You don’t need an invitation, cabrón,” Frankie scoffed quietly as he took the other chair and collapsed into it, cracking open his bottle and taking a long swig.

Santi nodded hesitantly. “You never know…things change.”

Frankie’s eyes jerked towards him. “They don’t change that much,” he replied with a warm firmness in his voice that somehow set all of Santi’s nerves at ease.

“So, that was the new baby, huh?” Santi nodded towards the house. “How old is…he?”

Frankie nodded, a small grin on his face. “18 months. Mateo James Morales.”

“Cute. And Charlie?” Santi had met Charlotte King when he had a brief month long leave and had crashed at Frankie’s old apartment. Charlie and Frankie had only been seeing each other for a couple of months, but it was clear that the physiotherapist was good for Frankie. She had that same fire that Santiago had, but in a way that cleared away all the bad shit in Frankie’s life, making room for all the good to come, instead of destroying everything in its path, the way Santi’s did. That, plus her kind heart and no-nonsense attitude, made her a perfect match for Frankie. It only took minutes of being in the same room with the two to feel the love they shared for each other and, because of that love, Santi came to love her too. Anyone who could make Frankie happy was a saint in Santi’s books.

“She’s good. She owns her own clinic now, which is nice. She sets her own prices and her own hours, plus she gets a cut of all the business that comes in, so we don’t really have to worry about money. Plus, she’s a lot happier now that she can spend more time at home with Mateo.”

“And you,” a warm voice added. Charlie stepped over the threshold and sat on the arm of Frankie’s chair, wrapping her free arm around her fiancé’s shoulders as she cuddled Mateo close with her other arm. Frankie craned his neck up to place a gentle kiss on her shoulder and Santi looked away.

He didn’t begrudge his friend his happiness at all. Frankie deserved it after helping Santi wade through the muck and grime over the past decade and a half. But he wanted exactly this. The family and the home and the warmth and the love.

“Hey Santi,” Charlie called, her warm eyes sparkling as she reached across the table to squeeze his hand.

“Hey Chuck,” he greeted with an impish grin, causing her to laugh.

“Wow, it’s been a while since anybody has called me that.”

Santi grimaced. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

Charlie shrugged delicately before passing Mateo to his father. “You can make it up to me by staying for dinner. I’m making that mushroom chicken that you liked so much last time.”

“That’s alright, I don’t want to impose—”

“Hey, cabrón. What did I say about invitations?” Frankie interjected, his harsh tone at odds with the silly grin on his face as he bounced his son up and down on his knee.

“I—”

“It’s settled. You’re staying,” Charlie ordered, a soft smile on her face as she stood. “Keep Mateo busy while I cook, flyboy?” She bent to nuzzle Frankie’s nose before placing a sweet kiss on his lips.

“Sí, mi amada,” Santi heard Frankie whisper softly before Charlie stepped away and disappeared inside, winking at Santi over her shoulder as the door swung closed. The boys sat in companionable silence for a few long minutes. Santi was desperate to say something, anything, for things to feel like they used to, but that wasn’t Frankie. Frankie was always content with silence, especially between friends. He didn’t need to fill up silences with platitudes or useless trivia. If he found someone he could sit in silence with and feel fulfilled, that person became incredibly important to him. He and Santi used to have that, and they could both feel the ghost of that bond floating just overhead, desperate to possess them again. But after a year apart, and the way they had left things, neither knew if they were capable of such a relationship again.

Luckily, it was Mateo who broke the silence, giggling loudly as he reached across the table towards Santi.

Santiago’s eyebrow cocked up as he glanced from the baby to Frankie and back again. “Friendly kid.”

Frankie chuckled. “Gets it from his Mamá.” Frankie considered his son for a moment before looking up at Santi. “Here.” Frankie stood and moved around the table, placing Mateo into Santi’s lap before he could refuse. Santi’s hands immediately came up to steady the chubby baby that had suddenly been plopped in his lap, eyes wide open in shock.

“Frankie, what the f—”

“Watch it, man. Young ears,” Frankie replied loftily, waving at his son, who was giggling and squirming in Santi’s lap.

“It’s not like he’s gonna remember,” Santi scoffed. Mateo was shocked into silence by the voice, only a questioning coo escaping the baby’s lips as he craned his neck around to look at Santiago. The baby and the soldier stared at each other for a long moment before Mateo squealed excitedly, clapping his hands, and grinning up at his father’s friend. He began babbling excitedly and crawling around to face him. He reached out to grip the neckline of Santi’s t-shirt and used the leverage to start pulling himself up to stand.

“Frankie…” Santi peered around the baby to stare at his friend, who was seemingly unperturbed by the events unfolding in front of him.

“18-month-olds learn about one or two words a week, hermano. If the F word is one of Mateo’s first words, I’m telling Charlie it’s on you.”

“And…uh…this?” he asked, Mateo now eye-to-eye with him and pulling at his greying curls.

Frankie sighed and sank deeper into his chair, pulling his cap further down on his forehead. “Just don’t drop him.”

Santiago sat stock still as Mateo tugged at his hair, pulled on his ears, and ran his hands up and down Santi’s stubbly cheeks, giggling all the way. Finally, the baby huffed and slapped his hands down on Santi’s shoulders and stared into his eyes.

The quiet slap could just as easily have been a thunderclap.

Santiago was transfixed.

This wasn’t some kid from a village in Colombia, or a baby that he happened to smile at in Afghanistan. This was his best friend’s son, his brother’s son. As close to his own flesh and blood as he had at the moment. A child born of love that relied on Frankie and Charlie for everything. A child who, if he hadn’t been such a dumbass, wouldn’t have spent the last 18 months not knowing his face. A child who might, if Santi was lucky, grow up calling him Tío Santi.

Santiago drew in a shuddery breath and gently pulled Mateo into a hug, giving the child lots of time to voice his displeasure, but it never came. Instead, the young boy cooed and rested his head against Santi’s shoulder. Santi blinked back the tears that had unexpectedly pooled in his eyes and met Frankie’s gaze across the table.

His old friend, his best friend, gave him a soft smile and an understanding nod as he watched his son bond with his uncle for the first time.

**********

“So, Santi, I’m not gonna lie. I was surprised when Frankie told me you were outside,” Charlie commented as she placed the last serving dish down on the table and took her seat next to Mateo’s empty highchair. “I thought Frankie said you were living in Australia now.”

“Didn’t work out,” Santi deflected, watching as Frankie entered the room after putting Mateo down to sleep.

“Her loss, man,” Frankie comforted lowly, giving Santi’s shoulder a squeeze as he sat down next to him and pulled the dish of chicken towards him.

The adults quietly passed dishes of roasted chicken smothered in mushroom cream sauce, mashed potatoes, almond green beans, and strawberry spinach salad and began to eat.

First bite, Santi groaned. “Oh my god, Charlie…”

Charlie laughed brightly. “You regret staying away for so long now, bud?”

Santi nodded; eyes closed in pleasure. “How hasn’t my boy here gotten fat with you cooking like this?”

Frankie chuckled under his breath. “Who says I haven’t?”

Charlie smiled lovingly at him and reached across the table to squeeze his hand. “You’re definitely not, handsome. But even if you were, I’d still love you.”

Frankie pressed a kiss to the back of her hand before releasing her to eat their dinners. “She does her best to keep me in shape. Hiking and swimming and shit.” Santiago winced at the thought and Frankie nodded commiseratingly at him. “Well, at least your knees haven’t given out on you yet, man.”

“If you were in the area, I’d get you set up at my clinic, Santi,” Charlie added. “I don’t know how much good it would do, but there are some exercises and stretches that might help ease the ache a little.”

Santi swallowed his bite of chicken and washed it down with a gulp of white wine before clearing his throat. “Actually, that’s kind of why I’m here.”

At his announcement, both Charlie and Frankie looked at him, dinners abandoned.

Santi swallowed down his nerves.

In…Out…In…Out…

“I, uh…I found a house about ten minutes away that I was thinking of buying,” he stated in an even voice that belied his nerves. Charlie set down her fork and Frankie turned his whole body to face him. “I sold my company in Colombia,” he explained, meeting Frankie’s eyes for a long moment. In actuality, he had sold his stash of weapons to the police force and taken a fairly large payout from the private contractor he had been working for. “And I worked for a security firm in Australia while I was there. But now…” Santi shrugged. “I just think it’s time for something permanent. But I didn’t want to buy so close to you guys without talking to you first. I know there might be some hard feelings, or that you might not want me around Mateo, but—”

“Santi, will you shut up please?” Charlie stood and marched around the table to stand in front of him. “Get up.” Santi glanced over at Frankie who just shrugged and jerked his chin at him. Slowly, hesitantly, Santi stood in front of his best friend’s girl and prepared for the worst.

Odds were, Charlie knew all about Colombia. Santi knew that Frankie didn’t keep secrets from his lady, and didn’t begrudge him at all, but he knew that this could only go badly.

Charlie didn’t want Frankie to go on the mission in the first place. The team had returned one man short and without the promised money. Frankie would have returned home carrying all the guilt and blood that he had worked so hard to shed since his honorary discharge. And the person who dragged him back in was now asking to live in the safety of their shadow.

Santi wouldn’t blame her if she never wanted to see him again, never wanted him to hold her child again, never wanted him to see his best friend again, never—

Santi melted into the warm arms that embraced him, one around his back and the other coming up to cup the back of his head, pulling him down to rest against her shoulder.

When Frankie had told him that Charlie was pregnant, Santi was shameful to say that he laughed. Spitfire, no-nonsense Chuck was gonna be a Mom? Are you kidding? She could match the squad drink for drink, curse for curse, any day of the week. She bullied men twice her size into following her exercise regimen for a living, twisting and manipulating their bodies into working properly again. Yet, now, Santi could see that there had always been a touch of motherhood to her. Her warmth and her kindness were what had drawn Frankie to her in the first place. Santi loved her for that, but now he loved her for so much more.

Finally, she pulled back and, much like her son, rested her hands on his shoulders and looked directly into his eyes. “If you even thought of moving somewhere else, I would take you out at the knees myself, bud.”

Santi chuckled, and if it was a little watery, nobody mentioned it.

Frankie stood and wrapped Santi up in a hug, pulling back only to say, “Welcome to the neighborhood, hermano. Mateo’s lucky to have his uncle around.”

**********

Santiago cleared his throat as he approached the front desk. The red-haired receptionist looked up and greeted him with a smile.

“Good afternoon, sir. How may I help you?”

“My name is Santiago Garcia. I’m supposed to have an appointment with Charlotte King?”

The receptionist tapped a few keys and nodded. “She’s just with a patient right now, but if you’d like to take a seat in our waiting room, she’ll be with you in a moment.”

Santi nodded and thanked the lady before moving into the small purple alcove off the reception desk and took a seat.

It had been a month since that dinner, and Santi was settling into his new routine nicely.

The sale of the house had gone as smoothly as it possibly could have (meaning, not at all), but the small old colonial style house was officially his and he loved it, despite it being quite the fixer upper. In fact, he loved it because it was a fixer upper.

At Frankie’s urging, Santi had reconnected with Benny and Will, who had taken it upon themselves to become his construction crew. Whenever Will wasn’t giving a speech or Benny wasn’t losing a fight, they were at the house, doing whatever needed to be done. Every Wednesday and Saturday, when he wasn’t teaching flying lessons or spending time with his son, Frankie joined them. Friday nights, he had dinner with Frankie and Charlie. Every Sunday, the whole crew got together and hung out at Frankie’s house. Charlie would cook something delicious, Santi would sit with Mateo in his arms, the Miller’s would do the dishes, and Frankie would hover around them all, making sure his family was safe and happy. It was everything Santi had wanted when he moved back home and more.

“Hey, Santi, sorry about that,” Charlie greeted as she appeared in the doorway of the waiting room.

Santi stood up and gave her a hug. “No worries, Chuck. I know you’re busy.”

Charlie smiled and gave him a friendly pat on the cheek. “If my staff starts calling me Chuck, I’m blaming you.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful,” he teased as he followed her out into the gymnasium-looking clinic. Long massage tables were set up around the periphery of the room while a series of gym apparatuses took up the bulk of the middle. A giant machine sat half-hidden behind a partial wall, and Pope could smell chlorine in the air.

At the end of the square gym was a long hallway, the therapy pool built into the wall on one side and a row of consultation rooms on the other.

Charlie pulled back the curtain on one of the consultation rooms and ushered him inside. Santi slid himself onto the massage table while Charlie sat on the circular rolling chair.

“So, listen…” Charlie began with a sigh. “I tried like hell to change things around and shuffle some patients up, but I wasn’t able to fit you into my schedule.”

Santi felt his heart sink a little. He wasn’t looking for a miracle. Hell no, his last ‘miracle’ surgery had only made things worse. But he had been hoping for at least a chance to live without chronic pain. “No worries, Chuck. Honestly. It was nice of you to—”

“Would you shut the fuck up and let me talk, please? Jesus, Santi, you’re worse than Benny sometimes,” she huffed, rolling her eyes. “I can’t fit you in with me, but I can get you in with Steve. We met when we were doing our DPT program, and he co-owns the place with me. You’ll like him.” Charlie met Santi’s wary gaze and smiled. “Listen, Santi. If you’re not comfortable with him, I’ll see what I can do about fitting you in with me sometime next month. But, please, give him a shot? For me?”

Santi felt himself soften and he grinned, nudging her knee with his foot. “Is that how you landed Frankie, Chuck? You flash him those puppy dog eyes?”

“The puppy dog eyes may or may not have played a part in getting him to put a ring on it. Then again, that might have been the three days of on and off labor to bring his son into the world,” she quipped as she rolled to the door to stick her head out through the curtain. “Hey, Steve! Your new patient is here!”

A shadow crossed the curtain as Charlie stood up, winking at him as she whispered, “You’re gonna be fine, hun.”

The curtain opened and a hulking man blocked a good portion of the light streaming down from the fluorescents. Stepping into the room, Santi blinked for a minute to let his eyes adjust, not even seeing Charlie slip out of the room.

The man was big. Bigger than Will and Benny, which was saying something. Not tall, but broad and muscular, a sleeve of tattoos decorating both arms. Bald with a gold stud in his ear.

What the fuck was Charlie thinking? This dude looked like he was about to break his legs, not help fix them.

Steve (and sweet Jesus, his name was Steve? Did his parents even think before naming him?) took the stool that Charlie had been sitting on and straddled it, rolling over to the table Pope was sitting on.

“Hey, man. I’m Steve,” he grinned brightly, holding out a hand for him to shake.

When their hands clasped, Pope understood why Charlie thought they would get along.

“Where did you serve?”

Steve laughed. “Two tours at a VA hospital in Germany after I got my Bachelor’s degree. Couldn’t afford to get my DPT without Uncle Sam footing the bill. How’d you know?”

Santi laughed. “Spent the last 14 years shaking hands with the brass. It gets pretty easy to tell who has a military handshake and who doesn’t.” At Steve’s questioning look, he continued. “Delta Force. Been all over kingdom come.”

“Ah, so you served with Frankie, huh?”

“Known ‘Fish ever since basic. Been close ever since,” Pope nodded.

Steve nodded with a laugh. “Yeah, I’ve got a couple like that. I’m sure it’s different because we never saw a battlefield, but I get it. Knowing you’re on the same side, being with the same people for years, it forges something.” Pope nodded thoughtfully for a moment before lapsing into silence. “So, I’m guessing all that running around for the good of our nation did some pretty serious damage to your knees, huh?”

Pope smirked, thankful for the out he was being given as he dove into his medical history.

**********

45 minutes later, Steve led Santi out to the main gym and pointed at one of the massage tables along the wall.

“Go hangout there for a minute. I’ll grab the printout of those exercises I was telling you about and a couple of cryo cuffs.”

Pope nodded and settled himself onto a table as Charlie guided her patient onto the table next to him.

“So, how did it go?” she asked as her patient unsteadily eased herself onto the table.

“Oh c’mon, Chuck, you know you were right.”

She shrugged with a tiny smirk on her face. “Well, yeah, but it doesn’t hurt to hear it every once in a while.”

Steve returned and Pope spent the next few minutes setting up his first appointment time, going over the home stretches Steve was giving him to work on, and allowing Steve to wrap both his legs in puffy blue leg braces that he then filled with ice water.

“Alright, man. Hang out here for as long as you want. Just give me a call when you’re ready to go.”

“Sure thing, thanks Steve.”

Pope gently lowered himself onto his back, head cushioned by a thin pillow as he allowed the frigid water to wash away the ache in his knees.

“…Alright, turn over onto your tummy and I’ll get the heating pad for your back,” Charlie informed her patient.

“Oh, you’re actually being nice today and letting me relax to finish off the session,” a playful voice responded, slightly muffled as she turned herself onto her stomach, facing away from Pope so he could only see her hair.

“I’m always nice,” Charlie snarked with a smile as she moved to the steamer and removed a thick heating pad, quickly wrapping it in a cloth and draping it over her patient’s back.

“Don’t let her fool you,” Santi piped up, grinning at his friend. “Charlie’s an awful human being. Stole my best friend and everything.”

The responding giggles sent shivers up his spine as the patient turned her head towards him and he met her eyes for the first time.

“Don’t I know it,” she teased, but Santi barely heard her.

Warm, provoking eyes were framed by long dark lashes that just skimmed her cheekbones when she blinked. A small smile played across full lips, framed by soft looking skin. In short, she was stunning, even with her sweat soaked brow and her slightly hitched breathing.

In…Out…In…Out…

“Yeah, okay Santi,” Charlie’s teasing voice pulled him from his stunned reverie. “I’m so awful I was about to ask if you had dinner plans. You could come see your best friend and your nephew, but I guess I’m too awful of a person to do that.”

“What’s cooking?” he asked, pulling his eyes away from this woman who had definitely caught him by surprise.

Charlie shrugged. “We were just gonna order some pizza and wings. Frankie texted me and said Ben has some sample tile for you to look at for your bathrooms. Will offered to bring beer.”

“Sounds good.”

“Sweet. Now stop being a dick and tell everyone how wonderful I am.”

“Yes ma’am,” he called, laughing under his breath as she sauntered away. He brought his eyes back to the woman lying next to him and found her watching him with an amused look that was peeking out through the space between her hair and her shoulder. “She isn’t that great,” he joked.

She laughed again, and Santi found himself scrambling for another witty comment so he could hear the sound again.

“Trust me, I know,” she responded, adjusting her arms so that they still pillowed her head, but she could now see properly. “She’s been beating on me for weeks.”

“That sounds like Chuck,” he laughed.

She giggled again and Pope preened under her gaze. “Oh, I am so calling her that now.”

He winced with a smile. “She might actually kill me if you do.”

“Oh well, we don’t want that,” she smirked, raising her head a little. “Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure physiotherapists have to follow the whole ‘do no harm’ thing too. I’ll make sure she can’t hurt you.”

“Thanks, I feel much safer now,” he smiled softly, crow’s-feet crinkling happily at his eyes. He reached a hand out into the empty space between their tables. “I’m Santiago, but most people just call me Santi.”

She smiled and shifted so she could free one of her arms to shake his hand. “I’m Rebecca. It’s nice to meet you, Santi. What are you in for?”

**********

Tags list (open): @darksideofclarke, @writefightandflightclub, @eternallyvenus, @rae-rae-patcha, @himbopoes, @sophoclese, @phoenixhalliwell

#dad!pope #santiago pope garcia x oc #triple frontier #triple frontier fanfiction #oscar issac #pedro pascal #frankie catfish morales

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chaoticqueertiefling · 4 years

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Zelda Theory: Zonai Genocide

Hyrule's Dark Past is Darker than You Think

The Zonai didn’t magically disappear, they were “exterminated” by the Hyrule Royal Family. Why would they do that? Would anyone stop them?

The Hylian/Sheikah/Zonai Relations

-Did Hyrule take over the Zonai Lands, or did the Zonai invade Hyrule?

We’ve seen all the Zonai structures across Hyrule. Many are old and broken down, covered in moss, the usual characteristics of ancient ruins. The ruins of Hylian structures are broken down, but lack moss on most of them. Only ancient pillars and ruins found in remote areas (the Ancient Columns and Lanayru Promenade just to name a few) have more wear and tear on them.

Also, there are no Zonai ruins located on the Great Plateau, the “Birthplace of Hyrule.” I believe the Zonai inhabited the land of Hyrule before the Hylians took over. Plus it’s plausible that the Great Plateau was raised to protect Hyrule from the “Warlike Tribe.”

Some Zonai ruins are pretty clean though, mainly the Lomei Labyrinths. However, in a video by NintendoBlackCrisis on the Zonai, he points out how the Labyrinths have incorrect Zonai Markings on them, and are most likely made by the Sheikah. I believe it highly likely. But the question is why?

We as the player know that the Barbarian Armor is from a Warlike Tribe, as stated below.

This description comes from the Sheikah though. So were the Zonai really Warlike? Or was it the Royal Family trying to defame the Zonai (More later on)

Well with an outfit like that including warpaint it’s highly likely, but that doesn’t mean they were savages. The dictionary (dictionary.com) definiton of warlike is “fit, qualified, ready for war; martial” The Zonai could’ve been excellent strategists, or great fighters in general. The skull could even been for intimidation purposes.

The Sheikah and Zonai may have had a good connection with each other. In a theory by @botwstoriesandsuch they theorize how the Zonai may have been the original Pilots of the Divine Beasts. IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE.

Could this collaboration between the Sheikah and the Zonai scare the Royal Family? Were they too close together that the Royal Family and the Hylians felt threatened?

Link: The Hero of the Calamity 10,000 years ago

- Was Link associated with the Zonai in that Era?

We don’t know a lot about where the Zonai came from, just that they once existed. We also know that the Barbarian Armor is/is similar to what they may have worn.

- Was Link born a Zonai? Half Hylian/Zonai? Raised by the Zonai?

It’s not impossible that the Zonai and Hylians may have married and had children. Could Link have been born Zonai? Highly Unlikely, since I’m not sure the goddesses would allow the chosen hero to be non-hylian, but also we don’t know if the Zonai are the Humans left on the surface after Hylia herself raised Skyloft. Link is also often an abandoned child. Not all the time, but we know his parents are NEVER present, so it’s likely he was left with the Zonai. Or worse, they may have killed his parents and stole him

-- If relations between Hyrule and the Zonai were good, Link may have even been sent to train with the Zonai to combat the Calamity. (Which if this is true may have turned out poorly for everyone)

In the tapestry of Calamity Ganon we see the Princess with the blood of the goddess, and a warrior wielding the soul of a hero fighting the Calamity. If we look close enough at “Link” he has a lot of similarities matching the Barbarian Armor Set.

1. No Pants. Definatly that skirt/kilt thing the armor has.

2. Red hair. This is the “big” one where people thought the hero here was Ganondorf because of the red hair, but it could be loose flowing hair from the armor the Zonai wore.

3.There are hints of white in this illustration. It could hint at the white fluff on the Barbarian Armor, or hell even bone like the arm guard.

4. The gold hand. That theory driving gold hand. Is it the hand in the Sequal trailer? I doubt it. My guess is it is the Golden Power or even the Triforce of Courage. We see the same power coming from Zelda.

But she has the full triforce! Not just wisdom!

Do we know for sure? 10,000 years ago maybe she did only have the Triforce of Wisdom, and Link had Courage. But who has Power? For all we know the Royal Family could’ve had both Power and Wisdom. Or Power was hidden somewhere else. Maybe even the Zonai had it?

So if Link was with them, he may have turned out more “warlike” more of a warrior than anticipated. And after defeating the Calamity he stood by the Zonai instead of the Royal Family.

Easy to say, the Hyrule Royal Family did NOT like how Link “betrayed” them. This brings us to our Last point...

Genocide of the Zonai.

The Hyrule Royal Family felt threatened not only by the Sheikah Technology that was very successful in taking down the Calamity, but also the combined efforts of the two tribes.

First off the Hyrule Royal Family may have always been weary of the Zonai, and would rather want them out of the picture.

They can keep their grasp on the Sheikah, so they make the demand that they relinquish their tech and live a simple life, which most Sheikah comply with.

They know that won’t work with the Zonai, especially with the Hero on their side.

So Hyrule launched a war with the Zonai. Destroying monuments and ruins, leaving their lands in ruin. How can they fight the Royal Army? And what if the Sheikah Tech played a part in the extermination? The advisors would most likely suggest pitting the two tribes against each other. And advised against controlling the Sheikah until the Zonai were disposed of. The Royal Army with the tech was so powerful that “even the most powerful of monsters posed no threat.”

Most of the Zonai were likely killed, poised as “warlike” and maybe even savage. (Those who escaped may have ended up in Luralin, but that’s a whole different theory I’m not going to chase) Wait? What about Link? If he stood by them, (especially if he was raised by them) he was likely killed in battle against Hyrule.

Wait wait wait what about the Goddesses? Or even Hylia? Zelda! Would they let this happen? Link is the Hero! Why would the Sheikah, who may have worked with the Zonai, comply?

Link did his job to stop the Calamity. They may have somehow known it wouldn’t be back for some time. His purpose was done. Did they need the hero anymore? Zelda may have put up a fight, but she may have had no say in the matter, being the Princess. If the King was still in charge, he would have been calling the shots. And we know the Goddesses rarely interfere. The Sheikah? They serve the Royal Family first and foremost. They would probably do what they were told.

- (Warning very dark!) If Link was born into the Zonai, it would give another reason for the Hyrule Royal Family to eliminate the Zonai, wanting their hero to be Hylian, not anything else.

Also if they made this mysterious tribe just disappear, there was no one left to say “Hey! Hyrule Killed their own Hero!”

And I doubt the other races would interfere, especially with Hylians being in control of the whole land. They wiped out one tribe, who else would they wipe out?

And if the Triforce was split? What better way to get all three pieces to the Royal Family than killing and taking them from the other bearers. (Ganon’s done this a lot, maybe they even got the idea from him!)

When understanding the history of our world, we can piece together what may have happened in Hyrule. Threatened Monarchs will do what they see best for them and their people, even if it means destroying an entire tribe. But can we believe everything we’ve seen in Breath of the Wild? Those who are victorious are the ones who write history.

#Zelda Theory #Zonai Theory #Genocide #Breath of the Wild #Legend of Zelda #Zonai #Zelda #Link #BoTW2 #OMG this is so long

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clansayeed · 4 years

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Bound by Destiny II, part 1 ― Chapter 16: The Fugitives

PAIRING: Kamilah Sayeed x MC (Nadya Al Jamil) RATING: Mature

⥼ MASTERLIST ⥽

⥼ Bound by Destiny II, part 1 ⥽

While struggling with nightmares of lives she’s never lived, a shadow from the past looming over her city, and the proposed idea that her life may just be a little bit too weird to handle alone, Nadya makes sure to tell herself that everything is perfect just the way it is. If only. When the self-proclaimed King of Vampires (and Maker of her sometimes-girlfriend and always-boss, can’t forget that little tidbit) Gaius Augustine returns intent on claiming Manhattan as the throne that was promised, she and her friends find themselves forced into the task of saving the world. But with millennia-old vampires and an Order of hunters on their heels as well as allies hiding catastrophic secrets at their backs… it won’t be an easy task. Too bad destiny didn’t exactly ask for her input.

Bound by Destiny II and the rest of the Oblivion Bound series is an ongoing dramatic retelling project of the Bloodbound series and spin-off, Nightbound. Find out more [HERE].

*Let me know if you would like to be added to the Destiny II tag list!

⥼ Chapter Summary ⥽

Nadya and the others land in Paris in the hopes that Adrian's mysterious psychic friend will be able to help them in their search for a way to stop Gaius. But things are very different for vampires in Europe; from old customs that could prove dangerous to a secret Order that definitely is.

[READ IT ON AO3]

The storm follows them across the ocean. Nadya doesn’t mind; even if it does paint her first view of Paris in bleak and grey. How it looks outside matches how she feels inside — and somehow that helps in its own little way.

Landing is slightly less bumpy than takeoff though that isn’t saying much. When Adrian’s voice comes over the speakers telling them to buckle in her stomach flips nervous. Her nervous habit would have Nadya lifting the shade on the window to watch their descent but it’s too close to dawn; too much of a risk — so she just picks a spot on the wall and stares.

Though why she had to pick the splattered blood, remnant of their actual pilot whose fate Priya left gruesome evidence of, she didn’t know.

The jet pulls deep into the hangar; keeps the shadows tied around them like a safety blanket as the cabin depressurizes and they disembark. Adrian is already on the ground addressing the airport crew in rapid French and its by pure chance that Nadya is the last one to step out.

Hands braced on either side of the doorway; looking down but not really seeing. Because the second she takes that first step she’s not in that strange in-between of an airplane anymore. She’s not somehow, in some small way, still tied to New York.

Not like refusing to move will get you back there though, which her rational brain says no matter how much Nadya doesn’t want to hear it. And it’s right.

The gold rim of Nadya’s charm bracelet dug grooves into her palm hours ago. She squeezes and keeps the imprint fresh the whole way down.

The routine will be a familiar one by the time all this is done. Shuffling from the hangar to an expensive-but-modest (and safety-tinted) vehicle. From the vehicle to wherever they’re staying — and Nadya hadn’t actually thought about that part but thankfully Adrian had. Then the brisk walk disguising a mad dash to the safety of indoors.

The storm here tastes different. Nadya can’t say how, exactly, but it does.

And it’s abundantly clear when they step into the apartment that it wasn’t made to accommodate four (five, taking into account this Serafine woman) people but they’ll make do.

While the rest of them flick light switches and outlets, check out bathrooms and make sure blinds are drawn tight and secure, Adrian turns to a small kitchen. There’s a large manila envelope on the counter that he grabs like he was expecting it. Now that Nadya thinks about it — he probably was.

He beckons them to join him in the main room and confirms her suspicions. Starts pulling out handfuls of papers from within and spreading them out for all to see.

Passports, paperwork, little cards with a set of what look like emergency phone numbers handwritten neatly under the laminate. He hands each of them a different color of the same clunky flip-phone but the rest they have to sort out of the pile themselves.

Jax grabs for his passport; props it open with his fingers to stare at the photo in discontent.

“Do I want to know where you got this information?” He asks gruffly. Nadya glances at her own. She’d just assumed everything was taken from her personnel file.

Adrian shrugs it off, like privacy isn’t a real thing. “The Council always keeps —” and the need to change the tense throws him for a second, “— has always kept this kind of information on hand in case of emergencies like this.”

“You had a plan for ‘Sociopath Regent Takes Over the City?’”

“Funny. You know what I mean.” He starts plugging numbers from his regular phone into the burner. “Kamilah and I have been seeing the same woman for papers since… for as long as I can remember, actually. These aren’t forgeries, they’re the real thing. They’ll be your IDs and travel papers while we’re here and in case we need to leave town.

“Phones, please.”

One by one they lay their real phones out. And one by one he presses the heel of his palm into the fragile metal and glass until each one yields with a crunch.

Lily doesn’t hide a little noise of distress; nor does she turn down the offer to tuck herself against Nadya’s side in consolation. Adrian offers her an apologetic look. “It’s for the best, Lily.”

She sighs as a reply. Adrian can’t do much else but take what he can get.

“Normally I wouldn’t call it necessary, but we can’t take any chances. Priya and the Baron have access to the same resources, finances, and investigative tools that Kamilah and I do. We’re lucky in that the papers are a favor from an old friend, but I have a feeling favors are going to be few and far between going forward.”

His words put them all on edge. Jax fiddles with the strap of his sword resting in his lap.

“You make it sound like we’re fugitives.”

For a moment it looks like Adrian plans on denying it; correcting him, maybe, with something a bit more eloquent or less dangerous.

But that would be downplaying the severity of the situation now… wouldn’t it?

“Until we know just how many from the clans went to Gaius’ side we may as well be. At the height of his power there wasn’t a city across the country that didn’t somehow wield his influence. Gaius kept his inner circle close but over the years Kamilah and I, along with Vega, Lester, and probably even some I don’t know by name, put all our effort into securing his kingdom.”

Nadya looks down to see Adrian’s fist clenched, shaking in his lap. If the coffee table weren’t between them she’d reach over and try to steady him. That darkness on his face is becoming uncomfortably familiar.

His eyes sweep over the two younger vampires; a fact he seems to have only just realized. “You’re all… so young.” And the look on his face is as exhausted as he was prior to feeding on the plane. Not a good sign.

“What does that have to do with anything?” asks Jax. Adrian’s jaded little “ha” isn’t an answer but still speaks volumes.

“It makes you vulnerable. It makes all of us vulnerable.”

His eyebrow quirks up; a look between the lamenting older vampire and his katana that says “let someone underestimate me like that, see what happens.” Not that he says it.

As the youngest of them all, the worry in Lily’s voice is justified. “How so?”

“We probably should have gone over this earlier.”

“Gone over what?”

It’s slowly dawning on Nadya why Kamilah had been so bewildered by her invitation to Lily’s One-Year Turning party. At the time she had thought it was because of the fact they had kinda-sorta split just a few days before, even if she wrote the woman off as being a bit dramatic… which in hindsight wasn’t like Kamilah at all and should have tripped more than a few alarms in her head.

And, really, she only has herself to blame for being so surprised. She’s encountered this type of behavior before — she watched the proud and accomplished Kamilah bend her head to the Trinity, despite looking like she would have rather staked them instead.

Because things are different overseas; the culture here is nothing like in the States. Among those the oldest of their friends had spent her centuries with. It only made sense for her to hold on to old habits.

Here in Europe everything is based on the only thing that has ever mattered to a race of immortals. Age.

“Modern innovation hasn’t just made human lives easier, but ours as well. Blood bags, tinted glass — more and more vampires are living through their initial fifty years. That may not sound like much to you, but it was a cultural stigma that was just starting to phase out by the time I was Turned. Think about how long humans were expected to live back then, and in the hundreds of years before.

“The longer you’ve lived, the stronger you are. Smarter, faster. Able to outwit nature itself and the constant changing of civilization. The newly Turned were taught to admire that kind of survival instinct. Admiration became respect, which gave way to superiority. There was once a time when speaking improperly to a vampire a certain number of years over you was grounds for defanging.”

Lily’s hand flies to her mouth — either from shock or to protect herself, both are applicable. From the look on his face Jax can’t help himself from thinking about how many times his words would have gotten him outright staked.

“But much of this mentality came from centuries of being at war for their very lives,” Adrian continues, “The whole reason Gaius set his sights on the New World was to try and solidify a place of power outside of their enemies’ reach. For centuries now the vampires on this side of the world have been living in the shadows. Survival is as good as currency; a symbol of strength and power that demands an inherent respect. And in truth that desperation worries me.

“The idea of an empire ruled by a Vampire King might sound pretty appealing to more than just people like Priya and the Baron. People who would do anything for freedom… even hunt us down.”

The look he gives Nadya is as forlorn as it is resigned. They didn’t flee to safety over here. Paris just happened to be where they needed to go. They’re still in just as much danger.

Maybe even more danger, now that she thinks about it. At least back home she knew the faces of the people who would hurt her friends. Here everyone is a stranger.

They really are fugitives.

The feeling seeps out from him and to the rest of them, bleeds into their clothes and skin until the entire apartment is stifling with their new understanding. Nadya rubs at her throat with an open palm. It feels like a real, physical vice around her.

“And you’re sure we can trust this psychic chick of yours?” Lily asks to clarify.

Small mercies; like the relief Nadya feels seeing Adrian’s stalwart nod. In this he is certain, unlike everything else going on around them.

“Absolutely. I met her through Kamilah; the pair of them go way back. When you meet her you’ll understand. I knew immediately when we met I could trust her with my life.”

Lily and Nadya exchange mutual stifled giggles; it’s pretty damning that Adrian is too lost in whatever memories he may have of this ally to notice.

When he comes back he’s still oblivious. “And for what it’s worth she was the person I asked for guidance when the time came to put a stop to Gaius’ plans. She was the one who made up my mind in the end.”

Which automatically gets her Jax’s seal of approval. “I like her already.”

Because her life is the way it is, it isn’t lost on Nadya how all of her friends are vampires and, with it being in the middle of the day and all, they don’t hide how tired they all are very well.

She’d been out like a light the entire flight. Excessive emotions, crying, and fright will do that to a poor human heart. But the same definitely couldn’t be said for Adrian who had flown them all here, and probably for the rest of them either.

“Still no word from Serafine?”

Adrian looks up from his phone and shakes his head mutely. That’s all she needed to hear. “Then get some sleep. Seriously, you look like you all need it.” There’s something else they need, too, but that Nadya can’t quite provide right now.

Hopefully in an apartment full of vampire-specific amenities like black-out curtains and a window that doesn’t face direct sunlight at any time of day anyway, blood bags are covered. Or, like, hot French donors or something.

Lily is the first to stop pretending; yawns wide and loud and with a stretch that almost hits Jax in the face. “You gonna be good, Nadi’?”

Good is relative, she thinks, and definitely doesn’t say it.

“Actually I was thinking about going out. We need clothes, I need food…” Because like most girls, Nadya finds the siren song of French shopping trip to be almost impossible to resist.

Adrian doesn’t look entirely thrilled with the idea of her wandering the streets all by her lonesome, but it’s a point in her favor that they can’t go with because of the sunlight; “Which means all the other vampires will be asleep too.” He can’t argue with that.

Well he could. He doesn’t — which might be more for his benefit, she realizes as he clears his throat to contain a yawn of his own, than hers.

But every step she takes further away from the apartment complex feels heavier and heavier; until Nadya doesn’t think she could possibly go another step without breaking through the concrete and sinking into the center of the earth.

Back home the world is kind of ending. And here she is, squinting against the dreary sun (hey it’s sun, she’ll take it in any form) and snapping subtle pictures every couple of minutes and praying the older phone doesn’t ruin the quality.

Does she even have a right to enjoy herself anymore?

Why shouldn’t she find joy in the fleeting things while she can?

Nadya leans against a nearby building, hands flat on the freezing brickwork, and inhales deeply. Funny how a city smells like a city wherever you go. But it’s hard to breathe through the tightness in her chest.

That was Kamilah’s voice in her head. And, yes, most of her rational thoughts over the past couple of months have sounded like Kamilah (the best coping mechanism her subconscious had invented yet, really) but it’s different now isn’t it?

The voice has a point though.

And even with all of the storm clouds over her head there’s one little ray of light that shines through…

Kamilah would want her to enjoy this. For herself; for the both of them maybe. Ha, she can even see in the shadow of her eyelids that little downturn of the woman’s lips, hear some kind of admonishment like, “Paris is too beautiful of a city to spend your first time walking her streets in melancholy.”

The cold may be bitter but even with slushed snow pushing up against the curbs the beauty of the city can’t be denied. When the wind is too much Nadya finds a store and ducks inside, pink-cheeked and shivering, and does exactly what she told Adrian she would do.

Lily’s size she knows by heart — that’s no problem; if it has metal studs she buys it. Out of the corner of her eye she catches sight of a dazzling blue and finds it’s a neon-dyed leather cuff. She buys it because if Lily is feeling anything like she is… it’ll be a comfort. Adrian is a guess-timate; it helps that one of the fresh-faced shopping aids looks roughly as tall as him in the store. Funny how their fake and placating smiles change when they see the black card she’s willing to put down. Well it’s Adrian’s, but, you know.

Nothing on this fancy side of the store caters to Jax’s unique brand of ‘Action Movie Star Who Shops Solely at Resale Outlets’ but she tries her best.

But the most important purchase of Nadya’s day comes near the evening and on her way back to the apartment.

Let it be known that there is no sadness a crepe stuffed with strawberries and shoveled full of choco-hazelnut spread. The pain later will be so. freakin'. worth it.

Nadya’s glad to find when she returns that she’s not the only one who needed a little time to relax. Not that crossing the threshold doesn’t immediately remind her of the weight of their predicament but who can think about that when she’s met with smiles relieved, happy, and rested?

When Lily is finished crushing the wind out of her lungs she pulls back and immediately hones in on… something. She watches as the girl licks her thumb and drags it over the corner of Nadya’s mouth, eying the stain with suspicion. Refuses to look even the slightest bit ashamed when she starts getting ragged on for not having brought enough sugar for everyone. She just shrugs with her hands full of large bags of fancy French clothes.

Not-so-amazingly all is pretty much forgiven for that.

Freshly showered and dressed, the curtains pulled back to reveal the beginnings of the Parisian night; the change in overall morale is almost jarring for all of them.

Well… almost. Because apparently neither rest nor a new (and perfectly-fit, thank you very much) look will un-crinkle Adrian’s brow. It’s been well over twenty-four hours and still no word from Serafine — from the entire reason they’re in Paris in the first place.

“What’s the plan if she never shows?” Jax asks finally; tired of the question flitting through their eyes but never through their lips. “We just fly back to New York?”

Unfortunately they all know that’s not exactly an option.

Adrian doesn’t have an answer, and it has him in knots. Jax turns away, back to his attempts to decipher the news anchor and her rapid French.

“It’s just not like Serafine at all,” he eventually confides; only in his lowest voice and when Nadya has signaled for Lily to turn up the news to the highest reasonable volume to drown them out, “I mean — it’s been a decade or so… I’d hoped to see her at Marcel’s, honestly. But that’s only in person. We’ve kept in close contact otherwise. She even wished me a good Dark Solstice…”

The more he says, the more Nadya’s starting to think there is to their connection. She places a gentle hand on top of his.

“How did you two meet? When, too, I guess I should ask.”

His smile is slow to start… but there. “We met in New Orleans, actually. At the Graveyard Shift.”

Maybe it’s because she’s touching him, or maybe it’s because they both share memories of that quirky little bar. God; it feels like they were there years ago now… But she can feel the tickle of him at the edges of her eyesight. Like her mind wants her to see… but — no. She can’t.

Maybe Adrian doesn’t want that. She can’t afford to lose someone else she loves because of this. But pulling back; pulling away? That would only prove she can’t ever care about her friends again.

Nadya keeps her hand on his because she needs to learn how to not look.

So she distracts herself, the both of them; “You said Kamilah introduced you?”

“Yes; it was pure coincidence that they knew one another. Kamilah and I were… on a job.” We were there because of Gaius. He doesn’t have to say it. She knows.

“We had drinks,” he continues, “they caught up and told me stories of their days back here in Europe. Even here in France, in Paris. Big vampire community here back then, apparently. And there was just this way she talked, Nadya. Like I could imagine I was there myself. There was still a lot of tension all around at the turn of the century, you see. People were still so disheartened. But when Serafine spoke about the world she brought light into it. All her centuries and she still saw beauty around her.”

That’s… a lot more than Nadya was expecting if she’s being honest. Not that she’s complaining! It’s so so nice to see Adrian talk like this. To see him look on something from his past with a happiness rather than that broiling anger.

“How come you’ve never mentioned her before?”

He blinks; taken aback. “How do you mean?”

“Well no offense,” read: full offense intended, “but I’m a little hurt there’s someone out there I could have been teasing you about this entire time. Especially when you and Lil’ started conspiring together.” Not that Nadya’s not still grateful for their intervention.

He’s just accrued a lot of payback is all.

It doesn’t get the smile she hoped for. It’s more like Senior Picture Day and your mother shoved you into a sweater vest.

“It’s not… Serafine and I aren’t like that.”

“You sure talk about her like you are.”

“What?” He has the audacity to actually look surprised. Well either that or he’s genuinely oblivious… which is seeming more and more like the truth. “I’ve barely said anything about her. Until now, obviously.”

She nods slowly. “Mmhm, yeah that’s true. But I think you and I both know it’s not what we say… but how we say it.”

After all; Adrian had seen her at the Ball. Had trusted Kamilah to keep her safe while he was away with Katherine and maybe he knew even before Nadya herself did. He’s remarkably astute for a complete dork.

He gives a long sigh and looks out the window instead of giving her an answer. If she were anyone else she might worry about having gone too far. Especially taking into account they’re still boss and assistant.

But she’s Nadya — so she doesn’t worry about that at all.

“Hey, I’m all for it. In fact I’m honestly relieved,” she catches how his facial muscles twitch; she has his attention, “since up until now I’ve been under the impression the only people you’ve been into were the bad guys.”

Adrian groans. “Please don’t remind me.” She doesn’t have to. Valdas did that enough on his own at Persephone.

Even after Vega; they never talked about that. Seeing as she had just watched the old-as-dirt vampire chop off a man’s head, Nadya definitely wasn’t going to be the one to bring it up. Maybe (and especially after the events of their meeting) she should have. For Adrian’s sake.

“I know what you’re thinking.”

Nadya jumps. No use trying to hide it with that kind of reaction. Luckily Adrian shrugs it off. “I wish I had an answer; Kamilah certainly wants to know. That night when you were dancing with your friends she very clearly told me her thoughts on it. I only wish now I’d understood what she was trying to warn me about.”

“Trust me, I think we both underestimated them. And how much they were involved in everything that happened.”

“I think back to that night sometimes.”

“T-M-I.”

“No,” he sighs, “about… something he said. We got to talking about experiences, then wars, then soldiers… and now I can’t help but wonder if he knew who I was before I even introduced myself.”

“Because that’s what Gaius called you? His Soldier?”

Adrian tenses under her touch. Nadya goes to pull back, curses herself for opening her mouth in the first place… but the way he relaxes is a silent permission. So she stays. “Kamilah told me about… but I’ve been a little nervous to ask, truth be told.”

Ask how much you’ve seen of me, he means.

“Another time, maybe.” Because I can’t push you away too.

His laugh is rueful; harsher than he should ever sound. “Fair enough. But you’re right — I was… that. But I wasn’t the first. Actually… I think that was Valdas; that he was the first of Gaius’ soldiers. Maybe that’s why I was drawn to him.”

There’s an unspoken asterisk hanging on the edge of his words. That’s what I tell myself, or something to that effect. Nadya is no stranger to the lies we tell ourselves to find the strength to keep moving, so she can hardly blame him.

“Does it matter…?”

“No,” and it’s clear he wants to wave the conversation off, “it doesn’t matter. Why try to find rationale in the irrational, right?”

Fair point.

But that doesn’t sit well with her. That he’s okay drawing comparisons between himself and that manipulative man — no matter what Valdas would say to the contrary. That being alike to him is better than… than the other elephant in the room.

“Adrian?”

Nadya keeps her eyes trained pointedly on the table; on their hands. He can feel him look at her, feel the tension rippling under his skin.

“Hm, what is it?”

“We never talked about what happened.”

And for a second she’s hopeful. Sees the resolve flicker in his normally unwavering armor. He’s just as exhausted as she is; if not more. Doesn’t that mean maybe…

“Another time, maybe.”

Nadya knows he’s just giving her back the same response; and maybe she even deserves it. But that doesn’t mean she’s not left sitting there, watching him head into the living room to join the others, feeling like Adrian’s just slapped her in the face.

#bloodbound #choices bb #choices fanfiction #adrian raines #kamilah x mc #lily spencer #jax matsuo #bloodbound mc #mc: nadya al jamil #fic: oblivion bound #oblv: bound by destiny ii #; my fics

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prettywordsyouleft · 4 years

Text

Join Forces

this-song-thats-only-for-you said:

Congrats bb for reaching the milestone of 4k followers. I'm sitting here trying to think of a dare... and I think I may have figured one or two out. I dare you to insert DAY6 (any or all members) into either... your Airforce7 world or your King Of Demons world. I feel either would suffice in torturing us all. I love you, and everything that you write. You deserve to share your creations with the world.

Pairing: Brian Kang x reader (ft. Day6 and Got7)

World: Airforce7 (you can read HERE)

Genre: pilot au / friends to lovers / fluff

Warnings: a whole lot of pilots for just one story >_<

A/N: this was actually really fun, though I did struggle to get enough “air time” for everyone (I’m sorry okay!) in both forces. Still, it was really cute and I hope you enjoy their friendly competition!

For those who followed the Af7 series, this story fits in timeline wise between Poster Boy and Fly Away With Me.

Word count: 3579

The dance hall was lively enough but when Brian stood up and headed towards the stage with his friends, several hollers and whistles increased the noise within the room. He couldn’t help but grin, gesturing to the bassist if he could take over, moving beside the standing instrument and looking over at Jae slinging the guitar strap over his head. Staring out into the forming crowd, Brian noticed you watching on and he jerked his head in direction of the stage, asking you to get up here and join them.

It was tradition, after all.

“Should I sing for you boys today?” you wondered as you took Sungjin’s outstretched hand, climbing up and shooting Dowoon a wink. “It’s been what, three months since you’ve been here?”

“Shoot us for being busy,” Brian replied with a chuckle and your ruby lips spread into a smile just for him.

Jae chuckled. “I’m trying not to be shot at all, thanks. But come on Y/N, for old time’s sakes. Everyone’s waiting for us.”

“Well, we can’t miss the opportunity to put on a good show now, can we? Sungjin, are you ready?” The fellow singer nodded and then you glanced at Wonpil who playfully hit the keys on the piano to let you know he was prepared to go all out. Turning to Dowoon, you nodded once. “Count us in then!”

The dance floor erupted with energetic moves as the bass thumped around the room and Jae played dizzy inducing riffs. Wonpil was bouncing around too much in his seat that he kicked it back, playing the piano excitedly and singing along.

There was no place better than this on Earth.

After performing two more songs, Brian noticed the music had dragged newcomers in from the streets, the uniforms looking out of place even though they matched the same as his own. He glanced in your direction and you nodded, hitting your note effortlessly thereafter.

You were already putting on a show, but there was no harm in starting the competition early. Eventually, the set ended and the room broke out into rowdy applause, Brian laughing as he was jostled by his fellow men, thanking them as he weaved his way back to the table for his drink.

“Not bad,” an all too familiar voice commented and Brian glanced up to see the seven men now standing before him and his friends. He chuckled as reached out to touch the insignia on Brian’s shirt and nodded with satisfaction. “A Lieutenant now, huh?”

“Someone had to get up on par with you, Im Jaebum.”

“But are you really as good of a team as us?”

“Wang’s right, have you learned to dance yet, Jaehyung?” Yugyeom, the youngest of the formidable AIRFORCE7 task force enquired with a cheeky grin, clicking his feet together in tune to the music.

Youngjae let out a hearty laugh and nodded. “I can hold a tune just as well so maybe I should get up there and get singing too?”

“Ey, it’s all a little bit of fun, there’s no need to bring in the competition until we’re on the tarmac boys,” Sungjin, the leader of their squadron announced, patting Mark’s arm in a friendly manner. “Let us enjoy the evening before we take you down in the skies.”

“Big words for a guy who can’t even dance,” BamBam mentioned, winking down at one of the ladies sitting at the table nearby. Emily got up and graced the man with a smile, leaning into BamBam’s face ever so slightly before moving to take Sungjin’s hand.

“Who says my man can’t dance?”

“Oh, so it’s on!” Jackson exclaimed, clapping his hands together and shrugging off his jacket and hat. He was soon out finding someone to dance with, several of the other members following suit.

Brian glanced down at Jae who had taken Emily’s seat. “What are you doing?”

“Sitting.”

“Not dancing?”

“Do we dance, Becky?”

The woman beside him curled up her lips and shrugged. “Do we, Jae?”

“No, I don’t think as a pilot it’s in my job description to know how to dance.”

“Are you on working hours right now?” Wonpil wondered with a roll of his eyes, tugging on Sarah’s hand to get her up from the table. “Besides, do you want to let Yugyeom have his glory just like last year?”

“I’d rather keep my dignity,” his fellow friend announced and Becky giggled.

“Which is where? Weren’t you trying to lose that the other day with-”

“Would you look at that, maybe I might just get these feet of mine to dance!” Jae stated with a hasty laugh, dragging his girlfriend out onto the floor with him, trying to find the most inconspicuous spot to fail within. Dowoon was shyly asking some of the ladies to dance with him and that left Brian staring down at you drinking and trying to avoid his gaze entirely.

“Y/N.”

“Oh no, I’m done for the night. I sang for you, don’t go begging for anything else, soldier.”

“Are you really going to let me look like a fool?” he questioned and you finally looked up at him, smirking as you nodded. He groaned loudly. “Y/N!”

“You can’t expect your good looks and charm to work on all the ladies. I grew up with you, remember. I know all about you, and that boyish stare of yours is not compelling me to dance with you. Any other girl would be thrilled to have your attention so go find someone else. After all, I’m still annoyed with you for not writing me once when you were away on training.”

He didn’t move, still outstretching his hand at you. “So do your longest friend a favour before this war comes our way.”

“That is a low blow and you know it.”

“You know I’m coming home again, so trust in me, won’t you?” he argued, yanking you to your feet and over to the dance floor. “I’m a great pilot.”

“You’re a dreadful dancer.”

“Well, at least we can say we tried and isn’t this weekend all about putting in our best effort?”

You laughed. “Brian, I’m not the one competing in this year’s race like you are. I don’t have to put in any effort.”

“And you won’t have to use any skill in dancing with me,” another voice offered, tapping Brian on the shoulder. You looked up into the eyes of the pilot standing there, Park Jinyoung smiling graciously at you. Brian wanted to laugh, you sure put up a fuss about his charms and yet the steadily growing blush on your cheeks proved just how easily you could fall for a man.

Brian only gripped at your waist more firmly.

“Y/N has a dancing partner, find your own, Park.”

Jinyoung chuckled. “I think we still have unfinished business from last year, don’t you?”

“I uh…” Glancing between your friend and the enticement of his competition, you groaned. “This is why I don’t dance. Why don’t you both partner with each other and stop trying to give a lady a headache?”

“Now, why would I want to do that?” Jinyoung mused, slipping his hand into yours that came away from Brian’s shoulder all too easily. “We all know that Kang here can’t dance and we established you and I can together last time. Won’t you give me just one dance, Y/N?”

“You’re fraternising with the enemy!” Brian grumbled as you managed to be torn away from him, leaving him staring after you bitterly.

He might have lost today, but tomorrow he’d show him just how good of a pilot he was compared.

The skies were clear, a light breeze being the only concern over the horizon. There was already a lot of bustle within the hangar; the members of the base’s task force team were hard at work making sure their mustangs were ready for the big event of the day.

It was sometimes hard to keep the morale up in the air force, especially with how the war was shaping up overseas. It was a reality they would end up flying into sooner than later, and ensuring everyone was ready to do so to protect the nation was all the pilots thought of day in and out.

Except for one day each year.

“She’s ready to fly, don’t you think?” Dowoon announced, slapping a hand onto the side of the wing, tapping at it with an energetic tune from last night. Brian grinned as he nodded.

“You better take that Crazy Horse down a peg or two. It’s not the only Trick Pony in the skies now.”

The youngest member of the team chuckled, glancing at the name on the nose of his plane before ducking under the wing to continue with final checks.

The night had ended with all the men laughing together, the drinks had been good and the company even better. Although the friendly competition always brought out the worse in them, they knew it had its time and place and after announcing Jae still didn’t have what it took to dance his way into any finals but was the best with a guitar, they had called it even for each team.

“What are you going to do though?” Mark asked Sungjin before they parted ways, smiling a little too much to sound truly concerned. “Mayday-Six is a five team squadron now. Airforce-Seven has two members up on you, Park. Gonna make two men run twice? I don’t know, I just feel sorry for you having to work harder.”

“Harder? You do know that anyone of the cadets here could take out BamBam without trying too hard? Maybe I’ll take one on for the day.”

“Y/N could probably fly better than he could,” Wonpil bravely bolstered, getting an elbow in his side from his girlfriend Sarah before her friend could react.

Jinyoung smirked, nodding along with this thought. “I wouldn’t mind seeing this actually.”

“Hey! I take offence to that!” BamBam told his fellow member, who merely laughed in satisfaction.

“You’d be worried then, Jinyoung,” you told him, fixing the collar of his shirt before smiling at your best friend. “I might get too excited and want to take you on next.”

Brian couldn’t help but grin as he replayed the way the man had stopped smiling, his ears filling with the laughter from last night’s memory.

And soon with your voice this morning too. “Ready for today, pilots?!”

“There will be no maydays called through either, we’re keeping this safe. That name of yours always makes me so uneasy,” Sarah stated as she handed out muffins to those who wanted something to eat. Brian took the freshly brewed coffee from your hand and smiled.

“You know me too well.”

“I figured you’d be too busy making sure the planes are ready without putting enough fuel into yourself.”

“Now I’ll be more than ready to fly.”

“Can’t you fly in your sleep?” Becky wondered as she passed by, attempting to climb up to Jae in the cockpit. She soon gave up and instructed him to get down.

“Only thirty minutes until the first race begins, right?” Emily asked and Sungjin nodded frantically, kissing her on the cheek before darting over to the second plane in the hangar and checking it over. “Don’t be nervous, it’s just a friendly match between base camps.”

“Though you’re going to make Yugyeom suffer for laughing at us, Jae.”

“Yes ma’am. Last night it got personal. Time to make sure he regrets flying against me and my beast.”

Becky rolled her eyes. “You say the most foolish of things; I don’t know why I love you.”

“But you do.”

“Guys, can you stop making me feel lonely? Take the lovey-dovey stuff out of the hangar already,” Dowoon whined, his tone thick with jealousy.

“Brian’s single too,” Wonpil pointed out with a chuckle and he glanced over at his youngest friend. “You don’t hear him complaining like you always are.”

“I need you to do me a favour,” you said as the other ladies went to leave to take their place along the sidelines, calling for you to follow them out. Glancing after them, you then smiled up at Brian.

“What is it?”

“Beat Park Jinyoung for me.”

He grinned. “After last night, I was intending on it.”

“If you beat anyone else, I’ll just see you as being cocky.”

“Isn’t that how you view me anyway?”

You tried to hide your smile. “Do you best, soldier.”

Reaching up, you brushed your lips over his cheek, stunning him as his skin grew warm. You then rushed off, giggling with your friends and Brian almost doubled over when Sungjin slapped him on the shoulder. “Looks like he’s not so single now, Dowoon.”

“Snap to it, Kang. You heard Y/N, we need to beat them!” Wonpil added on, clicking his fingers in Brian’s face.

“Mayday-Six will not face the same fate as last year. We might be two down compared to their team, but we’ve got enough skill to prove that in this war, there’s a place for both elite forces.”

“Well, the more the merrier, isn’t that what Cap says?” Jae announced with a cringe, and the four others all groaned and pushed him away. “What? We’re training to go to war and the way people are falling out of the skies over there, they’ll want more pilots as good as us.”

“Today it’s a different kind of war,” Sungjin replied with a smile, pulling the team back into focus. “Let’s make ourselves proud, men!”

It didn’t start out as well as they hoped, both leaders of each team going against one other. The race was a game of speed, both in who could get up faster than the other and then who could make it around the set track the fastest. Sungjin had been just behind Jaebum in each part, the disappointment evident on his face when he leapt out of his plane.

Jae, however, had been easily able to take on Mark, running across the turf to where Becky stood after winning and picking her up victoriously. Dowoon managed to just inch ahead of Jackson at the last second, boosting the team’s excitement and putting further pressure on Brian when he rolled his plane up to the starting line next to Jinyoung’s. They were easy well-matched, both pilots extremely good at what they did. It was the type of race Brian wanted most, knowing when he went up against BamBam next that it would be like taking candy from a baby.

But with Jinyoung, Brian could be as confident as he wanted to be. Still, it would come down to the flight itself.

“May the best pilot win, Kang,” he heard radioed through and he looked over at Jinyoung, nodding once. “I’m going to ask Y/N to date me if I win today.”

“Don’t you know she’s already a taken woman?” Brian replied, and Jinyoung laughed happily. “She doesn’t do long-distance well either.”

“You better not get caught up away in this war coming our way for too long then. I might just take her from you.”

“Unlike you, Park, I’m not going to treat her as something I can win. But you sure as hell are going to lose right here today.”

The signal to go went off and he pushed down the throttle, steering with his joystick as the war-machine bounced with the sudden energy asked of it. Brian cursed when he left the land barely a second behind Jinyoung, though he easily gained enough air to soon be side by side. He could see Jinyoung wasn’t thrilled to have no head start, the pilots both flying around the first quarter mark at the same time. There they stayed around the aerodrome, whizzing by the second and third markers easily. It wasn’t intentionally a dirty race, yet Jinyoung clipped in too close taking the final corner, giving Brian not a lot of room to safely turn.

So he did what best he could given the situation, rolling his plane under his competitor before speeding off again, taking the lead just enough to cross the finishing line first.

“Are you okay, Kang?” Jinyoung radioed through and they slowed their planes down enough for landing and Brian laughed.

“I expected you to be a sore loser.”

“Not at the expense of you crashing. I thought I had lost you then.”

“Well, it was a close one. Glad to see you and I still match well enough.”

“Don’t you go getting yourself in trouble when I’m not around then. We can play games like this all we want, but its people like you I want to fight alongside.”

They landed and Brian got the all clear to hop out, going over to his competitor’s plane and holding out his hand. Jinyoung shook it firmly.

“Just a word between you and I, Y/N turned me down last night when we danced. Something about loving some cocky best friend of hers. I’m assuming this kind of information might be of use to you.”

Brian grinned, slapping Jinyoung on his back as they walked off. “I think I owe you a drink later!”

Still, they had several rounds left to go and despite it all, it came down to Jackson and Dowoon competing with how well they could perform tricks up in the air. Even though Brian wanted his team to win, with a biased crowd, Jackson didn’t really stand a chance.

And he was adamant about it once back on the ground. “Him?! Did you not see that last barrel roll I performed?!”

Sungjin chuckled and slapped the whining pilot on his back gently. “Come on mate, I’ll get you a meal.”

Brian hadn’t seen you after the friendly match had ended, searching around the crowd for your face over dinner. After asking of you to your three friends, he headed out the back of the base towards the lake, hoping he’d find you here.

“One more move and I’ll shoot!”

He turned to find you sitting in the broken fortress cockpit, smiling at him brightly. Brian ignored your warning, jogging over to the other side and hoisted himself up onto the wing into the cockpit. He then looked at you with amusement. “Aren’t we a bit too old to be playing up in this?”

“You’re the one who just climbed in. I was fine in here by myself.”

“Oh, so I’m the one who has to go?” he teased though your smile faded; now chewing on your bottom lip in thought. Brian sighed. “I do have to go.”

“I know.”

“It’s not any time yet though,” he attempted and you scoffed.

“You don’t know that, this war is getting dangerous so the reports say.”

“Isn’t all war dangerous?”

“You’re not easing my worries any,” you pointed out, turning away from him.

Brian remained silent for a minute or two, the guilt he felt over leaving you whilst he protected the nation had been on his mind for longer than just now. The last training camp had only intensified his understanding of what would be expected of him as an elite pilot. It wasn’t something he could just promise to come back fine from.

He wasn’t confident enough to ease that part of your worries even if he had tried light-heartedly a couple of times.

“You’ll write to me every week.”

“I’ll do it every day,” he offered and you looked over your shoulder, giggling some. “What? I’ll do it.”

“You hate writing.”

“I hate it more when you’re sad.”

“I’m not ready for what is to come of all of this, but I am certainly proud of what you’ve done so far,” you admitted and Brian smiled.

“Like beating Jinyoung today?”

“That was a given, I knew you would.”

“Is that so?”

“I gave you a kiss of good luck, how could you fail with that?!”

Brian chuckled, leaning closer to you. “I think you missed the target entirely, Y/N.”

“Huh?”

Reaching out for the joystick beside you, he placed your hand under his, guiding your thumb to the trigger right as he lowered his mouth onto yours. He felt your hand tighten against the stick as the kiss deepened, and he smiled, shifting his free hand up into your hair. Right as the embrace started growing breathless, the plane you sat within let out an unexpected bang, both of you leaping apart and letting go of the controls altogether.

“What the hell was that?!” he breathed and you pushed on him to get out, in which he did, leaping down onto the wing before turning around to help you out. Once on the ground, you both laughed before joining together to finish the kiss where you had left it off.

“Here they are!”

“Aw man, I am the last one after all.”

“Enough private celebrations you two, we’re champions and we need to make sure everyone in Airforce-Seven remembers that until next year!”

“Are we really joining them?” Brian murmured, uncaring of their jeers and you nodded, slipping your hand into his.

“We better put in our best effort,” you replied, and Brian laughed, pulling you along as you both rushed to catch up with your team.

The future was undecided and even if Brian wasn’t so sure what he was going to do when he was away from you, at least he knew he’d give it his all.

_________________

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florrickandassociates · 4 years

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TGF Thoughts: 4x04-- The Gang is Satirized and Doesn’t Like It

The gang doesn’t like being satirized and I don’t like this episode.

No episode needs to be 57 minutes long. Is it possible that seeing the runtime put me in a bad mood before watching this episode? Absolutely.

Bianca is still trying to get Lucca to take a week off and come play on the beach. This is weird, right?

She’s using a drone to take a selfie which… yikes. Bianca asks what Lucca has in Chicago to match the beach. Lucca takes a look out the window and instead of seeing FakeChicago, she sees a window washer’s ass crack. Lucca protests that she has work in Chicago and can’t leave (are we going to mention her baby?). Before Bianca can ask more questions, David Lee calls Lucca into a meeting.

A former client who says he’s been “bouncing from one [firm] to the other” (which sort of explains why David Lee and Lucca would both have experience with this client who was at RBL a year ago?) is angry because he’s being defamed by a new play. He says his divorce is in the play and wants to sue.

Lucca ChumHums the playwright and recognizes him as a former associate. She brings the case to Adrian’s attention. Before Adrian understands that confidential info made it into the play, he talks about how you shouldn’t give satire oxygen because it will just go away. Easier said than done, huh, Adrian?

They DID actually fire Alan North for drug use last year. We never saw the actor but his firing was referenced as precedent for firing Maia. Thanks Alan, I guess?

(Right, I used to spend most of these recaps complaining about Maia! It is very nice not to be doing that anymore.)

Adrian jumps into the case to prevent the client from suing RBL.

We have to see the scene that ended the last episode again. That’s a little clumsy. Maybe trim the stuff we’ve already seen in an episode that’s this long?

How does Jay POSSIBLY know that one specific dude up at STRL is blocking Diane from searching “What is Memo 618” on Bar-Swarm? I have questions.

Diane immediately heads upstairs to ask this dude about Memo 618. Jay wonders if that’s smart and Diane doesn’t care. As I said to an anon earlier, I feel like now is the time to get a journalist on the case.

Even though Diane storms upstairs uninvited, she’s told “they’re waiting for you.” Creepy.

Diane meets a lot of people, including Bryan Kneef (of internet blocking fame) and a dude who won’t stop hiccuping.

Oh GOD are we going to have to hear one of these stupid stories from Mr. Firth in every single episode? No fucking wonder this episode is so long.

Bryan is mad at Diane for poaching his clients. Diane has no idea what he’s talking about. Diane seems to know that her investigator is checking his clients to figure out why he’s blocking her internet. Does Diane actually know Jay is investigating his clients? Or is she just assuming that’s how he found out who was doing the blocking? Because literally as soon as Diane heard Kneef’s name she ran upstairs; there would be no time for her or Jay to begin looking into his clients.

Mr. Firth asks for Diane not to steal Kneef’s clients and Kneef not to block Diane’s internet access. They agree, but it’s clear neither of them are going to stop doing what they were doing.

Jay discovers that one of Kneef’s cases disappeared… when he was losing.

Oh, Caleb’s last name is Garlin, not Garland. Noted. Also, I think I mistakenly said STRL was British a few weeks ago. It doesn’t appear to be.

Marissa bothers Caleb again and asks him to tell her a joke. He does, but she’s unimpressed.

Caleb has a photographic memory. I like Caleb so far. I feel like he’s kind of what they wanted Finn to be-- a charming good guy. But we’ll see; it’s early yet.

Caleb gives Diane the number of a legal code the judge needed to review. In a sequence that goes on 30 seconds too long, Diane discovers this code redirects to another code, which redirects right back endlessly. Fun!

When Diane goes to check a physical book, she discovers all the legal books are fake. Sounds about right.

Ah, this terrible attorney who hits on young women is back because of reasons related to the other case that disappeared. Marissa is now helping Diane with her 618 quest, maybe because she’s met this creep before?

Diane offers to represent him (he’s being sued for doing a shitty job on disappearing case).

Meanwhile, Adrian and Charlotte go to see “Cocksucker in Chains”, which turns out to be about an African American firm populated by characters who are clearly supposed to be the RBL partners. Julius narrates the play, Adrian likes to be dominated by the Diane character while roleplaying a slave to Diane’s dominatrix (yikes), etc. Adrian is named “Aiden” and Diane is “Dana”. This seems like a good time to remind you all of the original TGW character names from the Pilot outline: Alicia Follick, David Follick (and David Follick Jr.!!!), Dawna Lockhart, and Will Garvin.

The first time through, I was appreciative (and shocked) we got so few scenes from the play. Usually if the Kings have a device like this, we tend to get… more of the device than is necessary. Y’all know how this one turns out.

This play, from what we see of it, looks kind of terrible. That said, I think it’s SUPER realistic, and interesting, that a low-level black associate would see all the white people coming into the firm as “dominating” a black man who gets off on being submissive. I don’t think that’s an accurate characterization of Adrian’s actions but if you don’t know his reasoning or how things played out, it absolutely could seem like Diane has all the power. And I imagine that young, idealistic lawyers who signed on to work at a firm that was proudly all-black would not have been thrilled by Diane’s sudden appearance and all of the changes that followed. Remember how in season one RBL had things it stood for and then Barbara left and then all it stood for was money?

Relatedly, remember that little throwaway line about how Barbara donated MORE money to HRC than Diane Lockhart did? Heh.

Adrian, as the episode title indicates, DOES NOT LIKE BEING SATIRIZED and tells Lucca they need to shut the play down. That escalated quickly.

Please explain to me how I accidentally memorized the name of the actor playing Kovac but didn’t memorize the character’s name.

Diane tells Liz and Adrian about her latest Memo 618 adventure and Adrian keeps asking why this matters. “I’m not asking for your permission; I’m just filling you in,” Diane notes. “Maybe you should be asking for our permission,” Adrian counters because he does not want to be dominated by Diane. “Maybe. But I��m not,” she responds.

Liz thinks that Adrian acted weirdly. Adrian explains he doesn’t like how Diane insinuates she can overrule them. Liz has no idea what Adrian is talking about. So he explains the play. Liz still doesn’t think it’s a big deal and asks to take it over.

She then gets Caleb involved-- I guess Lucca is just done working now? Okay? It was nice to have Lucca scenes in this episode while it lasted!!!

Liz and Caleb go to see the play and now we get to see the scenes where Liz is satirized. Fake Liz sings, because of COURSE they are going to have the FAKE version of her sing. Her song is about how her daddy is a sexual predator. It’s quite upsetting.

Liz and Caleb stay for a Q&A in which the playwright says the client in the play was “based on” (not “inspired by”). (Actually this happens after my second bullet but meh)

Then there’s a white woman who goes on a rant that feels too ridiculous to be true but apparently it’s lifted almost verbatim from an actual incident that happened at a Slave Play Q&A (I am not New York enough to have gotten the reference without the internet’s help).

Monica is back! Yay Monica! Nikki just needs to show up on Evil next season and she’ll have been on every Kings show.

Blah blah 618 blah blah. I don’t dislike this arc but I don’t have much to say about it. Like, I get it, corporations are powerful and the law is fake and this is a way of commenting on the insanity of the world while backing away from the politics. But other than saying that and enjoying the twists and turns… I don’t have anything to add.

Man, I miss character based drama. That’s not a criticism of the show, but this recap format is way less interesting (to write, and probably to read) when I don’t have anything to sink my teeth into.

Adrian doesn’t want to settle because now Adrian is mad. The client gets what he wants and Adrian insists they keep going. I mean, if the episode stopped now it would be a reasonable, even short, episode, and we’ve got fifty seven whole minutes to fill..

Liz is also on board to prolong the case. Lucca, who actually has perspective, tells Adrian he’s not acting in the client’s best interest. Adrian denies it. LOL, sure.

At this exact moment Lucca receives (and looks at) a text from Bianca, who is still pursuing her. Tempting.

Liz asks Marissa if she’s heard of Cocksucker in Chains. She has, and she is getting a “gang” together to go see it, because of course she is.

David Lee enjoys the play. Diane and Kurt, less so. Julius and his wife do not like it at all. Also apparently we HAD seen Julius’s wife before and I somehow FORGOT?????

Play!Julius monologuing about justice makes Real!Julius reevaluate his decisions.

Then we get into this weird Diane and Kurt sex plot that is kind of about the idea of problematic kinks (like getting off on watching a fake version of your white wife whip a black man) but is mostly just an excuse for fanservice in the form of Christine Baranski in sexy get-ups. She’s got an amazing figure, but does that alone justify this subplot? (I say no.)

(Also I’d be way more invested in a plotline about McHart’s sex life if it didn’t begin and conclude in the back half of a single episode. It’s sparked by the play-- not any ongoing issues-- and concludes in a cute way so to me it is… nothing.)

Marissa goes undercover as a playwright. Everyone in the group dislikes the writer of Cocksucker in Chains… a lot. They hand over the drafts easily.

Liz and Caleb spend a late night reading smut said by fake Liz in an early draft script to each other. Over it already. I was never a fan of boss/employee plots, and in this era, with this character who has SO MUCH potential but never really gets plotlines of her own, I have zero patience for this bullshit. Liz deserves better.

What really confuses me is that somehow Liz/Caleb is supposed to be about… investigating what interracial relationships are like???? If they’re so insistent on showing this can’t they… do something other than this? Random stranger at a bar?

I do not like this thing that is happening to Liz where whenever she gets a plot of her own it’s about fucking someone she shouldn’t be fucking. I haven’t forgotten what the writers did to Geneva Pine in late season seven for LITERALLY NO REASON.

Liz would not flirt with an employee. Like, just stop. Liz has spent the last year coming to terms with her father being a serial assailant and we are going to deal with that by… having her make eyes at Caleb? That is not interesting or complicated.

And, tbh, it’s especially insulting to Liz when none of this feels motivated in character and ALL of it feels motivated in “we need a sexy forbidden romance so we can explore themes.” Get this plot away from Liz.

This episode is too long, in case I haven’t already said that enough times.

And now the scene in which Bryan Kneef, the latest Rebel Dude Lawyer, says the word “ass” many times. I repeat: this episode is too long.

Mr. Firth talks to Diane about pursuing 618. I don’t understand Mr. Firth’s deal. Why does he let Diane continue? Is he just a person who happens to be powerful who is actually trying to do a fair job and be understanding? This show just doesn’t have characters like that so you see why I am skeptical.

Again with the window washers. Of all the symbols of the problems with office life, this one?! (It plays especially poorly right now-- I wish that my biggest problem with my workspace was that there are people cleaning the windows to make my view nicer and not, you know, that my current workspace is my bedroom.)

Firth goes to see Lucca next. Lucca says she doesn’t like her new standing desk. Wait. They got desks that are standing ONLY without consulting the employees?

This scene is succeeding in making me miss the standing desk that I’ve only ever used as a standing desk, like, twice.

No one on this show has a monitor at their desk. I wonder if that’s true to life for law firms.

Now Bianca has found a way to make it part of Lucca’s JOB to come hang out at the beach and this is making me uncomfortable. Firth tells Lucca to go, even though Lucca shares her concern that Bianca just wants a friend. Firth somehow has a similar story to share and tells Lucca “the rich are not like us.” K. Sure. Maybe we can get away with calling Lucca well-off instead of rich but Firth? Rich. Maybe not ultra wealthy but dude is rich.

SERIOUSLY what is with the window washers?

Enjoy this scene of Diane the dominatrix, fans. It’s here for you.

(I don’t mean that snarkily against fans. I mean that snarkily against the show.)

The stock footage clip with the moon over Chicago is one of the more interesting stock footage clips I’ve seen the show use (plus it actually looks like the neighborhood Diane would live in!)

Oh I am just so thrilled that at the 44 minute mark, we are starting to do a series of unnecessary scenes in which the characters converse with their actor counterparts. What a good use of time.

And the sad thing is that I should like this device… but I don’t. None of this is actually building up the characters for me? How invested can I be in Diane and Kurt’s sex life problems when I’ve known about them for less than half of the episode? How interested can I be in deconstructing

And I don’t need a scene of Julius debating if he should be honest or not, because the scene of him watching the play was enough to make me understand he’s having doubts about complying with 618.

And you know what I REALLY, TRULY, DO NOT NEED? ALL OF THIS ATROCIOUS LIZ/CALEB PLOT.

Why is Play Liz so horny? What about Real Liz made the playwright write Liz to be like this? And if it’s not accurate, why is it getting under Liz’s skin like this? I get the Diane one because it was a turn-on and it makes Diane wonder about dominating (outside of the bedroom, too). I get the Adrian one because I mean holy shit that’s a big claim to make. And I get the Julius one because Julius loves to be the voice of reason/hear his own voice and feels like a hypocrite. But Liz? What the fuck is this nonsense?

Liz saying “I’m his boss” and talking about HR does not excuse the fact that we are pretending a boss/employee romance is a good plotline in 2020. And I’m so confused about why THIS is the way they are choosing to explore an interracial relationship.

I have watched TV shows before so obviously as soon as I saw Liz get on the elevator, I knew from the fact that we were watching her leave… she wasn’t going to leave. She was going to go and fuck her employee. Great writing guys.

This also managed to remind me of all my anger at the Red Team Blue Team Willicia kiss (they previewed it as a sneak peak and I was excited that it it didn’t end with them kissing because that’s so cliche… then I watched the episode and I’m still furious about it in season four of the spinoff.) so thanks for that too, writers.

Why is Fake Liz’s stupid song so goddamn long?

“Oh God help me,” Liz says as she knowingly goes to make an incredibly stupid decision I have NOT A SINGLE REASON to believe she would make. But this is The Good Fight, and on The Good Fight we care about plot more than characters.

(Oh. I am in a bad mood.)

The client wants out of the suit because… I mean, duh? He got what he wanted and this should have stopped at like the 20 minute mark?

If I never had to see another one of these “boss and employee awkwardly talk in the office about how it’s nbd they fucked last night” scenes again I would be OVER THE MOON. I watched all of Willicia and I will rewatch all of Willicia, is that not enough?!

I do like Caleb so far, but man, that just makes this worse! I like Caleb and I like Liz and maybe I could even like them together but I am so furious they’re doing the boss/employee thing it just makes me sad to see this happen to characters I like.

Diane is now circling the word “ass” in transcripts of the deposition, but the suit’s been dropped because the suit was settled for 1.8 million. (I am sure that’s a lot to the victim and absolutely nothing to the corporation.)

Also Kovac brings Diane a bird because WE LOVE WACKINESS ON THE GOOD FIGHT.

And now for a scene in which a mysterious visitor gives Kurt a warning to stop Diane from pursuing something dangerous. I thought we were done with this. This shit is what I hated about the Book Club arc in season three: the stakes got too high for me to take it seriously. They run the risk of doing the same with Memo 618. Keep it small scale.

Kurt tells Diane about his visitor, and Kurt and Diane both recognize that this is similar to what happened last year, so at least there’s continuity.

Diane says this isn’t about politics. I mean. Not overtly. But that’s the point. This whole arc is a thinly veiled way of exploring how the legal system breaks down when there’s no enforcement, and lack of enforcement is tied to politics, so… is this really as apolitical as Diane wants it to seem? Certainly it’s less political than Book Club but I don’t think a radical group should be the benchmark.

Diane promises she’ll drop 618, then gets an idea to spice up her sex life by modifying her dominatrix costume into a sexy cowgirl costume. (Diane is not going to drop 618. This is episode 4.)

Did Diane just grab a gun from the bathroom? Why are there guns in the bathroom? I guess it makes sense if she was planning this.

Oh and that’s the end of the episode!!! I DID IT!!!! I MADE IT THROUGH HIS EPISODE A SECOND TIME!

#the good fight #tgfthoughts

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fablesrose · 4 years

Text

Of Kings and Shadows III

Chapter III

Pairings: Avengers x reader, Loki x reader (eventually)

Description: Y/n, a girl who seems to have found her calling. Being a SHIELD agent is like a dream come true. With a friendship starting to form with the Avengers, she’s the Queen of the world! What could go wrong?

Notes: Also on Wattpad --> Here

Series Masterlist

Warnings: None

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Eyes straight ahead.

You've trained for this.

You're ready for this.

Then why don't I feel that way.

"Is that y/n I see?!"

I recognized the voice, and it took a lot of effort not to snap my head to who it was, just to make sure it was who I thought it was.

I had to stay professional. In line with all the agents beside me. At attention with the best of the best, you had to be to get recruited. I still have a hard time believing that I'm here sometimes. Now especially.

Clint now stood in front of me, smiling like a boy. I allowed myself a small smile back, shooting him a wink to say I was happy to see him. He opened his mouth before hesitating. He gestured to my fellow agents at my side, "Okay everybody, let's get all set!"

At the same time we all released our perfect stances and got to work, the final prepping steps needing finalized. Clint grabbed me before I could get to work, not that I minded, I wanted to speak to him anyway.

"Y/n! I'm so glad you get to come with us!"

Before I could respond I felt a clap on the back, instinctively I readied myself in attention, scared of a commanding officer.

"Relax y/n, it's me." I let out a breath when Natasha stepped up beside Clint. "You won't be getting in trouble around us"

I smiled, but a thought struck me, "you... You guys don't seem that surprised to see me here..." Clint started to grin, "I mean, this is above my pay grade this soon of my being here"

Nat had a smirk that matched Clint's excitement in mischievousness.

Then it dawned on me, "you guys gave the recommendation..."

~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~

"Agent l/n,"

I looked up from my desk full of paperwork to the agent asking for me.

"Yes?"

"Deputy Director Hill would like you in her office"

I froze. Was I in trouble? What did I do?

I managed to squeak out a "now?"

He nodded with what I hope was sympathy, "yeah, now."

The only thoughy that really consoled me was:

At least it's a girl, it's not Director Fury.

But my most prominent thought was:

I'm screwed

I knocked, and when told to, I walked in, stood at the center of the room. In my go to stance on the presence of a superior I finally spoke, "ma'am, you asked to see me?"

"Yes Agent l/n, I know it's short notice, but you've been selected to fill a slot in an important upcoming mission. We have a new..." She trailed off, trying to find the word. "We'll call it a program, a niche if you will, that your skills, I think, will fill in nicely."

She proceeded to hand me a file. I relaxed my position and started to go over the information in it, relieved I wasn't in trouble.

"Will you accept?"

I dragged my head up to look at her, finishing the sentence I was reading before finally looking hey I'm the eye, "yes, of course."

I looked over a little more of the information before adding a question of my own. "Ma'am, I -- out of curiosity, how did I get selected? I mean, isn't this big of a mission fall outside of my qualifications?"

She smiled, which I didn't think she was capable of honestly, and said, "well normally yes, but in this instance you were requested. And they backed up their petition with your recorded skill set, so I thought I'd try you out."

~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°

I groaned, closing my eyes, "I don't know if I should thank you two, or chew you out..."

"Can I choose?"

I snorted out a laugh when another voice caught my attention.

"Clint! Natasha! Status report!"

I turned to see who it was only for me to freeze...

Kinda like he did....

Ba dum tiiisssss

There was Steve Rogers, walking towards our group.

"The agents are making final preparations, Cap"

"Good, get everything ready so we can go." He walked off to probably do some captain-y things.

That made a dilemma for me... What do I call him? Captain? Captain Rogers? Captain America? Agent Rogers? Mr. Rogers?

I'll just call him sir.

"How many Avengers are coming? It wasn't in the file"

"Everyone but Bruce. He has work to do, and probably won't be needed today," Natasha explained.

Clint threw his arm around Nat, "that and insurance for Loki in the cage."

I was puzzled, "I heard about that... What exactly is the story behind it? Him?"

"Well, since he got hit in the head hard enough, early enough --"

"By the Hulk" Clint butted in.

"He must have broken through the mind control, kinda like I did to Clint, of these more powerful beings in space. That we know nothing about. And have no ability to reach." Nat's bitch-face game was strong.

"Well, Thor and Asgard could, but what's-his-face Odin won't do anything" Clint stretched his hands over his head lazily.

"So Loki helped us shut down the attack, and is now in a cage while he gets approved to join the team, or something or another"

"And he's being a massive sass-a-brat"

I snorted, "a what?"

"Sass-a-brat, sassy and bratty as anything"

"Oookkkaaayyy..." There was a moment of silence. "I should probably actually do something before I get kicked off the squad, before I'm officially on it"

"Approaching the target in one hour"

"Alright folks, that means get prepped. Let's get all the equipment going"

I couldn't tell who was saying what, all I knew was that I needed to set up my project. The equipment to this new program.

I felt a hand on my upper arm, tugging me to stop. There was Clint standing with Tony Stark. I snapped to attention.

"Y/n, stop."

"Agent Barton, Mr. Stark"

"Hey, yeah, stop calling me that. We're friends, call me Clint"

I blushed, it was a habit. I was glad he said it outright though. I'd hate to call him something disrespectful without his permission.

"Tony" he offered his hand, so I shook it.

"Y/n l/n"

"So since this is your first big mission, y/n"

I turned my attention to Clint.

"I would like you to stay closer to either me or Natasha out there."

I raised eyebrow, does he really thing I'm not capable? Ouch. And that doesn't matter anyway--

"I mean, you can take care of your self, but I'd hate for you to get seriously injured on your first big break."

That made me smile, and I was about to correct him before Tony interrupted.

"Awe, that's so cute. Legolas taking care of his girlfriend"

"Tony. She is my friend. And, no offense y/n, she's my friend type. Not a relationship type."

"None taken." I looked at Tony, "same here"

My attention back on Clint, "now I appreciate your concern, but I'm actually not going to be out there in the way your thinking. Also, no where near you"

He looked puzzled.

"Attention everybody!" The agent in charge stepped up on a box. I wasn't sure if his name, I would probably know it if I wasn't talking to Clint...

"This'll be a bit different this time around. We have a new section. Once everyone gets their comms, your team of three or four will get a tracking device. Only turn the one on in your comms if you get separated from your group. Now these trackers are important in which a drone will be following you. Small, and extremely agile, these things will be surveiling you."

A voice rose from the back, "is this for the government to accuse us for even more crap?"

He smiled, and instead of answering, he found me in the group and beckoned be to the front.

I raised my voice to be heard by everybody, "Actually," I stood next to the Agent.

"They're for me to watch your back." I paused for dramatic effect...

"The trackers will allow the drones to follow each group. The live video will came back to me here in the jet on these monitors." They were tucked in a corner, out of the way. They looked like the highest tech they could find.

"Now, you better get used to hearing my voice, because, though it be best if you didn't, you will be hearing a lot from me."

I didn't have anything else to say so I just smiled and turned back to the dude in charge.

"All right, you heard the lady, be prepared and listen to her. Go and finish up getting ready!"

The aircraft was a bustle to get in position. The comms were handed out and a check took place. One by one I heard voices say check in my ear. The agents went first, in order of rank, making me last. Then they went to the Avengers.

"Hey, Clint's girlfriend" Tony's voice came through the device in my ear.

Nat shot back, "Tony, we already had this conversation. Unless you want a repeat of how that ended?"

"No, actually Natasha, I wasn't talking to you... This time..."

Then I knew he was talking to me.

"Still very much single Mr. Stark," I focused on getting all the drones videos synced with my monitors. Tech wasn't my specialty, but I was proficient enough thankfully.

"Hmm, too bad. But since you're going to be watching my back, if I get one scratch on this new suit..." he trailed off as if it was a threat.

"Do go on, Mr. Stark" I finally got all the drones up and running.

"I'm gonna blow your drone out of the sky"

With out thinking I said, "not my money you're spending"

There was a moment of horrified silence on my side.

Respect

Doesn't get you in trouble

You fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff-ed up

"sir"

A chuckle was the reply, "right answer kid"

I smirked to myself as a shakey breath escaped.

"All right! Let's shut this place down!"

"COME, LET US BRING HONOR TO OUR ANCESTORS!"

Everyone left the jet, leaving me, the pilot, and two others outside to keep watch.

"And I thought that was an exaggeration..."

The drones were launched, each following a team. The only team of two was Thor and Tony, both covering the sky, and the extra fire power.

They spread out, covering more ground for troops to take care of, so they didn't have to on their way out. Everything was going smoothly, not needing my help, seeing and taking out guards faster than I could tell the location. Then in the corner of one of my screens I instinctively noticed wasn't quite right.

I pressed the button on the control panel, patching my mic directly just to that team.

"Team Delta, there's movement on your ten o'clock"

The two closest people turned quickly to the direction I stated, the other two facing forward, as to not leave any blind spots.

After a moment, the front most agent shot a single bullet, noticable by only the muzzle flare in the camera. A body fell from the trees, not moving another muscle.

I watched another approach the body, check for equipment and made sure he was dead. Once I was sure there wasn't anymore danger on their screen I went back to surveying.

"Echo, check your 7 o'clock, possible sniper barrel."

So it went, the beginning was pretty simple. A soldier here, a soldier there. Then as we got closer and closer to the base, the more difficult it got.

"Charlie, you got two heavyweights on your 11."

"Delta, 4 on 12, quick they see you coming."

"Bravo, keep an eye on that machine gun from the sky will ya? 2 o'clock "

"Alpha, take group of unsuspecting, at 2"

"Aye aye, y/n!"

That caused a smile, but soon I stopped telling names, just pressing the button and going. Listening in on their organization.

Then I saw a row of soldiers, all pointing their guns at anything that moved, and my people were coming up. I pressed the all button in haste.

"Everybody drop, line of fire coming up. All prepared."

They dropped before coming into sight. I then decided to call some shots.

"Bravo, light em up."

Everyone covered their ears in prep for the noise.

I watched as Tony shot the line down. Thor following up knocking everyone out of the way.

"All right kid, is it clear for everyone else. Your 6th sense tingling?"

"I don't see anything... Home free"

"Agent, we aren't out of the woods yet, we still have the actual building"

I blushed at the stern tone of the head dude's voice.

"...pardon my language sir"

After a moment of silence they approached the door.

"I'm afraid the drones won't be of any help in there, so I'll keep watch."

"Copy"

And so I waited, listening, making sure no one got hurt. I cut off the trackers and positioned them on all sides of the building.

Nothing was too exciting, but after a little bit, one of my drones picked up a force approaching the east side of the building. With the lay out of that structure, the thin hallways wouldn't leave either side with much of a chance. I couldn't tell what weapons they were carrying either. That got me worried.

"Strong force, unknown weaponry approaching east side... I hope you're almost finished"

"Alpha, clearing"

"Bravo, out"

"Charlie, ready"

"Delta, check"

"Echo, as well"

I sighed, almost there. Sure enough no more than two minutes later they were exiting the west side, heading towards the jet. I synced the trackers to the drones, keeping a close eye as they headed out.

"Halfway home kids"

Right when it left my lips I mentally slapped myself.

Multiple voices came through my ear.

"Y/n..."

"Excuse me?"

"What"

I squeaked out a small, "pardon."

A chuckle was heard, I couldn't tell who it came from.

After what felt like forever, with only a minor tail that needed to be taken care of, the jet came into sight on my screen.

"They're coming in!"

Once everyone set foot on board I landed the drones. Packing them up as quickly as possible I felt a hand on my shoulder making me jump.

I was relieved to see it was Clint, "nice work out there agent Barton."

I quickly closed the case and picked it up to load it on deck. Stumbling when I didn't have a steady stance. I regained my balance and loaded it.

"You were awesome, y/n." He placed the last box next to the one I set down. "But seriously, call me Clint."

I just smiled.

Over the course of the ride home I got quite a few 'good job's and 'nice work's. I even got them from Steve and Natasha.

Tony approached me, "Hey kid, you even didn't get one of the drones blown up."

That caused a lopsided smile to form on my face, I resisted the urge to roll my eyes when I replied, "thank you Mr. Stark."

"INDEED FAIR MAIDEN, YOU HATH DONE WELL!"

"Well, that's a new one" I had never been called that before.

As much as I liked it, I was just glad everyone made it back.

Tags: @nightrose64

#tony stark #loki fanfic #loki x reader #thor #iron man #natasha #clint barton #bruce banner #Steve Rogers #marvel #Avengers #avengers x reader #avengersfanfiction #x reader #lokilaufeyson #loki odinson #Of Kings and Shadows

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oveliagirlhaditright · 4 years

Text

Chapter Five of my dark Kairi story entitled “Swallow”.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21456412/chapters/66099568

Falling

Sora's PoV:

"Come on, Yozora," Sora complained. as he grabbed onto his prison door and shook it with all his strength. "Don't lock me up, because you know I'm right in saying that… locking Stella in that box—no matter how she betrayed you is wrong—deep down, you know it's awful... because you're me."

And that must have meant something to Yozora, because he gave Sora something to eat then—to help stay conscious for once, in this awful place—and it was dropped at his feet.

It was a banana.

Kairi's PoV:

Kairi and Riku decided to go to Radiant Garden, to ask the Restoration Committee and Tron for help. But it left a bitter taste in Kairi's mouth to do so, because to her it was just pointing out to their friends that they hadn't found Sora yet, and that she had failed in another way.

So Kairi found herself leaving this to Riku—even if she would have loved to meet this non-corrupted version of a friend that Sora had loved so much: Tron—and took a moment to relax for the first time in ages.

As she did so, a kid named Ben—who she would learn the Restoration Committee had taken in—sat down and talked to her, as she dipped her toes in the fountain.

"…Kairi, I think that's your name… I'm sorry if I'm ruining your privacy, or whatever, but I'm Ben. And Radiant Garden's new leader, Leon, told me a little bit about your story with this 'Sora'… and how you now think he's in data world or something? …All I'm saying is don't bet on the wrong horse. I tried to recreate my mom, via this intelligent house that we had... and that was a disaster. Sometimes it's better to have a flawed reality, than to hold onto a scary dream."

If Kairi was being honest with herself here, she was spooked by this entire one-sided conversation. Though she did wonder if the gods of the different worlds had perhaps sent her this boy to her to give her advice...

She was about to ask him how a "mom" connected to an automated home—was that what she was getting here? could even exist to become a disaster, but Pip was having none of that.

"…Why would you tell Kairi that, to get her all scared and defeated?!" Pip demanded. And Kairi pet his fur in order to calm him down, as she contemplated and yet sent a small smile Ben's way.

And she was glad that Ben was holding his hands up defensively for Pip's anger. Because Kairi didn't want her new best friend to be mad at the child… even though she was sad he was kind of confronting her with her worst fears here.

"Hey, Miss. I just don't want anyone to say I didn't warn you. But it could work out. Like, even though we were fine without her… Pat's got her bugs worked out now, so sometimes she gives us chocolate chip pancakes!"

And that was all that a little kid would worry about, wasn't it? Kairi almost giggled at those words about pancakes… almost.

Instead, she decided to speak calmly to Ben and use some of his own terminology back at him. "Don't worry about it, 'Mister. 'Pip here is just a little protective of me, like he was with his mistress, Giselle, but I see that you only want to help me. Thank you."

Pip crossed his arms over his chest defensively here—because Kairi had bemoaned some of his efforts to coddle her heart?—but she knew he really didn't mean it, which she was glad for… because she still needed one friend in this world, after all.

Speaking of friends—or former friends—it was when Kairi was having these depressing thoughts and twiddling with her thumbs, that Riku finally returned.

"What did they all say?!" Kairi demanded, as she sprung to her feet and began assuming the worst. They're not mad we took some months off in looking for Sora, are they? …They really don't think I'd sacrifice him again so easily, do they?"

And Riku sent Kairi a small smile here, that was so much like their old bond, that Kairi could have cried. How she wished their connection was that strong again. And maybe they were getting somewhat close to it again, but…

"Relax, Kairi. Of course they're not upset with us… with you. And they're worried about the Master of Masters and his flunkies, but I told them we can handle it. They also told me what everyone else is doing, and I can tell ya if ya want. But most of all… Cid fixed our phones like we wanted him to... And I should have said this all when that kid wasn't here, huh?"

And this time, Kairi did have to laugh. It was a rare sight to see Riku flustered, but she definitely appreciated over the arrogant boy he had once been on the Islands. "This is Ben, Riku. He's cool. It sounds like he's in cahoots with the Restoration Committee. But on the subject of youth... did the Restoration Committee look any older to you? If so, we must have somehow traveled to the future when we were in the Caribbean. But if not… then we only moved ahead in time in that world, for some reason."

Overhead, a seagull was flying by… perhaps trying to see if there were some French fries nearby that it could eat. And for just a second, Kairi was taken back to Destiny Islands: the place where Sora had climbed a tree to get a seagull egg… and the place where many times—even though Kairi had enjoyed talking to Sora (she always would)—she didn't want to relish in his company if Riku wasn't with them. She missed those days…

"The Restoration Committee is the same age, Kairi. Don't worry." And again… Riku treated Kairi with such patience, that she hated him for it. She didn't deserve it…

But deciding that they probably should have these conversations away from Ben—just in case—Kairi and Riku bid their new friend goodbye and went back to Riku's gummi ship to discuss things more. Apparently, King Mickey had picked up Kairi's own ship from the Caribbean and had taken it back to Disney Castle. So, it seemed that she would be staying with Riku for a while…

Which was fine. More than fine, really. Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Cid, Cloud, and Tifa had missed seeing the guilt that she bore, and now she and Riku were safe to talk about Sora away from prying eyes.

"So, what are all of our other friends doing now, Riku? And don't spare me any gory details."

And Riku didn't, as he set the ship in auto-pilot and walked around to look at the stars. Kairi wondered if he imagined Sora in one of them like she did, but she thought he might also be picturing Naminé on one of them, too.

"Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are following Sora's lead and going to sleep… to try and find hints of him in their dreams, Terra, Ventus, and Aqua are taking on apprentices, thinking the next generation may hold the truth to finding him... Lea and Isa are looking for a friend that they lost, but think it might connect to Sora. And Roxas and Xion are apparently trying to going as high in the Ocean Between Worlds as they can, to see if they can see Sora from that vantage point… And Naminé's not doing anything… because she thinks you and Sora aren't together now because she tore you apart before."

Wow, her friends certainly had better ideas than she did. Kairi had no doubt that they'd find Sora before she could even dream of it—like usual—though she would still try… and her heart broke in hearing that the girl she thought of as a sister was blaming herself for something that wasn't her fault at all.

Kairi even thought about getting her gummi phone out, to demand that Naminé cut it out that instant… but she couldn't do it yet. No, the only pain she could think of at all anymore was her own. Because Sora, the light of their World, had died for her (again). And even if by miracle of miracle, they happened to save him… that would always be true, and she could never wash the blood off her hands.

Kairi could tell the question Riku was dying to ask her now, as he seemed to look at her with bated breath... what was it about him that now bothered her, that made her push him in a way that she never had before?

And Kairi would tell Riku one day, she promised herself now, and would attempt to make amends... just not now. Never now.

So instead, she changed this subject about their friends and feelings.

"Is your gummi phone picking up any data worlds now?" Kairi asked, being careful not to look at Riku, but rather at all of the parts of the gummi ship around her. The seats that Riku had in his own vessel here were jade, and Kairi loved that aesthetic choice, as they matched his eyes.

But somehow, even before he'd spoken Kairi knew that Riku would disappoint her. "...No. But I may be picking up something else."

Well, the "something else" was news to Kairi. She wasn't even sure they'd get that lucky. So she stood from her seat and peered at the gummi phone he held in his hand, as she took in what appeared to be some sort of jungle pictured there.

And Kairi grinned… she couldn't help it, even though these memories now hurt her. She recalled, after all, bits of when Sora had been in Deep Jungle. She thought he may have even fought about Donald on whether or not to go there… and in the end, Sora had made them crash so that he could look for her and Riku.

If they had to go to such a place to save him now—or at least get some kind of clue about him—Kairi thought that it was only fitting.

"Then full speed ahead, maestro!" Kairi encouraged Riku, whilst she pointed her Keyblade out towards the sky.

And for just a second, Kairi again felt like the girl who had built a raft with her friends, jumped off a balcony, and fought in a Keyblade War.

…

The first thing Kairi noticed when she and Riku eventually landed on the new world, was a strange fruit that she had never seen before.

And suddenly realizing just how ravenous she was, Kairi ate the yellow, C-shaped piece of food and even shared some of it with Pip.

"This is delicious!" Kairi sang, just as the flavors and textures really hit her taste buds for the first time.

But Riku seemed to be staying far away from it, though Kairi couldn't imagine why. He must have been as hungry as she was, if not hungrier since he was a growing guy.

"...Kairi, you know what that is. Right?" Riku asked, with some strange tone in his voice that she couldn't figure out for the life of her. "An aphrodisiac."

Truthfully, Kairi wasn't entirely sure what that was. She thought it had to do with romance and fruit together, somehow, but that was about all she knew. She may have been going to school some, while Sora and Riku had been out adventuring, but she hadn't always been paying attention in class… Not when she'd been worried sick about her missing friend and the boy she couldn't remember. "Aphrodisiac?" Kairi tested the word on her tongue. "Like the paopu fruit?"

"Err… You know what? Nevermind."

And here, Kairi couldn't help teasing Riku a little—as she felt some of her old self come to the surface again, just a tiny bit. "Riku, even if you're worried about falling in love or whatever—because you want to die an Old Maid, instead of getting married, I don't think this fruit is as strong as to make you propose to Naminé the next time you see her, or anything like that. So, c'mon! Give it a try!"

But, perhaps, Riku even did Kairi one better than that, when he saw a yellow coconut lying around that Kairi had missed and opened it and ate at the milk inside…

Right. Yellow coconuts… She had once ordered both Riku and Sora to find them for the raft. So were Riku and she finally becoming those fourteen-year-old kids together, then?

The two teens finished eating—eventually playing a game, where they told each other what they wished it was. Because they wanted meat right now more than anything—but then finished off and began walking again.

And before Kairi knew it, she and Riku were nearing a mountain that was very much shaped like an ape… Kairi probably would have told Riku something about it, if it that moment she hadn't seen something that caught her eye even more!

A lovely lady and an ape-like-man—not unlike Tarzan from Sora's time in Deep Jungle, that Kairi remembered from being particularly active in his heart there—were having dinner together, as a giant monkey (a gorilla? An ape?) talked to them and served them food!

There were even breathtaking twinkling lights around this treehouse… and even in the light of day, they took Kairi's breath away.

Everything about this scenario was just beautiful. To Kairi… as silly, and romance novel sounding as this thought in her head was becoming, it was like what her life could have been like with her mate, Sora, if things hadn't gone so horribly… As she knew that he had wanted to show her a magical world, too.

And so even though Kairi didn't know this couple at all, she couldn't help rooting for them… and she saw that Riku felt the same way, when he was quick to assure the woman that everything was fine, when she began to panic: "Oh, no! You're not with Lyle are you?! You don't think I've been taking hostage by a madman, who will try and steal my autonomy, will you?"

"Not to worry, ma'am... we're just here to see if this world—err, place—needs any help at all. And if it does, we're only too happy to aid it. I'm Riku, and this is Kairi."

Kairi was about to proudly tease Riku that he was acting like Sora again, as she smiled up at him, but just as she was about to, some other people entered the scene… At least one of which who looked like he might try and tear the lovers apart, if his look of outrage in seeing them together was anything to go by…

And then the one that Kairi had been worried about (and surely Riku, as well) was pulling a gun, and shooting at Ape-Man, just as the pretty girl cried, "Lyle, no!"

Guns… Kairi hated him. And she knew that Sora had come up with that same sentiment when he saw Clayton with one, and she could easily understand why.

Before it was too late, Kairi tried to jump in front of the lady's lover, but even with her warping ability she didn't make it in time!

And then there was a panic. Some of the dark-skinned men present were angrily pulling the shooter way, and insisting that he would have to go to prison for shooting another human… Meanwhile, the girl—and the ape who had been waiting on them—were worrying over the shooting victim. And Kairi and Riku were quickly there, too… Though they also wanted to give him some air.

Kairi thought about trying to use Curaga on the man, but she knew that wouldn't work. Cure spells always healed depleted energy more than anything else…

The woman was on her own phone, desperately trying to get service—whatever that was, Kairi thought—so people would come and give George (apparently that was the man's name) the medical treatment he so desperately needed… but the crying woman said that it would still take time, and George might not make it.

So, it was then that Kairi made a decision… because she'd seen too much like this in her lifetime, and had of course felt this way herself.

"We've already ruined the World Order in so many other worlds we've been in, Riku. What's one more? Let us help this man get the best medical treatment available."

Riku might have whispered something about the old Kairi being back then, but if he did she didn't completely hear it. No, she was too busy creating a Corridor of Light to get everyone where they needed to go faster.

But she didn't just leave it at that. Naturally, she walked up to her new friend and whispered gently in her ear, ""I know I'm probably just some crazy magical girl to you now, so who would believe me? …But if you walk through this path and think desperately of where you want to go as you do so, it'll take you there."

"Magic… after a talking monkey?" the woman with the slight accent—or was it lisp?—echoed back to Kairi, with a sort of unhinged quality in her voice. Kairi was about to question it. But, hey. Hadn't she been about the same when Sora had disappeared after using a Keyblade on his own heart, and Riku had seemed gone forever? "Why aren't I surprised? Thank you."

And so, the woman, Kairi, and Riku (who had stepped up to be the main one carrying George here) walked through the Light, and left everyone and everything else behind for the time being.

A pity, that, because looking back on it… Kairi thought she'd felt something of Sora when she'd bitten into that fruit.

But now was the time to be selfless again… to be the girl he surely loved: the Master of Masters had to be right.

…

Once they exited the path, Kairi found herself in an area that reminded her a lot of Giselle's world, oddly enough, which gave her the confidence to see this thing through… And she wondered if the two worlds of towering skyscrapers were once one, before the World had been split into parts.

Taking the brunt of George's weight herself now—as Riku seemed to be getting tired, and Kairi could hardly blame him—Kairi helped Ursula (introductions had been made on the three—four, counting George's—way here) get George into her apartment complex. And she thanked every god she could think of that they took the elevator to get to the penthouse, for even as a Keyblade wielder she didn't know if she could have carried George up all those flights of stairs.

Kairi laid George down on Ursula's bed, as the girl called for a doctor to stop by and see him… And it was as she did, that Kairi understood how rich Ursula was—even moreso than she had been as the mayor's daughter, because her family hadn't been able to afford to persuade doctors to make house calls—unless there were just different protocols here…

And it was at this point, that Riku seemed to get uncomfortable… as he seemed to shrink away from all the expensive things around him.

And Kairi wondered for the first time if her own wealth had used to make him uncomfortable… Even in their golden years, had they not been as close as she'd thought they'd been.

"Riku…"

But Kairi's best friend was interrupting her before she could finish her thought. "If you don't mind, I think I might go back to the place we just left and see how that Lyle's doing… There was something about him. I don't know."

Well, that made sense. If Riku thought there was something sinister about him, it made sense that Riku would want to investigate… even if Kairi herself felt called to stay here for whatever reason. "…Of course, Riku. But stay safe. We don't know what we might be up against in this world…"

Riku waved to Kairi as he was walking through his own Corridor of Light… though he didn't promise Kairi he'd be back soon, and she didn't tell him to come back as fast as she could. They weren't quite there yet, after all, and this knowledge made her impossibly sad.

Though Kairi tried to hide it, when she walked up to George and put a Cure spell onto him for good measure.

"Thank you," he told her—with a smile in his voice—as consciousness returned to him.

And Kairi couldn't help beaming herself—reminded, as always, of Sora—as she replied, "Of course."

Kairi then made a show of becoming the Invisible Girl, as doctors and Ursula worried over George. Though even in her solitude and loneliness at the moment, she couldn't help feeling grateful that Ursula had yet to ask what she was… or any other fair question like that.

Kairi wondered how she would even answer that. As the physicians performed their magic, Kairi went outside and did her own—fighting the tiny shoe-like Heartless that she could find if she looked hard enough, though it was clear that this world didn't have much darkness in it… yet—but the whole time she did, she couldn't help feeling like she was the real monster here.

'Sora… If you can somehow sense me, and sending me these alerts about your presence… does that mean you can see the new me and think I'm someone worth something? Or are you blinded by your love for the old me, and are blind as a bat?'

The last group of Heartless that Kairi fought, ganged up on her and tried to grab her by her leg and pull her away… And while Kairi would say she'd had to stab at her thigh to get rid of them all, the truth was that she had wanted to cut herself for some sort of relief.

And it was exactly for that reason, that she was able to return to Ursula acting sane… as ironic as that was.

"Thank you for helping him, for helping us!" Ursula exclaimed, the moment that she saw Kairi again—as she took her hands in hers, and Kairi was reminded of her friendships with Selphie, Olette, Naminé, Xion, Aqua, Giselle, and Carina… the friendship between girls. How she'd been missing it. And maybe it was exactly what she needed to get out of her funk… or so she hoped. "Gosh, I barely even know you, but you've been a truer friend to me than you had any right to be! Know that if you ever need anything—anything!—and if it's in my power to get it for you, I will… Though I'm afraid I have to ask you one more thing… do you think you could stay with George some? At least until he completely heals?"

"Of course!" Kairi readily agreed. But she wondered if it was not her voice speaking, but Sora's… for didn't she have better things to do—like finding Sora—if this world panned out to mean nothing?

But still… Kairi couldn't turn down someone who needed her, could she? What kind of Princess of Heart would she be, if she did? …If she was even still that at all.

"I'm sure you must have a job and stuff. And this city… must be culture shock to George. I'll keep an eye on him as best I can."

Ursula laid a hand on Kairi's shoulder then—in what she could only presume was thanks—and if things had been different… Kairi might have been happier than she'd ever been.

After that—while Kairi and Ursula both kept an eye on George for the time being—Ursula and Kairi ended up playing a game with apple cider (because Kairi still didn't quite drink, thank you very much), where they took a swig from their drink every time one of them said something awful the other had had to go through for being born into the world with certain advantages.

And though George didn't seem to be able to understand a lot of what they were talking about, as they talked (and Kairi feared that he might somehow be getting hammered on the cider), he seemed to be having as much fun as they were… which Kairi was glad for, because she was charmed by her new friend and wanted him to enjoy life. Yes, that was true.

But through their game, Kairi recalled just how many creepy guys had hit on her just for being the mayor's daughter… and how she had one had to defend her virginity with a hairbrush, when Sora and Riku had been away… She pondered if Sora and Riku (saviors of the galaxy) would be impressed by her achievement there or not.

Kairi knew that she herself wasn't. As always, she should have been better and stronger… and done more, so she'd never been in that situation to begin with. Or really incapacitated him in a form of revenge.

…But none of that mattered now. Happy game time was over, and it was now bedtime.

But as Kairi slept… she dreamed. Dreamed of things that she got the sense were supposed to happen in this world, in a few days' time, but that she was somehow seeing now.

She saw Ursula going to her own engagement party—oh. She'd been engaged to that Lyle guy?—and instead falling for George, as he ran with the horses… She witnessed George saving someone from falling from a ridiculous height… And Ursula realizing she loved George and admitting it to her mother…

And then… and then the softest waves all about her, and suddenly a Foreteller. Kairi ran towards that Foreteller, standing on a single stone in a roaring sea now… and then seemed to teleport there.

Before Kairi's very eyes, was a girl in gorgeous rose-colored robes, that the princess herself wished she had. And while Kairi wanted to attack her—because that was just the norm now in dealing with what might as well have been this new Organization XIII, wasn't it?—Kairi found her heart resisting that notion now, for whatever reason.

And instead, in the softest voice she'd ever used with one of her enemies, Kairi asked with a hand held under her chin, "What do you want? What does your Master want? Please tell me."

And thankfully, this woman-with a very sweet voice, Kairi would come to see—thought it appropriate to answer her, as she herself glided closer to Kairi. "It's good that you somewhat separated me from the Master with that question. Because my wants and his don't exactly line up. For a time, the only ally I had was myself... And I wish it could have stayed that way. But now, I find I'm reluctantly on his side again. Since, despite everything, he is still my father."

Of course… even though Kairi could try to sympathize with this lady here—and her heart was screaming at her to—this made her furious, because no matter what… right was still right.

But then again, maybe she only thought that because she'd never had to choose before. All the stars twinkling around Kairi now seemed to call her a liar. Because the truth was… if she had to choose between the World and her adopted father or her grandmother… would she choose as Sora did? Kairi honestly wasn't sure anymore.

Thankfully, the small Foreteller missed Kairi's moral dilemma here and carried on with what she had been saying… and Kairi was thrilled. It wouldn't do to let the enemy know they had a faltering Princess of Heart on their hands, after all.

"But as for what the Master wants... I won't say all of it—because I don't want to fully ruin his plans. Some of his ideas are good—but more than anything, he desires unity. Since he knows what being without it has caused."

Kairi wanted to argue that the history books from the Islands told her that when most people started wanting this kind of thing, it always led to bloodshed… but she didn't.

Instead, Kairi was focused on the pastel pink Keyblade that was now pointed at her chin. There was something about this Keyblade that reminded Kairi of her own, Destiny's Embrace, but she couldn't imagine why… because they weren't that similar.

She also couldn't understand why the girl was aiming her Keyblade at her now, when until now she'd mostly seemed the pacifist… unless she was trying to show her something now. But whatever that was, Kairi could only begin to imagine. So, she thought she might tell this stranger something instead.

"I think you had the right of it before… going against your dad if he's planning some evil things, is the right thing to do. It's like how I couldn't fully forgive my friend Riku for some of the awful things he did, even if it was for my sake."

And that was a truth she'd never admitted to anyone before. Barely even herself. So why was she saying such things now?

The woman smiled sadly at this. She then leaned in and kissed Kairi on the cheek, entirely shocking her. And Kairi felt Pip come out of her hood here—to try and defend her honor, perhaps—but the woman swiftly showed that she wasn't aiming for anything crooked here, as she whispered into Kairi's ear. "Time heals all wounds, don't you think? You should let that go, Kairi. Listen to Ava."

And Kairi woke up to see George standing before her, with bruises all over his body—clearly from exertion—and it seemed to her that he must have already saved the man she'd seen briefly in her dream.

…

At first, Kairi wanted to believe that she'd just somehow had psychic visions here—even though that would have been scary in its own right—but it was when Kairi started reliving some of the things that she'd dreamt about, that she realized that some sort of time travel was in effect here: because even Ursula would sometimes turn to her, as though she was having déjà vu.

Right now, Kairi was at Ursula's engagement party—something she was enjoying, because it felt good to take a break from the doom and gloom and having to worry about the World's safety again—and she was watching George run with white horses, alongside Ursula and her friends.

…George looked attractive while doing this. And if her heart didn't belong to Sora, she might have been moved by it. So, she certainly understood why everyone else was.

But Kairi soon found that it was George's kindness more than anything, that was moving Ursula—as he walked over to them and explained, "I just thought the horsies here might get bored, if no one played with them."

So, he hadn't been doing that to be manipulative and look powerful. Really, Kairi knew she should have supposed that that was the truth. But with how she'd been abused so much by men in the Organization—and now the Master of Masters—she sometimes forgot that there were decent ones out there.

"Someone named Yozora is also awful," Ursula said to Kairi then—as if she'd read Kairi's mind—whilst she ruffled George's hair. But she'd spoken that as if she'd been in a trance.

And Kairi was completely baffled by this, because she was starting to understand that this "New York" didn't have many sounding names like that, if any. So, who was this Yozora… and why had Ursula felt the need to speak of him?

Was that what she was supposed to find out here, that was connected to Sora? The name sounded like Sora's, that was for sure. And as she whispered it now… Kairi almost felt as though she was saying Sora's name, like sometimes she thought of herself when she heard "Naminé" now.

But this discussion of Yozora was swiftly forgotten about, when Ursula's mother—who seemed off to Kairi—came outside to have a private word with George.

And somehow, Kairi wasn't surprised at all when George was gone the next day, having left again for Bukuvu to save Ape.

"This just reeks of my mother! I know she did this!" Ursula fumed, as she paced back and forth in her bedroom.

And Kairi told her the honest truth, as she laid down on the bed and wished to sleep… She'd been wanting to sleep a lot since coming to this world. And while Kairi wanted to believe it was because of a spell that Ava was perhaps putting on her, she knew it was really because she was depressed. "…She probably did… As silly as it is to say this, I figure she did because this is the plot in so many books and movies. And you have everything here… I can understand why your parents would be leery of you throwing that away. Mine would probably behave the same way… though they may not have strong-armed someone like George so much."

Honestly, Kairi missed George—well, as much as her heart could miss anyone who wasn't Sora—since last night, she'd planned on trying to show George some slides of modern things, like Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jane had shown Tarzan… though she'd near instantly learned that George didn't need them. He'd been very thankful of her efforts, however.

"I'm going to go have a word with her!" Ursula bellowed. "And then you and I are going back to George's home, and are going to help him heal his surrogate father! …And if your friend really went back there for Lyle, we're going to help him get over his crush on him, too!"

"Wait… what?!" Kairi demanded. But Ursula didn't clarify what she meant by that. Instead, she was going to the room that her parents were staying at here after the engagement party had ended late.

Just a few rooms away, Kairi could hear Ursula's mother unintentionally making her daughter realize she was in love with George (just like in her dream), and the two of them arguing about it… but Kairi couldn't focus on that right now.

Did Ursula really think that Riku had somehow gained feelings for Lyle?! Now that she made herself think about it, perhaps Riku had had feelings for Sora for some time—man, did they ever need to talk, if that was true—so if Lyle somehow reminded him of Sora… then maybe.

But Lyle seemed like a vile person, so if Kairi had to save Riku's heart from being broken by him, she would!

Kairi was walking towards where Ursula and her mom were still yelling at each other—to insist that they leave now, if they could—when Kairi bumped into Ursula's dad: she'd met him the night before.

And he seemed to be much more level-headed about his daughter's feelings than her mother was. "I support whatever decision makes Ursula happy, of course," he started as he saw Kairi. "But do you really think this is the best decision for her to make?"

And Kairi grinned, somehow reminded of her decision to do everything she could for Naminé and to give her the chance to live to the best of her ability. "Just… love your daughter. Love is the reason we're here, after all."

Kairi then approached the room that Ursula was in, grabbed her arm—because it looked like she was ready to leave anyway—and whisked her away.

…

This time around, Kairi agreed to fly on Ursula's private jet to get to George and Riku. As this time, she didn't think they were in too much trouble. Ape seemed to be, but hopefully George was already taken good care of him.

But even if she didn't feel much like a Princess of Heart anymore, she had a duty to the worlds and the World Order, so it was probably best to not screw with it once more in this world.

She supposed she was also somewhat doing this to try and stick it to the Master of Masters some. Because if he wanted unity… maybe he wanted the worlds to know about each other again. In which case, she wasn't going to give the evil man what he wanted… how she hated him.

Pip thought that Kairi was being reckless, too. He came out and talked to her while they were flying back to the much more flora-filled part of this world. He had seen her cut herself, and since then he'd kept quiet to see what she would do next… and he wasn't impressed with some of the choices she'd been making.

And here, Kairi couldn't help but sigh and to try and hide behind her hair some. Great. Now even her knew best friend hated her.

At was at this point that Kairi escaped to fight some Shadows that were on the jet—thankfully, Ursula was completely missing them as she flew—and as she swung each one, she couldn't help being terrified that they were actually drawn to the darkness in her heart, if there was some there. A troubling thought, indeed.

As was the situation Kairi and Ursula walked into when they made it back to the tree house. Some poachers were trying to take Ape with them, in having learned that he could talk—clearly, they had never seen other anthropomorphic beings before—and George was trying to stop them, of course, and Riku, too… Something that made Kairi's heart sing, because it reminded her of Sora.

But then it all went into Hell in a handbasket, as it would have. "You have got to be kidding me!" Ursula was complaining now. "Lyle, they let you out of prison. Or did you escape?"

And before Kairi could blink, he had darted over and grabbed Ursula with a gun pointed to her cheek. "I am now certified to perform wedding ceremonies, Ursula. And we're going to get married. I have our vows right here."

"Ursula!" George called. And it was clear to see that he was torn between saving his father or the love of his life.

Kairi would have tried to rescue Ursula—and Riku too, she was sure—if at that second, the poachers hadn't sent their own bullets flying at everyone.

As time seemed to slow down to a crawl, Kairi did her best to deflect them all with her Keyblade. And Riku was doing the same thing ...which was enough for the poachers to give up and run away, as they witnessed the two's powers…

But while Kairi didn't think that the thieves were working with Lyle, what they had done was the perfect opportunity to take off with Ursula.

Riku pounded his fist on the ground angrily here. And as pathetic as it was to say, Kairi was completely at a loss on how to comfort him. Maybe because she wasn't entirely sure where his emotions were at here. "Dangit. I thought he was a little like me—and had gotten on the right track, but could be saved—…I was wrong."

"If your choice of action was to try and be someone's hero here, you couldn't have been wrong, friend. In fact, I know what I have to do now," George said, while he patted Riku on the shoulder before heading off in the direction that Lyle had taken Ursula, with Ape right behind him.

"Riku… we need to talk now," Kairi told her friend, as she helped him to his feet. The mulch he'd been sitting on had stained Riku's jeans a slight brown color, that wasn't completely unlike Sora's hair color. Kairi swallowed. "You love Sora, don't you? You seem to think I pushed you away… but you've done that to me, too. Is this why? And what? You wanted to help Lyle because he reminded you of him?"

Riku glared at Kairi. And for the first time she could remember, she found herself almost being afraid of him—and had to take a step back—but the look dissipated just like that, and instead a single tear fell from his eye. "Yeah, Kairi… I do love Sora. Or did. I don't know. I do have some feelings for Naminé now, as you've noticed. I also used to like you… And I wanted to help Lyle, partly because I thought he was like me. But there was a bit of Sora, too… Lyle exudes a gay energy. And I'm sorry… You know I think Sora's completely straight in his love for you, but you've got to admit that he's the same that way. But that failed. So I failed again. But oh well.

"But since we're talking about painful topics here… do you mind telling me what. I did to piss you off so much?"

Kairi did not want to answer this. But she supposed she had no choice, since she had just forced Riku to talk about such painful things.

She wanted to use the excuse that they needed to save Ursula, so she wouldn't have to talk about it… even though Kairi knew in her heart of hearts, that she would be fine. But she didn't, in knowing that she owed Riku and their old bond more than that.

"Riku… you were willing to kill for me. Pinocchio, for instance… You also didn't care what was going to happen to the worlds through Maleficent's plan—and your helping her—as long as it got you me… You also kidnapped Princesses of Heart. But I'm going to shut up now, because I swear I'm not here to read you all your sins. Especially since I probably have you beaten in that category these days. And while I appreciate that you were trying to do that to save me. I also hate that you would have made me an accessory to murder that way. At least I did… And maybe I was somewhat jealous of all the time that you got to spend with Sora lately, that I didn't. I don't know."

Kairi crossed her arms over her chest here, feeling very uncomfortable. She was even about to go hide in the treehouse, if she needed to. But Riku startled her just as Ava had, when he was suddenly before her and kissed her on the cheek—but almost on the lips, and maybe that had even been his intention—and somehow, she thought everything that had just happened between them was exactly what had needed to transpire to make them good with each other again.

"There, Kairi. Was us treating each other siblings again really that hard?"

Kairi laughed. Because even though she got where Riku was coming from—he had only kissed her cheek, after the two of them had spilled their hearts out about their romantic love for Sora, essentially—siblings didn't almost kiss each other on the lips… and not after they admitted they'd once had feelings for each other. And yes, Kairi had had feelings for Riku for a hot second, long ago. So this probably was the perfect closure that they'd needed.

"No, Riku. I guess it wasn't."

And feeling as though he was the wing beneath her wings, Kairi glided towards a waterfall nearby, where it looked like Lyle still had Ursula kept hostage. And she landed on the boat to free her from it… only to realize that George had Ursula in his arms on the cliff above them, and Lyle had just said his vows to Ape, who was now kissing him.

Her work here was done… Kairi let herself fall back into the water, and float away—feeling completely blissed out for the moment.

…

Things happened pretty fast after that. George and Ursula were getting married, of course… and they were doing so here.

Ursula's family—and maybe even her friends—were flying out to witness it. And Kairi and Riku decided to stay for it, after they were asked to.

And Kairi agreed pretty easily. She knew, not that long ago, she'd somewhat regretted staying in the Caribbean so long, when Sora needed them. And she'd even been afraid that the Restoration Committee would hate her for that choice. But now she realized just how self-absorbed that sentiment had been. This was all part of the journey to find Sora, after all. So, of course, she would stay for her new friends on their day. How often had Sora got distracted on his adventures?

So, a few days later, everyone was having a grand old time. Kairi was even nearly convincing Ursula's mother to give the pair a chance… though the alcohol she was encouraging the older woman to drink might have been a large part of that.

Speaking of, RIku—who said he was almost eighteen now—had decided to try some champagne, and had quickly fallen in love. He was even offering to sing a song for the married couple now, so Kairi knew he must have been a little tipsy.

But of course, when things would start to feel alright again… they would all fall to pieces.

Kairi saw the Master of Masters standing a ways away from her now—in a more secluded part of the forest—and Kairi found herself going to him, as if she were a puppet on a string.

"Have you again taken a break from looking for Sora? You disappoint me, Kairi."

Kairi summoned her Keyblade to hand, but it was different from Destiny's Embrace this time as she'd put a Keychain on it. A Keychain from this world, that turned the teeth into a groom and bride from a wedding cake: probably because there had been so much romance here.

"Yeah, well… I'm sorry to disappoint. Actually, I'm not. I will find Sora—though I don't know why you would want me to, since he's your enemy who will undo all your plans—but I'm not going to lose myself to do it. Not when you apparently want me to be angry for some reason."

"…Even though, more than once, he's completely lost himself for you."

And despite everything that Kairi had just promised herself, she found herself attacking the Master of Masters for this, as she screamed.

No doubt, she was inviting a lot of attention her way—on George and Ursula's happiest of days—but she hoped that no one would come after her… that the music would drown this out, because they all deserved to be happy. She would deal with this mess herself.

He summoned Xehanort's disgusting Keyblade, because of course he did, and sent an "X" bathed in fire her way, but Kairi was quick to jump over it.

She then sent her light Pearl attack—though actually created from real pearls: an impressive technique that she'd recently taught herself—at the Master's face, but he dodged by doing a backflip out of the way.

Once the man was on his feet again, he kicked at Kairi's legs and she was ashamed to admit that he actually knocked her down.

He had his Keyblade poised over her head then, but before he could decapitate her with it—or whatever he might have planned to do—Kairi grabbed his arm with all her strength, so he couldn't move it. Much like Xion had done to save Axel from Xemnas' ethereal blades.

"Why are you even here?!" Kairi growled. "You already sent your Ava after me here. I thought only one minion per world would bother me."

"…Because this isn't some perfect little story, Kairi. Haven't you figured that out yet?"

And before Kairi could react, the man slammed his Keyblade down on the pressure point of her neck so that she passed out… And when she woke up, she found he hadn't done anything to her. Hadn't kidnapped her, as a Princess of Heart, to further his goals or anything. And somehow… that was the biggest insult of all.

What? Had he beaten her in a fight just to humiliate her?

And as Kairi became furious at that notion, she expected her insanity to come back in full-swing… but it didn't. Kairi's mind felt sane. And that horrified her more than anything. Would her new strength be gone if her mind worked right again?

In her hoodie, Pip had laid his paws on Kairi's shoulder—clearly trying to keep her from going over the edge—but she didn't want him to be.

She wanted to fall… in this happy world, or no.

Author's Note: This chapter gave me fits, so that's why it took me so long to finish and post. I'm sorry about that:(

I always wanted this world in here. Partly because, so far, the worlds Kairi have gone to are somewhat similar to Sora's ones from KH1. Enchanted was two worlds (Andalasia and New York) like Wonderland is (Wonderland and England), the Pirates of the Caribbean movies are full of Greek mythology like Hercules is. And now George of the Jungle is clearly a lot like Deep Jungle/Tarzan.

But then when I decided that Kairi and Riku would believe that Sora is in a data world… I didn't know if this would fit, because would it still seem like filler? I thought about skipping this world altogether, but in the end I'm glad I didn't. And I hope you all feel the same way, too.

Another issue I had, is that this movie is mostly comedic and this story… is not. Hopefully I struck some sort of balance here, but IDK.

I almost feel like there should have been more dialogue and stuff from the George of the Jungle characters here—and more George—but whatever. This chapter is finally done, and I'm glad about it.

…I feel like there was a lot I wanted to say here, but now I kind of forget. If I remember, I might add on.

Ben is from the Disney Channel Original Movie "Smart House". Originally, I was going to have FFX-2!Yuna to somewhat beware Kairi of chasing dreams… but then I realized that that didn't work for obvious reasons, so Ben it became.

Oh. And since Re:Mind isn't canon to this story, I tried to have everyone looking for Sora in ways that they aren't in canon… though Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are doing what Kairi is in Melody of Memory. Haha.

And I'm sorry if there are a ton of mistakes here (though hopefully there aren't). I rewrote most of this… and am too lazy to go back and reread those sections. So, yeah.

Welp, see you all soon. I hope.

I hope everyone's having a great October thus far!

Edit: I'm also going with that Destiny Islands didn't have bananas here. So shh.

Edit 2: I swear there isn't going to be a lot of time travel in this, if any more at all. It was only "there" last time-though not even that-because I wanted Kairi and Riku to be in Dead Men Tell No Tales. And while it's sooooooooooooooooomewhat story important here, I mostly did it to try and spice up this comedic movie some. Yeah.

Edit 3: Kairi defending her virginity with a hairbrush is a reference to sunflowerb on fanfiction's amazing "Smile and Nod" story.

#swallow #my writing #Shanna writes #my work #mine #swallow chapter five #kairi #sokai #riku and kairi friendship

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polygamyff · 4 years

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30.

Some will say I am crazy, I probably am. I am going to the lions den, I will be there with his family once again. I will see the people that don’t want my daughter in that family, the people that hate me will all be in that one place, just makes me wonder how Maurice will deal with it. I can only imagine how busy he will be but here I am gathering the last bits ready to go to Dubai, I am excited to see such a place. I’ve heard how beautiful it is but I’m going to a very prestigious event, I had to buy a new dress and then match with my daughter. I am doing it for him but also Reign, I think I am too harsh on keeping her away from that family. He admitted to having put Reign has the heir already, if anything was to happen to him she would be in diapers not knowing what the fuck is going on, that does kind of scare me in that sense. My daughter an heir to this, it’s just crazy to think about so that is why I am doing this for. I am doing this for her and him, he really wanted her there but I am so nervous about it. He said be ready for one, the SUV will be outside and they will take you to where you need too. He’s been very much there for me now, he makes sure he tells me things and checks on Reign. I’m also using this to see what we can do, I mean between Maurice and I, see how he is. I want to go back to how we was, it still hasn’t changed in my heart, I love him like crazy. I guess love does make you go crazy “dad has taken your second case down” my mom opened my bedroom door and I laughed, I laughed because Maurice says I pack too much “thanks” I said through my laughter “Maurice is too kind, to have us come also. I did try and talk your dad out of it but he’s on a mission, he will fail it anyways” my mom winked at me, my dad will be on his best behaviour, our relationship is not as good right now because I want him to respect Maurice, it’s not good for Reign to see that either “thanks mom, I’m just finishing the baby bag and will be right down. Is Leon here? I can hear him I think” I know his ass is “you know he is, Reign is loving him right now” I need a babysitter, so good.

Placing the baby bag next to the cases “how long are we going for? I need confirmation?” Leon asked “erm, about a week I think?” I’m sure of it “then why the fuck are you packing like you’re leaving for a year, what is your problem?” I snorted laughing “because I need to make sure I have everything I need, you know I got issues with that” Leon always out here laughing at me when he knows I got issues “has daddy and daughter made up?” Sitting next to Leon “absolutely not, you know him. He dislikes Maurice, and said it to my face and I goes well we made up. Now what? I said to my dad that this his child, and to be honest I love him. But yet he’s coming to Dubai, I don’t get it. He’s so hateful” taking Reign from Leon “hey princess, mommy is here now” she’s so content today, she’s not acting out like she usually does “we got to understand he didn’t want Reign, he hated you for being pregnant. He can’t accept that you are with this married man, he set high standards for you but you can’t help who you love, right? Maybe this is Thomas’ time to see Maurice and what he is, he doesn’t have anything to prove but he can see how much that man loves you” I guess he got a point “think about this, Reign becomes pregnant with a man that is already married and is rich as fuck, Maurice has seen his daughter do nothing but cry. How angry would he be?” I blew out air wide eyed “he would be so angry, very angry and would want to get that guy” Leon clapped his hands together “same goes for you, you’re his daughter” Maurice would murder that man, I do get it “I don’t want Maurice and my dad to fight though, I feel like it will get to that point. He will not like that flashy shit, but Maurice is that. I’m just scared of that moment” I feel it coming because Maurice is doing it for me, but for how long.

Reign is asleep, so she won’t wake up until we are in the air unless she has a bad dream. Hearing a knock at the door “it’s turned one, that can’t be?” My mom said, walking around the suitcases and pulling open the door “talk about on time” Jay didn’t waste a minute “when Maurice said one, he meant one, even though I just been to the house. He’s just woke up. He said he’s been awake planning” I cooed out “he did say it to me but I was like I need my sleep so I didn’t stay awake. Well the cases are here if you and the driver want to get them” opening the door wider “I will do that, hi family. Come on!” He looked behind him and waved over the driver, I could actually get used to this. Being spoilt with people carrying my things “is Reign buckled in yes?” I asked my mom “she is, and still asleep” that is a plus “I just need to check on Maurice” I want to make sure he is ok, grabbing my phone from the side and it’s like he knew, my phone started ringing “hello?” That is weird “hey, did Jay come there? I told him one?” He’s just woke up, I always know when he’s just woke up “yes, he came here right on time but what about you? Are you on time? I heard from Jay that you just woke up?” He did say last night that he’s worried “been awake, fell asleep and then Shawn dragged me out of bed, I should be there on time” he stifled our a yawn “Jay knows where to go, everything is set out” I rolled my eyes “by Ally, huh?” Maurice chuckled “yes, that is why I know it will go to plan, she will be with me when I get on the jet. So will Lorraine, my publicist so don’t be stank with me” rolling my eyes, he knows damn well I will “will see, see you soon then” they near enough got the cases packed “see you soon Bonita” I scoffed “keep that” he keeps saying it “Pequeña señorita espera” hate him and his Spanish speaking ass “bye” disconnecting the call.

I don’t know why but I legit got pussy flutters, it was so random and it just happened as we got to the private hanger. It’s just something about Maurice when he’s in business mode, let me stop “Robyn Willis under Davenport” the driver said to the security, the barrier lifted “this is new to me! Oh my!” My mom said “it’s so good mom, like I love being bougie, this is me all over” Leon gushed “this is amazing, no queues or anything, look at it Thomas. It’s crazy, we have planes just so close to us” Reign is so damn lucky, like her life will always be luxury which I don’t want her to be spoilt either though. We turned the corner, seeing three all black jets with about five SUVs parked near them “is this his?” My mom asked, looking at the jet “it says Davenport so yes” I still get so amazed by it all, this is crazy how much money his family have “I wonder why there is three jets” we’re surely not taking all three, there is not many of us “it’s his family, they are on one of those jets, the third one is Maurice’ he told me to put you guys on the third. If you see the first one is being shut. They will be leaving now” Jay knew it’s all “oh ok” the SUV we are in parked at the side of the rows of SUVs “crazy what money can buy you” hearing my dad say “this is us” Jay got out of the car “I am so fucking excited!” Leon just jumped out of the car, turning to Reign and placing the ear protectors over over ears, it’s very loud here, placing a blanket over the car seat “is she ready?” Jay looked down “yeah, take the car seat out” unbuckling the seatbelt from around the seat “thanks” he didn’t need too at all, he lifted the seat out as I shuffled out too “get on the jet! The staff will take care of it!!” Jay shouted, my mom was about ready to get the cases “follow me!” My dad is giving his judging looks, I think he is lowkey amazed by all of this, I mean who wouldn’t be, look at it. I covered Reign’ seat while we get to the jet “welcome, welcome” the pilot waiting outside still gets me every time, like they shake your hands “welcome aboard Robyn” shaking his hand, I remember him from last time “hey” I smiled, he remembers me from last time. Walking up the steps “bitch I am bad and fucking bougie, private jet and off to Dubai. Catch me on the flip side!” Leon is putting everything on Instagram, he doesn’t really care.

The two jets have flown off and we are still here “I wouldn’t worry about it, it’s Maurice that is being charged. If he wants to be charged then let him” Jay laughed “but why is he so late?” I don’t get it, it’s been half hour now “because he’s king” my dad said “this is why I didn’t want you to come, this is his jet dad you can’t do that!” I spat “we should be on our way now, Mr Davenport has arrived” the flight attendant announced before she walked off the jet, my eyes diverted to the window and leaned over my mom. He is here “look at you, meerkat ass. All up on the window trying to see him” Leon joked with me “I just want to see” spotting Lenny get out of the front of the SUV and he opened the back door, the other side of the SUV door opened and fucking Ally comes out and then Maurice came out, he is walking from behind Lenny, Maurice placed his hood over his head and then he pointed at something, Ally walked back to the SUV, another female came out, that must be his publicist and then Shawn came out “I guess they are here” I mumbled, the pilot rushed to Maurice. They both did, they didn’t even wait for him to walk to the jet “it’s so weird to see the rich, they have so much. Look at it, they don’t need anything. Everyone is doing everything for them” Leon said “it is weird, I mean we are normal people. It’s amazing to see don’t you think?” Ally came out holding a suit, I think it is anyways but they are unloading Maurice’ things “oh they are coming” let me sit back like I wasn’t being nosey “thank you daughter!” my mom spat “I thought you was going to sit on my lap” I giggled at my mom saying.

“You look so sexcited, I mean excited. Ignore me, dad please. I was joking” Leon’ mouth gets him in trouble “well miserable people can sit in the corner can’t they” my mom left my dad on his own and sat next to me, she is sick of him too “just a water, that will be good please” Maurice said as he finally got on the jet “my bad y’all” he said as he moved his hood back on his hoodie and pressed his hair down, that smile on his face. I just smiled at him and looked down at the table “I am sorry, I just had to pick my suit up” Maurice walked over to us “Mrs Willis, looking beautiful as ever” Maurice’ arm reached across the table and I moved back looking up at him, he shook my mom’ hand “come here” my mom got up from her seat, now it is her turn to lean over me, side eyeing her as I moved to the side a little. She hugged Maurice “thank you for letting us come with you, it’s beautiful. Your jet” My mom sat down, pouting my lips “thank you, and Leon” Maurice got his hand to him “can I hug you too?” Leon grinned “stay there” Leon shook his hand “where is Mi Hermoso?” Maurice asked, I get nothing then “uhm, behind you. She is asleep in the car seat” Maurice let out an oh “sir, your water” the flight attendant said behind him “oh thank you” he turned around to her, moving my head to the side, mine and Ally’ eyes met “I have some business to do still, I will up front. If you need anything just let us know” I really do get nothing, that is rude “Thomas” Maurice saluted him before walking off, he is not stupid to go near his grumpy ass.

Look at him, dealing with his business away from us. Shawn is just sat there, he looks a little bored to be honest. They all laughed together, I am feeling neglected. Looking over at my mom before I unlocked my phone and composed a text.

To: Maurice

From: Robyn

So what you doing over there…….. Also I didn’t even get a handshake…..

I have to mention it, I can’t keep it to myself because it really upset me that he did that. I mean he could have hugged me, placing my phone down as I locked it. Staring at Maurice’ phone ping, I wish I could hear what they are doing. Maurice continued to speak as he picked his phone up from the table, a small smile played on my face as he frowned at his phone. He turned his head to look at me but I looked away still smiling “what?” Leon took his headphones off “nothing, I didn’t say anything. I am just laughing” waving him off “then don’t give me eye contact, I got confused” I must have ruined his song, my phone screen lit up. I giggled to myself, how nice he text me back.

From: Maurice

To: Robyn

Discussing the taste of your boob milk, what you think? I am doing work and also you said take it slow, so I am ;)

I gasped hiding my phone to my chest, he is so rude and I don’t want my mom to read that. When I said take it slow, I didn’t mean he can’t hug me. He is annoying me for no reason now, looking at my mom. She is reading a book, texting him back.

To: Maurice

From: Robyn

I said slow…. not slow in the head. Also that is disgusting, you can taste it again if you hug me?

Pressing send and laughed to myself, I sighed out smiling. Because he is not going to do shit, placing my phone on the table sniggering to myself still “Robyn” I gasped as I looked up, my face dropped “what do you want?” Maurice furrowed his eyebrows “according to your text you said” I screamed placing my hand over his phone “shut up! I said nothing” he is so annoying “what on earth are you screaming about?” my mom said “she has been texting me, I think she is bored. She made me break away from my meeting for this” I am not moving my hand away from his phone because I can’t trust him “it’s nice to see you both getting along but can you please move Robyn, you’re annoying me” how rude of my mom “come, sit with me. You will be bored, come” he held his hand out “me?” I said in shock “who else? Come” placing my hand in his as I got up “ladies first” he pulled me ahead “and also this” he hugged me from behind “you know what that means right?” I am not fucking breastfeeding him “bye” I moved away from him “this is Robyn, Robyn this is Lorraine, you know Ally and Shawn. Sit then” letting his hand go as I sat down, I scoffed as Maurice also sat on the same seat “you’re squashing me” I complained, shuffling more away from him “well I am thinking of leaving Nalah there until the end of January so, that should make sure things are running. I need to be back in New York, I don’t have the time. Ally you need to make sure there is someone to pick the bags up from the hotel and into our hotel, I just want it to be smooth. With New Year coming, with it all going on I want it to be something that they remember. I have my famous friends there, so I want to impress. You got any ideas? Anything to add?” Maurice stared at me and I just looked so lost “erm, no” I said hiding behind him “well when we get off the jet The Department of Tourism and Commerce committee will be there to greet us” Ally said “that is fine, I have a meeting with Nalah too. If this goes to shit, I am coming to you all. Yes also you Shawn, let’s all rest up” Maurice closed his laptop “you done resting on my shoulder?” Maurice said, I was actually hiding.

I sat on the seat Shawn was on, it’s facing Maurice anyways “busy man ain’t you” Maurice sighed out “it’s not little, it’s my first hotel opening. Without my dad, it’s purely mines. He hasn’t helped me in anything of this. I have worked hard on it so it’s big for me, just worried. It’s coming to me now, but” he stretched out “I am happy you are here, even though you’re in a cheeky mood ain’t you” biting on my nail smile “maybe” I said in a whisper “you will be in a different hotel until mine is open which is tomorrow. You and your family have the family suite, I will be working through the night. Probably anyways, but whatever happens. You won’t be left behind, just stay with Jay, I will be trying my best to watch you but if there is anything just call me. I got you, there will be a lot of people there. And yes this will be the first time people will see Reign and you, don’t be scared because there is nothing you have done wrong, it’s me. Jay and Lenny know, there will be pictures taken. I will be expecting you to be there. But like I said, I will try to see you. Don’t be alarmed, but Hakim will be there which means Naomi will be there and I seen the seating placement, I am trying to change it. You and your family are just behind Shawn, so I am first row, Shawn is second with some of my uncles and then it’s you. Naomi is on the other side same row. But it’s hard because I have so many people there that I don’t want to offend people, the main thing is. I don’t want you to be scared because we will be busy. Jay and Lenny is yours and Reign’ and I am sorry that you been thrown into the deep end. When the pictures are taken I want you to be there with me, with Reign. I can’t guess who else will be in the picture but possibly my family, it happens. This will be a big thing to come out, but yeah” Maurice dragged out “have fun” he grinned at me, that is a lot to take in “wow” I breathed out “but thank you, you have told me, I can digest on what is to come I guess” I always get so lost “I forget Robyn, I really do. I just assume that you know, we both equal. But I will from now on, help you through it. It is scary and I can say it’s worse than my birthday, not to scare you” so he says that to add to it, not the best thing to hear.

Maurice fell asleep while speaking to me “your blanket, would you like me to make the bed up for him” the flight attendant asked “oh no, I think it’s best to let him sleep” he will remain awake then so it’s best to leave him, throwing the blanket over him. He actually fell asleep speaking to me, I don’t blame him to be honest. He was awake all night just thinking and fussing about this, I smiled lightly just placing the blanket just under his chin. I hope he sleeps for a while to catch up, let me now go and see to Reign “you done over there?” my mother said “yeah” I laughed “he was just breaking it down to me how things will go, he was making me feel better about it. Then he fell asleep on me, he is tired but look at you. All awake now” looking down at Reign, she is very much wide away “she is, she just had a feed, I left you to it because you both look so deep in conversation, you look happy” my mom said “a little” playing it off “I am happy you both are good though” sitting next to my mom “well this is the next big test for us, it’s testing” I am nervous.

#Chrianna #Chrianna FF #Fanfic #Fanfiction

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rebelsarestrongashell · 5 years

Text

Sunsets in Wakanda - 3

Summary: After his programming is removed, Natasha secretly visits Bucky in Wakanda. They rediscover each other as they are torn between love and promises.

Characters: Bucky x Natasha

A/N: A common theme throughout this fic is Shuri is truly an intellectual. You’ll understand what I mean in the next two chapters. Let me know what you guys thinks!

MASTERLIST

If there was one thing Natasha couldn't stand about that damn Captain America, it was how much of an early riser he was; especially on travel days. After a long night of tossing and turning, Natasha seemed to have finally fallen into a deep sleep when Steve found it appropriate to wake her at five in the morning.

She didn't bother to get dressed or even look in the mirror as the smell of coffee filled her room, making her rise from her bed and head to the kitchen in a zombie like trance.

Steve was already in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and slowly taking sips from his mug. You could see the tension spread across his face as he got lost in his own thoughts, not even acknowledging Natasha's presence as she walked in. Sam, pouring himself a cup, had a mischievous look of amusement on his face as he took in the disheveled sight of Natasha, "Well aren't you a ray of sunshine in the morning," He said with a grin.

"Shut up and hand me a mug."

Wanda entered into the kitchen, looking like the zombie mirror image of Natasha, causing Sam to throw his head back in laughter. Natasha gave Wanda a small smile and an eye roll as she handed her a cup of black coffee.

"Thank you" Wanda said, taking a few sips but still glaring at Sam.

Without a word, Steve suddenly straightened himself up from the counter and cleaned his cup in the sink, making everyone turn their attention towards him. "We have a long day of travel ahead of us," He finally said with a tone of severity as he turned to face the three of them, "I'm going to head to the roof, make sure everything is ready to go with the quinjet. I would like you all to be ready to leave within the hour."

There was a few seconds of silence as Steve left and made his way up the stairs, "Whats up with him, I thought he would be in a better mood?" Asked Wanda.

The warmth of the coffee had replaced the icy in Natasha's veins, making her more susceptible to a normal humanlike conversation, "I think he's just a little worried," She replied, "If, for some reason, Shuri's deprogramming didn't work what other options would he have to help Barnes? Especially with our current rouge state," Sam and Wanda exchanged a look of understanding, "But we'll see once we get to Wakanda, I don't have any doubt in Shuri's abilities."

"We?" Asked Wanda with raised eyebrows.

Ignoring their gaze, Natasha took a prolonged sip of her coffee before answering, "I'm going to Wakanda with Steve. They think I can help Barnes with the whole coming to terms with your brainwashed past thing."

Sam let out a sarcastic chuckle while Wanda gave her the same knowing smirk she did the night before. Feeling a little on edge and eager to change the subject, Natasha turned the attention towards Wanda, "So what romantic destination are you off to this time?"

Wanda's smirk lingered for a moment longer, "I'm going to meet Vision in Northern Ireland."

"Secluded, good, I like it."

Wanda simply rolled her eyes. As much as she enjoyed bonding with Natasha over the past few years, Wanda wished she would stop her worrying about her trips with Vision, they were always careful.

Sam threw both hands up in the air, "Okay, I gotta ask, how do you and Vi-"

"Nope!" Wanda cut him off as she slammed her mug down on the counter, "You must certainly do not have to ask." She quickly made her way out of the kitchen with the hint of red in her cheeks.

Natasha couldn't help but laugh as she grabbed the few dishes around the room and headed to the sink. "The intimate parts of their relationship are really none of your business, Sam"

"You can't tell me you aren't even just the tiniest bit curious." He replied as she finished drying their mugs. She looked over her shoulder at him as she headed out of the kitchen, "Still none of our business." She said with a slightly wrinkled expression at the uncomfortable subject matter, "I'll see you on the jet."

- - -

Steve and Natasha didn't make it to Wakanda until early the next morning. Natasha let out an audible gasp as they broke through the protective barrier just after sunrise. Steve had told her about the beauty of Wakanda but it was beyond anything she had expected. Rolling hills of greenery, stunning mountains, sprawling lakes; sun seemed to touch every corner. As they approached the landing coordinates, Natasha's chest tighten thinking about her last encounter with the Wakandan king. "I'm not exactly sure T'Challa is going to want to see me." She said turning her head towards Steve who was standing behind her as she piloted the jet.

"He wouldn't of asked you here if he still held a grudge."

Almost on cue, T'Challa and Shuri came into their line of sight as Natasha lowered the jet onto the landing pad. As they exited, Natasha closed her eyes, taking in the warm breeze; reminding her of the french countryside during the summer. Opening her eyes, she took in the sight surrounding them. There was a modern yet old world feel to the large buildings around them. Natasha felt a sense of security being here. The king and princess approached them with genuine smiles on their faces, a good sign.

"Captain, welcome back."

"Good to see you again."

The two leaders exchange a sturdy, but friendly handshake before T'Challa turned his attention towards Natasha with smile, "Agent Romanoff, always a pleasure." He said with a sense of wit as they shook hands. She knew there was no reason to avoid the obvious, "T'Challa," She said with a smile, "No point of avoiding the elephant in the room, sorry for tasing you...my bad."

This caused an eye roll from Steve as he shook hands with Shuri but a genuine laugh came from the two Wakandans. "It's all behind us." He replied before his sister, not so gently, hip checked him so she could shake the famous Black Widow's hand, "Agent Romanoff, It's a pleasure," She greeted her with a wide grin, "I've heard so much about you."

"Likewise."

"Any update on Bucky?" Inquired Steve with a tone of eagerness. T'Challa held out his arm towards a stone path situated alongside the landing pad, seeming to lead down a large hill. As the four of them headed off down the path, a few members of the Dora Milaje followed behind them and Shuri began to explain Bucky's current situation.

"Only good news so far, Captain," She said, "We placed him in a small lodge outside of the city and he awoke, on his own, yesterday. That's where we are headed towards now."

Natasha's heartbeat seemed to grow louder by the second, she felt a clammy sensation in her palms. She wasn't expecting him to be conscious yet, she thought she had another day or two to collect her thoughts. She was trained to control her emotions but she was on the verge of failing and, based on his smirk, T'Challa seemed to notice.

Shuri took a quick glance at Natasha before continuing, "He's in good spirits and the kids around the village seem to have taken a liking to him. He was even asking about you shortly after he woke." She took another quick look at Natasha leaving Natasha unsure about who that last sentence was directed towards, luckily, Steve didn't seem to notice. She tried to distract herself by focusing on their beautiful surroundings as they walked farther away from the city. Steve continued to bombard Shuri with questions.

"How is his memory?" He asked

"It will take him sometime to regain all his memories but he's already showed great progress in the past 24 hours. He'll continue to have weekly visits with our doctors to make sure the progress continues."

"So what's the plan, longterm?"

T'Challa seemed to understand what Steve was getting at, "Captain, he is welcomed to stay here as long as he would like, even after he recovers."

Steve simply gave him a nod of gratitude, a sentiment Natasha shared. If not welcomed here, she wasn't sure there was a place in the world that James could go. He was a wanted criminal, probably more so than them. They couldn't just send him off on his own and James tagging along on their rouge missions ,with a high probability of getting caught, didn't feel like the best thing for him.

"Thats it just up ahead." pointed Shuri.

A couple hundred feet ahead of them were a few tiny bungalows situated next to a calm serene lake, framed by trees that seemed to touch the sky, and a handful of kids running around while the sounds of laughter rung out. It was peaceful, it was happy. Natasha felt a genuine smile on her face and looked over to Steve who matched her expression. It was the perfect place for James.

As they drew closer, a million scenarios where playing in her head. When sleep failed her, she would lay awake thinking about what their reunion would be like if he were ever to remember her, if he even wanted to remember her. All those years ago, they were in hell and clung to each other to feel like they had even the tiniest control of their lives. She was selfish, stupid, and only cause him more harm. If he wanted to ignore their past, could she really blame him? What if he were to say something in front of Steve, would Cap lose all trust in her again? A friendship possibly ruined because of the secrets she kept.

A man exiting the middle bungalow pulled her out of her anxiety filled thoughts. It took her a moment for her to register who he was. His dark hair was longer than the last time she saw him, a part of it was pulled back in a bun. He had a fuller beard but you could still make out those sharp features. He was wearing a deep red, knee length robe with a blue sash covering his left side, where his metal arm use to be. He looked much skinner, but healthier. The kids started chanting something but she couldn't understand what it was before Shuri hurried them away.

Her view of James was blocked as Steve went to embrace his life long friend, "Bucky, how are you?" You could feel the sense of ease in Steve's voice, and the smile on his face even with his back to the rest of them.

"Much better," Bucky replied with a smile Natasha hadn't seen in ages. As the men pulled away from their hug, his eyes fell onto her. His brows furrowed in confusion as he took in her short, blonde hair but then his mouth slightly hung open and his eyes widen upon realization of who stood in front of him.

He remembers. Natasha didn't notice the smirks on T'Challa and Shuri's faces nor the look of tense confusion on Steve's. Natasha and James had, the much needed, ability to communicate without words while in the Red Room; an ability Natasha was thankful they still seemed to have at this very moment. Her whole body seemed to exhale and that trademark smirk returned, "Sargent Barnes, nice to see you doing well," She said as she reached to shake his hand, "Not sure if you remember, I'm Natasha Romanoff." She was treading carefully, controlling the emotions inside. What she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him, tell him how much she had missed him but that would have to wait for another time.

"Yes, I remember...I'm sorry" He replied with a softened expression as he shook her hand for the briefest moment before she let go.

"For what?"

There was seriousness in his tone and a look of sadness in his eyes, "For everything."

#buckynat #bucky x natasha #winterwidow #buckynat week #bucky barnes #natasha romanoff

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rekkingcrew · 5 years

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Rek DMs, Some Thoughts

Buckle up, it’s Edge of the Empire tabletop Roleplaying time.

Yeah, I know I don’t post here much. I’m still doing the devaron’s angels thing, which is scratching a lot of my online itches, and I’ve got a part time job and full time parenting.

I’d really planned on doing regular updates of what happened each session. Aaaaand that didn’t happen. Which is a shame, I’d love to be able to have those summaries to look back on. But here’s the short version:

The gang, who are a crew of space chancers and criminals rolling around in a stolen police ship, were doing odd jobs together for a while, including some for the empire. Their contact, a Pantoran spymaster whose cover was as a children’s entertainer, congratulated them on their most recent heist job (where the campaign started in medias res), and gave them a new job: deliver a mysterious sealed orb to the leader of the peskiest rebel cell in the general area, led by a Rodian pirate by the name of Cheng Maxeda. They said maybe, took the orb, and then checked around and picked up a delivery job for their local Hutts going the same direction for some extra cash.

They were brought in because the Hutt shipments had been interfered with by somebody. Their Hutts weren’t sure who, but were damn sure they were going to pay. The gang defeated a whole crazy mess of people who were being lead and bolstered by a falleen who had been surgically altered to boost their pheromone output. Then they picked up the package and made the poor decision of looking inside. It was the carbonite frozen but still living body of the cop who’d previously owned their ship that they were now knowingly handing over, because they couldn’t bring themselves to cross the Hutts.

Moral issues aside, it was an easy job, they got well paid, the team failed a bunch of social roles and divulged more information than they should have to the Hutt point man, and Brick, the party’s wall of meat, got signed up for a pit fight. He won his round, but imperial troops broke up the match before he could win completely. TK cornered but lost a rebel bomber, and Eshi got contacted by a rebel who recognized him from a bit of backstory. Nyla chased down one of the other gladiators, an old clone with a sword who’d entered the fight because the prize included a bacta dunk and he had a friend who was hurt and dying after being caught by the Hutts trying to bust up a slaving operation. And that’s when the bomb went off, destroying some major imperial instillation bits and projecting a 40 foot holo-image of Cheng the punk rock rodian pirate queen striding across the smoking crater proclaiming she had come to liberate the outer rim. The party was presented with three job options: 1) after Brick’s pit win, the Hutts were down some muscle for a convoy and ready to pay reliable thugs 2) the rebels were looking for a study ship to bust up the hub of a spy satellite network 3) the clone and his weequay buddy (Edge and Horm) still wanted to stop the slave convoy (which was, as the party figured out, job 1). They opted for job 2, leaving town amidst a firefight with the imperials, and brought along Edge and Horm, providing Nyla with a sword fighting trainer who’d studied under a jedi, without being a jedi himself.

The guys busted up the satellite base by hijacking a shipment truck coming in (I’d provided them information for a couple of routes, including asteroid hopping amidst giant vacuum-proof winged frog monster creatures, and they figured this best matched their skillset). Inside they found tech that looked a whole lot like our droid character TK, a completely brainwashed cyborg engineer, and the control rods that were their target. TK, who is a droid with multiple program personalities, suddenly and without warning displayed a program personality they had never seen before and destroyed the computer mainframe, remembering nothing afterward. The cyborg also had hardware a good deal like Nyla’s, and contained a message begging for help from someone held against their will and being moved between facilities. They blew up the station, retrieved valuable tech, and flew off, triumphant, to get their payment from the rebels.

The rebels welcomed the gang, who got to know the faction a little bit better. TK nearly started a gunfight, Nyla got a haircut, and Brick and Eshi developed mouse droid beer pong in order to provide historically unique droid bits to an eccentric collector for the last bit Eshi needed to build his machine from the prototype he’d stolen from the corporate sector in his backstory, which runs on two kyber crystals and provides a similar benefit to the force power “foresee”. He used this to figure out the sphere they were carrying contained an intensely virulent ship killer plague that would likely kill them as well, and they resolved to throw that in the sun. The gang foiled an assassination attempt on Cheng and got a new assignment: break her old pirate buddy out of maximum security prison (again, they were presented with several possible assignments, some of which tied in to other plots.) Nyla and Cheng also worked out mutually that they were both force sensitive.

The prison break went off well. It was a sort of siberian gulag set up on an ice planet, plus some eight foot carnivorous burrowing worms- yeah, those walls are pretty short, prisoners, but where are you gonna run? The gang picked up some extra supplies by agreeing to break out a Hutt operative while they were there anyway. After some exciting sky battles, Nyla and Eshi turns the ship’s forward shields into a battering ram. They made short work of the guards inside, but discovered that there was an unexpected other party there- a wookie bounty hunter who was looking into the disappearance of the guy they handed over to the hutts. That guy was a tough fight even for the team’s big heavies, and they set a load of prisoners free to help them- taking the risk that the maximum security violent shipjackers would not decide to jack their ship to escape. Luckily between the two heavies and the giant devaronian pirate they just released, they were able to intimidate them into just accepting a ride off planet. Nyla, meanwhile, fought the wookie’s cat beast in an enclosed tunnel and nearly died, but won a pretty hard solo battle, enabling her to pick up the Hutt contact and a delirious nautolan who she had a force feeling about. Eshi forgot he was a reptile and went out in the ice with no coat, then defeated his own personal corpsec bounty hunter’s attempts to come at him with robots. With great success, they headed back to rebel space, got paid, and received a message that their former imperial employer was officially fucking pissed at them. Also, the nautolan was force sensitive and having visions of the inquisitor who tried to murder Nyla.

Faced with mounting tension and the inability to continue lying to each other, the team pretty much spilled all their secrets to each other in the absolute most fun room mate meeting I have ever witnessed. Nyla is a force sensitive ex-imperial pilot ace, TK has an extra personality, Eshi has an I-assassinated-a-king level bounty and a machine that tells the future, Thirteen (the bothan spy) knew all this and told no one, Brick likes light beer, etc. They decided they really need to murder the children’s TV spy master as their next move. Their bothan spy provided them with a dossier on him and his six lieutenants. Nyla and Thirteen went to go meet the spymaster and try to throw him off, and had to fight the stealth assassin lieutenant, which they survived. Eshi hacked the slicer lieutenant and stole her state of the art surveillance droids. Brick checked up on the Hutt-embedded spy and learned she was a pretty awful person. He also ended up scheduling a rematch with the douwutin he beat in the pit fight, who the Hutts later dropped a word in that they wouldn’t mind if he just happened to kill in that fight. The group’s one cop friend, a red-string and corkboard conspiracy melitto, got attacked by assassins, because the spies and the governor were working against each other. Nyla and TK accidentally killed the master of disguise spy lieutenant without realizing who he was. They turned the surveillance droids on the Hutts and found out the Hutt-embedded spy was working against the spymaster as well.

The spymaster was scheduled to attend the Chancellor’s day gala on Naboo, which is fancy far outside of anything the party is probably capable of pulling off, but I wanted to give them the opportunity to try. One of the spy lieutenants there, a slimy alderaanean lesser noble, has found a packet of forbidden information that had been stolen and hidden there, and the spymaster is going in person for the hand-off. Rebuffing an offer from the planetary governor, the group made a very temporary alliance with the Hutt spy to kidnap the noble spy and use him to force a meeting with the spymaster on their terms. And that’s where we are now.

___

All in all, I’m really pleased with how this is going. I’m having a lot of fun and my players are absolutely great. I’d... assumed that would take less time to type up, and it’s leaving out a whole lot of stuff. I started this in October, so that’s about seven months worth of weekly sessions. That it breaks pretty easily into arcs, I feel, speaks pretty well for what I’d intended of it. I have SO MANY FUCKING named NPCs. It’s over 50 at last count. Factions are helping a lot. Each faction has a main plot that’s going to move along no matter what the PCs do, hitting beats whenever I need something interesting for the background.

I’d like to keep making some posts here about what I’ve learned, what’s worked and what hasn’t, and about each player and their character. I personally think it’s interesting, and it helps me collect my thoughts. But for now I think I’m going to bed.

#i dmed #rek dms #space bastards #Edge of the Empire #tabletop rp

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timeoutforthee · 5 years

Text

This is a commission piece for @ask-villegas-sides, featuring his original characters Beckett, Reese, Flint, and Lev!

Words: 2,127

“Well, this is it,” Lev says looking up at the orphanage. He glances over at Flint and smiles. “Are you ready?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Flint asks. “We are preparing to walk through a door.”

“It’s not a door,” Lev knocks his shoulder against his husband’s, “It’s what the door represents.”

“Oh. You mean the entire concept of parenthood?”

“Yeah!”

“Then I am absolutely not prepared for that,” Flint admits, adjusting his tie.

“Aw, come on! We’ve been planning for this for so long!” Lev says.

“I know, but…,” Flint vaguely gestures at the building, “Children are intimidating.”

“You don’t know if it’ll be a child, it could be a teen!”

“That’s even more intimidating.”

“Aw, come on,” Lev says again, but his eyes go softer, “You’ll be a great dad.”

Despite himself, Flint smiles. “As will you.”

“Are you here for the event?” Someone calls from the front of the building.

Flint and Lev tear their eyes away from each other and start walking up the sidewalk, calling out a “yes!” Lev slips his hands into Flint’s.

“Welcome,” the woman smiles, gesturing for them to follow her.

They go into the orphanage, and are immediately surrounded by bright lights and people. Children and teens are loitered around, some playing, some watching with narrowed eyes. Lev smiles at them all.

The event the woman is referring to is a day that has been marked on their calendar for nearly three months. Flint and Lev have wanted children for a long time, and after some discussions, they decided adoption was right for them. They took the foster parent class, and now they were here at the group home, seeing all the children available for adoption.

“We have the babies and toddlers in a separate room, if you’re more interested…,” the woman hints at them, waiting to see their reaction.

Flint and Lev exchange a glance.

“This is fine for now, thank you,” Flint says.

The woman’s face breaks into a smile, “I’ll leave you two to it, then.”

When she left the two alone, some kids also turned their attention away from them. Others tried to shift their attention back to their toys and homework, but their eyes kept drifting over to them.

Flint looked over all of them, trying to wrap his head around the fact that at the end of the day, one of them could be a part of his family. The thought almost overwhelms him, so he pushes it down. One step at a time, he thinks to himself.

He feels Lev knock his shoulder and he glances over. Lev smiles at him.

“Well, we’re not getting to know anyone standing around, silly!”

Flint ducks into a room, to try and find a bit of quiet. He’s been introducing himself and his husband to children for the past hour, trying to find a good fit.

A good fit? He questions himself, This is a change in our life, not a new tie.

He looks up, and notices that this room has one teenager in it. He’s off in the corner, with large headphones over his head. Judging by his lack of reaction, he doesn’t seem to even know Flint is there.

Flint takes a deep breath, savoring the bit of peace, before walking up to him and tapping on his shoulder. The teen jumps, turning to face him and yanking the headphones down.

“Greetings,” he says, “I am Flint. I’m sorry, I did not mean to startle you-”

“It’s, uh, it’s fine,” the teen says, “I’m Beckett.”

“What are you listening to, Beckett?”

If it’s possible, Beckett’s face goes even paler.

“You probably haven’t heard of it, or maybe you have and you just wouldn’t like it, but it’s twenty one pilots.”

“Hm. You’re correct in your first statement, I have not heard of them.”

Beckett looks down at his music player and sighs, before holding his headphones out to Flint. “Here. I mean, if you want to hear them.”

Flint takes the headphones carefully and holds them up to his ears. A light ukulele plays, and the lyrics are quite lovely, about a mother and son and growing old.

“It’s adequate,” Flint says simply.

Beckett stares at him and, very tentatively, smiles up at him.

“Beckett,” he says, “would you like to come meet my husband?”

It doesn’t take him long to find his husband. He’s in a room that seems to be some sort of makeshift theater, with a space centered off for the “stage,” and rows of chairs.

“Flint! I was just going to come look for you!” Lev says, beaming brightly. He’s sat in a chair near the front with another teen in a red and white striped shirt next to him. Lev gestures to him, “This is Reese!”

Beckett feels his stomach drop. He thought he had a chance with this family, like maybe he made a connection with Flint, but if someone like Reese was a better match for their family…

Reese looks over at them both. “Hello!” He calls out.

“That’s my husband I was telling you about,” Lev says. “Flint.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” he says, walking up the aisle to meet them. Beckett follows him, hunched inside his hoodie.

“And who is this?” Lev says, offering him a warm smile.

“Beckett,” he wonders if he should hold his hand out and shake it properly, but right now his hands are trembling too much so he leaves them stuffed in his hoodie pockets where they belong.

If Lev minds, he doesn’t say anything. “Reese was telling me about how he’s interested in singing. Do you like music, Beckett?”

“Oh, Beckett is obsessed with music,” Reese chimes in, “He’s always listening to it on his headphones.”

“Yeah, listening, I don’t sing or anything,” he rushes to clarify.

“Nothing wrong with that, liking it is still interesting! What kind of music is your favorite?”

“I like stuff like twenty one pilots, Panic! At the Disco… that sort of thing.”

“Don’t let him lie,” Reese chimes in again, “He also likes Disney songs. Trust me, I’ve made him sit through movie nights with me.”

“Really?” Flint says, “What are your favorite Disney songs?”

“Uh, Princess and the Frog, Lion King-”

Lev gasps, which almost makes Beckett jump.

“I love Lion King!” Lev claps his hands excitedly, “What was your favorite part?”

And as the three continue talking, Flint gets a sense of peace. A sense that tells him that, yes, this could be their new normal and he’d be okay with that. In fact, more than okay.

After talking for a while, the woman who welcomed them appears again, telling them their time will be up soon.

Flint and Lev exchange a knowing look. Reese and Beckett share an anxious one.

“So, honey,” Lev says to Flint, “How do you feel about having two kids?”

And just like that, the guest room is no longer for guests. They had already set up one room, leaving it well organized but clean so that whoever moved in could design the space however they wanted. The guest room was a little more decorated, so they had to undo that in preparation for the boys’ arrival. When the day came, both boys had rooms next to each other and down the hall from their new parents’. They tried to make them as nice and comfortable and welcoming as possible.

And it was almost too much for Beckett to handle.

The second they walked through the door, Beckett was suddenly hyper aware of everything he did wrong in his life that could possibly lead to him getting sent back. His parents didn’t seem to care about him, how could he expect these total strangers to?

Reese was lamenting about how he was going to decorate his room, the posters he was going to need, the colors he needed to use, when he saw Beckett’s face go pale. He had seen it happen before, but this time it made his heart sink for his new brother.

“Beckett?” he whispered, “Are you okay?”

Beckett tried to take deep, calming breaths as they moved his stuff back to his room. But it wasn’t working.

“I don’t think I can do this,” he whispered back, which makes Reese furrow his eyebrows.

“What do you mean? You’re already doing it,” Reese says, still quiet, “They liked you for you, remember?”

“But they don’t know me,” Beckett hisses, frustrated, “And when they do, they’ll just want to get rid of me.”

“You don’t know-”

“Okay, that was the last of it,” Lev says, walking out of Beckett’s room. He pauses when both boys snaps their heads to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Beckett says, pointedly, giving Reese a look. Reese sighs, but doesn’t say anything. “Nothing at all.”

“Well, okay…,” Lev is pretty sure that’s a lie, but he won’t push. “If you’re sure, then you guys are all set! Now, how about we make you a nice welcome dinner? What do you guys like? Pizza? Everyone likes pizza!”

“Actually, we’re both vegan,” Reese says.

“What a coincidence, so are we! We know some great dishes, we have a recipe book here, if you want to look-”

“Actually,” Beckett says, “If you don’t mind, I’m going to do a little unpacking. You guys can decide what to have, I’m sure it’ll be great.”

“Oh, okay,” Lev says, just a bit disappointed, but then he immediately perks up, “As long as you’re out here for dinner! But yeah, go unpack, you too, Reese, if you want to, I’m sure you guys are a bit overwhelmed, if you need some time, that’s fine!”

“Great,” Beckett says, heading back to his room.

There, right next to his bed, is a window. He can slip out and escape back to the orphanage. Lev and Flint are probably already regretting their decision, so it will be a relief for them. And if by some chance they’re not, it will probably piss them off enough to change their mind.

It’s for the best, Beckett reminds himself.

He walks over to the window and opens it up. He swings one leg out the window and-

“We are not done talking!” Reese says, opening the door without knocking. They both freeze when they see the other.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” it’s a lame excuse and Beckett knows it, but it’s worth a shot.

“Oh yeah? What is it then?”

“Uh…”

“Lev! Flint!”

“What are you doing?” Beckett whispers harshly, finally pulling himself away from the window.

“Yes?” Flint appears at the door, followed closely by Lev.

“Beckett was trying to jump out the window,” Reese tells them.

“I was not!” Beckett says.

“Well, I sure hope not!” Lev says, “That’s dangerous, you could get hurt!”

“Why would you want to do that?” Flint says.

“I wasn’t,” Beckett says, trying to be reassuring.

“He thinks you don’t like him,” Reese says. Beckett shoots him a glare.

“Don’t like him? We welcomed you into our home, I don’t know how we could be more obvious that we do like you,” Flint says, confused.

“I know, and I appreciate it, I do, but I just,” Beckett hangs his head, “I can’t do this.”

“Beckett,” Lev says slowly, trying to hide the panic. He doesn’t want to lose his little family already, “If you really, truly think we’re a bad match, then we can discuss it, but if this is about us not liking you, it’s not true. We love you.”

“How can you say that?!” Beckett snaps, “You barely know me!”

“So we’ll get to know you,” Flint says.

“But when you do, you’re only going to be disappointed, I know you will.”

“We could never be disappointed,” Lev says, placing a hand on Beckett’s shoulder. “Even if we don’t know you yet, we want you to be a part of this family. You’re meant to be a part of this family, I know you are. I knew it as soon as I met you at the orphanage.”

Beckett takes a breath. “I’m afraid. I’m afraid I’m going to screw this up.”

“Beckett, nothing you could do could ever make us stop loving you. No matter how many times you say you hate us, or slam the door, or try and jump out the window. You’re our son now,” Lev says.

“We will all make mistakes,” Flint says, “That’s just what families do. But as long as we have each other, that is the most important thing.”

“So, what do you say?” Lev asks.

“I think...I think we should sit down and have some dinner,” Beckett says, making the two men-making his parents break into a smile. “And by the way? I love you guys, too.”

#my writing #commission

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