#the only opening i do that I actually remember the name is the queen’s gambit

[fullmetalscullyy]

royai week day 1 - king’s gambit/queen’s gambit

summary: It was a sacrifice. That was the true nature of this mission. Sending in a pawn to do the dirty work, so he could get the upper hand on the situation from the comfort of his office.

rating: t | words: 3075 | tags: royai, hurt/comfort, undercover missions, concerned team mustang, while riza goes off on her own to be a badass

read on ao3 | read on ffnet

Havoc’s displeasure towards the idea is not vocal, but it is very clearly identifiable in the set of his jaw and the way his arms are crossed over his chest in quiet defiance. Roy doesn’t appreciate the narrowed eyes Havoc thinks he can’t see, but he is inclined to agree with his Second Lieutenant. More than agree, actually. Roy sides with him and his protest, but ultimately it’s not his choice. It’s a gambit she won’t give up, not now that the Lieutenant has set her sights upon it. And not when it can help so many people in the long run.

Perhaps the worst part is it has to be on Roy’s orders for it to work. It’s a good idea, a strategic and tactical one, but it’s on his head if anything goes wrong and also puts one of his subordinates behind enemy lines alone. It’s dangerous. It’s a risk so they can try to gain more control over the situation, and potentially put an end to more suffering. He would never have thought of it alone, but she had. The Lieutenant always had been the best out of the two them at making the tougher decisions. Ones that needed a more clinical view and less emotional attachment to get the job done. Without realising it, Roy could lead with his heart when someone dear to him was involved, but that had no place here. Not at work and not with so much at stake.

Roy hates it, but that’s personal, and is also an avenue he cannot afford to venture down. Not only that, but Lieutenant Hawkeye is a more than capable soldier, and is an adult who can make her own decisions. Professionally, he has to agree with her. It’s a good idea. 

“Are we really going to feed one of our own to the wolves?”

Havoc’s question is quiet. It breaks through the silence they’d fallen into as they studied the map of a compound, a place that was the heart of their assignment. It causes Roy’s stomach to roll into a knot and he sighs quietly to himself. He had started to wonder when Havoc would start to voice his distaste. It was only a matter of time, Roy had theorised.

“That doesn’t sit well with me, Colonel –”

“Lieutenant,” Roy interrupts, starting to grow irritated Havoc would think Roy has assigned the Lieutenant this task heartlessly.

His heart is completely invested in this. More than it should be. 

“It’s a gamble, but based on what? There should be back up going in from the start.” His voice is rising in volume, careening away from the quiet, contemplative silence they’d been in only moments ago.

The office door opens, and the subject of their argument enters the room. She’s heard Havoc’s complaints; Roy knows she has. He can see it in the expression on her face and the way her brow twitches and furrows at them both a fraction, before turning to close the door behind her.

Havoc’s breathing slows as his emotions abate. It’s obvious he didn’t expect her to interrupt or overhear their conversation.

“It’s my choice, Lieutenant Havoc.” Her voice is even and level, but there is a hint of something else to it as well. There’s a tinge of frustration, and rightly so. That’s more than fair. She’s not happy and Roy swallows when he realises it, afraid she’s going to take their nervousness towards the situation the wrong way.

There was never any doubt in her abilities from either of them. This reflex comes from elsewhere. It was concern for a very close friend; Roy knew of the history between Hawkeye and Havoc. They went back to the Academy and had always been close to one another. For him, it stemmed from emotions he should not name. A natural response to those emotions, but Roy also knows he shouldn’t voice or even think of them, for they are dangerous. They could be damning. But damn him, Roy can’t help it. He’d never forgive himself if the worst happened to her because of his orders. He’s already, either directly or indirectly – that was still up for debate between them even after all this time – caused her so much grief and hardship in her life. He refuses to add to any more of it. This mission has the potential to do so, and he is concerned as a friend, as well as something more.

“Hawkeye –” Havoc’s attempt to placate her doesn’t work.

“This will work,” she adds, “and I’m not giving up on it. It’s a simple in and out.”

“It may take months though,” he counters. “All that time with no backup. Can you blame me, us,” he gestures between him and Roy, and the latter wishes Havoc would keep him out of his argument, “for not liking it?”

“It’s not up to you.” Her brows draw together into an offended glare.

Havoc huffs because he knows she’s right. He just cares, like they all do.

Only, Havoc can be more vocal about it though.

Roy says nothing and simply observes. A part of him wishes to leave them to their dispute but he’s their commanding officer. He can’t back down from conflict between two of his officers. He has to resolve this.

“Lieutenant Havoc.” Roy turns his head to face him. He needs to regain control on this conversation, so his tone is even and professional when he speaks. “As Lieutenant Hawkeye has stated, this is her choice. She’s happy to go.”

Havoc says nothing. His lips purse as he looks at his old friend.

Roy turns his gaze towards the Lieutenant. “She’s willing to enter the compound herself so we can advance in our fight against this group.”

He meets her eyes head on, ensuring the contact between them is direct. He wants to convey everything he needs to with one look or speech alone, but the Lieutenant is not a mind reader, and this is a professional environment. So, he will try his best with the limited methods he’s been given. And if the opportunity to discuss his concerns privately arises in the future, Roy will grasp it with both hands and communicate with her as effectively as he can, to reassure her and voice his thoughts.

“I am just as concerned for the Lieutenant’s safety as the rest of the team,” he adds tactfully. “I don’t like the idea of any one of you being sent off to fight a battle yourselves without backup from the team. It’s happened once before.”

Roy pauses and that knot in his stomach tightens as he remembers Fuery being sent to the front in the South prior to the Promised Day. He remembers how they were divided, split up and left to fend for themselves after being such a tight knit group for so long.

Havoc’s shoulders fall and relax as he catches onto Roy’s meaning.

“However,” Roy continues, “if the Lieutenant has no issues with going, we should respect that.”

“I know,” Havoc relents. “I will.” Still, he looks unhappy, but the argument is dropped.

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take to help those in need,” the Lieutenant states, “but it’s a controlled risk.” Her tone softens as she joins them and leans over the map, looking down at it. “I appreciate the concern, but this decision was not made on a whim.”

“I know,” Havoc repeats. The fight is gone from him, as well as his displeasure, but his concern is still there. “I know you would’ve thought it through first,” he adds to try and placate her.

“It will work,” she assures. Determination overtakes her expression as her eyes rove over the map and Roy can’t help but wonder what her thoughts are, and what plan she is conjuring up inside her mind.

Her reply leaves no room for argument, effectively ending their conversation.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

His steps need to be controlled as he walks towards the compound, and they are, but he wishes he could do the opposite. Critically he surveys the faces of the people being escorted out. There’s none that spark recognition. People are crying with joy, happy to have been liberated. Others have minor injuries and are being seen to by medical personnel.

The news reached them less than an hour ago of the Lieutenant’s success, but there was no word from her personally yet.

He needs to know… Roy didn’t know what. He needs to hear her voice, at least, over the radio. However that had never come to pass. He needs to see her with his own eyes to ascertain her safety and wellbeing. But instead, he was left searching through the faces of the survivors to no avail.

She walks out from behind the compound gates and Roy feels his breath catch in his throat with relief. The Lieutenant is upright and walking and initially, that’s enough for Roy. His exhale through his nose is long, but quiet, so those rushing around him do not hear. They are hurrying passed the Lieutenant, searching for others in need after she reassures them with a polite smile she’s okay.

Roy is unaware of them though. He shouldn’t be, but he is, because all his focus is taken up by her. The smile he manages to catch a short glimpse of releases all the tension from his muscles.

Then he notices the blood on her beige polo shirt. It looks dark, so it looks old, but Roy can’t be sure due to the colouring of the fabric. He’d rather not see it at all. There’s a tear in the fabric of the shirt as well, right in the centre, where something has penetrated and pierced her skin. The sight makes his skin flash with heat and his heart pounds with contained fury. As the Lieutenant walks closer Roy sees the scratches on her face. They’re superficial, so not too worrying, however they are still there when they shouldn’t be.

She greets him with a nod after all this time. Her steps are purposeful and confident. Determined, even. The Lieutenant doesn’t falter as she approaches.

“We got them, sir.”

The next thing Roy notes is her voice is strong. It doesn’t waver as she speaks despite the apparent injuries.

“And you?” It’s the first question out of his mouth but it’s not completely out of place. Any commanding officer would be concerned for their subordinate after such a long time of radio silence.

“Fine, sir,” she confirms. “My injuries are a result of a scuffle during the final conflict. Nothing to worry about.”

From the look if it, Roy doubts that claim, but holds his tongue.

“The plan succeeded.”

She doesn’t boast. It’s not an ‘I told you so’. It’s simple fact.

The Lieutenant knows he’d never doubt her abilities or capability to get the job done, and he’s told her that already to reassure his and Havoc’s worry comes from a well-meaning place, but she knows he gets more concerned than he should. More than is appropriate. Roy can’t help it. For personal reasons, he can’t – outside of any feelings for her as well. He cares for each and every one of his subordinates. He hates to sacrifice one to fight a battle alone, and to leave a comrade behind, but knows doing it temporarily can sometimes be practical or necessary in order to win a greater war.

Ultimately, the Lieutenant was right. Thankfully, the outcome is mostly positive.

Professionally, he’s grateful the plan succeeded. She has an eye for precision that he doesn’t, so her input was more than welcome for this mission. And it stopped more innocent people from coming to further harm. Personally, he wants to wrap her in a tight hug and not let her go. To dress her wounds and ensure she’s okay. It’s been a month of no contact, of not knowing how she was faring while undercover.

She came back to them though. He remembers that.

“Well done, Lieutenant.”

Before he can praise her further a medic rushes up. She extends a blanket out to the Lieutenant, who stares at it blankly. But Roy sees an opportunity and steps in. He thanks the medic and takes it, unfurling the material as the medic presses forward to assist those who may need medical attention within the compound.

“Here.” His murmur is gentle as he wraps the blanket around her shoulders.

“Sir –”

She’s gearing up to argue but Roy is having none of it. That blood stain doesn’t seem to be growing in size, but he won’t take any chances. Not anymore today where she’s concerned.

“That injury needs looked at Lieutenant,” Roy interjects.

“It’s fine –”

“Not the point.” He hates to interrupt her. His voice turns husky with emotion. Roy would say he’s surprised by the sudden turn, but in all honesty it makes sense.

It’s been a long month.

For that reason, he doesn’t relent on his grip of her shoulders. He steers her over to a free medic and remains close by as she’s treated. One arm crosses over his chest to clutch at his side while the other hand cups his chin in thought as the medic works. He questions her on everything that happened. It’s necessary and a conversation that is needed for the upcoming report he will need to write and sign off on. While he would like her to rest, he knows the Lieutenant is still willing to work. He can see her professionalism in the set of her shoulders even as the medic pulls away her ruined shirt.

In truth, he doesn’t want to leave her side.

It’s been a long month.

Roy knows he shouldn’t look at the injury, but he can’t help himself. It gets a quick glance, and that flash of heat is back, igniting on his chest and spreading right up to the crown of his head, and down to his calves. He grips his chin tighter with his fingers in order to control the sudden bout of outrage and anger towards whoever had injured her. The expression on his face remains neutral, but she catches him staring.

She’s far too perceptive.

He’s uncaring if she notices his reaction though. Besides, he’s sure Lieutenant Hawkeye understands. Roy is sure Riza would do the same thing if the situations were reversed. They’ve been paired together long enough for him to draw that conclusion with relative confidence.

It was a sacrifice. That was the true nature of this mission. Sending in a pawn to do the dirty work, so he could get the upper hand on the situation from the comfort of his office.

Riza Hawkeye was far from a pawn in Roy’s eyes though. In fact, far from it in everyone’s eyes. She was his queen, elevated so far above a simple pawn, and even him. She was the most important piece of the set and she’d sent herself in and gotten the job done efficiently and effectively. There was never any doubt in his mind, and he wants to express his admiration for her work, however now, standing before her, with both of them finally left alone as the medic finishes and disappears, Roy is simply glad she’s back. Everything else relating to the mission can wait.

“Are you okay?” His question is so quiet. He’s asking as more than a professional courtesy. He’s asking personally.

“Yes, sir.” Her expression softens and she nods. The Lieutenant tips her head back against the wall she was leaning against and Roy watches as the fatigue rolls over her like a wave. “My abdomen stings but it’s okay. It’s… Been a long month,” she adds carefully, but nothing sinister or worrying crosses her expression at the thought of her time here.

Roy smirks ruefully. “I had a similar thought.” He jerks his head to the side, towards his car. “Come on,” he beckons. “I’ll drive you home.”

She nods and straightens her spine, standing tall. “Do you want me to fill out a report first?”

He waves off her offer. “No. I want you to go home and rest. You will be debriefed tomorrow.”

“Thank you, sir.”

They’re silent until they enter the car. Once the doors are closed, it’s just the two of them and they’re free to talk about whatever they want. Roy has a lot he wants to discuss, but they didn’t have time. She is no doubt exhausted and probably just wants to go home and clean herself up.

“I’m glad you’re all right.”

Her lips purse as she stares down at her hands, folded on her lap. “You said you’d had a similar thought,” she states, then glances up at him. “I’m sorry it took me so long to get through to you all.”

Roy scoffs lightly. “Don’t be sorry.”

“You were worried, though.”

Slowly, Roy nods. “Of course, I was.” His reply is quiet as he speaks from his heart.

She nods and turns to stare at her hands again.

“Right now, I’m simply thankful you’re okay. I’m glad you’re back,” he smiles.

“I couldn’t leave you to do all the work without me, now could I?”

Her quip is most welcome, and it makes him laugh. The tension he’d held in his shoulders and jaw for the last month feels like it’s being melted away with the joy of the action alone.

“No, you couldn’t.” He turns on the ignition with a warmth settling over his heart. “Let’s get you home. You can get cleaned up while I make you something to eat, if you’d like?”

As he places his hand on the gearstick, a warmth covers his digits. Glancing over, he sees her hand – marred by an old cut and a few grazed knuckles – covering his.

“Thank you.” The Lieutenant’s head has turned and is inclined towards him. In the privacy of his car she offers him a small smile, but it has the brilliance to light up his whole world. “That would be much appreciated.”

Roy turns his hand over and loops his fingers gently around hers. It’s a tiny action – so much less than what he actually wants to do – but it’s something. It’s enough for now. It’s enough until they get into the privacy of her apartment.

“Of course, Lieutenant.” His smile is genuine, and he gives her fingers a final squeeze before letting go. “Always. You’re welcome.”

#royai #royaiweek21 #royai fic #royai fanfic #royai oneshot #emma writes

[riversofmars]

Sorry it's been so long between updates, Whumptober got in the way lol. Hope the length of the chapter makes up for it! Things are about to kick off, the Daleks are coming! Enjoy! <3

Chapter 6: Inciting Incident

I like playing chess. I’m pretty good at it too. Maybe not as good as the Doctor but I do make him work for it. My dad taught me and - as it was often the case - he passed on valuable lessons that exceeded the game: he implored me to think ahead, anticipate my opponent’s moves and outwit them. Daleks are not exactly clever creatures. They are determined, yes. Ruthless, absolutely. Anticipatory? Not really. I’m reasonably confident I could beat a Dalek at chess and that is how I chose to look at what was to come. The Daleks had to make their opening gambit and we would have to respond.

There was just one little problem: we were at a disadvantage as most of the pieces on our side of the board were still missing. We were without king and queen as our Doctor was goodness knows where and we hadn’t found the future Doctor yet. Helen, good, faithful, loyal, I’d consider a bishop and I fancy myself a knight. I didn’t know where to place our other friends just yet. Kate Lethbridge-Stuart, Yasmin Khan, Ryan Sinclair, Graham O’Brien, the Osgoods, Captain Jack Harkness, Martha Jones, with the exception of fleeting encounters, they were still just names in a notebook. All in all, as only Helen and I were present when the Daleks came for the TARDIS, it made things infinitely more difficult.

“What now?“ Helen asked as we came to a halt in front of the blue box. Neither one of us had considered what we would actually do if we managed to reach the space-and-time-ship before the Daleks came for it. It was only moments later that it struck 6.22am and high above us, like a clap of thunder, a force field barrier snapped into presence. It was hardly noticeable against the nighttime sky but there was a faint greenish hull and deep humming sound that gave it away.

“Get inside,“ I urged quickly when I spotted a large flying saucer that could only be a Dalek ship heading our way.

“But…“ Helen’s protest was weak and I pulled her along, inside the box and slammed the door shut in a hurry.

“You can fly her, right?“ I asked as I locked the door behind us.

“Barely,“ Helen retorted and the doubt in her voice was understandable. The last time she had flown the TARDIS it had taken her a life-time to work it out, years, decades alone with just the distant memory of the Doctor and me, and yet she had kept going until she had reached her goal and managed to save us. It had nearly killed her. “And where would we go?“ She rushed to the console.

“Away, just away, anywhere!“ I answered and looked up. Through the see-through walls of the TARDIS, I saw what was coming for us: hundreds of Daleks started descending from the war ship that hung in the sky. Their metal cases were barely visible in the dark but the fire of their jets shone all the brighter. The Doctor had told us many times that his TARDIS was one of the safest places in the universe. We were about to put that to the test. “Go on!“ I pleaded and joined Helen at the controls. Not that I would have been any help, mind you. In all the time I have travelled with the Doctor, I never learned the first thing about flying his ship.

“Right okay, please play ball…“ Helen was murmuring to the TARDIS as she started flicking switches and pulling levers.

“I know you can do this,“ I tried to reassure her and I meant it. There is no-one in the universe I believe in more than Helen Sinclair. “Is there anything you want me to do?“ I asked, feeling a little useless.

“Hold on tightly in case this is a rough ride,“ Helen retorted. “I hear doctors make the worst patients and I don’t want to have to patch you up.“ What was probably meant as a joke hit me like a ton of bricks. That’s when I remembered that Helen had watched me die only yesterday. I braced myself against the console and it was as if River’s words were in my head too: Don’t die.

“Hurry, Helen!“ I exclaimed when I looked up and the Daleks had surrounded us, screeching all the usual threats, weapons primed and high above, the saucer aligned itself with us, a light gathering in an opening on its underside. I recognised a tractor beam when I saw one.

“Here we go!“ Helen pulled a lever and the TARDIS jumped into action, just in time.

“It’s working!“ I laughed when suddenly, the Daleks outside swept away in a blur of colour, day came and suddenly the TARDIS jolted violently. I looked at Helen who went very pale as we both realised something had gone wrong. Then, there was the explosion.

——

“Okay… this is it then…“ I took a deep breath and checked that I had everything with me, everything that could be of use. I had stuffed my bag with the last of my rations and the medical equipment. It was just in case of emergency, I told myself. Everything will work just fine and they will turn this ship around to the nearest colony and when we dock, I will sneak off the ship, as easy as that. But I was a realist, always had been since Nixyce VII, so I was prepared for things to get more complicated. That’s why I had plan B. Well, plan B of plan B, so more like plan C if you will. Turning around the ship myself hadn’t worked so that was plan A out of the window. Plan B was damaging the ship enough to make the crew turn it around. If that didn’t work - well - that left me with plan C and there was a reason it was dead last.

Like any big cargo vessel or space ship for that matter, there are escape pods. You’re probably wondering why I hadn’t thought of those before and why they rank so low on my list of plans and I will tell you. Escape pods have a very limited range. They barely have thrusters, they rely on someone else picking you up. So there is no warp travel and when you’re travelling between galaxies, no-one would find you! That’s one dark, lonely and altogether terrible way to die, just staring into the blackness of space until you freeze, starve or suffocate. That brings me to the next point: limited oxygen supply. I think you can see where this is going. Now though, two things have changed: we’re inside a galaxy, there are inhabited systems around. Not anywhere I can reach on my own - again warp travel would be most helpful - but the chances are not completely zero either. There should be an emergency beacon that I can boost enough to get someone’s attention. The other thing that’s changed: I’ve run out of other options.

Here are some other issues: to carry on with plan B for the time being, I needed to stay with the computer, at least to set everything going, and the escape pods are up at crew level. So essentially, I need to be ready to run, just on the off-chance plan B goes up in smoke too.

I took a deep breath and strapped my bag to myself. As you can probably tell, I haven’t got a great deal of confidence in plan B but I had to try before we left the galaxy and were too far from anywhere for me to even have a chance. If nothing else, I would be creating a wonderful distraction for the automated crew while I made my way to the escape pods.

“Okay, fuck it…“ I mumbled to myself and crouched in front of the computer again. Remember how I have control of cargo from here? Good. And remember what we’re carrying? Do you have any idea what might happen if I emptied part of our cargo into space where the isotopes would get into contact with the plasma exhausts from our engines? Yup, one hell of an explosion.

I input the commands to dump our cargo in the sections to the starboard side of the ship - furthest away from me and not too close to the engine room either as I wanted the ship to be able to fly still.

The explosion shook the ship, knocked it off course and out of warp, it banged me about too. The computer skidded across the floor, all connections lost and useless, I was knocked into a bulkhead but managed to catch myself. I waited for a moment until the vessel stopped shaking, we were drifting for a moment, the hum of the engines had stopped and I held my breath. I had no way of knowing how bad the damage was but I was alive and well and that was a start. Then, below my feet I felt the vibrations starting up again and I drew a sigh of relief. The engines were still working and with any luck, they would be turning us around, I would have to find some other excess point to see what had really happened but I could do that. I started laughing, that hadn’t been nearly as bad as I had feared, and then, the second explosion happened.

Looking back now, I know that some of the isotopes would have got in the engine compartment after the emergency shut down. Starting them up again had ignited them and the explosion ran like a chain reaction through the engine systems, blowing the entire ship wide open.

——

My ears were ringing and I couldn’t see. There was smoke everywhere and I coughed upon inhaling it. I was flat on my back, a meter away from the TARDIS console that was the obvious cause of the explosion. I could feel the heat radiating off it and the fine hair on my arms and the back of my neck stood up with the electric charge in the air. A rolled over, groaning to myself. My head and back hurt but I wasn’t seriously injured as far as I could tell. I looked over to where I presumed Helen to be and my heart nearly stopped. She was lying a few meters away from me and she wasn’t moving.

“Helen!!“ I exclaimed, snapping out of the shock of my own rough landing. I crossed the short distance to her and rolled her onto her back. “Ah!“ I gasped and pulled my hand back as if burnt. I had gotten an electric shock and a quite painful one too. I spotted the live wires on the TARDIS console and drew my dreadful conclusion. “Shit!“ I breathed and behind me, the console shot off more sparks. There was no time for indecision, I grabbed Helen’s arm and draped it around myself, pulling her up with me. I had to get her out of there, there was every chance there would be another explosion.

I staggered forward, towards the door. Helen was dead weight but it’s surprising the strength you can muster when your life or that of a loved one depends on it. I dragged Helen out of the TARDIS and a few meters away just to be safe, before setting her down. She wasn’t breathing and checking her pulse, I realised she didn’t have one. I tried my best not to fall into blind panic. I knew she had been electrocuted. Electrocution could stop the heart. I had to get it going again. I folded my hands together, one over the other, intertwining my fingers and started chest compressions. Thirty quick, deep strokes, then I angled up her chin, straightened her airway and blew breath into her lungs. It’s really not as romantic as you might think it is and I can assure you, that was not how I had imagined kissing her.

“Come on!“ I snapped, slamming into her chest harder, again and again, growing desperate. I don’t know how long it took, probably not very long at all but it felt like an eternity, until Helen gasped. Her heart had started beating, her lungs filled with air and she returned to consciousness.

“Liv…“ she mumbled and I pulled her into my arms. I was so relieved, I think I cried even, but only until I started becoming aware of our surroundings. I had been so single-minded, so intently focused on Helen, that I had never thought to check for what was going on around us.

“The TARDIS has been located,“ a horrible, tinny voice screeched.

“No…“ I breathed, holding Helen close, as I stared down the Daleks that advanced towards us.

“The Doctor’s companions will be exterminated,“ another Dalek announced. They had surrounded us and the TARDIS. Our escape had been incredibly short lived. I had no way of knowing how far into the future we had jumped. It was dark and the streets were empty apart from the Daleks so I could only guess it was nighttime. But how far into the future was this night? The only thing to go by was the state of our surroundings. There were scorch marks on buildings and Daleks lining the streets. While it wasn’t quite as bad as it had been in our first jump to the future, Earth was definitely occupied and heading in that direction. Quite the opening gambit.

“Hang on! No, no, you need us, don’t,“ I yelled, hoping to halt their advance. There was nowhere to run to, not that Helen would have been in any fit state to right now. I felt Helen pulling me closer, her hand at the base of my neck, her face nestled against my collar bone. She was weak, she couldn’t stand and fight, she had barely survived the past ten minutes. I couldn’t let her die, I had to find a way of getting us out of this alive.

“Accomplices of the Doctor’s will be exterminated,“ one of the Daleks proclaimed, wheeling forward. “You were in possession of the TARDIS.“ It raised its blaster.

“Look, you can have it, it’s not like it’s going anywhere, it’s busted!“ I exclaimed. “You don’t want to kill us.“

“You are of no value,“ the Dalek carried on and I shook my head.

“That’s where you’re wrong…“

“Exterminate!“ The Daleks chanted, advancing further.

I made a split second decision, reaching into the depth of my mind, to places where I had hoped I would never have to return to. I reeled off a sequence of Greek letters and numerals in haste. It was the only thing I could think of doing as blasters were pointed at us and suddenly, the Daleks halted.

“Code accepted,“ the Dalek closest to us announced and I gave a sigh of relief.

“Some things never change…“ Knowing I’d bought us some time, I helped Helen sit up.

“Await further instruction,“ one of the Daleks stated and I nodded in response. I was more concerned with checking Helen over.

“What was that you said to them?“ Helen asked, her voice gaining strength. She looked around watching the Daleks that kept their distance. At least for the time being. I averted my eyes for a moment, busying myself by checking Helen’s pulse on her wrist.

“It’s uh… a signal, hard wired into Dalek soldiers…“ I answered without looking at her.

“What does it do?“ Helen seemed genuinely intrigued, delighted even at this seemingly neat trick and it made my answering all the harder.

“Basically it signals unconditional surrender and offer of cooperation…“ I mumbled. I didn’t give her a chance to respond, not then. I carried on: “He’s going to get instructions from his superiors now whether they deem it of value to keep around or execute… It’ll only buy us a few minutes though, I think… I can’t imagine the higher ups will take a risk on us…“ Once I was satisfied Helen had recovered from the shock as well as could be expected, I looked around. “So we need to get out of here by then…“

“How did you know of that code?“ Helen asked and I couldn’t help but laugh, just a little bit, and bitterly:

“This is not my first Dalek occupation…“ I could tell Helen was about to say something but I couldn’t have that conversation then. It was too big, too complicated to address when we had more pressing concerns. “Can you stand?“ I helped Helen up and looked around, trying to work out a way to get out of there. While the Daleks hung back, they still surrounded us.

A shrill beeping noise interrupted my concentration. The object the noise originated from fell to the ground not far from us and rolled forward. My basic training from being in the space service set in. I knew what a grenade looked like and instinctively I pulled Helen around to shield her with my body. The blast took everyone else by surprise. For me, the surprising thing was that we didn’t die. It wasn’t a violent explosion, it appeared to have been some sort of electromagnetic pulse as, suddenly, all the Daleks in the vicinity stopped moving.

“Run now, ask questions later.“

Someone grabbed my arm and pulled me along. I didn’t even consider protesting and neither did Helen. The situation was overwhelming but given the options we both knew we had to do just that and trust that whoever they were, they were acting in our best interest. I held on to Helen as we ran, past the Daleks, following our mystery saviour who was leading the way.

“Where are we going?“ I called out, making sure Helen was keeping up. I knew her body was not up to this but we didn’t have a choice. Behind us, the Daleks were starting up again.

“Someplace safe.“ The voice was distinctly female and familiar and the penny dropped when we turned into the underground station and she pulled her hood back. Kate Lethbridge-Stuart. I was beginning to think that I’d grow to like her.

“Is there such a place?“ Helen asked, gasping for breath and I wrapped my arm around her back to support her down the stairs to the platforms into the darkness below. The escalators weren’t working, nothing much was, not even the lights, I realised as we made our way further down. Kate seemed to have planned ahead as she pulled out a flashlight to illuminate the path ahead. We hurried through the winding corridors and as we passed one of the metal gates they closed at night, we slowed our steps. Kate turned back to lock the gate. It probably wouldn’t do much if Daleks tried to force their way through, but at least the noise would give us heads up. In the distance, I could hear the Daleks screeching but it was impossible to tell whether they were above ground or in the station following behind us.

“Nowhere is completely safe but we have taken precautions, we did prepare for this,“ Kate explained as she took a moment to look us up and down.

“River?“ I asked to confirm what the professor had told me and she nodded.

“Yes, we will have to compare notes.“ She gave me a smile, then turned her attention to Helen. “Are you quite alright, Miss Sinclair?“

“Been better,“ Helen admitted, leaning heavily on me and I supported her. You can imagine, I was quite happy to continue to do so as it meant her arm would stay around me and I could keep her close. “To be honest, I’m not sure what happened…“

“There was an explosion, you were electrocuted, you really need to rest… tell me if you start feeling faint, if your heart feels funny, if your chest tightens…“ I helped her along as we carried on on our way, we all knew it wouldn’t do to delay.

“Everything just… really hurts…“ Helen admitted and I nodded knowingly.

“Thank you for getting us out of there,“ I said and Kate smiled again.

“We’ve been staking out the place, we knew eventually the TARDIS would materialise there so we were ready.“

“Who are we ?“ Helen asked and Kate chuckled:

“Everyone.“

The corridor opened up onto a platform. So far underground, it was eerily quiet. If Daleks had followed us, they were being very quiet about it. It was strange to see the usually busy underground platforms abandoned, it almost didn’t look like the same place.

“Come along,“ Kate gestured for us to follow. She put her flashlight on the floor at the edge of the platform and jumped down to rail level.

“I presume there are no trains…“ I concluded and helped Helen sit down on the edge to follow suit.

“Fortunately for us,“ Kate confirmed and reached up to help her. “Here, let me give you a hand.“ I jumped down after them.

“Are you okay to keep going?“ I took a moment to check on Helen, taking over the task of supporting her again. It wasn’t that I doubted Kate’s ability to do so, I just much rather wanted to do it myself.

“We ought to hurry…“ Helen gave us both a weak smile, as suddenly, tinny screeches echoed through the tunnels.

“This way.“ Kate nodded, pointing the flashlight ahead as we carried on into the darkness. It wasn’t the first time I had followed a railway track into the unknown. Back on Kaldor, in my year away from the Doctor and Helen, I had a similar experience. It felt like a lifetime ago now, but one thing I still remembered distinctly about my time on Kaldor was how much I had missed the woman beside me.

Before long, I spotted what could only be described as torn up Dalek shells and debris up ahead. It was reassuring and disconcerting in equal measures. This place was not unknown to the invaders but we seemed to have the capacity to defend ourselves.

“We do have some safety features,“ Kate explained and pulled what looked like a small signalling device out of her coat pocket. When she pressed a button, a forcefield became visible and with a second command, typing in a code, Kate disengaged it entirely.

“I’ll say,“ I commented. This was not twenty-first century technology and not your garden variety forcefield either. Someone very clever had put this together and given our time a place, there was really only one person I could imagine having done so. It seemed like the Doctor had made contact with UNIT in our absence. It was a first step that made me breathe a little more easily.

We carried on and Kate reengaged the forcefield behind us. I’m not sure just how far we walked, the tunnels all looked the same so it was impossible to keep track, but I was starting to worry about Helen, she needed to rest.

“Not much further,“ Kate said, as if she had read my mind, she shone the light to an access tunnel at the right that was fenced off.

“Is this Euston?“ Helen asked, as if she had just thought of something.

“How can you tell?“ I frowned and I couldn’t hide how impressed I was. There was nothing to go on in the dark, I couldn’t even have said which way we’d gone on the Northern Line, let alone remember which stations were coming up.

“It is, yes, how did you know?“ Kate sounded impressed as well. Up ahead there were some lights at last.

“Well, there are only so many ways we could have gone… but I think I know why we’re here,“ Helen explained. “I remember them closing this off. This was during my time. When they built the Victoria line, they decommissioned a lot of tunnels around Euston station, sealed them off. Fifty years on, no-one would know this was here.“ She looked around and I understood as well. Even before the Daleks came, this would have been a perfect hideout. The tunnels certainly looked the part. There was open wiring along the sides, left over building materials, some equipment even. The place was derelict for its original purpose.

“Of course, you’re from the 1960s aren’t you? The Doctor mentioned,“ Kate smiled.

“He’s here?“ Helen asked and we shared a hopeful smile.

“And he will be very relieved to see you,“ Kate confirmed. The lights up ahead grew brighter and we reached a set of stairs.

“Almost there,“ I told Helen, as she leaned heavily on me.

“You said I was electrocuted… what actually happened?“ Helen asked, breathing heavily. She clutched her arm around her torso. “I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck…“

“No stabbing pain though?“ I asked, concerned for a moment. CPR was painful, it could go as far as breaking ribs, I had bruised her for sure but it was preferable to the alternative.

“No… dull ache…“

“You’re lucky to have had a doctor on hand, Miss Sinclair.“

Before Helen could ask any more questions and find out just how close she had gotten to dying, we reached the top of the stairs and the corridor opened up on an abandoned station. Only it didn’t look like any tube station I’d seen in this century, or ever, come to think of it. The lights were bright now, almost blinding after walking in the darkness for so long. There were other people too, busying themselves with equipment that was definitely not twenty-first century in origin, or engaged in conversation. There were tables, workstations, even field-beds to the far end. This was a rebel hideout; a makeshift base of operations; this was UNIT.

“Wow…“ Helen breathed.

“Not too bad, is it?“ Kate smiled, putting her flashlight away. “We have been working on this for a while, even since River filled us in about the Daleks.“

“This is… really impressive,“ I had to concede.

“Officially, UNIT doesn’t exist anymore, so we had to go off the beaten track,“ Kate carried on to explain as we made our way into the main area.

“Where is the Doctor?“ I asked, scanning the room. Several people looked around, registering our arrival, but I couldn’t see the Doctor anywhere.

“Good question…“ Kate answered, looking around as well. I know what keeping track of the Doctor is like, like keeping an elephant in your back garden. If you don’t keep your eye on him constantly, he’s bound to wander off.

“He’s gone out,“ a woman answered, stepping up to us. I couldn’t remember having met her before. She had dark hair, dark skin and wore a stethoscope around her neck. “Are you injured?“ It was impossible not to notice Helen’s discomfort and she seemed to be a medic of some sort.

“Dr. Martha Jones, these are Helen Sinclair and Liv Chenka, the Doctor’s friends,“ Kate made the introductions and Martha gave a welcoming smile.

“Glad to see you got here okay… mostly okay, that is.“ She reached out for Helen’s shoulder, professional concern for her weak state, but I couldn’t help the wave of jealousy that shot through me. In hindsight, I’m well aware of how stupid that seems, but it’s what happened.

“She’s gonna need some rest,“ I interjected and subconsciously must have tightened my grip around Helen’s waist because she shot me a questioning look, probably wondering about what I was doing. I was still supporting her, still holding her up, and I didn’t want to give up that closeness. Not only because I liked how it felt to have my arm around her, but because I wanted to make sure she was alright. Her wellbeing was not something I would ever be willing to entrust to anyone else.

“I’d like to examine you, if that’s okay. We have some beds over here,“ Martha carried on, focusing on Helen rather than minding my interjection. She gestured to what looked like a makeshift field hospital down one of the adjoining corridors. “Can you tell me what happened?“

“Honestly, it’s fine, I can do that,“ I insisted but was fully supportive of the idea of Helen lying down, so we made for one of the beds.

“Liv, it’s alright, she’s a doctor,“ Helen seemed to have noticed my apprehension. I mean, to be perfectly honest, it was probably pretty obvious. I’m rubbish at masking my emotions, particularly annoyance.

“And suddenly, I’m not?“ I shot back and helped her onto the bed.

“You always say you can’t work twenty-first century equipment,“ Helen sighed and rubbed her face in exhaustion. Exhaustion from her injury, the way here and from having to argue with me like a small child. I admit, my snark and stubbornness are some of my less attractive qualities.

“But I know how to resuscitate someone, clearly,“ I huffed and regretted my impulsive response immediately when Helen’s eyes widened in shock.

“What?“ She really hadn’t realised just how close she had come to dying.

“What happened?“ Martha interrupted what an innocent bystander could have called a lover’s tiff. Only, we weren’t that. We just bickered because it’s what we do, because we’re both headstrong and like to win arguments. Only, I should have been more tactful. Also, not one of my great strengths.

“She was electrocuted in the TARDIS,“ I answered after taking a deep breath. I reached for Helen’s hand, giving her a reassuring squeeze, mustering up my best bedside manner. “Your heart stopped for a while there. But you’re fine,“ I assured her and then looked at Martha. “She’s fine. Running from the Daleks wasn’t ideal but what else were we to do. She needs rest and monitoring and…“

“You shouldn’t have let her exert herself,“ Martha cut in as she started taking Helen’s vitals.

“Do you think I don’t know that?“ I shot back. It wasn’t like we’d had much of a choice. It was a matter of being exterminated or taking the risk of running.

“We’ve got pretty good medical equipment down here. I’d like to do an ECG if that’s okay with you,“ Martha spoke to Helen and I felt utterly out of the loop.

“Sure, if you think that’s necessary,“ Helen nodded in agreement and Martha went to retrieve what I could only presume was a machine to do just that. Let me tell you, that didn’t look like any of the heart monitors I’d used in my years of practice.

“What, with that?“ I quipped, watching as she grabbed a handful of wires with electrodes on the ends. What a crude, inefficient way of recording a cardiac rhythm.

“I’m gonna need to attach these to your chest…“ Martha explained apologetically.

“Oh, right sure…“ Helen started pulling her coat off and Martha set about to move a couple of makeshift screens for some privacy. I didn’t know what to do with myself to be honest. Rationally, I knew I should be turning my back or better yet, leave them to it, particularly since Helen was now aware of my feelings towards her, but I wasn’t ready to leave her side. I noticed how Helen’s hands stalled when she was about to unbutton her blouse and I realised I had outworn my welcome, particularly when she didn’t look at me and just seemed altogether uncomfortable.

“Miss Chenka?“ I was given an out without having to face an awkward conversation. “Liv?“ Kate stuck her head around the side of the screen. “Sorry, could I have a word? Martha will look after her, don’t worry.“ She gave the other two a smile before focusing on me.

“Right…“ I nodded, glancing to Helen briefly, but followed Kate reluctantly.

#Doctor Who #fanfiction #eighth doctor #liv chenka #helen sinclair #kate lethbridge stuart #martha jones #UNIT #angst #femslash #whump #daleks

[midwinterblinder]

This is me trying

A/N: I’m really into The Queen’s Gambit and the characters in it, so I thought I could write about them to get the hang of writing again. Little warning: I know nothing about chess, so I won’t really be writing any of the matches. Let me know what you think! (and yes the title is from a Taylor Swift song)

Chapter 1: “Look who’s back.”

Pairing: Benny Watts x Original Character

Benny saunters into the hotel lobby with his usual confidence as his eyes move around the room to see if there’s anyone he knows, but he stops dead in his tracks when he spots a familiair face at the reception. It’s a face he hasn’t seen in about four years and one he definitely didn’t expect to see at a chess tournament again. He clenches his jaw as he thinks back of the last time he saw her. She told him she was leaving, both the chess world and him. He thought she meant forever, but there she is looking more beautiful than he can remember, which he honestly didn’t think was possible. Benny shakes his head to get rid of those thoughts. He can’t afford to think of her like that, he’ll only end up getting hurt again. So he forces his face back into its usual cocky expression and makes his way over.

“Look who’s back.” Benny casually remarks as he stops a few steps away from her. He’s pleased to see her tense up at the sound of his voice, happy he still has an effect on her. It’s not something he should be this happy about considering the fact that he promised himself he would never go back there.

“Benny Watts.” His name falls off her lips as she turns to face him. She didn’t expect to see him here. His name isn’t on the list of competitors, she double checked that because she was really hoping to avoid him for a little longer. She knows it would have been impossible to avoid him completely if she wanted to get back into competitive chess, but she didn’t plan on running into him at her first tournament back. He caught her off guard by showing up her and she can’t have that around him. “It’s been a long time. Are you playing?” She asks even though she already knows he’s not.

Benny shakes his head. “Just here to see some friends.” He tells her as he shoves his hands into the pockets of his coat. She can still remember when he got that coat. He was still a teenager and thought it would make him look older. She had tried to tell him it had the opposite effect, but he insisted on wearing it wherever he went. “I didn’t know you were playing. I thought you’d sworn off chess.”

“So did I.” She breaths out as her eyes move to the room key in her hand. “I guess we were both wrong about that.” She tries to lighten the mood and sends him a smile as she lifts her head to look at him again. It feels strange to be standing so far away from him. She used to be glued to his side, leaning against him as he slung his arm over her shoulder, but now there’s distance between them on more than one level.

She watches as Benny opens his mouth to say something, but he’s interrupted by someone calling his name “Benny, you made it.” Beth Harmon walks up to them with a smile. “The weather has been so horrible I thought you might have backed out of driving all the way here.” She adds she gives him a quick hug. When she pulls away from Benny she notices the woman still standing there. “Oh, hello.” Beth says as she turns to face the unknown female.

“Right.” Benny clears his throat. “Beth this is Josephine Howard. Jo this is Beth Harmon.” He introduces the two women to each other and inwardly curses himself for using Josephine’s nickname. Now Beth will no doubt grill him on his relationship with her.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Josephine says as she holds out her hand towards Beth, who reaches out to shake it. “I’m a big fan.” She adds.

“Oh thank you.” Beth smiles again and then her eyes move to the small suitcase on the ground next to Josephine’s feet and the room key in her hand. “Are you here for the tournament?” She asks and Josephine nods. “As a player or a spectator?” Beth asks. The name Josephine Howard sounds so familiar but Beth can’t recall how she knows it.

Josephine can feel Benny’s eyes on her after Beth asks the question. He’s no doubt wondering the same thing. “I’m playing. It’s my first tournament back actually.” She says and Beth’s eyes widen when she suddenly remembers why Josephines name sounded so familiar.

“Of course.” The red head breaths out. “I knew your name sounded familiar.” She adds. “I can’t believe I didn’t immediately realise. I mean, you’re the only other female player I’ve ever heard of.” Beth shakes her head, not believing she didn’t recognise the name before. “I thought you didn’t play anymore?” Beth asks. “Man, if I had known Benny knew you I would have asked him to introduce us a long time ago.” She goes on as she gets more enthusiastic now that she realises who she’s talking to.

Benny understands Beth’s enthusiasm. Josephine was one of the two best players in the US a few years ago, the other best player being Benny himself of course. Josephine is also the only good female player Beth has ever encountered at a tournament, so he really can’t fault her for being excited but he’s not sure how to act around Josephine after all this time and he really wants to head up to his room to get away from it all.

“I had to take some time off.” Josephine smiles at Beth, but Benny can see it’s forced and he frowns at her words. She never did tell him the exact reason she left. “I haven’t played against actual opponents in a while, so I don’t expect to perform like I used to.” She explains.

“With talent like yours it’ll only take a few games to get back into it.” The words leave Benny’s mouth before he can stop them and Josephine’s eyes lock onto his. He knows he should look away, he can’t fall for her again, but he can’t get himself to do so. He meant what he said. She’s incredibly talented and he’s certain the final match will be between the two women standing there with him.

“We’ll see.” Josephine says softly as she keeps eye contact with Benny for a moment longer before she looks down to her suitcase and picking it up. “Well, it was lovely to meet you.” She says as she smiles at Beth. “But I should get up to my room.” She gestures towards the elevator. “I’m sure we’ll see each other around.”

Benny nods and is about to say he should check in when Beth speaks up again. “Oh you should join us for dinner tonight.” She suggests and Benny only just manages to stop himself from glaring at her. “A bunch of us are meeting up.”

“That’s very kind of you, but I don’t want to intrude.” Josephine answers. She can tell by the look on Benny’s face that he doesn’t want her to join them and she can’t really blame him. She left him without a proper explanation, so he has every right to dislike her. “Besides, I should really study if I want to stand a chance this weekend.”

#the queen's gambit #the queens gambit imagine #the queen's gambit fanfiction #benny watts #benny watts imagine #benny watts fanfiction

[mariamermaid]

The Queens Gambit

Ron Weasley x fem reader

Summary: Ron had been waiting for weeks for the upcoming chess tournament in London, but what if his title is endangered by a rookie…

Words: 4k

A/N: I think it´s pretty obvious where I got the inspo from, but in case you haven´t watched the show; I can highly recommend it! (That doesn´t mean you have to watch the show before reading though) I decided to add a few more characters from the HP fandom to make the story a little more entertaining. It´s basically like a little alternate universe story (but not really??)

  “Do you have a clock?”

You shook your head as you filled out the form with your name and other information. It was your first tournament and as much as you were excited on the inside, you kept a cool exterior. In reality, your heart was pounding against your chest. You had counted the days to this precious Saturday midmorning.

“If you´re opponent doesn´t have one, we´ll loan you one. Play starts in 20 minutes”, the boy in front of you nonchalantly explained. He was tall, but his slack figure was loosely positioned on the wooden chair. His teeth were a little crooked and he barely looked up to eye you any further. “What´s your rating?”

You glanced up from the paper in your hand, furrowing your brows. “My rating? I don´t have a rating.”

“Have you ever played in a tournament before?”

“No.” Your voice was steady, but a slight annoyance grew as the rules of the tournament seemed to have decided to play against you.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Starring directly at the boy, merely a man, in front of you, you nodded. Then you handed the paper back to him. “I´m sure.”

“Then I put you in beginners”, he sighed and shrugged.

“I´m not a beginner”, you argued, but apparently, that didn´t change anything. “Doesn´t matter, if you´re an unrated player, you go in beginners and people with ratings under 1600.”

A pause fell from your lips, clearly Merlin didn´t want you playing against actual contenders.

“Is it against any rule for me to play in the Open?” The boy with dark short hair seemed taken back by your sudden and quick answers, and he stuttered when answering. Maybe it was your confidence that startled him, maybe it was the pure attendance of a female.

“Not… Not exactly.”

“Then put me in the open.”

“There are three guys with over 1800 and Weasley might show up, you have no chance.”

You didn´t answer, leaving him sitting behind the desk. You weren´t sure, if he meant to spare you with good will, or simply feared that an irascible woman could ruin the tournament.

Neville Longbottom, looked at the paper handed to him and read out the name. “Y/n Y/L/N.”

When entering the hall, that was used for all kinds of events when booked, very few decorations fell into your eye. A few flags with symbols of schools or teams and a few goblets. Pieces of sports equipment were pushed to the sides for space. The tables, all fairly small with enough space for the chessboards, were placed induvial throughout the room. Boys, mostly around your age and older were talking to each other, while other´s sat down to study their strategies. At the back was a partitioning, that’s where the big players gamed.

 Another boy, he seemed to be around your age with dark hair and round glasses joined you in eyeing the scene.

“Are the matches played random?”, you asked him quietly without looking away from the tables. You hoped for no unwanted attention, which was easier said than done. Especially giving the fact, that you were one out of two girls.

“No, they match it by ratings on their first round. After that winner play winners and losers play losers.” The boy answered. He seemed calm about his presence as well as his answer. He had clearly played before in tournaments. You nodded understanding, before walking to the first table assigned to you.

The second girl other than you, was sitting to your opposite.

You starred at the clock at the side of the chess board, you had never played with a clock. It annoyed you deeply that it made you look like a beginner. You were good and you were planning to win. The girl, black shoulder length hair and almond shaped eyes, noticed your look and offered you a polite smile.

“I´m Cho Chang. Each player has 90 minutes, after you move, you press the button closest to you. Then it´s your opponent’s turn.”

You didn´t want to talk much, you were there to play, but you appreciated her explanation. Then your eyes traveled through the room, just to find Cho´s again.

“Why do they put the girls together?”

“They´re not supposed to, but if you win, they´ll move you up. Have you ever played in a tournament?”

You shook your head slightly. “No.”

But she simply shrugged. “I´m sure you´ll do fine.”

“What about Ron Weasley, is he coming today?” Oh, the king of chess, at least currently.

You had read about him, his matches from his first years at Hogwarts. Even Dumbledore himself had praised him and the daily prophet had written multiple articles about him. You had studied his games, over and over. It was him, who you wanted to play.

“Yeah, he has to defend his title.”

 After 20 minutes, Neville heard light steps approaching. Only seconds after, he found you standing in front of him again. “What do I do with this?” You hold up the paper from your match. It took every bit of effort to hide your happiness, the first game had taken a lot of weight off your shoulders. After beating Cho, you were more determined than ever.

“Is your match already over?”

“Yes, I won”, you shrugged.

“That was fast, circle your name and drop in the basket”, he muttered and you did as said. Neville starred at the spot where you had previously stood; something tingled in his senses. Maybe you would actually get a chance to prove yourself to the higher players.

 You snuck through the rows of players still starring at their boards until reaching the dividers. Clearly, you were fast, faster than most of them, which gave you time to study the room further. But the interesting part was happening behind the dividers. You paused for second, before deciding to enter. Around the table was a group of people watching, within the crowd, the boy from before with the round glasses. It was your turn to join his side and watch the two seated players. By the red hair, you could easily make out Ronald Weasley himself. His green eyes were pierced on the board as he chewed on his lips. You had seen several pictures of him in the newspaper, but seeing him in person? It was a new excitement rushing through your veins.

“Is he a Grandmaster?”, you asked the dark-haired boy to your left. Curiosity had always been in your nature, it even more so, got you into trouble.

“He´s working on it, it takes time. You have to play a grandmaster to become one.”

“How much time?”

“Do you mind?”, Ron turned from the game, eyeing you with caginess. His green eyes pierced right through yours and you pressed your lips to a thin line, looking to the floor with guilt. Internally, you cursed at yourself, but the smallest part showed a weird reaction; Ron Weasley had taken notice of you. Not in the way you wanted, but maybe he´d remember you. Slowly, they all focused back on the game.

Weasley´s opponent, Blaise Zabini, had his arms crossed in front of the board. “Draw?”

Ron shook his head, he wasn´t cruel. However, the victory was too close and too easy for him. “No.”

Zabini sighed, watching as Ron´s Queen moved on the board to shatter his king. The art of wizard chess remained aggressively; how queens and rooks smashed and destroyed kings and pawns. It was fascinating to you.

Weasley clapped at his own win, just like the crowd, a smirk back on his lips. “Yes!”

The group around you echoed in further applause and you couldn´t help but feel a smile. The two of them shook hands, before Zabini took off in defeat. He tried his best not to show his disappointment and anger. Ron watched his tall figure leave through the crowd, until his eyes landed back on you. You felt a blush rushing into your cheeks. Did you said he´d remember you? He probably despised you already.

Avoiding his glance again, knowing you had already attracted unwanted attention, you swallowed. Ron on the other hand just realized the pretty girl, who had watched him…

 The minutes and hours took by and one after one player was defeated by you. Oh, how you loved winning. Some might decline it as a weakness, but it was the drive that kept you going.

“That´s check”, you explained after successfully beating another man. He adjusted his hair, feeling clearly uncomfortable. You on the other hand, had found your safe zone.

“I know what it is”, he then replaced his Queen, which rose from her throne, before making her way to the newly assigned field. But you had already figured out his move and even more so, your own win.

“Draw?” He asked, nervously tapping with his pencil. You had placed your head on top of your hands, watching him closely. You shook your head.

“I resign”, he admitted.

 “Dinner break, then three more rounds. Final round on Sunday 11a.m.”; Neville explained, while the players had gathered outside the hall to either chitchat or look at the charts of the past games. You eyed the chart; you had won four games already. Two games were listed above you, the next one was against Harry Potter. You furrowed your brows. “You said there were three people with ratings higher than 1800!”

Neville, the boy of drossy posture and crocked teeth, looked up from the papers. He had already guessed that you would complain. “Yes, that´s right.”

“I thought I´d be playing one of them.” Neville sighed, his love for chess, organization of tournaments and the clear instructed rules, were a little thwarted by you. “You don´t have a rating, consider yourself lucky.”

“How do I get a rating?”

“You play 30 games in the USCF tournaments and then wait four months.”

“But that’s too long! I want to play Weasley”, you exclaimed. The calculations in your head were fast and no matter how you turned it, time was your enemy. “If you win your next three games and if he does the same…”

“I will.”

 Annoyed, you stepped back into the hall. You were ambitious to win. It was all you had and the potential price money lurked you even more. At home, nothing but your mother waited for you. Money had always been a big concern, she wasn´t even able to afford for you to go to Hogwarts. Everything you knew about magic; she had taught you.  She worked two jobs to make enough money for food and rent and while she cleaned motel rooms, one of the guests that often stayed at the motel, taught you to play wizard chess; Mr. Lupin was an amazing teacher…

 At the table of your next tournament, you found the dark-haired boy with round glasses. He awaited you and smiled as you finally sat down. “I´m Harry, Harry Potter.”

Besides your prior encounter, you had seen him talking to Ron Weasley and a small wave of exhilaration rose inside you. He and Weasley seemed close friends. “Y/n, Y/L/N.”

The game started with innocent moves from pawns. In between, Harry glanced up to you, checking. But you were sure of what you were doing. Minutes passed into the game and Harry started realizing that you were better than him, he didn´t show it yet, but he was well aware. Nevertheless, he was enjoying an exquisite game of chess.

You took his queen nonchalantly, which fell off the board in debris, and nervously licking his lips, he wrote down new notes on his notepad, before making his move. Your turn again, the rook.

Harry folded his hands, starring at the game. He pondered how to get out. After more minutes passing, a few people even started to watch you. They stood in the background, far enough to not make it conspicuous, but close enough for you to notice.

You moved your king and Harry sighed. “Merlin, Y/n, you´re humiliating my rook.”

“You won´t have to suffer much longer.”

Yes, you had it all played out in your head. Your win was safe and secure.

A smile was on your lips. Two further moves, and it was done.

He stretched out his hand in defeat and you took it. “Good game, you´re very talented.”

You shrugged as if it didn´t matter, but it did. To you it did. “You really are something.”

Saturday came to an end; you had won every single game. With your head tilted high, you stepped out the building. Fresh air flowed through your lunges and you took a deep breath. Suddenly voices echoed from your right; a few steps away Harry was talking to Ron Weasley. They chuckled in ease as they continued to make conversation. Ron´s back was turned into your direction, but Harry quickly noticed you.

“Hey Y/N! You played well today; do you want to grab a butterbeer with us?”

A bitter taste spread on your mouth; you had never even tried butterbeer. But all your savings had gone into the fee of the tournament and you already expected a long lecture when coming home. You shook your head with a polite smile on your lips. “Sorry, I have to get home.”

The two boys watched as you left, silence between them.

“She´s good, better than all the other girl´s I´ve seen”, Harry added and his friend rolled his eyes.

“Come on, Harry, just because she beat you, doesn´t mean she´s some kind of unknown genius. She doesn’t even have a rating.”

Harry shrugged innocently. “Whatever you say, but be careful, maybe she´ll even beat you.”

Ron echoed in laughter as he playfully punched his friend’s shoulder. “As if!”

 Sunday came, Ronald Weasley was late.

“Mom, have you seen my shoes?”

“Ronald, if you just once tidied up you might find them at the right place!”

Ron wasn´t nervous, but as so often, he was running late. With the annual tournament of wizard chess, he was ready to defend his title as current state champion.

Finally, the shoes had been next to the dishwasher (probably Fred´s and George´s play), he threw over his jacket and made his way to the fire place. “Mom, I´m leaving.”

Molly Weasley, who always knew where every single one of her children was, came hurrying down the stairs. With swift motions she brushed away dirt from Ron´s jacket and then started fidgeting around with his red hair. “Mom!”, Ron instructed his mother to stop and hurried towards the fireplace. He took the floo powder and rolled his eyes as Molly started wiping away a tear.

“There goes my champion!”

 You sat at the table, the same table where Ron had previously won against Zabini, waiting and growing impatiently. People around you waited as well. You couldn´t help but feel a deeper reluctance towards the conceited champion. Finally, you flinched as the door opened.

“Sorry, took a butterbeer on the go”, Ron added and held his cup high to show his evidence. You wanted to let out a sigh and roll your eyes, but you resisted to do so.

He took another sip before stretching out his hand.

“Ron Weasley, what´s your name?” Quickly, you shook his hand. Ron knew your name, Harry had told him, but he asked nevertheless. It was a rude tactic to make you feel smaller against him. You on the other hand wanted to begin, not waste more time. “Y/N, Y/L/N.”

He nodded acknowledging and the game started.

Five minutes into the game, he yawned.

It drove you insane. Did he do it on purpose? To make you lose focus? Or was he as underwhelmingly annoying?

He played confidential, not even thinking he could lose. It didn´t even take seconds for him to plant his moves. It intimated you and no matter how hard you tried not to show, the second yawn as you moved the pawn, did bring you to a slight stumble. Neville as well as Harry stood in the audience watching.

You felt sweat forming on your neck and cleavage, and strain pushed against your temples.

“I´ll be right back.” You jumped off your seat and hurried into the bathroom, leaving behind their confused faces.

Cold water ran down your hands and you placed the refreshing cool on your cheeks and neck.

Your eyes were pinned in the mirror, starring angrily at yourself. Running away from the game felt like an embarrassment enough, you weren´t ready to lose.

“Come on, you can beat him.”

Slowly, your stare wandered towards the ceiling. The chess board appeared out of your imagination and the figures stood tall, just like you had left them behind. Then, they started moving and each time you found yourself in an inescapable path, they pulled back into their initial position. Until…

 As you sat down, you were steadier as before. It surprised Ron a little and he watched as you moved your knight to take out one of his pawns. His rook then took your knight and you followed by replacing your pawn. On and on. The game continued. You were dangerously calm and as you placed the bishop down, you watched his face closely.

Ever so slightly, Ron shook his head and the glint in his eyes vanished. Harry in the crowd had the smallest hint of a smile.

“For Merlin´s sake”, Ron muttered and his hand pushed back his ginger hair.

“I think that´s it.” Your tranquil voice didn´t help him at all, but it gave you the confirmation you had hoped for.

“No, I can get out of this.”

“I don´t think so.” Then you tilted your head to side, completely deserted. “Maybe, if you had gotten here on time.”

Ron´s green eyes pierced into yours, then back on the board. Oh, time could be a cruel opponent and right now, he was losing. He took another move, not wanting to admit it yet, but you sighed sounding bored and exhausted.

“It doesn´t work, I don´t have to use the Queen.”

It didn´t matter to him. This was now more and ever about his ego. “I´ll just cover it with the bishop and-“

“Move.” His voice was low and unlike his usual character, deadly serious. Harry had never seen his friend in such a situation and even though he found it alarming, what a terrible loser Ron was, he was happy for you. You deserved it.

You did as said, covering your queen, while his rook took one of your pawns. It didn´t help, all it was, was a desperate cry. Your rook moved right next to his King, which he placed further away, but then your queen came along.

“Do you see it now? Or should we finish this on the board?”

In disbelief, he shook his head once again. But this time, his eyes found yours in an amazing gaze. “For Merlin´s sake.”

The King was destroyed by the Queen. You had won.

The people around you echoed with applause and Ron clapped as well, gentle smiling.

It was useless denying it further, you had beaten him fair and square. Harry had been right, you were good and better than Ron.

He lifted himself off his seat and shook hands with you, a reassuring smile on his lips.

For the first time on this day, you could smile as well. All the worries and the lecture that lasted till late in the evening, had been worth it.

You defeated the state champion and you won the prize money.

 “Y/n?”

You had planned to go home, your mother would be enthusiastic about the money, but Ron´s voice held you back. You were outside in the hall, hand already on the railing to the staircase leading outside.

“Do you want to grab a butterbeer with me now?” He sensed your hesitation and quickly spoke up again. “Don´t worry, I´ll pay. I guess I owe it to you”, Ron shrugged and pushed his hands nervously deeper into the pockets of his brown pants. He looked different than when seated behind the chess board, taller but less comfortable as well.

“I´m not sure…”

“Come on, you can´t leave me hanging like this after taking my title.”

A small chuckle escaped your lips and Ron noticed how well it suited your face. While playing chess and debating over strategies, there wasn´t much time to give away polite smiles or studying your opponent’s traits.

You couldn´t help, but feel how the reluctance towards Ron disappeared. He sighed relieved as you nodded agreeing.

The bar was only a few streets away, a side alley and the entrance to the magical ambience was hidden. The door opened as the front side to a large dumpster and lead a few steps down into the pub. It was cozy and due to the early time on a Sunday afternoon, still fairly empty. The bartender nodded towards Ron, they seemed to know each other.

“Two butterbeers, Dean.”

Together you sat down in niche to the side, a few plants hung from the ceiling and blankets and pillows laid on the armchairs in between. Chill jazz music played in the background and a house elf washed up used glasses. You imagined how the room was filled with people in the evenings.

“So, you never played in a tournament before and yet you beat the state champion?”

Ron was curious, which was understandable and you blushed at his question.

“A friend of my mom taught me how to play chess.”

“Really? He must know a lot about it, I imagine.”

“Yeah, and he gave me many books about openings and strategies.”

“I never saw you playing in the school tournaments, when did you start?”

You avoided his glance, starring down at the butterbeer Dean just brought to your table. The yellowish, sweet smelling liquid with soft foam on top.

“I don´t play for a school team”, you admitted quietly. The topic was hard to avoid, but you didn´t have many friends anyways to talk to.

“Well, I think you should maybe start then. They often travel together to other tournaments and-“

“I´m actually not going to a public school, I´m home taught.” You voice was louder now, but still shaking enough for Ron to realize your indisposition. He maybe was a genius on the board, but construing social interactions? Not his strength. Awkwardly, he scratched the back of his neck.

“Oh.”

 An uncomfortable silence settled between the two of you and you decided to take your first sip to take off your mind. He watched carefully, how your face enlightened with joy. “It´s really good!”

Ron kept his assumption, that it was your first butterbeer, to himself and smiled nodding.

“Dean knows how to make one of the bests around here”, he paused before continuing.

“I admire you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Everything I know about wizard chess, I learned in school from my teammates. Actually, everything I know, I was taught in Hogwarts. But now you come along and beat me, you´re brilliant Y/N.”

“I always liked chess, it´s a whole world on a simple board. I´m not as good in other things, trust me.” You admitted, but his compliment spread warmth around your heart.

“If you want, I could teach you a few things about magic.”

Maybe Ron Weasley wasn´t the best teacher, but he truly wanted to see you again. Something about you was so charismatic and mesmerizing, he couldn´t help himself. To his luck, excitement was shown in your face. “That sounds amazing!”

When you had finished your beers and left the pub, Ron faced you again. The two of you had talked for over an hour and he was beginning to like you more with each minute.

The thought of Ron teaching you more about magic, made you enthusiastic. Maybe it was also the fact, that seeing him again, brought a tickle in your stomach.

“Well, I see you next week, Queen.”

You chuckled at his new nickname for you, it was a pleasant flattery.

“We will see how good your gambit is when it comes to dueling.”

#ron weasley imagine #ron weasley x reader #ron weasley oneshot #ruppert grint #harry potter imagine #the queens gambit #mariamermaidimagine

[the-fiction-witch]

The Other Harmon P11 - P15

TV SHOW: THE QUEENS GAMBIT COUPLE: BENNY WATTS X READER RATING: SMUT

Part 11 : Choke

I smiled as at last, I was off the horrid plane. I never liked flying even with mother and Beth but alone it was worse, at least on the way home Benny will be with me. I walked through the busy airport with my suitcase and my bag in my new pretty dress looking at all these things here and there

"Honeydew!" I heard Benny smile as he saw me as he stood with his one beaten up bag he obviously wanted a hug but I kept my distance "what? I haven't seen you in months and a wave is all I get?" he complained

"Sorry it's just been a rough flight"

"You wanna go to the hotel and have a nap?'

"Yeah" I nodded

"Me too, I'm more jet-lagged then you are" he laughs holding my hand to lead me out the airport

"Yeah well your use to it"

"True" he shrugs as we got outside and got a cab to our hotel Benny went and sorted the room as it was all in his name and I stood looking at the board of all the people here I was already scared "relax you'll beat them. All of them"

"What if I choke?"

"Then... we get a nice long holiday," he says

"Why? I might choke first game you'll still go on to the finals at least"

"No I won't," he says

"What are you talking about?"

"You choke, I resign. I'm not playing without you honeydew"

"No Benny you can't-"

"It's my decision I'm not leaving you all alone far from home, if you lose I'll lose then we can just go have a holiday" he explained "come on, 285 that's us," he says so I got my things following him off to our room and eventually we found it and we both had heart attacks as there was one king-sized bed in the middle of the room. "Shit. They said we'd have two" he sighed

"It's okay" I smiled

"What?"

"It's fine, we can make do, better than changing around again' I sighed putting my bags on the bed as I did I noticed something the door shutting and locking as I unpacked

"Now we're in our room? Can I have a hug now?" He complained

"Yes' I giggled Giving him a tight hug and he cuddled me too

"I missed you" he muttered

"I missed you Benny" I smiled moving away for a moment but still in his arms I could tell he wanted to kiss me everything about his face read it so obviously "Benny... it's really obvious what your next move is"

"Is it? Am I getting that predictable honeydew?"

"Maybe you are Benny," I smiled leaning in a little too try to hint to him I wanted him to but he gently pushed me back and went to sort his own things out looking nervous "Benny are you okay?"

"Ohh yeah sorry jet lag," he says

Part 12: Benny Are You Okay?

Our actual trip part of Austin was amazing getting to see all these lovely places and then coming back to our room playing chess in bed and all of it Benny never left me alone for a moment making sure I was safe and happy. Sleeping has been complicated. Benny insisted on sleeping on the floor even if I often told him he could share the bed with me.

I sat on the bed trying to sleep but I couldn't, running over patterns and plays Benny had taught me in my head but I couldn't sleep I wanted to do more so I almost jumped off the side of the bed Looking down to the little bed Benny set up on the floor but it was empty I didn't hear him get up. I moved my hand to the blankets and they were Still warm he couldn't have gone far but everything was locked up as it was when we went to bed but then I heard it strange I had neglected my hearing until now it was a strange noise coming from the small bathroom I jumped out of bed and knocked on the door

"Benny are you okay?" I asked

"What! No yes! I uhh I'm fine!" He yelled back

"Are you sure Benny? Are you sure you're not sick?"

"No, I'm fine"

"Uhh okay" I answered sitting on the bed a little worried about him but that noise sounded so familiar to me. And then it hit me my own twisted deviant imagination of what the noise would be if me and Benny where to-.oooh... I went back to the door and knocked much louder "Benny open this door or I will"

"What no no no!" He says quickly so I sighed turning the doorknob and as I suspected he leant against the sink in his underwear and a small shirt his hard dripping cock in his hand clearly seconds from release he hid himself away as quickly as he could but I had seen everything.

Part 13: I can’t - 

We sat in the bed quietly still trying to process what happened. He seemed scared of me which was kinda cute.

"So..."

"So, this hotel room sure is quiet isn't it"

"Benny, what were you doing in the bathroom?"

"I choose not to answer that question,"

"Benny" I warn

"You saw... you know exactly what I was doing"

"I did, why were you doing it?"

"I'm a guy, we've been here a week and a half, I kinda didn't have a choice. And I couldn't exactly do it on the floor"

"You could have just said I would have gone to the bar or something" I smiled

"You're too sweet Honeydew,"

"What exactly is the reason you were doing it... the real reason"

"Y/n it's hard to explain..."

"Then explain it to me"

"The first time I met you, you were just a little girl, but the more time I spent away the more you grew up and every time I saw your... I wanted to more and more"

"Wanted what?" I asked

"To... kiss you, and touch you, and do so many other very, very, bad things. Things to you" he says looking right at me his hands looking desperate, he looked like he wanted anything in the world "but I can't!"

"Why not?" I asked and he froze

"What- what do you mean?"

"I mean it's not like I've pulled away or anything, I kinda thought you knew I wanted you to kiss me"

"Don't say that..." he says "I can't, I can't kiss you, I can't touch you I can't do anything"

"Why not?"

"Because... when I look at you, you're a beautiful, attractive woman who I admit I have rather strong feelings for but if I go to-" he began playing with my hair but going to grab my breasts his hand's inches from my nightie "to touch you're-  or kiss you... I don't see that beautiful woman anymore"

"What do you see?"

"I see you. The way I first met you as a stupid little girl giggling And smiling at me and then... I can't," he says moving his hands away

"Benny, why do you hang around with me, really?"

"You calm me down" he shrugs slightly blushing "y/n, my head works a hundred miles faster than everyone else, I can't turn my head off I can't stop thinking all I ever do is chess, it's my job, my hobby, what I do to relax it's everything. And I alienate people because I can't turn my head off know one likes being around me for any length of time. But... when I'm with you, you slow me down"

"Isn't that bad?"

"No, not at all, you slow my head down to a speed I can actually think of, you make me relaxed and calm just even being around you I start to feel... better." He says

"Ohh Benny, that's so sweet" I smiled hugging him tightly he didn't move a second before he relaxed and hugged me tightly to "now to bed we have practice in the morning," I told him he nodded going to get off the bed and sleep back on the floor but I held his arm so he couldn't move away

"Y/n... what are you doing?"

"Stay with me," I smiled "please Benny"

"Okay" he nods nervously I kinda liked seeing him this way the only time I had ever seen him nervous or scared of anything, I went sitting against the headboard and he slowly climbed into the other side sitting against the headboard "so... we're really doing this"

"Yep" I smiled

"I'm getting that wave again"

"Of what?"

"Of having to force my head to remember you when you were little"

"Benny, why do you have to think about when I was little if you're close to me?"

"It stops me from thinking about anything else"

"Like what?"

"Like... everything I wanna do to you"

"Like?" I giggled "what about right now? Sat here in this bed, what are you trying not to think about"

"Y/n-"

"Take little me out of your head what do you think" I laughed

"That... the bed is comfy, that you look pretty, that your nightie is uhh is cute"

"Why would you be trying not to think that?"

"And that... I wanna kiss you, and hold you close to me, and touch you, and... do other things to you"

"What other things?"

"I can't- I can't say them in the presence of a nice lady"

"You can think about them in the bathroom though?" I smirked

"I couldn't help it! I've been trying hard, I knew if I could just get through this trip with you I'd be fine. If I can sit here with you and not give in then I won't ever do it again"

"Aww Benny," I smiled holding his hand "come on let's get some sleep" I smiled. He nodded, turning the light off and laying down rather nervously in the bed. I smiled, turning my own lamp out and laying down as I was in the bed before. But I must have been wiggling and moving for an hour unable to sleep I turned over facing Benny as he laid fast asleep I smiled and moved closer nuzzling my head into his neck moving his arm around me soon enough in his sleepy state his other arm moved around me to pulling me almost tight against him I smiled quickly falling asleep.

Part 14: Hi beth

I woke up rather suddenly to a loud banging, I was so confused about what was going on. I sat up a little Benny's arms still around me falling loose where he was still somehow fast asleep. I got up out the bed, slipped my dressing gown on and looked through the peephole to see Beth standing there.

"Benny! Benny wake up!" I complained shoving him

"Hu? What? Ohh what's that racket?" He complained

"That's beth on the other side of the door"

"Shit!" He says quickly getting out of bed and getting some clothes jumping into the bathroom and locking the door I tried my dressing gown up and heard the water running so I opened the door

"Hi Beth, what are you doing here?" I asked

"Last minute decided to come and... keep an eye on the tournament"

"Are you playing?"

"No, they were full. But it's still good to look at the competition" she says coming in and wandering around the hotel room fiddling with things "where is he?"

"Where's who?" I asked

"Benny" she chuckled

"Oohh uhh in the shower" I blushed

"Umm" she nodded, seeming like she didn't believe me look a lot at the bed "I thought he promised twin beds?"

"There was a mix-up-"

"How convenient for him"

"Well he was such a gentleman, he made little bed up on the floor and let me have the whole bed" I smiled

"Did he, how very kind of him. So who slept on this side of the bed y/n?" She Asks

"I did"

"I've shared a room with you since you were born. I know you barely move in your sleep and this... is clearly two people"

I didn't answer I knew she could read my face like a book and just as she was going to speak again the door opened revealing a dressed Benny

"Oohh uhh hi Beth"

"Benny watts you dam cowboy bastard, you tell me and you tell me the truth, what the hell have you done to my sister"

"I haven't done anything I swear"

"Fine, I'll see you later' she says to me before leaving the room.

Part 15: Tonight

Somehow I still don't know, I was doing well it was so strange when beating these people I had seen beth take on until at the end of the first day I won all my matches

"I told you" Benny smirked as he finished with his own

"You did"

"What did you do to that poor kid? That guy you played before lunch?"

"I don't know, he didn't seem happy to be beaten by a girl"

"Maybe he was too distracted by your beauty"

"Maybe he was a bad chess player" I smiled

"Well those two aren't mutually exclusive"

"True, what did you wanna do tonight?"

"I didn't want, haven't really thought about it"

"Then think about it"

"Okay... maybe go down to the bar?"

"No, I don't wanna drink we have games tomorrow"

"We could go out to dinner?"

"I'm not that hungry"

"We could always... go up to our room, get cosy in bed, maybe see if there's a film on, and order room service?" He suggested putting his arm around me "and then have a little practice and then an early night" he suggested

"I'd like that" I smiled

"Alright come on then," he says taking my hand and we went up to our room, I got into my nightie and into bed with Benny as he too had got down to his sleeping clothes, and had ordered our dinner sitting it on the bed while we flicked thought channels till we found some movie it was a horror but it was kinda funny.

Our room was completely dark but that black and white flashing from the tv screen in the corner, I heard him yawn and as he did I noticed his arm moving from where it had been peacefully in the covers to now be wrapped around me.

#BENNYWATTS #THEQUEENSGAMBIT #tbs #thomas brodie sangster

[tundrainafrica]

Title: En Prise (2/18)

Summary:  

Hange already had the innate analysis skills and the quick wittedness to excel in the classroom. Chess should have come easy for her. As she processed her fifth loss to the man in front of her, she started to understand that there was more to the game than meets the eye.

College AU! Levi is a little too good at chess and Hange gets roped into studying the game further.

Link to cross-postings: AO3

Link to other chapters: 1

Notes: Netflix has this new show out called “Queen’s Gambit” which makes chess look like I pretty good driver for a story. Attack on Titan has its fair amount of chess motifs as well and that’s when I knew a Chess AU has to exist somewhere in the fandom. With that, Levihan AU came into existence.

Hange found herself going on walks at the same time everyday when the air was a little cooler, the sunlight a little dimmer. She followed the same route she made on her first day. She never did enter the bar though, slightly conscious of the fact that she would be obligated to buy something if she did and at that point, she had no money to spare.

She settled for looking through the window as she walked, disappointed every time to find the same disappointing scene of empty chairs and an empty table on that one corner.

The first few days, she had attributed it to life. Maybe his day job just gets busy. No one can earn just playing chess.

A few days went by though, then the weekend, and he never did come back. Maybe he wasn’t a regular hustler? Maybe he was a dream?  Hange quickly abandoned that last thought, her empty wallet attested to the existence of that boy.

She decided that the night before classes would be her deadline. That late afternoon, she allowed herself one long look at the window, long enough at least for the owner to come out.

"May I help you?"

"The chess player who sat at the table on the corner…" Hange did not have to say too much else.

"Ahh you’re talking about Levi. Sadly I can't say when he'd be back. He usually only comes back at the most once a month to play."

"So he's been doing this for a while?"

"Since he was much younger.” The man answered. He turned to Hange and sighed. “Look,  He's a good kid. He pays for food and compensates any damages."

But he hustled me. Hange sensed the contempt she kept in her tone, as she asked the first few questions. He must have noticed it as well. It was apparent in the man's tone that he at least had some emotional attachment to the young boy.

"So this Levi guy… Would you know where I can find him?"

The owner shrugged. "Never told me. The kid doesn’t talk much."

He talks enough to hustle at least. Hange thought to herself. She could not help but remember that he had talked a fair amount for her to at least have been surprised at the bar owner’s comment. It was a particularly glaring fact since chess was a game which is supposed to be played in silence.

"Thank you. Will check back again next time then." Hänge was quick to turn around as she felt a wave of disappointment. She had no idea what type of face she was making at that moment but she bent her head down just in case.

"Do you really need the money?”

Hange looked back at the owner, the loss of her money once again painful.. “Excuse me?”

“The money he hustled from you, I mean.”

“Yes. I do.”

“Will you starve without the money?”

“No.”

“Then give the boy a break. That boy has gone to my bar long enough, something tells me that the games are all he has.”

                               En Prise      

School was a good distraction.

The fact that chess was a part of her curriculum was the only thing that made it difficult for her to completely forget the man who had welcomed her her first night. One relieving yet somehow disappointing thing to note was her professor in PE seemed more interested in making them read up on openings and present them on screen.

Zoe, you'll be assigned the Pirc Modern.

She had expected at first to be playing and maybe reliving the frustration of losing again and again in blatantly winning positions. Studying opening theory turned out to be a respite for Hange and she found herself treating the game like any other subject.

Every night, she prepared for her lectures in chemistry, then biology, then statistics, always ending her days by opening an online chess database and replaying games on the modern opening.

Her days in her chess class would start with quizzes to identify common formations. Hange was surprised to find that most of them had names.

Every time they called out the openings and presented them on the board, Hange was brought back to the large shelf in the bookstore, with what could have been a hundred books about chess. As the students read out of index cards explaining the theories behind the first opening moves, Hange was made aware of the thousands of possibilities just by the first five moves.

Of course they would have books about these.

The first pawn moves. Where they place the knight. Where they place their bishops. Where they castle.

Every decision, every move mattered. Somehow, chess was starting to make her as excited as biology and chemistry did for so long.

The Pirc Modern opening is an opening for black as a reply to the king's pawn opening for white. It is characterized by an opening reply where black plays the pawn in front of their own queen one step forward, with plans of casting king's side with a fianchettoed bishop for added protection.

When she researched her own opening and saw it played out on the board, she could not help but think that that was one of the openings Levi had played against her that night. The thirst for some sort of conclusion at having lost so miserably to that particular opening she had to study came over her and she approached it like an opponent.

It was a relatively straight forward opening. All the first ten moves were booklines and even if white did change the move order, the game usually ended up with the same position. When Hange had played it herself, she had gone through what she had deemed most logical and had gone for the center early on.  Her research introduced the possibility of  something more aggressive, an idea to close the center, castle queenside with an idea of a pawn storm towards the king.

That was the idea she introduced during her own presentation.

"That's a great idea Zoe. May I remind you though that you only needed to discuss the first ten moves and the resulting position."

Hange looked up at the board she flashed on the screen, only to realize then that she had presented thirty moves all leading up to the rook exchange sacrifice on the h file and the inevitable mate.

"Oh really?" Hänge looked back at her classmates to see that most, if not everyone were all focused elsewhere, the most attentive being those staring blankly at the screen. "Thank you for listening then."

Hange packed up her laptop and made her way to her place at the side of the room.

"It looks like everyone has already presented their openings. Since we don't have much time anymore, just prepare for next week. We'll be playing actual games then."

"Nice one Zoe. At least we don't have to actually play yet."

Hange was packing her bag when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked back to see that the student had already passed her through the crowd of students. It was nothing new. Most students were usually in a hurry to get out since the physical education department where they had classes was a good ten minute walk away from most other classrooms.

Other students with no classes right after, probably just preferred not to be there and it was obvious. It was one of the easier classes which did not require much physical work nor did it require the difficult choice of whether to take a shower after class or be sweaty and stinky the whole day.

The opening presentations proved to be a pleasant surprise for most people as it turned out that most students did not have to actually think beyond making a presentation and reading off index cards to actually pass the class. It had been at least a month since the start of classes and even she had forgotten for a second that chess was mainly a game of war and not just a subject for research and analysis.

Hange guessed that most of the students at the most would play the openings they had to present about. Just in case, she prepared.

On the nights leading up to her next class, she had started to memorize the most common replies to each possible opening.

Those nights, she actually dreamt of the characteristic checkered board.

                                       En Prise

"Zoe. I want to introduce you to someone."

In the midst of the bustle as students were assigned partners to play with, Hange was surprised and utterly confused to find that her name had not been on the list passed around. She had not completely processed the unexpected turn of events when her professor approached her about it. "Yes sir?"

"This is Moblit Berner. He'll be playing you today."

Hange looked up to see her professor and behind him, someone who looked to be a fellow student. Oddly enough, he was not among the faces Hange had gotten used to the past month she had been attending chess classes.

Chess is chess. Hange did not think too much of it. The pit in her stomach that made itself when she could not find her name on the list, disappeared soon after she lead her to the nearest board and placed a white pawn in front of her.

"You'll be playing white.” He looked up at her.” You can call me Moblit by the way. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too."

Moblit started to tinker with the clock. "You've used a chess clock before I imagine."

“Actually… No.” Hange had played enough games online to know chess games were timed. That was the first time though she would be playing a timed one with someone right in front of her.

For a moment Moblit’s expression changed to that of utter surprise. “Let me set it up in front of you then.”  

“We’ll be playing a rapid game. Twenty minutes with a five second increment for every move.” He positioned the clock to Hange’s left, angling it so she could watch as he scrolled through different options. “Meaning when you move, you get an extra five seconds.”

“You ready?” Moblit held out his hand for Hange to shake. That was only the second time she has ever played a live game. The last time Hange had played one was with Levi. Back then, there was no clock. Her opponent hadn’t even bothered to shake her hand. Hange found herself a little more pissed off at Levi’s audacity.

“Ready.”

Hange opened up with the king’s pawn. Moblit responded by moving his own king’s pawn one step forward.

The French Opening.

Hange had read a fair amount about it to know it was not played by aggressive players. Another familiar one opening Levi had played against her. He had quickly sacrificed a piece for a pawn though and that opening that generally transitions to peaceful middle game, quickly transitioned to an aggressive attack for Levi.

Moblit played by the book lines of the Tarrasch opening. Hange was aware of the quick mating attacks that could follow his more mild approach towards the position.

He castled kingside and Hange only had to look at her five miserable loses to Levi to see the potential for a mating attack. A few moves into the start of the middle when Moblit played his flank pawn forward, Hange saw an opening for a mating sacrifice.  

It was like something possessed her for a split second. Hange took the pawn sticking out from the formation with her bishop. Hange only came to terms with the gravity of the sacrifice when she made eye contact with Moblit who did not look at all like he was taken by surprise at it. He took the bishop with his pawn.

Hange froze. Was it the wrong move?

It was like all the variations which Hange had thought up just a few seconds ago disappeared from her head. She was blank. She tried to push herself to think beyond that. She desperately looked up at her opponent, for inspiration, something random, unexpected to break the block that materialized in her thinking space.

Moblit’s face was unreadable. His movements were slow, careful. Although Hange recalled a slight tremble in his hands when took her bishop, with the way he looked at the board, Hange could not help but even doubt her own memory.

She looked back down at the board, trying instead to focus on what her next plan would be. Too taken aback and frustrated by her own impulsive decision though, Hange was frozen on the spot.

Her mind had become a blank slate. And that blank slate was what led to a losing end game. When the smoke had cleared, Hange was a clear two pieces down with little to no compensation.

Hange raised one out her hand in surrender. “Thank you for the game.” Hange said.  

Moblit’s eyes were wide in surprise as he took Hange’s hand. “You’re resiging?”

“There’s no way I could win now.”

“The attack was amazing. To be honest, I was a few moves until mate. It looked like you just held back at that last part. If you just brought your knight into the attack. I would have had no way to defend it.”

By the time Moblit had mentioned that last part, the pieces were close to fixed and Hange could not imagine their last position for the life of her. The embarrassment and frustration at having frozen on the spot and having lost so miserably, had her wanting to forget it at that moment. In truth, she knew would have wanted to analyze it in time. The researcher inside her was scolding her for having given up a good opportunity to learn and discover.

That only left Hange more frustrated at the recent developments. Hange pushed aside her chair and grabbed her bag more roughly than she had intended. She actually felt bad for Moblit who had jumped at her movements.

She peeked at her phone. Ten minutes before class is over. “Just tell coach what happened.” Hange said as she walked out.

She had already exited the building and was already strategizing the fastest way to the library where she could prepare for her next class. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked back to see Moblit.

“What do you want?” Hange asked.

“Do you know why your professor made us play?”

“Are you his friend or something?” Hange gave Moblit a onceover. She did not recognize him as a classmate at all.

“I’m part of the chess team actually and we need to recruit an extra player so I asked your professor for help. He said you’d be the best one there. And you play pretty well, so you might be interested.”

“I’ve never played competitively in my life. You’re better off finding someone else.”

“I  think you’re good.” Moblit paused for a moment. “Okay not good good, but good enough to hold your own against seasoned players at least. Just give the team a chance.”

“And how many times a week do you train?” Hange asked, an attempt at proving her inability to commit more than anything else.

“Four times a week.”

Hange thought back to the amount of classes she had, the research she wanted to undertake. “Would I even have time for this.”

“Athletes don’t have to take PE classes so that’s one class off your plate.” Moblit suggested weakly.

That proposition was far from weak in Hange’s eyes though.

                                      En Prise

The chessroom was a small room hidden along the hallways that snaked through the sides of their basketball courts which connected the locker rooms to the stadium. For prestigious universities, with famous basketball teams that expected hoards of fans every season, the gyms were large enough to at least house those confusing mazes of hallways. In fact, Hange soon realized as she followed Moblit through the hallways that she would have never found it through directions alone. Someone really had to guide her through the first time.  

From the entrance of the basketball court, the only way to get there was the narrow hallway that opened up from a doorway she could have mistaken for a janitor's closet.

To her surprise though, the narrow and dark hallways came with echoes of clicks and clacks. As she walked through, the clicks only got louder. Moblit did not look at all bothered by that sound. As Hange followed him into the room at the end of the hallway, she was quick to understand why.

The room was notably spacy when compared to the narrow hallway she had just gone through a while ago. To the corner of the room were four players, three boys and one girl, playing what looked like speed cheese. The source of the clicks, from their quick taps on the clock. The source of the clacks, the sound of pieces hitting the mat spread out on the table.

One particularly large clack rang out as one of the boys in the closer boards slammed his king on the board. "We're playing again!"

"You lost three games in a row already. Just stop trying to sacrifice pieces so recklessly. You're not Levi."

Levi…  

"So this is our chessroom." Moblit said as he guided her in. "And this is our team."

That name was pushed to the back of her mind as Moblit brought her to the table to introduce her to every one of them. Their names went into one ear and out the other though, that one mention of Levi was fighting for control in her mind.

"You mentioned a Levi?"

"Why? You wanna play him?"  The blonde answered, looking particularly annoyed at the mention of that name. "Why don’t you play one of us first?."

"Actually, I have no plans of playing---."

"In fact, I've been practicing Levi's opening lines---" The blonde ended up biting his tongue as the girl next to him pushed him away.

"Sorry for the rude introduction from Oluo over here. My name is Petra. " The girl said.

"She's our new recruit." Moblit answered.

"So you finally found a replacement." The blond man on the other side stood up and walked toward Hange.  "Nice to meet you. Name's Eld."

"Wait what… replacement?"

"Gunther here can't play the season because of grades so we had Moblit try to find us a quick replacement. You have experience playing competitive chess?"

"Online?" Hange suggested.

"You got someone here with no experience playing competitive chess and her first day you bring her is when we have a simulation match with Levi. You might end up having to look for a new recruit after today." The man who had bitten his tongue a while ago looked like he had quickly recovered enough to at least laugh at Hange without wincing.  "Have you at least prepared mentally to get your ass beaten by him?"

Levi… "I feel like I've gotten my ass beaten by this person you're talking about already." Hange replied. There were only so many Levis in the vicinity who play good chess right?

                                        En Prise

Levi had a disinterested look about him which made Hange wonder what went through his head half the time. She could not help but note that that was probably why he played chess so well.

She could never tell if he was taken by surprise. When Levi entered the chess room and made eye contact with her, Hange had to focus most if not all her energy into placating that flash of recognition and softening that boiling feeling inside her. Was it anger? Or was it excitement?

Either way, it manifested as frustration at seeing the Levi's poker face. Did he recognize her?  

“This is Hange Zoe. She’ll be joining our team from today.”

"You owe me money!" Hänge said, louder than she had intended. From her peripherals, she could see Petra jumping in surprise.

"I don't remember owing anyone any money." Levi replied, his tone as disinterested as his face.

"You hustled me." Hange accused.

"I don't hustle people." Levi said calmly.

"This guy is your teammate? This guy plays competitive chess? He hangs out in bars and hustles random people over chess games.” Hange challenged. “And you get this dirty guy to represent our school?

Petra looked uncomfortable. As Hange scanned their faces, she could see they all were looking for something else to focus on.

“Erwin asked me to play all of you today since he can’t make it to training.” Levi turned to Hange. “ WIll you be joining us today?” He had said it so politely and calmly yet  had completely ignored her accusation only a second ago. That was enough to get Hange’s blood boiling.

“She’s our new recruit. I think it would be a good experience if she plays too.” It was Moblit who had answered for her.”

“Wait, play with this dirty man? He might steal my money again.” Hange protested.

Levi sighed. “Zoe, let’s make a deal then, if you beat me here, I’ll give you back the money you bet. How does 500 dollars sound?” So he did recognize her.

500 dollars. That was more than what she had lost for sure. “There must be some catch to this.”

Levi shrugged. “Just stop with these accusations so we don’t waste anymore time. Erwin’s gonna get angry if we don’t finish the game today.”

Hange could only watch as Levi and the other players pulled out a long table from the side and set up chess boards and placed the chess clocks on the table.

Hange sat next to Petra. The latter grabbed the chess clock from Hange’s left side and set it up. “55 minutes with a 10 second increment”

“Everyone has to play their best opening for white. Erwin’s orders.”

“It’s not like you’re actually gonna play a bookline anyway so what’s the point.” Oluo commented.

Everyone ignored him.

Hange watched from her seat as Levi walked through all the tables. From her place she could see that Eld had moved already. What move he was playing, she could not tell. Levi quickly replied to Eld’s first move.

Beside her, Hange could see Petra had played her queen’s pawn forward.

“You have more than enough of an advantage to beat me Zoe. I’m playing five people and you have nothing to lose.” Levi said as he arrived in front of Hange’s board. “Make your move.”

Hange pushed her king’s pawn forward.

Levi stared for a second and raised one eyebrow. A disinterested and judgemental look plastered on his face. Hange could not help but doubt her opening. Is there something wrong with e4?  

Levi replied with b5, the pawn in front of his knight. Hange had never seen that in her life but what she managed to a see a few seconds later was the clear line from bishop to pawn.

She could take it and develop her bishop at the same time. She had read it before. Focus on developing pieces at the opening stages.

Was the pawn free though?   One thing Hange had learned from losing to Levi multiple times though was that Levi could easily turn a piece down position into an attack for himself.

“Hurry up and move Zoe. You’re the only one still in the opening.” Hange jumped to see Levi standing in front of her.

Hange looked to her clock.  30 minutes. She’d been thinking for at least 30 minutes. Or at least trying to think. Her mind was still blank.

“Do you still want your money back?”

That was the provocation Hange needed. She took the pawn with her bishop.

Levi quickly replied by placing his bishop on the square where the pawn was only a second ago.

The clock was ticking for Hange again. Develop your pieces. Hange played Nc3, a normal developing move to defend the pawn. Levi quickly played f5. The past few moves Levi had not left her board and as Hange looked to the others, she could see they were all deep into middlegame positions.

She looked back at the position in front of her. Another free pawn.

“Don’t you have other boards to play?”

“One less board to play if I finish one now.”

Hange took the pawn on f5.

“I’ll teach you how to win a game a rook up.” It took Hange a few minutes to notice it. After Levi had moved his bishop to the take the pawn on her right wing, at the same time threatening to take the rook,  he walked away, leaving Hange with the problem of how to save a trapped rook and the futile loss that came with it. It also gave Hange enough time to reflect, to ponder on the fact that Levi had alluded to one of their games only a week ago. Levi had been down a rook for most of one game yet managed to win.

Hange developed her knight in front of the king, having completely given up on defending the rook. From then on, she had focused on simple development. That was what Levi had done after all, when he was a rook down.

“You gave up pretty fast.” Levi commented only a few moves later.

“I’m still playing.” Hange said. The pieces were all set up but Levi was a clear rook up. From then on, Levi had not left her table in the simulation match. Levi’s material advantage only increasing from that point. The same pattern, it was definitely not as slow as it had been back in the bar when Hange was always a piece up. The advancement of Levi’s forces on the board were rapid

She found herself spending a few seconds looking at the board of Petra to see the material advantage was equal.

She couldn’t even do that much. Hange found herself playing faster and faster. It could have been from frustration or from the desire to have that humiliation end. Levi only entertained that in her as he matched her speed.

“It’s good manners to resign when you’re losing Zoe.”

Hange did not even have time to organize her forces. A black knight had planted itself in the middle of the board and the black queen was staring down at her uncastled white king.

Hange did not need to look up to feel it. Everyone’s eyes were on her and Hange chose to wait. Eventually, Levi walked away from the board and she could hear the clack and the click as he moved the pieces and pressed the clock. Then more footsteps then the clack and the click again.

Levi never did go back to her board. He didn’t need too. Hange only had to look at the clock next to her to know the game would be over soon.

“Resign.” It was Petra who resigned soon after her clock hit zero. Oluo resigned a few minutes after.

When Hange finally looked up, she could see Moblit, Oluo and Petra gathered around the board between Eld and Levi. Eld had his hands to his head while Levi just stood waiting, looking as disinterested and uninvested as he always did.

From her angle, she could not see what had happened on the board, but as she heard the sound of a piece slamming into the board, soon followed by Eld standing up, she knew it was over. Levi had beaten all of them in a sweep.  

“It’s getting late.”

Petra and Oluo had gathered up their pieces into the middle of the chess mats while Moblit and Eld

“Just keep a record of your games. Erwin will look through them.”

“Record?” Hange only noticed then, that there papers on top of the board as well.

“I forgot to tell you... I’m sure Erwin won’t mind if you didn’t have one, it’s your first day after all.” Moblit said, his tone apologetic.

“I’ll help her replay the game. You three can go ahead.”

Soon, it was just the two of them in the room.  

“Do you even know how to record games?”

“I learned in PE class but it gets confusing.”

“I’ll write it down for you to save you time.” Levi said as he set up a board in front of her. He soon replayed the game one by one, pausing to write on the board every few moves, not even bothering to ask her if he had recalled it correctly.

He had set up on the board the moment his bishop took her rook. He replayed her next move when she had developed the knight in front of her king, making sure to tap the piece multiple times on the board before writing it down. The face he made as he did that, only clued Hange in to the fact that it was probably the wrong move. “You gave up too easily.” Levi commented

“I was a rook down.”

“If we switched boards I could have won this position.” Levi said as he continued to play quickly through it.  He stopped at one familiar position, having opened a clear path for the knight to plant itself on the middle of the board. “The game is already lost at this point. There’s no need to analyze it.” Levi explained. He wrote out the last few moves on the paper, not bothering to play them out.

“You didn’t need to point it out.” Hange said as she watched Levi push the pieces towards the middle of the board. “Thank you for doing it though.” The words were difficult to say. Hange only found the strength to say it as Levi returned the board to the box on the side of the room.  

“It just bothers me. For someone who is so willing to play ten games in a row, you give up too easily on the board.” Levi shrugged.  “At least, I got some money out of it.”

“So you admit you were hustling me.”  

“You were winning in all your games. You just managed to fuck up in the middle and lost some money, that’s all there is to it.”

#levihan #levi ackerman #hange zoe #levi x hange

[bellamybellamyblake]

The 100 Season 7 Predictions:

(based entirely off the titles of episodes 7x01-7x09)

as more episode titles get released, i’ll make another post about those as well.

date posted: 4/14/2020 - this is because i’m gonna see if i can find some confirmed stuff tomorrow to see if i’m right or wrong on anything

7x01: “From the Ashes”

maybe it won’t open directly with bellamy freaking out about octavia but that’ll happen here or in ep2 for sure

most likely going to have something to do with madi and whether or not she’s still going to lead wonkru without the flame.

i don’t think the sheidheda plot is done even though the flame was destroyed - it just feels like it was way too easy (i know madi almost dying wasn’t easy but it was very fast and i don’t trust fast in tv shows) - maybe that plot will be continued here.

7x02: “The Garden”

probably about octavia - finding out whether or not she’s dead and in the anomaly.

“one garden, two serpents,’ and the title of the episode cannot be a coincidence.

the quote callback makes me think maybe diyoza makes an appearance, whether it be a flashback or she’s actually alive.

i completely believe gabriel will have something to do with what happened to octavia or know more than he says - i still don’t trust him, but i don’t not, ya know?

7x03: “False Gods”

possibly exploring how space/wonkru gets revenge and/or punishes russel (or how my cousin and i call him: papa argent) for all that he, his wife - who’s name i don’t care to remember - and josephine did.

maybe some more sheidheda plot.

7x04: “Hesperides”

in greek mythology, the “hesperides” were three goddess/nymphs trusted with the care of the tree of the golden apples which was had been presented to the goddess hera by gaia (the earth) on her wedding day.

they were the daughters of nyx (night) and erebos and were the keepers of other treasures of the gods. for example, perseus got what he needed from them to kill medusa.

the three goddesses and their glowing, golden apples were regarded as the source of the golden light of sunset - which celebrated the marriage of zeus and hera, the king and queen of olympus (aka heaven.)

they have a lot to do with the sun and that was pretty relevant in all the explanations i read about them, which is probably something to keep in mind as planet alpha has two suns.

i don’t know what this has to do with the show as a whole, but i doubt it’s a detail to overlook.

7x05: “Welcome to Bardo”

i’m gonna hit you with some knowledge i have - thank you teen wolf: ‘bardo,’ in japanese, means in a state between life and death.

it’s probably going to be an octavia episode - if i’m wrong (which i probably am) about 7x02.

whether it’s about octavia or not, it’s sufficient to say that i’m worried - especially if it’s about someone else and it’s a completely new issue.

7x06: “Nakara”

all that came up when i googled “nakara” was a kind of martial art, an indian drum, and an indigenous people in australia.

since i’m pretty sure none of that is going to be in an episode of a science fiction show that takes place several hundred years in the future, i’m gonna go ahead and say it’s a word in trig we just don’t know yet.

i saw something that said ‘nakara’ means evil so maybe that’s of significance.

i just came to the realization (right before i pressed post) that it could be about sheidheda because he’s the dark commander

sheidheda is an evil son of a bitch that tried to hurt my precious - ahem - i’m trying very hard to not express any opinion.

7x07: “The Queen’s Gambit”

probably a toss up between octavia and madi.

madi: she’s the commander and it could just be another name for her.

octavia: ‘bloodreina’ literally means ‘red queen.’

i’m leaning more towards an octavia episode and maybe she has to make a choice? stay alive or die? stay in the anomaly or go back to wonkru?

the definition of ‘gambit’ is an action of great risk or it can also mean a sacrifice, i’ll be keeping that in mind when i watch.

also (this is not a prediction - i knew this going in) lindsey morgan is directing this episode so i’m very excited to see it.

7x08: “Anaconda”

this episode is the prequel launch so i don’t really need to elaborate more.

it’s halfway through the season so maybe it acts as a mid-season finale or the mid-season premiere

7x09: “The Flock”

mid-season finale/mid-season premiere

maybe it’s a new weather thing on planet alpha we haven’t seen yet.

maybe it has something to do with the people in the anomaly.

maybe it just has to do with the anomaly in general.

unless i’m forgetting a previously mentioned ‘flock’ - please tell me if i am - i’m clueless about this one.

btw i can’t really remember if the 100 ever does mid-season breaks and the only other cw show that i’ve watched live is supernatural and the amount of mid-season breaks in that pisses me off to NO END.

the only season of the 100 that i watched live was 6 - all the other ones i waited until they were done and on netflix. i think i remember there being a two or three week period between two episodes but i could be wrong.

if someone rememebers, please tell me.

#the 100 #the 100 cast #bellamy blake #clarke griffin #octavia blake #raven reyes #john murphy #echo kom azgeda #emori kom spacekru #madi griffin #bob morley #eliza taylor #marie avgeropoulos #lindsey morgan #richard harmon #beliza #bellarke #murven #bellamy blake imagine #bellamy blake x clarke griffin #bellamy blake oneshot #murphamy #anti becho #bellamy blake x imagine #alycia debman carey #lexa kom trikru #the 100 bellamy #the 100 clarke #the 100 octavia #bellamy blake x reader

[wigwurq]

WIG REVIEW: THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT

Yes it’s true - the only things I’ve been watching lately are prestige TV shows starring women with bad red wigs. I’ll get back to movies someday!! In the meantime, I finally watched all of this miniseries that has Netflix and the world aflame with love - and I am aflame too....WITH HATRED OF ALL OF THESE WIGS!!! I have so much to discuss with this show, y’all. A friend of mine (who hasn’t watched this show yet) probably said it best when he told me he thought the wigs in this show were supposed to be wigs WITHIN the narrative of the show (and therefore allowed to be bad): “wait I thought this was about a chess spy - that’s supposed to be her real hair? NO” INDEED!!! Let’s take it episode by episode (SPOILERS ABOUND) and DISCUSS.

Episode 1 - Openings

We begin in Paris, 1967. Beth Harmon, chess champion (?) awakens in a bath of ice (?) in the dark of her hotel room, clearly hung over or maybe still drunk. Her red ‘60s flip wig looks like HELL as does she, so...ok I guess this bad wig wurqs...for now. She sits herself down to play CHESS!! This whole show is about chess, obviously, and everyone is just mad about chess now! I am mad, too, because the show does not make chess seem interesting or sexy and I still hate it. 

Anyway, we rewind about 10 (?) years to a young Beth Harmon, who is suddenly orphaned after her mom definitely commits suicide via car accident. Her mom has super short bangs and cries a lot. We see some even further flashbacks to an even younger Beth IN THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS BABY WIG (MORE ON THAT LATER). We learn that her mom is very unhinged, but also probably brilliant, as Beth herself will become later. LET’S HOPE SHE NEVER GETS HER DRIVER’S LICENCE (note: she never does?)

Apparently the mid to late ‘50s were all about very VERY short bangs, and on this non-wigged little girl I guess that is fine.

BUT THEN! She is brought to an orphanage where they burn her old clothes (YES REALLY!) and cut her hair into a bob (the kid’s actual hair so again - ok!) and also give her and all the other girls constant drugs! The 1950s were really wild, amiright? If I have learned anything from movies set at orphanages in the 50s, drug abuse was the main issue (the only movie I’m referring to is obviously The Cider House Rules and the only thing I remember about that movie is that Michael Caine had an ether addiction). Anyway, the sedative drugs make her immediately put her hand on a hot radiator (safety first, orphanage!) 

She also makes friends with an older girl named Jolene (I LOVE THE NAME) who teachers her to save the sedative drugs for nighttime when they can help her sleep. Great advice, Jolene! Also: there is absolutely no way that African American Jolene would be in an integrated orphanage in mid-50s KENTUCKY but this is just the beginning of issues I have with this series......

Moving on! In avoiding the orphanage’s weird insistence on Jesusy choir practice, she discovers the basement realm of janitor Bill Camp, who never actually does any janitorial work (that I could see?) but definitely plays a lot of chess. And thus, her chess obsession begins! This is also helped by those sedatives she takes every night which give her really absurd chess hallucinations on the ceiling. This orphanage has it all!

Essentially, this miniseries is Valley of the Dolls if those characters got addicted to both pills and chess at the age of 9. Beth gets very VERY good at chess and some rando chess guy from the local high school comes and gives Beth a doll (BETH HATES THE DOLL BUT LOVES DOLLS DO YOU SEE WHAT I DID THERE). And she goes to the high school and plays a bunch of terrible high school boys at chess simultaneously and beats them all. Also: the orphanage suddenly gets in trouble for giving sedatives to small children for years and Beth is PISSED. She goes through withdrawal and years for the big ol’ jar o’ pills!!!

AND THEN! During a kind of Jesusy film presentation, Beth sneaks away to the orphanage pharmacy and just goes hog wild on the pills! TRULY: Valley of the Dolls has nothing on this sequence. 

Obviously, Beth is caught pill-handed and she also spills all the pills, breaks a giant glass jar, and then falls onto both of them. SHE IS 9. I THINK I LOVE THIS SHOW.

Episode 2: Exchanges

So after Beth’s completely insane pill odyssey, she is punished by being forbidden to play chess! Fast forward an indeterminate number of years, and we meet a slightly older Beth (now played by the bewigged Anya Taylor-Joy). AND THIS WIG, Y’ALL. WOOF. Completely dried out and bent, it really makes you appreciate the fact that they just cut the younger Beth’s hair. I realize that Anya is going to go through many 50s and 60s hairstyles to come but I really wish they had just done the same and used her real hair because we are about to take a bad wig odyssey that will last throughout this series. Also! I love that Jolene is played by the same actress! How old is too old to be in an orphanage?

Speaking of age! Beth is apparently now 15 but when a super weird couple expresses interest in adopting her, the orphanage director lady lies and says Beth is 13 and everyone just goes with it....FOR THE REST OF THE SERIES. Seriously, this age difference is never ever visited again or challenged. Beth is basically 15-17 for at least 5 years and no one gives a shit. OK? Anyway, Beth is adopted by Marielle friggin Heller (aka director of Can You Ever Forgive Me? and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) who has a very Mamie Eisenhower wig which is just fine compared to the bent and dry-ass mess on Anya’s head.

It is later revealed that Marielle adopted Beth because her husband is mainly away on business and she needs an older gal pal around to fetch her....sedatives from the magazine store! I wonder if Beth will totally get addicted to them again! I’m no chess player but you can absolutely predict plot devices in this series about two pawns away (is that a chess term? I still don’t know or care!) 

So yes: as predicted Beth absolutely gets addicted to sedatives again (also the specific sedatives she gets addicted to are the exact same ones she was addicted to at the orphanage - WHAT A COINCIDENCE! - and also they are made up sedatives for the purposes of this show only in case we all want to get the same magical chess sedatives and see chess on the ceiling too). ALSO! Beth is still mainly addicted to chess despite the fact that she was permitted from playing it for the last 5-7 years (depending on what version of her age you’re going on?) but still is good at it? Most upsetting: she rips apart her lovely bed canopy in order to see her ceiling chess hallucinations! THE NERVE OF THIS KID!

Also nervy: bitch totally stole chess magazines from the pharmacy when she was also stealing sedatives from her adoptive mom! Kleptomania is Beth’s #3 addiction after chess and pills also comes into play when it is revealed that her new adoptive mom is kinda poor since her husband is away all the time and doesn’t give her enough money so Beth can’t enter those chess tournaments she read about in the magazines she stole. SO she writes to janitor Bill Camp and asks for $5 to enter the chess thing and if she wins she’ll send him $10. THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT PLOT POINT WHICH WILL COME INTO PLAY LATER. So Beth goes to the chess tournament where she meets some not handsome twin dudes and a very handsome other dude named Townes.

Basically all the chess dudes at this tourney suck in the same way? To be fair: if I saw Beth walking up in her ugly orphanage clothes and orphanage cut wig, I would think she sucked at chess too? Oh also - all the girls at her new high school also think her style sucks. I WONDER IF IN COMING EPISODES SHE WILL GAIN MORE STYLE AND CHESS FAME THAN ALL THESE GARBAGE PEOPLE. Spoiler: she does and also beats this dude named Harry and becomes the Kentucky chess champion. Also! Beth’s adoptive dad totally abandons her and Marielle Heller!  I still hate chess but will continue to watch this show because of its haunting wigs and lowgrade feminist vibe.

Episode 3: Doubled Pawns

This episode begins with a flashback to Beth’s shitty birth mother and her shitty banged wig and remember that time I said I was going to talk about the wig on the littlest girl who plays her? WELL HERE WE ARE. Baby Beth has the absolute WORST WIG ON THIS SHOW and given how terrible all the wigs are, that is saying a lot. This wig looks like it was ripped off an American Girl doll which had been mistreated for years and thrown of a jungle gym or something. IT IS THE ABSOLUTE WORST (as is her mom, who makes this poor kid believe she had drowned!!!) 

ANYWAY. We get a new wig in this episode!!! Beth manages to grow out her orphanage bangs and allow her hair to have a 50s wave bob. Do not be fooled by the higher quality of this cut, however - the quality of the WIG continues to very much suck! WHAT IS THIS HAIR PART! No hair underneath! And everything is still a dried out, bent mess! ALSO HER ROOTS ARE A NIGHTMARE. This is also the episode wherein Marielle Heller basically becomes Mama Rose to Beth and really gets into Beth supporting both of them via chess winnings and becomes her chess manager (ACTUAL JOB TITLE). Also Beth gets nicer clothing. Hilariously, Marielle tells Beth’s high school that Beth is just constantly sick so she can skip school to go to chess tournaments even though Beth is straight up on the cover of Life magazine?! I wonder if this will at all come to the attention of the high school - IT DOESN’T! PLOT HOLES BE DAMNED THIS SHOW IS ABOUT CHESS! She does go to high school long enough for the snobby girls who once made fun of her to invite her to the dumbest party ever where they just sit around and ask Beth dumb questions about Chess fame and then all have a sing-along to a song Beth doesn’t know because she has no idea what pop culture is: ONLY CHESS CULTURE. I watched this show with my mom and asked if ‘60s parties were like this and she laughed her head off and said NO. ALSO! Beth’s kleptomania comes into play at this party where she steals a bottle of gin and leaves without saying goodbye to anyone. WHAT A BITCH.

Speaking of bitches, Beth meets a new chess diva in the form of Love Actually’s resident child drum prodigy! He has a character name but whatever: Love Actually is his name and he has longish shaggy (non wigged) hair and dresses like Crocodile Dundee and is loved and feared in the chess community for being such a non-nerd (?) chess player. I asked my mom if anyone dressed like this in the ‘60s and she said “NO! But I guess I didn’t know everyone” WHICH IS A GREAT ANSWER BECAUSE MY MOM DIDN’T RUN IN WEIRD CHESS CIRCLES IN THE ‘60s. We are lead to believe the ‘60s chess community of weirdos consists of the same 5 rotating dudes who are all at the same chess tournaments always and also possible love interests for Beth and she’s better at chess than all of them.

The only weirdo chess dude that Beth cares about is Townes, who you may recall from the last episode in which he was the only attractive chess dude at that first chess tournament Beth went to with borrowed Bill Camp money. Anyway, she runs into him at some chess tournament (LIKE I REMEMBER WHICH ONE PLEASE) in Las Vegas where he is now a chess reporter (ACTUAL 1960s JOB, Y’ALL). He invites Beth back to his hotel boudoir where he takes some non-boudoir pictures of her playing chess and Beth is all aflutter with chess love but SUCK IT BETH, TOWNES IS GAY!!! I have to say that the only believable part of this show is that the only attractive chess dude would be homosexual. It still does not forgive any of the other plot nonsense.

SO! It’s still the big Vegas chess tournament which is super duper important-chess wise (though this show also makes it seem like every chess game IS THE MOST IMPORTANT so who is to say?) Anyway, Beth and her 50s wave wig (even though it is the 60s?) play Love Actually and....they both win? I didn’t know this was a chess pastability but ok? Beth is pissed that she didn’t beat Love Actually, I hope I never have to see him again (SPOILER HE’S IN MANY MORE EPISODES AND HAD I KNOWN THAT MAYBE I WOULD HAVE STOPPED WATCHING NOW BUT I DIDN’T!) 

Episode 4: Middle Game

We are still stuck with this weird ‘50s bob in this episode. IT STILL LOOKS BAD. New developments are: Beth is taking night classes at the local college (even though she is technically still in high school?) in order to learn Russian to better understand people who are more obsessed with chess than she is: Russians. Anyway, he ends up going to the most wild and stereotypical hippie party with a college dude after class and yep - loses her virginity to him. Ok? At least it wasn’t to a chess weirdo? She also stays behind and parties and drinks alone in the hippie apartment because of all her substance addiction and kleptomania. Also! She graduates from high school despite being 2 years too old for high school (a plot point never explained) and missing all that high school for chess tourneys (another plot point never explained!) OH WELL: CHESS! 

Beth and Marielle go to Mexico City for some chess tournament (AGAIN I COULDN’T TELL YOU WHICH ONE). Marielle is excited because she is pen pals (OMG THE 60s Y’ALL) with some Mexican weirdo who I definitely feared would steal all the chess winnings but then ultimately just sucks in the same way the adoptive dad did. Beth also runs into those chess twin weirdos because the chess community is comprised of only 5 dudes as I said. Their hair looks bad but not as bad as her wig. 

Beth doesn’t see much of Mexico City - nor do we unless you count a truly outrageous sequence in which Beth and Marielle go out on their hotel balcony and look into a green screen rendering of Mexico City that would have felt at home in CGI ghostmare, Bohemian Rhapsody. Anyway, Beth and her olde timey 1950s wig which is spending way too much time in the 60s even though she’s supposed to be stylish now, take a lot of chess baths while Marielle drinks a lot because that Mexican pen pal/boyfriend sucks so bad.

So Beth wins enough chess to play Borgov, who we are led to believe is the Russian white whale/Bond villain of the chess community and LOSES! She is pretty pissed about it but not as pissed as...

....coming back to the hotel room to discover Marielle Heller and her luscious Mamie Eisenhower wig DEAD. TWICE AN ORPHAN, Y’ALL. Mexican coroners tell Beth that her mom died of hepatitis (!!!) and Beth somehow implicates low quality tequila in this hepatitis death. I LEGITIMATELY GOOGLED ‘DOES TEQUILA GIVE YOU HEPATITIS’ IMMEDIATELY. I DON’T THINK IT DOES?!?!?! THIS SHOW IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS AND YES I WILL CONTINUE WATCHING IT DESPITE THE TERRIBLE WIGS AND MY HATRED OF CHESS.

Episode 5: Fork

Beth returns to Kentucky IN THE RAIN BECAUSE TV AND MOVIE DEATHS ARE ALWAYS ACCOMPANIED BY RAIN. She is about to be super lonely in the house she know owns (according to a super sketchy international phone call with her adoptive father which will definitely not hold up in court) and then...she gets a call from Harry! WHO THE EFF IS HARRY! Again, luckily, there are only 5 chess guys who need to remember and he is one of them (he is the one she beat for the Kentucky chess whatever in episode 2). She invites him over because she’s lonely!

Harry is definitely the saddest of the weirdo chess dudes because apparently he’s been harboring a secret love of Beth (who at the time of their first meeting was like 13-15 depending on what timeline you’re going on and he was...20? OK GROSS BUT OK). BITCH EVEN GOT HIS WEIRD TEETH FIXED SO HE COULD BE LOVED BY BETH AND HER BENT ASS WIG AND SERIOUSLY NO THANK YOU HARRY. Regardless, Beth lets Harry have sex with her a few times and live rent-free in her house and ultimately Harry gets enough self confidence to leave this effed up living situation since he will never be one of Beth’s obsessions (which are still: chess, pills/alcohol, stealing shit). 

So Beth goes to Ohio for some other chess tournament and reunites with UGH Love Actually. At this point in the show, Beth starts wearing long scarves as headbands and her wig has never looked better because most of it is covered by the scarf. THANK GOD. So Love Actually totally chess hustles Beth for a lot of coin playing speed chess (DEAR GOD WHY HAVE I BEEN FORCED TO LEARN WHAT SPEED CHESS IS) but in the end, she still beats him for the chess title. EFF YOU, Love Actually! May I never see you again! OH SHIT HE JUST INVITED HER TO  NEW YORK TO TRAIN HER FOR THE PARIS CHESS THING DEAR GOD WHY IS THERE SO MUCH LOVE ACTUALLY IN THIS SHOW OK FINE I’LL STILL WATCH IT.

Episode 6 - Adjournment

Ok so Beth and her ok wig that is mainly covered by a scarf go to Love Actually’s apartment in NYC which IS AN UNDERGROUND BUNKER AND SHE HAS TO SLEEP ON A BLOW UP MATTRESS. Again and for the millionth time: Love Actually is the worst! Especially the worst because he introduces her to all these rando bohemians he knows, including some French bitch who will definitely eff everything up when Beth is already teetering on her pill/alcohol obsession and should probably not meet any other enablers. Somehow, he does get her to quit the pills/alcohol long enough to have sex with him (UGH).

And so we are in Paris, 1967. Where we started the show with Beth’s awful 60s flip! AND WE MEET ANOTHER PLOTHOLE. Only a week before this, Beth was in NYC with hair about 3″ shorter and still wearing scarves in her hair. WHAT IN THE VERY HELL, SHOW! I realize that this show has a very vague sense of time or how old Beth is or whatever but truly: NOPE. 

Anyway, it’s the night before the big match against Borgov and Beth is on her very best behavior when who should ring her up but that French bitch Love Actually introduced her to! She is downstairs at the hotel bar and just come down and have one drink and don’t ruin your entire chess career, mmmkay? THIS ENABLING BITCH!!!! NEVER TRUST ANYONE WITH THIS CRYING GAME WIG UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR LIFE TO BE A CRYING GAME. Of course, Beth goes downstairs, drinks every drink in the bar, has sex with some rando French dude and...wakes up in the icebath we see at the beginning of the show and sweatily plays Borgov in her wig that has never looked frizzier, loses, and is shamed from the entire chess community. Also Love Actually wants Beth to come back to NYC but NO THANK YOU TO YOU AND YOUR BUNKER OF ENABLERS.

Back in Kentucky, Beth....is shown learning how to flip her hair. WAIT WHAT SHE ALREADY HAD A FLIP HAIRSTYLE THE ENTIRE TIME IN PARIS WHAT KIND OF WIG GASLIGHTING ARE YOU PLAYING, SHOW?!?!?!??!?!?!!

UGH anyway, with THE EXACT SAME FLIP WIG AS WE’VE SEEN HER IN, Beth tries to be a responsible young person of indeterminate age who owns a house in Kentucky and not drink or take pills or steal shit. EXCEPT remember that time her adoptive dad said she could just have the house if she paid the mortgage? WELL BITCH SHOWS UP AND J’ACCUSES HER OF STEALING THE HOUSE FROM HIM. Which is hilarious because of all the things she stolen in this show, the house wasn’t one of them. In any case, she buys the house! And takes herself out to dinner! And has a drink! AND UH OH.

At this point the show just goes completely off the rails in addictive nonsense. Beth just goes around the house in her terrible flip wig applying makeup and barfing in to chess trophies. It’s every stereotypical drug/alcohol scene from every biopic ever except this chick doesn’t really exist and this show is wearing on my nerves and Beth has to stop making so many terrible live decisions and this wig has BETTER GET BETTER.

And then magically - Jolene shows up in the most fabulous afro wig!! WHAT! OK I WILL WATCH THE BITTER CONCLUSION OF THIS SERIES BECAUSE I LOVE JOLENE.

Episode 7: End Game

Jolene...Jolene....Jolene. Jolene. I love Jolene. I don’t love that this show uses her by making her be the “magical negro” trope who helps Beth get her life back together. Predictable nonsense! So yes, Jolene looks around Beth’s ramshackle drug den and tells her to get her life back together. AND THEN BETH DOES. No AA or rehab required! WHAT! I really appreciate that Jolene also compares her to Susan Hayward (star of Valley of the Dolls!) which is the sick burn/comparison I needed. 

The other reason Jolene showed up was to bring Beth to janitor Bill Camp’s funeral. At the funeral, which is very poorly attended, Beth reveals THAT SHE NEVER PAID BILL CAMP THAT $5 HE LENT HER (AND $10 SHE PROMISED HIM) AT THE BEGINNING OF HER CHESS CAREER. WHAT A PIECE OF SHIT. It is at this point that I fully decided that I wanted Beth to fail at everything because she is a garbage person who never gave propers to Bill Camp for changing her life for the better. THIS BITCH!! She even goes back to the orphanage where she discovers Bill Camp’s CHESS SHRINE DEVOTED TO HER! SHE FEELS LIKE SHIT AS WELL SHE SHOULD! I FULLY HATE HER!!!!

Jolene is much more forgiving of Beth than me and also introduces Beth to a new obsession: squash! Ok? It does allow Beth to wear a headband which is great wig-wise (in that it hides all the seamwork). Beth also turns down these Jesusy people who want to fund her chess trip to Russia and so Jolene GIVES HER $3,000 TO GO TO RUSSIA. IF THERE IS ANYTHING I’VE LEARNED IN THE LAST 5 MINUTES OF THIS SHOW IT IS THAT BETH WILL NOT PAY THAT MONEY BACK AND JOLENE PLEASE DO NOT!!!!

Jolene does. Beth goes to Russia which is straight out of every Bond movie and gets her shit together and wins a lot of damn chess. 

Though her midweight coat game rivals that of Nicole Kidman in The Undoing, her wig game ALSO RIVALS THAT OF NICOLE KIDMAN IN THE UNDOING IN THAT IT IS ALSO A RED NIGHTMARE WIG. This show spent so much goddamned money on clothes, sets, and CGI greenscreens of Mexico City AND YET NO MONEY FOR WIGS. BOO.

I did enjoy this one chess opponent’s walrus hair but otherwise, Beth’s flip wig has absolutely overstayed its welcome and is a compete and utter bent nightmare. Also! Remember that one hot chess dude? He shows up and helps Beth with Chess!! HUH?

Also every single weirdo in the chess community somehow form a chess calming circle in Love Actually’s bunker apartment and call Beth internationally to help her win against Borgov at chess! WHAT IN THE DAMN HELL? It is sweet I guess, but also makes ABSOLUTELY NO FUCKING SENSE AS BETH WAS A TOTAL ASSHOLE TO ALL THESE PEOPLE AND DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE A PART OF THEIR WEIRD CHESS GANG.

Ultimately, Beth beats Borgov and wears THIS FUCKING HAT. I think we’re supposed to believe that she is now the white queen chess piece (I HATE THAT I NOW KNOW CHESS PIECES).

She is actually dressed in head to toe white and somehow convinces her American handler that she will just walk...to the airport? And despite being invited to the Johnson White House (girl go there!) would rather just wander the streets of Russia without any purse or luggage or way of getting home. THIS BITCH. She finds a new chess community of old men who play chess outside at folding tables and decides to join them WITHOUT GOING HOME TO PAY JOLENE ALL HER MONEY BACK WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY WHAT SHE SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT AND ALSO MAYBE SETTING UP A BILL CAMP CHESS FOUNDATION BECAUSE YOU NEVER PAID HIM BACK YOU PIECE OF SHIT. No, she is no longer addicted to pills, alcohol, or stealing but is absolutely addicted to chess on a level that is probably lethal. I spent the last moments of the show demanding that the Russian chess hobos murder her and her immaculate white outfit because BETH IS A SELFISH ASSHOLE AND ALL HER WIGS ARE GARBAGE LIKE HER!!!!

VERDICT: DOESN’T WURQ

#wigwurq #queensgambit #anyataylorjoy #garbagepeople #valleyofthedolls #babywigs #pillpoppinorphans #Istillhatechess #loveactually #marielleheller #wiggaslighting

[twdmusicboxmystery]

FTWD 6x07 - Details

Okay, let's talk details. Even aside from the major and obvious parallel I talked about yesterday, there were quite a few smaller Beth symbols throughout the episode.

***As always, spoilers for 6x07 abound below. Don’t read until you’ve watched!***

The first one was right in the opening shot. We see a deer being eaten by walkers and the camera zooms in closely on the deer's face and the eye. So, deer symbolism which points to both taxidermy elements of the episode, but also, deer symbolism = Beth. Which is important because of the Dakota both parallel, and it focuses in on the eye. (Sirius Symbolism).

When Strand and Samuels ride ahead to try and figure out what happened to Terry, there's a tree fallen across the road. And it's obvious that someone cut it down. (Turns out to be Morgan.) But we’ve seen this kind of symbolism around Beth proxies a lot. We saw fallen trees in 5x10 after the storm, and right before the music box woke up. We also saw one in 6x14, just before Denise died. And obviously she was a big Beth proxy two. So, I seeing one in this episode right before Dakota goes missing is important.

After they discover Dakota is gone, Strand says, "only one person matters right now and she's gone." So more of the “gone” symbolism and an echo of Daryl's, "she's just gone," from 4x16.

As I said yesterday, Ed's hunting lodge sort of gave me white cabin vibes from the missing S5 scenes. When Alicia sneaks in, she crawls under a chain and squeezes through the door it's holding shut. I reminded me a lot of Daryl and Carol doing that and consumed, which was when they were looking for Beth.

I’ll say it again, but the animals we see stuffed inside also symbols we see used a lot. The bear (bear symbolism), a bird of some kind. I'm not sure what kind it is. But it does kind of remind us of the blackbirds in the opening credits of TWD. A bobcat (cat symbolism associated with Daryl) and, of course, more deer. Later in the episode, we also see a boar’s head. (Pig Symbolism).

Alicia finds Ed working on a walker which is strapped to his table in his basement. The whole set up reminded me a lot of the funeral home from Alone. Just having a body on a table like that and the fact that it was a walker, not a human.

The songs playing are “Tonight You Belong to Me,” and “Jeepers Creepers.” I won’t go into either of them too much, but look up the lyrics. The first is about belonging to someone for a short time and the moonlight. The second is all about a person’s eyes. And both mention the dawn. So yeah, we can definitely read into those. ;D

I probably shouldn't read into this too much, but the names used in this episode definitely caught my attention. First, there's Ed. Carol's abusive ex-husband was named Ed. I'm not saying that has anything to do with Beth, but they could've used in the name of the world, right? And they used a name well known in the fandom due to Carol's arc. Next is that he had a daughter named Emily. Again, I'm not saying they're necessarily trying to use that as some sort of TD/return symbolism, but it was just a little jarring to actually hear Emily's name come up in this episode when there such a huge Beth parallel in it.

Ed asks if either of them plays chess and then he plays Dakota. We’ve talked about chess before. There are a lot of reasons that they may use it as TD symbolism. For one thing, the Queen is all-important in chess. It's also a strategic game, where players are lost periodically throughout. Which might be the writer's way of symbolizing all the characters who have been lost. We saw it heavily around the governor, in the two episodes in S-4 where he had a lot of parallels.

While Ed and Dakota play chess, was also a record playing. (No lyrics in this song, though.) He says, “Queen’s Gambit.” I’m not much of a chess player so I had to look that up. Aside from the mini-series that’s currently popular on Netflix, it’s a well-known chess move. Feel free to look it up on Wikipedia yourself, but let’s just say that it smacks strongly of a prisoner exchange.

Ed turns the music on loudspeakers to draw walkers in. Obviously a music theme, but it specifically ties to things like The Big Spot in 4x01, or Operation Lead the Walkers Away in S6. They did this more recently in S10 to lead the Whisperer horde away from the hospital.

Ed has an interesting line when he's explaining himself to Alicia. He's trying is tell her that everything is his fault. That it's his fault his family died, etc. He makes a point of saying, "I created them, but I couldn't control them."

I feel like this is an important theme. I'm not sure where it's leading yet, but I'm wondering if there will end up being a reveal that the virus was man-made and then got out of control. Or maybe it will have something to do with the helicopter group. I don't know. But it felt like a mic-drop moment, and like something we should remember going forward.

Also? At Grady, Joan said something similar to this to Dawn. “You can’t control them,” speaking, presumably, of the officers.

Then of course Morgan shows up, saying that he heard the music. I talked about how suspicious I am about Morgan showing up at the end of this and what it might mean for Beth yesterday.

We also learned that, had Alicia's original plan to exchange Dakota for her and Charlie being released worked, she was planning on taking them back to the stadium. That caught my ear because there's been a lot of talk recently about Madison's return. You wouldn’t think she would still be at the stadium, but you never know. Maybe she is. After all the talk in the fandom about it lately, I just couldn't help but side-eye that a little bit. 

Then Alicia and Morgan quarrel about what to do with Dakota. The thing that jumped out about this part is that Morgan basically wants to do another prisoner exchange, exchanging Dakota for the others in his group (presumably June and Daniel). They don't actually end up doing it, but it was sort of a nod to Grady.

 We also learned that Morgan was the one who attacked the convoy, trying to get a hold of Dakota so he could use her as leverage against Virginia. Again, something we saw just prior to Coda, with TF purposely setting a trap for the officers so they could use them as prisoners in the exchange.

It’s also worth mentioning that, for the characters in the episode (Alicia and Charlie, though this was true of Al and Dwight a couple of episodes ago too) the moment when they saw Morgan was a resurrection moment. We, the audience, have obviously known  he’s alive since ep 1, but they haven’t. So this was someone coming back from the dead for them. 

We learn that Virginia may have killed her own parents. But we don't know how. Me and my fellow theorists talked about how trustworthy Dakota is. I do like her overall, but one thing that bugs me is that the main characters don't press her. For more information. She said before that not only is she Virginia’s sister but that she hears everything that goes on in that house. So, I think she has to no more than she's saying. But her go to answer about anything is, "I don't know." Personally, I don't think she's going to turn out to be evil or anything, but I do think she knows more than she's saying.

Finally, Strand returns to Virginia and says that he's on her side and will help her bring back everyone Morgan has liberated.

For the record, while Strand always seems to have an agenda and to want to do things his way, I don't think he's actually working against Morgan's group. I think this is his way of being undercover and helping them from the inside. But Virginia believes him and takes him to where she's secretly hiding Grace, it was still very pregnant.

Dun, dun, dun! End of MSF.

So, yeah. That's what I have for details. Anybody pick up on anything I missed?

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

[bigbadwolf-16]

anyway heres the thing for wolf and i am SO sorry if the readmore doesnt work oof this bitch long

slightly modified it

Name:

Wolf-16

Age:

Mentally twelve, but roughly Dark Age old.

Race:

Exo

Call signs/alias:

Wolf. One syllable, easy.

Pronouns:

He / Him

Class:

Hunter

Preferred subclass(es):

Gunslinger, but he’s handy with Void and Stasis. Never got the hang of Arc.

Ghost's name:

Serenity, but she reluctantly answers to Red sometimes.

Their Vanguard:

He came late to the party and properly joined the Guardian ranks sometime after Tallulah died, but he was closest to Cayde-6, rip.

Fireteam name:

Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo (former) Maelstrom (former) Exodus (current)

Fireteam teammates:

In Foxtrot: Liz Cabrera, King-3, Armani-7 In Maelstrom: Amelia-9, Atticus Maav In Exodus: Puck-13, Aera-9, Emmanuel-7

Favorite legendary weapon:

Dire Promise IKELOS SMG Seventh Seraph SAW

Favorite exotic weapon:

Ace of Spades Riskrunner The Lament

Favorite exotic armor:

Sealed Ahamkara Grasps The Sixth Coyote St0mp-335

Are they offense, defense, or support:

Generally offense, he’s blindingly fast and is a crackshot with any weapon you put in his hands.

Do they prefer being close, mid, or long range:

He prefers mid to long, but ends up getting in close more often than he’d like. The agility kind of nerfs his ability to take a lot of damage all at once, so he goes airborne the second he gets surrounded.

Do they lean more "Element of Surprise" or "Upfront and Aggressive":

A bit of both! He’ll pull a surprise attack and jump in to get his hands dirty if he has to, which makes him a pretty good distraction if there’s a lot of enemies looking for a bullet sponge, but he prefers a little bit of distance if he can get it.

Strikes, Gambit, or Crucible:

Getting him into strikes takes a lot of perseverance, honestly. He’ll do them if Zavala can actually hold him down long enough. Hunters are elusive as hell anymore, and the amount of times he’s been back to the Tower or even within the City’s walls since the Red War can be counted on one hand.

Crucible is also kind of a gamble. Serenity doesn’t like him doing it because he gets ruthlessly competitive and tends to favor Stasis which gets... ahhh, intense...

He fucks super hard with Gambit, tho. If he’s anywhere near the City, he’s probably playing Gambit because the Drifter won’t give him the good stuff until he does.

Who was their mentor:

If anyone was, it was probably Serenity and only insofar as teaching him how to be fucking normal. It hasn’t worked very well.

Who are they mentoring:

He went through a brief stint where he mentored Atticus. He couldn’t teach him any Warlock things, of course, but other stuff like no-scoping an Acolyte or picking locks? Absolutely.

What ship do they have:

After Forsaken, all of Cayde’s stuff was pretty much left alone, but Wolf asked the Vanguard if he could take the Queen of Hearts and they let him.

What is their Sparrow:

Blood in the Water

Favorite Ghost shell:

Serenity picks her own shells. When they met, she pretty much had the Rust Punk shell after the one she was created with got messed up pretty badly. The new one didn’t stand up very well against the elements.

Wolf keeps a handful of them in the ship so that she can go between them and her favorites are Wisteria Orbit and In Fine Omnium, but she goes back to her old one occasionally if she doesn’t want to get the others dirty.

Favorite color:

Red, but sometimes purple.

Favorite food:

Any kind of spicy ramen and shawarma.

Least favorite food:

He doesn’t like anything with a bitter taste and there are a lot of veggie-based things he just genuinely cannot stand the thought of.

Favorite Pre-Collapse music:

He discovered classic rock and hasn’t looked back once.

Favorite place in The Last City:

Before the Red War when he spent more time in the city itself, his apartment. It was small and pretty cozy and also loaded with his hauls from various jobs. He’d sit in the window and play video games on his off days and just chill with Serenity for hours.

There was also a bar he’d frequent with his old fireteam (and sneakretly sometimes with Cayde) where they pretty much knew everyone who worked there by name. It’s the one place he never got kicked out of for causing a ruckus.

Favorite NPC(s):

Cayde and Wolf hung out a lot when either one of them had the time. These days, if he’s anywhere near the Tower, it’s only to see Amanda or Banshee.

He also likes to kick it with Devrim, Variks, and Failsafe. Osiris finds him frustrating at best, but he and Crow are kind of a package deal at this point.

Least favorite NPC(s):

He finds Rahool kind of dry and nerdy and has nothing but bad things to say about Hideo.

Favorite patrol location:

The EDZ. It’s more or less his home now and he knows every square inch of it by heart.

Least favorite patrol location:

Anywhere on Europa or the Moon. Europa he’ll at least go to without being dragged, if only just to say hi to Variks or Elsie and check up on how things are going, but after the Lunar Incident he won’t step foot on the Moon unless Eris requests him specifically.

5 things your Guardian likes:

Glimmer, babeyyyy!! Also food, bad jokes, going real fast, and springtime.

5 things your Guardian dislikes(this can be anything):

Handling trauma in a healthy way like normal person, having to be responsible for people, being told what to do, big open spaces, and waiting.

Your Guardian has to rest. What is their living space like:

Wolf can and will sleep just about anywhere and in pretty much any position. His old apartment in the City was destroyed during the war, and he just never went back, so now he knocks out in whatever place has enough cover or is out of the way enough he won’t be found.

Does your Guardian have any casual wear?:

Lots. He usually goes for a more urban style, so lots of huge hoodies, joggers, chunky sneakers, snapbacks, that kind of thing. He generally only wears armor when he’s actively working.

What hobbies and/or skills does you Guardian have:

Outside of Guardian stuff, he’s picked up a handful of skills over the years. He can rap and sing and figured out how to autotune his voice/mimic others, he’s pretty good at woodcarving and making little things out of scrap metal, and even if his designs are intentionally tacky he’s good at custom paint jobs for jumpships and Sparrows.

As for hobbies, that mostly consists of exploring. He’s got a lot of patrol areas memorized, and does a lot of urbex in places that aren’t very thoroughly mapped because he likes finding pre-Collapse artifacts and seeing places not very many others have. Mostly for selling.

He also does a lot of gambling, but whether or not he’s any good at it is arguable.

What would your Guardian's lore book be called:

Sixteen Wolves

Where was your Guardian reborn?:

Somewhere in the humid and shitty swamp that used to be Houston, Texas. It was tough going for a while, but they eventually traveled all the way to what would eventually be the City.

What were they wearing when they were reborn:

Rapidly disintegrating work gear from, presumably, some kind of security job.

What was their reaction to being reborn:

Confusion and alarm, but he warmed up to Serenity pretty quickly, so it wasn’t too bad after the initial shock.

What was their reaction to their first rez:

Very surprised until Serenity explained what had just happened. After that, all bets were off.

After being reborn, did they meet friendlies first or hostiles:

Like many, the first sentient form of life he met was hostile, but it wasn’t aliens. His first run-in with other people was a group of survivors who had a lot of mistrust regarding the Risen and he didn’t want to fight them, so he took off.

Who was the first other Guardian they met?:

He definitely doesn’t remember, but it probably wasn’t a pleasant encounter.

Did your Guardian get reborn with, or find, any indication of their past life? If so what do they have/found:

Exos get the luxury of at least knowing their name, but Wolf found his etched into a corner of his chest plate in cool letters. He didn’t remember anything from his past life beyond random glimpses if he dug hard enough, and nowadays those glimpses are pretty rare and extremely vague. There’s never any memory fragment that’s enough to really grab onto, so he tends not to bother with it.

How did your Guardian get their name(if they didn't rez with past life mementos):

Exo thing! He doesn’t remember if it was just some kind of moniker or part of his actual original human name, but Wolf sounds cool so he’s not worried about it.

Going back to your Guardian's lore book, what would be some quotes or passages from their book:

The Hunter dove for the ball and caught it, whipped it back across to his companion with a well-practiced flick of his wrist and tumbled. The Warlock caught it a bit more gracefully and without getting dirt on his clothes.

“Do you ever think about home?”

“What do you mean?”

The Warlock shrugged, tossing the ball back and forth between his palms. “Home. You know. Where you’re from. Your people, I mean. I think about the Dreaming City a lot. I don’t remember how it used to be, but... I like to think maybe I had family there once. Someone to miss me when I was gone. Dreadful to think of how it’s been destroyed...”

“Hm.” Wolf considered the question, then it was his turn to shrug. “Dunno. Guess we don’t really have one.”

“You must have something, Wolf. Exos had to come from somewhere. Everyone has a home.”

“Y’all might have a home. All we got’s a graveyard.”

Does your Guardian have a significant other:

He’s had a handful over the years. He’s still friends with Liz, not that anyone can tell because all they do is fuck with each other and cause trouble when they’re together. He and Amelia were a thing briefly but that one had to be called off to preserve their friendship because, even though they’ve known each other for decades and get along surprisingly well, they are very, very different people.

The last one was Cayde, and that didn’t end well for anyone. Cringe culture is dead, don’t @ me.

Did your Guardian go explore first before going to The Last City? If so, where to:

That was kinda the name of the game back then. The City was just a dinky little encampment and Wolf was on a completely different continent, so by the time he actually got there it was a dinky little town with not much to explore. He ended up breezing through a few times before anyone even really realized he was a Risen. The section of the wall he helped build is actually still there.

What was their reaction to first seeing The Last City:

A little bit surprised, honestly. He already knew there were a lot of little camps and small towns scattered around, but he hadn’t expected to find any that were that organized and so full of lightbearers and mortals, just working side by side.

Is your Guardian a part of a clan:

Yes! He’s part of the Exodus Family.

Does your Guardian's clan have a back story? If so, what is it?(if you want to or able to share):

Not much that I’m personally aware of, just cus my friends and I haven’t talked about it at length, but basically everyone is an Exo and having a fairytale/biblical theme is pretty common. Like. Puck is an obvious one. Wolf and Serenity are a little bit Little Red Riding Hood themed, only insomuch as Serenity having an affinity for red shells and Wolf thinking he’s all big and bad and tough.

(He’s not, he’s a baby.)

If your Guardian would have a quote as a flavor text for a weapon and/or piece of armor, what would they be:

I have a couple of these actually, all inspired by some really good quotes I’ve seen.

Wolf Moon’s Chase (Exotic) “Don’t look back. You’re not going that way.” A hand cannon with a wolf head grip and the Howlin’ Wolves perk; Successive precision kills gradually reload the clip and boost Super energy regen even if stowed. Missed shots have a chance to track enemies and explode.

Last Man Standing (Exotic) ”I was always taught that if you shoot for the Moon and miss, the vacuum of space will suck out your eyeballs. Failure is not an option. Go kill ‘em.” Chest armor with the Knock ‘Em Dead perk: Low health massively boosts damage, resilience, and mobility for a short amount of time.

Bad Blood (Legendary) ”The strength of the pack is the Wolf. The strength of the Wolf is the pack.” A Hunter’s cloak with the Vermilion Stripe down one side and a moon shattered into three pieces on the back.

If your Guardian has had any interactions with any civilians, Eliksni, Cabal, Vex, Hive, Taken, Scorn, Rogue Lightbearers, or Iron Lords/War Lords tell us about it!:

Wolf’s been around a while and he’s seen a lot of things, so let’s dig into this one.

He’s not as well known in the City except by name unless he’s wearing his wolf mask, but he drops in at the Farm pretty often and he’s on good terms with everyone there. He does a lot of supply runs for them and will stick around if they’re shorthanded to help with upkeep or defense if there’s a lot of hostile activity in the area. In general, he doesn’t interact a whole lot with mortals unless they’ve been out on the front lines like Devrim or Suraya. There’s way too much cultural and social disconnect there and he doesn’t have the patience or really even the language to try and explain to them that he, even as a Guardian and Old Light, is just as human as they are and while he may be immortal and have crazy cosmic superpowers given to him by a mysterious and sentient white spheroid, dying hurts and the trauma every Guardian walks around with just is not worth it.

Where Eliksni are concerned, he tends not to initiate fights with them. If they shoot first, all bets are off, but for the most part he has a lot of respect for what they’ve been through and can relate to feeling lost and completely adrift with no identity. He helps rebels on Europa either fight back against Salvation or escape to Earth to join the House of Light. He’s made a lot of friends that way.

Cabal he has a lot of respect for as well, for similar reasons. They lost their home to the Hive and are trying to survive in the best way they know how, even if he doesn’t agree with their politics. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen with Caiatl, but he’s trying to maintain hope that her empire and humanity will eventually reach an understanding. They’d be unstoppable as allies.

He doesn’t fuck with the Vex. Even before things came to light on Europa, even being near them made his brain itch and one of his biggest fears is being infected with some kind of Vex virus that’ll turn him into one of them and spread to other Exos or Ghosts, almost to the point he’d prefer to avoid them altogether.

He is terrified of the Hive. I’ve mentioned the Lunar Incident before, and the trauma of it caused such an intense meltdown that it forced a reset. Unless Eris Morn specifically asks him personally to go to the Moon for any reason, he doesn’t go anywhere near it. He can deal with them in other places like the Reef or on Earth, but the combination of Moon + Hive just scares him to death.

Taken and Scorn both are kind of a wobbly thing for him. He feels bad for what happened to them, but knowing that it can’t be reversed and that just killing them is a mercy makes it easier to deal with them. With Taken and anything relating to them, the spatial distortion they cause kind of overwhelms his processes if he’s dealing with it for too long and can make him feel a little sick, but that usually subsides once he’s gotten some distance. (Scorn are just... Oof. On the one hand, he kind of feels like they’re not too dissimilar to lightbearers just in that they were brought back from the dead and now won’t stay dead, but he always wonders if they’re suffering or if they even know where they are or what they’re doing. It’s just incredibly sad to see them like that, and the same goes for the Wrathborn.)

Rogue lightbearers? He kind of is one. He didn’t join the Vanguard until long after the City was established and before that he was just kind of doing his own thing being a thieving little shithead. It was Amelia who encouraged him to do it, and he’s shaped up a lot since then and become a lot more sympathetic toward other people. He still has that wild edge and always plays it fast and loose with the rules, more so than even most other Hunters, so he’s always butting heads with Zavala about that. In general, he doesn’t think much of them unless they’ve genuinely gone bad and are actively out there hunting and hurting other people.

Warlords/Iron Lords, uhhh. He was friends with a Warlord back in their day, but he didn’t pay them much mind outside of that. As far as he was concerned, if they stayed out of his way and he stayed out of theirs, everything was fine because other people’s problems weren’t his problem and he had no intention of getting tangled up with all that shit when he had a free pass to do all the petty crimes he wanted. He’s always thought the Iron Lords were stuffy and holier-than-thou, but he does kind of respect what they did back then and he might rip on Lord Saladin, but he understands his perspective on things. That kind of survival instinct and total victory or death philosophy, like... ya know. Wolf grew up in different times, too, and back then it was genuinely kill or be killed and you couldn’t trust anyone not to stab you in the back over scraps. He gets it. He may not always agree, but he gets it.

Does your Guardian have any unconventional allies or connections(By Vanguard standards):

Definitely. It didn’t start with Crow and Spider of course, but they’re a pretty good example. As a Hunter, he is connected. He knows a guy for everything you can think of and most of that knowledge is very under the table kind of shit. If the gains are good, he’ll partner up with just about anyone and his only hard limit is probably wholesale murder and not necessarily even because he isn’t comfortable with it. It’s a lot of mess, and a lot of potential to get his ass into really deep trouble he’d rather avoid.

He’s got a lot of Eliksni and Cabal buddies out in the system, most of whom he met in some makeshift prison or while trapped somewhere. More than once it’s been a situation of kidnapping where he just accidentally became friends with his captors.

One of his best friends for years was an Eliksni vandal out on the Tangled Shore, so he has absolutely no issue with having unconventional allies.

(Plus, like. With the system in total fucking chaos, you’re gonna need all the friends you can get. He’s dumb but he’s not stupid.)

How does your Guardian feel about themselves or others using Stasis:

Wolf has mixed feelings about Stasis. With Exos being pretty much literally born of Darkness, he has a natural affinity for it but being such a sensitive dude makes it very easy for the Darkness to manipulate him through. Any time he uses Stasis, he gets weird and a little bloodthirsty, so he tries to only use it when nothing else is working. He’s got a lot of willpower, but you can only hold out for so long when someone’s promising you salvation, peace, and power after the sort of life an Old Light has to deal with. Fear and trauma are very easy to appeal to when everything is looking increasingly more bleak all around you.

As far as other people using it, he’s still very “not my circus, not my clowns” about it. The only time he’d take issue is if someone was using it like legitimately trying to RTL someone he cares about.

Did they run The Last Wish raid? How did they react to seeing a live Ahamkara a.k.a Riven:

I’ve only done parts of it myself, but if he has met Riven he definitely almost short-circuited. I think anyone would if they met a supposedly extinct magic space dragon for the first time.

Did they run The Deep Stone Crypt raid? How did they react to the Crypt and seeing Exo Eliskni:

It was harrowing to say the least. Everything on Europa has been a nightmare, just from his own standpoint as an Exo. He goes through phases where he thinks that being one is the greatest thing ever because you’re faster, stronger, and tougher than anyone else, but at the same time, like. Look at what they have to deal with.

And all the secrets that came out as we learned more about Exoscience and Clovis Bray? Yikes, dude. Any time he’s not feeling cheeky or neutral about it, he just feels this weird sense of shame and guilt. Why would anyone want to be an Exo? Why would anyone willingly hand over their peace of mind and their security in their own identity like that? Most Exos don’t know who they were before, some don’t even know who they are now, and all because they got too close to the truth or their fundamentally unsustainable existence backfired again and they had to completely erase everything and start over.

Seeing Atraks was like watching a car crash knowing you wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop it. All these people seeking that out, wanting to make themselves or their allies into Exos just to be top notch unstoppable war machines when they don’t even slightly understand what it’s really like to live inside a completely foreign body is something he just can’t wrap his head around. He tries not to think about it too hard.

Is your Guardian from D1? How did they react to seeing Taniks alive once again:

He has his own beef with Taniks, but like. If he kept being killed and revived in shittier and shittier conditions, he’d probably be really pissed off too.

Where did they go and what did they do during The Red War:

The Red War kind of spelled the end of him transiently living in the City proper. His apartment was in one of the residential areas that got leveled, and he just never went back once the dust settled.

He did what he could to help, but his main concern was just keeping Serenity safe. He’d never admit it out loud in mixed company but if it came to having to choose between her and a handful of mortals, he’d choose her every time. She’s been the one constant in his life since he was revived and he couldn’t imagine having to try and carry on without her.

It really brought home just how much abuse he could take before his body would quit on him, and he almost didn’t make it through the whole thing. He’s way too reckless now to survive long without his Ghost, but it brought them a whole lot closer together.

For the most part, he teamed up with other Hunters to scout for safe exits and round up survivors, and when the Vanguard left to take care of business he stayed to help keep his lil classmates on task. After that he stayed at the Farm for a while dealing with the whole self-repair and maintenance deal, and he spent a whole lot more time out in the field when it was over.

Here are some characters that are either polarizing or have created a strong enough mass emotion within the community. What opinion does your Guardian hold on each of them >>>

Osiris, First Warlock Vanguard, originally exiled:

Wolf likes Osiris. Anyone who’s reckless, stubborn, uncouth, and a little bit feral is always going to be someone that Wolf likes and wants to be friends with. They get along for the most part, but because focusing doesn’t even make the list of Wolf’s strong points, Osiris can get exasperated with him pretty quickly when they’re going over some kind of batshit strategy and Wolf is over there in his corner texting. Osiris has no idea how he’s survived this long and has definitely said as much to his face. Wolf isn’t so sure either.

Eris Morn, Bane of the Swarm:

He’s a bit intimidated by her. She was kind of the catalyst for one of the most traumatizing events of his life, so being around her now still makes him feel a little bit weird and very nervous. Despite that, he still respects and trusts her immensely and will always come if she needs him.

They’ve taken time since All That Mess to talk to each other and she’s incredibly remorseful over what happened, but Wolf doesn’t blame her for any of it.

She has a very unique perspective on the Darkness and the Hive what all of this shit means, and he generally will trust her word over someone else’s when the topic comes up. She’s got a lot of wisdom in that crazy head of hers and they have a bit of a shared experience when it comes to being trapped in a Hive nest.

Cayde-6, Sixth Hunter Vanguard:

Lemme roll out the simp wagon for this one, ahem.

Wolf adored Cayde. Before The Dare, he joined in on Cayde’s little crew every so often for jobs and over time they got to know each other about as well as anyone can know Cayde or Wolf, and Wolf ended up falling for him pretty hard between all the snarky banter and watching him in action. They did some casual messing around and I’m sure anyone with eyes could see how bad he had it, but he never got the gumption to really confess and never tried to actually pursue anything beyond casual fun.

Cayde’s death absolutely destroyed his entire world. He’s seen plenty of death and his fair share of RTLs, but none have hit him as hard as that one. He spent a little while just immobilized by grief until it morphed into anger because, honestly, I don’t think any Guardian handles loss very well, and he decided after the memorial service to hunt down Uldren regardless of the cost.

The whole thing caused a bit of a rift between himself and his old fireteam and the Spider got a few good laughs out of calling him ‘Killer’. He doesn’t remember a lot of it now due to his reset around Shadowkeep, but he still gets flashes, and he definitely still blames himself. If he could have gotten there just a few minutes sooner, he knows Cayde and Sundance could have survived.

Ikora Rey, Second Warlock Vanguard:

Mad respect for Ikora Rey, especially when she low key high key supported his revenge mission. She has a unique way of being shady about things that Wolf really likes, and they don’t have much in common but he’s enjoyed working with her any time he’s gotten the chance.

When he has things to report on that he knows Zavala won’t like, Wolf goes to her first since she knows best how to soften the blow, and when he has the forethought to even bother, he runs strategies by her to get input. She’s the best Crucible player in history and he kind of sees her as a Warlock that thinks like a Hunter in a lot of ways. In the absence of Cayde, she’s the Vanguard he answers to the quickest.

Commander Zavala, Second Titan Vanguard:

Wolf and Zavala have a tense relationship. They don’t agree on most things and any time you put them in the same room together it inevitably devolves into some kind of argument about the best course of action to take on anything. Wolf’s story has him kind of lined up to be promoted to Vanguard because of experience and technicalities on the Dare, and while it’s not entirely up to Zavala, he does have a lot of sway as the Vanguard Commander. Wolf could not be less interested in the seat if someone was holding a gun to his Ghost.

He’s intentionally unprofessional as hell any time he has to work with Zavala directly and tends to go out of his way to use very unconventional methods that he know Big Blue won’t approve of, because he’s a child. Being petty is the spice of life, and Wolf is still mad that Zavala forbid him from going after Uldren. That he does remember.

With all of that said though! He does respect Zavala. You wouldn’t know it, but he truly does. The guy has the weight of the entire Sol System on his shoulders and never once has he complained.

Saint-14, legendary Titan, First Titan Vanguard:

Wolf is very fond of Saint and Saint is probably one of the few people left who has a way of getting Wolf to slow down and just take it easy for a while. Before Wolf dipped out for good, he’d sometimes just track the guy down to spend time with him and listen to his various wisdoms.

These days, he still calls him up sometimes to shoot the shit and check in on things and he always asks Saint to tell the pigeons and the Colonel that he said hi.

Lord Saladin, Iron Banner handler, One of the last remaining Iron Lords:

Wolf clowns on Saladin a lot but he does understand his point of view when it comes to survival. I’ve mentioned it before, but Wolf “grew up” in the same time period and gets where the intensity and giving no quarter comes from, because back then it really was a life or death decision with way more immediate consequences. Table politics are kind of lost to him and the turning tide between humanity versus the Eliksni or the Cabal is calling for a more open and foreward-thinking willingness to take that risk in allying with them against a common enemy. Wolf’s a quicker learner though, and spending as much time as he has with both has taught him that, in a lot of ways, they’re just like us. They had their homes taken and destroyed, they’ve lost loved ones in droves, and they’re struggling to hang onto a thread in the only way they know how.

Wolf hopes that Lord Saladin will come around and let go of his dated worldviews, because the old ways aren’t what’s going to win wars anymore. Things are far, far bigger than us versus them now and Wolf has a feeling that humanity is gonna need more resolute leaders like Saladin to survive what’s coming.

Lord Shaxx, Crucible handler, Hero of Twilight Gap, living megaphone:

Don’t leave Shaxx and Wolf alone together unless you want complete and utter chaos to unfold. Any time they get together, they get rowdy, and no piece of furniture is safe from having one of them suplexed or dropkicked into it. Shaxx is kind of like a cool uncle to Wolf and they have been known to test new weapons on each other.

The Crow, New Light, Ex-Enforcer to The Spider:

Whoof. When Wolf first met Crow, he was absolutely gobsmacked. Of all the things running through his head, the biggest question he had was why. He almost shot Crow on sight, but he hesitated for some reason. It took a long time for Wolf to warm up to him and in that time he was uncharacteristically quiet and a little cold. Serenity managed to get him to keep his stupid mouth shut, and he’s glad he listened for once.

I think just spending all that time with him hunting Wrathborn, just being a team and really going through it together, was what brought Wolf closer to him. Learning about what Crow was dealing with in his personal life, everything he was going through just as a consequence of existing. Wolf opened up over time himself and once he worked through that big C6 obstacle, he found himself really endeared to both Crow and Glint.

These days, Wolf would probably consider Crow one of his best friends. He’s taught the kid a lot of old Hunter tricks and they hang out a lot, to Glint and Serenity’s immense relief. Crow is like the little brother he never had.

The Spider, The Shore's Only Law, founder of "House" Spider:

He may or may not have low key threatened Spider before he left the Tangled Shore with Crow. From day one, even as someone who is by default insufferably cheeky, the amount of disrespect. Ooh, bitch.

Spider calling him Killer (especially around Crow) got under his skin so fast, you would not even believe, and it was all Wolf could do not to leap across the room and strangle him to death any time they had to do deals.

As far as Wolf is concerned, if he never sees the Spider again, it’ll be too soon.

Uldren Sov, Prince of the Reef, Master of Crows:

Khhhh, hoo boy. The hate. The Frothing Hatred he had for this little man. Wolf had never in his life wanted someone dead as badly as he wanted Uldren Sov dead.

Being friends with Crow and his 16th reset has softened that a lot, and he’s learned a few things about Uldren that have made other things make a lot more since sense then, but. Yeesh.

Mara Sov, Queen of the Reef, Queen of the Awoken, Ex-Kell of Wolves:

Very mixed. He never dealt with her directly, but Wolf has a natural aversion to any form of leadership just by nature. That she cornered the House of Wolves into subservience doesn’t help, but on the other hand, if she hadn’t been at war with them, things would have turned out a lot different for humanity at Twilight Gap.

Variks, the Loyal, founder of House Judgement:

Speaking of shifty motherfuckers.

Wolf definitely likes Variks and his reset between Shadowkeep and now has conveniently erased the memory of knowing Variks had a hand in Cayde’s death.

He does what he can on Europa to help Variks get Salvation rebels to safety if they just want to get the fuck up out of there and is happy to do knife tricks for him when he asks. Variks has made a lot of questionable decisions, but it’s all been done for what he believes is the good of his people, and Wolf can respect that.

Mithrax, the Forsaken, Kell of Light, founder of House Light:

Hasn’t met him, but he’s heard... a lot. With Mithrax being the Kell of the House of Light, Wolf is hopeful it’ll be a good step in the right direction toward uniting humanity and Eliksni. He’s pretty sure they’re both doomed if they can’t at least fight alongside each other temporarily.

The Exo Stranger/Elizabeth "Elsie" Bray, Granddaughter of Clovis I and Sister to Ana Bray:

Wolf is incurably nosy, so he finds Elsie pretty frustrating. She’s full of secrets and never hangs around long enough to explain what the hell she’s talking about or what her end goal is, but she’s been invaluable on Europa. Once she finally opened up a little bit and started actually telling him important things, he found her a whole lot easier to get along with and it helped to have her around when he was discovering a lot of things on his own about where Exos came from.

Eramis, of House Salvation, Kell of Darkness:

He... gets where she was coming from, in a way. She was angry and desperate and that kind of thing is easy for the Darkness to take advantage of. He can’t rightly blame her for grabbing onto anything she thought might save her people, even though it’s ended in yet more trauma for them.

Eramis isn’t someone he’d go out of his way to try to be friends with if she was ever freed from Stasis, but he would hope she’d more or less see the Light and realize that her methods needed some serious rethinking.

Empress Caiatl of the Cabal Imperial Empire:

Wolf has a lot of respect for Caiatl. She watched her home burn down around her and has used that pain to fuel a cause he thinks is pretty noble. Humanity has been at war with the Cabal for a long time now, and both sides have suffered incredible losses because of it. He thinks that trying to mend that and join forces is a good idea, but for once he’s kind of with Zavala on something: They shouldn’t have to swear fealty or subservience to a foreign empire to have their support against a threat that’s coming for both.

He’s holding out hope that if they show their strength against her greatest warriors, she’ll understand that Guardians and humanity as a whole are more beneficial as equals, not cannon fodder. It only takes one Guardian to decimate an entire Cabal squad, after all.

The Darkness is fast approaching. How is your Guardian handling it:

He’s... handling it. It’s been getting harder in recent years to just not think about things which has been his entire motto since he was first revived. More and more he’s having to confront head-on the things that scare him the most, and there’s only so much running away you can do before you run straight into a corner and have to choose between extinction and fighting until you draw your last breath.

Wolf isn’t a pacifist by any means, but it’s just one of those things where he’s starting to realize his way of living just isn’t sustainable with the system in such chaos. The Hive used to be just another threat he had to deal with every so often, but now they’ve become the Big Bad that are outpacing even the Vex in terms of imminent destruction of several species all at once. His biggest hope right now is that humanity, Eliksni, and Cabal can all set their differences aside, at least long enough to try and put up a defense against the Hive and the Darkness. If they can’t, then... well, they won’t have to worry about it for very long, at least.

And finally, does your Guardian have any advice for any New Lights:

Be good. Be understanding. Tell the people you love that you love them every single chance you get, because you never know what could happen out there. Don’t treat everyone as your enemy, because you may find friends in strange places, and how you treat someone may be the difference between waking up dead and surviving to see morning, but most importantly; Don’t look back. You’re not going that way.

#w16 #i need a meta tag for all this stuff oogh #meta

[dust2dust34]

Four Walls (Of Law Firms and Honey) - Olicity AU, Explicit

Summary: Oliver is Felicity’s boss at Queen & Queen, a prestigious international law firm. She’s the tech genius, he’s the top dog’s son, and they viciously disagree on nearly everything. Despite that, they work together, neither outright acknowledging the ever-present simmering attraction that has slowly been growing hotter and hotter…

Until a chance meeting at a grocery store one night has them crossing a line, a tiny little line that was never meant to be crossed.

A collection of ficlets in the same ‘verse: Of Law Firms and Honey.

Rated: Explicit

Full fic: AO3 | Tumblr | Timeline

Reminder: Please read the story tags and notes at the beginning of each chapter.

This fic is being told out of order. Please see the timeline to read them in order. Please see the previous installments for additional author notes and story information.

Check out the Four Walls playlist, and if you have suggestions, I’d love to hear them!

Additional A/N: This is the other ficlet I planned for a generous donor in the Fic For Food Drive I took part in. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Chapter Summary: Flash Fic #4. She finds him in a coffee shop.

(read on AO3)

8:27 a.m. Gilded Bean (Flash Fic #4)

The bustle of the coffee shop encompassed him in a pleasant haze.

Sipping his coffee, Oliver scrolled through his email on his phone, enjoying the relaxing slant of his shoulders caused by the chatter behind him, the footsteps of people hustling to the counter, the distinct sound of beverages being crafted. It complimented the busy downtown street outside the window he faced, the people rushing by, cars stopping and going, the sky clear for once, letting sunshine spill on the world.

He savored it, knowing he would be going back to his quiet office for the board meeting in thirty minutes.

Pinpricks of anxiety slithered over him.

Oliver sucked in a breath and quickly looked up at the busy world. His fingers tightened around his coffee cup, so hard the top nearly popped off. He fixed his eyes on signs of life - the strands falling from a woman’s braid, a man digging in his back pocket, a dog prancing by on a thin leash, the woman walking it staring at her phone, a dent in a passing car, a man talking to someone in the backseat of another car, pieces of hair sticking to the corner of someone’s mouth, a woman’s lips as she sang along to whatever came out of her headphones.

He clung to everything before him, holding it close, despite being outside of all of it.

A chime told him he had fifteen minutes to get back to the office.

He didn’t move. Instead, eyes not straying from the mosaic of life, he set his phone down and rubbed his thumb along the ridge of his index finger. The motion soothed him enough that he settled, his heart rate slowing. He calculated how long he could stay until he had to run back to the office to make it in time.

Six minutes.

Ten if he really booked it.

“Hey.”

Oliver froze.

For a split second he wondered if he was imagining it. He’d heard her voice enough over the last several months, whispering through his thoughts, and dreamt about it even more than that. It had become a permanent fixture in his mind during those days drifting on the ocean, memories coming to life, haunting him until he wasn’t sure if he was praying for death or for her.

A hint of her perfume sliced through the smell of coffee.

Oliver breathed it in, deeply, as the warmth of a person sitting down next to him fully registered.

Holding his breath, he turned.

His heart slammed into the floor.

God, she was a sight for sore eyes. She looked the same - her hair back in a high ponytail, dark-framed glasses, bright pop of color on her lips, her earrings exactly how he remembered them - but she was different, too. Calmer. Softer. A casual confidence made the air around her shimmer.

She was stunning, even more than he remembered, and all he could do was stare as the full breadth of how much he missed her hit him square in the chest.

“Felicity.”

A hint of a smile touched her lips and the quiet beauty of it shredded his insides.

“Don’t think I’ll ever be used to that,” she said with a little laugh.

Oliver huffed out a noise, something caught between a chuckle and a grunt, mostly because he felt like he should acknowledge her words somehow. And because his voice was gone.

He stared at her, his mind whirling.

He hadn’t seen her since the bluff last year, their bluff, a few weeks after he’d been found in the North China Sea. She’d found him on the cliff’s edge, staring at the water crashing into the rocks down below. To this day, he still didn’t know if he would have jumped, but then it hadn’t mattered, because she was there. And the second she touched him, he’d fallen apart, collapsing into her arms, breaking under the weight of all of it.

… the Gambit flipping in the frenzied sea, going under… terrified shouts for help from the crew before the ocean tore them away… his father shooting the captain in the face… propping himself on the edge of the raft, telling Oliver it was the only way before putting a bullet in his own head… Oliver’s frantic screams as he fought the rough ocean waves to get his father’s body back… the sea sweeping his father away, so far away, taking the gun with him… floating, for days on end, so many days, knowing he was going to die… hoping for it… wishing for it… so much that when the shadow of the freighter appeared, he finally felt a modicum of peace knowing it was all over…

But it wasn’t. He was still alive.

And the world was unchanged, unaffected, unaware.

She was the only one who knew what had happened out there. The words had come tumbling out in a fervor of raw emotion, running together, his tears blurring the edges until he was nothing but a sobbing mess that she held together all through the night.

Then that was it. They went back to their separate lives - her to a life that didn’t involve him, and him to continue his life with McKenna.

Except here she was, in all her beautiful glory, glowing with all the light he’d taken for granted.

“Hi,” he whispered.

It was all he had.

Her brow furrowed and he watched that familiar line appear between her brows. It always announced her troubled thoughts, no matter how hard she tried to hide them. His mouth went dry. Was she regretting sitting here? Did she wish she’d turned and left instead? They didn’t have much of anything to say anymore, did they? Not now. Not after everything. But the thought of her walking away again sent a white hot knife slicing through his gut and Oliver opened his mouth to beg her not to leave, even though he knew he didn’t deserve it…

She didn’t leave.

With a tiny whisper of his name, Felicity grasped his hand.

Choking on a surge of emotion, Oliver’s eyes dropped to where she touched him. How many times had they touched? In how many ways? Hundreds. Thousands. It was countless, and yet it felt like the first time he was feeling her skin against his. She was as soft as ever, and so damned warm. It wasn’t until this moment that he fully appreciated just how frozen he still was at his core.

His fingers curled around hers, his heart cracking when she held him back.

His phone chimed.

Oliver started, blinking rapidly, only realizing in that moment that tears had been filling his eyes. He swallowed hard as he glanced at his phone.

Five minutes.

“Damn it,” he breathed.

She tugged her hand out of his and the loss carved a jagged hole in his center.

“I have to go, too, actually,” Felicity said, sliding off the barstool. Her front grazed his arm in the miniscule space between them before she stepped free. She offered him another smile. “It was good seeing you, Oliver.”

“Yeah,” he replied.

Absently. Automatically. Blankly. Just going through the motions.

Which was all he’d been doing, wasn’t it? For months now. Floating through life, doing what he thought he was supposed to do, filling shoes he felt woefully inadequate in, going home to someone who barely pierced the surface of his heart.

And he was doing it here, with her.

He didn’t want to be numb anymore.

Oliver surged off his barstool, towards her. The coffee shop was busy, people loitering in line, baristas yelling names, glasses hitting tabletops, utensils hitting plates. All of it was suddenly so viciously clear that it hurt his ears, but none of it mattered as he looked at her.

A thousand words hovered on his tongue. None of them came out, nothing but…

“Thank you.”

“Yeah,” Felicity said, her smile warming. She grasped his bicep and pushed up onto her toes to kiss his cheek. Oliver’s eyes slammed shut and he instinctively leaned into her, his heart damn near ricocheting off his chest plate when she lingered for a second longer than necessary. Her lips moved over his stubble as she said, “Of course.”

As if it was a given.

As if he deserved it.

Oliver let out a ragged exhale and pressed his cheek to hers. She paused, but she didn’t pull away, like he thought she would. Like she probably should. Instead her hand tightened on his arm and then she pressed back, a stuttered breath dancing over the shell of his ear.

They lingered there, caught in the in-between, suspended between the past and the present, and a future that didn’t exist.

He knew nothing about her life anymore. He didn’t know what she had been up to. He didn’t know what she did with her time. He had specifically gone out of his way to avoid looking her up, because it was a closed door that needed to stay that way.

But she was also here, right here, right before him.

“Felicity,” he whispered, his hands finding her elbows, tentative, unsure.

I miss you.

With a ragged gasp, Felicity slid her arm around his neck and tugged him into her.

Relief shot through him and he sagged into her arms.

They hugged each other, tight, grasping, clinging so tight it hurt. Her nails bit through his jacket, a whimper he hoped he wasn’t imagining slipping out as she used her hold on him to yank him down closer to her. He pulled her flush against him, burying his face in her shoulder, and then her neck. The lapel of her jacket got in the way and he nosed it out of the way so he could breathe in that unique scent that was all Felicity. She smelled so good, so perfect, and something deep inside him slid into place, a missing piece he hadn’t realized was missing. A piece he hadn’t wanted to admit was missing. Because he needed it, like the air in his lungs, and the thought of living life without it for even one more second had him gasping her name again and pulling her in even more.

He had to leave. So did she. They had lives to live, lives that didn’t involve each other anymore.

But neither of them moved, not until someone bumped into them, breaking the moment. Even then, when they parted, they lingered in each other’s bubble, so much flying between them that he didn’t know where to begin thinking about it, much less talk about it.

They did finally part, though, and went their separate ways.

But they didn’t say anything, because they didn’t have to.

This was enough.

It had to be.

*

Thank you for reading! Reviews literally feed the soul and muse.

#olicity #olicity fic #olicity fanfic #olicity fanfiction #arrow fic #oliver queen #felicity smoak #of law firms and honey #four walls #my fics #my fics: au #dust2dust34 #arrow #fanfiction

[raywritesthings]

Bird in a Storm 14/17

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Laurel Lance, Oliver Queen, Tommy Merlyn, John Diggle, Athena, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Frank Chen Pairing: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen Summary: The confrontation between the Hood and SWAT on the roof of the Winick Building goes differently, altering the course of Laurel’s career, relationships and efforts to save her city forever, the shockwaves of such an altered path making themselves felt throughout her family and friends. *Can be read on my AO3, link is in bio*

Her first foray on the bike was going pretty well, in her personal opinion. It wasn’t like she had never ridden one, of course. Under her dad’s supervision, she’d been on the back of one of the police-issue motorcycles a few times and even shown the different controls. Ollie had always liked his bikes as well, and Laurel had refused to act the nervous girlfriend about it; part of why he and Tommy had always liked hanging around her had been her relative willingness to go along with their various misadventures to a point. She’d stopped short of anything that would have seen her in front of a judge.

Though if Oliver or Tommy could see her now, risking arrest night after night… she didn’t know how they could all be in the same city and yet feel further apart than ever most days. Even if a lot of that was her own fault.

She knew John Diggle was right. Oliver was likely to find out the truth of what she was up to these days, if only by running into her out on the streets some night. Wouldn’t it be better for the truth to just come from her?

But there was every chance it wouldn’t be better, that Oliver would react badly either way. He still blamed himself for all the crazy turns her life had taken this year. Laurel wasn’t sure if she could make him understand that this wasn’t the rock bottom of some downward spiral. If anything, this was a newfound sense of purpose and, strangely, of inner peace after being frozen in place for the last five years.

Did she have regrets? Of course. She wished she’d never agreed to date Tommy and broken his heart; she wished her job and the jobs of countless others actually paid a decent wage; she wished with all her heart that Sara could’ve been the girl in the Rockets cap her mother had been so desperate to find. But losing nearly everything had forced her to look at things from another point of view. 

No longer was she the charitable helper from on high, enlightened and sympathetic to the plight of others when no one else would listen. She could see for herself that there had been and always would be those in the Glades helping each other. Laurel had made more friends in the months since moving to her new home than she had had in her life, and friends who wouldn’t just disappear on her the way so many of her and Oliver’s high society acquaintances had after the Gambit sank. And her understanding of justice and how it was enacted out in the real world had shifted radically as she had lost the blinders of her father’s old strictures and learned for herself what truly needed doing. She wouldn’t trade any of that for her old life.

Maybe, in a way, Oliver would understand. After all, he was the man he was today in part because of the misfortunes he had learned to fight and live through. She didn’t think he would go back, either.

Her wandering thoughts were cut off by her phone, which she could feel buzzing in her pocket. Laurel pulled off the road into an alley before stopping the bike and getting it out. “Hello?”

“Laurel, listen, it’s me,” John Diggle said. She tensed, wondering if he was about to let her know he had told Oliver about her. “I’m hoping you can stop by the base tonight.”

“How come?”

“We got word about Walter, and it’s… not good. Oliver’s not doing well. I’d stay with him, but Felicity’s taking it hard, too. She needs someone. And I think — no, I know he probably needs you.”

Laurel’s eyes had closed at hearing Walter’s name and she swallowed once before nodding. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Bad news about Walter. She could only assume someone had found the body. What a horrible thing to happen to a good man. What must Oliver’s family be going through? Apparently they weren’t grieving together, if Oliver had chosen to retreat to his base.

Laurel stopped by her home to drop off her wig and mask, then drove out to the Verdant. John’s car was still parked out back, so he must have decided to wait for her to arrive before leaving for Felicity’s. She remembered the blonde woman a little, though she didn’t know what she had to do with Walter exactly. Anyone would be taking the news of an innocent man’s death badly, though.

Laurel came in through the back entrance and immediately took notice of the fact that most of the lights were off. She spotted John in a chair, talking in low tones to Oliver, who was sitting on the ground with the wall at his back.

They both looked up at her approach, and Laurel slowed to a stop. But John stood and nodded to her in thanks before walking out the way she had come. Oliver’s gaze lowered back to his hands, and they were left in silence.

Laurel forewent the chair and settled cross-legged on the ground, her knee bumping Oliver’s thigh. “I’m so sorry, Ollie.”

“I don’t know what I expected. I guess, because of the lack of ransom note, I thought he might be being held for some other reason. That we could find him in time. But it didn’t matter what we did. He was dead before I left the hospital last December.”

She couldn’t exactly hug him from this position, so Laurel wrapped an arm around his shoulders and guided him to rest his head against her own shoulder. That he went with little fuss or fight wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

“How’s Thea taking it?”

“Not well. I left her with- with Raisa.” His shoulders, if anything hunched tighter together. “They both knew Walter better than I had the chance to. I can’t really relate to what she’s going through.”

“Of course you can,” Laurel told him gently. “You lost your own father.”

“And I wasn’t able to save him any better than I was able to save Walter for Thea. Or for mom.” His throat bobbed, and his voice came out strained. “She’s shut herself back up in her room again. I don’t know how we’ll get her out.”

“You will. Your mother loves you and Thea, but she just needs time. And this wasn’t your fault. You said it yourself, you were in the hospital when he was taken.”

“If I had beaten the Dark Archer—”

“Then you still wouldn’t have been at Queen Consolidated to stop Walter’s kidnapping. How could you have known to be there? Like you said, these people who took him left no sort of warning or indication that this was happening or why.”

He sighed through his nose. “There’s a lot happening that I still don’t know why.”

“You’ll figure it out,” she insisted. “You’ve already done so much since coming home. You can do this, too.”

“Thank you.” He lifted his head to look her in the eye at last. “You always believe in me no matter how badly it hurts you. I can’t help thinking you’d be better off if you never found out who I was, or if I’d kept my distance as the Hood. But maybe you’d have just ended up helping out the Woman instead.”

Laurel stiffened, her arm drawing back. “The Woman?”

“Yeah, that’s… well that’s what some of them are calling her. From everything that’s said, she’s more the hero that you hoped I’d be.”

Laurel’s heart sank. That wasn’t what she’d intended at all by going out. She’d been inspired by him and wanted to further what he had been doing on a smaller scale, not cause him to doubt himself.

“Ollie...”

“Hm?” His head tilted, curious as she struggled with how to say what she needed to. Yet as she struggled, a light seemed to spark in his eyes as his mouth fell open into a silent oh.

Laurel cringed. “That obvious?”

“Not as much as it should have been.��� He hung his head, slowly shaking it side to side. “What have I done?”

Laurel frowned, shifting onto her knees so she could face him fully. “This isn’t something you did. Yes, you inspired me, but this was a choice I made. And it’s one I stand by.”

“If I hadn’t gotten you into trouble at work—”

“How many times am I going to have to remind you of all the good you’ve done and just how heavily it outweighs the bad? I’m not even talking about the city here. I’m talking about me.”

He looked up at her, and Laurel decided in that moment that they’d better stand. She needed to pull him out of this hole, and physically doing so was just about as good a place to start as any. So she took hold of his hands and tugged him up onto his feet with her.

“Without you, I would never have won the Hunt case once it got put in front of Judge Grell. I wouldn’t have won the Sommers case, either, because I’d probably be dead. Assuming I even managed to survive that, I would have let Peter Declan die like everyone else without you pointing it out to me. Yes, I was a lawyer, Ollie, and a good one. But I was passive. I was passive in every aspect of my life, too afraid to live because I didn’t want to get hurt. I’d found my comfort zone, and I was stuck in it.

“You changed that, the way you always do,” she continued, allowing herself to smile a little. “And it turned out that losing everything was the best thing to happen to me. I was too naive to see just how badly the system was functioning until I was living it for myself. Now that I know better, I can be more proactive, both in protecting the people of this city and myself. I know exactly what I’m willing to tolerate from people and the level of respect I deserve.” She thought of her mother and the lie she had kept all those years and never truly apologized for. Hard to imagine that she could find it easier to forgive the man who had betrayed her trust rather than her own flesh and blood, but Oliver had never once taken her forgiveness for granted the way her mother had seemed to be doing when she had arrived. He had worked for it, earned it.

But how he responded to her choice to take to the streets was going to be the true test going forward of whether she really did have his respect. She took a breath and said, “I can understand if you’re upset I didn’t tell you, but I needed to do this for me. To prove to myself I still had something to give to our city. So what are you thinking now?”

Oliver shifted his weight from one foot to the other, clearly still taking in a lot of what she had just heaped on him. At the very least, she had probably provided a distraction from his grief if she hadn’t alleviated it. But she knew firsthand it wasn’t so simple a thing as telling it to go away. “I don’t know. I can’t be happy about this, Laurel. Not because you’ve done something wrong, but because of the way this city forces good, honest people like you and your father to go outside the system in order to actually make a difference. Anywhere else, CNRI could’ve operated independently from the interests of wealthy backers, and they never would’ve forced someone as talented as you out the door. They have no idea what they gave up.”

He paced away a moment, then came back. “I’m also terrified. I know just how dangerous it is out there, and I never wanted you to be in that kind of danger, let alone put yourself there. Is this what you’ve been going out there in?” He took hold of the two sides of her jacket which she’d unzipped upon reaching the base. At her nod, he frowned. “It’s not enough. You could take some real damage, get shot.”

“I have been,” she told him and shrugged. “Mostly a graze, but I handled it.”

He stared at her in shock, seemingly at a loss for words.

Laurel sighed and placed her hands over his. “Look, I knew this was going to be hard for you. That’s why I didn’t want to burden you with it. We haven’t run into each other out in the field so far, so you don’t have to think much about it if you don’t want.”

“It’s not that simple,” he argued. “I won’t be able to stop thinking about what could happen.”

“You can’t ask me to stop.” Laurel pried his fingers off her jacket and stepped back, only for him to follow and cup her face.

“I know. I know that, Laurel. If this year’s shown me anything, it’s that you’ll do things your way no matter what. You’re just like me that way.” His thumbs stroked her cheekbones as his eyes searched hers, and she tried not to shiver. “If the choice is between doing this with or without me, which would you choose?”

“What?”

He seemed at least a little amused by her shock, judging by the soft smile on his face as he said, “I’d rather you be at my side than out on your own. That’s what I’m thinking now.”

Laurel swallowed, her eyes stinging a little. Not in her wildest dreams had she expected Oliver to make that kind of offer, not at first anyway. He really had changed. She gripped his forearms. “There’s things I’m focused on that you’re not, and I can’t say I’d be much help against someone like that Dark Archer.”

“That’s okay. We can figure out what works.”

“Okay,” she agreed, her voice barely audible.

Oliver licked his lips, and, close as they were, she couldn’t help staring. “I need you, Laurel.”

“I know.” The truth was, she needed him, too. Tommy had seen it all those months ago, back when she had been unwilling to admit it. But she knew in her bones they were ready now, in a way they’d never been before.

He leaned down, one hand moving around to cup the back of her head, fingers playing with the shorter strands. Her own hands slid up his arms to his chest, his shoulders, his neck as their lips met. This wasn’t the rushed, blindly passionate kiss they had shared in his bedroom all those months ago. Laurel felt grounded in who she was and where and when and who she was with, and she was glad. She had missed him so, so much.

They broke apart, and Oliver brought his forehead to rest against hers, his eyes closed. She stroked the back of his neck and held him, her eyes darting around the base. Everything was so cold and sterile; had he really been planning to spend the whole night here?

“Why don’t you come home with me?”

His eyes opened, though he stayed silent.

“You shouldn’t be alone right now. We can talk, or we don’t have to, but I want to be there for you.” She would make sure he returned to his family at some point, but she’d learned the hard way to read his physical tells of when he wasn’t ready to do something and wouldn’t say it out loud. She would give him the night before gently reminding him how much his sister and mother needed him, too.

Laurel led him by the hand out of the base, though Oliver stopped short at the sight of her bike. “You drove here on this?”

“Yeah. It’s sturdy,” she added when he continued to stare dubiously at it.

“Maybe for one. Come on, we’re taking mine.”

“I think you just want to drive,” Laurel replied with crossed arms as they headed further across the lot.

“You can drive — once I get you a new bike.”

She was having trouble keeping herself from smiling, glad that he already seemed to be feeling at least a little better. “I like my bike. Roy and I worked hard on it.”

“Roy?”

“Let’s just say I’m not the only one you inspired.”

Oliver’s eyebrows raised, though all he did was swing a leg over the bike and wait for her to get on. She wrapped her arms securely around him, and with one last soft look back at her, he started the engine and headed off for her place.

---

Oliver didn’t actually go to sleep. He rested with his eyes closed, even retreated into his own mind for a while, but he was afraid to truly lose consciousness. Because it might mean that when he woke up, he would realize all this was a dream.

He didn’t know how he could be experiencing a kind of dream with everything else going on — Walter’s loss was waiting somewhere in the recesses of his mind for the chance to drag him down into guilt and grief again at any moment. Yet the Laurel in his head had often come to him in his darkest moments on the island to help him see a way through. That the real one was here now to do so herself was a greater comfort than she probably knew.

Laurel had dozed for a while, but mostly she’d stayed awake, quietly running a hand up and down his back while his head rested against her breast. They were entwined practically head to toe to fit on her incredibly small mattress, and Oliver’s feet were still hanging the slightest bit over, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. In truth, parts of his body were very happy with the situation.

The part of him that wanted to remain in this bed with Laurel forever, whatever they got up to in it, was eventually superseded by the realization that he had not eaten since before his confrontation with Dominic Alonzo. A loud growl from his stomach pretty effectively cut through the quiet intimacy of their embrace, and Laurel lifted her head the same time that he did.

“I probably have something in my cabinets. I’ll give you a minute to get settled.” Her pointed glance down had him ducking his head slightly, though she swiftly leaned in to kiss him on the cheek in a sign she clearly didn’t mind.

Oliver ran through some of the meditation techniques he had been trained in before feeling sufficiently calm and in control, then stopped in the bathroom to wash his face. There was a potted plant of some kind that sat there, its green leaves long and healthy. He padded out to the kitchen in his bare feet to find Laurel at the stove with a skillet and eggs. This warranted some monitoring.

To his surprise, however, there were no major accidents as she fried two eggs for them each. He found a couple plates in her cabinet and got them each some water as well, and they took seats at the counter beside each other.

“So, this Roy. You wouldn’t be talking about Roy Harper, would you?”

“I would. Jealous?” She asked in mock seriousness.

“Considering he’s supposed to be dating my sister, I hope not.”

Laurel raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know they’d gotten together. That’s interesting.”

Interesting was a perfectly neutral word and probably one he would use if Thea ever asked his opinion on her relationship.

“How much does he know?”

“He knows about me. Helped me home the other night when I was shot.”

Well, the younger man was rising in his estimation, at least.

“He wants to know about you,” Laurel continued after taking another forkful of egg. “I told him I’d see what you thought.”

He frowned in thought. What did he think? Roy Harper was an oddball, in that he had been on the right track to becoming a career criminal before suddenly changing his ways. He couldn’t say if it was down to Thea’s influence, his saving the kid’s life or these encounters with Laurel he was only just learning about. Maybe it was a combination. That being said, he wasn’t sure he was prepared to trust Roy with his identity just yet. He was still something of a loose cannon, even if he had turned over a new leaf.

“I’ll give it some thought. Maybe once I’ve figured out what the Undertaking really is.”

“The Undertaking?”

He froze and then shook his head. “I guess I always meant to tell you. The night I went to see my mother as the Hood, it was because Digg had overheard her meeting with some man about something they called the Undertaking. It has something to do with the list my father gave me and something to do with the underground subway tunnels in the Glades, but beyond that I don’t know a thing.”

Laurel frowned. “Did Walter? Maybe that’s why…”

He nodded. “Felicity told me he got a copy of the list from my mother and was looking into it before his- his death.” It was hard to put it so finally. “But he didn’t have any better ideas about what it was than we do, or if he did then he was never able to share them.”

Laurel placed her hand over his resting on the counter. Oliver turned his palm over so that he could lace their fingers together.

“If it’s something worth killing for, it can’t be good.”

“Yep.”

They didn’t have much longer to talk about it since his phone started buzzing. Oliver glanced at the caller ID, seeing his sister’s name, before answering. “Hello?”

“Ollie, where are you?”

He winced. He hadn’t actually wanted Thea to worry about him. “At a friend’s. I’m okay, Speedy, I promise.”

“Then you haven’t seen the news,” she told him.

Oliver felt something cold settle in the pit of his stomach. “Why, what’s happened?”

“They’re saying Mr. Merlyn passed away in the hospital sometime last night. Complications with his recovery.”

“Oh.” It was wholly inadequate, and yet, Oliver could only feel numb. He had just started processing Walter’s death. To know that another man who had been in his life since childhood — and truly more so, having been his father’s best friend — was simply gone, like that, was simply bizarre. He had known Mr. Merlyn’s chances of recovery were slim and felt incredible guilt over having been unable to convince Tommy of the blood transfusion, yet for it to have taken such a turn for the worse so quickly, it felt like pulling the rug out from under him. He hadn’t even had the chance to visit the man in his hospital room yet.

Though thinking of his old friend, Oliver asked, “Have you heard from Tommy?”

“No. I was kind of hoping you had.”

His eyes squeezed shut. “I haven’t. Listen, I’ll- I’ll be home soon. I’ll leave right now. Just stay with mom. Has she heard yet?”

“I don’t think so. She’s still in her room,” Thea told him.

“Then wait for me, and we’ll tell her together.” He couldn’t imagine how hard this would be for his mother, losing her husband and her old friend in essentially the same night. They would be lucky if she left the house by fall. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay.”

He hung up, meeting Laurel’s concerned eyes. “What’s wrong with Tommy?”

“Nothing exactly. Just… Mr. Merlyn passed last night, according to the news.”

Laurel brought her other hand up to her mouth, and the one holding his clutched at his fingers tightly. “Oh, Tommy.”

“Yeah. I need to check on my mother, and then I’ll see about tracking him down.” Guilt churned anew in his stomach as he thought of the way he and his friend’s last conversation — or perhaps argument — had ended. And he worried what Tommy might think if he knew where and who Oliver was with right now. In the next moment, he dismissed that thought. Laurel was important to him, and Tommy knew that. He had been willing to set aside his own disappointment to be happy for his friends when they had tried to make a relationship work. As his friend, wouldn’t Tommy be willing to make the same choice?

He stood up and leaned in for one last kiss Laurel readily gave him. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do. If there’s word on the arrangements…”

“Of course.”

He made the drive back to Queen Manor to find Thea sitting on the steps up to the bedrooms. “Were you out all night?”

“Kind of. Come on.” He helped her up, and together they headed to their mother’s bedroom door. He knocked lightly. “Mom?”

“Yes, sweetheart?” Her voice sounded remarkably steady. 

Oliver exchanged a look with Thea before asking, “Can we come in?”

“Of course.”

He opened the door and entered, Thea trailing him.

Their mother was sitting up in bed, a robe pulled on over her pajamas. A photo album sat in her lap, one that, Oliver realized with an uncomfortable lurch, must have been produced for her and Walter’s wedding. She was stopped on a photo of the two of them, her one hand lovingly stroking the side of the page.

“I always hated this picture. I thought I looked bug-eyed,” she confessed, her tone more wistful than it was sorrowful. “But he always took a wonderful photo.”

“Mom, there’s been some, uh, some news,” Thea spoke up timidly.

She looked up, expectant, but Thea turned to him.

“Mr. Merlyn passed away last night in the hospital.”

He watched her eyes widen and mouth drop, heard the sympathy in her voice as she said, “Oh no, I was hoping for Tommy’s sake he would pull through. Malcolm was such a strong man.”

“Yeah, they think it was complications from the coma or something,” Thea muttered. “I wish I’d apologized to him for what I said at the party.”

Their mother opened her arms, and Thea sat on the side of the mattress and accepted her hug. “I don’t think he held it against you at all, dear. You were going through a hard time. Something this family isn’t strangers to, I’m afraid.” She smoothed Thea’s hair back and looked up. “I’ll make sure flowers are sent to Tommy’s home right away. Have you spoken to him yet?”

“No,” said Oliver, a little stiffly. Something felt off.

“Well, I’d reach out as soon as possible, Oliver. He’s going to need your support.” She shut the album and laid it on Walter’s side of the bed with care. “I’ll dress and start seeing to those arrangements.”

Thea stood and backed up towards him, and when their mother got up as well she reached out and cupped both their cheeks. “Thank you for checking on me and letting me know. It would have been dreadful to read it in the paper.”

“Sure, mom,” Thea said.

“Yeah,” Oliver agreed uneasily. He followed Thea out of the room and shut the door, pausing there in the hall.

Thea let out a breath in relief. “Well, nothing like keeping up appearances to get her moving again.”

“I guess,” Oliver replied, but kept the rest of his thoughts to himself. He hated thinking it, but his mother had been almost too put-together given what Thea had told him of her handling of his and his father’s reported deaths and what he’d seen when Walter was first declared missing. And while she had displayed the typical signs of shock at the news about Mr. Merlyn, it just hadn’t felt like his mother. Where was the denial, the insistence that someone at Channel 52 had gotten it wrong?

But what did it mean? It could just be that she had made her peace with both Walter’s disappearance and Malcolm’s health already.

There was nothing he could do about the misgivings he held right now, and truthfully he was avoiding reaching out to Tommy. Oliver got out his phone and dialed, frowning when it went straight to voicemail. He tried again and sent a text for good measure.

Where would Tommy be right now? The hospital? He didn’t want to intrude there if he was. Beyond that, Oliver wasn’t totally sure where Tommy had been living ever since he had walked out of Laurel’s apartment.

He looked up the number to call to try and reach Tommy at Merlyn Global. A secretary answered, of course.

“Hi, this is Oliver Queen. I was hoping to get in touch with your boss. I just heard the news about his father.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Queen, but Mr. Merlyn is taking a leave of absence at this time and will not be taking any calls. I can have the details of the upcoming memorial service sent to you if you would like to pay your respects at that time.”

“I would, thank you.”

He took lunch with his mother and Thea, even more troubled than before. His mother was up and about while Tommy had shut off all forms of contact. What was going on?

Diggle had made it in by the time lunch was over, and Oliver led him into a side room to talk. “You’ve seen the news?”

“Yeah. I was expecting it to be pretty quiet around here.”

“So was I.”

John raised an eyebrow. “You weren’t here when it hit?”

“Later. Look, the main thing is, I can’t get a hold of Tommy. He’s been… off lately, but I don’t want to leave him alone in this. Would Felicity be up for pinging his phone?”

His friend shook his head. “She’s zonked out on Nyquil after crying her way through the night. I doubt she’s even heard about Merlyn.”

He let out a breath. “Then I guess we wait.”

It was two days of feeling like something was not quite right with the world. Between Mr. Merlyn’s sudden passing, Tommy’s silence and his mother’s strange calm, Oliver wasn’t sure what was truly causing his senses to be on high alert.

Only Laurel could get him to calm both nights when she joined him and Digg down in the base. Without Felicity there to chatter like she had been the last couple nights they had been following the lead on Walter, her company was welcome to them both, and Oliver felt some of the tension in him ease as they ran practice spars against each other. Laurel was fairly solid on the fighting forms she had chosen to learn while Oliver had bits and pieces from a variety of teachers, and it made them an odd yet oddly suited match as they tested each other’s limits. She took quickly to learning from both him and Diggle; it was the studious nature in her that drove her to discover and master anything about a subject she took interest in.

“The memorial is going to be at the Merlyn home,” Oliver told her the second night as they danced around each other on the mats. “They’re burying him next to his wife.” 

Laurel froze, only for a moment, but it was enough for him to get behind her and pin her arms to her sides.

She kicked out, forcing him to jump back, and then she had spun to face him again. “Do you think… I still haven’t spoken to him since it all fell apart.”

“What other time is there going to be?” Oliver pointed out. “I know things didn’t end well, and I didn’t help that by driving a wedge between you two as the Hood. But Tommy is going to need us. I hope he is, anyway.”

His mother and Thea reacted only with mild surprise when Laurel arrived at the manor the next morning dressed all in black to make the drive over to the Merlyns’ with them. She had brought a basket of roses with her in a deep red color, more like crimson.

“They mean grief and sorrow. Pam and I put them together,” Laurel told him.

After being dropped off by their driver, their procession of four walked across the lawn to where chairs had been set out. Already the crowd was filling in, and Oliver found them a row near the front with enough open seats.

Before she could enter the row with them, his mother was approached by Frank Chen, another old friend to the family. The two were speaking softly enough that Oliver couldn’t make out what was being said, but something again felt odd. He just couldn’t place it.

Up ahead, he spotted the back of Tommy’s head where he sat in the front row. His only companion looked to be a woman with long, dark hair, though Oliver could not distinguish any of her features from behind. He didn’t think he knew her, and he wondered how Tommy did, his mind briefly recalling what his friend had said about the girls at Oliver’s funeral being like fish in a barrel. He immediately dismissed the thought; Tommy would never use his own father’s funeral for a score. He felt he knew his friend that well at least.

Eventually his mother took her place beside Thea, and Chen found his own seat further back. The funeral conductor moved to the front and center of the gathering.

“We are here to remember and to commemorate the life of one of Starling City’s most dedicated humanitarians. A beloved husband, father and friend to many. There were few who were as passionate about the future of our home and our people as Malcolm Merlyn.”

The conductor championed Mr. Merlyn’s story; a young businessman who had come to Starling City because he saw the potential to prosper, and prosper he had. How he had met Rebecca Merlyn through his friends, Oliver’s parents, and how special their love had been. Merlyn Global, Tommy’s birth, Rebecca’s loss, the ways he had continued to give back in memory of her.

“It was another senseless act of violence that robbed the world of Malcolm Merlyn. But I am told that he died as he lived, protecting another. His son, Thomas Merlyn. Thomas asked not to speak today, but he wished it to be known that he intends to carry on his father’s legacy in all ways.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his mother shift, her throat tightening. Her eyes stayed fixed forward. Laurel sent him a questioning glance, but Oliver gave the smallest shake of his head. Here wasn’t the place to get into his mother’s strange behavior.

The ceremony closed, and one by one, everyone came up to the front to pay their respects. Oliver tried to think of the last words he exchanged with Mr. Merlyn; he truthfully hadn’t seen much of him since his return home. He had called out to him to keep moving that night of the attack, and his father’s old friend had nodded in understanding. If only it had been the right call to make.

“I got in an argument with him,” Laurel said quietly, as if sensing his thoughts. “I went to dinner with him and Tommy, and we had a disagreement about his treatment of him.”

“Well, from what I know, Tommy and his father became pretty close by the end,” Oliver mused. “So maybe your argument helped more than you thought.”

Most of the guests were making their way to the house where tables with refreshment had been set up. Tommy, however, remained standing on the patio, nodding in acknowledgement or murmuring a quiet thanks to those mourners who addressed their condolences to him. As Oliver and Laurel approached, his eyes seemed to fix on them. Oliver wasn’t sure what to make of the expression on his friend’s face; it seemed like one of loathing.

Laurel took the lead in coming up to Tommy, hesitating for one moment before wrapping him into a hug. Tommy remained stiff and did not even attempt to return it. Oliver was more concerned with the woman who had sat next to Tommy at the service watching them from several feet back. Her gaze was cool and calculating, and the noticeable scar on her face had him wondering just who she was.

“Tommy, I’m so sorry,” Laurel said as she stepped back. “I know things between us — they didn’t end well, but I’m here for you. We both are,” she added, looking back at Oliver.

Oliver’s own words of comfort died on his lips when Tommy’s mouth twisted into something like a sneer. “A united front, just like the old days. I can see that’s not the only thing you coordinated. So how long after the breakup did that take?”

Oliver looked down. “What’s happened between Laurel and I is recent. It’s also not what today is about. You’ve lost your only family, and as your friends, we just want to support you.”

“Forgive me if I don’t really believe you, considering one more dead billionaire should just be another feather in your cap,” Tommy said. “Or hood, I guess.”

Oliver felt his heart stop for a single moment, and beside him, Laurel’s mouth dropped open. But he knew he had to try and deflect this — nothing about Tommy’s behavior right now said that confirming his suspicions was a good idea. If anything, Oliver’s own worst imaginings of his friend’s reaction were playing out in front of his eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t try. I still have keys to the club. I’ve seen your little base of operations, Oliver.”

He had no idea what to say. That Tommy was essentially accusing him, and in front of a witness, what did that mean exactly? Was he planning to expose him?

“Oh, don’t mind Athena,” Tommy said, having followed his line of sight. “She’s my new partner. What I know, she knows.”

“You told her before even talking to Oliver?” Laurel didn’t bother to hide the outrage Oliver was beginning to feel beneath the shock and the panic.

“She’s been truthful with me unlike my supposed best friends,” Tommy shot back. “Were you ever planning to tell me, or were you waiting until my father was dead so I couldn’t warn him?”

“Tommy, your father was the humanitarian of the year,” Oliver reminded him. “He was never in any danger from the Hood.” It was the four of them only on the patio, yet he didn’t feel comfortable naming himself as the vigilante all the same.

Tommy eyed him, just the slightest bit of surprise on his face. “You really don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?”

But his friend shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. If you weren’t the one behind this, I’ll find out who was. Someone hired the Triad.”

That brought Oliver up short. In the aftermath of the attack, he had never really thought to pursue that angle. Why had Mr. Merlyn been targeted? Who had wanted him dead in the first place? Who stood to gain?

“We can help you with that,” Laurel offered, looking back at him once to check that she wasn’t stepping over a line. He quickly nodded. “Oliver has contacts, resources.”

“Thanks, but I have my own now.”

“Tommy,” Oliver began, but stopped. He hated having to ask this. It scared him to ask. “What are you going to do about…”

“About what I know? Nothing. I like being alive,” Tommy said coldly.

Oliver drew back a step. He had never wanted this, one of his loved ones to look at him with utter loathing and revulsion. Even if it was what he deserved.

“You could have just asked him not to come if that’s how you feel,” Laurel said, and he noted dimly that her hands were clenched into fists. She was ready to fight.

“It’s how I would have expected you to feel, given everything you used to believe in,” Tommy told her. “But he was always the exception, wasn’t he?”

“As it is, I believe you both should go,” the mysterious Athena said, walking up to Tommy’s side. Her voice was accented, but he couldn’t place the origin. “Thomas has guests and other matters to attend to.”

“That’s just fine.” Laurel turned and seized Oliver’s hand, marching him down the walk towards the front gates. She was seething, and Oliver didn’t know if her plan was to walk all the way back to his family’s home or to the Glades themselves.

“Let me call Digg,” he said, horrified to discover his voice sounded choked. Oliver blinked, and moisture gathered at the corners of his eyes. He had known and feared since the night he had failed to save Malcolm what Tommy’s reaction might be. The reality was worse than anything he could prepare for.

Laurel waited for him to place the call, then stepped into his space and pulled him into a hug after he had put his phone away. He folded around her, needing this comfort more than ever. How could his oldest friend have changed so much? Or had Oliver simply been the one to change, and it was too much for Tommy to handle?

“We need to know more about this Athena,” he decided after an unknowable time. Wherever she had come from and why, she was exerting a powerful influence on Tommy that worried him. He had to know what her aim was, if only for his peace of mind regarding his friend.

---

He had thought he would feel some sense of satisfaction or vindication. He didn’t.

Instead, Tommy had more questions than answers once again, a feeling he hated. If Oliver truly hadn’t known his father’s identity, then who had the Triad been working for that night? Who were they still working for?

Athena was convinced his father’s death was no accident or the result of a complication. “The waters I gave you are infallible. They heal, they do not cause further harm. Someone else must have acted to ensure your father’s demise.”

One of the people his father recruited. Probably they were inside the manor right now, playing the part of a mourner. It made his blood boil.

He retreated to his father’s office with Athena. It was high time to go through the files on what his father had called the Undertaking in full. It had waited too long already. Had he known the person behind the attack at the award ceremony would strike again, he wouldn’t have put it off. He could have saved his father. But he had always been a disappointment, hadn’t he?

I won’t fail you now, dad, Tommy thought to himself.

What truly interested him in the files was a folder his father had labeled Insurance. There he found documents detailing the crimes of each member of Starling City’s high society Tommy had always thought of as his father’s inner circle. Carl Ballard’s record of tax evasion; a voice recording of Robert Queen, confessing to involuntary manslaughter; and most importantly of all, Frank Chen’s connections to and dealings with the Triad.

“Shall I apprehend Mr. Chen?” Athena asked.

“Wait until everyone has gone home. I don’t want people thinking his disappearance is connected to my father.” Not yet, anyway. He wanted the facts before he did anything that might affect his father’s reputation, not when it was all he had left.

“Then I will go and prepare a site for the interrogation. I will inform you of the details.”

Tommy nodded, then wandered back down the hall towards the main room where the low murmur of voices waited. An interrogation. Since when had this become his life?

He supposed it had always been this way. Ever since he was eight years old, at least, and his mother had been ripped away from them. He had been shielded from the majority of the violence that surrounded them ever since, but it had never meant it wasn’t present. He just hadn’t been paying attention. He would have to work hard at catching up.

“Tommy, there you are,” said a familiar voice, and he found himself being hugged again, this time by Thea Queen. Sweet Thea, so innocent to everything happening around her the way he had once been. He pitied her and envied her in turn. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m fine, Thea. It’s not my first time losing a parent.”

“Yeah,” she agreed glumly. “Me neither. We, uh, just got the news the other night that Walter… he wasn’t taken. He’s gone.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, because it was the thing to say. He supposed he felt badly for her. Walter Steele had been more her father than Oliver’s, at any rate. But she still had her mother and brother, assuming the latter didn’t get himself killed out there on his ridiculous crusade.

“If you ever need to come over and like be around people, you know you can do that, right? You’re like family.”

“That’s kind of you, Thea. But I’ll be fine.” He left the young woman behind, his eyes scanning the room. It appeared Chen had already left. A guilty conscience? He’d know soon enough.

Athena called him late in the afternoon and relayed the address she had brought Chen to. When Tommy walked into the empty building — one of Hunt’s abandoned projects since his company had pretty much dissolved with his death — Athena was waiting with Chen bound to a chair, a black sack over his head. He nodded to her, and she ripped it off.

As Chen shook himself and blinked in the sudden light, Tommy slowly stepped forward. He wanted the man to see him now, to know what this was truly about.

Chen’s questioning gaze left Athena, and his eyes widened as he took Tommy in. “Tommy? What is this?”

“I think you know exactly what this is, Frank. The humanitarian award ceremony. Why did you hire the Triad to attack my father at it?”

Chen’s face had gone slack with despair as each word was spoken. “I didn’t.”

“You’re lying.” It was as if people thought he was born yesterday. Well, Tommy Merlyn had woken to the ways of the world now, and he wasn’t going to be made the fool ever again.

“I didn’t hire them! I only—”

“Only what?”

“Please, Tommy. You are not your father,” Chen begged. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Oh, I won’t be doing anything,” Tommy promised. “Athena’s going to take care of that for me.”

A vicious grin rose on her lips as she withdrew a dagger from her belt. Athena held it up to the light, studying Tommy for a few moments before turning sharply on her toes to cut Chen across the cheek. The man cried out, and Tommy swallowed while shoving his hands into his pockets not to show them trembling. Chen would do better to talk; Tommy didn’t want to watch him be tortured, but he needed the information he had more.

“What was your role in the attack!”

“I only… I gave her the right number to call.”

“Her?” There were two women in this Tempest, as the group had apparently called itself. Councilwoman Pollard and Mrs. Queen.

Chen’s eyes were on the ground. “Moira. It was Moira’s idea.”

He froze. “Mrs. Queen?”

“Yes. After the Hood’s attack on her, she decided things were getting too dangerous. She wanted out, and she was convinced that Malcolm… that your father’s death was the only way to achieve that.”

Tommy stood there, unable to say another word. Mrs. Queen had done this? The woman had been something of a mother to him since he had lost his own, as much as he had allowed her to be.

“She chose the location and the time for the assassination. When it did not work as intended, she told me that would be the end of it. That we would wait and see.”

“And did she?” He couldn’t stop his voice from shaking, but Tommy didn’t mind that so much. It was in anger, not fear, and he thought Chen could sense that. “Wait?”

“I do not know. I tried to ask her today at the memorial, but she would tell me nothing. If she acted, something must have changed. I can’t think what that would be, other than her husband.”

“Walter?” What did Walter have to do with any of this?

Chen looked up, his brow furrowed. “Yes. Malcolm was holding him. You- you do know what he was doing, what he was planning? You can’t agree with it, Tommy. Please.” Chen leaned forward a little, only to shrink back when Athena moved the knife under his neck. “You must see it is madness.”

His father had been holding Walter hostage. Thea had said they had received the news that Walter had died. But how could that be if his father hadn’t even been conscious?

He needed to know what had happened to Walter Steele. Tommy turned to Athena. “Keep him here.” Then he marched back out to his car.

He went to the penthouse office rather than the house for expediency's sake. Tommy knew it was only down to how organized his father had kept things that he was able to find what he was looking for. A live feed to a dark room containing one living occupant: Walter Steele.

He was alive. Which meant his father had died for nothing at all.

Tommy was speeding back down the streets to get back back to the abandoned building, his mind so caught up in his anger and grief that he did not notice at first that the siren going off behind him was for him. With an irritated snarl, he pulled over and smacked his hand on the steering wheel as he waited for the officer to take his good, sweet time.

“Sir, are you aware you were going fifteen over the speed limit tonight?”

“Are you aware that I don’t actually give a shit?” He glared up at the man who gulped upon seeing his face. “Are you really going to give a man a ticket the night he had to lay his father to rest, Officer Brock?”

“No, Mr. Merlyn. Just, uh, just wanted to make sure you were driving safe.”

He smirked. “Thanks.” Tommy waited just long enough for the officer to step back before peeling away from the curb.

His fists were clenched tight enough he could feel his nails digging into the skin by the time he returned to find Athena standing guard over Chen while sharpening her knife. He slammed the side of his fist against the wall. “Walter Steele is still alive! So why did she do it?”

“I- I don’t know. I would tell you if I did.” The blood from his cut had dried on his cheek, a couple droplets staining the white collar of his shirt.

“If this man is useless to us, I can dispose of him and acquire the woman,” Athena offered, and Chen shuddered.

“No,” Tommy said. “Not yet. Mrs. Queen — Moira,” he corrected himself. She no longer deserved the respect. “Is a special case. We’ll need to be careful.”

The moment she was taken, Oliver would act. Oliver made this whole thing far more complicated than it needed to be, and the fact that his mother’s entire assassination plan had been precipitated by Oliver’s attack on her was all the more infuriating. If not for Oliver, his father would be alive!

There could be no physical harm brought against Moira Queen unless her son wasn’t an issue. And Tommy wasn’t sure he wanted to test Athena against Oliver. She claimed to be an elite fighter and had displayed a number of skills casually enough that he believed her, but the Hood had fought off impossible odds time and again this year. He had survived Tommy’s father, even. Striking out against Oliver would attract Laurel’s ire in turn as well, and while she was nowhere near the threat that Oliver presented, Tommy knew if it came to it, he could not harm her. Not physically.

But Moira was guilty. In her case, he might not have found himself so squeamish as to his father and Athena’s old ways. It just meant he would have to get creative, was all. One way or another, Moira Queen would receive retribution. This boiling rage inside of him would never cease unless she did.

“She just wanted the Undertaking to end,” Chen begged. His voice sounded a little hoarse. It had probably been hours since he had water. “The threats against our families—”

“If you wanted the Undertaking to be over, you would have turned my father over to the authorities. But you didn’t want your precious lives to be ruined by your own part in his plan,” Tommy told him coldly. “That’s what we’re all about in the elite high society circles, aren’t we? Appearances. Don’t try to pretend you cared what was going to happen to the Glades.”

“But you care. You’re not- you’re young, Tommy. You have your whole life ahead of you. You’re an innocent in all this. You don’t have to continue what Malcolm started.”

“I wasn’t going to.”

Athena looked at him sharply, but Tommy ignored her for the moment. She would see what he meant. An idea was slowly starting to form in his mind, something that might take care of his revenge on Moira and the matter of those earthquake devices sitting at Unidac Industries…

“Because you’re right. I’m not like my father.” Tommy paced away from Chen as he spoke. “My father cared about the Glades. Whatever you think of his methods, he wanted them to improve. You could even say he and the Hood were alike in that way.”

When he turned around to look, Chen was staring at him open-mouthed, stuck as if unsure whether to keep up his pathetic pleading. Athena was watching him, and he could not decide if she was doing so cautiously or curiously.

“I’m not,” Tommy announced plainly. “I have no grand plans or compassion for the Glades or its people. I’ve known since I was eight years old they can’t be saved. So I’m not going to.”

“Thomas.” Athena jerked her head towards the hallway. Tommy scowled, but followed her out. “You said you would uphold your father’s legacy.”

“And I will. But dad… nothing in his plans accounts for people who may work in, but not live in the Glades. Glades Memorial hospital is still open. The beat cops that patrol at night. It’s too imprecise, and I’m not comfortable with it. Should you really be?”

Athena blinked at him, the closest to surprised he had ever seen her.

“You told me you were going against what the people who taught you and my father stood for. We don’t have to do that. We can do things their way, seek their help.”

She frowned. “The League itself is weak. The Demon Head grows old, and has failed to secure a worthy line of succession. But I can teach you their ways and principles on my own.”

“Alright.” He didn’t mind the idea of training, in all honesty. Once he had gotten his revenge on Moira, he would be making an enemy of Oliver. Knowing how to defend himself was crucial.

“What of your father’s killer?”

“I have a plan for her.” The beginnings of one, at the least. He would need to perfect the details before he moved forward with it, but once he did, he wondered if his father might have been proud in some small measure. “We don’t need Chen any more.”

“I will need to silence him,” Athena said, in a tone that allowed no argument. “He is duplicitous and knows you will be moving against Moira Queen. He cannot warn her in advance, or you will lose her.”

She was right. And who was to say if Moira learned what he knew that Tommy wouldn’t find himself with a poisoned bullet in his chest next? Chen had Triad ties. That made him just as dirty as any of the people Oliver had killed this year. Probably more so. Why should he mourn a man who was party to his own father’s murder?

He drew in a breath through his nose and nodded. “Do it.”

Athena nodded back and slipped back into the room. Tommy turned and walked away down the hall, hearing the muffled thump of a body hit the floor. He knew what that sound was ever since he’d watched his own father fall.

It wasn’t retribution, not just yet. But it was close. And it wouldn’t be much longer now.

#lauriver #laurel x oliver #laurel lance #oliver queen #arrow #green arrow #black canary #my writing #bird in a storm

[smkkbert]

Time for a story - Green Arrow’s EA

Staring at the small clock at the edge of the desk, Felicity willed time to just pass more quickly. The more she wanted time to fly by, the more it felt like the hands of the clock were slowing down even more though. The last thirty minutes had felt like an eternity already. The next thirty were probably going to feel even longer.

The soft knock at the door made Felicity lift her gaze. The sight of Emily’s corny Christmas pullover with the reindeer and the blinking red nose tickled another smile from her. It was never different when she saw her Executive Assistant in that or any other pullover that she was wearing around Christmas time. There was just something really amusing about that look.

“Why exactly did I decide to work these two days between Hanukkah and Christmas again?” Felicity asked. “I feel like I didn’t do anything productive today.”

Emily smiled. “I think you wanted to establish company holidays from the first day of Hanukkah to the third of January, but the board decided against it. They said it was too long and exaggerated given the Holiday bonus you are paying.”

“And since when exactly do I care what the board says?” Felicity asked, narrowing her eyes. “Because I can’t remember when I start caring.”

“I doubt that you ever cared or ever will care,” Emily replied, her smile turning into a proud grin as she loved her boss’s rebellious side, “but you couldn’t attend the board meeting to the end, so it got kind of forgotten.”

Felicity puckered her lips. Now that Emily had reminded her, she remembered. She had indeed suggested this during a meeting with the board. Before her idea could have been discussed to the end, she had been needed at the bunker though. The last weeks had been exhausting. Felicity felt like she had just rushed through the days.  She had simply forgotten about her plan.

“Screw the board,” Felicity said and dropped her pen to the desk, “we will call it a day. Please call every department and tell them that we will close early for the holidays. It’s a paid leave of course. Everyone should be at home and prepare for Christmas or use the time recover from Hanukkah or just spend time doing whatever the hell they want if they aren’t celebrating any holidays. Either way, nobody should be here.”

“Gladly.” Emily smiled widely, happy about the unexpected turn since she had mentioned before that she wasn’t done shopping the gifts for Christmas yet. “There is a visitor for you though.”

“A visitor?” Felicity perked up her eyebrows and shot a brief glance at her schedule, but she hadn’t had any appointments planned for today. “Who?”

“Mr. Christian Rodgers,” Emily replied, “he said he needed to talk to you about a rather private matter.”

Felicity frowned. She tried to figure out if the name should ring a bell, but she couldn’t say that she remembered anyone with that name. There wasn’t even the slightest familiarity to it though.

“Ask him in, please.”

Emily nodded her head and turned onto her heels, walking outside. Felicity shot another brief glance on her watch before she got up and walked around her desk.

“Mrs. Queen is waiting for you,” Felicity heard Emily’s voice, “please go right in.”

“Thank you.”

Felicity tried to make any connection between that warm voice and the name, but there was nothing she could remember. Even the face wasn’t familiar. If Felicity knew Mr. Rodgers, she was sure that she’d remember him. There was something about his face that reminded him of her maternal grandfather, not that she had ever met him. She had just seen photos.

“Mrs. Queen, thank you for your time that soon before the holidays,“ Mr. Rodgers said, shaking her hand, “I am sure you have a busy schedule.”

“Actually, I was just calling it a day,” Felicity explained with a smile and gestured towards the seating area, “because working between the holidays is just so annoying.”

Mr. Rodgers chuckled and sat down on the black leather couch across the table. Felicity crossed her legs and leaned back. She watched her visitor quietly for a moment. He was fidgeting with his hands nervously, avoiding her eyes. He looked nervous and insecure.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Rodgers?”

Mr. Rodgers lifted his gaze towards her. He still looked nervous like the bare thought of talking to her unsettled him. Felicity smiled at him softly though, hopefully giving him the courage to speak. Even if she couldn’t do anything for him at the end, she didn’t want him to think that she would eat him alive. Something told him he was kind of a good guy.

“My sister-in-law, Amelia Rafferty, was murdered last month,” he said after taking in a deep breath, “she was just found dead in her home one morning.”

Felicity nodded her head slowly, unsure what to say or where this was going. She faintly remembered that she had read about that case a couple of days ago. The police had done what they could, but they hadn’t been able to find out who was responsible for her death. Felicity didn’t remember anything about the case or the circumstances surrounding her death.

Mr. Rodgers did look honestly sad about his family’s loss. His hands rubbed together between his thighs and his shoulders sank.

“I am very sorry,” she whispered, “that’s terrible.”

“She was killed with two shots to her chest,” Mr. Rodgers continued, his smile breaking, “the police said it looked like it was done by a professional killer.”

Felicity nodded her head slowly. Two shots to the chest required a really cold-blooded killer or a fight that had caused someone to act on impulse. If the police suggested that it was the first, she was sure they were right. Usually, the latter was more obvious, so there had to be reasons that the police still suspected a professional killer was responsible.

“I just don’t understand how that’s possible,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief, “Amelia was such a wonderful person. She has never gotten into any troubles with anyone. She was the easiest person to be around, someone who held no grudges and was happy when the people around her were happy. She was a really good person.”

When a good person died that cruelly, it was always terrible. It was unexpected for everyone around her, leaving those people closest to her devastated and with broken trust into the world. In a fair world, bad things wouldn’t happen to good people.

“My wife is devastated,” Mr. Rodgers added and shook his head with a sad smile, “she lost her parents at young age. Amelia was the only family she had left after that. Now she has lost her too. It’s… I am worried about her.”

Once again, Felicity nodded her head. When Sara had died once again, Laurel had been devastated. Despite all the differences between the two sisters, losing Sara had been almost unbearable for Laurel. They had stuck together through so much in their childhood, youth and after Sara’s return after the Gambit. Their relationship had been so deep, and her death had seemed to pointless.

What had helped Laurel was finding out why Sara had been killed. Just like it had helped Nyssa. Although Sara’s death had still been devastating and the circumstances surrounding her death had caused a lot of chaos for the Lances and the Queens, knowing who was responsible for it had at least helped everyone to direct their anger in the right direction. It had helped them to recover from their loss, at least a little.

Felicity shook her head slightly, shaking off the thought of Sara’s death. This wasn’t about her or the Arrow Family. She just didn’t know what else it was about.

“Your sister-in-law’s death is tragic, and I don’t want to be insensitive to that,” Felicity said, clearing her throat, “but I don’t understand what exactly you expect me to do now.”

That questions seemed to be the very trigger for the Mr. Rodger’s nervousness. He moved back and forth on the couch, rubbing his sweaty hands along his thighs. His eyes were taking her in intensely, but his smile gave away how insecure he felt in this moment.

“The police told us that they wouldn’t continue to investigate this case,” Mr. Rodgers explained with a shake of his head, “because there are no leads to follow. There is no motive. There are no traces. There is nothing that could help.”

Felicity nodded her head slowly, telling him that she understood and listened. She still didn’t see where this was going, but she had an open ear nonetheless. If she could help this family to find a little bit of peace before the holidays, she’d do it.

“I have been to the police station yesterday to try and convince them to continue. Captain Hall was great. She took her time and listened to me, and she explained to me why it doesn’t make sense. She assured me that they would still follow every lead if there was any, but there was nothing left to be done right now. She was honestly sorry.”

A small smile spread on Felicity’s lips. Mr. Rodger’s had all reason to hold grudges against the SCPD and everyone working there. That McKenna had managed to prove that the decision hadn’t been easy for her looked like a good sign. Quentin must have chosen wisely when he had suggested her as his successor.

“On my way out, a cop took me aside and told me that maybe the Green Arrow could help.”

Felicity could almost hear the little alarm bells in her head starting to ring. She had thought that a warm and grandpa-like face as his couldn’t mean any harm. Now she wondered if maybe she had been wrong. It wasn’t the first time that people noticed her connection to the Green Arrow and used it to threaten them.

“He also said that if I wanted to get in touch with him, maybe you were the one to help me with it,” Mr. Rodgers explained, “so I wanted to ask you to contact him for me and ask if he can do something to find out who did this? My family would forever be grateful.”

Felicity felt every inch of her body tensing the more Mr. Rodger’s spoke. Maybe she had been wrong and he wasn’t the good person she had seen in him. Maybe all his talk about his sister-in-law and how much his wife was suffering hadn’t been true. Maybe it had all been made up to break down her reserve.

It’s been a while since they had been hunted by the police or anyone else the last time. Maybe all the police had been trying to do was making them think they were safe while they were secretly going after them. Without Quentin at the head of SCPD to inform them about what they were planning, all Felicity could do was trusting her stomach and that told her that something was fishy here.

“Who exactly told you this?”

Felicity leaned back slightly and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She tried to buy some time with her question. The thought that maybe Nick had sent Mr. Rodgers here crossed her mind at least briefly though. So far, there was still a chance that her worry was without reason.

“Officer Juan Alvarez.”

Apparently, it hadn’t been her brother’s idea to send her here. There were just two possibilities. Either Mr. Rodgers was lying and this was a set-up, or Felicity’s connection to the Green Arrow was, in the words of Professor Dumbledore, a complete secret, so, naturally, the entire city knew. Felicity didn’t know which one should make her panic less.

Felicity had been taken to the interrogation room to answer questions about the Hood once. Quentin had basically caught her on the street and taken her to the SCPD. She had been so nervous and so scared. Still, she had kept her mouth shut because she had known exactly what she had been fighting for.

By now, Felicity knew even better that what she and the team were doing was right. She didn’t have any doubt about it, and she would feel a lot safer if she answered questions about him now. With the thought of all those people that would lose their jobs and the children that would lose their parents if she spilled anything or if she trusted the wrong person.

When Susan Williams had blackmailed them, causing Oliver to turn himself in, their entire life had been turned upside down. Felicity wasn’t sure if their family could go through something like that, especially with a good ending like they had had. They’d been lucky once, but twice? Felicity wasn’t sure, and she really couldn’t tempt faith like that.

“Maybe those rumors were wrong,” Mr. Rodgers suddenly said, clearing his throat, “I am very sorry that I bothered you, Mrs. Queen. Happy Holidays to you and your family.”

Felicity watched Mr. Rodgers getting up and tightening the belt of his coat around his middle. He shot he a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes that were filled with sadness and defeat. She had been his last hope, and she had turned him down.

With one last smile in her direction, he turned around and walked towards the door. Felicity managed to watch him take exactly three steps before she couldn’t take it anymore.

“Wait.”

Usually, Felicity had a good feeling for people. Of course she wasn’t without mistake, but her stomach told her whether or not to trust someone most times. She might have her blind spots, especially when it came to heartbreaking stories like this one, but Oliver had once told her that her belief in the good in people was one of the many reasons that he loved her so much. Her faith in people balanced his mistrust.

Mr. Rodgers had turned around and was looking at her with eyes full of hope now. Felicity should be damned if she was wrong about him. She wouldn’t turn into someone that doubted everyone around her out of fear. Fear would never be the emotion to run her actions.

“I can’t promise anything,” Felicity said, “but I will do my best to make it work.”

→ → → → →

Under Oliver’s vigilant eyes, Felicity walked back and forth in her working area of the bunker. She was gesturing wildly with her hands while she was telling him everything that had happened in her office before. Oliver was listening closely, keeping his arms crossed in front of his chest and his eyes narrowed down on her slightly.

“So,” Felicity said eventually, “what do you say?”

She stepped towards Oliver, putting her hands to his forearms. She leaned her body against him completely and looked at him intensely. No matter how many doubts she had had before, she was sure now that Mr. Rodger’s story was honest. He really just wanted her to contact the Green Arrow to make piece with what had happened to his sister-in-law.

“Maybe she just knew something that she wasn’t supposed to know,” Felicity continued, shrugging her shoulders, “or maybe she had a secret double-life. I know I could look into it myself, but it would be so much easier if you helped me.”

Oliver looked at her for a moment longer before he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her even more against him. He frowned slightly, cocking his head.

“Have I ever turned you down if you asked me for something?”

“Repeatedly,” Felicity replied without hesitation, “when I ask for junk food for dinner.”

Oliver chuckled, brushing his lips against hers. Amusement was sparkling in his eyes when he leaned back a little to look at her.

“Of course I will help you,” he said instead of answering to her little mention of junk food because he just knew that it would get them into trouble, “we can look into it tonight.”

“Good.” Felicity nodded her head. “Sounds great.”

Continuing to look at Oliver, Felicity could see the furrow forming between his eyebrows. She frowned and lifted a hand to his forehead. Her fingertips stroked against the furrow in an attempt to smooth it out. No matter how firmly or how often her fingers stroked against the little crease in Oliver’s skin, it didn’t disappear though.

“What’s going on?” she asked, locking eyes with him. “Why are you looking like that?”

“Because I am worried,” Oliver replied firmly, “it really doesn’t sit well with me that people make a connection between you and the Green Arrow.”

Felicity cocked her head, chuckling softly. She put her hand to Oliver’s cheek and stroked her fingertips through his short stubble. Oliver almost purred like a kitten at the touch. He rested his face into her hand and closed his eyes for a moment. He looked so incredibly at piece that Felicity couldn’t help but smile.

“It’s almost like in old times,” she said eventually, prompting Oliver to open his eyes again, “when I was your EA.”

“The good old times.”

Pursing her lips, Felicity punched his side playfully. Even if she used all her strength, she doubted that Oliver would even flinch. He was used to fight trained assassins. Everything she could do was like a little tickle in his experience.

“What was that for?”

Oliver rubbed his side, pretending to be hurt by her little punch. He was a father of five, so he knew exactly how to react to that kind of teasing.

“Because you said that those times were good,” she told him pointedly, shaking her head, “there was nothing good about those times. I was way overqualified for the job.”

“Of course you were,” Oliver replied easily, rubbing his hands up and down her arms gently, “but we spent almost every minute of every day together and I had a great view on your ass.”

Felicity chuckled, resting her forehead against Oliver’s shoulder for a moment. If she remembered something about her time as his EA, it was that she had been terribly annoyed by the littler work she had managed to do. She had let out all of her frustration at him because he had been the one who had gotten her into this situation. The passive aggressiveness had run high between them.

When Felicity angled her head back again eventually, looking at Oliver with a soft smile, she could see that his thoughts were still at the risk of security for their family.

“If people make a connection between you and the Green Arrow,” Oliver said slowly, “it’s only a matter of time until you are made a target for the police or criminals.”

Felicity continued to stroke her fingers through Oliver’s stubble. She hoped that it relaxed him at least half as much as it relaxed her.

“It was easier if they made that kind of connection between the Green Arrow and the mayor,” Oliver said slowly, the expression in his eyes turning blank although they were still directed at her, “and if he was used to get into touch with the vigilantes.”

Frowning slightly, Felicity watched Oliver. Soon, her lips spread into a smile.

“You’ve got an idea,” she stated, seeing it in Oliver’s eyes, “you know how to solve it.”

“Maybe,” Oliver replied, looking at her, “but I could need your help.”

“Always.”

* * *

@fannaz @promiseyoullbepatientwithme @bytemegeekette @felicity-said-just-in-case @phanseptiic @orangeisorange @mspotatohead14 @whentheheavenfades @emmaamelia95 @smoakingskye @seaolicity @ourwritinginvein @1022bridgetp @felicityqueenforever @leagueofolicity17 @yryssss @myhauntedblacksoul @sherlock44 @sinceriouslybea @olivyflavescentdeer @olicitys-castle @ofnothingcharming @vaelisamaza​ @smoakedandcharmed @alexisa1206 @mysaudadespt2 @florence-bubbles​ @addictiontelly​ @queens-of-arrows​ @memcjo​ @hysterical-for-joshifer-blog​ @oswinelevenforever​ @olicitylovemaking​ @bandanab310​ @mymusiclove101​ @lynslogic​ @scarletqueen23​ @olicityshipper19​ @alex-wesley​ @arrows-4ever​ @unabashedlynerdypatrol​ @louehmysoul​ @ligiapimenta​ @chattyyana​ @charlie-leau​ @coal000​ @samcrowleys​ @ishippolivia​ @julianegomesqueen​ @malafle​ @miriam1779​ @charlinert​ @melaux​ @ontheolicityship​ @myshipperlife​ @wrightainsley​ @lexi9515​ @ladygreenwood​ @multi-fandom-crazy-fangirl​ @morinamel​ @mje-thomas​ @kebarry​ @canadianheartgirl​ @nannett2307​ @almondblossomme​ @kathrynelizabeth89​ @imdfabulous​ @mrt2501​ @arsipaci14​ @salasvia​ @brandis91​ @cainc3​ @morganmiguess​ @pr0fessi0nal-fangurl​ @iamisalima​ @nessafrancis-blog​ @jonhdiggle​ @niki-is-amazing​ @universed-posts​ @hopeful-warrior​ @senoritaswiftie​ @bellemmie @green-arrows-of-karamel​ @iheartarrow​ @olicityovereverything​ @oliverfel4​ @olicity-in-the-heart​ @fullychippedcreation​ @geemarie​ @everything-but-normal-cat @myarroworld​ @tjmartinez​ @pleasantfanandstudent​ @j69confessional2​ @scentedcolorpirate​ @icanica74​ @tjmartinez98​ @certainmentalityface​ @tatianadamaceno @ryelew @wildwillowzepplin​ @missafairy​ @letsplaymurde-r​ @lipizette​ @positivepiper​ @nuttymilkshakehologram​ @laksagirl​ @turnupthemusicandscream​ @pumpernickle93​ @onceuponanolicity​ @1106angel​ @jaspertown​ @fadinglands​ @morganashimi83​ @mochababychristy​ @omglovechrissie​ @mariejr88-blog​ @thetaufactor​ @onceuponanolicity​ @speakandseethetruth​ @bri206​ @aglasgo​ @geemarie​ @pineprincess​ @nerdgirljen​ @eternal-olicity14​ @allyouhadtodowas-stay-stay-stay​ @lovelycssefan​ @tsseract​ @flowerandsunshine​ @dcnmarvelgamergeek​ @blondeeoneexox​ @monetsmark​ @bb-olicity​ @mashamarty​ @rulerofsilence​ @erika-amber​ @nothingmorethanmyotps​ @kayleenyc​ @tonto16​ @olicityfluv​ @olicitea1990​ @haahaaa2408​ @pattid1​ @faegal04​ @24karatgem​ @wrldtravler​ @readerkas​ @olicity-beliver​ @greencoffeecups​ @snorlaxishere​

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#arrow #olicity #olicity fic #olicity fanfic #time for a story

[kazamastar]

Welcome to 2021

Ver. 2.1 - Ok. February but still, here we are. “Behold it’s me” as Logic would say. [...] I’m sorry I’m a bit shook because I started to write at 10:01AM, and it’s precisely 12:07AM, I was progressing pretty well in the process of writting and then I made a bad move and lost everything I wrote. I’m kinda mad. Really, I was this 👌 close to give up on writting it, and you can notice that the pixels are touching. But I guess the “I said I’d do it, so I’m going to do it” mentality is taking me places, once again. Even if I have to start again (that's called mental strength, take notes). And I said I’d write it baked so here I am, baked and hella motivated to do it. So, W shouldn’t help me reminding me what I wrote in the first version but nevermind. So I guess I'll put the most things I remember. I can tell there were good ideas ! I'll take this occasion to remind everyone the concept of these posts but first we will recap numbers of this year (well, more or less accurate for 2020 as I'm writting one month late) (and I'll fucking stop writting on the tumblr site and switch to OpenOffice so my next words are not lost again). 637 Nakamas (thank y'all for being here, even if I post 12847 times in a row. You're the best). 3609 posts and 23 376 likes. (109 drafts : lol it's less than a few weeks ago)

Pic : Plot twist 2. No more smile, but the return of the bowtie. (aka « The 4 days late suit » aka « I'm old enough to know better »)

The choice of this picture was so simple. Or maybe I should have chosen the one with the mustache only I took during lockdown ? Ahah. But … this picture could almost resume the year on its own. If I'd describe it in depth and explain the context, I could review 70% of the events that happened this year (and I think I'll go for that later, interesting exercise).

So. First let me explain the goal of these sums up. Each « Welcome to XXXX » is a resume, a sum up of the year XXXX-1. I write these for me, it's a funny way to keep track of all these years. I try to describe more or less precisely what happened during the year. I allow myself to be more or less precise because I firstly write these for me. And sometimes these posts tend to be long. Especially this one. It's gonna be sooo long. Like, idk maybe highlight this line and take a few seconds to scroll down and see how looooong it is. Kinda discouraging isn't it ? Lucky you it won't go on forever though as today, as I'm writting that it's 12:23PM and I'll have to be gone at 4 or 5PM. But I think contraints make art, even if I don't like to write under any kind of pressure. But I'm determined to do it in one take. So in these posts I also write about the TV Shows, manga, anime, movies I've seen/read. Even books, as I finally had the chance to read « Le Petit Prince » this year. We all know we had time this year, don't we ? And at the end, I post a 12 songs playlist (+ songs that I discovered this year that also are going to remind me of the year). We can roughly say it's « 1 song/1 month » but it's not always true. These songs are songs I like a lot, like really (but not necessarily my favorite) but above all, they remind me of the year I'm resuming (it can also be older songs). I also post my top 3 albums of the year. I'm thinking also of detailing my choices of playlist. Maybe not explaining all of them but a few. [12:36PM. And I'm already hungry.] On the 1st try I remember I talked about the TV shows I saw. I forgot to mention it but I write in English for a few reasons. First is : it helps me exercising my English. For me, it's the most beautiful langage to talk and it's a good occasion to do so. And then I actually enjoy writting in English. And it prevents unwanted people who don't master English to read all that (as it is pretty intimate). But joke's on me, I'm conscious the people I'd like to keep away from reading this all master English, and even better than me for some of them. (It surely is the case for 27 at least, even though we all know she still won't read this lol). Yes, I never drop names in these sum ups. Or at least, some names are blacklisted. I always chose a number to nominate them they would normally recognize themselves. So, talking about English, I've seen « Emily in Paris » on Netflix. It may surprize you but I'm very interested in dubbing. French dubbing is amazing. For example I bought « Spiderman » on PS4 this year and the french voice is the same voice actor as in the « Amazing Spider-Man » (yes the one with Andrew Garfield). (UNPOPULAR OPINION : Andrew Garfield actually is the best spiderman. Or at least the one I prefer and by far). Emily in Paris is funny because I watched it in English and it kinda disturbed me that it took place in Paris but everybody spoke English. On the other hand, if you watch it in French, langages people are talking become logical (French people speak french) but you'll have to deal with the DEADLY ANNOYING French voice of Emily. And her accent. I think I just watched 1 or 2 episodes like that, I couldn't take more ?. If you have time you should take 5 seconds to listen to what I'm talking about. But it was quite a good show. It was so fun to see these streets I've been visiting for so long in a Netflix show. By the way, I think it's easy to say that I'm missing Paris so much. But not only for the tourism, but most and foremost for the competitions. Before being a tourist I was a competitor there. So, I'm missing Paris but I'm also missing karate competitions. And also just karate. I haven't stepped on a tatami for 3 weeks and it still seems like it won't get better, and we all know why. I'm curious if I could talk about this year without mentioning a very famous virus but I think it's just impossible. But this virus gave me a lot of time in March and April. Maybe less in November tho. I could finally finish The Walking Dead, which last seasons were surprisingly good. And it was so fun to watch the reactions of people on Youtube [#]. Talking about karate competitions, I also watched Cobra Kai ! What an amazing job they did there. Adding more depth to the first movie, it's funny to change perspective and see that the Daniel we were rooting for wasn't that much of a « perfect good guy » we saw (I'm not talking about the kick in the face etc). It's also funny to notice I kinda went fro Daniel to Johnny lol. But having a Netflix show talking about martial arts and value they teach to their students ? It was perfect, even more when you see that some of my students also saw it so when we were training I was refering to it they almost all got it. And it's also funny to see that it's not as Manichean as the 1st movie was. It's a 9/10 for me. If I read the last sum up right, I said : « This year 2020 I really need to watch Kimetsu no yaiba, Jojo, Violet evergarden, Gintama and i have to keep ready 7 deadly sins. » So : Kimetsu no Yaiba was dope. The anime was beautiful and the manga was very entertaining. Not a top tier manga but definitively a good one. Jojo's anime was cool but too long. I stopped after season 2 or 3 I guess ? Violet Evergarden was TRASH (and very bad for a date, if you ask me) and I didn't take time to explore the 2 others. I also saw : Assassination classroom (5/10, i couldn't finish it so i skipped directly to the last episode, was as moving as people said), Validé (8/10, with an insane final episode), No Game No Life (8,5/10, i loved it), Freaks and Geeks (7,5 but i didn't finish it, I really like the old school vibe), Code geass (7/10, great anime and great opening). I finally discovered Community and it was worth it. What a funny show. And what a pleasure to see Mr Donald Glover on screen. Makes me think that I need to watch Atlanta again. The problem with Community is the last seasons broke the 4th wall too much for me, it became painful to watch. But the 3 or 4 seasons are crazy. Another show that was even more funny : IT Crowd. I finally had the chance to see the episode of « I came here to drink milk and kick ass, and I just finished my milk ». This show is a 9,25/10. Grand Army was also a great show of 2020. Dom is an amazing character (but I already said it). Kengan Ashura was also so cool ! I think it's what Baki would have liked to become. This year I also started to watch « American horror Story » again (alone and not alone). These last seasons were awesome. I also converted Elodi to «my hero academia », it was so cool to share that. Other things I saw : SAO S4 (AMAZING, SO BEAUTIFUL), Erased, SNK Last season) ; The Mandalorian, 24's 9th season.« Queen's gambit » have been one of the greatest show I've seen this year. And I really want to say that I played chess before the show came out (add me on Lichess if you want to play with me. Same username. I'm not strong -about 1000 ELO I guess- but I'm always happy to play and learn). If you want a precise idea of my level, on the chess.com app, I can beat Emir 🇹🇷 (1000 ELO) often but I didn't win once against Sven 🇸🇰 (who is ~1100 ELO). I'm so happy talking about all these lengthen the post even more. Kinda satisfying. But I could also talk about Tekken and chess this year. I think I have a thing with dueling sports. I'm a Karate competitor, I love Tekken and I like chess. I guess someone has something to prove haha. But come on, chess is incredible. For the 1st lockdown, I was just playing (not alone) but I wanted to make progress just by practicing. And that's how I got BB 5 or 7 (yes, it means Beat By = my number of loss in a row). But at the end of the 2nd lockdown I finally allowed myself to study a little more, thanks to Youtube (once again). This is SO INTERESTING. Like the strategies, the top players. French content creators are fun but I like american ones more. Eric Rosen is my favourite. He's always calm, he often finds solutions. GothamChess is also very entertaining. You can say by how he talks he has been a teacher. He's great. So, once again on some shonen shit, I started studying more. Mid December, a kid beat me 2 times in a row. He's a smart kid, I like him. He didn't brag or anything. And then, during Christmas Holidays I spent 2 or 3 hours a day watching chess videos. I guess he hasn't been able to beat me since then haha. By the way I should play with him later on today. Playing chess is a way for me to make sure my brain doesn't let me down, like gym for the brain. At least, it's what I thought when I started but I quickly discovered that it's a game of patterns recognizing, so memory is really challenged here. I mean, in the middlegame you have to be smart to get by but at the beginning and ending … you have to know your openings. I have also thought of joining a club but I don't know if chess communities are benevolent. I also noticed that high ranked players seem to have strong personalities. And then for Tekken (yes, 3 years and a half later I'm still on this game) I'm still making progress. In March, someone made me want to play Heihachi. What a funny character. Not top tier, but fun. Leroy Smith is also fun to play. There was no offline tournament but I won one, the 1st organized by Tekken Toulouse and finished 5th at the second. It's funny to live that level of stress straight from my bed. Usually, that kind of stress making my whole body trembling is usually found nearby tatamis of Karate competitons. (Yes, these Tekken tournaments make me stressful and that's the reason I can't play Jin in tournaments). But Eddy is still a sure value. Still progressing in movement, and whiff punishing. Mishimas are getting more consistent on electrics but it's not perfect. By the way, if you love fighting games and Bruce Lee, there's a video you need to see (whoever you are) : [#]. If you're really interested in these topics, you should appreciate this video as much as I did [2:10 PM. I have eaten, but now I have the feeling that I'm late.] Btw I don't skip line to add some « length » effect. Once again I'm sorry if making it until here was painful to read, but I need to make this paragraph the least attractive I can. This line I'm writting is almost on the 3rd page of OpenOffice. And I try to avoid using emojis, so there's just text. Tout dans le fond, pas de forme. Also, congratulations for making it until here, you must be very motivated. I'm writting slowly because it's the 1st time I write this by daytime, and I swear at the begining people were harassing me ahah. It's fun because the sum up of 2019 was so short. Just with its form, you can tell how 2019 have been peaceful. I don't remember if I talked about it already but a disaster could have happened in September/October 2019. But karate kept my mind busy so the worst have been avoided. Time spent on the tatamis kept me away from overthinking about my problems. And that was a good strategy indeed. Because in 2020 it wasn't the same. If we count right. Dojos were opened in January, February, 1st half of march, reopened in September and october, closed on november and opened in December (Mon Dieu quel … CASSE-TEX hahaha merci c'est tout pour moi). It was a weird karate year. Today is the 1 year anniversary of my last competition. During the 1st lockdown, I had litteraly no desire to train. Some of you know why. But let's talk a bit more about COVID and lockdowns. The most important thing is that I didn't spent the 1st lonely. This was the most challenging time of my life, but I can say that I made it thanks to 0808 so I'm eternally grateful for that. So, if we recap months by months : January was a funny month. One thing that I thought a miracle happened (until I found out months later what a real miracle was). I also almost went into a brawl. I guess this weird ass month set the tone for the 11 months to follow. February … was one of the calmest month. I had an awesome dojo session in Balma with 0808 in February. I think there were a lot of beautiful sunsets this month. Guess our weather power was at its peak. These 3 1st months of 2020 had a lot of trainings, even if I was injured due to kumite. March and April are kinda the same for me. I won't talking long about these but I'd simply say that I'm glad that I hadn't to write to 27. So, the Miracle happened by mid April. Mid april to mid may, it was cool. We were at home but … the weather was nice, I was doing sport everyday (but no real karate trainings) and I could keep this rythm of exercising until … Half July, which is good. It's the first time in my life I'm that consistent in doing sports at home. From mid may, I started to train with Coach O. on a weekly basis. It was incredible. These days were still bliss in my mind. I was there, no « real problems » in mind, I wasn't alone, I was making progress physically … It was really great. And from mi may to end of July, it kept getting better.Indeed, I fell in love again in January and it was getting stronger by the months. It's been a while I haven't fell this hard for someone. But she gave it back to me nicely. And then … Mala suerte 3.0. This point of the sum up is funny because I do remember when I talked about mala suerte in the other sum ups. I do realize how it's always the same thing when I write those : « 1st part of the year is cool, then not cool, then cool again but in a weird way because I have insane difficulties to repair broken parts of me » but hey. This time it's not my fault. It makes me realize how cyclic all this is. So, August, September and October have been terrible and chaotic months. A level of sadness rarely reached until there. Maybe comparable to September 2018. A high level of anger also. But still, with rare occasions to train, so no occasions to let go off steam. In fact, let's talk a bit about this anger. I've always took a lot of pride in the fact that I could most of the time remain calm in a lot of situations. Plus, being patient isn't something natural but … I learned to be through the years. I was so surprised to notice how angry I became … It simply wasn't me. But the reason is simple : I really think karate brings me balance in life, on a lot of levels (and it concerns me a lot for when I'll stop competing one day …). But I realized it so I'm working on it. In 2020, I led a lot of fights, sometimes I won and often I lost, but I also avoided a lot of them. One of the reasons I think I'm not ready to be a good partner is first I think I'm too angry. I don't think I could be mean to my partner but … I think I could be annoying to deal with. But mainly, I'm not ready to better myself now. To find the good partner, you need to become a good partner first, and this is precisely what I'm not ready to become. Despite being not perfect, I'm fine that way and I know how far from perfect I'm right now. But nevermind. This is the kind of state of mind you can't afford when you're in a relationship. I'm not saying you need to change to fit your partner's ideals. But if you notice something's wrong in your behaviour/habits and don't want to correct it, you might be a bad partner (but I could be wrong, I'm not a couple therapist lol).

Oh. And that's the moment I can describe my photo to tell the story differently. So this shot was taken precisely on Sunday, 4th of October. 1302 got confirmed so we had to go to the Temple du Salin. I went there with my father and he decided to rock a bowtie so I wanted to match him. It was so fun. That was the first time we stepped in a church after « all these events ». It was a strong moment for me. So, this picture (taken by me, thank you tripod) was taken 4 days after I « took a gamble ». I took a lot of gambles this year. One memorable gamble that lead to beautiful pictures of Toulouse was on August 27th (lol). This was after our breakup. I gave her an adress and an hour, and I hopped she would come. She never came so this was a lost gamble. (So I had a great time watching « Back to the future » outdoors, on a big movie screen, but I was alone). But this time was different. I did suppose she would be at one place on a certain day at the end of September. And I gambled right because she was there. And even if the context was so particular, I can tell we had a great time. I was so ready that I put on my best white shirt, because I knew she kinda liked it. I was there to win her back but I simply failed. Guess the shirt wasn't enough. So it was funny to wear the full suit 4 days later, I was like « Dude, nice effort but it's too late  lol» (plus the Temple du Salin is on the other side of the closest bridge from her home) but I still hopped to cross her road on that day. Oh and as we're analyzing this picture, I really like the bokeh on the autmun-colored leaves. I had the luck to have a very sweet light when I took these pictures. And the post processing was really funny. I have a lot of versions of this picture indeed. But all these colors in the background always make me think of a quote I love :  « Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go » and this quote is so damn right. I discovered this year that I have difficulties to let things go. The thing is I hate injustice. I hate to see things that litteraly belong to me, things I deserve, simply run away from me. Sometimes I'm telling myself it's just my karma making me pay for all the شيطان I've done in the past. But other times I just try to convince myself to let go. It's been the 2nd most challenging thing this year. These levels of depression have never been reached before. But still, here I am. But not stronger than before. I had this conversation a few weeks ago about « what doesn't kill you makes you stronger ». To support this idea, some people might evoke the principle of « Kintsugi » as an example. But I strongly disagree about the first statement. I'm not a goddamn bowl. I take the example of my lower belly scar : it didn't kill me but it didn't get stronger either. That's the exact opposite indeed. Sometimes it still hurts even though it's been done 12 years ago (the last time it hurt was this night, almost stopping me from finding sleep). It's a personal opinion but what didn't kill me made me weaker. And I'm not just talking about physical injuries. Losing the ability to trust after all these events isn't what I'd call « getting stronger », even though « I didn't do anything wrong ». That's an expensive price. Bref. I think you can overcompensate with something else but the damaged parts may stay weak after. [3:03 PM. So I have about 1 hour to finish it. Easy.] There's one thing I wanted to talk about in this sum up, related to the fact of « being strong ». I read Blach again (you can tell by my december posts) and I started with the lost agent arc, followed by the TYBW arc. There's 2 things about it : its poetry, through the words and the drawings will always amaze me (it amazed me even if it’s the 2nd time I’me reading it), and the 2nd thing : I love how Ichigo become stronger. He lost his Shinigami powers but then found his Fullbring powers. And that is very important because he becomes strong again, but it's a different kind of strong and I LOVE THIS. It's like in real life. I was very strong in June 2012 (videos as proof), but it's not the same strong as in July 2017 or April/November 2018. June and July 2020 have been a different kind of strong. Not that I gained 10 kgs in 2 months (unfortunately) but I was exercising daily. I was getting my body ready for the supposed heavenly month of August that was awaiting me (us). Unfortunately there was no videos of karate at this period (but I made some in september!) but I was feeling great physically. In fact. This May/June/July 2020 period could be considered as “bliss” for me. Of course there was some background problems but ... Mentally I was getting back on my feet, I was deeply in love, physically pretty feeling myself. Plus on the 1st half of July i could go back to the tatamis ... I swear this level of peace and life appreciation have rarely been reached before. Well, this concept of getting stronger differently is almost obsessing me for a simple reason : I'm feeling like I'm getting older. 27 is a weird age for competing in karate. If I look back, I realize I'm older than William when he stopped (it's his birthday tomorrow!!). Also older than Zak, Teddy and so on. I guess I'll never be physically like 10 or 5 years ago but I'm really asking myself if I can be better. But as seen as the pains I go through after the trainings … It's going to be complicated. Plus I did my body wrong this year. There was pain in mars, april, august, september, october, november and december. I tried a lot of things to make it go. I tried to smoke it, i tried to sleep it, i tried to drink it also. I tried to fuck it of course but none of these things worked. But can we consider I won if only my cock still works ? Compared to 2018 : yes it is a win. And at least when I'm with someone, that makes less time crying and overthinking shit. Anyway, I also tried to smoke it really hard. And that's an habit I'll have trouble to let go but nvmd. Still, one of my 2021 resolutions is to smoke less. Also, I took a funny resolution that is : « I'm not accepting defeat this year ». And I realized only a few days after taking it how hard it will be. I'm not dumb, when defeat is unavoidable, I'll just take it. But I decided to be a real Scorpio and be more stubborn than ever. We can say it's above all pride. Same pride as Vegeta, Bakugo or even Endeavour. Really touched me when Bakugo talked about « Absolute victory ». Sometimes I find myself too soft. I'm not going to become an awful person (or at least, not more awful than I am right now). I'll still be kind … But I'll go get the victories I deserve a little harder. Talking about my age, I'm a bit deceived I have no close old friends to share the memories. Every one is kinda gone. Sometimes it's my fault, and sometimes it's just people who are shit but life's like this. Also, every year I try to think of my best encounter of the year. It's kinda hard because sometimes, you meet someone a few years earlier but you really get to know each other later etc … So I'm not clear if this should count only people met this year or simply the people I've spent the best times with. Because I received a curious message this summer and my God. What a luck she took the chance to write me. We realized a few days ago we were in the same class in 10th grade (2nde) (we saw the class picture, what a laughter we had). We get along so well. And it's the proof that 2nd chances deserve to be given. I swear that I also lost some important people this year. But I'm not fighting to get people back anymore. I've done it too much and I'm simply done. People need to realize it's a luck to be in my life. I have my ways but you'll hardly find a friend that's patient and kind as I am. But nevermind, it always makes more time and attention for the people who are here, who really care for my hapiness. Focusing on the people who are here was one of the main concern this year, for a lot of reasons. I thought I was good for selecting the good people in my life but looks like I still can improve. So I'm still letting people go off my life. [3:36PM. Guess I said mostly what I had to say. Maybe 5 pages is enough, but maybe not.] Oh I can still tell the rest of the year. November have been one peaceful month. Away from all the obsessions. Focused on me. No karate but still courses by videoconference. The weather was very sweet even tho it was November. This second lockdown was not that funny but we've seen worst. And December … had it's ups and downs. It was cool to meet my kids 1 month after all these video courses. They clearly got stronger, it was cool. I could also talk about my experience as a sensei this year because there's a lot to say. At the beginning of February, it was my last competition but also for my kids. We litteraly took the competition by storm. On était TROP CHAUDS. But then the Covid stopped us. We kinda were ready for Occitanie championship, if you forget that I was sick the week before the competition. I'd have loved so much to see how far their training would have taken them on this competition. But thank God they cancelled it, guess He didn't want to see me lose ahah. So, I've seen a lot of kids getting better. What a pleasure. Later on this year I told them that I wanted to see them become stronger than me. Seems cliché, but I'm happy they took it seriously. Of course I'm dead serious. We also talked about I will be waiting for them in Senior. Hope they'll continue until then. And above all I hope I will still be competing. I really want to have a positive impact on these kids, competitors or not. And I guess it's working. (Btw I'll surely do a post about Whitebeard soon, just to show him love). So. What lessons can we draw from this chaotic year ? Always treat your high school comrades well. Be picky about who you let in your life. Before engaging in a relationship, ask why her previous relationship ended. Trust no B. (And BBW's are heaven sent). Now it's 3:50PM and I guess I'm done. But I keep myself the possibility to add things if I think of things to add. It's 6 pages long (Arial, 12) but if I can make it longer I will.

[Friday. 00:55AM] Edit : Ok. The story is funny. I really wanted to finish that in one day. So I wrote the previous lines between 10 AM and 4 PM Wednesday knowing I would need more time, just to check and to add a few more details. And one of those Lonely Wednesday Night would have been perfect just to finish the job. So I planned to finish it on wednesday night but the fact is I forgot my computer home …. So here I am one day later. Still baked, so still in the right state of mind to do it. It gave me time to proofread myself (?) and most importantly, it gave me time to read again some of my previous sum ups. It was interesting to compare how they're all different, and also how my writting evolved. Tbh I think I'm becoming more comfortable with my English. Or maybe the more I express myself, the more I look at ease with the langage. This sum up is the longest I've ever written. But still, I'll add things because I still haven't told everything. For example, I haven't spoken about the fact that all the Kazamastar adventure might be closer to the end than the beginning. Like, I'm not immediatly done with all that. I'm still having a lot of fun here. Anon visitors are also part of the game, but it's still all fun. It also keeps my « photograph eye » opened. This makes me think of the quote «I want to be so awfully happy that I never need to write poetry again. » [#] and more precisely I'm thinking about : do I post more when I'm happy or sad ? But I noticed this tumblr kinda works like therapy for me. (And especially, this post is a therapy by itself. Wednesday I woke up feeling bad, lower belly aching and making this post really helped me going through the day.) I post a lot when I'm sad but it really allows me to get all of these negative feelings out of me. I do stylize things but I know I'm not a poet or anything. But can you imagine being so happy that you don't write again ? Would be an amazing feeling. (Indeed, I've already done it once [#]. I've ended a blog on a perfect happiness and yes it felt amazing. ) Imagine if I do it here. After all the trials and tribulations I went through, it would be a perfect way to finish this tumblr. But as I'm speaking, I think there's like … less than 5% chance that it ends happily. If it does, it could be in a long time. I have a few ideas of when and how it could end, but Imma have to keep these selfishly for myself. You'll see when we'll get there.:) Also, I'm realizing right now the things I'm adding to the text make the timestamps through the text a bit less accurate but that's just a detail. [2:37 AM] Earlier I talked about this blog being a therapy for me. But it’s not only this tumblr. This year I proudly finished another tumblr (yes you can guess I was proud as I posted about that 17325 times already and pinned a post). This was such a relief to end it after letting it still for litteraly 2 years. Well that’s it for tonight !

No transition : let's go for the explanations of my choices for the playlist followed by the playlist itself. It's kinda easy to understand why « la mienne » is here, for the first month. This “I can’t touch you I’m not allowed to” really made me think of someone and this someone came back. Incredible. The next song with a Boogie is perfect for February. Very peaceful month, really full of very good moments (in the backseat of a certain car for example). The 2 next songs are for March. These are kinda « lockdown anthems » as The Weeknd album came out right at that time and so did Laylow's. Plus « Escape from LA » have the vibe I really love from Abel. 2 next songs are for April. Dsvn really smashed when he put that « A muse in her feelings » album. (and the « Amusing her feelings » is even better but that won't happen before January 2021). The sequence between « Outlandish – Keep it going - flawless » was one of the best thing I heard musically this year. But keep it going is insane. « Meilleurs » from Oboy is … special. And so are the 2 following songs. Meilleurs is now blacklisted but it's still one good song. But I can't listen to it anymore. Maybe that's exactly because it reminds me June and July. Count me in reminds me precisely of August 8th. Btw what a funny day, very far from all expectations we built up through the years (let's remind that the countdown started with more that 400 days, but I guess patience and loyalty is not always rewarded). I might digress from the playlist one second, but on this day we were in Treilles with the guys, and thank God I had them in this moment ... That’s when I drank to heal, with “count on me” for soundtrack. For September, I hesitated between « DEUX TOILES DE MER » or « MEVTR » (which means « Meilleur d'Entre Vous Tous Reunis », the 1st stage name of Damso). Damso’s flow on MEVTR is huge. He makes a whole verse rhyme and on but … 2 toiles is more iconic. Talking about iconic, « Bande organisée » wasn't a masterpiece but a force to be reckoned with (i find this expression funny ahah). I mean, in hip hop nowadays we don't see often rappers teaming up with big groups like that. Plus on this song particularly some of them have interesing flows and a lot of energy. And you can tell it comes from the South. Not of them are goods, some are excellent but this makes a very decent track. « Route 66 » was cool, even tough it's for November (so 2nd lockdown) it gave me really lovely vibes. And I take this occasion talking about November 2020 to remind it was the 10th anniversary of Kanye West's MBDTF and I celebrated it the right way héhé. Finally, this featuring is really ending the year well. Dinos dropped an insane album, his best since a long time and Tayc also (respectively « Stamina, » and « Fleur froide »). So having them on the same track was risky but it paid very well, incredible vibe from those two combined. They could have been in the top 3 albums but some people made better than them. Trinity is my top 1 one 2020. The concept, the musics … it was INSANE. QALF was also great. It's insane to see Damso get rid of « artistic barriers » to focus only on sound and music. No communication etc … Just music. And Eternal Atake from Lil Uzi Vert because it was long awaited but also because it was perfect, also a 1st lockdown album so it helped me forget my loneliness but so much good tracks ! And finally we have the very special songs that I coudn't tell why I like them. I just love their vibes. So now is 4:15 PM and I'm offically finished but I still have to tweak it. Know I won't hesitate to add things that are related to 2020 and that come to my mind :) Thanks for reading me. Have a lovely day, or night.

2020 Playlist

Tayc – La mienne (Accoustic)

A Boogie – Reply feat Lil Uzi Vert

The Weeknd – Escape for LA

Laylow – Nakré

dvsn – Keep it goin ✨

PartyNextDoor – Believe it feat Rihanna

Trippie Redd & Russ – The Way

OBOY - Meilleurs

Kehlani - Serial Lover

Juice WRLD & Marshmello - Come and go

THEY. - Count me in

Damso - Deux toiles de mer

13 Organisé - Bande organisée

Joe Dwet File - Route 66

Dinos & Tayc - Je wanda

Spécial : Lil Tecca - Last Call  YNW Melly  - City girls

Jessame - Times we had ~ Dennis Lloyd - Never go back ~  Elliot Trent - computer love

3 top albums de 2020 : 

Trinity de Laylow - Qalf de Damso - Eternal atake de Lil Uzi vert

#sum up #resume #welcome to #welcome to 2021 #2020 #me #myself #i

[the-fiction-witch]

Control P14

TV SHOW THE QUEENS GAMBIT COUPLE: BENNY X READER RATING: SEXY

I sat playing some chess with myself every so often looking up at y/n as she stood looking in the mirror she was picking herself apart again I know she is. They said it's part of the metal stain of her being pregnant that she can't help but pick at herself but I couldn't stop smiling looking at her in her big dress her bumb was so big now she looked adorable, with a beautiful glow I just wanted to cuddle her as tight as possible and give her a million kisses

"Benny?"

"Yeah?"

"Do I look fat?"

"...... How... how do you want me to answer that?"

"Truthfully"

"I don't want to answer that"

'why not?"

"Because I think this question is a trap, And I don't wanna sleep in the bathtub. Again"

"Do I look fat?" She asks again

"... Yes. But! That's because of baby."

"I thought so" she sighed

"Little lady. Of course your going to be fat. You are growing an intier human in your stomach if you where still as skinny I'd be a bit concerned about baby"

"Benny do you still find me attractive?"

"Are you kidding? Of course I do" I laughed getting up and giving her a cuddle and a kiss "why wouldn't I find you attractive?"

"I'm all spotty, and fat and my feet are too swollen for shoes, and-"

"And you still look beautiful. Infact even more beautiful then before, you look amazing outstandingly beautiful growing our little baby"

"Benny? Do you still think I'm sexy?"

"What?"

"Do you think I'm sexy? Do you still find me desirable?"

"Of course I do. You look very sexy little lady"

"You think so?"

"Of course. You look beautiful and cute and sexy my perfect little wifey"

"Not your wife"

"But you will be. After baby comes"

"Did you still want to have sex with me?"

"If you wanna have sex? I'll happily be involved"

"I'm not sure we can"

"Why not?"

"With baby in the way?"

"I'll just have to be careful around baby,"

"You want to?"

"I am not the question here I always want to so it's up to you y/n"

"Will you still think I look beautiful with the bump?"

"I think you'll look even sexier"

She gently elbowed me and went off to the bathroom I smirked and locked the house up already excited we had barely done more then a little foreplay since we found out about the baby I was a little curious why she ran off to the bathroom, I fixed my hair a little and undid my shirt the way she likes it staying a little more calone as I was likely to get a little sweaty but as I sat on the bed the door creaked open revealing an adorable sight!

My sweet little y/n, leant on the door frame in a long white sheer nightie with only a little lace to cover what was important and mostly what I wanted to see, her breasts hanging out much larger now give she is heavily pregnant, and her huge baby bumb sitting so perfectly cradled by the lace she was nervous and clearly embarrassed about how she looked but I couldn't stop smiling

"Awwww look at you two! Look how adorable you both look" I smiled holding her hand and pulling her to stand between my legs "look at my sexy little lady, and with baby hanging out looking all beautiful"

"Benny" she giggled

"Awww look how cute and sexy you are" I smirked giving her a tight cuddle "with little Emily hanging out"

"Emily?"

"What? you don't like her name?"

"I would not like her to be named Emily"

"why?"

"a girl named Emily picked on me when I was little"

"Awww, okay little lady" I smiled giving her head a kiss "in that case... if it's a boy. not Jeremy"

"why not?"

".... he knows what he did"

"Okay, no Jeremy. Maybe... Jr."

"Jr? maybe. Or maybe Alison"

"Maybe, But. I win. I still think you're attractive. And desirable. And sexy. Just as irresistible if not more my love"

"You mean it?"

"Of course I do" I smiled holding her hands "Second more beautiful person in the whole word"

"After you?" she giggled

"After Her" I smiled stroking her baby bump and she looked like she could cry "And then you. And then me"

"I love you" she smiled hugging me tightly

"I love you too"

I laid in bed cuddling y/n as close as I could stroking her stomach slowly feeling baby kick ever so often

"Benny?" Y/n whispered gently shoving me

"Ummm?"

"Benny?" She whispered again

"Umm what's the matter little lady?" I groaned sitting up a little "is it baby?"

"Kinda" she says turning to lay on her back

"Okay, I'll pack your bags go up to that car" I yawned going to get up

"No Benny not that" she giggled

"Ohh? Then what is it, little lady?"

"There's that twenty-four hours store down the road right?"

".... Yes?"

"Can you get me something?" She asks

I glanced at the clock trying desperately not to fall asleep again "it's three in the morning?"

"Yeah?" She shrugs stroking her baby bump

"Alright" I yawn, getting out of bed having a stretch and grabbing my jeans "what do you want?"

"Could I have some donuts?"

"Okay, filled or round?"

"Filled. No round."

"Both?" I suggested

"Both" she giggled

"Anything else?"

"A super red slushie? Maybe some chocolate?"

"Red slushie. Chocolate, Donuts" I nodded, getting my black t-shirt on "anything else?"

"A hot dog?"

"Okay little lady. Baby's hungry tonight" I laughed giving her head a kiss "I'll be as quick as I can" I reassured her getting my wallet from the table and my coat from the hook

"Benny?" She calls

"Yeah?"

"Maybe some chicken nuggets?"

"Fried chicken or chicken nuggets?' I laughed getting my hat on

"Nugget please"

"Okay, back in a bit y/n" I laughed heading out locking the door

I sat sorting my chess board out giving the house a bit of an organized

"What's going on?" Y/n asked as she climbed out of the shower having to hold her towel as it was only halfway around her as we now had no towels big enough For her and her bump

"What?"

"You're cleaning up"

"I know, well I don't want my little lady overworking herself" I smiled giving her a kiss "And I have the boys coming over tonight. If that's okay?"

"That's fine benny" she giggled "Is Clio coming too?"

"Ohh who knows, with her" I laughed "Maybe"

"she keeps calling that she wants to see baby"

"Aww everyone wants to see baby, they're all gonna go crazy when they're born"

"probably" she giggled nuzzling into my neck

"The boys will be coming around soon, did you need a hand with your dress?"

"I'll be okay" she smiled going off to the bedroom to get dressed

"you need a hand you call me alright?"

"I will" she giggled so I finished up with the house and began to set up the boards ready for everyone to arrive and it had been a good hour not since she went into our bedroom

"Y/n? you okay little lady?" I asked her

"trial and error benny"

"What do you mean by trial and error?"

"I am pregnant benny, I have to trial and error every dress I own until such a time as I can actually fit into one"

"Are you actually out of dress?"

"Possibly"

"You have like sixteen thousand dresses"

"I do not!"

"Ohh yes you do. I know. you moved in with me remember I had to find space for your hundreds of dresses"

"I own at most sixty dresses, just because you own six shirts benny three of which are the same shirt"

"to be fair you said you liked my green shirt, so you can't get mad when I went to the store and got two more of the same shirt."

"yes, but it greatly confuses me when I do laundry"

"Aww I'm sorry, I just wanna look good for my baby mama"

"Ohh quiet you" she laughed, still being in the bedroom a while longer until "Benny?"

"Yes my little angel?"

"We have a problem" she says opening the door to the bedroom and she stood hair and makeup done in her life light blue dress with white spots, her bump cradled so gently in the flowing skirt but I noticed the problem instantly due to her uhhh growth it was tight on her breasts and I mean tight I could see her breathing I could see her curves and the little texture marks in her skin i admit I was kinda starting a little, I cannot explain how tight this was almost impossibly tight like if as so much as took a deep breath her. Breasts would jump ship into my hands then again not like I'd mind

"Uummmm yes. That uhh that is a problem" I muttered till she picked my head up to look at her face "can you breathe properly?"

"Yes, it's just snug"

"Really snug. Like really really snug. Your uhhh your boobs are really growing lately"

"I'm pregnant they will" she sighed "what do I do?"

"I would suggest a different dress"

"It's the only one I have that fits me"

"Ahh... then I suggest a cardigan"

"Okay" she smiled going and getting one to match her dress

"You do look beautiful though"

"With my boobs out"

"They did look good, and with baby hanging out and all I just think you look beautiful"

"Thank you benny" she smiled nuzzling close so I hugged her too stroking her bump I smiled and gave her lips a little kiss which she happily returned it getting more passionate every moment until I heard the door so I sighed

"I stand around for an hour they don't show up, I make out with my fiancee for one damn minute and they show up"

[fulcrumahsokaamidala]

Happy Saturday!!! So this is me thanking awesome fanfic writers for their amazing work. ♥️ I want to recommend spectacular fanfic stories I read this week! ♥️ They are posted in the order I read them. This is something that I want to continue moving forward, and all posts will be tagged #saturday spectacular fic rec

| ONE | (Oliver The Footballer) by @someonesaidcake | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Felicity Smoak had a plan; to save enough money to kick her monotonous job and start up the company of her dreams. She made good plans, solid plans, attainable plans. 

He was never part of her plan. 

His name was Oliver Queen, the reclusive Brazilian football star with a broken smile and a story to tell.

He'd never planned on her either.

Surprise Children by @icannotbelieveiamhere | Arrow | One-shot

Summary:  Oliver has just let William leave with his grandparents. He wants to protect William and keep an eye on his son but he needs help from an old friend in Central City. Felicity is acting strangely after her phone call.

His Girl Wednesday by BlueBayou | Arrow | Completed

Summary: Missing her interview for a position in the IT department of QC, Felicity Smoak meets Oliver Queen, son of the CEO and future CEO himself. Only Oliver doesn’t take the company as seriously as he should and after yet another fiasco with his assistant, his mother decides to take matter into her own hands and select one with more qualifications than long legs and deep cleavage. In an effort to get her off his back, he pretends he already hired one: the blonde nerdy girl he met a few minutes ago.

Or when Arrow and Ugly Betty crash in my head (except we all know Felicity could never be ugly). It is mostly Arrow, I borrow a few plot ideas/characters from Ugly Betty.

The Cuff Links by @realityisoverrated-fic | Arrow | One-shot

Summary:  On the day of Robert and Oliver's funeral Moira gave Tommy a pair of Robert's cuff links that were always intended for Oliver. Tommy finds the perfect occasion to fulfill Robert's original intentions.

Workouts and Babbles by ElasticMonk | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Oliver comes to the rescue of one cute blonde at his gym just as Felicity stumbles upon one handsome mayor at her gym. They both have something in common, but will it bring them happiness?

He's Just The Nanny by @oliversmuse | Arrow | Completed

Summary:  Oliver Queen has been working as a Nanny for the last 5 years when suddenly the family he is working for is transferred to another city. Open for a new assignment he is sent to the home of Smoak Technologies CEO Felicity Smoak and is hired on the spot to watch her three year old daughter, Ellie. As the weeks pass, feelings start to develop and things get complicated and Felicity and Oliver learn very quickly how love can change everything.

The Proposal by @spaztronautwriter | Arrow | WIP

Summary:  When Felicity Smoak finds herself in a bind, she enlists the help of her assistant Oliver Dearden to help keep her from being deported and losing her job. The problem is, in order to do so, they kind of have to get married...

The What If Harassment Alternative by portlandborn | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | WIP

Summary:  What would have happened to Peraltiago And our intrepid detectives, if Amy had reported her mentor captains ugly behaviors?

"Time for a story" Drabble Series by @smkkbert | Arrow | WIP

Summary: This fic shows Olicity and their life as a (married) couple with family. Although Olicity (and their kids) are the protagonists, other characters of Arrow and Flash make appearances.

It started as a drabble series, but developed more and more into a full domectic AU. Although some chapters are still drabble-like, there are longer storylines by now.

Do you remember by @smkkbert | Arrow | WIP

Summary:  Eight years after Oliver and Felicity became teenage parents, they have everything they could have ever hoped for and more. They have a good life in a nice house. Their marriage is happy, and a second baby is on its way. The calm they have settled in is interrupted abruptly when a stalker starts terrorizing Felicity.

Arrow Out of Context by @smoaking-greenarrow | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Collection of prompts using Arrow quotes.

Airplanes, Coffee and Deadlines by @hope-for-olicity | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Felicity begins working at a national newspaper where she has always dreamed of working. On her first day, she meets a very interesting photojournalist. The two will eventually work together but sparks fly immediately.

The Ravager by @laxit21 & mewmew666 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Slade Wilson's plan for revenge against Oliver took time, money and no shortage of lives to pull together. His plan didn't anticipate Felicity Smoak. How will his plan change now that his lost-lost daughter is working with the very man he's trying to destroy?

Artemis by @laxit21 & mewmew666 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: When the Queen's Gambit sank, two people were stranded on Lian Yu. Five years later, four came back.

The Daughter That Was Left Behind by @laxit21 &  mewmew666 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Before the Gambit, Oliver Queen met QC intern Felicity Smoak. When he boarded the Gambit, he left something behind. Now, five long years later someone is waiting for him.

Semper Fidelis by @oliversmuse | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Oliver Queen is a member of the Bravo Squad, a team that specializes in search and rescue, covert infantry and translating foreign documents. He is known as one of the best and even though he is one of the youngest recruits he advances quickly. While serving he meets Lance Corporal Felicity Smoak, a young woman with skills in hand to hand combat. Despite the fact they butt heads they fall in love and soon start to talk about a future together. However, when her plane disappears on a mission in China and she is presumed dead, Bravo Squad searches frantically for her, only to find her plane and her bloody dog tags. Five years later Oliver runs into "Megan" at a coffee shop near that gym he has been running with his friends. She has lost her memory from the plane accident but has had dreams of Oliver and the Bravo Squad. With the help of his friends and team mates, can he help her reclaim her past and fall for him once again?

Daughter of the Demon by @laxit21 & mewmew666 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: What if in 1988 while traveling through Las Vegas Ra's al Ghul bumps into a nice waitress named Donna Smoak and they have one-night stand together? A little bundle of joy named Felicity Smoak is the result. In 2014, the Demon Head becomes aware of his youngest daughter's existence.

Felicity of Themiscyra by @laxit21 & mewmew666 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Years ago, Donna Smoak left the island of Themiscyra and her sister Queen Hippolyta behind to live in man's world. She never told Felicity the truth about where she came from. As a result of the Undertaking, Felicity discovers some of her Amazonian abilities and makes an interesting new friend: Diana Prince.

I Scream But No Sound Comes out by @laxit21 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: When Oliver returns from Lian Yu after five years, he comes back different. What happened there damaged more than just his body. How will his friends and family deal with this new Oliver? 

And So the Adventure Begins by @mindramblingsfics | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Felicity spent her first year of college focused solely on her studies. In year two, with the convincing of her best friends Iris and Sara, she lets her hair down a bit. Oliver spent his first year partying with his wingman Tommy and living up to the status that came with his last name. He realizes he should buckle down focus on the most important part: actual school. Oliver and Felicity meet, and even though they are on different ends of the spectrum, they don't realize that they can each bring out hidden parts of one another. 

Emerald Archer Martial Arts by @alexiablackbriar13 | Arrow | WIP

Summary: In May 2019, a tired Oliver Queen and four months pregnant Felicity Smoak retire from their vigilante duties and move to the redwood forest town of Bloomfield with their son William, to raise their family in peace.

Along the journey, they build their own successful companies, increase the size of the Smoak-Queen clan by a couple more, train their kids in self-defense, and live out a blissful existence.

This is the story of 7 years of their happiness and family antics, after 7 years of crime-fighting and hardship to save their city.

Providence by @so-caffeinated | Arrow | WIP

Summary: Will Queen has struggled in silence in the year since he was shot. But when a shadowy crime lord known as Domino targets the only woman Will’s ever truly loved, fate forces him to confront his demons in ways he never could have imagined… Whether he wants to or not.

Amelia Prescott has fought to take control of her life since learning two years ago that her personal and professional worlds were manipulated by others. But nothing can prepare her for just how hard she'll have to fight to set her own course, especially when her heart belongs to a damaged man and a crime lord threatens her every professional move... And her life.

Destiny brings them together, but as chaos reigns and personal demons haunt Will and Amelia both, it may also threaten to tear them apart.

I wear high heels (she wears sneakers) by @mogirl97 | Supergirl | WIP

Summary: “Lena. It’s not just about football.” Kara waved her hands around emphatically, “It’s about school spirit and hanging out with your friends—“ Lena didn’t want to bring up the fact that she didn’t have any friends to hang out with. “—and watching me obliterate a bunch of guys’ egos and going out for celebratory Big Belly Burger afterwards.” ~A Supercorp High School AU~

#fanfic rec satuday spectacular #fanfic #fic rec #weekly fic recs