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ninja-go-to-therapy · 4 years

Text

Shaken

Chapter 2

Summary: MK wakes up in the hospital. If there's one thing he knows, it's that he's got to get away.

Trigger Warnings: hospital, referenced abuse, mentioned death

2990 words

“—just started freaking out—”

“—swear, if this is more monkey madness you’re putting him through—”

“—not.”

Words and voices faded in and out. What was going on? His head felt like it was going to explode. Everything was fuzzy, and he hadn’t even opened his eyes yet.

Come to think of it, he probably shouldn’t open his eyes. He didn’t want them to know he was awake.

MK fought to keep his breathing even, just barely suppressing a groan.

He hadn’t escaped.

He was in the “hospital”, no doubt, completely surrounded by those fake shells of his friends. He had to get out of here.

“—think he’s waking up!”

“—id! Kid, can you hear me?”

Shit. They knew he was awake. There was no getting out of this.

He fluttered his eyes open, sitting up with great difficulty.

“MK? How are you feeling?” Fake Tang asked. He looked so real, too.

MK scanned the room as subtly as he could. The door wasn’t blocked. He had to make a run for it. It was a long shot, but if he could just get to his staff, then he could get out of here. But it was so far away.

Pretend Monkey King took a step closer, reaching out a hand to put on MK’s shoulder — or to kill him.

“Don’t touch me!” he demanded.

“Oh, kid—”

He scrambled off the bed and onto the opposite side, nearly collapsing entirely at the immediate searing pain that came from it. He’d forgotten about his leg.

“Shit, kid, sit back down!” Not-Pigsy said, like he was panicking and genuinely worried for MK’s safety and well-being.

As they advanced on him, MK backed away, using the wall for support. He had to get away.

He made it to the door, but immediately bumped into something — or someone. He turned around, stifling a pained gasp at the action. Pretend Sandy was there, almost totally blocking the doorway.

He looked back behind him, terror growing as he saw the concern etched on his not-friends faces. It looked so real, and that only made it worse.

He had to get out of here.

He faked left. As predicted, not-Sandy followed. MK quickly changed his direction, sliding past him and making a break for it down the hall.

The violent burning crawling up his leg was, quite literally, his downfall. His leg gave out, and he was sent sprawling to the floor, and then he was being surrounded, by nurses and his friends alike, and then… he didn’t remember much, after that.

He woke up again in the same blindingly white hospital room. It felt like he was missing more than he knew he was.

This time, he was alone.

Hope soared in his chest. If he wasn’t being watched, he could get out! He went to sit up, but was stopped short by straps that were holding him down.

“No,” he begged, tugging on them desperately. “No!”

He was trapped. Done for. They were going to kill him, and there would be nothing he could do about it.

Oh god, he was sure now that they’d make it extra slow and painful. Of course they would. They had to despise him, by now.

He heard someone approaching from the other side of the door, and immediately, he went limp, pretending to be asleep again.

The door opened.

“Oh, bud…” he heard pretend-Monkey-King say. “You’re gonna be okay.” they must have known MK was awake. There was no other reason they’d be spewing this bullshit. Maybe they could watch him even without a human puppet around.

MK couldn’t take it any longer. “Just drop it,” he said, staring numbly at the ceiling. “You don’t have to act anymore. The jig has been up for a long time.” he blinked back the tears that were pushing at his eyes. “So, who am I talking to? Jin or Yin? Or both? I don’t know how this Calabash shit works.”

MK couldn’t see not-Monkey King’s reaction to that. He just kept staring at the ceiling, blinking away his tears. His head was beginning to hurt.

“Those bastards? You think—? Oh, MK…”

Oh, great, now they were playing from this angle. When would they just give it up? He knew it was them.

“I don’t think. I know.”

“Oh, come on, bud, you don’t really think they could replicate my stunningly good looks, do you?”

In spite of himself, MK laughed. That was just like his mentor.

Monkey King smiled. “Really, bud, it’s me. Wukong.”

MK glared at the ceiling. “Nice try. The real one wasn’t… I wouldn’t have called the real one by that name.” he never had before. The demons clearly hadn’t done enough research.

Pretend Monkey King’s confusion was so fake it hurt. “What do you mean?”

“We’re not that close, you know. Hell, I doubt he even actually knows my name. Just — god. Kill me. Don’t try to make me believe it’s really them. Just get it over with!”

“Dammit, MK, we’re not going to kill you!”

“Whatever.”

For a moment, fake Monkey King looked genuinely upset. He sighed. “Get some rest, kid.”

And then he left.

MK spent the next few minutes in silence, struggling to get out of the restraints. But they were tough. Fucking hell.

But he didn’t give up. He couldn’t afford to. He had to get out of them, he had to get home, to his real friends. How long had he been in here, anyway? Pigsy would probably be pissed at him for missing work.

The door opened, and this time, it was the fake version of Mei. He didn’t even get the chance to wonder what she wanted before she spoke.

“Ask me something,” she demanded. “Monkey King told us what you think is going on, so ask me something. Something only you and I would know.”

Oh, so they could make it all worse by making him see just how much they knew about him? Hard pass.

At his lack of reply, Mei began to talk. “We’ve known each other since we were 13. Pigsy took you in a year or two after that. Your favorite season of Monkey King: the animated series is season 8, because you think whatshisname is hot.”

Okay, sue him, he had a thing for redheads! But that wasn’t important right now. “So what? Anyone could find out stuff like that!”

Mei huffed, continuing on. “Your favorite coping mechanism used to be writing fic about Monkey King adopting you. You wrote one of the biggest fics in the fandom ever.”

“And? That’s not that hard to figure out!”

Mei looked like she was about to scream. “Your parents were bad people.”

MK, who had been struggling, immediately went still.

“They were bad people, and they were even worse parents. You told me not to go after them, even after you got kicked out. Because you’re too good to have ever even considered it. What else do you want from me, MK? When you defeated DBK—”

MK had to admit, he’d almost begun to believe her. “You almost had me there,” he admitted, “I don’t know how the hell you found out about any of that, but if you didn’t notice, the DBK thing didn’t work last time either.”

“...What?”

“Oh my god, I’m not that dumb. I would remember locking away DBK if it had really happened.”

“But… it did?”

“Yeah, sure. I really did lock away the entire Demon Bull family, yeah. And Tang and Pigsy have some weird gay relationship going on, and Mo can just talk now, and Sandy is hosting romantic river cruises, of all things. And you,” he said, forcing down the vomit. “are in love with me!”

Mei made a face. “Ew! That’s disgusting. Wait, okay, I think I have one. What if I tell you what MK stands for? Then will you believe it’s me?”

MK rolled his eyes. Nobody knew what MK really stood for but the real Mei. Even demons would have a hard time figuring it out. Hopefully.

“Whatever.”

They were probably bluffing, anyway.

His name, what MK really stood for, was a nearly perfectly kept secret. Especially in… recent times.

“MK stands for Monkey King, “because he’s like, my hero! And doesn’t MK have this super cool and kinda mysterious edge to it?” she replied, imitating him badly and hardly missing a beat. “And, even though you think it’s a super cool name, you’re embarrassed about it, and keep it to yourself.”

MK glared at her. “I don’t know how you heard that—”

“What will get you to believe me?” she begged.

“Nothing! Absolutely nothing! I’m not falling for this bullshit again!”

“Ask me something! Anything! Please.”

MK thought for a moment. There was maybe one thing he could think of that they wouldn’t know. Something real. Something they would have no reason to.

He sighed, weighing it over in his mind. There was no downside, he supposed. “What did you say when I first told you about… me?”

Again, Mei didn’t even need a moment to think. “I told you that I was really happy that you were comfortable telling me, and that I would love to take you shopping sometime to get you some better clothes, and then I demanded to know where your father lived so that I could scoop his eyes out with a plastic spoon, because he doesn’t deserve to even be able to lay eyes on you. And then I said I would keep him alive, but only barely, because an asshole like that deserves to suffer.”

MK’s blood went cold. It was too oddly specific, and had happened years ago. There was no way they could have known. Which could only mean…

“Mei?”

“Yes!” she cried, nodding frantically.

He couldn’t help himself, the tears he’d been so desperate to hold back earlier finally beginning to fall. “It’s really you?” he sniffled.

Mei nodded. “It is, I swear.”

Carefully, she wrapped him in a hug. It felt so nice and comforting. For a moment, MK just let himself be swept away by it.

Until the door opened.

He pushed Mei away gently, wiping his eyes furiously.

“You uh… feeling alright, bud?” Monkey King… the real one…? asked.

“I’m okay.”

It was real. Pigsy and Tang, they were both real. And Sandy, and Monkey King, and Mei. God, he was so stupid.

“So… you thought you were in some evil magical illusion? Why?” Sandy asked.

“Because I was there before, and—” MK cut himself off. “Wait, no, this is still wrong. I would remember defeating DBK. That never happened.” But they knew — but he also would have remembered — he didn’t know what to believe. Oh god. How was he supposed to know for sure? How was he supposed to be confident in his decision? What was he supposed to do?

The others shared a look.

“You defeated them weeks ago,” Tang said, slowly.

“In like, April,” Mei added.

“It’s March,” MK corrected, his breathing picking up.

“It’s definitely May,” Pigsy said.

“I don’t… but…” MK took a deep breath, trying to ground himself. He didn’t feel so good. His head hurt so bad. He wanted it to stop.

His eyes were hurting, too. Was the world always so covered in little black spots?

“MK?” someone asked, their voice a thousand miles away. “Are you alright?”

The darkness fully overtook his vision, and MK didn’t have the chance to answer.

———

“—kill you, monkey asshole—”

“—do I have to do with this?”

“—our kid a — concussion!”

“—my fault?”

MK groaned, feeling faintly like he was going to vomit. He didn’t try to sit up, this time.

“MK, how are you?”

He eyed his maybe-friends warily. “Trying to figure out if I’m being tricked.”

“Yeah, about that. You’ve got a concussion, kiddo.”

Well, that was a lousy excuse. “I didn’t even hit my head,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Try again.”

“What about that earthquake earlier?” Sandy offered.

“That lasted for like, ten seconds.” Not even. It had been over before it had even actually begun. They needed to try harder than this to fool him. He’d almost fallen for their lies the last time he’d been awake. He couldn’t risk it happening again.

“It definitely lasted for longer than that,” Pigsy said.

“No?”

“Yeah?”

“I bet that’s what happened, then. You hit yourself on the head during the earthquake, forget some important shit — I mean, stuff — gave yourself a concussion, and then you went on a quest that I like to call how badly can I scare my parentals?” Pigsy said, all but yelling by the time he was done with his explanation.

Out of all of that, MK couldn’t help but hone in on one part of it. “...parentals?”

Mei sighed. “You’ve forgotten a lot.”

MK looked at her for a long moment. He still just wasn’t totally convinced. But if there was one thing he knew Yin and Jin would jump at, it was this. One last try. “You know what? I changed my mind. I am in love with you.”

“I — what the fuck, MK?” Mei asked, looking sick at the thought.

“Oh, thank god,” he said, sighing in relief. “Okay, I believe you now.”

Thinking about it, he supposed it all made sense. It didn’t make it much less disturbing, though. In fact, the growing sense of horror he was getting was almost worse than thinking he was inside the Calabash.

But god, it had all been so obvious. Besides the initial earthquake, there had been nothing else like it the entire day. No glitches, no inconsistencies, no random people surrounding him and insisting that this was completely and totally perfect. Yin and Jin would have probably jumped at the chance to gloat once he’d initially figured it out, too.

In short, MK was just… really fucking stupid.

Shit, it was really hitting him now. He must have seemed absolutely fucking crazy all day. Especially considering he’d never told anybody about his first experience in the Calabash.

His friends really had been concerned about him. And with good reason. To them, he’d just lost his mind out of nowhere.

He’d attacked them. He’d actually landed a hit on Mei. He’d been so sure that they weren’t really them. Oh god.

He couldn’t breathe.

He was so stupid. He’d freaked out over nothing, and had very obviously put his friends through enormous stress. All because of a little paranoia that had snowballed into — well. This.

He’d gotten a fucking concussion, broken something in his leg, he’d attacked Mei, he’d fought with everything in him against the people who were only trying to protect him. And all he had in response was to try to hurt them.

He was an idiot.

“C’mere, bud,” Monkey King said, crouching down beside the bed and wrapping MK in this sort of embrace that was all warm and soft and fuzzy. It was so comforting and nice, and probably more than he deserved. “I’ve got you.”

From the other side of the bed, Mei leaned over, hugging MK from behind.

The others, to the best of their ability with the limited space the hospital bed provided, joined in, however uncomfortably.

It was like being completely cocooned in warmth and love.

They… still wanted him around.

He’d completely flipped shit for no reason, had attacked them and screamed at them and done everything in his power to get away, but they still wanted him around. He’d been so sure they would be disappointed in him, would be angry that he’d fought them so viciously, or even hate him.

But if this was anything to go by, they didn’t.

In fact, he’d never felt so safe.

“You’re gonna be okay,” Tang assured from somewhere to his left.

For the first time in the last day (two days? more?), he actually believed it. His friends were real, they weren’t out to end him, and the danger, for the most part, was gone.

The Demon Bull family was gone, locked away under a mountain. Jin and Yin had nothing to do with it, this time.

Also, Pigsy had willingly referred to himself as MK’s parent figure, and wow was that strange.

Strange, but not unwelcome.

And, if the day’s interactions were anything to go by, it seemed like Monkey King didn’t just tolerate him, but actually… actually cared about him?

He wondered if he’d felt that way at the point in time where MK’s memory stopped.

It was startling to know that everyone else in the room was much better informed about… well, everything, than him. They knew about thoughts and feelings he’d had that he didn’t even recall experiencing. They knew about his greatest battle, about how his relationship with all of them had developed in that time, all of it.

And he didn’t.

There was an uncomfortable gaping hole in his mind that he hadn’t even known was there. He felt sort of… naked without it. Like he’d run to work without his pants on and for some reason or another, couldn’t get back up to grab a pair.

His stupid brain was locking the door so that he couldn’t retrieve his pants.

But it would be okay. Something deep within him told him it would be. Or maybe it was the pile of people crowding around him in a group-hug, who knew. Probably a little bit of both.

But really, he was somehow certain that it would work out. He would regain his memory, and in the meantime, the others could fill him in on everything that he’d missed.

It was all going to be fine. It would take some adjusting, and it would be hard, but they still wanted him around. That was, in of itself, a miracle.

“Wait, does this mean he doesn’t remember that Tang and Pigsy are together?”

“What?”

#yeah i dunno #monkie kid #hospital #referenced abuse #mentioned death #tw hospital #tw referenced abuse #tw mentioned death #kat writes #monkie kid fanfiction #angst #whump #fluff #not often I use that tag #I tried #amnesia #cross-posted on ao3

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thatgirlonstage · 4 years

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@fluffyblue-multifandommess so I tried to save your ask in draft at one point while I was working on answering it (it uh.... got... long on me) and fortunately I didn’t actually lose it but it did fuck the formatting to hell and I couldn’t fix it, so I just copy-pasted into a new post entirely; sorry about that.

@fluffyblue-artnwriting asked: I'm thinking about possibilities for a wangxian Witcher!AU and I can't decide which one of them is the Witcher because on one hand WWX has a personality way closer to Jaskier but ALSO the whole Public View Of Witchers Is Shit thing parallels demonic cultivation nicely.... And THEN I thought, but what if LWJ is the witcher and WWX is... like Yennefer. Then who would take on the bard's role... IDK. Maybe NHS? I like the idea of LWJ&NHS friendship A Lot but their dynamic would be very different from Geralt and Jaskier’s obviously. However that all works out, one thing is obvious; A-Yuan is Ciri.

*rubs hands together* Okay hear me out: WWX as the Witcher and LWJ as the Bard, but paralleling a sort of Jaskier/Geralt roleswap AU. The one where Jaskier is a witcher and Geralt is a bard, albeit a much more subdued type of bard, the kind who sits in the corner of an inn and strums his songs and gains a reputation as this guy with a deep, husky (well, Geralt is husky, LWJ in this instance is more… warm and round) kind of voice who is maybe not the best for a jig but whenever he sings he has a way of just making everyone stop and listen. He tells stories with his songs, and he makes people want to hear them. And he doesn’t really like to stick around after he plays, he doesn’t want to be dragged into every piece of gossip and every scandal of every small town he visits, he prefers to meet people privately and gather his stories thoughtfully and carefully before he sets them to music. But one day after his set, just as he’s packing up, this has-no-fear witcher sprawls himself across the table nearest the bard and calls for a drink and a meal for the man who sings so beautifully, golden eyes glowing (like the sun, Lan Wangji thinks, like he wants to light the world around him, not hellfire and brimstone like he’s heard). So he takes the meal but turns down the drink and requests instead to follow him for a day and see if there’s a story waiting in the witcher’s company.

And there is, there’s dozens of stories, but more importantly there is Wei Ying with his golden eyes and bright smile and fierce whirling swords, and the way he laughs and waves it off when the innkeepers throw food in his face or people lie about what they agreed to pay him or even when he is literally stoned out of town. So Lan Wangji vows he will write songs about the witcher, about the children he saves and the long nights in the mud and the wilderness, about stitching his own wounds back together because not even a doctor will touch him. He will write songs so beautiful it will make grown men weep, he will write songs so popular that no one will be able to get them out of their heads, he will write songs for noble and common alike, he will make people stop looking at Wei Ying with fear and revulsion if he has to play until his fingers bleed.

(“Lan Zhan, why do you write so many songs about me?” Wei Ying laughs as he asks it, the question only half serious.

“I write songs that I want people to hear,” he answers, and Wei Ying’s mask slips slightly to the complicated face beneath the smile.)

(He writes one song that is not about him, but for him. One song that no one else will ever hear.)

(“Wangji, be careful with your songs,” his brother tells him, but it doesn’t stop him.)

(Oops it got long, more under the cut)

I am vaguely aware from fanfic that there was at some point, some kind of attack? On the witchers? A bunch of them were wiped out? This would be a lot easier if I knew more lore and history but I want to read the books now* so I’m not gonna spoil myself by looking at the wiki (I also imagine with the number of different canons that looking at the wiki is likely to confuse me more than anything). But anyway: the destruction of Lotus Pier.

Lan Wangji eventually meets Wei Ying’s family, Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli, two other witchers, three of very very few witchers left. Jiang Cheng fights monsters with a whip that crackles with purple lightning. Jiang Yanli uses potions that make her monstrously strong, and drips poison on her blade. Lan Wangji asks Wei Ying why his swords seem perfectly ordinary, if largely too heavy for the average man to swing about with ease, or why he doesn’t use the same potions and poisons Jiang Yanli does, the ones she warned Lan Wangji not to touch lest they burn his skin. He asks why the scars in his skin seem so much deeper, like they took far longer to heal. Wei Ying laughs it off and hastily changes the subject.

(Netflix told us fuck all about witcher lore so I am kinda flying by the seat of my pants here and also this is a more subtle version of losing his core. But the idea here is that WWX gave up some degree of witcher magic that would have allowed him to use magic weapons/the potions. He’s still unnaturally strong, he can see in the dark, he can smell out monsters, but he’s not quite what a full witcher should be.)

One time, when they meet in a roadside inn, Wei Ying seems fit to burst with excitement at seeing him. He pulls him up to his room before Lan Wangji can protest and takes a glossy black flute from his saddlebags. “Teach me to play it, Lan Zhan?” Golden eyes shine like the first glimmers of dawn. “I’ve always wanted to learn music but the witchers never allowed it, and now I’m never in one place long enough to learn.” He has a way of talking around things, Lan Wangji has learned, when it’s something that he fears will evoke pity. Lan Wangji knows that no community suffers a witcher to stay a day longer than necessary, and that even if he managed to earn his keep in a borderland city or somewhere like that, somewhere he could return every month or so, no one would take a witcher as a music student. “But we travel together all the time!” Wei Ying is saying. “So you can teach me!”

Lan Wangji takes the flute, examining it. “I do not play the flute,” he says. Wei Ying’s face falls.

“Oh,” he says. “Right. I thought about getting a guqin like yours, but it’s too bulky to carry with everything else, and I’d be too worried about breaking it when I get in fights…” He reaches for the flute, but Lan Wangji does not return it.

“My brother plays. I took some lessons with him when we were children. I remember the basics. I will teach you.” And Wei Ying lights up again, the sun coming out from behind a cloud.

He’s fumbling at first, his ear unused to the difference between flat and sharp, his fingers unaccustomed to the delicate pressure needed. But he’s a fast learner, and his hands have always been clever. Soon, the days that they travel, when they don’t end in monster hunts, they end in music, in quiet evenings around a campfire, improvised duets weaving through the smoke.

One time, when they meet out on the road, both chasing the same rumor of a cockatrice (well, Wei Ying chasing the rumor, Lan Wangji chasing Wei Ying), Lan Wangji takes out a newly purchased jian and says “Will you teach me?” He doesn’t expect the horror and sadness that spasms over Wei Ying’s face.

“Lan Zhan,” he says, more somber than Lan Wangji has ever seen him, “you don’t have to kill monsters to travel with me. You don’t have to kill anything.”

“Mn. I have no wish to kill. I only want to be able to defend myself, so that you do not have to risk yourself if I am in danger.” Wei Ying still looks hesitant, but he brightens considerably, and agrees to teach Lan Wangji the basics of swordplay. He is not starting from scratch — he learned a few things growing up the child of nobility — but it has been many years since he has been near anything more serious than a bar brawl or a mugging. He is also a fast learner, and so long as Wei Ying does not use his witcher strength, after enough practice Lan Wangji holds his own and even puts Wei Ying in the dirt from time to time.

As for Yen, I actually really like NHS as Yen? He grows up in a family where he was supposed to swing a sword he never wanted to pick up, and he hated it so much that one day he simply teleported away. By the time Nie Huaisang makes it back home, his brother has a plan. He has recently thrown out the Unclean Realm’s Brotherhood advisor, Meng Yao, for treason. If Nie Huaisang has the spark, then Nie Mingjue will send his defenseless little brother to become a powerful mage, and then he can be the Unclean Realm’s advisor. So much easier when things stay in the family. So Nie Mingjue writes to one of the rectors, Lan Qiren, and secures Nie Huaisang’s place in the school. Nie Huaisang goes, and he is a shuddering, tearful mess, and he seems to survive by the skin of his teeth, and not even his classmates notice how skillfully he learns to make the world dance with a crook of his finger.

Years later, Lan Wangji accidentally destroys an amphora containing a djinn. He, in a fit of anger, speaks carelessly for once in his life, at the worst possible moment he could have done so. He rides back into town as fast as Wei Ying’s horse can carry them. He hears of a mage who might be able to help. “No mages,” Wei Ying tries to say, but there’s barely enough air in his lungs to force it out as words. Lan Wangji drags him to the mage’s door and begs for help. Nie Huaisang does it out of curiosity more than anything. Never met a witcher who couldn’t guard their mind before. What happened to your magic?

Get out of my head, Wei Ying thinks, but he lets the mage heal him.

“Why no mages?” Lan Wangji finds the courage to ask, much later, months later, fingers trembling over his guqin with the paralyzing shame of his actions. Wei Ying looks away and tells him the story of two siblings — Wen Qing and Wen Ning — marked as cursed, tells him the head of the Brotherhood, Jin Guangshan, sent his nephew Jin Zixun to kill them for fear of what they could become. He walked into the middle of the conflict. Both Jin Zixun and the siblings asked him for his help. Wei Ying chose the Wens. He killed Jin Zixun. The mages declared him an enemy. When Jiang Cheng tried to protect him, they nearly killed him. To repay Wei Ying, Wen Qing saved Jiang Cheng’s life. But no magic comes without a price, and the price for this was Wei Ying’s witcher magic. Afterward, Wei Ying demanded the Jiang school of witchers disown him, and make peace with the Brotherhood, for everyone’s sake. To cement the peace, Jiang Yanli married a mage and Jin Zixun’s cousin, Jin Zixuan.

(Lan Wangji understands, now, why he’s only every met Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli in the wilderness, and then only rarely, why Wei Ying has pleaded with him not to write songs about them, why his brother tried to caution him away, why his uncle seems so exceptionally chilly on the rare occasions they see each other.)

(Nie Huaisang learned Wei Ying’s history while he was poking through his mind. He laughed when Wei Ying asked if he was going to kill him. “Your friend promised me gold and music if you live,” he said. “I would far rather have that than the dubious honor of giving your head to Jin Guangshan on a platter.”)

(It was Jin Guangshan, after all, who — with someone whispering in his ear, Nie Huaisang is certain — noticed how dangerous letting him go home to his brother would make the Unclean Realm, and instead contrived to send him to the ends of the earth, where Nie Huaisang elected to abandon his duties and the Brotherhood.)

Wen Ruohan rules Qishan with the defected Brotherhood mage Meng Yao by his side. He has found and welcomed back his distant relatives Wen Qing and Wen Ning, in the years since they met Wei Wuxian. Hearing their stories, he sends an invitation to the Black Wolf Witcher, to come visit his kingdom. Wei Wuxian pleads and cajoles Lan Wangji into going with him because really Lan Zhan, do I seem like I belong in rich halls among the nobility? I don’t even know what shirt to buy.

(Okay I am about to careen wildly into Simply Making Shit Up that only has a passing resemblance to either canon, bear with me.)

Wen Ruohan, in the midst of his entire court, demands Wei Wuxian choose a reward for saving Wen Qing and Wen Ning’s lives (Wen Qing saving Jiang Cheng’s life is not, cannot be public knowledge). Wei Wuxian tries to demur, but Wen Ruohan refuses to exist in anyone’s debt, let alone an outcast witcher’s. Somewhat desperate and on the spot, Wei Wuxian invokes the Law of Surprise. It can’t be seen as insultingly low or high in value, and he figures at most he’ll get a puppy from the next litter of Wen Ruohan’s hunting dogs, or something equally inane, and they can all call it even. Unfortunately for everyone, Wen Xu’s wife chooses this exact moment to become spectacularly ill, the first sign other than a late period that she is pregnant with Wen Ruohan’s first grandchild. Wei Wuxian flees. He spends a lot of the next few years fleeing.

(“Come to Gusu with me,” Lan Wangji pleads, some time later, on top of a mountain.

“No,” Wei Ying tells him, not because he doesn’t want to, not because he wouldn’t leave the path if he could, but because he can’t stop running, because there are too many maligned creatures who don’t deserve death and too many monsters preying on innocent people that do, because if he doesn’t help them who will, because how can he stop, because he’s terrified of stopping.

“I cannot watch you destroy yourself, Wei Wuxian.”

“Then leave, Lan Wangji.”)

It ends in fire, when Wen Ruohan grows too power hungry, and the Brotherhood turns on him with the Unclean Realm and Lan Wangji’s family on their side, and it turns out that Meng Yao’s defection from the Brotherhood was an act (some of the time? all of time?) and he’s been spying (for years? for months?). Nie Mingjue manages to pull his brother out of exile in return for his help against the Wens, although Nie Huaisang is doubtful about the merits of this.

Wei Wuxian is there when it happens, having been dragged reluctantly back by the strings of fate and the nebulous tie to a child he has never met but who is still a child and doesn’t deserve to die in the coming carnage. Wen Ruohan locks him away for trying to take his grandchild — and heir, after both Wen Xu and Wen Chao perish on the battlefield. He escapes while the city is sacked, but doesn’t manage to find Wen Yuan before he’s fled the city. Instead he finds Wen Qing and Wen Ning, and defends them from the mages when they come into the city. It would’ve been a futile effort, if not for Nie Huaisang and — surprisingly — Meng Yao, who had been at court with them for years at that point, and — even more surprisingly — Jin Zixuan, who has had years of cajoling from Jiang Yanli at this point, stepping to his side. It’s enough that they’re allowed to leave unscathed.

Wen Yuan, meanwhile, meets an elf boy called Jingyi, flees through the fields of refugees, and learns that he has the same kind of magic or curse he heard people whispering about his relatives Wen Qing and Wen Ning having.

Wei Wuxian, Wen Qing, and Wen Ning find A-Yuan in a destroyed field, lost but alone no more, and he runs into their arms.

Aaaaaaaaaand I have run out of Witcher canon, and this is also OBNOXIOUSLY long by now, so uh, pending part two, maybe, when s2 happens/when I read the books, whichever comes first

#answers #mdzs #wangxian #the witcher #wei wuxian #lan wangji #nie huaisang #witcher!wwx #*i WOULD also like to play the games but alas i have none of the technology i would need #so books and netflix it is #i write this entire thing knowing that xiao zhan singing a cover of her sweet kiss would kill me instantly #BUT i really enjoy the concept of witcher!wwx #i think witcher!lwj has some REALLY NEAT potential too #but this is the direction my head decided to go ¯\_(ツ)_/¯#i hope you didn't mind me taking off in this direction instead of the yen!wwx #also this is a mess lmao #me mercilessly cramming mdzs the witcher and my headcanons and aus for both into this all at once #wait what canon am i even taking this from anymore #how old is everyone and how the hell does time work in this au you ask?#shhhh they're all just inexplicably immortal shhhhhhh #well. unless we want to make 'wwx losing his witcher magic made him not/less immortal' A Thing #but that is perhaps for part 2 i have run out of steam here

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craftyhope · 7 years

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Jewelry-Making for Beginners Part 5: Other Supplies

In the realm of jewelry-making, there are a plethora of supplies and materials that can be used. Previously in this series, I've covered the following:

Jewelry Tools

Materials

Findings

Cords, Ribbons, and Laces

Beads

Before we move on to jewelry-making techniques, I thought it would be a good idea to quickly review some of the other materials used to make jewelry.

The materials I'm reviewing in this post are not ones that are necessary to have for all jewelry-making types. In fact, you may not need any of these at all. As well, I'm not even breaking the surface of all the jewelry supplies out there on the market. But, I felt that it was necessary to go over what some of these items are and how they might be used, especially since you may see them in future tutorials.

Bead Mat: This is simply a square of soft, fuzzy fabric. It's used for working on and keeps your beads from rolling away. I've seen them in the size shown above as well as a larger version. While it's nice to have one or more of these, a towel or washcloth works just as well.

Bead Board: Much like a bead mat, a bead board is used to contain your beads while you work on a project. It has several recessed, bowl-like areas to hold your beads. As well, there are grooves in the surface for placing your beads as your design your pieces. Around the grooves are measurements to help you get an idea of the length of your finished designs.

Wire Jig: The purple square above is known as a Wire Jig. There are other terms out there for them, mostly related to the brand or company that sells them. It's usually a small plastic or acrylic block with a grid of small holes in it. Pegs of varying sizes are placed in the holes and wire is wrapped around the pegs to create designs. I've had this wire jig for ages and haven't really used it much. Though now that I've pulled it out, I wonder why that is. It's such a cool tool.

Bead Spinner: Basically a bowl that spins, bead spinners are most often used with seed beads. Used in conjunction with a curved needle and thread/wire, these are a great tool for loading up a lot of beads onto your wire or thread. You place your needle into the bowl, spin it, and the beads pile up on the needle. I've used this one a few times. It does take several attempts to get the technique right, but then it works like magic. These come in a variety of sizes.

Bench Block & Anvil: These two work basically the same way. They are simply a supremely hard surface on which you can hammer. This is great for flattening wire, texturing metal, hammering items flat, stamping words or images into metal surfaces, etc. You should place some kind of buffer between the black/anvil and your table/work surface to protect it and buffer the sound. There are sandbags and rubber mats that can be purchased specifically for this purpose. I personally use a small folded towel.

Soldering Iron: This is a basic hardware tool that can be used in jewelry-making. I use mine together with copper tape, flux, and solder to join items together like attaching jump rings to surfaces or soldering two glass slides together. Using a soldering iron takes practice, but can be a lot of fun.

A variety of hammer types exist out there, more than I ever knew. Here are two of the ones most commonly used in jewelry-making

Texture Hammer: There are a variety of types of texture hammers. Some simply have a texture on one side, some are homemade from old regular hammers. The one I have has removable ends with small heads that can be interchanged for a variety of textures. These heads are banged onto the surface of the metal to create interesting finishes.

Ball-Peen Hammer: This is a jeweler's all-purpose hammer. One side is generally flat like a usual hammer, while the other side is small and rounded (almost spherical in shape). The flat side is great for hammering wire flat while the small end gives a lot of texture and detail.

Disc Cutters: Basically what it sounds like, these tools cut discs out of metal. You slide your metal in the block, fit a matching metal sphere into the circular space, and hammer until a disc pops out the bottom. This should only take one or two hits of the hammer. I admit that I haven't perfected this technique. My disc cutter is a fairly cheap version, and you get what you pay for. There are a variety of cutters like this out there, some even cutting out other basic shapes (squares, ovals, stars, teardrops, etc.), and they're in a variety of price ranges.

Hole Punch Pliers: Again, these are just what they sound like. They punch small holes in metal, much like a paper hole-punch. There are other tools out there that will achieve the same effect (like the disc cutters), but I've found these pliers to be the most efficient, depending on the metal itself.

Dapping/Doming Block: While this supply may look kinda crazy, it's purpose is totally simple: it domes metal pieces. Each of those knobs on a stick corresponds to a dome in the block. You hammer the spherical part of the stick into the dome to curve your metal. This example is a metal one, but I also have a smaller wood one that doesn't mar your material as much. Though, it's not as sturdy either.

Tin Snips: The ones pictured are only one version of tin snips. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes but generally look something like scissors. They do cut tin, along with a variety of other metals, so long as they are thin enough. Some tin snips are designed to cut straight lines, some to cut curved lines. Some of the stronger/larger ones (found in hardware stores) will leave "teeth marks" on the metal, so you should be careful when selecting yours.

Tweezers: I'm sure you are familiar with tweezers. In jewelry-making, they're perfect for picking up small beads, holding down small bits when gluing, or generally acting as tiny fingers.

Glue: Most jewelry techniques don't involve glue, but you will come across projects, from time to time, that need it. I often use E6000 as a super glue to adhere large elements (like cabochons) to other surfaces. Bead Stringing Glue is great because it has a needle tip to get in tiny spaces. I use it especially to secure knots in threaded projects.

Files: There are a variety of files out there that can be used to help make jewelry. Something as simple as a nail file can work in a pinch. But, if you're working with more industrial materials, you're going to need more industrial supplies. Pictured above are a metal nail file, a heavy-duty metal file, and a wire rounder. The wire rounder has a tiny cup on the end to help file down wire ends. This is especially great for making ear wires. Not pictured, but also key, are bead reamers. These are thin, round files that are inserted into the holes of beads to clean and file them.

Dremel: Another hardware-store supply is a Dremel tool. It's a multi-purpose electric tool with interchangeable heads. It can be used for drilling, sanding, filing, buffing, and many, many more tasks depending on the head you put on it.

The supplies I have pictured and mentioned here are just the tip of the iceberg. There's no way I could ever cover every little thing that might be used to help you make jewelry. You will undoubtedly uncover many more materials as you continue learning to make jewelry.

I'm looking forward to getting to the next part of this series when I'll finally start sharing techniques with you! For now, please let me know if you have any questions, corrections, or additions to this subject in the comments.

via Blogger http://ift.tt/2A9HmwX

#Blogger #jewelry making #tutorial

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heysnowflake · 5 years

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Disney/Non-Disney Questions (Strictly Animated- you’re about to see how sad I am when it comes to animated films)

1. Scene you wish you could live out? Ooooh I love the idea of seeing Atlantica in person so probably the first scene of the Little Mermaid where all the mermaids are swimming into the castle.

2. Do you prefer CGI or Hand/Cell Animation? HAND/CELL ALL THE WAY!!! There is just... an endearing quality to the original hand/cell animation style of movies that I adore. It has a personality. Plus, the contrast of the painted background and the hand-drawn characters is so wonderfully nostalgic and captivating. Furthermore, hand/cell animations takes a tremendous amount of work in comparison to CGI which, whilst I understand why Disney does it CGI now because of it, it makes me feel like I’m watching something with more heart in it because of all the time, sweat and soul that went into it. I could honestly go on and on about hand/cell animation but I shall leave it there. Yes. Hand/Cell Animation will always be my preference.

3. Which fairytale would you like to see animated next? Hans Christian Anderson’s The Wild Swans immediately springs to mind.

4. Favourite voice actress? I’m terribly torn between Jodi Benson and Liz Callaway. I just... I can’t choose! I mean, Jodi Benson was singing/voice acting for both Thumbelina and Ariel (two of my favs). And then Liz Callaway singing/voice acting for Odette, and then singing for both Anastasia and Kiara. How do I choose?!?!?!

5. Favourite voice actor? Has to be John Cusack for me, Dimitri’s voice in Anastasia just melts me and I could listen to it all day. An extremely close second is Gary Imhoff who voiced Prince Cornelius but Dimitri’s voice just gets to me whenever I hear it.

6. Favourite first meeting scene? I want to say Ariel and Eric but it’s hard to say which one counts as their first official meeting... so, I’ll say Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, that whole scene is just pure gold.

7. Mention one Disney related thing that can always cheer you up, no matter how sad you are (scene, song, character, movie etc.): The song “Why Should I Worry” from Oliver and Company never fails to make me smile. Such a classic catchy song.

8. Mention one Non-Disney related thing that can always cheer you up, no matter how sad you are (scene, song, character, movie etc.): Batty from FernGully: The Last Rainforest is easily my answer for this one, every time he’s on screen, my depression fades away for a while.

9. Which scene/s always makes you cry? Oh man, I’m a big cry baby when it comes to movies so I have a few but I’ll name my main ones. Like the ones where I really ball like an idiot.

- Fox and the Hound: when Widow Tweed takes Tod into the woods.

- Thumbelina: a few scenes honestly- when Thumbelina wishes she were big and felt all alone in the world, when Thumbelina is told that Cornelius is dead and when Thumbelina and Cornelius finally find each other.

- Dumbo: when Dumbo finds his mother and cuddles her before he has to leave her again. That entire scene kills me.

- Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron: when Rains gets shot.

- TInkerbell and the Legend of the Neverbeast: when the fairies take Gruff into his cave to go into hibernation for a thousand years (I am not joking one bit when I say that I cried at this for half an hour solid).

- Anastasia: when the Empress and Anya realise that they are indeed family

- Lion King: you know the fucking scene...

10. Favourite Duet (romantic in particular)? It’s an absolute tie between Let Me Be Your Wings sung by Thumbelina and Prince Cornelius, and Far Longer Than Forever sung by Derek and Odette. Whilst there are many great Disney duets, none quite do it for me as much as these two. In my personal opinion, these two perfectly define what a duet should be. They all harmonise beautifully with the other, they use different pronouns sung together, they each have their own part as well as singing together, the lyrics are exquisite... I honestly am such a fan of these songs. If you’re curious, a second place option to this would be If I Never Knew You from Pocahontas (both the pop version and the original version that was cut from the first version of the movie).

11. A couple you wish had sung a duet together? Ariel and Eric. Whilst they did sing together very briefly in Little Mermaid 2, they never got an official duet. I mean, I know Eric didn’t sing at all in the first one but I don’t know... I would have loved to have them sing together.

12. An underrated duet? I mean, my favourite duets are honestly very underrated, but I’ve already mentioned them. So… I feel like Looking Through Your Eyes sung by Kayley and Garrett is extremely underrated as everyone thinks of The Prayer when they think of Quest for Camelot.

13. Name your top three Disney princes/male protagonists: Prince Eric, Flynn Rider aaaaaaand Kovu.

14. Name your top three Disney princesses/female protagonists: Snow White, Ariel and Pocahontas.

15. Name your top three Non-Disney male protagonists: Oh that is fucking easy for me- Prince Cornelius, Dimitri and Derek (Pips from FernGully almost made the cut).

16: Name your top three Non-Disney female protagonists: Anastasia, Thumbelina and Odette (I absolutely adore Crysta but I just couldn’t not include one of the other three… choosing three is so limiting).

17. Favourite sidekick/s? Bartok (Rasputin’s sidekick, I kill myself laughing at his lines), Baymax (Hiro’s sidekick) and Meeko (Pocahontas’ sidekick)

18. Favourite villain/s? Beetle (Thumbelina- he makes me laugh so much), Scar (Lion King), Zira (Lion King 2- she’s such an underrate villain, she is just so set on revenge) and Rasputin (Anastasia).

19. If you were to marry a female/male protagonist, who would you choose? Before, my answer would have been Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid, but now my answer would be undeniably Prince Cornelius. And here is why. When it comes to Thumbelina, nothing is more important. He literally endeavours the harshness of autumn and winter to find her when she’s been kidnapped, and he never stops for one second. The only way he was stopped was when he was forced into water by the wind and was frozen alive. And even, as soon as he’s been melted free, he immediately goes to find her and fight for her. Like, you have to admire that utter devotion and dedication. And when he is with Thumbelina, he takes care of her in every way possible. If you watch him during their duet Let Me Be Your Wings, you’ll see that he always makes sure to have a hold of her when they’re flying. Like when Thumbelina bends down to run her fingers through the water, he has his arm around her waist to hoist her. He lifts her onto the boat where the Toad lives. He catches her when she falls (yes I know that’s a meme where he sings that he’ll never let her fall and then she does but the whole point of that damn part is that, when she does fall, she falls with no fear because Cornelius catches her the next second). He’s so attentive with her and the way he loves her name is just so cute. Also, I really love how he made sure Thumbelina’s mother was looked after by Hero the dog. He is so kind, heroic, skilful and loving. But then he is also funny, cocky (in the nice way), sarcastic, a cutely clumsy sometimes, and has a slight rebellious streak that is so god damn attractive. I mean, he loves flying and literally misses royal events and princely duties to fly around the world. Plus, he literally flies on his bumblebee, Buzzbee, like a motorbike, if that ain’t a badass fairy, I don’t’ know what is. You definitely can’t say he’s boring at all. Okay, that’s covering his personality kinda. Going into physical traits, he is of course extremely handsome. I have always been a sucker for red hair (and now my best friend thinks he is the original reason why). Green eyes… I mean, come on. A damn heart-melting smile and smirk. His speaking voice is as wonderful as his singing, including a hypnotising soft-spoken voice when he gets close with Thumbelina. He’s great with a sword. He shows that he’s good at dancing. And if I got anything from that last five minutes, it’s that he looks like he’s a great kisser. Like the passion in that kiss (for an animation too) is something I’ve never forgotten. He’s not overly muscular but has muscles for sure, but it’s in a slender form. And… you know… he’s a fairy. A fairy prince! I realise I really got into this answer but I really do feel like Prince Cornelius gets overlooked and… ugh, I just love him.

20. A song you love from that isn’t sung by the characters? Baby Mine from Dumbo.

21. An underrated song? A Dream Worth Keeping by Sheana Easton from FernGully.

22. An underrated ballad? Where Do I Go From Here sung by Pocahontas in Pocahontas 2.

23. If you could be friends with a Disney character, who you would you choose? Mushu would be amazing, I’d forever be entertained.

24. Favourite friendship? Robin Hood and Little John.

25. Favourite villain song? In The Dark Of The Night sung by Rasputin in Anastasia. Other contenders are No More Mr Nice guy sung by Rothbart in The Swan Princess, My Lullaby sung by Zira in Lion King 2 and… of course… Be Prepared sung by Scar in Lion King.

26. Three songs you can’t help but jig to? You’re Beautiful Baby from Thumbelina, Why Should I Worry from Oliver and Company, and Friend Like Me from Aladdin.

27. Favourite Disney Reprise? Has to be Mother Knows Best Reprise, it’s leaps and bounds ahead of Mother Knows Best.

28. Spell you name with character names/movies:

Ratatouille

Eric

Baloo

Esmerelda

Cornelius

Crysta

Anastasia

Jim Hawkins

Ariel

Nala

Eeyore

Robin Hood

Iago

Gaston

Bambi

Yzma

29. How often do you watch an animated movie? At least twice a week. I’m legitimately watching Thumbelna as we type this and it’s the fifth time I’ve watched it in the last week and a half. Besides Horror, Disney/Non-Disney is my favourite film genre.

30. What animated movies have taught you? To always believe in magic, to be kind even when no-one else is, and that there is nothing wrong with loving animated movies as an adult, animation is for everyone.

BONUS Q: 31. An animated movie that everyone needs to go and watch right now: Hunchback of Notre Dame, I’ll guarantee that you haven’t seen it in a long time and you are missing out one of Alan Menken’s greatest achievements in his musical career and beautiful story with a powerful message.

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stillthewordgirl · 7 years

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Central City Rendezvous, chapter 13 (of 16)

Rip Hunter never came for the Legends. But maybe some meetings are meant to be... (A Captain Canary AU.)

Yeah, yeah. It’s now 16 chapters. I promise that’s it. :) Expect one every two days from now until March 20, just about the one-year anniversary of my first CC story! (Well... that’s the plan. The only chapter that’s not done at this point is 15.)

This also takes place during the Flash episode “Invincible.” Many thanks to @larielromeniel for the beta.

Can also be read here at AO3 and here at FF.net.

Sara can't reach Laurel, her Laurel, in Star City.

And somehow that just makes it all worse. Because it’s tough, so very tough, to look at the image of the smirking, slinking, black-clad woman on the surveillance camera footage and remind herself that that’s not Laurel, not really, that Laurel is mostly confined to a wheelchair right now, and she’s still in Star City, and she's OK. She is. Sara has to believe that.

It’s hard, too, to watch Wally strike the… Black Siren… with his car, even though it’s not Laurel, not her Laurel, and she’d been about to hurt Barry, and, and…

She turns away, closing her eyes, but stops when she bumps right into the man who’d been standing behind her. Leonard lifts his hands to her arms, then hesitates and slowly lowers them to his sides after only a brief touch.

And then, a moment later, she feels them return, feels his hands settle firmly on her upper arms, holding her, anchoring her, and all the watchers be damned.

But no one says a word.

“She’s a meta. And she brought down all of Mercury Labs,” Sara says a bit numbly. “While we were out there?”

“You all were on the other side of the city,” Barry offers. “And we didn’t know… who it was… at the time.”

Leonard turns to level a glare at Wells. “You knew about our Earth-2 counterparts. But you didn’t tell them about her?”

Wells meets him stare for stare. “Frankly, until Mr. Allen had his run-in with her, I thought she was dead.” He shrugs. “Zoom didn’t take the death of... well, her failure to capture... your counterpart well. And there are other meta powers that can take down buildings.”

“Yeah, well, no one else managed to kick Barry’s ass.” Cisco’s grin slips a little as Barry turns to look at him. “Uh. Anyway, we’re putting together some tech to take down all the Earth-2 metas—it uses vibrations, it’s kinda weird, just trust me,” he rattles off. “We just need some time. But she says she’s just going to keep taking down buildings for Zoom. We don’t really have another good way to stop her. We just need…”

The silence hangs for a moment before Sara finally opens her eyes, then turns around and looks at him.

“… time,” she finishes. “You need a distraction.”

As if on cue, a noise from the other side of the room breaks into the tableau. Caitlin reacts first. “Cisco, it’s your metahuman alert app.”

“That’s the hi-rise development on the west side,” Joe says, eyes on the display as Iris comes up behind him.

“Hundreds of people live there,” she breathes in horror.

But Harrison Wells is moving already, running for a bank of computers. “Ramon, we’re up! Let’s go. Set that pulse off right now.” He pauses to point at Barry. “Allen, you start generating that refracting field around the city right now.”

“But… all those people…”

And, just like that, there’s no more time. Sara takes a deep breath. “Where is she?” she whispers. “Black Siren. I’ll go.” She looks at Barry. “Admit it. I’m the perfect distraction. With what Wells has told us, she’ll be completely focused on me. Not on what you’re up to.”

“She’s right,” Wells breaks in before Barry can respond. “And Black Siren… she knows capturing this Sara could be a ticket back into Zoom’s good graces.” He holds up a hand as Sara looks at him. “But… she gets angry. That’s how… well. Be careful.”

“I’m going too.” Leonard’s voice is flat and profoundly unhappy. It’s his turn, though, to hold up his hand as Wells starts to speak. “She needs backup. It’s me.”

And that’s that.

They park the bikes a block or so away, then split up, Leonard giving Sara's elbow a quick touch before vanishing into the night. She watches him go, then takes a deep breath, sets her shoulders, and gets on with it.

Black Siren, obviously waiting for someone to respond to her use of powers, is lingering in an abandoned building near the development. She turns as Sara steps through the door, a quick blink the only sign of surprise she shows.

“Well, well! If it isn’t my sweet lil’ sister," she says, stepping closer. "I'd wondered about you."

"Not quite," Sara responds tersely. But Siren doesn't even seem to hear her.

"You look like quite the bad-ass here. I heard it went a bit differently, on this Earth.” She makes a tsking noise, shaking her head as she strolls slowly in a large circle around Sara, who turns to keep her in view. “Dear ol’ Ollie. I wonder if my version harbored any of the same thoughts? I’m going to guess… yes.” She shrugs. "Maybe he just didn't have the balls to go for it there. Doesn't matter."

Sara licks her lips, moving her bo from hand to hand, unable to escape the visceral feelings of guilt that she and Laurel are long since past, that don't, can't apply to this Laurel.

"I'm not her," she points out, as much to herself as the other woman. "And you're not... you're not my sister."

"No." Siren stops, cocking her head to the side, birdlike. "I'm not. I'm ever so much better." She smiles as Sara's eyes narrow. "Oooh, protective of your dear sissy, are you? My s... she was, too. Or at least she pretended to be."

Keep her talking. Just a little longer. She doesn't dare look past Siren to where she knows Leonard is skulking silently at the other side of the building. "Oh?"

It's almost like this Laurel wants to talk, wants to air her grievances. She continues, still moving, still circling, as Sara watches.

"I came to Central for a fresh start, but everywhere, it was always about her. Sara, working her way up through the ranks, fighting for women's services. Sara, the young, hard-working director of the CC YWCA, helping women with nowhere else to go." Her tone is light, but with a bitter edge, Sara thinks. "And then, the perfect story, the fairytale romance with the politician no one thought had a heart. My baby sister was fucking the goddamned mayor, after I'd lost..." Siren stops, spins, and stares at Sara a long moment, then smirks again.

"And then! I got the meta powers, you didn't." She does a little pirouette, smiling, black leather flowing out around her legs. "So much potential, I thought! Maybe... now, I could…” Her expression hardens. "But people hated metas. And all that potential... the only one who wanted it was Zoom... and, oh, it's just so much fun to watch things crumble and fall..."

Sara, who's been watching Siren's throat, tenses as she sees the muscles tighten, but the other woman doesn’t attack her. Instead, she spins, screaming, sonic waves aimed at the back of the room and causing havoc in their wake. Leonard dodges and rolls out of the way, bringing himself into view in the dim light.

“Oh, you did! You did find him here!" Black Siren actually sounds quite pleased about this, taking a step closer to see the newcomer. “And, my my, you look a lot more bad-ass on this Earth, Leonard.” Her tone is admiring as she looks the crook up and down. "I like the jeans, and the black leather, of course."

She taps a finger against her lips. "Other you is a lot more... staid. Cute, in a preppy, older sort of a way, but staid. Should have realized there was a bit more potential there, given how difficult he's proven, but... well, that's besides the point."

Since the jig is up anyway, she can see Leonard weigh his options… and then shrug in typical Captain Cold insouciance, sauntering over to stand by Sara.

“Thanks,” he drawls, hand on cold gun, “I think.” She can see the gleam in his eyes. “I might appreciate it a bit more if you weren’t so obviously insane.”

Siren actually laughs. “Oh, I do like you better! But I’m not insane. I just like being the one with the power. It’s such fun.” Her eyes narrow. “And now, speaking of which…”

Come on, Cisco! “Laurel!” Sara says in desperation. “We could really use your powers here, use them for good. I'm sorry they weren't appreciated there, that you weren't appreciated there, but you could be, here."

She sees a spark of surprise in the other woman’s eyes, quickly concealed. Siren pouts, dark lips forming a moue of annoyance, as she steps closer.

"The time for that is past, dear Sara," she says lightly. "Besides which, she tried to convince me of that, too." A shrug. "She was wrong. And then she died."

Sara can feel Leonard's arm move as he grips the cold gun besides her, as she grasps for more distraction. She seizes, then, the very real grief she feels bubbling up at the other woman's words.

"You were her sister," she cries, her tone full of anguish. "Even if you hated her... even if you had reasons... how could you kill her? Just tell me that."

Siren seems just as stunned by Sara's words as Sara herself is. She blinks a moment, then says, "It was an accident."

They both stare at the Earth-2 woman. Black Siren glances away, but she continues.

"You had earplugs," she says, as if to herself, as if she's forgotten again that this is not the same Sara. "They fell out. I didn't know... Zoom was going to let me go, he was... he was just going to use you..."

Sara takes a step, feeling Leonard tense again. But she needs to take this opportunity, for more reasons than one. "I mean it," she says quietly. "You don't need to work for him here. You could change sides. It's not too late."

For a moment, Earth-2 Laurel Lance stares back at her little sister's Earth-1 version, and there's almost something besides mockery in her eyes. Something wistful.

But then they harden again, and she laughs.

"Oh, please. Really? After I've disposed of lover boy here and taken you back to Zoom, gotten him off my back, I think I'll head to Star City, see what my counterpart is up to." Her lips curve. "She should be easy to dispose of, and then I might be able to get an actual life back. Is it any less than she deserves, for being such a little..."

Sara lunges for her, bo in one hand, knife in the other. Leonard curses, bringing the cold gun into firing position. And at that moment, the S.T.A.R. Labs secret weapon blankets the city in vibrations designed to take out the residents of Earth-2.

And Black Siren claps her hands to her head with a look of horror on her face--before dropping like a marionette with her strings cut.

Sara stutters to a halt, then drops to her knees by the other woman's side, a hand covering her mouth, shoulders shaking. With her free hand, she reaches out toward the Black Siren’s shoulder, stopping just shy, her fingers trembling, unable to bridge the final centimeter of space. Leonard hesitates just a moment, then puts a hand on her shoulder, and she reaches up to put hers over it.

They're still there, motionless, when Barry arrives.

They go back to her apartment this time, the solitude much-needed, Sara giving the request to Leonard in a voice that’s more numb than anything else.

Once they’ve parked their bikes, he takes one look at her standing there, staring at the building with a blank expression… and then makes a decision. Moving slowly so she can see what he’s doing, he steps closer, then swings her up into a bridal-style carry and makes his way toward the door.

Then up the stairs. Into a sparse apartment that has less sign of someone actually living there than the S.T.A.R. Labs medical rooms. Into the bedroom, where she finally stirs from her curl in his arms to motion, still wordlessly, for him to put her down. When he does, she divests herself of her uniform in small, efficient, unthinking movements, finally peeling back the bed covers only to stare at them like she's not sure what to do.

Leonard's the one who gently pushes her down until she’s stretched out on the bed, then pulls the covers up over her. But as he does, small, strong fingers wrap around his wrist, tug him toward her and down.

He caves, lying down next to her and pulling her into his arms with a sigh. She curls up there with a sigh of her own and is asleep in moments.

Leonard intends to wait only until she’s out—as comfortable as he is, and as much as he’d like to stay with her, there are things he needs to do. But it’s been a long day, a long, exhausting, stressful day with only one brief rest. It’s not much longer before he’s out too, breathing evenly and deeply as they slumber.

Sometime in the middle of the night, he wakes from a sound sleep to find Sara staring at him from only a few inches away, eyes nearly purple in the dim light, hand on his chest. After a moment, she leans forward to kiss him, lips soft, then increasingly urgent.

They’d been having fun, before. Blowing off steam and enjoying each other.

This is different. This, he thinks, not long later, every sense filled with Sara, is what people call love-making.

He’s never understood that before, not really. He does now.

This is… healing. Far more than the physical, more than a satisfying release. And when she whispers his name on a breathless cry, hands tightening on his shoulders, the words he responds with are not her name.

It’s nothing he’s thought out. Nothing he’d expected to ever say. But other words and thoughts from throughout the day keep echoing through his head and…

Since I knew it contained Sara Lance.

There are people who simply seem to find each other in all the worlds we know.

You were each other's balance, on my Earth.

… and life can change, so fast.

He sees her eyes widen, even as he, too, gasps, shuddering over her as her arms tighten again around him. And then she whispers. His name.

A few other words.

He lowers himself to the bed, pulls her into his arms. She buries her face in his neck.

And they hold each other.

He waits until she's sound asleep again, then carefully disentangles himself, rising and searching for the clothing discarded earlier. Dressed, he scrawls a quick note, then stands there a moment, looking down at her, thinking about the paths he's chosen and those he's walked away from, and why he's done what he's done.

What he wants.

How it's changed.

And then he goes back to S.T.A.R. Labs.

#central city rendezous #captain canary #legends of tomorrow #sara lance #leonard snart

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