#and also if you are here we're in different places. different countries? quite possibly different hemispheres.
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Best of Both Worlds
Yes, the title is a Hannah Montana song, it fits perfectly. Also, for the sake of fiction, Leah did in fact play at Wembley, thank you!
Possibly the most long-awaited day of Leah's life; her national team return. It was one thing to play for The Arsenal again, but to represent her country whilst wearing the captain's armband at Wembley was an experience that simply couldn't be matched. And that's why it meant everything and more to her that you were in the stands with her family and her name on your back.
It wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing match ever, a 1-1 draw against Sweden, but Leah was back in her rightful place under her rightful role, and that was a win in itself. With each step on the pitch, your heart swelled with pride, knowing the mountain she'd climbed with her injury and how hard it had been mentally with each bump in the road, especially when she had to drop out of the last camp.
But here you were, seated in the same area of the stands her family had been when she had won the Euros, watching on in awe at how seamlessly she slipped back into the team. You had missed that fateful day back in 2022, having only met Leah five months after it at a New Year's Eve party, but with the affection Leah described that day with, you may as well have lived it for yourself. Now, having experienced your first game at Wembley since you hadn't gone to that game last year, you were beaming as you watched your girl command her national team around again.
Sure, you'd been to many a game of her's before, but there was something different about this one. There were obvious reasons of course, her injury and whatnot, but seeing her lead her team out to a stadium filled with the most people she'd ever played in front of, a feeling settled in your chest that was unlike anything before. And when she was back in your arms at the end of the game, you would show her exactly how much you treasured her.
So, as she made her way around the stadium post-game, taking the time to applaud all the fans that had come along to watch and signing things for some, there was a smile of admiration on your face that her cousin beside you noticed. You blushed heavily at the teasing nudge she gave you with a smirk on her face.
"I suggest you wipe that cheesy, love-sick smile off your face before she comes over and bullies you for it." The woman next to you said, the pair of you laughing as you rolled your eyes, both all too familiar with her antics.
But the absence of said smile only lasted for about a minute, because then Leah was making her way over to the area of stands where you and her family was, and she had a down-turned smile on her face, the one she always did whilst trying to suppress her actual one. You were sat on the second row behind Leah's immediate family, so you stood back and waited for her to greet them all, also doing so as to not attract much fan attention. Leah made that hard though, because when her Mum pulled her into a bear hug, she indulged herself fully in it for about five seconds before her eyes flitted up to you and the corners of her mouth finally quirked up.
She jokingly pushed her Mum to the side so that she could reach out for you, and leaned up to hug you tightly. However, you pulled away after a few moments, and she made her disapproval very clear.
"What you doing that for?" She quizzed grumpily, looking utterly unimpressed up at you as some of her family members chuckled at her.
"The fans, Leah. We're at Wembley, think of all the videos." You whispered close to her ear, not quite intelligible for the others to hear.
"Who gives a toss, babe, I've hugged all my family here and you're no different." She responded, and she pulled you back in before you could complain. You wouldn't have complained anyway, because really who were you to deny your girlfriend's hug, your favourite in the world.
"Don't throw a strop later if there's about a million different angles of this." You teased, pinching her side where one of your hands rested around her.
"Doesn't matter, it's still you I get to go home with." She murmured before quickly pecking the spot under your ear and pulling back with one last squeeze. When she leaned back, she saw the light blush to your cheeks and smirked. "A year later and I've still got it."
You shoved her away lightly so that she could chat with the rest of her family before going off to do her post-match routine. Seeing her with her family, who she was so tight-knit with, was always a joy to see and you'd never get tired of seeing it. And as she jogged away back to the tunnel, her Mum turned to you and embraced you too.
"Thanks for coming, darling, it means a lot to her and to us too." She told you, rubbing a hand up and down your back. Praise and gratitude from her never got old either.
"Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world." You said back to her, to which she smiled and kissed your cheek.
You and the rest of the group made your way around to the family area inside the stadium to wait for her, making light conversation with them all to pass the time whilst Leah carried out media duties. It was fun and easy spending time with her family, because as a result of your girlfriend's relationship with them, you had grown almost as close with them too. Ever present at family dinners, birthdays, and events like christenings and weddings etc, now it was second nature for you to follow Leah to them. Within only a few months of being with Leah, every invite had your name on it too.
In the middle of your conversation with her cousins, talking excitedly about plans for the summer vacation later that year, you were interrupted as Leah finally appeared in her tracksuit with short wet blonde hair, a soft smile on her face. She spent a bit of time talking some more with her family, before bidding them farewell and wandering over to you.
"Home time?" You wondered, reaching a hand out to brush some of her hair back behind her shoulder.
You had, rather bravely, drove to the stadium today after Leah somehow secured you a reserved parking space, with the plan of driving yourself and Leah home your flat for the night before she travelled back up north to St. George's Park with the team tomorrow.
"God, yes." She sighed, and you smiled up at her.
"Let's go then." You took the hand she offered after pulling up her hood and let her lead the way out of the stadium.
Arriving at your car, with a few curious stares from fans to see if the hooded figure beside you was who they thought it was, you helped her lift her things into the boot of your car before the pair of you clambered in.
For the time it took to drive home, you caught up with her as it had been a few days since you had seen each other whilst she had been at camp. You, ever the safe driver, weren't one to hold your girlfriend's hands whilst on the road, always with two hands on the wheel at all times. Leah teased you of course, her and her English humour never falling to banter you everytime she could, but nevertheless when she was feeling a little clingy her hand would rest on your thigh as you drove, or it would massage and stroke the back of your neck as her arm leaned on your seat's headrest.
Today was a case of her resting a hand mindlessly on your thigh, something you would smile at constantly and glance down at the sight every chance you could get. She didn't notice though, busy talking and too tired to realise. Adjusting back to playing 90 minutes was something she was still in the middle of, not that she couldn't handle them because she obviously can, it's just the tiredness afterwards was something she hadn't experienced in a while of playing professionally.
That meant you weren't exactly surprised when she flopped down immediately on your sofa when you got home, not even bothering to drop her bags off in your room.
"Want some food, love?" You offered, pushing her bags to the side of the hallway so that they weren't a tripping hazard before leaning against the doorway of your lounge.
"You don't have to cook, we can just order a Nando's or something." Leah yawned, rubbing her eyes.
"Well, I thought ahead." You smiled at her, giggling at the tired and confused expression she silently responds with. "I meal-planned for you. I can heat up a plate of that Carribbean chicken and rice and veg if you want."
She gazed at you for a few moments before her head dropped back against the pillows with a groan.
"If I had a ring right now, I'd ask to marry you."
With a laugh, you took that as a yes and headed to the kitchen to do exactly as you said. As you were gone, the blonde put Netflix on the TV and chose the sitcom you had been watching together before pausing the episode to wait for you. She sat up with a groan and slumped back heavily, going onto her phone to reply to some friends and family.
Not so long later, you walked back in with Leah's food, handing it to her before sitting down beside her. Plate and fork in hand, she twisted her body to lean her back against your shoulder and happily tucked into her meal as you pressed play on the TV.
"Thanks for this, babe, I'm really grateful." She muttered as she ate, to which you smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"It's no problem, Le. I made a plate for myself too but I had a hot dog at half-time so I'm not hungry." You revealed, giggling as Leah chuckled.
"I know it's just a plate of food but... I don't know, means a lot to me that you thought about this." With a light blush, you shrugged nonchalantly and kissed the side of her head.
"I would say I know you'd do the same for me, but everybody knows you can't cook." You jested, grinning when she grumbled under her breath.
"I was only being nice, but alright." She huffed, but you only held her tighter against you.
"I'm kidding. I just love you, s'all. Wanna take care of you, especially after the last year and especially because I know you're a bit of a bottomless pit after a game." You say, and she hums in agreement. "If I'd have known my chicken was so good, it inspired thoughts of marriage, I'd have made it more often."
"I could never say no to that."
You both fell silent at that, more than content to enjoy each other's company with the show on in the background. Spending time with you after a game, just relaxing together, was fastly becoming Leah's favourite tradition. Going to dinners with friends or partying were great, but not much could beat this. Great food with even better company, in the arms of her girlfriend, Leah was finally at peace with the silence she had to greet after a game that was anything but.
That was something not many people would guess was a struggle in women's football. Going from playing in tiny stadiums to bigger venues but hardly any fans, to then playing in sold-out game after sold-out game for both club and country, that was her dream. What she wasn't expecting was the mental challenge that came with it. Spending well over 90 minutes in a booming stadium with fans that never ceased their chants was astounding to her, but the silence that met her when she would go home to a quiet and empty apartment was difficult.
She had worked on dealing with it better since the Euros where it had really picked up, but there was one thing that made it so much easier every time without fail. And that was you.
"You know I do plan to marry you, right?" Leah piped up out of nowhere sometime later, her plate long discarded to the coffee table as your positions on the couch remained the same. At her out-of-the-blue question that took your breath away a little, you cleared your throat and nodded though she couldn't see you.
"Yeah."
"Because I do want to marry you one day. I've known that from early on, I actually know the exact moment I thought that."
"Do tell, my love." You smiled, never one to pass up on a chance to hear just how and when Leah had fallen for you.
"The second time we saw each other after the New Year's party, when you started teasing me for not kissing you again after that night."
Much to Alex's dismay, the night of that party yourself and Leah had spent pretty much all of it talking about everything and nothing, compelled by a desire to get to know each other. That was until the blonde's intake of Dutch courage lived up to its name as she kissed you a little more than what could be described as friendly once the clock struck midnight. And when the night ended, no matter how much you didn't want to leave, you both shared a taxi to your respective apartments and exchanged details. It wasn't long before you saw her again though, in fact you saw her twice in the two weeks that followed, but the defender had been a little too embarrassed at her eager act a few weeks prior to kiss you again. But when you teased her one too many times about it, on the third 'date', she huffed before firmly yet delicately gripping your face and finally kissing you again.
"I spoke to Wally after our second date and she called me crazy for knowing I'd marry you when I didn't even have the balls to kiss you again." You laughed loudly at that, a notion Leah soon joined in with as she knew her past-self had acted in a ridiculous and shy way. "But that's the truth, babe. I knew I had to have you, and what better way to show that than snogging the life out of you on a random bench in London."
"Ew, Leah! Why describe it like that? I thought it was such a sweet moment, but you've just described it like we were two horny teenagers." She grimaced at the point you made, regretting it already.
"My bad. It was sweet. If not a bit... desperate." She snickered, grinning when you swatted her shoulder. "So, would you marry me then?"
"Wow. If this conversation couldn't get any less romantic, I think you've just put the nail in the coffin." Leah scoffed and sat up, fixing you with a disapproving look.
"That wasn't my actual proposal, you knob. I just wanna know if you'd say yes when I did eventually ask. Properly, that is." The defender asked with a shy smile, and you couldn't help but giggle at her face, doing so more when she frowned in confusion.
"Yes, I would accept your proposal. As long as it's with a nice ring and a better speech." You answered to put her out of her misery. She lets out a relieved sigh but smiling again.
"Noted."
With that, she stood up, now your turn to be confused. Squealing as she lifted you up bridal style, you laughed when she lay you down on your back length-ways across the sofa. Then, she kneeled against the cushions under your knees and carefully laid on top of you, her head resting against your stomach. Her hands came up to slide under your back and she sighed contently.
"Comfy?" You asked with a smile, your own hands settling on the back of her head.
"So comfy." She hummed, eyes closed as she faced away from the TV.
"If you're gonna fall asleep, Le, we may as well go to bed."
"No." She grunted. "I won't fall asleep. I just want to lay here for a bit."
"Alright." You conceded, your attention fully lost from the TV and instead on the girl draped over you.
You admired the slight view of her face available to you, your hands combing delicately through her almost dried hair as the only sounds shared between you were the calm and quiet breaths you both let out. A few minutes passed by and you thought she had gone to sleep, but she proved you wrong.
"This is my dream, you know."
"What is?" You asked her, moving one of your hands to rest on the side of your face and stroking her skin there with your thumb.
"Going home from a game to someone I love. Who I can fully switch off with." The small explanation had you beaming, beyond happy to hear how special you were to her.
"Well, I'm glad I can help, my love." You replied, a sheepishly proud smile on your face.
"I used to find it hard, y'know... our football blew up in popularity during the Euros, and I struggled with it more than I expected." You hummed curiously, not wanting to disrupt her train of thought but letting her know you wanted her to continue. "Going from being surrounded by up to ninety thousand people, singing and chanting and cheering non-stop, to just... nothing when I got home. Just a cold, empty, silent apartment. The contrast of it troubled me a lot. I worked through it with a psychologist and coped with it better, but it was never perfect."
She paused, adjusting her position so that her hands came to rest under her chin as she looked up at you, that same down-turned smile from earlier returning. Your hands fell to clasp behind her neck, waiting for her to elaborate.
"Then you came around, and now that anxiety doesn't even phase me anymore."
Now, if that wasn't the most heart-warming thing your girlfriend had said so far, you weren't sure what was.
"That makes me so happy, Leah." You whispered, cupping her cheeks with your hands and smiling softly at her.
"One of my favourite things about our relationship is how easy it is for me to switch from Leah Williamson the footballer, to just Leah when I'm around you. Makes coming home after a game much easier."
Shaking your head, you took her hands and urged her to move further up your body so that her head rested against your chest. Wrapping your arms around her, you squeezed her tightly, desperate to convey your love to her in a way words couldn't explain.
"I'll happily welcome 'Just Leah' home all the time."
"Now you're ruining the moment."
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if i wore a bib I wouldn't get food on it but it would be drenched in water. i am always spilling water on myself. i go to drink and then i spill water on my collar and its fine. this is just what life is like.
#I'm really good at spilling water on myself it's my secret talent. do you think i can monetize this#haha. bedtime... go to bed right now i don't care where you are or what time it is (just kidding)#can i tell u a secret... i am also probably not going go to bed yet#wow. staying up late and telling secrets.#this is like a sleepover except i'm the only person there. you might also be there (reading the tags) but i don't know#and also if you are here we're in different places. different countries? quite possibly different hemispheres.#i hope we're in different houses at least... please don't be in my house I don't think i would like that#I think we have mice/rats in our roof (heard some scampering) but i guess it could also be you... the person reading this...#if that is you you sound really small by the way. if i were to guess... i would say that you're about the size of a rat or perhaps a mouse#so it's like a sleepover but without the sleeping or the over. so basically just 2+ people who have nothing to do with eachother#that's so fun we should do this more often 😊 i don't know what 'this' is im just saying things#wait hey wait a minute i should clarify that i don't actually spill water on myself ALL the time only SOME OF THE TIME!!!!#classic hyperbole (chortles heartily) (sorry) (i'm not sure why I said that)#so ummm if your mental image of me happens to have changed to anything along the lines of a sopping wet chicken. change it back pleas
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Spy x Family Chapter 97: An Old Love Story
Okay, say it with me: FOIL!
You can see it too, right? Looks like Martha x Henry (Henderson)'s story is a foil of Twilight and Yor's story.
Henderson was in Twilight's place; the smart, lonely young man so focused on his ideals that he was blind about who was in front of him and his very own feelings.
Martha was in Yor's place, the strong and graceful girl too young and inexperienced to know her own heart and that she was in love.
This is exactly what's happening with Twiyor, the main couple of the story, and I think we may get to see one of the possible endings for our beloved Twiyor through Martha and Henderson story.
Now, what do we know about these two 🤔...
We know that Henry Henderson has a daughter and a son-in-law. It was mentioned he writes to them, but there was no mention of his wife. This leads me to believe that:
His wife is no longer alive.
He lives with his wife, so there's no reason for him to write to her.
He is divorced.
So, with this information we still can't know what's the current relationship between Martha and Henry, but we can take a guess 😉
From the way the story is being told, it almost feels like it's a semi-tragic love story, doesn't it? We can almost assume that they didn't end up together...or did they?
Theory one: Yup, everyone is right and Martha and Henderson eventually went their separate ways for reasons we'll probably get to know in the next couple of chapters.
If this theory is right, I think it's beautiful that they are getting a second chance 💖They certainly look more mature, confident, and calm (also elegant!). I love the way they look at each other, so much trust and love 😌
Theory two: I know this one is a long shot (and Henderson just said in that panel that "She is merely and old friend") but maybe...they're actually married. Why am I so bold to even consider that possibility?! Well, there's this panel:
The matron is clearly teasing Master Henderson, don't you agree? If she does it, it's because she knows something. Either she knows that there was something between those two in their youth or she knows they are married. I don't know, but they way she said the word "partner" and the fact that Master Henderson is married made me think that Martha is his wife. I know, I know...it's a remote possibility, but you have to remember that marriage is mentioned a lot through different characters and couples during the story, so maybe those two were actually married. (But, it's quite possible it's theory one).
Other things to consider...
How long have Ostania and Westalis been at war?
My guess is that we're talking about two different wars between the same countries; very much like WWI and WWII, where there was a brief period of peace before a second conflict. So, probably the first war started while Henderson was in his 20s and the second war started when he was in his 40s (and Twilight was a kid).
It makes a lot of sense that now they're in a period of "Cold War", just like in real life.
The Garden
I am convinced that the Garden is involved in this. I've talked about this before (read it here). After this chapter, I still think the Garden is going to pop up. Want some evidence?
Do you recognize this guy?
That's right 😏 That's Matthew McMahon. What is he doing there? Too much of a coincidence, don't you think?
And also the way this is phrased:
Odd that there was a mention of the word Garden, isn't it? And the fact that the whole story between those two takes place in a garden...🤔
In addition to that, in a previous chapter, Twilight observes how Martha moves like a soldier. Franky mentioned earlier that Garden people are like soldiers. And the Garden has a history of recruiting young skilled/strong people, like Yor. Things keep adding up.
The Consequences of War
This is a prevalent theme throughout the whole SxF universe: how war (violence, intolerance, manipulation of information, propaganda, politics) has affected the life of all the characters.
No matter their background, nationality or education, we've seen it again and again with most of the characters big or small, like Twilight, Franky, Sylvia, Millie, and now we're about to see it with characters from an older generation like Martha and Henderson.
My guess is that this won't be the last time and this pattern will continue while the story lasts. I think what the story is trying to show us is how war is seen by some (politicians and men in power like Desmond) as a natural, inevitable course of action, but at the same time how brutal the consequences are in the smallest stories. That's one of the things that is truly remarkable about SxF.
#spy x family#twiyor#sxf#spy x family manga#spy x family analysis#spy x family theory#sxf chapter 97#spy x family chapter 97#martha marriott#henry henderson#loid forger#yor forger#spy x family meta
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for the ask game 19, 22, 26
thank you very much for the ask from the i'm not from the states ask game, anon!
now... i'm not sure if you did this intentionally or not... but these are the bag of worms questions...
19. do you like your country’s flag and/or emblem? what about the national anthem?
there are four flags [flegs] at play here [clockwise]: the union flag; the ulster banner; the st patrick's saltire; the irish tricolour flag.
in terms of aesthetics, i am sorry to say that the union flag slaps. great colour scheme. jazzy design.
but in terms of what these flags mean... well. this is northern ireland. so they all mean something sectarian. and so i would certainly say that i like the irish flag - in that i know i'm unlikely to be attacked if i'm in an area where it's flying. that is very much not the case in areas where the union flag or the ulster banner are knocking about.
do i like that this is the case? no. and while my national sympathies are considerably more irish than british, i find our flag culture both insufferable and one of the main contributors to the continuation of the sectarian divide. it's obviously a bit kumbaya to suggest that a neutral flag might make any difference... but it couldn't hurt...
in terms of the national anthems, i never have any real cause to sing any [and the sectarian context is the same] so we're going purely on which slaps the hardest:
amhrán na bhfiann [a fucking banger!!]
ireland's call [slightly cringeworthy in its earnestness, but it does bang]
god save the king [the tune is unforgivably dull, but the lyrics genuinely go really hard - especially the discontinued ones about crushing the scottish and confounding popery.]
the londonderry air [this is what we're going with? the welsh have land of my fathers and this is what we're going with?]
22. what makes you proud about your country? what makes you ashamed?
the peace process.
because my answer to the second half of this question would be enduring sectarianism - and, specifically, enduring casual sectarianism. but i am also well aware that the flippancy younger people [especially those born after 2000] speak about the sectarian divide with is something which has only been made possible by the security of peace. it's easy for the irish women's football team to sing "up the ra" when the only thing that'll happen to them is some pearl-clutching from the press and a slap-on-the-wrist fine. thirty years ago, things would have been really quite different...
the peace is imperfect. it is fragile. it has been treated with utter disregard by the british state. the extraordinary work - especially that of the british politician mo mowlam - to bring it about has faded into an easy linear story, whose stars are tony blair and bill clinton. it has not caused complete justice to be done. it has not caused sectarian violence to vanish overnight - there are stories which emerge weekly from the city in which i live about some sort of sectarian crime.
but these stories make it into the papers because they are proportionally uncommon now. and i don't think we need to lose sight of that.
i was born in the early 1990s. i was at primary school when the good friday agreement was signed. and yet, despite the relatively few years i spent in a northern ireland at war, i can still remember roadblocks and police dogs and my dad checking under the car and bomb drills and being heckled as i walked to school and having to have your bags searched before you could enter shops and my mam crying on the day the omagh bombing happened. my siblings, born in the 80s, remember these things even more viscerally. my father, born in the 1950s, remembers having guns pointed at him by british soldiers while walking down the street, or being stopped and searched on spurious grounds by the royal ulster constabulary, or a call coming in to evacuate a place before a bomb went off.
my nieces and nephews, all born after 2000, have never experienced any of this. if they are naive about the true horrors of sectarianism... then we should reflect on how lucky that makes us.
26. does your nationality get portrayed in hollywood/american media? what do you think about the portrayal?
answered here.
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So is Specter proof the seaborne can evolve to survive oripathy, or is there another reason she's still kicking with a small country's worth of it in her spinal cord?
Ok, let's get something right first: Specter is not a Seaborn, she's Aegirian, specifically one from Aegir (as opposed to, say, Thorns or Weedy, who are Aegirians from Iberia). The Seaborn are deep sea creatures that have incredibly high and advanced adaptability capabilities, making them evolve at a staggering rate, and cannot really be understood too well from a human perspective, as their moral compass and behavior are completely alike those of humans (remember that we're using the Terran definition of human here). Specter herself is an Abyssal Hunter, that is, an Aegirian that underwent a special treatment in order to attain immense strength and durability. This treatment involves using something of the Seaborn (we don't know the specifics) in the process and it becoming part of the subject, turning them into a Hunter. This is practically a supersoldier program, made specifically to fight the Seaborn without having to use advanced Aegir technology, instead using good ol' metal like swords, spears, and buzzsaws. The reasoning behind this, as Gladiia explained in Under Tides, is that this is so the Seaborn don't evolve based on their supertechnology and thus become actually unstoppable; the Seaborn cannot evolve much from fighting adversaries using antiquated technology they already have accounted for in their evolution. In other words, instead of fighting the Seaborn with technology, the Abyssal Hunters bring raw stats to the table: Strength and durability from their Hunter procedure, and combat skill from their intense, grueling training and conditioning.
With that in mind, let's move on to the ask proper: We don't know yet, as Specter's case doesn't provide an answer to that. While it is true that the Hunters have some Seaborn in them, they are still fundamentally Aegirians, and Specter herself is an exceptional case aside from that: She is exceptionally durable even by Abyssal Hunter standards. Gladiia's talent suggests that Abyssal Hunters can tap into a regenerative factor naturally, but no one does it better than Specter, who naturally has the highest HP and strongest regen possible out of the Hunters. Gladiia's special skill is her speed, Skadi's is her strength, and Specter's is her durability, to the point where gameplay reflects this by giving both of her forms the best Immortality skills bar none and by a high margin compared to others (Guard Specter's lasts for 15 seconds, Unchained's lasts for 20 seconds).
As you said, there's enough Originium in Specter's spine to infect a small country if it were broken down (and this is no hyperbole, this is explicitly stated by Bishop Quintus, the one who did that to Specter in the first place). Even Quintus himself is impressed that somehow Specter has survived it, suggesting that her surviving it at all was not, in fact, part of the plan. In part, there's Rhodes Island to thank, as Kal'tsit herself saw to it that Specter received the best care possible, with only herself (and presumably Gladiia, Warfarin and Doctor) having clearance to enter her room (and technically, Skadi, but that's only because Kal'tsit reluctantly gave her permission after Skadi would just go in anyway), but besides that, there's also just the simple fact that Specter is just built different and is quite literally the best at not dying.
Incidentally, the experiments inflicted upon Specter might have had the aim to answer your question in the first place. We're still not sure what exactly it was that Quintus was hoping to achieve, but as he's Church of the Deep personnel, it definitely involved the Seaborn in one way or another.
Long story short, Specter in particular is really bad at dying and that's predominantly why she's still kicking.
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Since I absolutely love the countries of Teyvat, I wanted to offer my ideas of the real world inspirations. It won't be extremely detailed, and I don't know a lot about a lot of the real world countries I will be referring to, so I can only offer my interpretation! Just to clarify: I won't be going into characters with this, I don't know enough about most of them to comment in this!
____
Mondstadt:
It seems that the main influence is Germany! If we're being specific due to time periods then possibly the times of the Holy Roman Empire, or Germanic states of the area. It seems that there could be Italian influences there too, with the Italian dishes (Pasta/ Pizza dishes) and the wine industry (Germany does have a wine industry, but Italy is arguably better known).
Liyue:
It pretty clearly seems to have a major influence from China, and from what I know it seems to be the only influence. There's possible influences of Liyue Harbour being influenced by Hong Kong, more in the way of a major seaside city, but also possibly in the modernity factor. It appears to be quite accepting of new things, which isn't necessarily shared by the rest of the nation.
Inazuma:
Another which looks to have only one influence, this being of Japan. There is differences of cultures and beliefs between the islands, but none entirely stray too far away to say that it would be influenced by another country.
Enkanomiya:
I don't know much of the lore if I'm honest. It seems that this area is possibly inspired by ancient Greece however!
Sumeru:
This one is a bit more broad, with influences from Egypt, the Middle East as a whole, and India. It seems likely that they picked such a wide range of geographical area and cultural differences due to the geography of Sumeru, with the desert and jungle split of the country! More specially I've seen detailed explanations of influences for Sumeru that give reference to Persia, Iran, as well as the aforementioned Egypt and India. I can't entirely go into such details without going into characters, which I'm really not confident on doing, but there's a lot of info out there on such things and they're all very interesting!
Since the following nations are unrelased, this will be a lot more speculative.
Fontaine:
Most likely France, with the name being the major clue. It is possibly going to be majorly influenced by 1910s France, so there's been speculation of a specific time period. Other information I've seen is that it may have references to Basque Country, possibly even extending slightly into Spain, this is coming from NPC names that has been seen. The theme could be steampunk too, which may suggest some references to the UK since that is typically where the style is associated with. It is also mentioned of rock and roll originating here, something that showed up first in the USA in the 1950s, so perhaps that will have some meaning or is just something for convenience.
Natlan:
There's so little to go off of for here honestly, but it's probably based upon Latin America, possibly with Indigenous American, African, and/or Spanish influences. There's such a large range there that it's very difficult to say for sure, but it does seem most likely of a primarily Latin American influence, possibly more specially of Colombia, or Mexico.
Snezhnaya:
By extreme majority, it seems that it will be mostly influenced by Russia. If we're being more (or less, depending on how you look at it) specific, then the major influence seems most likely to be the USSR, which would also cover a lot of other countries too. There's been a lot of analysis on the country from the information (and character) that we have, and it definitely appears to have Ukrainian influences too, which suggests possibly wider Slavic influence for the whole nation!
Khaenri'ah:
I know there is quite a bit of lore about this place, and I must admit that I don't really know it all too well other than the basics, although it seems that the influence for here is Nordic. I don't think there's much to go off of, but names do give suggestions of Nordic influences. That's about all I can say however.
____
What I've written is my ideas (merged with the ideas of many other people which I've read ideas and opinions from) so far on the countries. Of course, I could be completely missing something, or be adding something! I really just love looking at the countries and trying to figure out what comes from where.
#genshin lore#genshin impact#genshin impact lore#genshin#genshin theory#mondstadt#liyue#inazuma#enkanomiya#sumeru#fontaine#natlan#snezhnaya#khaenri'ah#genshin impact thoughts#genshin thoughts#teyvat
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Ch.4: What's Left in the Past
Steve Rogers x OFC fic • squeeze your eyes for a Bucky Barnes x (2nd)OFC
taglist: @ocappreciationtag @arrthurpendragon @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel @stareyedplanet @gloryekaterina @averyhotchner @foxesandmagic @lenonizi @kmc1989
Story Masterlist • Seren’s Masterlist• Chloe’s Masterlist
Also available on Fanfic ○ Ao3 ○ Wattpad
If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s work/edits, let me know!
Seren Soul was ashamed to say that being home didn't feel like home anymore. The truth is that she hadn't felt like any place was her home ever since she left New York two years ago. In London, she spent most of her time working and now she was in D.C. to continue doing just that. As her jet was landing, she felt these feelings doubled by the minute. Maybe she needed a break, that's what her director in London had advised her before leaving.
"After we finish this introduction, you need to take a well deserved break before we start this again," Rebeca Hale was cheery with the implications of her words.
Seren wasn't all that happy about it. "Have they said anything else about another team replication?" Long ago, they had discussed the possibility of once again recreating a team in a different country just like she had for London. But that was so long ago and nothing had been set since then.
Rebeca shook her head. "No, but I'm confident that they will once we present the team. After the presentation, though, you will take a break. It's only fair."
Seren sighed in her seat. She wasn't sure how to take the news if it were to actually happen. It was so strange because she'd been so happy — so thrilled — when Rebeca first brought up the fact France wanted to work with them. Two years later today...Seren found herself wary of it.
When the jet finally landed, Seren gathered her immediate bag and started for the door. She thanked the attendant for the care and walked out into fresh air.
"Seren!" she heard Chloe's call almost as soon as she'd stepped out.
Of course. Seren had planned on a surprise early landing but she didn't expect for Chloe to come out and actually meet her. With a wide grin, Seren hurried towards Chloe and hugged her.
"Ooh! Welcome back!" Chloe had Seren in a bone-crushing hug despite the latter being, quite literally, twice as strong.
Seren laughed. "It's good to be back, honestly."
Chloe pulled back from Seren, wearing a grin from ear to ear. "We're going to have so much fun, I swear! Here, let's go downstairs and get you a cab or something." She helped Seren with her bag and then started walking towards the door leading down to Headquarters. "Natasha will pop by later. She got assigned."
"No worries," Seren said, following Chloe into the building. Already she felt the nostalgia for the building when she walked down the hallway. "Place never changes..."
Chloe chuckled. "You would know. I wonder if Fury ever thinks about remodeling or something. I know a thing or two about international interior designs."
Seren couldn't help but laugh thinking how that conversation with Fury would go. It seemed like Chloe was thinking about the same thing, judging by the threatening laugh on her face.
"I missed you, Seren," Chloe said a moment later.
"Seriously? But you always travel anyways," Seren remarked.
"Yeah, but it was always nice knowing that when I came back, you would be here. Kind of like home, you know?"
Seren smiled. "Well, you did have the others. I know you spent most of your time living with Steve. Was it that bad?"
"Course not," Chloe shrugged, "But you're my best friend. It's just different." She bumped shoulders with Seren. "We're going to hang out later, you know that right?" She led Seren into a new hallway.
"Yeah," Seren said, her attention drifting over to the elevator across them that had dinged as it stopped on their floor. As soon as the doors slid open, out came a crowd of agents with a few familiar faces in the midst. It almost scared Seren that she didn't immediately recognize some of the people. Have I been gone that long? She wasn't used to not knowing everyone at SHIELD.
"Winters," Rumlow called as he led his STRIKE crew.
"Oh, great," Chloe mumbled under her breath then, at a normal volume, told Rumlow she was off duty for the day. "Can't you see we have our old agent back?" She made a gesture at Seren beside her.
Seren rolled her eyes and pushed Chloe's hands down. "Hey," she greeted Rumlow with a polite smile.
"Long time no see, Soul," Rumlow remarked. "You back with us for good now?"
"Um...it's still being discussed," Seren said. "Everything been good around here?"
"Yeah, perfect," Rumlow said with a strange smile. "Winter's been hanging out a lot more around here, did she tell you? Almost like she was waiting for you to leave."
Chloe deadpanned the man. "Shut it. Don't you have an assignment to go do?"
The elevator dinged again.
"Yeah, we're heading there now," Rumlow said, "See you, Soul."
Seren waved goodbye as the STRIKE team walked around them to head up to the rooftop. Chloe wasn't as kind and started walking in the opposite direction.
"Hey! Look what the cat dragged in!" Chloe's loud exclaim drew Seren's attention up ahead.
It was a few more SHIELD agents coming out of the elevator but Seren's eyes fell on the only agent she truly cared for. She locked eyes with Steve and, with a wide grin, hurried towards the group. In her running, she knocked past Chloe's shoulder.
"Hey!" Chloe dropped Seren's bag in the process.
Seren would apologize later — if she ever realized what she did — because all she cared about in that moment was hugging Steve with all her might. And with him, she could totally do that.
"Hi!" Steve was breathless from shock. He had no idea she was coming today. As far as he knew, she wasn't due for another few days. He immediately saw Chloe's smirking face across from them and knew. That sneaky—
But Seren had squeezed him enough to claim his attention again. It'd been two years since he last saw her, touched her, held her. He couldn't be mad at anything right now. He closed his eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath, letting his entire senses be consumed with Seren Soul. He could stay like that forever...
Chloe dismissed the rest of the agents towards the rooftop. She figured this was going to last for a bit. She would've left herself if the way to the elevator wasn't being blocked.
Luckily, Steve came to and set Seren on her feet, drawing away from her. Seren's hands still rested on his arms but it took her a while to meet his gaze. She looked at him from head to toe, blatantly admiring him. He was geared for a mission, clad in his stealth uniform and his shield. By the time she looked up at his eyes, she was red-faced and so warm.
"Hi..." she swallowed hard. She pulled her hands off his arms and stepped back, very self conscious about herself now.
Steve was grinning from ear to ear. He honestly felt like he couldn't breathe — Seren was right here. She was right in front of him, so dazzling and pretty—
"You guys okay over there?" Chloe had a hand beside her mouth, acting as if she needed to yell the question out to be heard.
The grin from Steve's face dropped when he looked over at Chloe. "You didn't tell me anything!" he accused her.
Once again, Chloe smirked. "I didn't? You know, I just have so many things on my mind. Literally!" She tapped a finger on her temple. "It's the Hive—"
"Oh, save it," Steve rolled his eyes. Seren's giggle brought his attention back to her. "I mean — I would have loved to know that you were coming earlier. I—"
"It's fine," Seren said, "Did I catch you at a bad time?" She may have quickly looked him over again.
"Kind of," Steve was regretful to say. "Actually, I sort of have to — sorry..." He was sure that Rumlow was already growing impatient up on the rooftop waiting for him.
Seren still smiled at him but behind that clean smile she was reminded why they were where they were today — not together. Work. "Yeah, of course," she nodded and stepped aside. "I'll see you later..."
"Definitely!" Steve jumped at the opportunity even when he had to start heading to the elevator. "Uh, just, Chloe can let me know if you're too busy—"
Chloe gave him a thumbs up on the spot. "She won't be!" Seren glared at her.
"Great!" Steve exclaimed and soon disappeared in the elevator. Before the doors slid shut on him, he flashed another smile at Seren. She could almost melt at that moment. She missed him and all his charming smiles.
"You guys are so pathetic, it physically hurts me," Chloe bluntly said as she walked past Seren.
~0~
Seren would be staying in a hotel close to where her gathering with the Council would be happening. Like her apartment in London, the hotel room was a luxurious one. Chloe was utterly jealous and warned Seren that if she didn't properly keep hold of her key card, she would take it.
"I oddly miss that, you know," Seren shook her head at the blonde. Chloe had left her suitcase in the middle of the living room for Seren to go through.
"Well, lucky Steve is getting all of my attention these past weeks," Chloe flashed a big smile at Seren. "But don't worry, I told him it wasn't going to work out between us. I understand that he's all yours."
Seren threw Chloe a look that screamed 'murder'. "That's not funny!" she said while Chloe laughed.
"I'm sorry, but it's so annoying the way you two act!" Chloe plopped down on the couch and threw her head back to rest for a bit. She had another headache coming. "Seriously," she brought a hand on her forehead, "you practically ogled him earlier and he didn't bat an eye."
"What!?" Seren went red in a matter of seconds. "I didn't — I was not—"
Chloe smiled when she lifted her head off the couch. "It's okay. I told him that he looked hot. You should've seen his reaction. Hilarious."
Seren was nowhere near amused with the conversation. "I don't need to know about that stuff and I was not 'ogling' him!" she insisted.
Chloe shrugged as she pushed herself up from the couch. She needed a drink of water. "I exist to annoy you and fluster Steve. I take my job very seriously but I'm also irritated with both of you for being so dumb."
"Did you bring me to my hotel to insult me all day?" Seren crossed her arms. "Because the door's over there."
Chloe rolled her eyes. "It's so funny how you get insulted by the truth, and just about every little thing I say. Steve has the same problem. You're even similar in that aspect."
"And I genuinely wonder how you and Steve have managed to live together for so long," Seren said.
"Because as annoying as I am, I'm also so loveable," Chloe said with a wide grin. "And as 'imprudent' as you like to say that I am, I do make him laugh and trust me, Steve needs to laugh some more. He always smiles but I know it's not real half the time."
Seren fell silent then. She knew Chloe was right.
"I mean, he's trying to navigate himself but I feel like he's just kind of...floating," Chloe continued. "I think he's missing you."
"Chloe..." sighed Seren. It always went back to this.
"No, for real this time," Chloe said, putting her hands together in a praying motion. "Like, he's learning the new things about our world — the customs, the food, the places, the language — but I think at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter because what he wants...he doesn't have. And that's you. Seren Soul."
Seren lowered her head for a moment. Her heart could explode in that moment hearing — thinking that she was that important to someone. "I think he might want his friends back too, Chloe," she said quietly.
Chloe chuckled. "Well, of course, but that doesn't mean you're any less important. I think that Steve just makes a habit of pretending to be happy and no matter what I do to try to get him to actually be happy, it doesn't work. You know I take him to the Smithsonian museum all the time to try and cheer him up?"
"Smithsonian museum?" Seren frowned. "What's that?"
Chloe all but gawked. "He never told you?"
"Told me what?"
Chloe groaned. "I'll kill him! I swear I'll kill him!"
"Chloe, what's going on?"
Chloe explained to Seren what the museum was all about. Seren was shocked, and maybe a little disappointed, that Steve never mentioned to her that there was a whole exhibit dedicated to his life.
"It's really cool," Chloe said. "I've gone on my own too, not going to lie. It tells Steve's whole life and then you get to see his friends there too!"
"Everyone?" Seren said, sounding like she was dreading something.
"Yeah," Chloe nodded, raising an eyebrow at her. "What?"
"Well, maybe seeing his dead friends isn't exactly the uplifting activity Steve needs," Seren said, half smiling at her friend. "Did you ever think about that?"
"Dammit." Chloe smacked her forehead and then completely regretted it. There was definitely a headache now!
Seren chuckled. "It's alright. I'm sure Steve appreciates your intentions. I just think seeing his dead friends, and his dead best friend, might be doing a bit more harm than good."
"Well, yeah, now that you say it like that!" Chloe groaned. "I'm stupid. I'm definitely stupid."
"You're fine, Chloe. You always are." Seren had to always remind herself about that fact as well. As imprudent as Chloe was, she did always have the best of intentions.
"I'm going to get a glass of water now," Chloe said, rubbing her forehead. As she walked towards the kitchen, Seren watched her and noted the slight stumble in her pace.
~ 0 ~
Steve was able to get back to SHIELD in under a day. It was probably one of his quickest missions and he didn't want to talk about it. As soon as he had returned home, he went to get ready to leave again. He showered, got changed, and did all he could to make himself presentable. He was on his way out when he found Chloe lying on the couch fast asleep. He stopped with an almost skid on his feet.
Chloe never napped.
He often questioned what energy she ran on because their missions could go on for long periods of time and yet she was always bouncing off the walls with exceptional energy. He didn't want to wake her up, but he did promise himself that he would start bugging her with questions until she answered him clearly.
It was truly like he and Seren ran with the same signal.
He had surprised her at her hotel room and quickly learned that she was on her way out to run some errands. He was glad to join her and in the midst of their conversation on their walk, they stumbled on the topic of their mutual friend — pseudo-sister.
"Do you know what is going on with Chloe?" Seren finally got the courage to ask him directly. "I notice she looks more tired than usual. And she kind of walks funny too, like she's low on energy."
"You don't read minds, do you?" Steve couldn't help the words that flew from his mouth. He apologized not a second later with a meek smile. "Sorry. Yeah, I've noticed the same thing."
"Do you know what's going on then?"
Steve shook his head.
"I love Chloe like my little sister. I'd like to know if there's something wrong with her, something I can help her with."
"I'd love to have the answers, Seren, but I really don't," Steve sighed. "I've asked her dozens of times but she doesn't tell me anything."
"How long has it been going on?"
"A while," Steve admitted, feeling guilty. "I-I should have been more on it, but I have no idea what to do, honestly. I'm scared I might offend her or something."
Seren half smiled at him. "It takes a lot to really offend, Chloe."
"I mean, one moment she's okay but then suddenly she gets these headaches or she stumbles. She's usually very alert but lately she looks like shes could sleep a lot more. And she probably does."
"Chloe's never had insomnia, not even when I first found her," Seren said. "There were days where she wouldn't sleep but eventually she would. Has she seen a doctor?"
"I don't know, probably not." As far as he could tell, Steve was sure that Chloe had kept it all to herself.
"Why didn't you say something to me before?" As much as Seren wanted to keep the peace, she couldn't help the tinge of irritation in her tone.
"What was I supposed to say? I don't actually know if there's something wrong with Chloe. She doesn't say anything and I can't force her to say something either."
"But there's something clearly wrong with her!" Seren exclaimed and stopped walking. "Steve, you don't get it. I found Chloe when she was a teenager — a kid — and I have been with her every step of the way ever since then. I still remember the way I found her. It's permanently seared in my head." It was why she preferred not to remember it so much but sometimes moments like these sent her back.
"Agent Soul, we have one heat signature recorded in the building," a female S.H.I.E.L.D. agent reported over the comms. "Completely still but very much alive."
Seren and a few other agents behind her were making their way into said building. "But you're sure this is where the energy readings are coming from?" Seren asked.
"Absolutely," the female agent said. "It matches the readings we found in the explosion site."
"Be cautious everyone," Seren led her group into the corridor of the building. "If this is the same person, they're responsible for the deaths of twenty people. One bad move and we might all go down in an explosion."
"Copy that," the female agent over the comms. said. Behind Seren, the other agents agreed with dutiful nods.
Seren soon divided her in half so that each half could take the two doors of the room. As they got closer, they could hear the incoherent mutterings. For a moment, Seren thought she heard the voice of a girl. That couldn't be right. They were searching for a bomber. A reckless bomber with no regard for innocent lives. That was what SHIELD told them.
"On my mark," Seren readied her team. Her hands balled on her sides, creating a soft orange glow she would use to attack the bomber. She neared the door first and peeked through the crack of it.
'I didn't...I didn't...I didn't do...no...I didn't….'
A girl. It was definitely sounding like a girl was in the room.
"Be on guard," Seren suddenly said, "The bomber might have a hostage."
"Negative," the female agent over the comms. said, "There's only one heat signature coming from the room."
"Something's not right," Seren mumbled. She pushed open the door and cautiously stepped in. Her eyes swept over the dusty room bathed in a radiant blue glow. "No bomb parts in sight…" she informed the team.
"I didn't...no, stop it! I didn't...Stop talking!" A girl shrieked behind an overturned desk.
Seren forewent caution and ran towards the desk. She came to find a blonde girl huddled underneath the desk, her body trembling as she kept talking to herself.
"Hold fire," Seren told the rest of the team as she bent down in front of the girl.
"They need to stop. You need to stop! Stop!" The girl scrunched her face — a rather gaunt face. She was far too skinny and pale. She was dirty too.
Seren wondered if the girl had been homeless for a while now. Whatever she was, she couldn't be completely human. The blue glow was coming from her body. "Hey there…" Seren said softly, "My name's Seren. Can you hear me?"
The girl's eyes flickered everywhere before landing on Seren. "I didn't...make them stop!" her face scrunched. "They won't stop talking! They won't stop talking to me!"
"Who?" Seren looked around. No one was talking but her.
"Them!" The girl whacked her head hard. "They won't leave me alone!" She hit herself several times before Seren intervened and grabbed her wrists. "STOP! STOP!"
"Who won't? Who won't leave you alone!?" Seren tried to be louder than the girl.
"They're so loud! Loud!" The girl burst into tears. "They won't stop talking!"
"Who won't!?"
"The creatures! Whatever they are! They won't stop talking! Please help me!" The girl flung her body into Seren's, causing several agents to move towards them.
"Hold your fire! I said hold your fire!" Seren waved to the team to stop with her free hand. The girl had grabbed her in a tight hug that included her right arm. She was a sobbing mess. Seren slowly lowered her free hand to the girl's back. "It's alright, it's alright. What's your name, sweetheart?"
"Ch-Chloe. You gotta listen to me, I didn't...I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I can't control this," Chloe raised her head for a split moment. Her eyes flashed another bright blue before the entire glow left her body. "I didn't mean to kill anyone." Tears spilled from her eyes and suddenly Seren was her lifeline again.
Seren quickly cleared a tear from her eye. She didn't like thinking about that day, not when Chloe had come so far now. "Chloe was 17 years old when I found her. She was responsible for the death of 20 people in a bank. Her blasts left an imprint that S.H.I.E.L.D. quickly picked up on. I took Chloe in — she said her family was dead. We assumed it was another accident. She was terrified when I found her."
"She's never told me that story," Steve said quietly.
"I don't imagine she's ever said it to anyone else since that day. I know I'm not that much older than her but I helped her train, I helped her get better. If something is wrong with her, I need to know," Seren said earnestly.
"I'd love to help but I really don't know. She doesn't say."
Seren believed him. She couldn't imagine Chloe telling anyone what was really going on with her. She was a master of secrets. "But if you do find out, you'd tell me right?"
"Yeah," Steve nodded. "To me it looks like it's all from the Hive Mind."
"It's possible the Hive Mind is being more active," Seren started walking slowly. "We've never been able to pinpoint the origin of the Hive Mind. We don't know what the creatures are, we don't know where they're from. It's basically all unknown to us. I don't blame her for lying to us about her parents. They're not dead. She just ran away from them before she could hurt them."
"Do they know about that?"
"I don't think they know anything," Seren said, "Except that she's alive. She just made it seem like she ran away for the hell of it. She has an aunt and cousin here in New York, visits them on occasion. She knows that when she does, her aunt will call her mother to let her know that Chloe's well and alive. But she's never talked to her parents since that day."
Steve couldn't imagine what it had to be like for Chloe leaving all that behind, especially if they were still nearby. "All because of that tech?" Seren nodded. "Where'd it even come from anyways? Chloe's never told me."
Seren shrugged. "We have no idea. We know that aliens have been landing on Earth ever since before humans knew of their existence. It's possible that it was just left behind."
"Not even your grandmother could tell S.H.I.E.L.D. anything? Being a psychic and all…"
Seren smiled. "Yeah, apparently it's hard to 'see' things when it's a Hive Mind you're trying to see. No, we've never really been able to get the origins of that tech. All we know for sure is that it bonded with Chloe's body."
"Permanently?"
Seren met Steve's look. "I...don't know," she admitted. "When Chloe was first brought in, we tried to extract the piece but it was too far gone into her system for such a thing. But then again, that was years ago and years ago we didn't have the technology we do now."
An idea suddenly struck Steve, or rather an answer did. "Like Stark's tech?"
Seren shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."
Could that be why Chloe was seeing Stark for a while now? Steve suddenly felt a twinge of betrayal from Chloe. If she was really trying to get the tech out of her body, why wouldn't she say something? Confide in him? More than that, how could he not notice!?
"Steve?" Seren called to him. "You okay?"
"Yeah…" That was far from the truth and both of them knew it. Steve felt stupid for even trying. "No. Honestly, there's just too much going on."
Seren appreciated his honesty. "Still feeling overwhelmed sometimes?"
"More than sometimes."
Seren remembered what Chloe had told her about Steve's difficulties. She didn't know how to tackle them without outing herself either. "How's, um, how's SHIELD?" She figured that was as good of a place to start at. His reservations about the organization were pretty clear from the start.
Steve scoffed. "Ask Fury. According to him, it's 'damn near past time for me to get with the program'."
"Fury can be challenging but he does mean well." The next time Steve scoffed, it was hard enough to make Seren wince. "Or not…?"
"Look Seren, I get that you're probably one of the closest people to Fury but he and I...we don't see eye to eye. And if I'm being honest, I don't know if we'll ever see eye to eye."
"And?" Seren was sure that there was something else he wanted to add but was too reluctant to do so. "I know it's been a long time since we really talked but you do know that you can tell me anything, right? No matter what it is."
"Yes but I know what S.H.I.E.L.D. means to you…" He had no intention of getting into arguments about S.H.I.E.L.D. with her. He knew what the organization meant to her.
Seren stopped walking again, forcing him to do the same. She touched his arm and moved over to stand in front of him. Even though he didn't want to look at her, she eventually made him meet her eyes. When he did, she was able to read him like a book. "You're not happy there," she whispered.
Instead of being honest and agreeing with her — and thanking the stars that she was able to make it easy by just saying it like that — Steve went on the path that had him trying to deflect her assumption. "Who's actually happy these da—"
"Don't," Seren's command was soft but still enough to cut him off. "If you're not happy, say it. What do you think? That it'll hurt my feelings?"
"You've worked there for a long time, a longer time than you should have, and you've said it too. It's your life."
"So? It doesn't mean that I expect for you to stick around, especially if I'm not even around anymore."
"It's not that simple—"
"Why not?"
"Because I have no idea what I actually want to do. I don't know if I want to stay, I don't know if I want to leave!" It's what troubled Steve the most. If he wasn't happy at S.H.I.E.L.D., then logically he should just leave...but then what? What was he supposed to do? In a way, he felt stuck. "The only thing I know for sure is that I don't know anything."
"That's not entirely true," Seren said in a means to be optimistic. "I mean, you've been learning loads of new things from our world. You're not the same person you were the last time we saw each other. That counts for something, right?"
"Yeah, it's just..." Steve didn't know how to put 'it doesn't feel enough' into proper words, especially considering it was Seren he was talking to.
"Okay," Seren nodded, bringing her free hand to rest on his arm again. "Have you thought about taking a leave of absence? Clint does that all the time. Maybe you need it too."
"I don't know…" He was a broken record.
"Just think about it," Seren shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt. I think you sort of jumped back into things that you never really considered doing something else."
It was funny how easily she put together honest sentences like that. No, Steve had never really considered doing anything else other than fighting and missions. Whether or not he actually wanted to, he ended up smiling. It was such a fond smile that Seren shifted on its receiving end.
"What?" she asked for the sole intention of breaking the silencer that fell over them.
"I really missed you." It wasn't the first thing he was thinking of but it was certainly in the top three.
Seren sheepishly smiled back. "I missed you too."
"Hey, why don't we stop by for some cinnamon rolls after you run your errands?"
"Okay," Seren nodded. She hoped she didn't seem too excited. She led the way while simultaneously wondering if she really forgot how to walk suddenly.
~ 0 ~
Perhaps it was luck or perhaps it was sheer fate trying to tell him something, but somehow Steve ended up in the VA right where Sam Wilson was in the middle of a meeting. Seren was doing her last errand across the street — hence the luck or fate playing him — and so, not wanting to bother her, Steve crossed the block to come get a glimpse of what the building was like. He was pleasantly surprised to find Sam inside. He listened to the entire meeting, hearing other fellow soldiers' stories and sympathized with them. It seemed like no matter what the year was, things like these sadly stayed the same.
Sam had seen him early on and as soon as he ended the meeting, he met Steve outside in the hallway. "Look who it is. The running man," he said with a grin. "Is the not-running girl here too?"
Steve chuckled lightly. "Ah no, I don't make her run past nine."
"Just at 6 a.m?"
"The normal amount."
Sam shook his head, leaving a bit of silence to follow. Steve watched as a few of the people from the meeting lingered by the entrance. They seem a bit more calm and content rather than where they were five minutes ago.
"Caught the last few minutes. It's pretty intense..." He said, watching the group leave then looked back at Sam.
"Yeah, brother, we all got the same problems. Guilt, regret," Sam said with a familiar sigh slipping from his lips.
"You lose someone?"
"My wingman, Riley. Flying a night PJ rescue op, nothing we hadn't done a thousand times before, till RPG knocked Riley's dumb ass out of the sky. Nothing I could do. It's like I was up there just to watch."
"I'm sorry." Steve knew that feeling so well. He would never get the image of Bucky falling from the train out of his head, even with the decades that had passed them by. It was still fresh as ever.
"After that, I had a really hard time finding a reason for being over there, you know?"
"But you're happy now, back in the world?" For a moment, Steve envied Sam. Sam seemed like the kind of man who knew what he wanted and got it.
"Hey, the number of people giving me orders is down to about zero," Sam laughed a bit. "So, hell yeah. You thinking about getting out?"
"I don't know." There went the broken record again. "To be honest, I don't know what I would do with myself if I did." On some level, Steve understood what Seren often said about leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. behind. They were both so used to their way of living that to suddenly get out was unimaginable, terrifying even. Maybe that's why he barely considered such an idea.
"Ultimate fighting?" Sam's joke made Steve laugh. "It's just a great idea off the top of my head. But seriously, you could do whatever you want to do. What makes you happy?"
Before Steve could say 'I don't know' — again — he heard his name. It was Seren coming over and unintentionally answering Sam's question. Steve had no idea what kind of work he'd want to do if it wasn't part of S.H.I.E.L.D. but he was sure about Seren and what she did to him. She made him happy.
And did she even look extra pretty today or was that just him being a fool?
"I thought you'd be here," Seren came up to the two men, none the wiser about anything of course.
"You just happen to know that?" Steve raised an eyebrow at her.
"Mhm," she nodded. "It wasn't that hard to put together." Her eyes flickered between them, curiously lingering on Sam. "Hi there…"
"Sorry, this is Sam Wilson," Steve motioned to the man who said a simple "Hello". "Sam, this is—"
"Seren Soul," she stretched a hand forwards to shake with Sam. "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise," Sam said with a lingering gaze, "Sorry, you look familiar…"
Seren chuckled. "Uh, you may remember that big ball of colors that exploded in the New York battle 2 years ago?"
"Aha…"
"Yeah, that was me." Seren loved his wide-eyed reaction. Her laugh may have been slightly louder than what it should've been and then she felt guilty. "Sorry, I just love mentioning that. It was my finest moment but I probably should've just waited outside."
"You're fine," Steve told her. He was failing to keep his fond smile hidden. He just couldn't help it. Having her around was reminding him exactly why he wanted her in the first place.
"I'll just do that — I'm going to see if Chloe answers my calls anyways," Seren said, one hand already fishing for her phone inside her purse. "It was nice meeting you Sam."
"Likewise," Sam nodded at her. "Say hi to Chloe for me."
Seren chuckled. "Sure. I'll be outside," she told Steve.
"You don't have to wai—" He tried to say but Seren assured him it was fine. She really did want to call and check in on Chloe.
"It's okay." She couldn't help but laugh at how guilty he seemed, like he really did have something to be sorry about.
"Seren—"
"I'll be outside," Seren said. "Seriously, take your time, I'll be fine." She patted Steve's arm, assuring him one more time before heading out.
Sam watched them go back and forth for those few seconds until eventually Steve accepted his loss and turned back to him.
Sam was smirking all too knowledgeable. "Special lady?"
Steve couldn't help it. He smiled. "...something like that."
~ 0 ~
Seren was hanging up when Steve came out of the building. By the look on her face, Steve presumed that Chloe had done to her what she'd been doing to him.
"She says she's absolutely fine," Seren sighed and stuffed her phone back into her purse. "Does she think I'm an idiot?"
"Honestly, I don't know what goes through Chloe's head most of the time — besides the obvious of course — but hey, maybe she just needs some time and soon enough she'll finally tell us what's been bothering her."
"I hope you're right," Seren folded her arms, still looking mighty upset. Steve hated it.
"You want to get those cinnamon rolls now?" He asked her in hopes of cheering her up.
"I think so, yeah," she nodded.
"My treat," Steve said and motioned her to walk with him. "Did Chloe say where she was at least?" He doubted that she had stayed home all day after that strange nap.
"Just that she was out and busy," Seren said, sighing. "She got a bit defensive, mind you. Told me I should stop worrying about her so much and just...hang out with you."
Steve had to smile to himself. Even in moments like these, Chloe never wasted an opportunity.
"Which reminds me," Seren said, suddenly shooting him a squinted-eye look, "When were you planning on telling me about the Smithsonian exhibition?" Judging by the look on Steve's face, the answer was close to 'never'. "I didn't know you were capable of hiding things from me, you know. Don't know whether to be irritated or impressed."
"I didn't exactly see the necessity of telling you that some people made a whole exhibition about my life," Steve said, scrunching his face. "It's awkward, you know."
"But you still go," Seren said like she had all the certainty in the world. "Chloe said she brings you sometimes but it only worsens your mood."
"It doesn't—"
"And then I told her she probably shouldn't take you to the place where you see all your friends who are dead now," Seren said ever so bluntly. For some reason, it made Steve laugh. "But now I'm second guessing myself because if you really hated it that much, you wouldn't have gone with Chloe every single time she dragged you there which means—"
Steve was downright amused with her at this point. "What are you, a detective?"
"—you" — Seren poked his arm with a finger — "have been going there on your own when she's not looking. Am I right?"
"Can't keep anything away from you, detective Soul," Steve said with a mock salute. Seren was smiling pretty smugly (and looking adorable in the process). "Yeah, alright, I do go on my own. As hard as it is, it's all I have left, you know? I don't have any pictures of my own and...in some way, it's easier having them away from me. I decide when I see them. And I don't have to bring them home."
"Home away from home?" Seren presumed. Steve nodded. "It's hard being the only one left to remember something. I'm sorry."
"It's not like it's your fault," Steve said, "But if you do want to see it—"
"Oh, I don't have to — I wasn't saying it because I needed to—"
"Can I take you, actually?" Steve asked, startling her with the sudden request. "It is my home away from home. I'd like for you to see who I was before all this stuff."
"I know you, Steve," Seren said softly, resting a hand on his arm. "I don't have to see anything to confirm that."
"You know me — this me," Steve pointed out, bringing his hand over hers on his arm. "You don't know that stupid man before the war. Chloe didn't either, actually. And do you know what she said?"
"Oh God..." Seren groaned, "What did this girl say to you?"
Steve was half smiling when he remembered. "'How did you expect to win WW2 when you're pint-sized?'"
"I swear to God, I'm going to ki—" But Steve was laughing before Seren could finish, and the way he was so carefree and genuine is what made her stop altogether. She hated that he rarely had moments like these and wondered how many of these moments there had actually been while she was gone.
"Chloe helps me, whether she knows it or not," Steve said when he managed to calm himself down. "Her comments makes things seem lighter. I know for sure my old friends would've gotten a kick out of that."
"Oh, so they were all rude too?" Seren was smiling, wanting to keep the moment going.
"You think Bucky was all kind all the time? He'd insult me the most. I have to make sure Chloe never finds out the things he'd call me because I get the feeling she'd take on his mantle and keep it going."
"You know what, you might be right," Seren chuckled.
"So, if Chloe got to know the other me. Can I show you now?" Steve didn't know how anxious he could get so quickly and suddenly, but it always seem to happen when he was around Seren. It was true that with Chloe, she had helped him and that was that. She didn't make him nervous. He certainly didn't feel nervous when she saw the old videos and pictures of his old self. He was terrified knowing that Seren might be watching them now. But it was still important to him that she saw them. He didn't want to hide anything from her, not even those parts.
"Of course," Seren replied, and watched as Steve took her hand off his arm and kept it in his. "But it's not really going to change anything. You'll still be the same to me."
"I'm going to hold you to that," Steve said, truly meaning it with every fiber of his being. Because if she couldn't see him the same way, he had no idea what he would do with himself.
~ 0 ~
The exhibition was crowded. Seren was honestly in awe at how many people showed up, and even more to find out that it was more or less like this every day. And apparently, Steve wasn't exactly all for it. He still preferred to stay away from the crowds when possible.
There was so much to see that Seren didn't know where they could possibly start. Steve seemed drawn to certain parts so she followed him and even though he didn't say it out loud, she could tell he was nervous. He held onto her hand like he thought she would run away or something, especially when they wandered over to a corner of his very early days.
'Denied enlistment due to poor health, Steven Rogers was chosen for a program unique in the annals of American warfare. One that would transform him into the world's first super soldier…'
Seren's chuckle subsided the more she watched the different footage playing ahead of them. It helped loosen some of Steve's nerves. If she was laughing like that, she wasn't appalled.
"I've seen pictures of you — the you before the serum — but it's never really looked so...real…" She said distractedly, a fond smile tugging at her lips the more footage she saw. "You're my size! Ha!"
Steve playfully rolled his eyes at her. "You know, now I can kind of see how you and Chloe are friends."
Seren flushed and sheepishly looked up at him. "Sorry." But Steve was smiling, shaking his head at her.
"Don't be."
"If this is what you had to show me, I gotta say that there's really no difference…" No sooner had Seren said that than Steve let out an incredulous laugh.
"Really?"
Seren knew exactly what he meant and so she looked at him again. "There's no difference where it matters," she said earnestly. "You were who you were before any of this stuff. Otherwise you wouldn't be here."
"That's one way to think about it," Steve said. He certainly never thought about it that way.
"It's the only way," Seren told him. "And I don't accept any insults towards yourself. Sorry."
Steve laughed lightly. "Good to know the rules, then. Do you know you have to follow them as well?"
Seren knew she'd walked into that one. "I'm a different case—"
"No, you're not—"
"I'm literally half alien, Steve. You're entirely human. People love you—"
"People love you too."
"Yeah, but there's always going to be a faction that sees me as a threat. I mean, what do you think your friends would've thought of me back then? What would you have thought of me before any of this serum and Hydra stuff? Before you knew about aliens and hybrids?"
Steve took one look at her and knew exactly what he would've thought. "'She's pretty'." The world had flown from his mouth but he didn't regret them one bit. The look on Seren's face was prize enough.
"I don't— I mean—" Seren laughed because there was nothing else she could think of at the moment. Her face was on fire.
"I would've told Bucky that," Steve continued, shrugging. He felt a surge of confidence he wasn't quite used to and surprisingly he was going with it. "He would've agreed."
"Mm, really?" Seren could barely look at him without blushing all over again.
"But truthfully, you wouldn't be his type."
Seren blinked. "Oh? I wouldn't be?" There was a hint of disappointment in her voice that Steve couldn't ignore. In fact, he very much felt jealousy spring in his chest.
"It's just — Bucky was always kind of — he just had a type, you know? And he himself was a…well…a bit rambunctious. He was always the life of the party—"
"Are you saying that I'm not the life of the party?" Seren laughed lightly.
"I didn't mean to—!"
But Seren patted a hand on Steve's arm. "You're fine. I don't actually party but you know who does — or did? Chloe. She's a bit, uh, rambunctious too."
Steve's lips twitched into a smile. He was fighting the urge to laugh. 'Rambunctious' was cutting it short to describe Chloe. "Well, I just meant the way your personality is…it wouldn't really match with Bucky's."
"Mm…" Seren hummed, "Well, if that's right, then maybe you're right."
'I am' almost slipped out from Steve's lips. He took her hand again and began leading her out of the exhibit.
There were plenty of other things to see in the museum. They wandered over to one display and Seren quickly realized that it was the telling of Steve's old team, primarily of Bucky Barnes himself.
'Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield. Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life in service of his country.'
Seren felt her hand be squeezed just a tad tighter. She wondered how many times Steve had come into this place and watched this specific display.
To watch and hear how he lost his best friend…Seren couldn't imagine how she would handle that kind of situation if it was, say, Chloe in Bucky's place. She would go mad.
Seren felt like that whole museum did a lot more harm than it did good. Seeing the faces of the past wouldn't be easy for anyone, much less for someone who'd gone through what Steve had. By the time they finally stepped out of the museum, they'd gone through every display and available interviews, including Peggy Carter's. None of it seemed to put Steve in any better mood.
"If your intention was to drive me off because of all this stuff, you failed," she told him as soon as they were on the sidewalk. "I just care that it seems to hurt you. How many times have you come here on your own?"
"Uuh, a few times every now and then…" Steve gave a light shrug of his shoulders. He was very careful not to look at her.
"So I'm guessing every time you're feeling a bit down," Seren folded her arms over her chest. "Those people...they all seemed like very good people."
"They were." There was an etch of pain over Steve's face when he forced the last word out from his mouth. Were. Because they were, most of them.
"They're not all gone," Seren whispered to him, bringing him out of his sure-to-be grim thoughts. "I know it seems like there's no one left but that isn't quite true, right? Peggy's still around."
"She is but...at the same time she isn't." Steve felt his hand be taken by Seren. She was well aware of Peggy's deteriorating condition.
"Have you visited her lately?"
"A few weeks ago."
"Maybe you should consider visiting her again," Seren took her hand out of his to rub a comforting hand over his arm. "If you want to feel connected to your home, I think you should take advantage that she's close by."
Steve nodded. "Yeah, maybe." There was always a need to visit Peggy whenever he wanted to reminisce about the past but ever since Peggy started losing her memories, it became even more difficult for him to see her. If he lost her too then it meant he would finally lose everything from home. He would be the last one to remember everything.
Seren hated the way his face slowly fell. "Listen, we can skip the cinnamon rolls. I'm sure Chloe and Natasha can use my help or something. You should visit Peggy today, help ease your mind a bit."
"What? No!" Steve started shaking his head. Somehow the idea of letting go of Seren's hand made things feel ten times worse. "I told you we were going to get some cinnamon—"
"It's fine, really! I'll be here for about a week anyways."
"No, Seren, I promised you—"
"And I am happily liberating you from it!" Seren wanted to pull her hand out of his but he was gripping it. "I can take a few days without cinnamon rolls, I swear."
Steve smiled at her. Of course she'd do something like that. He often told Peggy about these selfless choices that Seren would make. Sometimes they were small, sometimes big, but always with the same intention: to help others. It was a shame that she couldn't really remember much about Seren.
"Seren, how about you come with me?" As he expected, Seren gave him an odd look. "I think you're right, visiting Peggy would be a good idea but it would be an even better idea if you came with me."
"But I…" Seren laughed nervously, "No, absolutely not. I don't...I don't have anything to do there — she wants to see you not the...the alien that S.H.I.E.L.D. adopted."
"She'd like to see you too, I know it. C'mon," Steve offered her his arm. "You're not going to let me go alone, are you?"
"Well, it's not like you wouldn't know your way back. Steve, no, it's...I wouldn't even know what to say. The last time I saw her she was...an adult and I...wasn't." She scrunched her face. Had it been that long?" Steve laughed. "Don't laugh! I was being serious! I don't...I don't know what I'd do or say…"
"It doesn't really matter because I already told her enough about you," Steve said so casually that he never considered how Seren would react to that admission.
It certainly brought her out of her nerves for a split moment and it was only to be replaced by surprise. "You talk to her about me?"
It was her soft tone that warned Steve to tread carefully with his next words. He didn't want to weird her out. "I talked about everyone," he said. "S.H.I.E.L.D., you know? But yeah, she knows you well enough to know what kind of person you are. Not to mention she did see what you did in New York."
Seren rubbed circles over her chest with her free hand. It was getting a little hard to breathe normally. "And what did she-she say?"
"She likes you...which is why I know that she would love a visit from you too. Please?"
Seren deliberated for another minute. She was nowhere near ready but she wouldn't lie to herself: meeting one of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D. had always been one of her dreams. Plus, this was the Peggy Carter.
"If I end up looking like a fool, I am never talking to you again Steve Rogers," she announced as she now squeezed his hand.
Steve laughed. "You are literally incapable of doing that."
"I guess we'll be finding out, huh?"
~ 0 ~
It was breathtaking to see someone after more than 10 years, even more so when it appeared that Peggy actually did remember Seren more than the latter had anticipated.
"You didn't have orange hair…" Peggy made her first comment after both Seren and Steve sat down beside her bed. Peggy chuckled when Seren's hand flung to her short, ginger hair. "I do remember some things."
"Wild actions a young twentier takes," Seren poorly reasoned. It was like she could hear her mother's appalled yells again.
"If I had done that in my time, I can't imagine what they would've done to me," Peggy's eyes widened slightly at the idea. "What do you think, Steve? Orange?"
Steve bobbed his head for a moment. "I think very few people can pull it off. Seren is one of them."
Seren smiled bashfully. "Hair aside, it is very nice to see you again, Agent Carter."
Peggy laughed. "I haven't been called that in a very long time."
"It's how I remember you," Seren shrugged. "I remember before I was younger, my grandmother would bring me around whenever I was sick. S.H.I.E.L.D. is the only place where I could go for medical attention...and the only place where they could handle a pretty strong kid."
Peggy looked at her for a long time, so long that Steve started worrying she'd forgotten again. "You're the little girl that hated doctors." Seren flushed. Of course she would remember that. "You would kick and thrash even when you were this small." Peggy made the traditional notion of her index finger and thumb. "You had to have at least 3 agents on you back then."
"I never liked doctors," Seren said, glancing at Steve. "You know that too."
"Oh, I do," he agreed.
The last time she had been injured was during the battle against the Chitauri. She was beyond exhausted but the moment she was lucid enough, she pulled the IV tubes from her skin and jumped out of her hospital bed to get changed. On some level, he could understand the fear of doctors considering his own experience with them but he believed Seren had a degree or two more of fear.
"How is S.H.I.E.L.D. treating you?" Even with her own problems, Peggy was aware enough to know to be cautious with that question.
Seren briefly glanced at Steve. She wondered how many times Peggy had asked him the same thing.
"I'm doing good, though to be honest I haven't really done missions for them in over 2 years. I've been in London."
"Oh right, Steve's talked about it. Recreating the Initiative."
"Aha." Once again, Seren looked over to Steve. She wanted to ask exactly how much he would talk about her with Peggy. At that moment, Steve wished he hadn't talked about her so much.
"I have to admit that I was never quite on board with that Initiative," Peggy sighed. "One of my many regrets is allowing you, as a child, to participate."
"Agent Carter, it's not your fault…"
"Peggy, please, and as one of the founders it is partly my fault."
"Steve, that's not true," Seren had shifted in her chair to face him better. "By the 90s, she wasn't that involved with S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore. She was with family."
"I know," he told her, touched that she was trying to clear Peggy's name even when he himself didn't blame her for anything. "But she's made it very clear that she's not backing out of the guilt thing. Some things never change."
Peggy rolled her eyes at him. "I think you're the least qualified to speak about never changing."
Seren laughed. "Ouch. That hurt from here."
"You know he's always been dramatic, right?" Peggy reached for one of Seren's arms to tap. "Don't let him do it."
"Alright, I think we can stop," Steve's attempt was done in vain. Peggy continued to point out things that he often did "to make himself miserable" as she pointed out. The only reason he wouldn't take it to heart was because it was nice watching her and Seren get along.
"I did not know that," Seren chuckled. "But I will definitely keep an eye on him."
"Through a screen?" Steve sarcastically retorted. "I don't think so."
Seren rolled her eyes at him. "I have ways."
"Will you be staying here long?" Once more, Peggy studied both of their faces as Seren worked up the courage to answer.
"Probably not," Seren bit on her lower lip. "My current director wants me back in London and when I successfully introduce the new team, France will most likely request my official transfer there."
"I see," Peggy said, eyes lingering now on Steve. He was obviously upset but he would never tell Seren how he felt about it. She could understand. What kind of person would he be if he told Seren to stay with him? But, if she was seeing right, it didn't seem like Seren was that excited about moving to France.
Seren felt the vibration of her phone from her purse on her lap. "Sorry, it's my director," she apologized.
"Go on," Peggy assured her it was fine.
"I'll be out in a bit," Steve told her as she hurried out to take the call.
"Rebeca? Hey, I'm not…" Seren's voice disappeared as she walked further away from the room.
"She seems lovely," Peggy didn't waste a second when it was just her and Steve.
"She is," he agreed. His hands weren't wrangled with each other, like they usually did whenever he wasn't saying what was bothering him.
"And she's leaving soon — again." Peggy smiled at him.
Steve nodded. "I can't say anything, Peg. I...back then, it was just the norm for women to stay at home for their husbands. Now women can do whatever they want. They can go out, have jobs — I can't imagine Seren doing anything more than what she's doing right now. The world would be a goner if Seren Soul was a housewife." He chuckled with Peggy.
When their laugh subsided, things fell quiet for a few moments.
"I'm not telling you to make her your housewife although if that's how far you've been thinking about this—"
"I haven't!" Steve said quickly, albeit with a flush on his face.
"I'm just telling you to tell her the truth," Peggy said, "And then let her make her choice too. She has that right, you know."
Steve drew in a shaky breath. Yes, he did know that Seren also had a right to make a choice like he did but the last time they talked about…she chose her job. He would never reproach her for that because he never knew what could happen to him. When things were for the greater good, they tended to go in that direction. It was in their nature, he supposed…their so-in-sync nature.
#ocappreciation#ochub#fyeahsuperverseocs#allaboutocs#marvelocsdaily#mcu#marvel#avengers#steve rogers#mcu fics#mcu imagines#steve rogers fics#steve rogers imagines#steve rogers x oc#marvel fics#marvel imagines#captain america#captain america fics#captain america imagines#captain america x oc#winter solider#oc: seren soul#oc: chloe winters#fic: alignment
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Ranking the Not For Broadcast epilogues from happiest to bleakest, in a completely subjective and possibly contradicting fashion, because Man Some Of These Are Bad In Wildly Different Ways:
(Below the cut, because obviously, spoilers)
The 'Actually Good' Tier:
An Accord: My first epilogue, and to me, the canon ending in my heart. This one truly has it all--the truth has been exposed, democracy has been restored, and of course, the team is back together again. Maybe politically it doesn't sound quite as immediately great as the next one, but it's a step in the right direction, and c'mon, seeing Jeremy and Megan fills me with absolute joy.
A Brighter Future: PM Katie Brightman would have my vote for sure! Universal Basic Income, 4-day workweek, climate change being taken seriously, territorial independence, and more? Yeah, sign me up! Also, it seems to be set in a distant future, since this is Katie's third term as PM, which means it's really been working! Only thing bumping this one down from the top is that Jeremy is dead, so it's a rather bittersweet victory for everyone.
A New Leaf: Hey, Bannon! You're alive! Regardless of whatever ordeal he's been through, it's great to see him back (and finally as an anchor! Took the gang going to jail for it to happen, but oh well lmao). This one is pretty similar to the last one, with Katie being the frontrunner, and we have Julia being put to trial, which is deserved. Pretty alright, as endings go.
The Middle Ground: What is the most neutral ending doing this far up? Well, it gets Worse lmao. But yeah, this one is honestly a bit similar to An Accord, expect that poor Jeremy isn't offered his job back. Still, we've got democracy being respected, the news are showing the Actual News, so in my book it's pretty alright as well!
The 'Hmmm' Tier:
A Renewed Mandate: Here it starts to get a bit...hmm. Julia gets reelected, which...I wouldn't have, personally, but hey, that's democracy for you (unless there's trickery going on which oof imagine). But at least it seems that things are not as terrible as they could be. Sure, it seems Advance is really going for that 'we're all one territory' shtick, but it looks like at least other countries are choosing to join? Idk, still a bit too imperialistic for my tastes, but it does get worse.
Julia's Judgement: You might be asking 'why is this one so low?', right? Bannon is back, democracy is restored, Julia's facing criminal charges, all seems ok. Yeah, NO, that Hamilton-Mann guy is about to be president, and sorry but that seems MISERABLE. I mean, at least people had the right to CHOOSE but uhhhhhhhh, yeah no, have you heard that guy speaking? Scary stuff.
All Fall Down: This one and the next one are the hardest to place in this list for me, because they're...bad, clearly, but how bad is hard to ascertain. This is the one where the country is reduced to just a heavily fortified Territory One, and in one hand, I'm sure they're having a bad time due to the war and all, but hey, at least the other territories are finally taking back their rightful independence. But yeah, not a great time for the citizens of T1 who didn't even ask for any of this.
Inevitable Advancement: This one's funny, not even gonna lie. Sure, everyone is sterile, population numbers are dwindling, everyone is stuck with this terrible government with no possibility of an election...but something about Julia going 'MESSAGE TO ALL CITIZENS: PLEASE FUCK' just sends me into hysterics.
Under New Management: I don't care that there were elections here, this one just sucks ass. The CH1 team just gets fired and replaced, and holy shit, 'how many guns are enough?'? THIS SUCKS GET ME OUT OF THIS TIMELINE. Megan looks so gorgeous tho, mwah.
The 'What the Fuck Oh my God' Tier:
Chaos Reigns: This one's pretty bleak, not even gonna lie. The country is in shambles and nobody is safe, but at least Megan's out there doing her best to keep the people informed (possibly with Jenny helping her out? I can dream). Still, it seems like everyone is fucking miserable, so it lands down here in the terrible tier. I can't tell if it's bleaker than the next ones or not, because they're very different types of bleak (and anyway, the next ones hurt me personally lmao).
A Better Jeremy: LOOK WHAT THEY DID TO MY BOY! I don't care that this one and the next one might seem like happier futures at first (cause we all know how much Megan and the rest can act like everything's fine when it clearly isn't fine at all), THIS ONE IS SO EVIL, Julia's like 'look we brainwashed and tortured this guy until he became a hollow shell of his former self!' and everyone has to be like 'YAY! SOCO!' like HOW FUCKING EVIL AAAAAAAAAA.
Jeremy's Injustice: I DON'T CARE THAT POPULATION NUMBERS ARE RISING AND THAT EVERYONE IS HAPPY AND WHATEVER, THEY JUST MURDERED JEREMY DONALDSON IN COLD BLOOD AND COVERED IT UP LIKE IT WAS AN ACCIDENT OR SOMETHING. THEY'RE MAKING MEGAN HAVE TO SMILE THROUGH THIS WHEN THEY KNOW FULL WELL SHE KNOWS THEY KILLED HIM. I'M GONNA RIP THEM TO SHREDS.
Wacky Fun: THE EVERYONE IS DEAD ENDING! All your faves died horrible, violent deaths (and some of them had to watch as others died!), there are no news anymore, the country is probably as fucked up and in disarray as in some of the others, and the only thing you can watch on TV is the most unhinged and manic children's programming. Still, this one has Geoff Algebra suffering, which is better than most of the epilogues here can offer.
Changing of the Guard: Nope nope nope nope. Fuck the military dictatorship ending. Worst possible outcome, you can't change my mind. Bad.
#not for broadcast#ok that's all the epilogues ranked in my point of view!#which obviously might change tomorrow who knows lmao this was TOUGH#the middle is soooo ehatever cause theyre all Bad in different ways#but at least i think the worst and best are pretty alrightly ranked
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I've always wondered why John repeatedly says his guitar skill + compositional creativity has improved a lot from his early days (obviously everyone's does as they practice, not what I mean)—so much of his early lowest-fi stuff is really experimental and fun sounding to me! E.g. "Chinese House Flowers" with its G7, F7 E7 ending to say nothing of the main chord progression in the song, "Alpha Gelida" which is just fucking amazing, the coroner's gambit studio version of "Shadow Song" which is soooo much more powerful than the I V centric version of it I've heard live, tunes like "bluejays and cardinals" or "new Britain" that make heavy use of suspended chords... And a lot of these early tunes have little melodic picking parts in them too. I love all his stuff but to me the boombox stuff is a lot more sonically interesting than the heavily folk/country inspired instrumentation he sometimes uses on later songs. It's different and a lot of the new stuff is harmonically complex too, don't get me wrong, but I feel like he underrates some of the lyricism and songwriting of his early stuff. Sorry for the huge ask but I wondered if you had thoughts on this
ayyyy never apologize for a big ask!! i love getting stuff like this. give me your thoughts 😈
I get what you mean, though. And I agree with you -- I love the newer stuff deeply and with every inch of my soul but there is something very... interesting, and special, about the lo-fi era of tmg music. Imo it's a little less accessible, it makes you work a little harder as a listener to figure out what the hell's goin' on, and that makes it a different experience from the newer stuff. Not inherently good or bad, but very very different.
The first thing your question brought to mind for me is how he thought that The Sunset Tree was the last record he was ever going to get to make: "But then after we moved here, I, you know, I wasn't quite sure what we were gonna do and our original contract with 4AD was for three records, and I sort of, because I'm me and I'm kind of defeatist and I have a thing about worrying that nobody actually likes me and that someday this will all be taken away, you know, I was like, well, we're gonna get to the third album of the contract and then you have to go back to the nursing business, right. So that's why I sort of, like, opened up and said 'well, I'm gonna tell a story that is true for the third record 'cause it'll probably be the last Mountain Goats record that ever gets made', was the thinking in my mind." (source) (if anyone has a video where he says this speech, that'd be great! I only know it from the wikia page on tst).
And he thought this after he had made ahwt and tallahassee.
John Darnielle can probably see in a lot more detail than we can how and in what ways he's grown as an artist, because obviously he's privy to all of the inner workings of his music. I can speak as a person who's been doing creative things for my entire life, including songwriting, that having to interact with your old work can be incredibly painful. Not just in a cringy "I can't believe I ever made that" way, but also because it might remind you of old times, events, or feelings that you'd really rather leave behind. It can be easier and better for your mental health to diminish your old work to cringe, unintelligent drivel, novice shit, etc etc to make it hurt less. Obviously I'm not John Darnielle and am definitely speaking from my own experiences, but I feel like it's a valid theory. I also come from a mentally ill place, and was abused as a child, and all of that frequently makes its way into my art.
It's also possible that as cool and fun and experimental as his old stuff is, it just isn't what he wants his music to sound like! In the early days of tmg there's a really good chance that the music sounds more experimental because it is. He was probably playing around a lot more, trying to figure out what he liked and how to make those sounds. This is also something to consider in the context of the evolving nature of the band. We've got our core group figured out now (John, Jon, Peter, and instrumental mastermind Matt) but in the early days there were tons of lineup changes and studio changes and production + mixing differences from album to album, and even from song to song, especially in the case of the triplet comp albums of 1999 (Ghana, Protein Source of the Future... Now!, and Bitter Melon Farm) and in the case of an album/ep/etc that had recordings from radio stations. If I remember the liner notes of the 2013 ahwt rerelease correctly, ahwt is the only album that the descriptor of "one guy alone in his house with a guitar (and the Panasonic RX-FT500)". I suppose that now, Songs for Pierre Chuvin also fits this description :)
Honestly, I think he underrates his old stuff too. There will never be a love song that hits me in quite the same way that Masher does. Never another song that makes me feel as hopeful as Onions and Elijah do. Hearing Water Song at the show on the 19th, I mean, it was transcendent! It's really beautiful, special material; that being said I also understand why he might shy away from it.
I hope this at least sort of is what you were talking about? If not, feel free to send in another ask and I will happily discuss more! This is my jam, and we all know how jd feels about jam...
#asks#fuck12#not a first line#tmg#the mountain goats#john darnielle#seriously love this it took me like 50 mins to write this out and fact check myself. talk about a lovely morning#:)
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> I just want to see him having fun
— You think the war will end before May 2023?
A girl can hope, right?!
Jokes aside...I think it has to end before May 2023 (not because of Eurovison of course).
No, but I fear Ukraine can't afford continuing that war until May 2023 (or even longer).
The fact alone that we (as in "the world) are still talking about it is surprising and astonishing. Zelenskyy and his team managed in quite a brilliant way to catch the world's attention for three month (call it "propaganda", call it "clever strategies", call it whatever you want). It is a big achievement.
Think about it: How many bad things happen every day around the world? Most of them are not even mentioned in the news.
Some of them are only mentioned briefly in the news or you learn only about them if you habe a special interest in that topic and research on your own.
Here and there something is so bad it gets coverage. More or less. Usually less.
All big topics tend to vanish very, very fast from the news. Because people tend to lose interest in it very fast.
Think about Afghanistan last year. The topic was good for headlines for what...two weeks? Three? But after the big "oh my god how horrible!"-moment most people no longer cared. Of course we're all still very shocked when we read something about it (like recently, when some newspapers published the new laws), but we're shocked for a day or two and that's it (for whatever reason - no offence to anyone).
But Ukraine managed to catch our attention for three month so far. Of course and we all know that, mostly thanks to Zelenskyy and being literally everywhere and giving speeches again and again and again and again and... .
And that's freaking huge!
Zelenskyy said it himself (as well as Olena, just different): The moment they lose the world's attention they might lose the war. Because without the world's attention and the people's investment into the country, the people, the wish for peace and victory more and more countries will try to find a way out of having to help Ukraine and reduce the support.
Don't get me wrong: I believe that a lot of countries support Ukraine because they think it's right and Ukraine deserves support. But of course a lot of countries also support Ukraine only because the people of that country demand it from the gouvernement.
And while I doubt that Ukraine will lose support in the next 1, 2, 3,... months, I highly doubt if they can keep the world's attention into that war for a year or longer. Sooner or later people (and gouvernments) will get "Ukraine fatigue" or "Zelenskyy fatigue". It's a good sign he's still giving speeches infront of parliamants, is giving interviews, gets news coverage of all kind or appears at special places like Cannes. But sooner or later people will get tired, especially if nothing happens and "it's just war" and there are no news.
That's why Zelenskyy and his team try to come up with news as much as possible. Of course mostly to make sure Ukraine wins. But even on "slow news" or "no news" days they try to come up with good news, with new achievements - new money, new deals, new sanctions, new negotiations,... . Because people will be interested as long as there are news.
And we shouldn't forget that Russia hasn't stopped this war so far. They know they can't win it (right now). But they will also never give up (maybe if they're forced). Ukraine has to beat them and has to make sure (with internatioal partners and security guarentees) that Russia will never attack them again. But until they reach that point the need the attention. Because the best thing that could happen to Russia is that the world loses interest and Ukraine gets weak. Or that Ukrainians get tired of war and fightenting and no longer resist so much.
The moment "war fatigue" sets in could be Russia's moment.
Not to mention another problem. Right now Zelenskyy was able to unit the parliamant and everyone in Ukraine (besides some people, but the majority). Because they all fight for the same cause and no one would dare to touch or critize him right now. That would be political suicide and his opponents and enemies know this very well. Even his biggest critics are silent right now and support him.
Why? Well because Zelenskyy (and his team) did A LOT (if not to say basically (nearly) everything) right. They made a lot of smart decision and made sure Ukraine is winning, is getting weapons and lots of support of all kinds.
But they didn't stop hating him. They also didn't magically stop to want more power and money. The moment the war gets "slow" or Zelenskyy makes "mistakes" (or does something they can critize without getting trouble) they will jump on that opportunity. And the moment that happens it will get a lot more difficult to lead the country through war. Not to mention that his enemies outside of Ukraine are basically waiting for a real opportunity to discredit him.
It's going to be interesting how he / his team will deal with the Mariupol / Azovstal situation, especially if Russia really kidnaps / kills the soldiers and breaks the agreement. And if this will affect anything. Because his opponents will twist the story so it's his fault that "the Heroes Of Ukraine" are kidnapped / not exchanged / dead (btw: the discussion about if he's responsible or not is a whole different discussion).
Not to mention that he can't prolong martial law forever. Especially not if the war stays in the East (like the last 8 years). And if martial law ends without peace for Ukraine this will create a lot of new problems.
So it's in Zelenskyy's own interest to make sure the war ends soon. Because right now he's the reason Ukraine gets money and help for rebuillding the country. And he will be the reason to make sure Ukraine still gets support after the war. He will have to vouch with himself that the money will be used in a good way after the war. And to make sure they get money he has to make sure several things change in Ukraine (for the better). But he can only achieve this if his support is still that high and before his opponents / enemies get a chance to weaken him.
So yes, Ukraine needs to win that war for many reasons very fast and "soon" (whatever soon is).
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US House approves spending bill to avert government shutdown | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-house-aims-pass-spending-bill-avert-weekend-government-shutdown-2024-03-06/
They've been doing this for years and using temporary funding and spending tons of money and then a lot of the money for it and not deducting what they spend and they're using the money to try and buy illegal things and they keep on threatening everybody with chaotic world and country did not find their own government and today we said we've had enough of them doing this every time and we're going to start arresting them for grafts and corruption and the pseudo empire is up to it too and they suck they're just as criminal and they're just bothering our son all the time like idiots would so we're going through all this stuff and our son said we're intelligent there must be a solution these people suck so bad I decided we know what the solution is and then he said that we're going to replace them and foreigners and we should start doing it in places to train it's going to be a different formula in a different ball game and we've been doing it and you have been pushing it to happen here quite a bit it is a lot of pushing to do this week. There's another thing going on too he has to handle your problems and get involved with your court cases and decide the outcome and pay for it and all of it no matter what he's doing so he started to crucify your dumb m************ and you're all going away and we're helping and it's true
This is gone online out this is going on long enough it's ridiculous you each have more money for the weekend they need to do you get the stupid funding and it just looks ridiculous and you're bothering us
+we're going to lay down some guidelines if you don't follow them you're doomed and you said you declare war and we don't care if you do it or not no you don't need you to declare war on this idiots and what you doing is an illegal action anyways and we're deciding what to do about it now we're coming in already once again and none of you notice so I'm going to take more and we're taking a hold of her all of the world too and nobody knows
-good morning after Stan today for his attitude I'm going to take his stuff and her stuff we don't need you idiots. In the trip to Arizona is canceled and he can go there for a different reason.
-we also have several other things for people to think about they blew their own plan they want us to do the job no matter what and I'm trying to do by threats and it never works and they're just dumb
-we're up to it now and we're getting rid of you and we're going to flush several things are proving that it's true firstly this huge invasion of yours didn't happen and you're still trying to build up in Alabama and Georgia and throughout the South and you're ruining the place it's becoming inhabitable the areas too big areas too and it's probably 0.5% of the general populace but we don't want you continuously doing that to come here to Florida to screw around just to get rid of yourselves it's stupid and it's illegal in the United States to wage war in the United States and Trump should be executed publicly if you march down the road in the line we can apply you up and pseudo empire is going to be forced to do that it's too costly to sit here and watch you do the stupid s***
-the stashes and cashes in the Western hemisphere were rated last night we said 15% maybe and they're already empty 25% and it was rated to about 20% so they're at 45% empty almost half and the loser doesn't react appropriately and we don't care and yeah if you have the AI it'd be gone long gone by now and in the Eastern hemisphere they're building up there's 65% empty and they're going to take it we think 20 to 25%, bring it up to 90% empty possibly and this stupid chapter will be over and people have to sit here and listen to your whining
-huge armies are descending on your stashes and caches huge and they are wiping your people out right now last night you were 3.5% out of the off Island roughly 12% and it's more like 4% or 4.5%, but right now they're going to wipe out probably 1% of your entire force bring it to 3.5% actually and they're not going to stop there they said in the cities are going to be attacking so today it might be another 0.5% with that and you're planning to attack the bunkers of the pseudo empire who knows you could lose 2% and your islands are being attacked back more luck and pseudo empire they're attacking them too and it's minority more locked and foreigners and they're using them for real it is a big force today they plan on wiping out tons of you. And yeah sure that's what it's about you are not watching your rear Sherry and that's what happened and you're not being nice to her son at all and that's also what happened and your treatment of him is bogus it's idiocy we tell you not to and now you've got to pay through the nose like everybody else who does it
-we're watching here quite thoroughly we hear you saying really really dumb stuff all day long so I'm going to put you down what you're saying and pretty soon in an hour or two we're going to start going nuts on Sunday dude it would be easier to have you dream of potato es they don't want
-we're going to put APB out on anyone who has caused violent action on her son or if in part of it to eliminate them right now and I'm elevating their risk level we're not tolerating you anymore you're not doing anything but trying to do it again
Thor Freya
Olympus
Zues Hera
Oh yeah and f*** you Brad
Zues
Hera
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Torn Apart
Pairing: Chanyeol x Reader
Warning: Smut, Angst, Heartbreak
Word Count: 3.8k
Summary: Chanyeols bestfriend Maya comes to town, and things don't go quite as planned.
Taglist: @biaswreckingfics @littlebetafefe @skittlez-area512 @ohsehunxv
When Chanyeol asked you to be his girlfriend, four years ago, you didn't think it was possible to be any happier. Your relationship with him was almost perfect. Yes you had your ups and downs with him, like any couple but you felt as though you were stronger than any obstacle that could be thrown at you.
You thought.
You had never really been the jealous type, you trusted Chanyeol, even if you didn't trust some of the women he was around but you never voiced it. You always kept it to yourself, unwilling to let jealousy be one of the reasons why the two of you fought. You always believed that if you and your partner had trust that it didn't matter what anyone else did. Chanyeol had women that were friends and you got along with them, you had met all of his friends, of course in the amount of time you were dating. Though, there was one friend that he spoke about often that you had yet to meet.
M, as Chanyeol referred to him, was his best friend in the entire world who had moved to a different country after college. They kept in touch often, talking on the phone a few times a week to keep up with each other. You were happy for him, you were happy that he had such an amazing relationship with M. And you were happy for a few moments when Chanyeol burst through the door this evening, spewing out nonsense in his excited state.
"It's happening Y/N!" He exclaims, plopping down on the couch beside you.
"What?" You ask, your excitement building as you anticipate his answer.
"M is coming for a visit!" He yells. Your mouth drops before turning into a smile.
"Oh my god." You laugh. "I can't wait to meet him!" You yell.
"Him?" Chanyeol chuckles. "Y/N, M stands for Maya. Didn't I tell you that?" He wonders. You search his eyes and he seems absolutely sure he told you that and you are absolutely sure he did not tell you that.
"Oh." You say, sitting back. "So M is a girl.. Maya." You say.
"Y/N.." Chanyeol trails off.
"I can't wait to meet her." You smile. "I'm really happy for you." You finish off.
And you were. But you couldn't help but feel weary about how much they spoke considering he didn't talk to his other female friends that much. You were open minded and were sure you'd get along with her just as you did any other woman.
"Go get ready quick, we're going to meet Baekhyun, Jongdae and his wife." Chanye tells you, standing up to walk to your shared room. "I can't wait to tell them. They're going to be so excited."
**
"I'm sorry, what?" Baekhyun asks, his face clearly unamused by Chanyeol's news.
"Maya is coming to town! Woo-hoo." He says, trying to amp everyone up and raise his glass for a cheer, but everyone falls silent.
"Didn't she move away like 6 years ago?" Jongdae asks, taking a sip of his beer.
"Yeah, but we've kept in contact." Chanyeol says, placing his glass on the table.
"But why?" Baekhyun asks, taking a shot, his face displeased by the news more than the liquor.
"You're just jealous she never fell for your pretty face and 'slick moves'." Chanyeol laughs.
Baekhyun bursts out laughing as he waves his hand in front of his face. "Not at all." He chuckles. "I never hit on her. I had no interest in her, ever." Baekhyun shudders.
"I don't know how to tell you this man." Jongdae sighs. "She was into you back then, and I can guarantee she's still into you now." He says.
Chanyeol is still for a moment before he begins to laugh. "There's no way. She's not into me." He laughs, taking a drink. He looks at you and laughs again. "She's definitely not." He says to you. You weren't sure what he was trying to do, but he wasn't reassuring you in the least.
**
A few days later Chanyeol barely kissed you as he rushed out the door to meet Sehun, another friend who happened to also be friends with Maya. The night before Chanyeol had jokingly told you that Sehun had shipped him and Maya together but Chanyeol couldn't see it, he didn't think that he was good enough for her. That honestly hurt you a little bit.
You stayed in the apartment and waited, and waited and you had heard nothing from Chanyeol in hours. You didn't know what was happening and honestly it made you a little anxious until the door knob to the front door turned and Chanyeol, Sehun and a beautiful black haired girl walked in.
"That place was trash." Sehun laughed. "Our Maya deserves much better."
"Sehun." She squeals. "You're too much." She finishes with a giggle.
"And Channie, oh my god. You're so handsome. I've just missed you." She pouts, throwing her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Chanyeol grins as he hugs her back. Your eye ever so slightly twitches as you stand there watching.
"Oh, hey Y/N." Sehun says, placing Maya's suitcase down.
"You're Y/N?" She asks, looking you up and down. "You're so adorable." She giggles as he shuffles her way towards you, pulling you in for an awkward hug. You can feel the tension between the two of you, radiating from her body but you weren't sure what you had done to her to make her dislike you already.
"So Maya." You begin, pulling away from her. "What are you going to do while you're here?" You ask.
"Oh I have everything planned out." Chanyeol interrupts. "We're going to go to that pizza place we went to in college." He laughs, making her giggle along with him.
"Can we please go to that Cafe? You know the one where.. " She pauses as Chanyeol interjects.
"Where I spilled my drink all over myself because I was so nervous? You and Sehun enjoyed that" Chanyeol laughs.
"You were so cute." She laughs, before looking at you. "He told me I was so beautiful it made his hand shake." She smiles.
"We could go now?" Sehun pipes up, making everyone excitedly agree. The three of them move towards the doorway, leaving you standing there.
"Aren't you coming?" Chanyeol asks, turning around to look at you.
"Oh, yeah, sure." You smile, grabbing your purse. As the four of you walk out the door, you can't help but feel unwanted by at least two of the people there.
**
Over the next few days, the invites you received became less and less. Chanyeol and Maya had decided to go to a pizza parlor that they frequented in college, and you were the afterthought after they had already made plans to go. Even when Chanyeol invited you, you could feel that Maya didn't want you there but you tried to ignore it and went along with them anyway.
"Oh my god." Maya giggles. "You're right, this place hasn't changed at all." She laughs, looking around the parlor. "This is the exact table we always sat at too, oh Channie, you sure know how to make a girl so happy." She squeals, leaning her head on his shoulder. Chanyeol let out a small chuckle as he looked at her, almost admiring her leaning onto him as you sat across from the two friends, who looked alot like a couple.
"Chanyeol? Maya?" You hear from in front of you. A little old Italian man walks up to the table with a giant smile on his face, looking at the two. "I thought that was you guys! It's been years." He smiles. "Please tell me you're finally together. I always thought the two of you would make such an amazing couple." He says, praising them and ignoring your existence.
"This is my girlfriend actually." Chanyeol laughs, gesturing to you.
"But who knows what the future holds." Maya chuckles, giving you a quick glare before focusing on Chanyeol once again.
Maya made your blood boil. You were positive she was trying to take Chanyeol from you, but you knew your innocent boyfriend would never see it. He was far too invested in their friendship to think anything more could ever happen between the two of them. But that didn't stop you from absolutely hating this girl.
That night you walked back home, behind Chanyeol and Maya who had linked arms and were deep in a discussion about something. You shivered with your arms crossed as the cool breeze hit you head on. You walked a little faster, standing next to your boyfriend and looking at him with a smile on your face. Just as he noticed you, he began shrugging off his jacket.
"Oh babe, you're so sweet. I was just about to ask you for your jacket." You grin.
"Oh, sorry Y/N, Maya asked for it already." He says, handing her the jacket.
"Thanks handsome." She purrs. You stop walking and watch this girl put his jacket on and smell it, complementing the smell of his cologne, the one that you picked out for him. Instead of saying anything you just walked faster, passing the two of them and making it back to the apartment faster. That night you went to bed early, trying to avoid saying something that you probably should not say.
That night Chanyeol crawled in beside you, wrapping his arm around your waist to pull you in closer to him. He nuzzled his head into your neck as he breathed in your scent. "I'm sorry about the jacket baby." He breathes. "I should have given it to you."
"It's fine." You sigh. "You know I love you right?"
"I love you, so much baby." He whispers, pushing his hard cock into your ass. "So much."
You let out a small whimper as he reaches down, lifting up your shirt and lifting your leg to rest on his hip. He pulls down his boxers, just enough for his cock to spring free before he pushes himself inside of you, stretching out your pussy.
"Fuck." You hiss, as your eyes roll back. It had been too long since you felt him inside of you. Chanyeol slowly thrusts his hips, pulling himself in and out of you, the sounds of your heavy breathes filling the room. "So fucking tight." He groans, his hand reaching under your shirt to cup your breast, squeezing it as he fucks you.
You let out a loud moan making him cover your mouth with his hand, making it easier for him to hold you close, as he continues sliding his cock in and out of you. Chanyeol moves his hand down from your mouth and in between your lips, his fingertips touching your clit causing you to let out a heavy breath. His finger turns in circles as he rubs your sweet spot, his thrusts becoming a little faster as his own orgasm builds.
"You need to cum for me, baby." He groans, now not caring about being loud. The sound of skin slapping fills the room along with your moans as you squeeze your pussy around his cock, gripping it tightly.
"Cum baby, cum." He grunts. Your hand grips the bedsheet as your orgasm takes over, pushing through your entire body. Chanyeol holds onto you tightly as he thrusts harder, cumming even harder, shooting his load inside of you, both of you left panting as he pulls out of you and rolls on his back. You get up and head to the bathroom to clean yourself up and as you go, you can hear Chanyeol whispering "I'll always love you.." mumbling a name before drifting off to sleep.
**
The next morning you wake up in the late morning, Chanyeol's side of the bed is already cold, he's been gone for a while already. You check your phone and there's nothing from him, there's no note in the living room. You knock on Maya's door, peeking inside and seeing she's gone as well. You're a little upset that he didn't tell you anything but you decided to try and let it go, even though it seemed like you had been letting a lot go in the past few days that she had been around.
That night, around 8pm, Chanyeol and Maya entered the apartment laughing together before even noticing your presence in the living room.
"Oh hey babe." Chanyeol says, seeing you sitting on the couch, watching a show.
You said nothing. He didn't want to contact you all day, so why should you even respond?
"I'm going to go take a shower." Maya announces, heading to the bathroom and leaving you and Chanyeol in the living room alone.
"You okay?" He asks, sitting next to you, placing his large hand onto your thigh, giving it a tight squeeze.
"Where were you?" You ask, turning to look at him, clearly unimpressed.
"We just went out to meet some old friends babe." He says. "I'm sorry I didn't text or anything, we got caught up." He sighs.
You let out a sigh as well. You have a hard time being mad at him. "I'm sorry I was mad. You had left before I woke up and I didn't know anything, it sucked." You explain. "Are you hungry? I can order dinner?" You suggest picking up your phone.
"That's okay." He smiles, standing up. "Maya and I went to that new Italian restaurant for dinner. It was really good." He exclaims.
"The new one? The one that I wanted to try with you? That we made plans to go together?" You ask, feeling hurt by this.
"Shit.. I'm sorry baby. I didn't even think about that. We can still go. It'll be good!" He says, trying to make the situation a little better.
"Ooh, where are we going?" You hear from around the corner. Out pops Maya, draped in a towel, water droplets still running down her body.
"Y/N and I are going to go to that Italian restaurant." Chanyeol tells her.
"It's so good. I'd go back there. Just let me know when." She smiles, walking back to her room. You look at Chanyeol and roll your eyes and head to your room. Your appetite was completely gone.
**
The next day, Chanyeol had told you that he and Maya were going to meet some friends, and you were welcome to come, if you wanted to.
"I'm good." You say. "You go."
Chanyeol and Maya left the apartment, giggling to each other about whatever they had been talking about and you thought nothing of it. Until two hours later you got a text from Baekhyun, asking you why you weren't at Jongdae's.
[7:58pm] You: What do you mean, why am I not there. Is something happening tonight?:
[8:01pm] Baekhyun: Their annual potluck dinner?? Did Chanyeol not tell you?
You sit there, gripping your phone as you replay your conversation with Chanyeol in your head. Never once had he mentioned a potluck dinner, or the fact that they were going to meet friends that were also your friends.
[8:06pm] You: No he didn't tell me. Just said they were meeting friends and I could come. And Maya added "if you wanted too."
[8:09pm] Baekhyun: Typical. Chanyeol and Maya made your Buffalo chicken dip. I want to hate it. But I can't. Sehun keeps calling them Mayeol. I hate that.
So he didn't tell you about the dinner, but they also cooked a dish together to bring. Seemed like she was more in a relationship with Chanyeol than you were. You didn't even know what to say to him, or how to bring it up, but this hurt you. You were torn on what to do. Did you let it go or did you confront him? Your mind was telling you to let it go but your heart most definitely wanted to talk to him about it and let him know how hurt you had been by this.
A few hours later you hear the door being unlocked. You ignore the sounds of talking as they enter the apartment, focusing your eyes and ears on the drama you had currently been binging.
"Hey Y/N." Chanyeol smiles, walking into the living room. Maya walks directly past the both of you and into her room, closing the door behind her.
"Don't hey me." You spit.
"Woah, what did I do?" Chanyeol asks, standing up.
"It's what you didn't do." You fiercely whisper. "Baek texted me and asked me why I wasn't at the annual potluck that I have attended for the last 4 years. It's really embarrassing to say that you, my boyfriend, neglected to tell me and instead brought Maya." You spit. "Not to mention that you made my fucking recipe with her!"
Chanyeol stands there looking dumbfounded as you quietly yell at him, fully aware that Maya was in the next room. You had had enough. You were being excluded on purpose and you were 98% sure she wanted to take Chanyeol from you, but he was to blind to see it. Your nails are digging into your palms as you try to control your breathing.
"I've had enough of her here. She needs to find somewhere else to stay. I can't do this anymore." You say, tears brimming in your eyes.
"Y/N, she's my best friend, I can't just kick her out." He sighs.
"Out of everything I've said, that's what you have to comment on? So what am I to you? A replacement until who you truly want finally came back?" You ask. You don't even give him a chance to reply. "You better sleep on the couch tonight or I might actually choke you like I want to do right now." You sigh, walking into your bedroom and slamming the door.
**
The next morning you walk into your living room, rubbing your eyes and you see Chanyeol laying on the couch, half asleep with Maya sitting on top of him smiling while eating a bowl of cereal. Before you can say anything, there's a knock at the door, taking you out of the room before you lose it. You open the door and there stands Sehun with a smile on his face, until he sees you and then it drops. "Maya here?" He asks.
"Obviously." You sigh, letting him in and pointing to the living room. When you return, Chanyeol is sitting up with a blush spread across his face as Maya sits on the other side of the couch, looking annoyed as she finishes her cereal.
"Me and Chanyeol will move your stuff into my place and then we'll go look at places today, okay?" He smiles, sitting across from Maya.
"Sounds wonderful." She grins.
"You're moving here?" You ask, shocked.
"Of course." She smirks.
Chanyeol and Sehun leave the room, grabbing Maya's things and heading out to take them to Sehun's place, leaving you alone with this woman.
"Look." She starts off. You think she's going to offer some kind of apology, but you should have known better. "I was stupid to take off all those years ago, I loved Chanyeol then and I love him now. The two of you are still just.. dating, aren't you? Has he even brought up marriage to you yet? It's funny, because he always used to tell me he didn't see the point of being with someone unless he knew he was going to marry them, and that he would know by 2 years into dating. And you two have been together for how long? And still no ring? What a shame." She smiles.
"You can't have him." You bark. "He's mine."
"Is he though? I don't know about that one." She whispers as the door opens, and Sehun calls for Maya. "See you later. Thanks for having me." She smiles, grabbing her purse and walking out of your apartment. The door closes and Chanyeol didn't even come to say goodbye to you or anything.
**
Over the next few days, things with Chanyeol had been weird. When he crawled into bed with you, his back was turned to you, and he wouldn't cuddle with you anymore. Sometimes you woke up in the morning and he was sleeping on the couch. You didn't quite understand what was going on, or you just chose not to see it.
"Morning." You smile at him, walking into the kitchen. You go up to him for a kiss, and he looks at you before turning away.
"Sorry Y/N, gotta make a call." He mumbles, walking out of the kitchen and out the front door.
Some nights he didn't come home until extremely late, or just later then his usual and it was killing you slowly.
Today you didn't hear from him all day, until he showed up back at home, at 9pm. "Hey." He sighs, walking into the kitchen.
"Hi." You whisper back. "What's going on with you? Why are you out so late all the time?"
"Y/N, you know I'm just hanging out with friends.
"Friends." You scoff. "Maya. She wants you." You blurt out. "Did you know that? Because we haven't talked about marriage, and apparently you said you'd propose to the one after two years and we've been together for four. So to her she thinks she has a chance." You whisper the last part.
"Christ Y/N, what is your obsession with her wanting me. We're just friends." He snaps.
"I didn't know friends made out like that." You yell.
Chanyeol says nothing, just stares at you, and you get the worst feeling in your stomach.
"I saw you today, in front of the library." You say. "I didn't want to believe it. I wanted to think that she kissed you and you would push her off. But you pulled her in instead. So clearly she does have a chance. " You whisper.
"Y/N.. it's.. it's complicated." He stutters. "I didn't think I had feelings for her.. until she came back and then everything came rushing back. I love you.. but I also love her. I've loved you both for so long. I don't know what to do." He mumbles.
"I refuse to be anything but someone's first choice." You sniffle. "Go, be with her then. I'm done."
"Y/N please, just give me some time to sort things out." He begs.
"Why? When there's a possibility it's not me, I'm not going to wait around for you to decide if you love me enough, or love her more. My heart has been through enough by you. If you really did truly love me, you wouldn't even be questioning it right now, Chanyeol. You've made your decision already, now get out."
Chanyeol walked out of your apartment without any more words spoken. You still loved him, and you were pretty sure you always would, even if you had been torn apart.
#exowritersnet#kpopscape#noonasinnetwork#chanyeol#chanyeol smut#chanyeol angst#chanyeol exo#park chanyeol#oh sehun#byun baekhyun#exo#exo smut#exo angst#angst#smut#kpop fanfic#kpop scenarios#kpop writing#kpop icons#kpop imagines#kpop smut
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Is it time to tear ANOTHER Dhar Mann video to shreds? YOU BET.
I've been sitting on this one for a bit because I wanted to make sure I talk about this tactfully. The subject of parents abandoning their disabled children is a very touchy one.
Parents abandoning their disabled children simply for being disabled is way too common. Like, I understand that not everyone has the resources to care for a disabled child (which is why you reach out for help, and why people like me, who work with disabled people, exist), but it doesn't mean you just walk out of their life. There are exceptions, like if you truly didn't want children or something like that, but just flat-out walking out of your kid's life BECAUSE they're disabled is fucked up.
I know someone personally whose biological mother abandoned her when she was born. Why? Because she's disabled. Physically, and mentally, to a point. I work with this woman on a daily basis. I don't really know WHY exactly her biological mother abandoned her, but I do know that her being disabled was part of it. It's sad. It doesn't affect her, thankfully. I'm happy that she's got her biological dad, her brother, and another maternal figure in her life, at least.
ANYWAYS. Before we get to the topic at hand, I need to put an obligatory trigger warning, like I do with EVERY Dhar Mann post:
This post will be talking about parents abandoning their disabled children simply for being disabled, treating disabilities like they're tragedies (in this case, we're talking about autism...again), divorce, and some SPICY ableist bullshit from an allistic (nonautistic) PIECE OF SHIT.
If any of this triggers you or makes you uncomfortable in any way, you don't have to read this post. This isn't worth putting yourself in a bad state mentally. I would never ask for any of you to put yourselves in that position all for a post. Put your mental health and well-being first. Consume media that sparks joy for you.
As far as my response goes, it's definitely more calm than normal. Funny....since this video is about autism spectrum disorder again. (Third time's the charm, huh, Dhar Mann? NOT.)
LET'S FUCKING GET IT.
The video starts off with these two parents (Gwen and Allen) in a psychologist's office. The psychologist tells the parents that their son (Chance) is autistic, and she tries to explain what autism is to the parents, but Allen cuts her off. Why? Because he teaches at a prestigious university, so he AUTOMATICALLY knows what autism is from that fact alone.
Um, excuse me? Just because you're a teacher at a prestigious university, it doesn't mean you're an expert in everything. It doesn't make you an expert in ASD or anything like that. Unless you SPECIALIZE in that area. Even then, shut the fuck up. The people who know about being autistic are AUTISTIC PEOPLE THEMSELVES! SHOCKER.
Hey, Dhar Mann! QUIT WITH THE VIDEOS ABOUT AUTISTIC LITTLE WHITE BOYS AND YOUNG WHITE AUTISTIC CISHET MEN! I'M SICK AND TIRED OF IT. It's annoying, ignorant, and it feels like you're doing this on purpose at this point to piss people off. If you're so uninformed about autism in women and girls, FUCKING ASK AUTISTIC WOMEN AND GIRLS! DO BETTER RESEARCH THAT DOESN'T INVOLVE AUTISM SPEAKS. The Autism Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and the Autistic Women and Nonbinary People Network (AWN) are great organizations to go to for any kind of research on ASD in women and girls. STOP GOING OFF OF THE BRAINS OF AUTISTIC WHITE BOYS AND AUTISTIC WHITE MEN.
I don't feel I need to go too deep into the fact that autistic women, autistic girls, autistic nonbinary people, autistic BIPOC, autistic AAPI, autistic LGBT people, autistic teenagers, and autistic adults exist. Y'all already know.
Gwen asks the psychologist if that means Chance isn't healthy. (I understand not knowing about autism, but don't treat it like it's a terminal illness. Please.) The psychologist tells her that Chance is fine, but he just learns differently and might need more support compared to his peers.
Yeah, autism can affect how you learn about certain things (limited and repetitive patterns), but there are other disabilities that can affect learning as well. Like how dyslexia can affect your ability to read, dyspraxia can affect your ability to do math, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can affect your ability to focus or on impulse control. Autism affects how your brain is developed, it affects you socially, behaviorally, and how you communicate.
Allen is upset, says that he can't have a son "with a learning disability" (ASD is a neurological disability, not necessarily a learning disability), and treats Chance like he's stupid for being autistic. Gwen tells her husband that autism doesn't make you any less intelligent, WHICH IS SO FUCKING TRUE. ABSOLUTE FACTS. I was totally with her until she began that little monologue with "Just because a person HAS autism". SAY "JUST BECAUSE A PERSON'S AUTISTIC" INSTEAD! IT'S NOT HARD. PERSON FIRST LANGUAGE ISN'T WHAT EVERY DISABLED PERSON PREFERS. Allen says that "they could have another kid" and "put Chance up for adoption". Gwen obviously wasn't down with that. Allen gives his wife an ultimatum that it's either HIM or their son Chance. Gwen says that she can't choose between the two, but she will stand by her autistic son. Allen gets up and leaves the office, saying he wants a divorce.
Years pass by, Gwen is single and taking care of her autistic son Chance, and Allen has a new life with a ✨perfect son✨ (Samuel). He never mentions the son HE abandoned (Chance). He's completely forgotten about Gwen and Chance. (YOU OWE SO MUCH CHILD SUPPORT, ALLEN.)
Hey, Allen, how much do you wanna bet that your ✨perfect son✨ Samuel is autistic too?
There's the SATs, they're announcing a winner, and guess who it is? IT'S OBVIOUSLY CHANCE, OF COURSE. He's got the highest score in the country, with Samuel in second place. Allen is PISSED.
Chance gives a speech about how his mom really helped him, he struggled with autism, how Allen LITERALLY ABANDONED HIM, and THE CROWD GOES FUCKING WILD. Samuel, instead of being a sore loser, APPLAUDS FOR CHANCE. Stay humble, Sam.
My thoughts on the video? If you cannot tell by my tone throughout this post, IT WAS DOG SHIT. This video was insensitive to the true reality of parents abandoning their disabled children just because they're disabled. What do I expect from Dhar Mann at this point?
Here's my response to his video below. Don't worry, I will fully type out my response soon for anyone who cannot read the screenshots easily. It's a lot easier for me to do that on the desktop site than it is for me to do it on my phone.
For anyone who can’t read my response, I’m typing it out for you. Like I said, it’s easier for me to type it out on the desktop site than it is for me to type it out on my phone. It’s a real royal pain in the ass. But because I’m trying to make my posts easier to read for people, I’m doing this anyway. /lighthearted
First, second, and third screenshots (broken up into paragraphs):
Hey, listen, I appreciate the message you’re trying to go for, but can you please stop putting autistic people into a box? Can you stop treating being autistic like it’s a tragedy? Not every single autistic person is a little white boy in elementary school who’s considered “wild and unruly” or “super quiet and makes no friends”, nor are they a young white cishet man who’s a super genius or is how Chris Chan was before she came out as trans. (For anyone who doesn’t know about Chris Chan, there are many documentaries people have made on YouTube, and I highly recommend Geno Samuel’s docuseries, if you’re really interested in learning about Chris Chan.)
Autistic women, girls, nonbinary people, BIPOC, APPI, LGBT people, teenagers, and adults all exist too.
It’s very apparent now that you get your resources from Autism $peaks, a hate group that spends the vast majority of their money on funding eugenics instead of helping autistic people like they claim, claims that only little white boys and young white cishet men are autistic and ignores all other autistic people who don’t fit that description, have no autistic people on their leader board or on any board for that matter, have members who have actually fantasized about k1lling their autistic children, treat autism like it’s a tragedy or a disease someone can catch (completely false), act like autism should be cured (there is no cure, and ABA therapy is a total shit show in itself), and treats autistic people like they’re broken and need to be fixed. Also, not every autistic person is a Super Genius(tm). That’s so demeaning to autistic people who aren’t seen as intelligent in any way. I’m autistic and seen as smart; however, there are subjects I’m stronger in than others.
If you can’t handle the possibility of having autistic children, or just disabled children in general, DON’T HAVE CHILDREN. If you can’t handle working with or alongside disabled people, including autistic people, maybe find a different profession. Even if you do that, you’ll never get away from disabled people. Disabled people aren’t a disease. We’re human beings just like neurotypical and able-bodied people.
Fourth and fifth screenshots (broken up into paragraphs):
I would highly suggest getting resources from reputable organizations for ASD, such as the Autism Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and the Autistic Women and Nonbinary People Network (AWN). Talk to any autistic person who isn’t a little white boy or a young white cishet man.
Instead of using the puzzle piece, which is a symbol that many autistic people, myself included, are offended by (because of Autism $peaks and other organizations before them using it, plus it symbolizes that only autistic children exist and that we’re “missing a piece” like we’re broken), use the rainbow infinity sign (for all neurodivergent people) or the red and gold infinity sign (just for autistic people). Instead of “lighting it up blue”, light it up red or gold. Do both if you want.
I’m actually really sick and tired of seeing just autistic little white boys and young autistic white cishet men being represented in the media, and y’all manage to fuck that up too.
Before anyone mentions Sia’s movie “Music”, that’s also very poor representation of autistic girls. Besides, the actress who played the autistic girl isn’t even autistic. She MOCKED autistic people. I know she’s a kid, but that’s still super fucked up. I hope she’s able to turn that around.
If anyone would like to discuss this topic with me or ask any questions, feel free to. I’ll answer as best as I can. Thank you and have a good night.
Before I get attacked for mentioning Chris Chan in my response, I bring up Chris Chan because allistic people think that every autistic person is like her (especially before she came out as trans). That person is part of why I wasn't open about being autistic or talking about my diagnosis until this year. I didn't want to be grouped up with Chris Chan because I do have very similar interests to her, I've been seen as cringey for having said interests, and just the way Chris treated autistic people who were formerly diagnosed with A$p3rg3r$ $yndr0m3 (like I was) really made me feel even more alienated.
Also, S1a supports A$ (Autism $p3aks). She's not a very good person to support. Some of her music is good, but her as a person....no. Her movie "Music" was gross, from what I've read about it and seen pictures of.
If you've read this far, thank you so much!
#mello speaks#dhar mann#dhar mann talk#dhar mann will live to regret his decision to make these fucked up cringe videos#dhar mann will live to regret his decision uwu#dhar mann is a piece of human garbage#please stop supporting dhar mann#autism isn't a tragedy#we need better representation for autistic people who aren't little white boys or young white cishet men#dhar mann is a cringe ass nae nae baby#tw abandonment#tw ableism#cw sia mention#cw chris chan mention#tw dhar mann
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Damn this is kinda long.
This is part 7,
here is Part 6 , Part 8
The morning after Philip invited the prince to the market and also pick some other things they may need had come.
With Phillip getting there earlier than the prince who hadn't even gotten to their shared work station yet.
After they said their hellos and William got ready they headed outside the castle and began to walk to the small market were merchants stopped by.
Philip said he got permission. He probably got it before Elenore left, apparently she things to do elsewhere.
This actually was a trip to get the William out of the cramped room and out for some fresh air. It would be short and Philip convinced the gaurds to stay back so the prince would feel free.
**********
"I'm Sorry If it's too far sir."
"No it's fine, I'm used to walking for long periods."
William was lucky he had his casual clothes to wear they made it easy to move around when he was a traveling medic so they were right for now.
"It's not too far sir." They were almost there just a little bit more walking till the reached the market.
*************
They reached a market place filled with stands that had different items, spices, herbs, poisons and trinkets.
Philip said one of them came from another country with something he hadn't seen before.
They moved together and William recognized that this place is wonderful for him and Philip.
"Ok here it is." Philip said pointing to a plant with large leaves and black petals.
William bent down to look at the plant, it could be possible that Philip hasn't seen the plant but it's not new.
"That isn't a new plant. I agree it rare but it's not new."
It grew at hard to reach places in the remote regions but he's known of it's existence and so do others. He expects Philip to know these things too.
"Oh I guess I forgot some things sir." Philip said rubbing his hand behind his head in a mediocre display of forgetfulness.
William had a straight face most times but this time he smiled slightly.
He breathed in the air of the mixed smells. This section was filled with different plants.
"I missed outside." He exclaimed.
Philip looked over to William he smiled seeing the young prince look so relaxed compared to inside the castle.
"I want to pick some herbs do you mind coming?" Philip brought a basket with him.
"Yes that would be nice." William agreed.
They got enough things there and even actually found a plant Philip didn't know because it came from somewhere only William has been to.
It was a plant with purple leaves and tiny white tear drop fruits hanging. It wasn't large and could fit in his palm.
It was something medicinal but still had dangerous properties if used the wrong way. The leaves and anything else were okay but the fruits were dangerous. Not enough to kill but what if he added something else.
This plant may actually be what William needs the ones in the castle weren't as plenty or diverse so it's good they came.
William paid the stand owner and placed it in the basket.
*********
It was noon they had been picking and buying plants when William felt something not right.
They may be being watched.
"Philip ........ We need to go." William said tugging Philip closer and whispering in his ear, his tone was serious.
"Why sir?" Philip asked confused. He heart did sort of quicken at William's sudden change in mood.
"We're in trouble." He answered quickly paying for the herb Philip was eyeing.
"Al........ Alright sir." Philip collected the herb and went with William as he turned to the exit.
********
Who ever was following them was quite persistent. He tried to go from one corner to the other until he reached a dead end.
They were led here.
William turned but it was too late.
A few figures came from different directions. It was about three people and they were armed.
"Be careful and stay still." William instructed moving towards them and pushing Philip back.
He's been receiving combat training since he was younger and so has his sister. He could probably take care of himself.
"Sir." Philip said behind him. Sounding worried and afraid.
"Don't worry." William reassured the boy. But he didn't take his eyes off the people Infront of them.
Until he heard a painful hiss from Philip then he turned to find a fourth person with a knife to Philips neck and it was drawing blood.
"Stop or else." The figure said pressing a little bit too much into Philips neck.
"I'm sorry sir." Philip said voice shaky, fear growing as a few tears fell from his face.
William pulled his hands up in surrender and the front figures moved closer to him.
"It's fine." He said as one of them pulled his hands together to restrain them behind his back.
"What is the Emperor planing?" The one holding a knife to Philips neck demanded.
"We don't Know." William shouted back.
"This is the chief herbalist isn't it?" The person said wringing Philip's hand a little to harshly.
"He knows nothing." William growled. He was the one who they may have been looking for.
"He's in charge." The man shouted he was getting impatient with them.
"Let's go." He instructed the other figures behind William.
With that William broke free from them and tried to save Philip.
Then he felt a blow at the back of his head, his eyes widened then they rolled back as his legs gave out and the world went dark.
**********
"Sir!!!" Philip shouted when the attacker behind drew out a staff behind the prince and hit him over the head.
Philip's eyes widened at the sight of the prince falling to the ground. His eyes were closed and he didn't move.
He began to struggle against the man behind him but he was much bigger and stronger than him so that was futile.
His tears fell out. He shouldn't have brought the prince outside. This is all his fault. He just wanted the prince to wake up now.
After a few moments of struggling the man behind him fell to the floor. Philip looked behind to see a soldier of the castle. He heard the other men in front of him fall to the floor. More gaurds appeared where the prince was.
They were more gaurds than attackers they took the attackers away and restrained them.
Philip immediately ran to the Prince on the floor. There was a little blood staining the prince's white hair.
One of the bigger gaurds came and picked the prince up and led him to a carriage. He still hadn't opened his eyes. In the Carriage Philip tore a piece of his clothing and wrapped it around the Prince's head.
When they arrived at the castle a Doctor immediately began to work on the Prince's wound after he was done the Prince was taken to his room.
Now all Philip could do was wait for him to wake up. The guilte grew each moment the Prince did not wake up.
*********
"Why did you let this happen!What if they died!" Elenore shouted
Elenore had come back from her business to learn about the attack.
Luckily her gaurds worked quickly.
Still she was furious. She called in the people she put in charge of the gaurds.
"Sorry Emperor." One of them said. She was female guard who interrogated the attacker.
"Just tell me what you found out." Elenore sighed as she sat back down. There was no use anymore her brother was okay and so was Philip.
"The attackers may have come from them but they seem to know nothing." The same guard said again.
"It seems they were just trying to find things out and may know nothing." Another guard spoke up he was in charge of doing additional investigation on the attackers. "They were here to find things out based on rumors."
Elenore tightened her fist this recklessness is why she needed to do this. Someone with this little patience shouldn't have so much power.
"That's at least good news. It means they are suspicious but don't know anything. I'll have do something about them soon " Elenore sighed.
It seems they are seeing her as a threat, were did they get that from? She has to keep up her non threatening front.
"We'll double the gaurds Emperor." One of them reassured Elenore.
"Also find another place this one isn't safe anymore." Elenore instructed her assistant beside her.
"I'll start right away." He replied walking out of the room.
"You may leave." She ushered the people she called out of her office.
Now she can go check on her brother.
*********
When she got there he hadn't woken up yet and was laying on his bed, a bandage rapped around his head with Philip at his side.
When Philip saw the Emperor he bowed and apologized. He looked like he was crying before and began to cry again when he saw her.
She told him it was fine it wasn't his fault she should have been more alert of the dangers. But she thought they would never do this.
They both waited for him to wake up each of them on either side of the bed.
*********
It was about evening the sun had gone down a while ago.
When William's eyes cracked open slightly.
His head hurt terribly like he had a drummer hit it repeatedly. Then he remembered what happened earlier.
"Phillip!!!!" He screamed as he jolted up from his bed. He regretted that as his head pounded even more.
" William." Elenore said relieved at seeing her brother wake up. She pulled closer and embrace him.
"I'm sorry. I was so worried." She squeezed him a bit more. She never wanted to let him go.
Before he could process anymore Philip walked in.
"Sir!"Philip said walking in with a tray of medicine. He already looked like he was already crying his eyes out and then he began to cry again.
He smiled and hugged his sister back. " It's okay. I'm okay now."
Elenore let go of her brother and instructed him to lay back down.
"Philip.......are you alright." He said turning to the boy who seemed to have calmed down now.
"Yes sir. How are you feeling?"
"My head hurts." William said touching it as it flared a bit. It's good they didn't touch Philip.
"I'm sorry about what happened sir." Philip said lowering his gaze and bowing his head.
"It wasn't your fault it's fine." William reassured.
Elenore and Philip tended to William all night. Not letting him do a thing on his own.
Elenore even fed him his food and Philip changed his bandages later.
After he had his meal. Philip gave him something for the pounding in his head.
Elenore and Philip didn't leave even as the medicine made him drowsy. They only left after he slept.
***********
After few days Elenore came to check on him she found him waiting for her in his room.
"Eleanor I have questions." William announced. What happened to them really made him want to know what she is really doing.
@smellofsnoww @irathgo @luna-rein
#whump#whump community#collapse#whumpee#passed out#caretaker#fainting#head injury#knocked out whumpee#knocked out#ambushed#failed kidnaping#my ocs#my writing#head wound#protective whumpee#defiant whumpee#manhandling
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Hihi may i have a demon slayer matchup please?
Name: Mika
Sexuality: Bisexual with a female lean
Hobbies: Sports, writing, art, cooking
Likes: Animals, children, soft things, geography, travelling
Dislikes: The dark, crowded places, loud sounds
Humans/demons: Uhhhh probably humans but i dont mind demons!
Do you like PDA: Im shy and get flustered easy but i dont h a te pda
Extras: Uhhhhh I have a pet dog? And im extremely tall- ? And as mentioned quite shy-?
Note(s): I must say that dogs are pretty close to my heart even though I'm a cat owner myself! I really hope that you like this matchup! <3
I match you up with...
Mitsuri Kanroji!
» One of the reasons for this (quite fast) decision is that Mitsuri is energetic, and she would definitely love to play sports with you! We also know how much she loves food, so cooking with you or tasting the foods you've made is something that she'll enjoy as well!
» Another significant reason for this decision is that you love children. I'd like to headcanon Mitsuri as one of those girls who will get baby fever every time she gets to see a baby or a child, so you liking (and possibly even wanting) kids is a big bonus in her books!
» Of course, she totally understands you if you don't want any kids, but luckily you two can always coo and smile when you see children going around in the nearby playground, and you two would also probably talk a lot of how you two would raise a child together.
» Another thing that you two love to do is to walk around the streets and just look around. It's nice to see different places and learn new things as you travel, so it doesn't really come out as a surprise that you two go everywhere together.
» Small bonus regarding the previous headcanon: If we're talking about modern au here, Mitsuri can and will buy that map thing where you can scratch off every country that you've traveled to, and she's going to make sure that you visit every country that there is.
» Also, another thing to note! You didn't specify your height, so I can't make 100% accurate headcanon regarding that, but be ready to lean down all the time if you're taller than Mitsuri! She loves to kiss you, and she's probably addicted to your kisses!
#mitsuri kanroji#mitsuri kanjori#kny mitsuri#mitsuri x reader#kny#kimetsu no yaiba#demon slayer#pillars#kny matchup#sero writes
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