#he loves his dad through amnesia and death and all of it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

doodling-doodle · 8 months

Note

Hey

: )

Do the most angty angst you can muster

Oh Kings

is this a threat or a challenge to make you cry?

Well, ask and you shall receive.

(WARNINGS: Severe injury, coma, medical inaccuracies, amnesia, graphic death/murder, disassociation, breakdowns, mental health struggles)

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

"Price! Come on, stay with me!" Kyle yelled as his eyes rolled back, his grip going lax.

"We need medivac, now!"

They had to wait almost thirty minutes for the evac, and both Kyle and Soap were covered in blood. The medics struggled to get Price stable while they flew back to base. It felt a lot longer. It was all just a blur now.

Soap was changing out of the blood soaked clothes, but Kyle was sitting in the hospital room with Price, hoping he would wake up from surgery. He was shot in the lung, lower abdomen, and shoulder.

The doctors said that it didn't look good.

He just felt... numb right now. Completely numb. Alex was on his way from a mission with Graves, who was probably freaking out right now.

He waited there for three hours, and Ghost, Soap, Laswell, Alex, Farah, and Graves all got there.

Graves was laying next to Price, curling up and holding onto him as if John would hold him back.

Laswell was on the other side of the bed, holding his hand while sobbing quietly.

Ghost was standing behind soap, who was just looking at him blankly.

Farah was sitting next to Alex, whispering something in Arabic while crying.

Alex was holding onto Kyle, tearing up while Kyle just leaned on him, still covered in blood, blankly staring into the distance.

No one spoke. They were just waiting for him to wake up...

Which he did.

"Johnny?!" Graves yelled when he felt him shift, sitting up, "Bear?!"

John held onto his arm, looking around the room, smiling at all of them, and Laswell let Kyle go in front of her to speak to him while Graves cuddled into John, resting his head on his chest.

"Dad...?" Kyle asked quietly, holding his arm.

John smiled up at him, but he shakily pointed to his clothes on the floor, to his jacket.

Kyle picked it up, "What is it?" He asked, looking back at John.

He tried to reach out to him, but...

His hand dropped, eyes rolled back, and the heartbeat monitor flatlined.

Phil, who was still laying on John's chest, head against his heart, screamed, and Ghost quickly pulled him away from John's body, and they all left the room as the nurses ran in.

Alex pulled Kyle to the waiting area, sitting him down while he clutched the jacket in his arms, face blank, while they heard Phil screaming and crying about how he needed to be with John, how he needed to go back, telling Ghost to let go of him.

They just sat there, and Kyle eventually started going through the jacket pockets, finding envelopes, all with names: Simon, Johnny, Kate, Philip, Alex, Farah, and Kyle.

He put the others down, and he opened his, seeing in big letters, "Do not open unless Johnathon Price is missing, dead, or dying."

He shakily opened it, still just feeling numb about it.

"Kyle Garrick,

I am so proud of you. More than you know. Ever since Piccadilly, I knew you were special. But that you needed someone to help you. And I hope that I've done that.

The day you called me 'dad' was one of the best days of my life. And I guarantee that Pops is the same, and the same for Mum. But I love you like my son. You will always be my son.

You brought so much light into my life. A bubbly, bright light of joy was brought into my life.

I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry that this happened. I know that it will not be easy. But know that I will always be here. Even if I'm dead, I will always be here for you.

You're the captain now. I know you are so young, but I trust you to keep the team going, and make it work.

Just stop Makarov for me. Stop him and Sheperd for me. And make sure that they will never come back.

I love you.

-Dad"

He felt a tear roll down his face, onto the letter, and Alex held his hand while he put his own letter away.

"You should know that he threatened me if I didn't take care of you." Alex said, which made him chuckle slightly, but he just looked at the ground, and he picked up the jacket again, feeling his dog tags in his pocket.

He heard someone walk up to them, and then the others, along with Phil's sobbing, and his arms around him.

"What's going on?" Farah asked.

"We stabilized him. however, we had to place him in a coma. We don't know when he'll wake up."

He couldn't hear it anymore. he tuned everything out, and the next thing he knew, he was back in front of John, Phil back cuddling with him...

He was going to get his revenge. He would make Price proud. He would do it. He may not be a proper captain, but he was now.

He looked at the dog tags in his hand, and he slipped the Tags off the chain, and took his own chain to slip them on, along with several other tags of dead friends.

He was getting revenge. Dad wanted him to get revenge.

He would do it by himself.

That night, he went out to the helipads, with only a suppressed shotgun, pistol, and knifes. The chopper had even more. It was Nikolai's, after all.

He was dressed in full black. Jeans, shirt, hat, gloves, mask and tac gear. He wouldn't likely be easy to see.

He got in the chopper, and sat in the pilots seat, sighing slightly. It was Nikolai's stealth bird. He knew how to fly it, but he was worried that he'd be caught.

But he doubted it.

He quickly got set up and got off the ground, flying to where the Konni base was. Where his Dad was shot.

It took a few hours, but he saw it. He saw very few lights on.

He didn't know how long it would take. But everyone there would die. And he would find Makarov.

He landed on a helipad by the water, and he walked the rest of the way to the base, where he could get in through the secret bunker door and kill off most of the people in it.

He snuck in, immediately seeing two guards at the door and shooting them both in the chest, where Dad was shot.

He stood as they fell, trying to reach for their radios as their lungs filled with blood quickly.

"Fuck off." He said quietly, finishing them off by slitting their throats.

He slowly moved out of the room, moving down the hall, going through another door to a security room. Perfect.

He pulled out the shotgun, closing the door before shooting all three people, making sure all of them were dead with a shot to the head.

He checked the cameras, seeing at least twenty in the halls and another security room across this level of the base.

"Alright, then." He said, picking up one of the rifles from a dead guard, and putting a suppressor on it.

He quickly turned off all the camera's before leaving the room, setting it on fire before closing the door.

He found someone alone in the hall, and he stabbed him in the back, where Price was shot from the front, then slitting his throat.

"Fuck you." He whispered as he moved on, going to a bigger area, where there were five. It hurt, but he had to make this one quick.

He took out the rifle, and quickly shot them all in the head, moving on and stepping over the bodies.

There were three more people in the next room, and he slit one's throat, and shot the other two in the head.

"Lights out."

He got to the security room, seeing for more people, and shot them all in the head before going to check the cameras. More on the other side of the hall.

He turned the camera's off, and he went over to shoot them all in the head.

"Never fuck with me." He said, going to the next level of the base.

There were three people in that room, and he shot all three in the neck with his pistol before stabbing them all in the chest.

"Sleep."

He moved to the next room, seeing another five people. He took his rifle, shooting all of them before they noticed him. He shot them all in the head again to make sure.

"Fuck. You."

There were ten in the briefing room. And he took a stun grenade from a dead body to toss it in the room to clear it out without anyone shooting back.

"Go to hell." He took all the intel in that room. "All of you."

He went to what looked like a common room, and he killed all ten in the room while they weren't even armed. They didn't have time to scream. He shot all of them in the head before leaving.

"Don't wake up."

He found the security room, and killed the one person in there before checking the cameras. One more. One more floor that was the least protected.

"Perfect."

He went to the upper level, and he killed the four that were in the first room. In the stomach, then the lungs, then the head.

"None of you deserve to live."

He moved on, seeing empty halls as he dragged blood through them. He felt most of the drops on his face drying, his mask and gloves soaking through to his skin.

There were three more in the briefing room there, and he took his shotgun to kill them all. Gone in seconds.

"Almost."

He went to the last security room, and killed two and kept the last alive. He tied him up, shooting him in the knee.

"Where's Makarov?" He asked calmly.

"Ah, back for revenge, eh? What happened to your little capt-"

He shot him again, hearing him scream. His face was blank.

"Where. Is. Makarov?"

"Why should I-"

Another shot to the other leg.

"Where. Is. Makarov?"

"You-"

Another shot.

"Tell. Me. Where. Makarov. Is."

"It- He's in his base in Moscow."

"Thank you." He took out a piece of paper and a pen, "Location. Now."

He wrote down the coordinates, which Kyle took and looked over before putting it in his pocket.

He slit his throat before walking out.

It was the dead of night when he got there...

It was sunset now.

it felt like no time had passed. But he had been there to kill everyone for at least thirteen hours.

But there were more.

And he was done.

He just went through the catwalks and balconies, and he just killed all of them. Blood. Nothing but blood and bodies were around.

He had stabbed so many of them, he didn't know if some was his blood or not.

He saw a Chopper in the distance.

But he stayed on the mission. He killed the rest, and he heard yelling in the distance.

Everyone looked the same. Faceless.

And he found another.

"Kyle, Stop!"

He barely turned at the voice, and he felt someone taking his guns from him, and he wrestled with them for it back.

"You all can just GO TO HELL-!"

"Kyle, it's me!"

He opened his eyes, and he saw the face of a terrified Alex taking his gun and holding his face.

He felt him wipe the blood away, holding him against his chest, rocking him gently.

"Kyle, its me... it's Alex, okay? I'm here, honey... I'm here."

He felt the numbness slightly melt into confusion, fully feeling the blood caked on his face and clothes.

"How did you find me?" He asked quietly, now registering another emotion for the first time in almost 48 hours. Sadness. Up until then, all he had been feeling was panic, anger, confusion, and complete numbess.

"You have a tracker in your radio." Laswell said as she walked up, "we pinpointed it."

He was still pressed against Alex's chest, eyes filling with tears.

"You scared us all, brother." Farah said as she walked up, "why did you do this?"

"Dad wanted me to stop Makarov."

"Kyle-"

"I have his location. I'll put together a briefing and we'll all go this time but I am killing Makarov alone."

"You can't make that call." Laswell said.

"I am the captain now. Dad made me the captain. I am in charge. Whether you like it or not. I am making sure we stop them..."

He didn't know how he kept his voice from wavering, still being rocked back and forth by Alex.

Laswell sighed, looking away and shaking her head, "Fine." She said, "Get back to the heli, Nik is taking the other one back."

Alex held onto him as they walked to the chopper, seeing that he was fully numb, eyes glazed over, and face blank.

He gently rocked Kyle as they flew back to base, hoping to keep him calm, to get him out of his daze.

Once they got back, Phil jumped towards Kyle holding him tight.

"You scared me to death! Kyle, why would you do this?!"

"Dad wanted me to get revenge..."

"You should've gotten someone to go with you, you could've died! I can't lose you and John, Kyle...! I can't..."

he didn't respond. The next thing he knew, he was back in his and Alex's room, and Alex was getting the blood off of him.

He didn't know what to do now. It finally clicked that he was probably going to lose his dad. He might lose his Pops with it, and his mother...

It was Makarov's fault.

It was his fault...

It wasn't him, he didn't pull the trigger...

But what if he got there faster? What if he took the bullet instead?

Maybe that would've been a better outcome...

"It's been a long time, Kyle." Alex said, kneeling in front of him, unlacing his boots and gently pulling them off, "have you eaten? Or slept?"

He shook his head.

Alex nodded, getting him changed into something more comfortable, and kissing his forehead, "I'm going to go to the mess, get you something to eat. Then your going to get some sleep, okay?"

He nodded.

"Okay." Alex kissed him again, walking out to quickly go to the mess hall.

He wanted Dad.

He finally felt tears welling up, along with sobs, and he just broke down.

Everything had been boiling up for the past 30-something hours, and it all just came out at once...

He wailed. He wailed so hard and couldn't stop, holding his face in his hands.

Alex ran back in shortly after, and held his head against his shoulder, rocking him gently while he waited for Kyle to calm down.

"Let it all out. It's okay, darling." Alex whispered, also tearing up.

"Why?! This isn't fucking fair! It shouldn't have been him!" He wailed, clawing at Alex's back.

He calmed down after fifteen minutes, now just sobbing in Alex's shirt.

"He's strong, baby." Alex said, tears in his eyes, "He'll pull through."

He nodded, pulling back slightly and looking down while Alex grabbed the food and laid them down. The tears never stopped, but he calmed down a little, Alex gently bringing the food to his mouth, letting him eat at his own pace.

"Alright, sit up for a minute." Alex said, and Kyle nodded, sitting up as Alex grabbed the tea, giving it to him and letting him drink it slowly.

Kyle gave the empty mug back, and Alex set it on the side table before laying them down.

"Sleep, darling." Alex whispered, "We'll figure out what to do later."

One week later...

They had tracked down Makarov. Got to the safehouse. He wasn't alone this time.

It was a blur. He didn't remember much of this night. He would probably never remember it.

But he would remember seeing Makarov on the glass roof. He, Ghost, and Alex were up there, about to kill him and make it hurt.

And then there was... something. An explosion, probably.

He was knocked to the ground, looking around and trying to find the others.

He heard footsteps, and he looked up to see an injured Makarov, holding his side and holding out a pistol.

It only registered what was happening two seconds later, hearing him say something.

"Goodbye, Sergeant Garrick."

He heard Alex scream.

"NO!!"

He heard the gun go off, and Ghost trying to wrestle the gun out of Makarov's hands.

No.

This was his time. His turn.

He was killing him.

he quickly stood, punching Makarov and tackling him to the ground.

He grabbed... something. He didn't know what it really was at first, but his mind was on auto-pilot. It was cable.

He wrapped it around Makarov's neck, seeing him struggle but not able to fight too hard.

"Kyle, what are you doing?!" He heard Ghost yell.

He slammed Makarov against the glass. It cracked.

He did it again. It cracked more.

He did it again. It shattered.

They both fell through the roof, Kyle falling on a catwalk, groaning as he sat up.

He watched as Makarov swung from the cable, trying to reach his neck and untie himself.

He stopped moving.

He heard Alex over comms, yelling about how they were coming down.

He just...

He wasn't satisfied. Makarov didn't actually die by his hands. He died because of a cable.

It wasn't enough.

He stood, shooting the cable until it snapped, seeing him fall to the ground, and he went down to him, drawing his knife.

He just started gutting Makarov. He gutted him like a dead fucking fish, stabbed him in the throat, stabbed him in the head, gouged his eyes out, nearly snapped his spine, nearly snapped his leg off, and an arm.

He was breathing heavily. He looked at what he had done...

And he smiled.

He fucking smiled.

"This is what you deserve." He whispered, kneeling back down over his body.

He looked back over his work, and he took the dog tags that hung around his neck.

"This is my reward for my suffering. The end for you."

He stood, seeing a jug of gasoline, and he took it, dumping all of it on Makarov.

"Gori v adu, kusok der'ma." He said before throwing his lighter on Makarov's dead body.

He watched as it went up in flames, smiling softly.

"Kyle!"

He turned at Alex's voice, seeing them run up.

And then he felt all the emotions come back. Panic, sadness, fear...

Alex wrapped him up in his arms, quickly walking away and whispering to him, hearing Ghost say something into his radio, Laswell on the other side.

Next thing he knew, he was on a chopper, still holding the dog tags.

He must've passed out, because then he was in his and Alex's room, Alex taking his blood-soaked gear off, and taking the dog tags.

"Let's get you cleaned up." Alex said softly, pulling him off the bed.

He pulled him into a warm bath, and he saw blood immediately fill the water, Alex gently washing his hair off, saying something to him, though he didn't hear it.

"Kyle?"

He blinked, glancing over at Alex, who was washing his arm off.

"What happened?"

He looked down, eyes filling with tears, finally, as he spoke.

"I... I didn't like how he died..." He said, "I decided he needed to suffer more. I gutted him. Took the tags..."

Alex nodded, gently washing his face off, "he was already dead though, right?"

He nodded.

"Did you set him on fire?"

He nodded again.

"Was there anyone else there that you killed?"

He shook his head.

"Just Makarov?"

He nodded.

"Why did you take the Dog Tags?"

He looked down, feeling Alex start to dry him off.

"My trophy."

Alex nodded, draining the water and pulling him out to dry him off easier, "Then hang it. I'll get a frame."

He smiled softly, taking the robe Alex offered him, "I was just going to hang it with a knife."

"That works." Alex said, smiling softly and pulling him up, "Let's get you dressed and in bed."

"Can we see Dad first?"

Alex sighed quietly, but nodded, "Alright." He said, pulling Kyle with him gently to get him dressed.

They went to Price's hospital room, seeing Phil still asleep on the bed, clutching John's left hand, his engagement ring.

John had proposed a few months ago. They were happily planning their wedding, Phil had wanted it in July, by a beach...

Now this.

"Pops?"

He turned to look, and he smiled softly, gesturing for Kyle to come closer, and he did, Phil sitting up to hold him.

"Kyle... Bud, your strong, you know that, right?"

He nodded.

"You'll get through this." Phil said, "He'll wake up. Don't worry."

But he would. And He could hear the barely hidden fear in his voice.

"What about you, Alex?" Phil asked, looking up at him, "How are you holding up?"

"About as well as everyone else." He replied, sitting on the bed, holding Kyle's hand, seeing his own engagement ring. They wanted to get married on Christmas. John was supposed to walk Kyle down the aisle...

"I think it will work out." Phil said, "He'll wake up soon. We can get Shepherd. And it'll all be okay."

Kyle hoped so.

Three months later...

They had tracked down Shepherd. They could kill him easily.

John was still asleep. He had been transferred to a nearby care center, giving him better around-the-clock care, but they could still easily see him. Which Phil and Laswell did every day.

But none of them were doing much better. In fact, most of them had gotten worse.

Kyle lost that bubbly, bright light. Now, it was a dull shine at most, wearing darker clothes, following Ghost's method of not wanting to be seen, and wearing masks to cover the lower half of his face. They had barely seen his face since Price was placed in a coma. Alex and Phil saw it the most.

Kyle had officially been promoted to Lieutenant, allowing him to officially make decisions for the 141.

He had been allowed to use Price's office, which he didn't change at all, other than adding a heater and Makarov's dog tags.

Alex had been promoted with him, Soap and Ghost declined the promotions, because Ghost didn't want to risk Kyle being knocked back behind him.

And now they could get Shepherd. Graves sent in a few Shadows to get Shepherd in a transport, would knock him out, and then bring him to the base.

They were already on the way back with him after slipping his drink.

Phil was going to help him interrogate and kill him.

Kyle smiled as he saw the chopper land, the Shadows dragging Shepherd out to an interrogation.

"You ready?" Phil asked.

"Of course." He responded, going up next to Shepherd.

He woke him up, slamming his head on the table.

It was a blur from there, but, apparently, Phil got everything they needed out of Shepherd. Where he was, safehouse locations, intel...

Now they could kill him. And he wasn't making the mistake he did with Makarov.

"Step out, Commander." He said. He didn't want Shepherd to make Phil feel even more vulnerable by calling him "pops"

"Lieutenant, no-"

"You don't want to see what I am about to do."

Phil sighed, nodding and walking out. But he decided to watch through the window.

He took out his knife, stabbing Shepherd in the ribs, hearing a scream that turned to a wheeze when he stabbed higher, his lungs filling with his own blood.

He then stabbed his stomach, watching the blood pool on the floor. he stabbed him in the neck.

He watched as he writhed in pain. He watched as the blood stopped flowing out.

He was dead.

Kyle wiped the blood off his knife, walked out and saw Phil and a Shadow.

"Burn the body."

"Yes, sir." The Shadow replied, walking in the room to drag the body away in a bag.

He walked out, going to his room to wash all the blood off of himself. Alex was helping Laswell finalize mission reports, but, he knew that, if he was there, he'd be helping and telling him that he did the right thing.

He was either always crying or showing no emotion. Alex was begging him to talk to a therapist, or at least him. At this point, he was considering it.

He just... didn't know what to do. His dad was dying. He felt lost...

He sighed as he got out of the shower, dried off and got dressed. He texted Alex before leaving.

"I'm going to see Dad. Can you come once your done with Mum?"

"Of course."

"Thank you."

He walked to the care center, went to Price's room, sat next to him, and took off his mask.

"Shepherd's gone, Dad." He said, "You can wake up now. Makarov and Shepherd are gone. I'm Lieutenant now... Please? Wake up?... Pops is still wearing his ring. I still want you to walk me down the aisle... Please?"

He just sat there.

Phil walked in after a while. He immediately laid on John's chest, snuggling close to him, wrapping his arm around himself.

Alex walked in after that, holding onto Kyle as he sat down, "Any progress?" He asked, and Phil shook his head.

"Shepherd's dead." Kyle mumbled.

"Good." Alex replied, nodding, "Now what?"

"We wait for what's next." Phil said.

One year later...

Things had been... okay... kind of.

Most of them had started therapy, Kyle and Phil were on Anti-depressants, heavier then Soap and Alex were taking.

Laswell had been on leave for a while.

Kyle and Alex were close to being promoted to Captians. It was surreal to them.

John was still asleep.

Phil was lost, he was still wearing his ring and he was still slowly planning the wedding for the day John woke up.

Kyle had asked Alex to postpone the wedding, which he agreed to. They still wanted John to walk him down the aisle. They would want for the day.

Soap was still struggling with himself, he watched as John was downed and could do nothing, he watched as he passed out and was with Ghost as he dragged Phil out of that hospital room, he had to help hold him down as he screamed at them To let him go back to John.

Ghost was... he would never admit it, but he was struggling so much. He would sometimes lay on John and sob. He would be in his office, crying while he held Soap. He was suffering just as much...

Missions had been slow. They hadn't had much trouble with Makarov anymore. Now that he was killed- and so brutally, for that matter- they were not hearing a single thing anymore.

Kyle had been in charge of whatever they were doing. He has only done something like this a few times before, and not as long. But Phil said he was doing amazing.

He was hoping John would wake up soon, though.

He had gotten him a Christmas gift last year. He left it in his room at the center to unwrap when he woke up. But he didn't.

He left a birthday present for him. He took the time to date it that time, and dated the Christmas present.

He left a Father's Day gift. He dated that one too.

It was already Christmas again.

At the end of the day, They all went to his room with gifts, spending a good few hours with him, all of them leaving the gifts, though Phil spent the night, smiling at John's heartbeat.

"The kids miss you, bear..." he whispered, "You need to wake up... Kyle really needs you... But he is doing great. But I don't think he wants to be a Captain yet..."

He curled up under the blankets, feeling John's warmth on his body.

"I love you, bear. I can't wait to get married to you."

Six months later...

They had found Valeria.

Kyle had been promoted to captain, and Alex was with him throughout it all. Was promoted with him.

and now, they were keeping Valeria in a cell before putting her in jail for her charges.

"Well, I guess a few years changes a lot of things, eh?" She asked once she heard Kyle's new rank.

"It's not relevant." He replied as he sat down.

"I've already given you my intel, pleaded guilty, and signed away all my rights." She said, leaning forward, "It's not like your here for any more intel. I gave you everything I have. So why not chat about it?"

"You first. Why did you plead guilty and sign everything away?"

She shrugged, leaning back, "I have nothing to lose. No family left. I have no one to love. So, why should I fight? You have my cartel in your hands, Alejandro and Rodolfo are probably making arrests as we speak. I have nothing."

He nodded, pretty shocked at the reasoning.

"So why are you captain now?"

He went numb. It was the first time he was numb in quite some time. He started to get better... but now he was talking about it.

"Captain Price is in a coma. He has been for nearly two years. I was promoted to his rank." Was all he said.

"Oh... That... holy shit..."

"You can stew over that in prison." He said, standing, "You're leaving tomorrow. You know your sentence."

He left, seeing her fidget with her handcuffs and looking down.

He wondered if she really cared. About anything.

He wondered if she noticed how his voice was deeper. How he dressed. She couldn't have missed the mask...

But he didn't care much about her, so why the fuck should he care?

He just went back to his room to sleep.

He woke up screaming from another nightmare, Alex holding onto him and whispering to him that it was okay.

It was not. It never would be.

He had therapy that day. It helped a little. His meds helped a little more. Family helped a little more.

Good. he didn't feel numb.

Alex decided they should go out that night for dinner. A fancy restaurant, one of Kyle's favorite.

It made him feel happy for the first time in a while.

Six months later...

It had been two years since John went into a coma.

Every time that any specific date that involved John came around, the base was quiet. Somber.

All of them had barely been on leave. Both Kyle and Phil had spent a week each in a mental hospital. Kyle had a breakdown after a particularly hard day, and a visiting Major yelling at him for some stupid mistake. He said that it was his fault that John was in a coma.

Phil was with John, laying on him as he flatlined again. He ended up having a breakdown of his own from that.

Kyle screamed and cried in his room, throwing things around and breaking a few picture frames. He gave Alex a few bruises and cuts in the blind rage. Medics came to sedate Kyle and treat Alex's wounds. After an emergency therapy appointment and a Psych eval, Kyle was placed on psychiatric leave for a week in a mental hospital, barely managing to pass the follow-up and allowed back in the field.

Phil was fighting with a few nurses, then with Ghost to stop him from going back in the room.

John was revived. Still asleep.

Phil was crying and yelling, and he passed out. He was moved to the med bay on base before the mental hospital.

He spent the week there and was put on desk duty, not allowed to see John for two weeks. It helped and hurt. Because he was very dependent on seeing John to function.

Kyle was picked up by Alex, and he was crying nonstop, trying to apologize but the words were hard to form. Alex still had plasters and stitches. He just held onto Kyle while he sobbed, still saying "I'm sorry" over and over.

Alex was, admittedly, a little angry when it happened. more at the circumstances than Kyle, but, it was the reaction more than anything. He was scared. He had cleaned the room and replaced the picture frames, making sure Kyle came home to a clean room. He just sobbed more at that. It really made him realize what he did. But they talked about it, very calmly, and Alex promised that he'd help him find better ways to cope.

Ghost picked Phil up from the hospital, not really reacting when he apologized at least twenty times. He had already written an apology to the care center, which is when he found out we wouldn't be able to see John for a while. But Ghost just dropped him off at the base before driving off. He texted him so many times, begging for a response. Ghost only responded with a few things, but he did say that he didn't blame him. He was stuck doing a bunch of paperwork, though Kyle, Alex, and Laswell came to see him came to see him the most. Soap and Ghost came by some.

They both were doing a little better now. Kyle had been finding ways to calm down. Phil had been trying to not be as reliant on seeing John.

Kyle went to a rage room every once in a while. Alex often went with him, and every time, they'd actually start giggling together and make a game out of hitting targets.

But John was still asleep. And nothing was okay yet. Not truly okay, anyway.

But at least it was better.

Even just a little.

One year later...

Phil sighed as he laid on John's chest, stroking his cheek softly.

It had officially been three years since John fell into a coma. None of them truly felt okay.

Kyle had been taking so many pictures of missions, the team, and everything that had been going on... for when he woke up.

He and Alex were still Captain's and working on mission briefings. They were helping Ale and Rodolfo with dealing with the leftovers of Las Almas Cartels.

Ghost and Soap were there, about to come back.

Laswell had been helping Kyle and Alex through all the planning.

"Bear... Could you wake up? Please?" He whispered, shifting to lay on him more how he used to, and putting John's hand on his head...

He felt his hand grip his hair.

His eyes shot open, "John?!" He yelled, shifting to sit up and gently touching John's face.

His eyes fluttered open with a groan, and he said in a raspy voice, "Cr-Cricket?"

"Bear... Bear, it's me... Don't worry about talking right now... I'm getting the nurse." He jumped up, running out to the hall.

He texted Kyle, Laswell, and Ghost as he ran back in the room.

...

Kyle sighed as he finished up the stack of paperwork. Alex gently touched his shoulder as he stacked them back up, "Well, we got it done. What now?"

"I don't know..." Kyle said, hearing his phone go off, and he picked it up-

"He's awake."

Was the text from Phil.

"Kyle?" Alex asked, looking at the text and also freezing.

They both sat there for at least three minutes before Kyle stood, getting his stack of photos, and Alex went with him out of the room.

They ran to the care center, and Kyle sighed as he got to the door to the room.

"You go ahead, Kyle." Alex said, smiling, "I'll come in after you."

Kyle nodded, taking his mask off and knocking on the door.

"Come in." Phil said, and he slowly opened the door.

"Hey..." He said softly, smiling when he saw his dad sitting up in bed for the first time in three years, nurses around the bed while Phil laid on him.

John looked a little confused, choking out, "Who are you?"

No.

This wasn't happening.

This was a joke.

"It... It's me, Dad..." He said, "It's Kyle..."

"I never had kids."

Phil looked up at him, seeing the look in his eyes.

He watched as two years of progress in therapy was undone in seconds.

Kyle looked down, "I apologize, sir." He said quietly, gently placing the stack of pictures on the bed.

He looked back up at him, straightening up, glancing at Phil, who looked so worried.

"Goodbye."

A simple word he said a lot.

But it would be the last time he said it to him.

He walked out, softly closing the door, seeing Alex looking confused.

"Dad doesn't remember me."

Alex was shocked, but nodded softly, taking his hand, "Let's go." He said, "Let's talk about what to do."

They silently walked back to the base, and Alex sat Kyle down, getting him tea and snacks, holding him gently.

"So. What do we do?" Kyle asked.

Alex sighed, kneeling in front of him to hold his hands.

"As much as this hurts to say... It's the best idea, for your sake... to leave."

It didn't shock him. He knew as soon as he heard his Dad ask who he was, he knew he wouldn't be able to stay. This was the end.

The end of Captain Gaz Garrick of the 141. The end of Captain Alex Keller of the 141.

They had to leave.

He called his Pops from his room, Alex holding onto him.

"Kyle, are you okay?" He asked, clearly very worried.

"I'm fine... Alex and I are packing, we're going to transfer."

There was a long pause...

"Okay. But, please... Don't let us lose you completely."

"You won't. I'll still be in touch."

"Good... I'll help with the paperwork, we promote Ghost and let you go."

"Thank you."

They got their room packed in two days. The paperwork was done for Ghost to be in charge. He was now Captain Reily, and Soap was Lieutenant Mactavish.

They were at the helipad, Kyle wearing his mask as they said their goodbyes. Phil was sobbing in Ghost's arms as they left. He hoped he'd see his boy again soon...

Once they got to their new base, they were allowed to make their own new team. Thankfully, an old friend of Kyle's was also there, and they got her on their Task Force... Unofficially, for now, until they could actually make the Task Force.

They had to fill out paperwork for new dog tags and officially transferred to a new team. Names and callsigns.

Alexander "Alex" Keller.

Kyle "Specter" Garrick.

He couldn't be... "Gaz" anymore. He lost that long ago. Now, it would just remind him of what he couldn't have.

They decided to stop postponing the wedding. Kyle decided, really, and Alex agreed.

"It's not like Dad could walk me down the aisle now anyway. Pops can if he wants to. I just want us to get married now..."

Phil was happy to do it.

They finally were able to get married on Christmas that year. The 141 came... Price wasn't there. Kyle almost didn't care.

They were so happy... Kyle was genuinely smiling for the first time in a while. It was so perfect. Beautiful.

Kyle had to sign new paperwork now that his last name changed...

Kyle "Specter" Keller.

It felt much better. It further detached him from Price.

He would always call him Dad, he would always love him. But he would never want to see him again. Not willingly.

He felt like he lost three years of his life. He did everything for him... It wasn't John's fault. He knew it wasn't. But it still hurt. So much.

But this was life now. It wasn't what they wanted, but it was what they got stuck with.

The years went by rather quickly. The more Kyle blocked out the feelings about Price, the more he seemingly got better. But he wasn't. Therapy was fine, sometimes it helped.

He wanted to detach himself from him. But he wanted him in his life. He put up all the pictures he had of them together in his and Alex's house. He put a few in his office...

Alex was trying to help, but he was struggling just as much. he didn't want to leave the 141, but he knew it was the only thing they could do at that point.

Farah would still come to visit from Urzikstan. She'd try and help them, get them in town, out on a walk, or to a restaurant... Anything to get their minds off of work and Price... He remembered her. Not everything about her, but he remembered her.

They didn't hear much after they left. Not that they wanted to know, Price probably wasn't making great progress. Phil said that he was getting a few memories back. Not about them.

And by that time, it had been two years.

It had been five years since he lost his Dad.

And he doubted that he was going to get him back.

Ever.

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empressgeekt · 3 months

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Trolls - Amnesia-Rock-Prince!Branch in Arranged Marriage AU - Plot ideas that will probably never come to fruition

SO the full plot summery of this AU, is split among three different posts, underneath the same title and all tagged. But the basics of the AU is that Branch runs away from the troll tree, shortly after Grandma's death, and ends up in Rock troll territory with a TBI, that made him lose all memories of his life before with Thrash and Barb. After Branch grows up, now going by the name of Char, he's betrothed to the Queen of the Poppy trolls, and through their journey from romance to the alter, Char learns about his birth family, for better and for the worse.

It's better explained through the posts, Just do yourself a favor and read those first.

Link to where other posts can be found - https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/rock%20prince%21branch%20in%20an%20arranged%20marriage%20au

Now Let the Plot bunnies run wild.

Plot Bunny 1: Time Travel?

I love sci-fi plots, with time Travel being a saved tag on my AO3 account. So, it's not shocking that this little bunny was popping up in this fandom for me.

Basically, on the night of Branch's first show, Brozone is sucked out from behind stage before the show, and sent to the epilogue future of the RPBAM AU. Needless to say, everyone is shocked by their future selves (with bitty as the exception, he's just excited). JD is laid back. Bruce is a family man. Clay is a CPA. Floyd ends up as a music teacher and in a wheelchair. And Bitty, is burnt into Char and is a rock king. Not mention all the future kids, and Barb.

The fic would follow the younger brothers working though their issues early by bonding with their older counterparts. Eventually, they are returned to the moment they were zapped from, their memories whipped, and the time-line continues.

Plot Bunny 2: Blood Parents are alive.

it's pretty obvious that mother and father Brozone are out of the picture by the time Branch hatches. Most likely, killed by bergans, which I do suspect is the reason that John has trauma and stemming from that his perfectionism. In this they'd be loving parents, becasue I think it's sadder and I prefer healthy relationships. I'm thinking of the names, Tia, and Branch (I like to think that since, they were taken when Char was an egg it was up to John to name him, and well, he was a teenager who just lost his dad, probably wanted to give his baby brother a connection to them).

But that didn't mean they were eaten. Their boys were some of the most stubborn, dramatic trolls in the franchise, they wouldn't go down without a fight. Rosiepuff certainly didn't, you could hear her struggling the flashback. So, in this AU they would manage to escape from their cage and hide in the Bergen Castle walls. Looking for a way to escape, only to find and empty tree when they finally managed that. To punish themselves they returned to the castle, and lived in the walls for the next twenty years, only to be found by Bridget and Gristle while they were doing some remolding. They think they are going to get cooked, and no bergen can convince them other wise. So, they make a call to Pop village.

Clay is sent, because he has a history of explaining the Bergen situation the the rest of the puttputt when the moved so this is easy for him. Along with John Dory, because he has a ride. imagine the trolls shock when Bridget escorts them to surprise Family reunion. Tears are shed, and hugs are given, Clay and John get them up to speed on modern events. Before escorting them back onto Rhonda and back to the village. Their first stop is Floyd's house, and JD gets a letter out to Bruce.

The main plot would be about the parents re-connecting with their sons, and connecting with their youngest and grandkids (story takes place in epilogue). However it's diffcult with Char mourning the recent death of Thrash and just having his third child.

Plot Bunny 3: Dimension Travel

Once more another sci-fi plot I love.

Char gets sent to the canon timeline, before the first movie takes place. Don't really have much of plot for this one, this is just to make Char clash with Creek and call out Peppy on all his lies before he hands the crown to his daughter. And marvel at the bunker.

---

That's all I got at the moment, hope everyone enjoys. Update: Prewriting has begun and prolog/first chap are complete.

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puella-1n-somn10 · 3 months

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☀️What your favorite parent from the Sun and Moon anime says about you🌙

CW: SUGGESTIVE JOKES AHEAD. THIS IS ALL MADE IN THE SPIRIT OF FUN AND IS IN NO WAY THERE TO MAKE JABS AT OTHERS.

Kukui: There is a 70% chance that you are a gay man, and I mean this not out of a place of judgement, but experience with the fans. The cause tends to differ between his game and anime incarnations, but, in the latter's case, not only are you happy about his character being developed there, but also are happy to see Ash having that father figure he craved so badly.

Burnet: You've probably popped the BIGGEST bottles when you've recognized her all the way back from Dream Radar, and have managed to get even bigger bottles when she and Kukui got married. Honestly, most of the Burnet fans I saw were real chill people. So long as you're not one of those Gen 5 fans, I have no mean words. The chillest group.

Guzma: Oh, hello, LGBTQ+ community. Either that, or you relate to him and Team Skull on levels that may be deemed as unhealthy. You're a bit on the feral side; chaotic gremlins who will not only listen to whatever combination between Breakcore and Metal there is, but would also make it your neighbors' problem. You understand the pressure of having to succeed in life and inevitably breaking under it, only to receive no compassion nor any form of apology from your elders. Also, def neurodivergent.

Plumeria: Two possibilities; either you're definitely a lesbian and/or trans gal, or are a hardcore Guzmeria shipper- though, it is more than likely that you're both. You love a good ol' girlboss who is not necessarily a villain; someone who was hardened up by experience, but is still, at the day's end, a human. Either you were the one who needed protecting back in the day, or were that protector; either way, you, too, deserved better in life.

Lusamine: Just like Professor Kukui, the reason as to why she's your favorite depends HEAVILY on which Lusamine from which canon we're talking about. Maybe you like the overzealous Lusamine who is presented as a person with actual flaws that hurt everyone around her - including herself - without her knowledge. Maybe you like the prospect of a morally ambiguous Lusamine who is ready to do everything for "the greater good" even at the cost of hurting others, including her own family. Orrrrrrr maybe you have had a parent like Lusamine in the Sun/Moon games, a classic narcissistic parent, and want to hold out to the hopes that, just like her, your own folks would see the error of their ways; that they would actually apologize to you and finally start improving on themselves rather than drag everyone else around them through the mud of their own misery.

Mohn: There is a high chance that you just want the family back together; you reminisce on the old days where they were complete, before they incident with the ultra wormhole, before Lusamine inevitably lost her marbles, but such is the way of life, right? The ultra games were your golden era, and his anime debut? Let's just say that your wishes FINALLY came true after so long. You love fix-fics and those surrounding the pain of amnesia a bit too much.

Abe/Mallow's dad: Him being a hunk - a himbo - aside, the trauma, the potential, the raw emotion; all there as garnishes for this fine steak of a man and you love each and every one of them. His incompetence and portrayal as a neglectful parent in Mallow and the Forest Teacher forever gives you the ick, but you either tend to ignore it or use that as another source of angst potential.

Mallow mom: I just know your ass is either suffering from trauma, sudden loss, anxiety, fear of death, or a combination of the above. Yes, you wish she could have been developed a little more, but at least we got a huge chunk of her personality and even development in one episode, which is nothing short of impressive. Also, you like hurt/comfort fics.

Sima/Kiawe's mom: You're right.

Rango/Kiawe's dad: Autism rep? In MY Pokémon anime?! Sorry, but it is so frustrating to see that ya'll are few and far between - just as shy and anxious as your husbando -, but I know you guys exist! Please, let yourselves be known! I would kill just to see some more content regarding him! Also, I just know you love meganes, and, of course, there's nothing wrong with that.

Sophocles' dad: Traumatized. You probably crave the very affection he's giving his wife and kid, and seeing an honest, brash, funny man like him who isn't an abusive rat gave you whiplash initially, but eventually you wanted more. Crafting and/or gardening lover, and maybe a lore fanatic as well because how the FUCK do you know about all the things he's done for Sophocles' happiness from scattered dialogue alone? Also, like Kukui fans, there's a high chance you're neither straight nor cis.

Sophocles' mom: Also traumatized. Maybe a little bit on the autism spectrum, too. Back when the anime first aired, you were scared that maybe the dynamic between and her hubby was imbalanced, until later episodes began to showcase that she is more in charge than he is. You're probably a quiet person irl who is hiding nothing but the most chaotic of thoughts. You wanna try the malasadas she makes at least once.

Lana's mom: I'm saying this right now; if you are well over the age of 20, you are not seeing the pearly gates after the Day of Resurrection.

Lana's dad: Nothing but respect. A man with a design that irradiates potential having less dialogue than Sophocles' mother is infuriating, and the lack of content being made around him by both canon and the fans is even worse, but you don't let that bother you. Either you're the less degenerate version of the fans of his wife, or just like him because he looks way too much like Archie for it to be a coincidence.

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lolotheparagon · 3 months

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🔥 Hottest and ugliest/most bland MC and LI. Also favorite and least favorite otome game artwork.

Hottest MC

This is difficult cos the majority of MCs in Otome games who are adult women are so infantilised and spineless that it feels ewwy to find them attractive. One thing I hate is women being infantilised, cos it’s an actual trigger for me.

Either Seraphina from Peachleaf Valley or Teuta from Bustafellow since they are and act like actual adults, despite the weird artistic elements anime usually gives them. They’re funny, witty, sweet but know when to put their foot down and have a lot more agency than your usual garbage dating sim protagonist.

I would also say Kotone cos she is both a successful cafe owner and landlord but the way the story treats her and how the men are towards her, she honestly deserves a better game (with LIs who aren’t pedos or old enough to be her dad). She’s a wonderful character but I find her more cute than attractive.

I love Lynette though. Her design is so pretty and I love the more flashy 80s glam businesswoman look to her. She would fit right in with Jem and the Holograms. But again, she deserves a better game and a personality upgrade cos FOR FUCKS SAKE WHY IS THE MATCHMAKING GODDESS OF LOVE A CLUELESS INGENUE. SHE’S CUPID SHE SHOULD BE ABLE TO READ MEN LIKE A 4 PAGE PICTURE BOOK

Blandest MC

This is like counting every grain of sand on a beach, cos of the genre we’re in. THERE’S SO FUCKING MANY.

My top 3 would be:

The MC from Amnesia Memories, who I’m gonna call Maria, is the biggest offender. While Cardia and Ichika have some quirks, Maria has FUCKING NOTHING. Half of her thought processes and inner dialogue are taken up by a flying pixie in her head so we never get any idea of what Maria’s personality is like. And because this game uses her amnesia as an excuse to not give her any personality or agency from that matter

Cardia from Code Realise. What a WASTE

And Ichika from Collar x Malice.

Basically any Otomate protagonist can apply here, cos they’re all cut from the same bland UwU ingenue cloth and I’m SICK of Otome fans seeing every new protagonist and going “omg she’s such a sassy girlboss” when all she does is say no to a pervert’s advances. Like, that’s not sass, that’s basic self-defense.

Hottest LI

Mozu, hands down. Love how genuinely supportive and sweet he is. His design isn’t all that special but his personality really shines through. He’s delightfully morbid, which makes sense considering he’s a coroner. He spouts random scientific facts and statements about everything he sees like Sheldon Cooper and even in other routes, he considers Teuta his friend and always treats her with respect. He’s such a good man and I love how even his trauma regarding his sister’s death doesn’t affect his relationship with Teuta. Teuta does feel like a comforting angel in that game but after seeing the roles being reversed in Bustafellows 2, it’s great to see Mozu be the one comforting Teuta with her problems. Also the fact that Mozu is currently seeing a therapist to deal with his trauma so he can be a better boyfriend to Teuta is so 🥹

The only things I didn’t like about him was a moment where he awkwardly kabedons Teuta when he was depressed thinking about the investigation of his sister’s possible death and wanted to flirt with Teuta in the only way he knew how to take his mind of things. That was…weird. It felt like that scene was only there just so Kohaku can draw a kabedon scene. To be fair, Mozu is not well versed in romantic language at all and is very autism-coded so I give him some slack as the scene comes off as someone who clearly didn’t know how to process his emotions properly. Once Teuta explains that’s not cool, he immediately backs off, apologises and promises to ask next time.

Also he slapped Teuta when she was feeling out about a fire in the school and a little girl is trapped in there. I know it was meant to be a “pull yourself together” slap and I’ve seen this trope in a bunch of shows, not just anime. But it’s still weird.

Worst LI

Takeru Sasazuka. I used to love this guy when I first got this game and good Lord I regret it. He’s supposed to be this tsundere who slowly defrosts and becomes nicer to Ichika, but considering how much he insults her and calls her a dog as a “joke”, but it’s okay he hugs her when she’s about to fall into a mental breakdown or cries in a moment of distress, so he really does love her and I’m like fuck off.

He only softens up when the sequel came out where there was only slice of life stories and nothing serious was on the horizon, like a terrorist threat from the last game. He is interesting as a character: he has a hatred of guns since his mother was shot in front of him when he was a kid and only became a cop in order to gain enough power to reinstate a gun safety law since every individual in Shinjuku atm has enough guns that’ll make a Republican blush. Also he has very little family or friends and deep down truly wants to have people in his life, despite his prickly exterior. There is a lot of potential for a defrosting ice king character like him. But being deliberately unlikable is still unlikable.

This really goes to show how 80 of Otomate’s men work better as standard characters, rather than love interests to the MC.

I can’t believe I fancied him when I was younger, although that might be due to Daisuke Namikawa voicing him.

Also Shin and Toma from Amnesia Memories. These two are the childhood friends of Maria and they have a bit of a rivalry cos they both have feelings for her, but depending on either route, Maria’s relationship with them changes (like if you chose Shin, Maria would consider Toma like a friend and vice versa)

However, do they act normal to Maria? HELL FUCKING NAH! I remember choosing Shin when I first played this game cos I thought he was the most normal of the LIs, he had a tragic past with his father being in prison for murder and everyone considers him guilty by association, his only true friends were Maria and Toma and he tersely motivated Maria to become a better singer. But ALL THAT GOODWILL JUST PISSED AWAY cos Not only was he being needlessly secretive towards Maria after her amnesia (cos the game wants to be a mystery and the story constantly trying to red herring you with possibilities that it was him who caused Maria’s amnesia when it really wasn’t), and his design and personality just REEKS of good girls dating the emotionally abusive bad boy trope like it’s the fucking 50s. Also the amount of forceful kissing this guy did was just yuck. 🤮

But that is small potatoes compared to Toma. He is a yandere character taken to a disturbing degree. He starts off friendly and cheerful, then when Maria is stalked by someone, he offers her to stay at his home for a while. I think we all know where this is going. After using Maria’s amnesia to his advantage by lying to her and everyone about their relationship, he quickly stops Maria from seeing her friends, attending uni or her job, drugs her food, takes away her cellphone to cut her off from everyone. And perhaps the most infamously evil thing he’s done is lock the woman up in a “kawaii uguu cage of love” and only lets her out to use the toilet and threatens to rape her if she dared get out of her cage or leave without telling her. And the only punishment he ever gets is Shin punching him once or in Shin’s route, Toma brings himself in to be arrested cos he can’t handle Maria’s rejection. THERES EVEN AN ENDING WHERE MARIA STRAIGHT UP FORGIVES HER. WHAT THE PISS-SHITTING FUCK?!

Toma is a vile, pathetic piece of shit and the fact that he is the most popular character in the game and his serial killer behaviour is memed by Otomate as if it’s a cute quirk is fucking disgusting. I found out online that there is a CAFE based on this game and you can order a dessert that is a direct reference to that infamous cage scene. That is how much attention this character has. And yet most people in the Otome community think he’s crazy but in a lol so crazy kinda way XD but Toma’s behaviour is so callous so frequently and to such a triggering degree, its no laughing matter. I swear, the people who like Toma (even in an ironic sense) are probably Reylo/Catradora stans.

Fave Otome artwork:

Definitely Kohaku Sumeragi’s work on Bustafellows. She makes the typical anime style look so expressive and lively. She’s not afraid to make her characters look silly, albeit to some restrictions cos we need our characters to still look pretty. Also the amount of detail in each character’s outfit without it looking too detailed is brilliant. Although she definitely needs to work on giving the women more prominent noses and stop giving characters like Teuta the baby doll eyes and bulk up Luka a bit. I want my muscular women

Worst Otome artwork

Suoh’s artwork is so fucking shit. Jesus Christ. does she draw all her characters so young, it’s fucking gross! For example, this is the MC, Shino in one of the games Suoh worked on, Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani. Shino’s age isn’t listed but she’s supposed to be a young adult. Also her character designs in general are so

DOES SHE EVEN REMOTELY LOOK LIKE AN ADULT?!

Worst off, there’s no lighting, barely any shading. Her expressions are extremely limited. Her colours are flat and lifeless. They look like literal cardboard cutouts. I don’t like to harp on the artwork too much cos I’m an artist myself but I have no idea why this woman is still getting work if this is her best work to date.

So, yeah. I hope I’ve answered all your questions, Yuisdad!

#otome games

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picathartidae · 3 months

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random OC ask: does your OC have any significant relationships that have defined them, for better or for worse? what do those relationship(s) look like, and have they changed over the course of your OC’s story?

oooooo! Love this question! My answer will involve heavy spoilers, though. Probably also going to be a long one, too.

Pre-amnesia;

The most important people in Alassane's early life was his foster family, which I made a whole thing, and it's all very tied up in his name and his sense of identity. Essentially, this couple that took him in gave him a version of a traditional family name, as a way of showing him that he was their son, in every way that mattered, and he always would be, even after they had a biological child of their own. This meant literally everything to young innocent baby child Alassane, who was always a little traumatised by the fact that he had been abandoned by his "real" family. Consequently, the name "Alassane Erendse" is deeply, deeply important to him. It's so important to him that he still clings to it long after his foster family met their bloody end. He even keeps using it after the events of the game, despite it having come to represent the monstrous past that he's desperately trying to escape from.

Their death was the one thing that Alassane ever truly regretted in the depths of his Dark Urge murder fun time era, and continued to haunt him for the rest of his life.

The other important relationship in his life prior to losing his memories is of course Bhaal. The fact that he was just abandoned on the streets as an infant haunted Alassane for his entire childhood, sowing the seeds of a deep unspoken insecurity and desire to please. Alassane was obsessed with the idea of earning Father's affection and being the favourite, making it so he wouldn't be abandoned again.

Bhaal turned Alassane into a monster that was so utterly beyond redemption it was almost comical, and made it absolutely clear that Father Dearest was the only one who would ever love him. Eventually, it got to the point where Bhaal didn't have to do anything, because Alassane simply sabotaged his own budding relationships in order to appease Him.

This relationship obviously changed drastically, as Alassane was abruptly removed from the situation, and lost all memory of it. When faced with his past, he realised just how insanely abusive this dynamic was, told his dad to shove it, and was promptly spectacularly disowned for his insolence.

Post-amnesia;

Unsurprisingly, his most important relationships after the memory loss is our usual main cast of colourful characters. However, the three main stand-outs are Astarion, Karlach, and Jaheira.

Astarion;

They're both terrible people who somehow, against all odds, manage to actually bring out the best in each other. Ultimately it's through their relationship that either of them actually succeed in becoming better people by the end. They have a similar journey of self-acceptance and healing from trauma and having to figure out who they are. They repeatedly butt heads and argue maybe more than they should, but it's because they actually matter to each other.

Their relationship changed quite a lot over the course of the game. It started out as somewhat cold, vague mutual dislike. Then Astarion figured the emotionally fragile amnesiac who's convinced he's losing his mind was probably the best and easiest person to manipulate, and Alassane completely fell for it because, you know, he's an emotionally fragile amnesiac who's convinced he's losing his mind. Then, whoops, feelings happened. Alassane realised that he cared about Astarion during the kill your love interest scene in Act II, surprising himself with just how ardently he fought against it. Astarion also immediately had a crisis after this, as he realised that he did actually care about Alassane, and genuinely was more worried about him and his well being rather than his own. Things got awkward, and they decided to try being in a real relationship maybe.

They're extremely messy in Act III. Both have feelings while being allergic to having feelings and they both lash out a bit. Somehow they work it out. They're still together six months later and they seem happy.

Karlach;

Basically Alassane's best friend, and arguably the person he trusts the most out of everyone.

They quickly bond in Act I, and grow to be very close in Act II, as Alassane accepts Karlach’s preference to die in the Material Plane rather than return to Avernus.

By the time Act III rolls around, they're basically inseparable, but then Karlach reacts extremely badly to the idea that Alassane and Gortash actually were close friends, and the revelation that Alassane had been the original mastermind behind the entire Cult of the Absolute. I like the idea of them having a harder falling out than the others at this point, so they have to struggle to rebuild their friendship from before. Alassane finds this absolutely devastating, as he had no idea of his part in the overarching evil plan, or his previous friendship with Gortash. They manage to make up, obviously. I don’t think Karlach was ever actually mad at Alassane (not as she knows him, anyway), but more the situation, and Gortash. She’s also grieving her own life.

In the end, when they're faced with the fact that one of them has to become a mind flayer after they've freed Orpheus, Alassane completely breaks down, realising that he's the one who should pay the price, and needs to face the consequences of his actions. Karlach stops him and becomes a mind flayer herself, and that utterly destroys Alassane, knowing that her soul is gone and "Karlach" is effectively dead.

I just really enjoy the devastating emotional gut-punch.

Jaheira;

Initially tense, but they come to like each other over the course of Act II, and develop a very amicable relationship by Act III. Jaheira is the self-appointed parent of the group, and semi-adopts Alassane in particular.

Jaheira puts together Alassane’s true nature as a Bhaalspawn at some point in Act II. She’s incredibly wary, but warms up to him and sort of becomes something of a mentor to him through his prolonged mental breakdown about it.

Alassane is very comfortable with her, and feels safe enough that he allows more of his original personality to surface. I think Jaheira is the reason Alassane has his moment of understanding that the problem is not in who he is. As such, Alassane is comfortable needling and pushing back against Jaheira. Alassane appreciates the almost sort of maternal affection, though tends to play up the annoyed teenager act, pretending to hate her calling him ‘cub’ when he secretly kind of loves it.

I'm just in love with Jaheira's dynamic with Dark Urge. It's neat!

Hoo boy that was an essay! I hope you enjoyed my nonsense!

#character asks #oc: alassane erendse

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mirror-to-the-past · 10 months

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Hi. Boom. Here's long assorted sleep deprived thoughts I'm gonna be face palming at later about my current KH3 impressions.

Finished Olympus, Corona, now I'm on Toy Box.

PUNTING DONALD INTO ORBIT. And low key, Goofy, too. Like, on one hand, they're just Some Guys and also cartoon characters that make me giggle every cutscene they're in and they just try to lighten the mood or whatever. On the other hand, narratively, NOBODY is getting off Sora's case oh my god. Like, they've teased him before but it feels much more frequent and pointed this game towards the things Sora is insecure about. "Haha, you know Sora, our forgetful, stupid, careless, rash, powerless, weak, codependent idiot! We love him. <3" (exaggerated for comedy but they really don't stop with the punches and it's so uncalled for lol) And he either takes it or lightly goes "hey..." half the time. Donald keeps talking shit, Goofy just lets it happen and whenever there's actually disputes where Sora sasses back a 'lil then he steps in and it gives off vibes of "now don't make your mother angry." They're questionable guardian figures. Rehoming Sora to Supportive Dad Mickey Mouse real quick out of saltiness. That said, Goofy kind of laying a steadying hand on Sora on the Trinity Sled and when he was upset about Eugene's "death" in Corona is sweet.

The face of someone doing completely well who says "I can take it" twice in a row just to prove how well he's doing:

Bestie. You're fifteen years old and running around in a world where tripping acid on identity issues, amnesia, and listening to vague monologues from strange predatory darkness men is another Tuesday.

Sora keeps spacing out and giving thousand yard stares especially throughout this game, and when Ienzo told him "yeah, your heart's not entirely yours!" And Sora just stared blankly at the phone like "figures." I just laughed, lol. He's just constantly pivoting between being occupied by and amazed by the Wonder™ of the world/absorbed by the hype of meeting new people and the Horrors™ presented by the constant tumult of foreign emotions and memories running through his little head, clearly to such a degree that it's no surprise to be told that there's whole fuckin people within him. Teenage experience, honestly. Love coming of age narratives that are just crazy fucking magic bs manifesting in dissociation central. What a guy.

I was in tears laughing when Sora was hearing voices in Twilight Town and thought Hayner and co. were those same voices for a sec and very enthusiastically, as though to prove himself went: "See?? :DDD Voices!" SORA, HONEY.

In other news of AAA-

Way to the Dawn just fucking broke? Why was everyone so calm? Am I missing something? Riku's like "aha gives me an excuse to skill up and get a better one-" child, I am gripping you by the shoulders. This blade is manifested as an extension of your heart, they don't just BREAK. Should I be concerned about the integrity of your soul, brother?

THE SCENE WITH KAIRI AND LEA/AXEL WAS SO SWEET, I WANT MORE OF THEM. NEED MORE OF THEM, ACTUALLY. When Kairi was like ":3 hehe I'm gonna beat your ass in the ring," and when he started CRYING because he caught a glimpse of Xion in her. 😭 Her letter to Sora was so fucking sad I am heartbroken how she becomes more alienated from her friends as time goes on. She went from sending the letter as a waypoint in KH2, like "please come back, here I am" to "you know where I am, but I'm still here talking to myself anyway." I. 👏 NEED. 👏 CLOSURE. 👏 Preferably for Kairi with both Sora and Riku, but they'll probably do just Sora but I dunno I don't want to get my hopes up or down. I just... I dunno, even if things aren't necessarily the same with all of them, I'd just like there to be something affirming where they stand because like even though the care they have for each other is obviously there, you can see it with all three of them in KH1 and KH2 (drives me up the walls bonkers when Riku shielded her with his body and Sora caught her when they were flashbanged), it's also like that feeling of a dwindling group chat kind of scenario. "That's right, no more waiting for you to come back from your adventures..." Props to VA that line was delivered so laden with hollowness. I hold Kairi in hands. Devastated.

THE FOCUS ON SAVING ROXAS HAS ME EXCITED. THAT IS ALL. I WAS YELLING AT SCREEN FOR FOREVER LIKE "USE A REPLICA" and then Riku finally was like "🤔✨...Replica?" And I went and mentally hoisted him onto my shoulders for a little "hip hip hooray" because the dots are connecting with the characters, fellas. I might see at least one of my peoples, soon.

Riku's VA just sounds like he's given up for this game and it's killing me, lol. Voice direction just hasn't been in his favor so far.

Mickey Mouse and Riku bonding time in hell. Riku's like "wow, mouse dad, I feel less riddled with self doubt these days. It's pretty nice to feel like a go-getter, haha, wonder why tho?" And Mickey Mouse is like... "Well... 🏳️‍🌈...! :D" Riku goes: "🤔... 🏳️‍🌈👍." strength to protect what matters And then that's that. Back to reconnaissance mission for lost veteran. Cinematic perfection.

Sora is still a certified Disney princess, if anyone's curious. He got his dance number in for this game, and he had birds gently circle around him and land on his finger.

Marluxia: "Ah yes, we finally reunite." Sora: "who"

I still can't tell if anyone has debriefed Sora, Donald, and Goofy about what happened in Castle Oblivion yet in any way. I'm wondering why they're (writers) playing that particular plot line so close to their chest.

Adorable how well Sora and Rapunzel got along. While Sora is a friend to all and shit it's really sweet seeing how he still seems to have bonds where he personally clicks with some characters more than others. And all for good reasons- like matching with his traits. I imagine him, Rapunzel, Ariel, and Hercules get brunch at the Bistro now, and no one can take this from me. Also Hercules is such a Sora hypeman, cheering him on even when he's getting crushed by a building. He passes the vibe check 100%.

I manifested my gag attack concept from my BBS post halfway into being and I'm so happy about it, lol. Thank you Hercules from hit movie Hercules for swinging Sora around in a circle like a broadsword in your special attack. I think more people should use him as a broadsword for enrichment reasons.

THEY CUT OUT THE SNUGGLY DUCKLING FROM TANGLED. SO MUCH POTENTIAL HAS BEEN LOST FROM CANON. I WILL NEVER RECOVER.

"how do I get power of waking when it didn't work the normal way Hercules," "idk Sora maybe you've got to be in love like I am," "well shit. guess I should get me some of that love superpower. Oh btw how come happily married Mickey Mouse and my best friend Riku are the only dudes that have the power of waking I'm confused," "...idk Sora" "okay, bye herc" (can you see my sleep deprivation leaking yet, I'm connecting the dots though, I promise, trust my methods 🤣)

IT TOOK ME 7 TRIES TO CRACK A FUCKING EGG. Remy Ratatouille looks at me like a disappointed father

Weaponized amusement park ride powers are so badass actually. I love the teacups and wish I could inflict them on my enemies, too.

Sora now has GUN. "Shooting" Star, indeed.

Sora and Rapunzel splashing in da water. 💦🥰 So cute.

WHY DID THEY PUT THEIR WHOLE ASS INTO THE FAKE VIDEO GAME TRAILER IT LOOKED SO SICK. I was so confused though I saw the dude and was like... Riku?? Wtf you're HD, my guy! Wait, you've got heterochromia and are chasing after a girl, mistook you for someone else, my bad.

There is a dog on my gummi ship roof and he will stay there until I finish the game.

Twilight Town is gorgeous and I now know the answer for "if I could pick a video game place to live" that's not just Stardew or Pokemon or something.

"I can't computer so... do that." Me too, Sora. Helping him learn his phone by having him take a ton of pictures, though. I'd like to imagine he sends them to his buddies or is excited to show them later or something. That would be so <3

The Kingdom Hearts social media posts are so funny to me for some reason btw. You get surreal shit like Riku pain-posting "I wonder if I'm the reason Ansem looks the way he does :/" and. The sideway frown just sent me. No, I can't explain why. Just comedy gold. "Mfw when possession :/" "sometimes I think about when my friend was in a coma for a year :/" "y'know I wonder what my family felt when my home was overcome with darkness because of me. Did it hurt? Were they afraid? Well they're back now but I wonder that sometimes. :/"

Maleficent is me trying to track down Luxu and shake him for answers. I don't even care if it's bad she finds it, I need to know what's in the damn box.

Buzz Lightyear going "this plot sounds ridiculous and absurd. Of course you're acting like this is normal, pitiful JRPG character." Sora: ":'D"

GET IN THE ROBOT, SORA.

#kingdom hearts 3 first playthrough #kingdom hearts #kh3 #kh sora #sora

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alternis · 1 year

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SHS au masterpost

aka 'shiva halfsibs au' aka "hey, wouldn't it be funny if-"

the inciting idea was "If Lady Shiva was Tim's biological mother, who would be the funniest dad option? Well what about Richard Dragon, fellow martial artist (with an oddly fitting surname for this idea), but Tim just… didn't inherit any martial arts skills from either parent."

and then I kept getting ideas.

So he finds out he was adopted whilst his dad is still in his coma, but looking for his biological parents is how the last Robin died and Jason was Cringe so tim decides he is fine with not knowing his birth parents.

notable changes during his Robin run include: him pulling the "You aren't my real dad either" card on Jack drake exactly once, and then feeling awful about it; revealing to steph he was an adoptee to try and make her feel better about choosing adoption for her daughter; actually very little of the Eddie Drake scenario changes, Tim is still a freak who doesn't want to be adopted twice.

After Kon dies (and thus after steph/jack drake/the population of Bludhaven all die within a very small timespan), instead of going on a cruise with Dick and Bruce for the One Year Later timeskip, he decides to go follow up on some Ominous Comments shiva made about his birth parentage when he first trained with her… three years ago.

surprising nobody, her ominous comments about his parentage were because She Is his parent. she recognised him as Robin bc she used to come to observe his martial arts tournaments. ~the stalking is genetic~.

they go on a vigilante Road Trip together so he can Fix Her/find out Who's The Dad, and she can make him worse/try to recruit him as her protégé again. ultimately it ends up a Complete Disaster and Tim decides he was An Idiot who made Bad Decisions and needs to get back to batman.

he joins them midway through the cruise and immediately has to defuse tension between Bruce and Dick but its okay, he likes to feel like he's helping.

cass doesn't get a villain arc but she does fight Tim over how badly he handles the "they're siblings" situation. specifically, by not telling her about it because instead of trying trying clone kon he is undergoing a "I must push everybody away emotionally :(" arc. she's justified in being mad at him

he spills about going after shiva and finding out who his birth parents were to Bruce and dick, and considers quitting being Robin, but instead gets the bat equivalent of a heartfelt message of love and support by Bruce reaffirming that Robin is his and he can keep working with them. I mean it happens bc he passed another of Bruce's Secret Morality Tests but like Tim we must look on the bright side of this situation

also Bruce dna tested him when they found out he was adopted and knew his birth parents the entire time and just didn't tell anybody. God fuckjg dam it Bruce.

things happen, he goes to seek out Richard Dragon for training and because he should probably tell him, "surprise you had a kid with lady shiva and I am that kid". he remains Just Okay at fighting.

on his way home he gets hit with an amnesia stick, whilst back in gotham damian gets dropped off by talia and then Bruce 'dies'. this is dick's nightmare scenario. cass becomes convinced Bruce is still alive and goes to hunt down proof, ruining the day of the council of spiders and ras Al ghul in the process. dick is still in his nightmare scenario

meanwhile on the other side of the world Tim has no idea who he is, is being mentored by Lady shiva, deduced that he's a nonlethal fighter and that this must have been important to him for some reason, hangs out with cultists, wins an underground death match fighting tournament by exploiting rule loopholes, and also has just figured out he is bisexual.

when he regains his memories and meets kon again he is going to finally puts those pieces together and lose his mind.

when he finallly undoes the Amnesia and returns to gotham he is Not Happy to find out he got 'replaced' as Robin and dick seemingly never looked for him. but then Jason gives him an unhinged "be my robin" speech and he realises that just bc he isn't Batman's Robin doesn't mean he can't do good in the world. he is going to Robin the hell out of this cringe villain loser, be a sober companion for doing murder, and get Jason Todd back onto the right path by the time Bruce comes home from TimeHell

Outfit Designs:

Vigilante Road Trip aka Jackdaw and Crow

(link to post)

Post Amnesia Arc aka Starling v1 and v2

(link to post)

#shiva halfsibs au #I think I covered all the important bits

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synergysilhouette · 1 month

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Remaking Fire Emblem: Awakening

I kinda did a remake with "Fates," so I thought I'd make one with Awakening. To be fair: this is all subjective. I'm not saying my choices would make the game more enjoyable for everyone or that it'd be objectively superior. And most of this is plot-related, based on my understanding (or lack thereof) of the game after playing it. I changed a lot, and I've experienced gatekeeping within the community before back in my Reddit days, so be nice with your feedback!

Fell Dragon relevancy and the reduction of villains--It's revealed in retrospect towards the end of the game that certain villains aren't what they seem. Aversa was brainwashed by Validar as a child, Walhart was actually trying to prevent Grima's revival (albeit earning everyone's ire in the process) and was being manipulated by Excellus. Along with this, Grima and Walhart aren't really villains who affect the overall story, moreso placeholders for the main event. Because of this, I'd prefer to keep the focus on Validar and the Fell Dragon Grima, without there having to be those "well, in actuality" moments (as a Kingdom Hearts fan, I'm tired of those)--though we could keep the Aversa being brainwashed subplot; in fact, I'd re-work it so after Validar kidnaps her, she's raised by him to become a friend/servant to Robin (more on that in a sec), so they're the only one who can truly break through to her. Walhart is less aggressive with his approach to destroying the Grimleal, asking for cooperation rather than trying to take over the whole continent and forcing everyone to help him (he'd be allies with Chon'sin and actually have Say'ri and Yen'fay join before later joining our ranks himself), and Gangrel is a begrudging ally to the team because it inconveniences him greatly if the world is destroyed, as it would anyone--plus he realizes his troops are planning to revolt against him and wants to make nice with the people of Ylisse in case he ever needs to abscond.

Robin's background--First off, keep in mind that "Fates" was my first game, and while it copied a lot of "Awakening" (and "Engage" would do the same), the latter will always be my second FE game, and thus I wanted to avoid some tropes. Robin being the child of Validar is kinda burying the lead, and their mother is an unseen NPC, which is a big pet peeve to me with customizable characters; I adore a backstory. Seeing how Corrin, Byleth, and Alear's backstories follow similar beats to Robin's, I'd prefer if we switched it up. I'd enjoy if, rather than going the "nice, mostly absent mom and evil dad" route the succeeding games would go, we instead make Validar a bit more grey. He is still a devout follower of Grima, but not by choice. Coming from a family of worshippers, he plans to defect with his wife and child, but when they are captured and threatened with death, Validar agrees to become a vessel to Grima. This fails and corrupts him, and he raises Robin as the next vessel, his love being twisted with a fixation and obsession with them. His wife helps Robin escape shortly before the events of the game, but she disappears shortly thereafter and is presumed dead. Robin no longer has amnesia here, but has been kept a secret from the outside world, and thus Frederick is correct in being hesitant to trust them, and Robin understands, slowly revealing their origins to Chrom and co. (the full of which is done before the end of Act I).

The confusing paradox/Lucina's Mission--If you weren't mad before, you probably will be now. I kinda found the explanation of "Grima from an alternate future came to the present, gave Robin amnesia and went back to square 1" explanation kinda confusing and convoluted. Given the fact that the future children don't return to their time period anyway, I'd rework the story so that the alternate future that they came from is destroyed, and the children are the last remnants of it. No Grima going back in time with them; he was a being of destruction that brought about his own demise, eventually. The children were simply given a new lease on life, as well as wanting to spare their past parents the heartache of it all.

Making the children from the same timeline--This would mean a lot of extra work, but I'd enjoy it if the story and support convos reflected each character's unique heritage depending on who their dominant parent married. This INCLUDES CHROM ACKNOWLEDGING HIS KIDS HAVING BRANDS. If you recall, that's a family trait, and Lucina (the daughter he has regardless of your choices) has it, and Inigo (a son he could potentially have with Olivia) also shows that he has it. Any other possible kids Chrom can have should also mention having or not having a brand, imo. Morgan's backstory also changes. Here, Morgan comes from the same timeline as the other children (which can potentially happen in the OG game, but mainly if they have a sibling to confirm this), and they maintain a bubbly attitude, albeit not as moronic/silly as in the OG game.

(Art found on Etsy)

Emmeryn and Philia survive--Since I've already reversed the (seemingly) deaths of Walhart, Aversa, and Gangrel, I wanted to focus on Emmeryn. In the game, Philia is killed while trying to save her, and she commits suicide to prevent Chrom from giving up the Fire Emblem. Emmeryn can survive in one of the paralogues, though how this is possible isn't stated, and she has amnesia that makes her somewhat child-like. In my rewrite, Philia and her knights--or at the very least, Philia--doesn't die, and manages to rescue Emmeryn, though she has been roughed up in the process (IDK if I'd still make it because of Gangrel or if it'd be from Validar; probably the latter), forcing Chrom to take the role as king.

Romance options are more flexible--This includes same-sex options for Robin. Obviously this is more of a bonus aspect rather than something that largely affects the story/gameplay, but as a gaymer, this is something I'd enjoy, as well as STILL having kids in this (Fates mentioned same-sex couples adopted, but they don't get xenologues or get to be part of the story at all). Of course, this doesn't mean we can have Robin/Chrom since there's emphasis on heirs and Chrom has a big wedding with a bridge (unless you wanna have them get married and have an offscreen surrogate, which would be neat). Concerning Chrom, I'd enjoy Miriel, Anna, Panne, Tharja, Phila, Say'ri, and Flavia being additional romance options for him (which could come with interesting consequences).

Olivia joins earlier--This is a nit-pick as a Olivia/Chrom fan (mainly because of him acknowledging Inigo more than his other extras kids), but I also enjoy having a dancer on the team earlier.

Perhaps a bit more background/attention for some characters--In games like "Fire Emblem," most of the characters' personality and background is shown in the form of their supports with other characters. This might be unachievable in the game, but I would like more inclusion of the characters who join; the ones who join earlier definitely feel like they fade to the background as the story goes on, and things like Ricken's admiration for Chrom, Tharja's obsession with Robin (cue "obsessive dad" flashbacks), and Stahl's training under Frederick are some of the things I wish the mains story would bring up here and there rather than confining it to convos.

It'd also be nice to have an open-world, exploration-style story like 3H and "Engage," but it's not a necessity; it's just a fun thing I'd enjoy. Plus actually letting us replay our convos like we're able to do in later games would be awesome.

And that's my take! I'm almost certain that I'm forgetting something, but I can always edit this later. Lemme know what you think!

#fire emblem #fire emblem awakening #chrom #robin #olivia #tharja #ricken #stahl #validar #lucina #inigo

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that-1d-blogger · 1 month

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PART 2

To read part 1 click here

Plot - Zayn and Zuri have been in love for 6 years and plan on a romantic date to celebrate their anniversary. Tragedy strikes when they get into a car accident , where Zayn loses his memories of her . Little do they know amnesia is not the only thing they should be worried about as there’s another problem around the corner, will they be able to deal through this together or would it be too late ?

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Zayn Malik as Zayn Malik

Yara Shahidi as Zuri Simmons

The steady beeping of the heart monitor was the first sound Zayn became aware of as he slowly drifted back into consciousness. His eyelids felt heavy as he struggled to pry them open against the harsh fluorescent lights assaulting his sensitive eyes. Where was he?

As his blurry vision began to clear, he could make out the stark whiteness of the room, the antiseptic smell assaulting his nostrils. A hospital room, he realized. But why was he here? The last thing he remembered was...nothing. His mind was completely blank.

A slight movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention, and he turned his head to see a young woman sitting beside the bed, her face etched with worry but her eyes shining with tears of relief. She had caramel skin and long dark hair pulled back in a messy bun, dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt. Who was she?

"Zayn?" she whispered, reaching out to take his hand. "Oh thank god, you're awake! I was so worried..."

He flinched involuntarily at her touch, pulling his hand back. "Who are you?"

The smile froze on her face, her brow furrowing in confusion. "What? Zayn, it's me, Zuri...your girlfriend?"

Girlfriend? Zayn felt his heart rate kick up a notch as panic set in. He had no recollection of this woman at all. What the hell was going on?

"I...I don't know you," he stammered, shaking his head. "Where am I? What happened?"

The woman - Zuri - opened her mouth to respond, but before she could get a word out, the door burst open and an older man and woman rushed in, their faces a mirror of relief and joy.

"Zayn! You're awake!" the woman cried, tears streaming down her cheeks as she hurried to his bedside and pulled him into a fierce hug.

As she embraced him, flashes of recognition sparked in Zayn's mind. This scent, this warmth...it was so familiar. "Mom?"

"Oh, my baby boy," his mother murmured, rocking him gently. "We were so worried we were going to lose you."

The man stepped forward, clasping Zayn's shoulder with a shaky hand. "Son, you had us scared to death. How are you feeling?"

"Dad?" Zayn whispered, panic slowly giving way to bewilderment as the faces of his parents triggered buried memories. At least he knew who they were. More pieces were falling into place - their names, growing up, fragments of his life. But there was still so much he couldn't recall, like why he was in the hospital in the first place.

His brow furrowed as he studied her lovely features, struggling to find even a shred of familiarity as he looked at Zuri . "I'm sorry, I really don't know who you are," he said carefully. "What's going on? Why can't I remember?"

The room fell deathly silent as his parents and Zuri exchanged stricken looks. Zayn felt a cold knot of dread forming in the pit of his stomach. Something was very, very wrong.

A few moments later, the doctor strode briskly into the room, his face impassive and professional. "Ah, Mr. Malik, I see you've rejoined us," he remarked, barely glancing up from the chart in his hands as he crossed to the end of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Confused. Scared," Zayn admitted hoarsely. "I can't...I can't remember what happened, or why I'm here. And I don't know this woman," he added, gesturing helplessly toward Zuri.

The doctor's mouth set in a grim line as he met Zayn's desperate gaze. "I was afraid this might happen," he said with a resigned sigh, setting the chart aside. "Mr. Malik, you were in a very serious car accident several days ago. You sustained a severe traumatic brain injury that left you in a coma."

Zayn felt the blood drain from his face as realization set in. A coma...that would certainly explain the memory loss, the gaps, the darkness clouding everything before this moment. "How long was I out?"

"Almost 3 days ," the doctor replied solemnly. "During which time your brain endured significant trauma. I'm afraid you are suffering from dissociative amnesia."

"Amnesia?" Zayn repeated numbly, his heart plummeting into his stomach. The word alone filled him with cold, suffocating dread.

This had to be some kind of horrible nightmare. He looked pleadingly between his parents and the doctor, silently begging them to take it back, to tell him this wasn't real. But their somber expressions confirmed his worst fears.

His gaze landed on Zuri once more. She was crying openly now, tears streaming down her beautiful face as her shoulders shook with quiet sobs. Pain and guilt lanced through him - clearly she meant a great deal to him, whether he could remember her or not. How could he have forgotten someone who so obviously loved him?

“Zuri I’m so sorry.” He says , feeling guilty for not remembering her

She lifted her head, offering him a brave, watery smile as she reached for his hand again. "It's okay," she said softly. "We'll get through this."

He pulled his hand away reflexively, a hardness settling over his features. "I don't know you, sorry I don’t comfortable with touches.”

Hurt flashed across Zuri's face, her lips parting in a silent cry of anguish. But before she could respond, the doctor continued grimly.

"There is...one more concerning development," he said, folding his hands on the metal footboard. "In addition to the head trauma, it appears the accident caused significant hepatic injury. Your liver has sustained enough damage that it is beginning to fail.

Zayn's head whipped around, his breath catching in his throat as the gravity of the doctor's words slammed into him. "What...what are you saying?" he rasped.

"I'm saying you are going to require an orthotopic liver transplant, Mr. Malik," the doctor stated, his expression grave. "And I need to warn you right now...there is an extreme shortage of viable donors at the moment due to the growing hepatitis C epidemic. Finding a suitable match for you in time is going to be extremely difficult."

His mother dissolved into heartbroken sobs as his father held her close, his own eyes shining with unshed tears. Zuri was staring at the doctor in abject horror, all the color drained from her face.

"No...no, this can't be," she pleaded, her voice rising in panic. "There has to be something you can do, some way to get him a new liver before it's too late! You can't just let him die!"

"I assure you, we are going to do everything possible to try and find Mr. Malik a donor liver before complete hepatic failure occurs," the doctor said evenly. "But you all need to be prepared that...it may not happen in time. The situation is extremely grave."

A ringing silence swallowed his words as Zayn struggled to process this devastating new prognosis along with the amnesia bombshell. The anger, the bitterness, the injustice of it all burned through him like a raging wildfire.

"This is unbelievable," he bit out through clenched teeth, fists clenching in the thin hospital sheets. "I wake up from a coma with no memory, only to find out I'm dying of liver failure anyway? What kind of sick cosmic joke is this?"

The doctor's grim words seemed to echo endlessly in the tense silence that fell over the room. Zayn felt like he was trapped in some nightmarish netherworld, the walls closing in around him as the weight of his dire situation threatened to crush him utterly.

Dissociative amnesia...liver failure requiring transplant...shortage of donors...it was all too much, too devastating to process. How could his mind and body betray him so completely?

His mother was openly weeping in his father's arms, their anguished faces swimming in his blurred vision. And Zuri...brave, beautiful Zuri was staring at him with such naked vulnerability, her dark eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Zayn..." she began brokenly. "I know this is...beyond anything you could have imagined waking up to. But please, you have to believe that we're all going to do whatever it takes to get you through this. I'm not giving up on you."

Her quiet vow of determination snapped the tenuous thread Zayn had been clinging to. White-hot anger and fear rushed through his veins like lava as everything became crystallized in chilling focus.

"How can you say that?" he rasped, his body tense with restrained fury. "After everything the doctor just said? You heard him - there's basically no chance of me getting a new liver in time before the old one fails completely. I'm as good as dead, Zuri!"

"Don't you dare talk like that!" she cried fiercely, leaning forward in her chair until her face was mere inches from his. "Don't you give up on me, Zayn Malik, because I'm sure as hell not giving up on you!"

"Why?" he shouted hoarsely, all of his pent-up anguish and frustration erupting in a massive rush. "Why should you fight so hard for someone who doesn't even know who the hell you are anymore? Thanks to this bloody amnesia, you're just a stranger to me now!"

Zuri rocked back slightly at the bitterness lashing his tone, hurt flickering across her features. When she spoke, her voice was barely above a pained whisper. "You're right...to you, I'm nobody now. Just some woman who's been glued to your bedside around the clock, hoping against hope that you'll remember the love we shared, the life we built together over the past six years."

Six years...Zayn felt his heart clench painfully as the gravity of her statement slammed into him. Six years of history, memories, intimacies...of a love so profound it should have been ingrained into every molecule of his being. Yet thanks to his traitorous brain, it was all gone, erased like it never even existed.

"You think I wanted this?" he choked out, hot tears of anguish and rage burning in his eyes. "To wake up feeling like a complete stranger in my own body, surrounded by people I'm supposed to know and love but can't even place? It's my own personal hell, Zuri!"

"Then let me in!" she pleaded, rising from her chair to grip the metal bedrail with trembling hands. "Let me help you find your way back to me, to us! These memories don't have to stay buried if you'll just let me..."

"No." Zayn's harsh refusal cut her off like a knife. His jaw hardened, every muscle in his body tensed with rigid determination as he met her stricken gaze steadily. "I can't keep torturing myself trying to force something that isn't there anymore. Maybe it's better this way..."

"Better?" Zuri repeated faintly, blanching as if he'd physically struck her. "Zayn, what are you saying?"

He swallowed hard, bracing himself against the onslaught of protest he knew was coming as the words he'd been tormenting himself with finally spilled over.

"I'm saying...I want you to go, Zuri," he stated in a low, defeated tone. "Just go and don't come back. Not now, not after I get the transplant...not ever again."

"No!" The visceral cry ripped from her throat as Zuri jerked back violently, clutching her hands to her chest. "No, you don't mean that, Zayn! We can fight this, I know we..."

"Stop!" Zayn's roar obliterated her pleading instantly, his eyes blazing with fathomless torment. "Just stop, okay? I get that you think you're doing what's best for me, trying to get my memories back or whatever. But making yourself a constant reminder of what I'll never get back, torturing us both in the process? That's not helping me, Zuri...that's just selfish."

The sledgehammer weight of those final three words settled over the room in a thick, suffocating blanket. Zuri's mouth worked soundlessly, her eyes glistening with a fresh sheen of tears as she struggled to find the words to defend herself against such a brutal charge.

But Zayn pressed on relentlessly, already having opened a vein he couldn't stop bleeding.

"If I'm being honest? If this...if this liver thing doesn't work out?" He shook his head slowly, feeling the fight drain out of him as he sank back against the pillows in utter exhaustion. "I wouldn't want some ghost hanging around, waiting for me to magically remember a life I can't access anyway. I'd rather go into whatever's next without that emotional baggage weighing me down."

For several endless heartbeats, silence swallowed them whole in the wake of his quiet pronouncement. Then, with a harsh, guttural sob, Zuri stumbled back from the bed, shaking her head vehemently.

She laughed mirthlessly, swiping at the tears streaming down her cheeks with harsh, angry swipes of her fingers.

"So congratulations...you got your wish," she whispered, piercing him with one final haunted look before blindly turning on her heel and walking out of the room, leaving a cold, gaping void of silence and anguish in her wake.

As the door swung shut behind her with a hollow thud of finality, Zayn crumpled against the starched hospital linens, dissolving into gut-wrenching sobs of his own. He had handled everything so badly, lashing out cruelly at her when all she had wanted was to help guide him back toward the light.

But it was too late now. The damage had been done, and no matter what his tumultuous heart might desire...Zayn knew he had just let his soulmate walk out of his life forever.

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Third and final part coming soon !

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