i think it would be funny if people occasionally arose from the dead. like if that was a real-life one-in-a-million but well-documented Thing That Sometimes Happens, and the entire legal system around death (laws on inheritance & marriage & murder etc) had to include caveats for the unlikely-but-scientifically-possible event that the dead person in question might spontaneously self-resurrect, even years or decades after death. it would raise so many inconvenient and absurd possibilities

Falling Together Part III

Author’s Note: Here it is, part 3. Next part will be the last. I just wanted to thank you all for how engaged you’ve been. I’m constantly surprised when people actually like my work. This one is for you guys! As always, please let me know if you wish to be tagged in future works, and I would like to open requests if you have any, just don’t flood me with too many at once!

Part 1, Part 2 Pairing: Ivar x Reader

Word Count: 3364 Warnings: Angst, language, smut, NSFW Since you had shared a kiss, things began to shift and progress in your marriage. Ivar was rather private when it came to being sentimental, so all of your affections were shared in the privacy of your chambers late into the night. You found yourself going through the motions of the day, the tedium often making you groan as you waited to retire to bed. Not that you would ever consider shirking on your duties as Queen, but you were caught up in an exciting new stage of your relationship with your husband, and it was easy to get lost in the romance of it all.

When she was alive, your mother often told you that marriage progressed like the changing of seasons. She said to be mindful that not all was as warm and bright as a summer's day. You were hovering in a high point with the sun shining and the crops thriving, which meant a cold, blustery front was around the corner to kill everything green and alive. That winter storm came in the revelation of Freydis.

Enough time had passed that you had no longer dwelled on Ivar's previous marriage, and he seemed just as content to not mention it. Such a truth could never be ignored though, and you discovered it without meaning too. It was a conversation overheard, not meant to harm you as you sat at a stool working on your weaving. You had wanted to learn the art practiced by their women, and so you had asked a thrall to instruct you. 

Two shield maidens were patrolling through the Great Hall, acting as your guards for the day. They were speaking Norse, unaware that you had been studying the language under Ivar's behest. In return, you had agreed to teach him to read and write in English since he was already fluent in speaking it.

"Queen (Y/N) has been good for the people. She is respectful of the Gods."

"She is still squeamish about live sacrifice, but I agreed, she is a fair leader, and she has made Ivar a more tolerant King."

You smiled while you continued to work the threads. In your mind, you had to live up to your father's example as a ruler, and if you could please the people of the North, then you would continue on the path you had started.

"It has taken a lot for him to regain the trust of the people. They suffered under his brutality because of Freydis. She was never meant to be a Queen, she was of low birth, and selfish ambitions. She was only good for Ivar."

"Good for him until he killed her. Such an end must have been the work of the Gods."

Your hand slipped on the loom, causing the shuttle to tear through the thread, ruining the pattern. The thrall at your side grew alarmed, having heard the discussion as well. It wasn't that she looked surprised by the news, but rather concerned that you had heard it. Did everyone know?

You had assumed Ivar was no longer married to his first wife, even though it was common for his people to be married to more than one woman. In your head, you had come to the decision that he had divorced his first wife, another common practice that Christians wouldn't dare to dream. He had failed to mention that she, this Freydis, was dead, and once more by his hand. While your intuition told you that he had avoided telling you on purpose, you wanted to fall back into denial and believe he had forgotten. 

You stood from the bench and began to pace the floor. The small tapestry you had been working on was abandoned, and you sent the thrall to fetch Hvitserk. Your first instinct was to confront Ivar, but you did not want to charge into such history when you would be likely to act out irrationally in fear or anger. Too many of your previous fights had ended because of fervent emotions, and you wanted to be tactful. Isn't that what a good Queen would do, and a wife?

"(Y/N)," Hvitserk said, poking his head in around the corner.

"Oh hello," You said, startled out of your thoughts by his arrival. "Please, come in."

Hvitserk's eyes flitted over you, and his face grew pensive. "What's wrong?"

You rubbed your hand down your neck, figuring you must have shown your worry. You never were good at lying. Might as well just come out and say it. "Did Ivar murder his first wife?"

He tried to hide the shock on his face from the question, but you had caught it. "Who told you?"

"Does it matter?"

"If someone is trying to come between you and my brother, yes," Hvitserk remarked. He appeared bothered, and the tension in his shoulders made you anxious.

"No, it's nothing like that. I overheard something, and I had to find out the truth myself," You explained, trying to calm down your brother-in-law. "It's true, isn't it?"

"Yes," Hvitserk admitted. He was watching you with concern. "Don't you want to know why?"

"Yes...no, I mean not from you. I just had to confirm for myself before I went and accused Ivar of something so horrible." You fell onto the bench by the loom and held your head in your hands. "I don't understand how he could."

"Freydis, that was her name, she wasn't a good person," said Hvitserk, coming down to kneel before you. He was gentle as he pried your hands away from your face.

"Hvitserk," You started in with a sigh.

"Just listen, please. You should talk to Ivar, but trust me when I say, I knew the woman. She used manipulation and any opportunity available to further her position. I'm not saying that she deserved what she got, or that you should just forgive Ivar, but she hurt him. My brother has always reacted out of anger when betrayed, so I guess I wasn't surprised to learn it ended the way it did."

"Am I in danger, that is, would he ever hurt me?" You barely recognized your voice with how small it had become.

"No," Hvitserk said, and his conviction eased your quivering nerves. "For one thing, you could never be so vindictive as to hurt him purposefully. I think he finds more fault in himself now, and would probably leave you before he could ever lay a hand on you."

You tried to imagine yourself in Ivar's position. A lot of what Hvitserk said made sense, especially when you considered how emotional your husband could be. He had a sharp mind, but that didn't mean he wasn't ruled by his heart, at least on some matters. When he had accused you of seeing another man, he had spoken from a place of hurt.

"I need to talk with him," You decided.

"Do you want me to go find him?" Hvitserk asked, taking a step back towards the entryway.

"No, I don't want him to feel as if I'm ambushing him with these questions. It can wait until later, the truth isn't going to change."

Hvitserk nodded, but he appeared to still have things on his mind. "What will you do?"

"What do you mean?" You frowned.

"You won't leave him because of this, will you?"

"No," You were surprised with how easy the answer came to you, but you knew it to be true. You were a daughter to a King, and you had lived through wars, disease, and famine. It would take more than a slave Queen to rattle your resolve.

Hvitserk breathed out in relief. "Good, because our people love you, and I think my brother is starting to as well."

"Hvitserk," You admonished him for causing you to flush pink to the tips of your ears. "That's not something you should be telling me."

He laughed. "I knew there was something of a shy Christian in you."

You rolled your eyes before sending him on his way. Even after you were alone, your heart continued to thunder in your chest as you considered Ivar's feelings. If his fondness for you had grown, then you hoped the discussion of his first wife wouldn't result in it halting. Hvitserk's words had excited you because you knew that your affections for Ivar had developed as well. You didn't want something else to come between you, but you knew you couldn't lie and forget the issue either.

You headed for your chambers in search of your growing hound. No longer was he the small bundle that Ivar had gifted to you. He was at a lumbering height, and he seemed to knock into everything, including your husband. You worried he would send Ivar to the ground one of these days. His name was Dáire, and you were sure he would make a better pet than a guard dog. That was what you needed right now, to calm your mind, and sink your fingers into his fur as you waited for night to come.

ooOOoo

Ivar felt uneasy as he pushed himself forward to his chambers. He was feeling more alone than he could recall in a long time. You had not joined him to eat in the Hall, and Hvitserk had disappeared early in the afternoon and had not made a reappearance. His instincts to sense when something was amiss were flaring, and his mood had darkened to pitch. 

He didn't know when it had happened, but he had become dependent on your company. Whether it was your opinion on a ruling call, or just to hear you speak about something trivial, he had become entranced by your voice. You were an apparent absence when not at his side, and he would demand to know why you were avoiding him.

Some of the anger he had pent up released from him, as steam would from a geyser when he came upon your chambers. He found you lying in the center of the bed, and that menace of a dog was sprawled beside you. Ivar huffed. Not only would the furs smell like that ungainly creature now, but you were also holding the animal tight in your embrace. It should have been him, or so his callow thoughts told him anyway.

Dáire raised his head and gave Ivar a look that felt like a challenge. He regretted giving you that overgrown bovine the moment it grew into the habit of flopping down on your lap for pets. Ivar growled at the beast, and that's when he noticed you smiling with your eyes still closed.

"Stop asserting dominance over the dog," You grumbled.

"He provokes me every time I find him in my bed."

Your eyes shot open, and you gave him an incredulous look. "Alright Dáire, time to go. You've made my husband jealous."

Ivar watched as you led the dog by the neck to his corner of the room. He was relieved to find you in a teasing mood, it eased some of his earlier doubts. He moved over to the bed, slipping down slowly before getting to work on removing his braces. You came up behind him, wrapping your arms around his shoulders in a familiar gesture. 

"You missed supper," Ivar commented as he held one of your hands in his. You had long fingers, but they were thin like spindles compared to his broad palms.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just had little appetite I guess." 

You rested your chin on his shoulder, and Ivar inclined his head to gaze at you through his peripheral. "Are you unwell?"

You swung around until you were straddling his lap. He had never seen such fluidity come from you, and you were mindful not to rest on his legs with your whole weight. For Ivar, he felt a little dumb when his hands hesitated to touch you. He had to remind himself that you were his wife, and you did not flinch from him as he rested his grasp on a handful of your hips. 

"I am well," You assured with a smile. "But I do have to ask you something, and it is of a sensitive nature."

Ivar immediately tensed, and his mind wandered to every foul thing he could conjure. "What is it?"

You had lost any cheer in your face, now a mask of uncertainty tainting you. Taking a breath, you looked him in the eye while settling your hands on his chest. "Why did you kill Freydis?"

You seemed to regret asking the moment the words left your tongue. Ivar knew he must have appeared furious, but there was no going back now that the question had been asked. His grip on you tightened, and he wanted to throw you to the side and escape. It would seem you had already thought of that first and had picked your position for just such a reaction. You collapsed the rest of your weight down, forcing him to fall flat on his back with you above.

"How do you know her name? Was it Hvitserk?" He hissed.

"No, I only confirmed what I heard with him. It was never meant for me to overhear, but it's done now," You hurried to explain. 

His brother's disappearing act now had an explanation. Hvitserk never was good at keeping things from him, and his face would have tipped him off.

"She's dead, what more do you need than that?"

"She was important to you Ivar, and you're important to me now. Please, I deserve to hear the truth from you," You pleaded.

Ivar felt his eyes begin to burn with unshed tears. Whether they were for Freydis, or for your display of care, he wasn't certain. 

"She pretended to love me," He said, and his voice wavered like a limp flag caught up in a breeze. "I lost Kattegat because she went to my brother Bjorn, and passed along information that ensured he was able to win back the city."

"So treason then? Any wife of a King would be sentenced to death for such an offense. You aren't the first man to have to execute a traitorous Queen."

"It was not a public execution, I strangled her while we were alone," He told you, and you shrank back in fear. It had been his intention to scare you. You were gazing at him with such understanding, and he didn't deserve your kindness. "She had a child with another man, that she tried to pass off as mine. And I would have let her, but he was born cursed like me. Punishment by the Gods for her lies. I took him into the wild, and I let him die."

At this point you had moved away from him to the head of the bed, hands clasped together as you held your knees to your chest. You had a troubled look, but your eyes returned to his face. "Why are you telling me this?"

"You deserved to hear this, and know what man your father married you to."

"I know what man I've married," You said, your body relaxing, and you began your way back over to him. "The things Freydis did would have resulted in her death by any King. I can't say whether your decision to murder her by strangling was the correct one, but that was before my time with you. I don't have to forgive you for that, you have to forgive yourself."

"Mercy is a weakness you know," He said, turning to you as you sat beside him. 

"So is self-pity, but you're too clever to fall into that trap, right husband?" 

Ivar's heart swelled with pride as he watched you. The things he had done had horrified you, but you had the bravery of Thor to call him out for his faults. You were foolish and lovely, and he was half in love with you then as he brought his hand to the back of your head, forcing your mouth to his. You let out a sigh, and your fingers splayed out on his chest. Ivar could feel the pressure you applied, trying to ease him back to slow down, but his need for you could not be contained.

He forced you down on the bed, allowing all of his weight to come down on you. The strain between his legs was a pain he'd never felt before, and he was rutting at your center to feel the friction. 

You broke away from the violent kiss, your lips swollen and red while your hands shook at the waist of his pants. He helped you force them down to his thighs, his cock springing free, hard and pulsing with need. You threw up your white skirts, and your legs trembled on either side of his hips as he brought his member to your folds. The patch of curls was damp, and Ivar plunged into your moist heat until he was buried to the hilt. You let out a sharp cry, tears springing to your eyes at the abrupt intrusion. 

"I'm sorry...I’m sorry," Ivar continued to pant into your shoulder, his arms shaking as he supported himself above you.

"Don't stop. I want this," You told him, even as he caused you pain.

He couldn't hold back anymore, and with your permission, he began to move. The pace he set was brutal, hips snapping quick and hard into you as he fucked you into the mattress. You held onto his shoulders, digging your nails into his flesh while letting out the occasional whine. Seeing his cock disappear into you over and over had him racing towards his end, and the blood that tinged your thighs gave him a sense of ownership. You were his now, in every way a husband and wife belonged to one another. 

"I can't--I can't stop," He groaned, knowing his end was near.

"It's alright," You told him, your hands smoothing down his back.

Feeling every bit as virginal as you, he finished much too soon. His seed spilled inside you, and Ivar collapsed half on top of you, trying at the last moment to spare you of his weight. You both were breathing hard, and he felt himself tremble as he slowly removed his softened member from inside your cunt. Some of his seed trickled out onto your thigh, and Ivar felt embarrassed he had left you in such a mess.

"That wasn't good for you, you didn't finish," He grumbled, staring up at the ceiling. 

"Ladies rarely do, the first time," You said, still short of breath, but with a look of contentment. "But I enjoyed myself, and we'll learn to please each other together."

You rose from the bed to clean yourself,  and your look of discomfort did not go unnoticed by him. He tucked himself back into his trousers and sat up. "I've hurt you."

"Not intentionally. I expected a little roughness having a heathen for a husband," You teased, and Ivar was baffled by your glowing cheeks. "You act as if you've never lain with a virgin before."

Ivar's head flopped back onto the pillow as he thought of his demeaning trysts of the past. Margrethe had not been a virgin, and he never had been able to consummate his union with Freydis.

"I am your first," You remarked with realization, and you joined him in the bed, spreading out on top of his chest. "Don't I feel special."

Ivar let out a grunt as he wrapped you up in his arms. You were warm, and your heart had settled at a slower pace. He toyed with the ends of your hair, losing the time as he wandered in and out of his own thoughts. You weren't just special to him, you were everything. His future as King was secured with you at his side. It was an idea he had almost given up on until your father had given you to him the day of your wedding. You were a gift, a Queen, a wife, and a friend, and you would have his heart until he parted from this earth to Valhalla. 

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FIC Pt 10: Only August Walker knows how Ethan Hunt dies 1/1

Summary: You are a medic and a member of what’s left of The Apostles. August Walker has been found alive and thanks to you and your team, he’s well on the mend. And now REVENGE! 

Ilsa was the first, second was Luther and then Benji met his maker. And now ETHAN MUST DIE.

You and August get even closer like a cute little MURDER couple. This is the end of A Month of August Walker Challenge. 

Note: If you like the IMF team, you probably won’t like this series :)

Rating: Minor mention of violence, the climax of the series,  you’re gonna love it ;)

Would like to be notified with I post a fic? Message me to be added to my general tag list. Thank you for your support.

Want to read more? Click for my Masterlist

Want to start from the beginning of this challenge? This challenge needs to be read in order. Click to get started with the first prompt entry.

The Obligatory Intro Post to the Challenge

01 August - Please come back, August Walker  

02 August - Hello August Walker, I heard you were dead  

03 August - Watch your hands, August Walker! People might talk.  

04 August - Don’t talk to me, or August Walker again

05 August - Does August Walker even remember you?

06 August - How do you like your coffee, August Walker

07 August - Which part of her do you want, August Walker?

08 August -  August Walker, I love it when you’re bad!  

09 August - Put your mouth to good use, August Walker

Ethan Hunt was not a stupid man.

In fact, he was quite the opposite. He was cunning and clever and suspicious which were characteristics that helped him to remain one of the top Mi6 agents.

He also had a golden streak of very good luck and August Walker was just about to ruin that man's whole career.

'He went squirrely, ' said Ayami who was pawing through a tin of broken Danish butter cookies from where she sat perched on the kitchen counter-top.

Two weeks after you returned from the Dunn business,  Ayami just turned up at the country safe-house. Much to your delight, you'd found her one morning sitting at the kitchen table having a bagel and cream tea. And you knew why she was there. Things were winding up to the big payoff and the team needed to be as consolidated as possible.

'What does that mean?' you asked her but it was Mr. Instant Coffee who answered.

'Means that he knew what's good for him and went underground.'

'Because all of his peeps were getting murdered,' Ayami finished cheerfully and you half expected her and Instant Coffee to slap hands in a celebratory high-five.

August sat silently in his usual place, thoughtfully turning the small white coffee cup in a circle on the table.

'Last time he was seen?' he asked finally.

'Park hotel, Berlin,' Instant Coffee read from the reports supplied by the 'boots on the ground' team. 'Been there for about a week, but he hasn't really stayed one place for more than that. We should have moved earlier.'

'No,' said August, not looking at him, but at the cup. 'No, we want to give him enough rope to hang himself. Let him get complacent.'

'Do we have time to let him get complacent?' Instant Coffee said. 'I mean, the longer we wait, the more time he'll have to burrow in like a fucking tick.'

You looked at Instant Coffee for a moment. He did have a point.

'Okay,' August replied easily. 'You're right.'

At that moment, your respect for August Walker increased ten-fold. That he was able to take in the opinion of the other members of his team was unbearably sexy. He may have earned a little leg over for later that night.

'I'm going alone,' August announced finally, drawing the sharp attention of everyone in the room.

You reined your own reaction because an emotional response in that instant would have been inappropriate. You knew exactly why August wanted to hunt down Ethan alone. Hunt had not only gravely wounded August’s body but also his pride. His revenge was personal. 

'That's probably not a good idea,' said Instant Coffee, obviously feeling confident that he had scored a few brownie points a few moments earlier.

August scowled and looked to you. Meeting his gaze,  you nodded once.

'August should face Hunt alone,' you said to the room and then to him, added, 'but I don't think you should go alone.'

There was so much gratefulness in his eyes that you felt embarrassed and looked away. You didn't want August to see the answering distress in your eyes. If the fight on the cliff side had been fair, and luck hadn't been on Hunt's side, August wouldn't have lost. Tossing August over the edge was poor sportsmanship. You were afraid that Hunt would employ other clever tricks and defeat August for the second time. And now that August wanted to take the IMF leader on his own ensured that he would be left vulnerable to losing the upper hand. 

You didn't want to lose him again, but you remained silent. This was ultimately August's decision and he had made his choice.

**

The two of you didn't speak much on the trip to Berlin. There wasn't much to say. You didn't dare express to him your fears, because that would only serve to distract him with your possibly misplaced doubt. And distraction was the last thing August needed.

When he pulled up to a local hotel to drop you off, you stayed in the car, sitting quietly for a moment, unsure what to do or say. Sighing, you turned to him and reached to cup his cheek.

'See you soon,' you encouraged him. 'Bring me a trophy.'

August nodded and you got out of the car.

Come back to me, you thought watching the car disappear in the afternoon traffic.

Your room faced the Berliner Fernsehturm and you could hear music from the festival going on in the square below. You took a long hot shower and stretched on the surprisingly comfortable bed. It wasn't the Shangri-la, but it was charming and it wasn't long before you fell asleep.

The room door thunking shut as if a heavy weight collapsed against it awoke you hours later. With a gasp, you shot upright and reached for your weapon. You couldn't remember where the light switch was, so when you scrambled up from the bed, you backed up to the table under the window and jerked open the curtains to let in the artificial outdoor light.

The scent of sulphur and petrol filled the room and as your eyes slowly adjusted to the differences in the light you could just make out the bulky form sitting on the floor against the door. You knew that form as the impression of it was etched on your own flesh.

You put your weapon aside and padded barefoot across the hardwood floor, grabbing a towel and wetting it as you passed the small bathroom alcove. You crouched before the shadowed figure and put your hand beneath his chin. You lifted his face to the light and it was clear that Hunt had given August a run for his money.

You gently cleaned the dried blood from his mouth and chin, carefully working it out of his moustache and scruff.

You wanted to say something reassuring, something positive, but you were too overwhelmed with relief.

'Well,' you murmured, stroking his face. 'I hate to see the other guy.'

August was silent and you hoped you hadn't over stepped the line.

He then held up a small package wrapped neatly in butcher's paper and tied with white twine. You took it from him, pulled the string and the paper unfolded  to reveal your trophy. Holding it up to the light, it took a moment for you to recognise the carefully extracted evidence of Hunt's death and you smiled.

'Come on, you big brute,' you said fondly, attempting to pull him up from the floor.

When August didn't budge, you stopped straining against his weight and gasped with exertion.

'You're gonna have to help me here, babe!'

Groaning miserably, August managed to get his feet beneath him using the door and you to heave himself from the floor. You struggled to get him out of his clothes  and under the soft yellow light above the sink you examined him. Big swollen bruises bloomed across his chest and back accompanied by several shallow scrapes and slashes. You wasted no time washing him up, patching his wounds, and getting him into bed.

Lying on his belly, August was still asleep when you woke the next morning. You went to the minibar refrigerator, withdrew your trophy and admired it in the morning sunlight. Your mobile beeped, distracting you.

It was a message from Ayami.

'Tell your boyfriend to be a little less conspicuous next time, ok?' she'd written.

Curious, and glancing at August's sleeping form, you rang her.

'What's that mean?' you asked when she answered. 

'I mean that August didn't need to leave that fucker's burning corpse in the warehouse. He damn near burned down the place.'

'He was obviously sending them a message,' you answered, smiling gleefully, proud of your little murder puppy.

'I can understand that,' she shot back sounding uncharacteristically irritable. 'But that also earned us more attention than we wanted.'

You sobered.

'Is this something that needs to be taken care of?'

'It's already handled,' she answered and some of her good humour crept back into her voice.

You sighed and relaxed, wrapping an arm about your midsection.

'He's not my boyfriend,' you said after a moment with no conviction in your voice and she laughed incredulously.

'When are you coming back?' she asked, changing the subject.

'I dunno. Depends on what August wants.'

'Ok, you two lovebirds hash it out and I'll see you... whenever.'

'Thanks, Ayami. I love you!'

'Get something from the Wall museum for me, ok?'

You disconnected the call and tossed aside the mobile.

Feeling a warm sense of well-being, you re-wrapped your trophy and stored it in the refrigerator again. Climbing into bed next to August, you lifted his arm, crawled beneath it, and curled your body against him.

August had exacted his revenge and you felt satisfied for him. But you weren't sure what was going to happen now. The mission that had consumed so much of your year was over. You felt un-moored and a little panicked, but when August tightened his arm round you, your hamster wheel of thoughts scattered.

There was time to worry later, now in the heat of August's embrace was peace and with a small smile still on your lips, you put your head against him and slept.

This is the end of A Month of August Walker Series. I hope you enjoyed it and please like, reblog and comment. 

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Applefic Masterlist

Sorted by wordcount within fandom, with summaries, chapters, ratings, and notable tags included, all under the cut. Bundled by series when applicable.

AO3: TheAceApples

Ko-Fi: acestoapples

Up-to-date as of January 2, 2021

Red vs. Blue

“Haat Verd”, Rating: Teen, Crossover: Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Words: 5980, Chapters: 2/?

Notable Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Background Trooper/Trooper Relationships

- Work Summary -

Barriss Offee took a right turn when before she might have taken a left, everything changes, and six years into the Clone Wars, the 501st and the 212th find themselves in a strange temple with no way out.

At the end of "Test Your Might", Caboose isn't the only one to step back out of the Testing Grounds.

“Unfortunate Luck”, Rating: Explicit, Words: 3614, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Locus | Samuel Ortez/Lavernius Tucker, Post-Season 13, Not Season 15 Compliant, Sex-Pollen, Temple of Procreation, Oral Sex, Blow Jobs, Hand Jobs, Unsafe Sex

- Work Summary -

Somebody accidentally activates the Temple of Procreation.

Tucker and Locus reap the benefits.

“swap meet” series, Highest Rating: Teen, Words: 5130, Works: 3, Latest Work Chapters: 1/3

Notable Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Role-Swap, Simulation Trooper!Sam, Mercenary!Tucker

- Series Summary -

Prompt by Norcumi: Role swap! Locus ended up a sim soldier, and Tucker somehow ended up a merc

“Lost Relic”, Fusion AU: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Rating: Teen, Words: 1636, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Non-Graphic Violence, Implied Sexual Assault

- Work Summary -

The aftermath of a quest for a hammer and two groups of very interesting people.

“A Planet Named After A Song”, Rating: Teen, Words: 1593, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Alternate Season 11, No Chorus, Background Relationship Agent Ohio/Sherry

- Work Summary -

"Colorful Space Marines Convicted of Corruption"

It takes Carolina considerably longer than ten seconds to calm down after she sees it.

“Where Sleepy Dragons Lie”, Fusion AU: Sword Art Online, Rating: Teen, Words: 1428, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Locus | Samuel Ortez/Lavernius Tucker, dragon!Tucker

- Work Summary -

Blood Gulch Online has glitched—yet a-fucking-gain—and now Tucker is a motherfucking dragon. He's not exactly upset by this development.

“where there’s poison, there’s a remedy” series, Highest Rating: Teen, Words: 2615, Works: 2, Latest Work Chapters: 1/5

Notable Tags: Time-Travel, Alternate Season 15 Ending

- Series Summary -

Nobody notices a shimmer in the air when there’s a portal to the past and a dead man staring them in the face.

“Attentive Listening”, Rating: Teen, Words: 1237, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Locus | Samuel Ortez/Lavernius Tucker, Slice of Life, Miscommunication, Post-Season 13, Not Season 15 Compliant

- Work Summary -

@izzybutt prompted: “And that’s how I ended up standing naked on the Brooklyn Bridge on Christmas Eve.”

“simmons says”, Rating: Teen, Words: 1183, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Dick Simmons/Agent Washington, Genderbending, fem!Agent Washington, Post-Season 13, Pre-Season 15, Fluff

- Work Summary -

Two nerds doing nerd things.

“Cognitive Dissonance”, Rating: Teen, Words: 724, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Humor, Original Characters, Genderqueer Character(s)

- Work Summary -

Some Federal soldiers discover what Locus looks like under his helmet and have a hard time coping.

“Deux Décimales Zéro”, Rating: Teen, Words: 665, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bilingual Tucker

- Work Summary -

Lopez Dos.0 doesn't speak Spanish, and neither does Tucker.

“fluffy and sweet”, Rating: General, Words: 598, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Franklin Delano Donut/Lavernius Tucker, Post-Season 13, Pre-Season 15, Coping Mechanisms, Off-Screen Character Death

- Work Summary -

Some things you don’t just get over, and people have a lot of different ways of dealing with trauma.

“Are you drunk?”, Rating: Teen, Words: 561, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Slice of Life, Freelancer Shenanigans, Pranks and Practical Jokes

- Work Summary -

@randomalfonso asked: “if you’re still up for the short fics, how about York and Wyoming with the drunk one?”

“missed connections (and other tragedies)”, Rating: Teen, Words: 285, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Agent Carolina/Agent York, Time-Travel, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Bittersweet

- Work Summary -

Sometimes the universe gets things out of order.

“burning love”, Rating: Teen, Words: 231, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Locus | Samuel Ortez/Lavernius Tucker, Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Self-Harm

Star Wars

“king of the damned” series, Highest Rating: Mature, Words: 15,710, Works: 3, Latest Chapters: 3/?

Notable Tags: CT-5597 | Jesse/Kix, CT-5597 | Jesse/Darth Maul, CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Mind Rape, Memory Manipulation, Implied Sexual Roleplay, Mind Control, Order 66, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Untranslated Mando’a, Fix-It Of Sorts, CT-5597 | Jesse Lives, Obsessive Behavior, Possessive Behavior, Weird Power Dynamics, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, Trauma Bonding, That’s Not How The Force Works, Force-Sensitive Jesse, Dark Side Jesse, Enemies To Reluctant Allies, POV Outsider, Grief/Mourning, Obi-Wan’s Final Message, Mentioned Alpha-17/CT-5597 | Jesse, Tumblr Ask Box Fic

- Series Summary -

Sometimes, bad guys make the best good guys...

“Codywan Week 2020″ series, Highest Rating: Mature, Words: 10,115, Works: 7

Notable Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Injury, Concussions, Mandalorian Culture, Fix-It of Sorts, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dehumanization, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, clone culture, time-travel, Canon-Typical Awful Treatment of Clones, Discussions of Murder, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Implied/Referenced Future Rexsoka, Fae & Fairies, Changeling Cody, Discussions of Child Murder, Emperor Cody, Sith Cody, force-sensitive cody

“A Non-Comprehensive Guide To Force-Sensitivity” series, Highest Rating: Teen, Words: 9074, Works: 2

Notable Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Not A Jedi!Obi-Wan, Not A Sith!Maul, Families of Choice, Found Family, Mandalorian!Maul, Skywalker Family Shenanigans, canon timeline what canon timeline, Force Shenanigans, Tatooine Slave Culture, Referenced Satine Kryze/Darth Maul, Referenced Satine Kryze/Obi-Wan Kenobi, george lucas is a hack, dooku takes qui-gon’s place in the narrative because i like him better

- Series Summary -

Even the Force has its favorites, and sometimes it takes care of them, too.

“got me all beguiled”, Rating: Explicit, Words: 5241, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: CC-2224 | Cody/Anakin Skywalker, CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker, Minor Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Established Relationship, Fuckbuddies, Interrupted Sex, Safe Word Use, Safer Sex, Anal Sex, Threesome - M/M/M, Getting Together, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Polyamory, Dom/sub Undertones, Light Dirty Talk, Oral Sex, Spitroasting, Face-Fucking, Finger Sucking, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Overstimulation

- Work Summary -

Commander Cody and General Skywalker don't have a relationship so much as an agreement. They're both willing to amend it for General Kenobi, though.

“wilderness”, Crossover: Stargate SG-1, Rating: Teen, Words: 5240, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: A Star To Steer By ‘verse, Star Fever, Feral & Savage Opress, Darth Maul & Vala Mal Doran, Goa’uld Atrocities, Sith Atrocities, Referenced Mind Control, Long Author’s Notes

- Work Summary -

Vala is eight years old when she meets her daddy for the very first time; his new wife glares daggers at her when he isn't looking.

She’s thirty when the leaders of the local rebellion drag her from Qetesh’s throne and spend a week beating her to within an inch of even a Goa’uld host’s life.

“Renegade”, Rating: Teen, Words: 4983, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Time-Travel, Original Clone Trooper(s), Post-Umbara, PTSD

- Work Summary -

Noun: a person who deserts a party or cause for another.

“Family Before Honor”, Rating: Teen, Words: 3505, Chapters: 2/3

Notable Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, The Deserter AU, Character Death

- Work Summary -

Desertion: an act of leaving military service or duty without the intention of returning.

“half-dozen of the other”, Highest Rating: Mature, Words: 3199, Chapters: 21/21

Notable Tags: Tumblr Ask Box Fic, Canon-Typical Violence, Clone Trooper Reconditioning, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, LARPing, Pre-Canon, Misunderstandings, Miscommunication, Kinks, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Drunken Shenanigans, Morning After, Fae & Fairies, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Strip Poker

- Work Summary -

Six sentence (and a little bit longer) stories prompted over on tumblr. Index inside.

“on your mark”, Rating: Teen, Words: 2118, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Dogma/Darth Maul, Pre-Relationship, Relationship Negotiation, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Vampire!Maul, Past Abuse, Past Dogma/Pong Krell, Discussions of abuse, Anxiety, Autistic Dogma, Stealth Sugar Daddy AU, Non-Graphic Discussions of Blood Drinking, Contracts, Magical Realism, Star Wars Rarepair Exchange Treat

- Work Summary -

Nobody calls them "thralls" anymore.

“omne trium perfectum”, Rating: General, Words: 1903, Chapters: 2/2

Notable Tags: CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi/CT-7567 | Rex, CC-5052 | Bly/Kit Fisto/Aayla Secura, Polyamory, Original Clone Trooper(s), Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Non-Traditional Soulmates, Happy Feet AU, Background Trooper/Trooper Relationships

- Work Summary -

The song becomes love.

“war stories”, Rating: Teen, Words: 1569, Chapters: 3/?

Notable Tags: Obi-Wan Kenobi/CT-7567 | Rex, CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi/CT-7567 | Rex, Snapchat AU, Snapchat Format, Tag As I Go, Time-Travel, Bickering 

- Work Summary -

A series of stories, sometimes ongoing and sometimes self-contained, caught on holocamera by ARC Trooper Fives throughout the war.

“new romantics”, Rating: Teen, Words: 1430, Chapters: 2/?

Notable Tags: CT-5597 | Jesse/Darth Maul, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks

- Work Summary -

The many AUs of ARC Trooper Jesse and Darth Maul.

“through victory, my chains are broken”, Rating: Teen, Words: 862, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Hardcase Lives, Darth Maul & Hardcase

- Work Summary - 

The Death Watch aren’t the ones who find the escape pod.

“Dab’ika Vaar’kara”, Rating: Teen, Words: 810, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Alternate Universe - Camp Half-Blood, half-baked worldbuilding, Ficlet

- Work Summary - 

anonymous asked: “19 [Summer Camp AU] and 99 [Magical Accidents] with Cody and Rex for the mashup tropes please!” @ anon, I saw your very clever request for a Camp Half-Blood AU and, obviously, I greatly approve.

“cheese and chocolate”, Rating: General, Words: 547, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi, Fluff, Sick Character, Tumblr Ask Box Fic

- Work Summary -

Cody has the sniffles and Obi-Wan's cooking abilities are limited, but limited to comfort food.

“blue was my favorite color (until i saw you”, Rating: Teen, Words: 401, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Dogma/Hardcase, Force Sensitivity, Force Ghost(s)

- Work Summary -

The aftermath of Umbara.

“it don’t run in our blood”, Rating: General, Words: 383, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Jedi!Satine, Duke!Obi-Wan, Mandalorian!Maul

- Work Summary -

Some things change while others stay the same.

“tentatively abandoned AUs”, Rating: Teen, Words: 4653, Chapters: 4/?

Notable Tags: Alternate Universe - Skyrim Fusion, Inspired by Anastasia (1997 & Broadway), Time Travel, Alternate Universe - Treasure Planet Fusion, Original Clone Trooper Character(s)

- Work Summary -

WIPs that are pretty much guaranteed to go unfinished at this point.

The Magnificent Seven 2016

“she wore it wonderfully well”, Rating: Mature, Words: 5836, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Emma Cullen/Vasquez, Post-Canon, Wall Sex, Anachronisms

- Work Summary -

The Unconventional And Wholly Unintentional Courtship Of Emma Cullen And Diego Manuel García de Vasquez.

“flux capacity”, Rating: Teen, Words: 3998, Chapters: 5/5

Notable Tags: Joshua Faraday/Vasquez, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Genderqueer Character(s), Bigender Faraday, Genderfuck, shifting pronouns

- Work Summary -

One time Vasquez decided Joanna Faraday wasn’t someone to fuck with, one time Vasquez decided Joshua Faraday might in fact be someone to fuck with, one time Vasquez decided to see if Joshua Faraday had enough room in life for another love, one time Vasquez decided that Joanna Faraday was the craziest person he’d ever met, and one time Vasquez said to Hell with it all.

Or: One introduction, three kisses that weren’t, and the start of a beautiful relationship... of some kind.

“honey, we got your disease”, Fusion AU: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle Movies, Rating: Teen, Words: 3392, Chapters: 1/4

Notable Tags: Joshua Faraday/Vasquez, Goodnight Robicheaux/Billy Rocks, Original Character(s) Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Genderqueer Character(s), Bigender Faraday, Genderqueer Red Harvest, shifting pronouns

- Work Summary -

Jumanji is the bane of Joshua Faraday's fucking existence.

“taste the bright lights”, Rating: Explicit, Words: 2903, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Red Harvest/Vasquez, Post-Canon, Drunk Sex, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Unsafe Sex

- Work Summary -

Red Harvest and Vasquez, after Rose Creek.

“gunpowder and a spark”, Rating: Explicit, Words: 1633, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Teddy Q/Vasquez, Hand Jobs, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot

- Work Summary -

Shooting guns out by yourself is a dangerous business when you're not very good and your crush is visible from space.

“strangers in the dark”, Rating: General, Words: 994, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Red Harvest/Vasquez, Time-Travel, Outsider POV

- Work Summary -

The desert has a strange magic to it, make no mistake.

“melting point”,  Rating: General, Words: 952, Chapters: 1/?

Notable Tags: Alternate Universe - Leverage Fusion

- Work Summary -

A collection of fusion ficlets and one-shots that otherwise won't leave my brain.

“The Ice Man”, Rating: Teen, Words: 856, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags - Red Harvest/Billy Rocks/Vasquez, Alternate Universe - Leverage Fusion

- Work Summary -

A hitter playing grifter is a bad joke.

A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms

“The Sun, The Moon, And All The Stars”, Fusion AU: Winx Club, Rating: Teen, Words: 9465, Chapters: 3/3

Notable Tags: Crack Treated Seriously, Background Relationships, Pre-Brienne of Tarth/Jaime Lannister, Lannister Family Shenanigans, No Incest, Female Friendships, Genderqueer Character(s), screw canon timeline and screw canon genealogy

- Work Summary -

When the twin heirs of Queen Joanna of the Westerlands are born, the capital planet of Solaris celebrates for nine days and nine nights: three for the princess, three for the prince, and three for each Solarian sun. Soothsayers and sibyls, fortune-tellers and prophets, all agree that the children of the Sun and Moon carry great magical power within them—one shall assuredly become a Guardian Faery of the Western Realm, and the other a great hero like those of old to bring peace to all the Magical Dimension.

On the morning that Queen Joanna’s death is announced, every light and fire in Casterly Rock is extinguished in honor of their beloved queen. It is regarded as the darkest day in the history of the Realm of the Sun. Few revelries are thrown when word spreads that their queen’s last child survives, but some brave souls whisper about the Prince of Stars, whose gentle light echoes that of his mother’s.

“canis lupus familiaris”, Rating: Teen, Words: 987, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Outsider POV, Ambiguous Time-Travel, Ambiguous Greenseeing

- Work Summary -

“Get her a dog, she’ll be happier for it.”

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

“concupisces”, Fusion AU: Fright Night, Rating: Teen, Words: 1347, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Implied Pedophile!Grindelwald

- Work Summary -

For the kinkmeme prompt:

After a new neighbor moved into the house next door, Credence discovers that he is an ancient vampire.

"Percy is a terrible name for a vampire"

“You Play (But Never Games)”, Rating: Unrated, Words: 483, Chapters: 1/?

Notable Tags: Original Percival Graves/Credence Barebone, Vampire!Graves, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat

- Work Summary -

Percival catches a scent.

The Umbrella Academy TV

“look at the way (we gotta hide what we’re doing)”, Rating: Explicit, Words: 3129, Chapters: 1/2

Notable Tags: Diego Hargreeves/Vanya Hargreeves, Pseudo-Incest, Referenced Child Abuse, Post-Canon, Mentioned Ben/Klaus, Mentioned Allison/Luther, Netflix/Comic Fusion

- Work Summary -

Nothing is the same when they get back.

(One thing is the same when they get back.)

BBC’s The Musketeers 2014

“lives not lived”, Rating: Teen, Words: 926, Chapters: 2/?

Notable Tags: Ana de Austria | Anne d’Autriche/Porthos du Vallon, Original Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence

- Work Summary -

Various AU ficlets.

Ch. 1: 1x02, "Sleight of Hand", canon divergence Ch. 2: pre-show canon divergence

Kingdoms of Amalur

“calcified hearts”, Rating: Teen, Words: 655, Chapters: 1/1

Notable Tags: Fateless One & Famor | Bloody Bones, Genderqueer Character(s), Neopronouns

- Work Summary -

Why struggle against Fate when it is so easily shifted?

I know you have talked about Ogata's and Sugimoto's relationship before. But I have been wondering if Ogata actually likes Sugimoto. Since I don't ship these characters, this is not for shipping sake. But there are quite a few small things that were pointed out to me in a post, this post being 'Sugimoto and Ogatas rivalmance'. I would like to know your take on this complicated, and possible love-hate relationship.

It’s a difficult question...

...because, as of now, as I said many times, only one thing is clear: they currently want each other dead.

I’ve kind of digged in their relation many time so many know already my point of view but I’ll try to sum it up again, if that’s okay with you.

The story starts with their first meeting in which, as soon as they make clear to each other they aren’t going to let go of the skin, they’ll have to kill each other to have it because neither is going to give up and their goals are mutually exclusive.

At the start is just that.

The irony is that they starte it likely each of them assuming the other was/could be a convict.

We see Sugimoto thinks the one shooting at them was someone with the convict they captured.

Ogata, might not have assumed this at first, as otherwise the smartest thing to do was to kill Sugimoto, however he realizes Sugimoto is shooting with a type 26 (an army officier gun pretty expensive) and thinks he’d got it by stealing from a dead soldier (actually the gun belonged to the prisoner and he’s likely the one who stole it from one of the soldiers who were killed when they escaped).

When they faced each other they realize they’re both from the army.

Sugimoto knows he can’t get to an agreement that he’ll allow him to keep the skin because, even if he were to win and let him go, Ogata would call his companions and they would kill him. If he were to keep him trapped Ogata’s companions would come to search for him (which they did) and Sugimoto’s position would be even more complicate. His best option is to kill him and hope no one will connect him to Ogata’s disappearance.

Ogata at first have no idea the one facing is Sugimoto the immortal but likely grasped he’s good at fighting, which he isn’t. As Sugimoto makes clear he won’t give up on the skin (he’s not doing it for money so it’s not like they can bribe him) his only option to get out of there alive and keep the skin is to kill Sugimoto so he attacks immediately trying to catch the other on surprise.

We know how it ends.

Sugimoto tries to kill Ogata, Asirpa stops him, Ogata escapes and in an attempt to stop this Sugimoto causes him to fall in the river and then persuade Asirpa it’s better this way.

Did they apprecciate each other in this exchange in which they had no better option that to kill each other?

No idea.

Ogata, apart from thinking Sugimoto got the gun from a dead soldier, keep for himself his thoughts.

Sugimoto thinks he’s from the dregs of the unit so he doesn’t really have a flattering opinion either.

You can still speculate because since nothing is said, everything can be assumed.

The next time they meet Ogata decides they’ve to ally due to Tsurumi potentially having gotten his hands on the tattooed skins. The key problem was probably that Ogata and Kiro were already in an alliance so he had to find a discreet way to inform Kiro of this. Same as he’ll do with Ariko, Hijikata was probably keeping an eye on him and Sugimoto was probably keeping an eye on Kiro (remember at the start Sugi didn’t trust Kiro much).

Sugimoto, seated at a table with Hijikata, who in his younth, in the night went and assassinated his fellow Shinsengumi member Serizawa, his mistress Oume, and one of his followers Hirayama Goro (Sugi should know about this but he surely doesn’t know Hijikata also killed allies in Barato) and a cannibal doctor who tried to eat Asirpa’s eyes, feels the need to accuse Ogata of being an untrustworthy traitor because he left a bunch of soldiers who were betraying his own country.

Sugimoto is sympathetic to Tsurumi’s cause so, of course, he excuses them for being traitors... but I think there’s something deeper in this because Tanigaki too dumped them but he never complained against him.

Anyway Sugimoto and Ogata are in an alliance together and, searching for Hijikata, Sugimoto ends up on saving Ogata, a favour that Ogata will return in the fake Ainu village, although Sugimoto makes clear he didn’t do it because he trusts Ogata.

We’ve then a long list of Sugimoto doing some minor, petty things in Ogata’s direction.

Some theorized Sugimoto realized Ogata would later shoot him.

With the long list of people who betrayed or tried to kill Sugimoto without him ever suspecting about them I’ll call it at best a lucky guess.

In a very old post of mine, among other things, I theorized such behavior might be not about Ogata but about the circumstances in which their first meeting took place.

In a more recent meta I wondered it could be due to something that happened with Toraji, the other feline in the story (Toraji is called by Umeko Tora-chan where “tora” means tiger) and Sugimoto is merely projecting on Ogata what had happened with his best friend.

The truth is we don’t know. Again each interpretation is a valid guess until GK provides us with a canon answer.

As for Ogata at first he’s just occasionally annoyed with Sugimoto’s taunts but doesn’t answer to them.

Then something interesting happens.

Ogata learns it wasn’t Tanigaki who was responsible of the death of Tamai and Co.

Why is this even relevant?

Now we know that, when Ogata met up with Tanigaki the first time, he was already aware Tsurumi knew he had betrayed them. He and Nikaidou are basically two wanted man. They end up believing Tanigaki killed Tamai and Co... and decide to waste their time hunting him down in retaliation.

The action is useless, Tanigaki can’t reveal to Tsurumi anything Tsurumi doesn’t already know, Tsurumi could track them down, which he’ll do, yet they decide to hunt Tanigaki. Or better, Ogata decides. Nikaido by then was already obsessed with killing Sugimoto and didn’t really care much.

So apparently Ogata was really interest in avenging them.

But, as I said, Sugimoto said they weren’t killed by Tanigaki but by a bear and he was there and was watching. And it’s more likely Ogata connected the dots and figured that if they were killed by that bear Sugimoto might have had a hand in this. And this might have caused the relation to shift.

In chap 99 is implied Ogata and Sugimoto exchanged rifles, as it was Sugimoto who stole the type 38, but Ogata has it before the end of the chapter and Sugimoto might not have missed the fact as he should be capable to recognize the differences between a type 30 and a type 38.

The exchange makes sense as Ogata is much better at shooting while Sugimoto prefers to use the rifle as some sort of wand.

But then in chap 112 Sugimoto broke his rifle... and, for the first time, in chap 114, we’ve Ogata making a remark against him.

At this point, after he has broken Ogata’s rifle and Ogata remarked he did a stupid thing, Sugimoto wants the type 38 back. Ogata refuses and further hammer Sugimoto’s inability to shoot.

So, if previously Ogata merely kept quiet when Sugimoto would nag him, now he doesn’t do it anymore. Actually he starts it and finish it and from that moment on, Sugimoto won’t nag him anymore, actually he’s afraid Asirpa will say, in front of him, how Sugimoto mistakenly shoot the owl’s eye.

Do they like each other?

Whoever knows?

They sure as hell make an awesome team when they work together as Noda wrote them perfectly complementar, giving to each what the other lacks... but Sugimoto is fast to doubt of Ogata when Hijikata vents he might have joined them for personal ambitions... failing to spot how Hijikata, Toni and Kadokura planned to betray him, part him from Asirpa and use him as diversion, possibly sacrificing him.

And so we get to chap 14 and to Ogata shooting Wilk and Sugimoto.

I’m not sure why Wilk had to die, beyond revenge for, according to Kiro, having betrayed them. Ogata says shooting Sugimoto was due tot he latter talking with Wilk and, potentially, learning something he shouldn’t. It’s a good reason and Ogata definitely did his best to kill Sugimoto. He shot him in the head and then attempted to hit him again, even though he had poor vision of the spot in which Sugi was.

Ogata wanted Sugimoto dead, it’s failure on his part Sugimoto survived.

If this was because Wilk might have said him something, because Kiro was partial to Sugimoto and Ogata feared Kiro would discharge him in Sugimoto’s favour, or because he wanted revenge for Tamai and Co it’s up to speculation.

In the past I’ve also wondered if Ogata is merely projecting on Sugimoto. He knows Asirpa has a crush on Sugimoto and he knows Sugimoto has another woman and will leave her... same as Hanazawa did with his mother. He even went and tattled him out in this regard. Killing Sugimoto might be his own attempt to take it out against his father in an indirect way.

Ogata wanted Sugimoto dead and when he discovers he’s still alive while are on the ice drift his first thought is to happily try to shoot him again.

Sugimoto had made clear he’d gone to Karafuto to get Asirpa back and kill Ogata and Kiro. The whole scene in chap 171 in which Sugimoto tries to kill that man is Sugimoto projecting Ogata on the kidnapper and Asirpa on Enonoka in fact we see he calls Enonoka “Asirpa” and his fight with the guy not only strongly parallels the one he had with Ogata but it took 2 men to stop him from killing that guy and later Sugimoto even remarked how they should have let him kill the guy.

Again irony is at play because when Sugimoto finally find Ogata he inadvertitely causes Asirpa to shoot Ogata.

As he cares more about Asirpa not becoming a murderer than about killing Ogata (Sugimoto CARES A LOT ABOUT HER), Sugimoto does everything in his power to keep Ogata alive... and when he believes this won’t be possible with an excuse he goes to see him grabbing his bayonet clearly planning to kill him so that Ogata’s murder will be on his hands and not Asirpa’s.

When it turns out Ogata is fine and dandy Sugimoto makes clear his intention is to kill him. We see it when he escapes and we see it when he thinks that Vasily is Ogata.

We don’t know if Ogata plans to save him so as to return the favour and then kill him, or if he realized if he’s alive is just due to Sugimoto protecting Asirpa and therefore she’s the one to whom he owns something... but I think Ogata got a good grasp of how Sugimoto saved him for Asirpa and personally wanted him death so for him too would be more convenient to kill Sugimoto, who will clearly get in the way, than wait for Sugimoto to kill him.

Do they liked each other in all this mess?

I’ll say by the Karafuto arc the both of them were just obsessed with killing each other. At this point if friendship ever had a chance of blossoming between them, it clearly buried under the idea they’ve to kill each other.

Besides the two of them never really knew each other, likely misjudged them, possibly saw them through the eyes of other relations they had and were struggling with a lot of personal problems.

My personal HUGE hope is that for some reason they’ll overcome their murdering impulses and manage to join forces and to get to know each other and the fact they aren’t the people they think they are. I don’t think they can easily put aside all that went wrong between them but I’d like them to join forces for a common cause and... find an agreement somehow that doesn’t include murdering each other.

I think if they were to see each other for who they really are, they might get along... and even apprecciate the reciprocous strong points.

I would like it if GK were to show us than 10 years after the end of the story they managed to get friends.

For now though they’re too clouded by their idea they’ve to kill each other.

Of course though, there are a lot of blanks in their relationship, we hardly know what they thought about each other beyond the ‘I’ll kill him’ and so it’s all a matter of interpretation.

I think there are two key points in the puzzle that we’re still missing, why Sugimoto was so antagonisting with Ogata at the beginning and why Ogata ultimately decided to kill Sugimoto as I’m not fully sure it was because Sugimoto talked with Wilk... even if, in itself, is a reason good enough because, if that were true, it would jeopardize their plan.

Well, to be honest we also really need to know how the Ogata/Kiro allegiance formed as so far it’s a huge dark hole and it’s really relevant in the character dynamics instead.

If Noda will give us answers, depending on them even my view might shift radically... and I’m sure others could interpret the story very differently from how I’ve done. It’s vague enough it allows to more interpretations and I sadly don’t own the truth.

For now I’ll set on this.

Sorry, I’m not sure if it was what you were asking but the whole thing is VERY complicate and I tried for once to keep it short because I’m a tad overwhelmed by work at the moment...

Sorry again about it and thank you for your ask!

Put a ring on it 2

Gonna drop this here super quick and then go back to cram for my finals. Who allowed me to schedule six finals in one week? I’m gonna die. Pray for me.

Tagging @jedissica ‘cause they asked me to, and @animemangasoul who I think will like this.

---.---

-Batman, here we are. It’s been a while since you last called an emergency meeting. Is everything okay?

-Were you aware that our children eloped together?

-...what.

-As in, my third kid, your first one, Diana’s second, and Barry’s… grandchild. I’m not exactly sure about who married who, but there was more than one wedding and they have a group chat called ‘hubbies and waifu’. Whatever that means.

-...

-...

-That’s my girl. I always told her, go big or go home.

-Diana, no.

----.----

Cassie’s phone went off again with her specific Diana ringtone, and she gave up, turning it off and throwing it on the pile with Kon’s, Bart’s and Tim’s (the last one had four all by himself, so it was quite a big ‘phone tower’; Hah, pun intended).

-You’re gonna freak out so badly over this when you actually wake up -she informed Tim’s fluffy hair. 

Said vigilante only released a cute little snore, face buried on her lap, legs thrown over Kon’s, one hand that had fallen from the couch resting on Bart’s head where he sat on the floor in front of them.

-Well, they were going to find out one way or another. And this was probably among the best scenarios.

-How? I’m sure this one was top five on Tim’s ‘worst case’ nightmare list.

-I was there and saw their faces. I didn’t even know Batman could express any emotion other than ‘cold’ and ‘overflowing with rage’. That image will bring me joy in future distressing times, I’m sure. My patronus memory, if you will.

-I’m soooooooo jealous, dude.

Cassie snorted, carefully not moving an inch, fingers cradling through Tim’s hair. Over her dead body would he ever cut it, now that it was finally long enough to make itty tiny braids all over it, her favorite therapeutic iddle work.

-We’ll make Tim give us footage when he wakes up. He has to provide for us, after all.

Kon let his arm, resting on the backrest of the couch, fall over Cassie’s shoulders- Be sure to include footage from after we left, too. Nightwing’s  ‘As in more than one?!’ part was solid gold.

-No kidding, I want that as my ringtone for you and Tim -chimed in Bart, carefully moving Tim’s hand back to the couch and then running to the kitchen- Ice cream?

-Do you even need to ask?

---.----

By the time Tim woke up, the hero gossip network had done it’s thing, and almost everyone with a costume was aware of the news. Even Cissie, who was officially retired, and Zachary Zatara, away on his shows and usually out of reach, had called, the first one to offer congratulations and ask if the thing was real emotionally-wise, the second to just laugh at them for full six minutes before hanging up. 

He did text them later, asking when the celebration ceremony would be.

-It’s not a bad idea -mused Cassie, showing them her phone screen with the magician’s text- a party, I mean.

Tim, from his place working a case on the Titan’s main computer, tuted- Batman might actually kill me for that. I think we’ve survived this far only because there are no written records making this official, and a part of him must think it’s all some elaborate prank.

-It’s not -insisted Bart, head poking out of the kitchen- we are family now, officially. No take backs.

Their Robin shifted in place just enough for them to see his smile, a gift on itself- I know, guys, and the sentiment is much appreciated. But from a legal standpoint, it’s not that different from what a few kids on a playground could do while playing family. Only place this could stand against judgement would be the future, some ancient Amazonian tribe, or Krypton.

-Doesn’t matter, as long as it’s true for us. And, I mean, we didn’t want to cut your options if you ever wanted to actually get married the classic way.

This time, their bird actually turned around, a warmth on his expression that he usually reserved for his team. It made them feel special like nothing else.

-Yeah, I know. Thank you for that. It was really considerated.

As if they would drag Tim into something like legal marriage without previous consent. The fact that he even felt the need to thank them for showing him basic human decency was making their blood boil with the need to punch a bat on the face.

Kon flew over, the high chair preventing him from draping himself on his best friend’s back, but not from hugging his neck and messing his hair.

-Back at my point -cleared her throat the amazonian-, your former mentor can suck my metaphorical Freudian dick. We could throw a party, and it would only be different from a normal one because marriage celebrations include gifts, which I’m totally for. I haven’t seen Zatara, Cissie, Greta and Anita in a while, and Miguel, Raven and Gar might murder us for not telling them about our plans and not making it up to them with a party. No ‘adults’ out of the ones on team, or mentors, invited, enough alcohol to re-drown Atlantis, fancy food bought with Bat’s credit card…

-You are right, it does sound kinda nice -hummed Kon, floating just out of Tim’s range when former Wonder Boy tried to slap his hands away. Silly bat, always denying affection.

-All in favor?

-I don’t know -giving up, Tim went back to his case files- I have a lot to do this days, and there’s a lead that might take me to Asia…

-Isn’t Cass there? Ask her to take over it for you, as a marriage present or something. C’mon Tim, do it for the gifts. Imagine what Zatara might get for us. So crash.

-If  it’s a magical object, I won't want it anywhere near me. We bats don’t have the best track record with that stuff, and I swear to god if I get deaged I would use my non-prosecutable age to murder someone. Probably Zatara himself.

-Adorable as that might be, it totally won’t happen.

----.----

-....can you repeat it one more time? Slower, though. I think I’m getting hearing problems.

Raven, through the video call connecting the Cave with the Tower, didn’t seem fazed by Nightwing’s slightly threatening tone.

-I said, the team had a party, everyone got drunk, and it was fine for a while. I was watching over them, but then I needed to use the restroom. When I got back, someone had gotten ahold of Zachary’s gift for Tim, Cassie, Kon and Bart, and…

-Why for those four? -asked Hood, standing right by N’s side. He had came in during Raven’s first explanation, and felt like there was something he was missing.

-It was a marriage gift. Moving on…

-A what?! Since when is Lil Red married? The fuck happened while I was in Russia?!

-...someone had gotten ahold of the gift -Raven kept going, cool as a cucumber. On the background behind her, teen heroes were running back and forth, people were screaming and something was smoking-, which happened to be some sort of magical artifact. Zachary wasn’t really aware of what it did, he just randomly choose it from among his collection of magical tools when he remembered at the last possible time a gift was mandatory for a wedding party. I returned from the bathroom and everything was a mess, the couch was turned upside down, a pipe had burst, the tv was on fire and Tim had been de aged.

There was a battle scream, in a distinctly childish voice, somewhere on the room out of view of the camera, and Raven’s eyes left the screen for a second as if looking at it.

-Was that Red Robin? -Batman, because of course he was listening in, started typing at the console, frantically trying to get a new angle to see what was going on on the Tower.

-He’s unharmed, and everything is under control.

Another scream, this time louder.

-...that didn’t sound under control -mused Dick, apparently still processing the information. Bruce typed faster. Robin gripped his sword tighter, as if readying himself for a war.

Jason still looked utterly lost.

-Marriage? She said marriage? AND YOU ASSHOLES KNEW ‘BOUT THIS?!

-He’s… throwing a tantrum -the woman ignored him, still looking only at her former leader-. Something about using his age to kill Zatara without being convicted. I’ll need to leave now, I only called to ask you to take over Tim’s cases while we solve this issue.

-Wait! Rae, if Timmy’s a kid, he needs to be with us. We are his family, it’s our jurisdiction.

A green bird suddenly landed on her shoulder, halthing whatever response she might give. Gar pecked her on the cheek lightly before turning his beak their direction.

-Husbands and Wives get priority, N, you know that. Cassie, Kon and Bart are looking after him, and keeping him from killing Zachary, while the rest of us research how to turn him back. Zach is actually trying to contact his cousin, maybe the great Zatanna will quicken this process. So, yeah, no Bats allowed on the Tower until then!

-But/!

A loud crash, followed by a wail, made Gar wince and Raven’s head to snap to the side and growl.

-Whelp, gotta go, Tower out! -a ‘Tim!’ could be heard in the background just before the screen went dark.

-...

-...

-...

-...Anyone gonna fill me in?

-Drake eloped thrice over without informing us and has been living in sinful unworthiness with his three partners since last month or so, that we know about. Probably more.

-...Partners?

-You heard her. The speedster, clone and amazonian.

-...

-...

-Dickie, how t’fuck did ya allow’is to happen?!

-IT’S NOT LIKE I WAS ASKED FOR MY BLESSING, JASON!

-B, what the utter hell, ain’t ya supposed to keep track of this kinda shit?!?

-...

-Don’t bother, Father has been broken since learning of Drake’s mistake, and will go unresponsive at the most inconvenient times.

-...

-Fuck, I need a drink. Also, ’m going there.

-You heard Gar, Jay -pointed out Dick- we can’t just walk in there, and the Tower is legally his. We have to be smart about this, plan this through, and/

-Yeah, no, he said ‘no bats’-gesturing at his gun holsters, he started to walk to where his bike was parked-. RIP ya’ll, but I’m different. See ya.

-...

-...

-Tt. Useless. I’ll go back to training. Father, Grayson, should you two, as the plebeians say, ‘snap out of it’ and come with a good plan to get Drake back under our tutelage, I’ll be by the mats waiting.

-...

-...Don’t look at me like that. I raised him for a few months tops, but he’s your kid, not mine. Same with Tim, and Jason’s entirely your fault.

---.---

Meanwhile, back at the Tower, Kon let out a screeching ‘Tim!’ before diving out and catching the baby bird in his arms, halting his fall from the ceiling rafters where he had been climbing. Behind him, Cassie let out a relieved breath.

-God’s above, you almost gave me a heart attack. Okay, new ground rules, this two little feet stay on the ground.

Tim, as proudly as a three year old toddler could, frowned at him.

-Don’t patwonize me, Kon. And lemme go, I havta cacth Zac/ Zat/… Magic-boy.

Bart materialized by their side, arms looping below Tim’s armpints to carry him to the recently put back to its correct place couch. He dropped there, tiny bird in his lap, cooing all the while.

-Aww, you’re precious.

-I could still huwt you -pointed out the toddler, resigning himself at being manhandled.

-I know -replied Bart lovingly, softly stroking his turf of hair.

Somewhere on the side, Cissie clapped her hands, as if getting rid of the dust there.

-Okay, I putted out the fire, so now I’ll be heading home. This magical bullshit is way out of my ‘retired’ comfort zone.

Cassie landed by her side and gave her a quick hug, while Greta walked up to them- I understand, thanks for coming.

-Give us a call when this is solved, we can have a coffee while you complain about your husbands. And… child, now, I guess. God, it was already weird calling Tim your husband, but now he’s a baby and it's doubly weird. Figure this out quickly.

-Will do. See you guys later.

One by one, they all left, some offering their support (appreciated, but not needed, thank you, we’ll manage), some still laughing. In the end, only the Core Four, Gar, Raven and Miguel remained. Zachary probably was there somewhere (if he dared leave without helping them fix this, he was dead meat), but out of the enraged toddler’s sight, which. Wise.

Even if said little human being was pint sized and cow eyed, he was probably still the most dangerous person in the room, unarmed or not (you know what, scratch that; if time with Tim taught them anything, was that no bat was ever unarmed. Even bare handed, their own bodies were weapons).

-...So... What should we do while we wait for Zatara’s solution?

-I vote movie night. It’s not like we can keep on drinking, with a kid in the room/ Auch! Pointy elbows, Tim!

Kon swooped in, picking Tim from Bart’s not invulnerable lap and cuddling to him on the couch by the speedster’s side. Tim knew better than to hit the Boy of Steel without proper equipment, so he let himself fall back against the broad chest. Cassie, talking to the older members of the team on the side, smiled softly at them before returning to her conversation.

As mad as his current situation made him, Tim couldn’t bring himself to pout too much. It had been a fun night, all things considered.

-----.-----

Daredevil 101: The Devil in Cell Block D, Part 1

Y’all, I am so excited. “The Devil in Cell Block D” is one of my all-time favorite Daredevil stories and I have been chomping at the bit waiting to share it with you for...*checks watch* four years. Um. *cough*

Anyway, we ended the last Daredevil 101 with Matt in Riker’s Island, awaiting trial for charges of, essentially, Being Daredevil and Thus Annoying the FBI. We also ended with the final Bendis/Maleev issue of the regular series, which means we have a new creative team: Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark, who provide a very seamless transition, not least because Lark’s art is very similar to Maleev’s in style.

This storyline covers DD v2 #82-87.

Content Warnings: There are two incidences of murder that are made to look like suicide in this story. I have not included the images here but if you look up the storyline for yourself be warned that both “suicides” are shown on the page. Also, there’s a lot of prison violence, unsurprisingly.

We begin with Matt, unsurprisingly, not having a very good time:

No one in jail believes that he’s not Daredevil and pretty much everyone is looking forward to him inevitably being killed, guards and supervillains and regular prisoners alike. Poor Matt.

Also, there’s someone else running around on the outside as Daredevil, and Matt has no idea who. And neither do his friends:

EVERYONE IS SO CRANKY. But yeah, as Ben points out, obviously having someone operating as Daredevil while Matt’s demonstrably in jail reinforces their defense that Matt isn’t Daredevil, but it would be profoundly unethical for Foggy to be involved with that. Which he tells the Fake Daredevil when he runs into him:

Foggy going “LA LA LA I LEGALLY CAN’T HEAR YOU” is a very wonderful thing for my heart. Anyway Fake Daredevil will stay a mystery for now!

But the next morning, it’s more bad news:

Of course Foggy, old-fashioned bougie fussbudget, shaves with a straight razor. And of course Foggy, exhausted workaholic, shaves in his office.

The woman is Dakota North. She was a preexisting Marvel character who’d debuted in her own miniseries about 15 years earlier before bopping around with cameos and supporting roles in other heroes’ books. Basically, she’s a former model turned PI, and right now she’s working as Nelson and Murdock’s investigator.

Anyway, she’s here to warn Foggy that the feds are going to argue that Matt can be put in gen pop (general population) with the regular prisoners, since if he’s really Daredevil, he’ll be fine. Of course, even if he is Daredevil, sticking him in the middle of 10,000 other inmates, most of whom have it out for him, is not going to end well - but then, the FBI has made it clear that they’d be as happy with a prison death as a conviction.

Meanwhile, things continue to go poorly for Matt. On his way back from a doctor’s visit, the guard tasked with returning him to his cell instead leads him into a room full of other prisoners. They work for the supervillain Hammerhead and are very much there to beat the crap out of him. Matt manages to defend himself, but then has to explain how he defended himself:

So Matt has been manipulated into solitary. But why?

He’s let out to meet with his lawyer:

I love this beat, because, like, neither one of them wants to commit perjury or fraud, but they also want to get Matt out of there. It’s rare that we see Matt and Foggy wrestling with an ethical issue from the same side because as a narrative device it makes so much more sense for them to argue it with each other, but I love this moment where they’re trying to figure out, together, how to solve this problem without sacrificing their souls. Which will become thematically important later.

Also, they’re in love:

I’M NOT CRYING YOU’RE CRYING etc etc

Anyway. Matt is led back to solitary. Foggy and Dakota are escorted towards the exit.

And then Foggy is attacked.

Foggy’s heart stops beating. And deep within the bowels of Rikers, Fisk laughs.

What a way to attend your best friend’s funeral, jeez.

(Also, I believe this, like Foggy’s wedding, is confirmation that he is at least nominally Catholic as well.)

I always like scanning the crowds in funeral scenes to see who turned up, and there’s some noteworthy appearances and omissions in this one:

So we’ve got Jessica, Luke, Danny with some very Robert Redford hair. Becky and Dakota and Ben are juuuust barely visible in the very last panel (and Ben is narrating). And Rosalind is here, in her last appearance ever, and touchingly, she’s clearly deeply upset over Foggy’s death.

Not in attendance? Literally any Nelson. Also any of Foggy’s other superhero clients, including the Fantastic Four, Tony, and Carol. Nice, guys.

Matt returns to jail with only one thing on his mind: vengeance.

“He was so scared.” NOOOO FOGGY. SOMEONE HUG HIM. SOMEONE HUG EVERYONE.

Becky Blake - remember her? - has gotten a law degree and taken over as Matt’s lawyer now that Foggy’s dead. They go to the hearing to determine whether or not Matt will remain in protective custody, and, well...

I! LOVE! THIS! MOMENT! It is some POWERFUL “I’m not trapped in here with you. You’re trapped in here with me” realness. Matt’s going to gen pop, and that means he can finally start beating up anyone who knows anything about Foggy’s death.

Also the Owl, just for fun:

I mean, not really for fun, but the level of viciousness at play here shows you where Matt’s head is at.

Meanwhile, Ben and Dakota team up to discuss the case:

So: whoever has Foggy killed is cleaning house, and Matt has gone totally apeshit in prison. Neither of these things are great news.

And in more not-great news, guess who’s coming to Rikers!

Party in jail! Bullseye’s bringing the beer! Uh, maybe don’t drink it, though.

Meanwhile, Matt’s reign of terror has even spread to the guards:

As you’ll recall, Hammerhead’s goons attacking Matt was the reason Matt got put in solitary, where he was unable to help Foggy or contact anyone who could help. So Matt puts on a mask, avoids the security cameras, and pays Hammerhead a visit to find out why:

Matt makes it very clear here that the nerve pinches he’s used on Hammerhead are basically torture, and usually he doesn’t use them for that reason. But with Foggy dead, all bets are off. I LOVE MATT GOING FERAL OVER FOGGY. But it does him no good - Hammerhead doesn’t know anything.

Meanwhile, Ben and Dakota get a lead:

This lawyer, Alton Lennox, is the person who hired the prisoner who shanked Foggy. But why?

I’m going to pause here because this is getting looong, but we have a lot of questions on the table: Who is Alton Lennox, and who hired him to have Foggy killed? Where is the prisoner who actually did the stabbing? Has Matt gone irrevocably over the edge? And who is Fake Daredevil?

Next up: Milla, the Punisher, and a prison riot!

Neal and Peter catch Keller

Neal knew Peter was likely going berserk but he had to reach there before Keller. He jumped into a cab, against the rules for how to transport himself on his own. He had no idea if Peter had sent his 'checked out' text to the Marshals or not. If he had, his anklet would be monitored and the speed of his transport would likely set off an alarm. It could not be helped.

"Manhattan Helicopters. FDR Drive," he told the cab driver. A convicted felon with an anklet going to a helicopter pad. He made a phone call to check what he already guessed. Then he called Peter.

"What the heck are you doing, Neal?" he almost yelled. "The Marshals called and—"

"I know. Keller is on his way to Manhattan Helicopters. So am I. Meet me there."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. You can check Sergei's flight plan yourself."

"Sergei himself?"

"The one and only. I have to go. I'm there now."

He ended the call, paid the driver and rushed out on the pier. There was no sight of Keller yet, but he probably waited inside the terminal, waiting for a call from Grace.

A black helicopter approached and Neal saw Keller exit the terminal and walk towards the pad. They met by the helicopter when it turned off its engine.

"Bravo, Keller."

"Seriously? Wow. So you came by to see me off, huh, Caffrey?" Keller grinned. "Who knew you were a gracious loser?"

"I have to admit using the real Ben Franklin bottle, did not see that coming," Neal said with honest admiration. "Stroke of genius, really."

"Thanks. That actually means a lot coming from you," Keller replied and for a second he looked like a little brother getting praise from his older, adored brother. "Only wish Kate was around to see it," he added to hide his emotions. "We both know she always loved a winner. Who knows? Maybe I'll look her up, see if she still does."

Neal looked back with a blank face. That was Keller. Always hiding his emotions by hitting at other's vulnerable spots. Sad, really.

"So I'm curious," Keller continued. "How'd you find me?"

"Checked Sergei's travel plans." The short version was just fine. "See he does it in style. I also hear he doesn't take it lightly when someone owes him money."

"Owed," Keller corrected. "As in past tense. Yeah, you see, our little go-around with the bottle cleared my debts. In fact, I just got a text from my broker. Bottle went for seven figures."

Neal hid his smile of triumph behind one of fake admiration.

"Wow," he expressed. "Wow, congratulations, man." Keller did not have a clue.

"Thank you. Thank you."

"So it was a two birds, one stone thing. Humiliate me, turn a hefty profit while you're at it?"

"See? Now you're catching on, Neal." Though Neal knew Keller wanted to hurt him it was painful to hear him say it. They had been friends once. "Listen, I'd love to chat, buddy. But unless you got anything else, I should get going. Be good."

For a second Neal thought about not saying a word and let Keller leave. Without money to pay Sergei with, he was likely to end up dead somewhere. One less killer in the world. One less trouble for him. But that was not how it was done. That made him like Keller. And if it was one thing Neal was proud of in his life it was his ability to care for people, even though he was a criminal. He was pretty sure that ability was one of the reasons that Peter had taken the deal.

He turned to Keller who had his hand on the door to the helicopter where Sergei was waiting.

"I haven't made my offer yet."

Keller glanced at his watch.

"This should be good."

"I'd like to offer you the opportunity to make a full confession for your crimes. The robbery of the Natural History Museum, the murder of Manuel Campos anything else you wanna add in."

"You know what? I was wrong. This isn't good. This is sad, man," Keller said, disappointed. "This is a moment I'll cherish. Seeing you at your most desperate." He turned back towards the chopper.

"The winner of the Franklin bottle it wouldn't happen to be bidder number 57, would it?"

This made him stop. Neal beamed at him and saw in Keller's eyes that he knew that he had lost.

"Why?"

"Now, this is just awkward, but I don't have a million dollars. The auction house said they'd give me a week to put the money together."

Neal heard people approaching from behind. He felt more than heard that it was Peter and his agents.

"A week, huh? You know what? A week's not that long. I can buy that." That, if something, was desperate. Clutching for straws. Neal smiled.

Peter drove out on the helicopter pier, waving his badge to the guard. He saw Neal with his back to him facing a black helicopter. And between the young con-man and the helicopter was Keller, leaving. Peter stopped and got out of the car.

"The winner of the Franklin bottle it wouldn't happen to be bidder number 57, would it?" he heard Neal say as he approached.

Keller stopped and faced Neal.

"Why?"

"Now, this is just awkward, but I don't have a million dollars. The auction house said they'd give me a week to put the money together."

Now Keller saw Peter and his team too. He was not about to give up yet.

"A week, huh? You know what? A week's not that long. I can buy that."

"Did you tell him I'm launching a federal investigation on the bottle?" Peter said.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. There's that too," the kid added with enthusiasm and Keller made a face. "How long can a federal investigation go on for?"

"Not sure," Peter said. "Years." It could, even it was rare.

"Oh, years, wow," Neal grinned.

Keller did not seem that excited about it all.

"Son of a bitch," he said to his opponent and Peter knew that Keller knew that he had lost.

"How patient are Sergei and your Russian friends?" the kid asked.

"You can take a helicopter ride and find out," Peter suggested. "Or you can come with us. Your choice."

He watched his pet convict and his enemy eye each other. There was no gloating.

"Well played," Keller said. He held out his arm and dropped his bag to the ground.

"Good game, Keller," Neal replied.

Keller grinned.

"The game ain't over."

"Help the gentleman into the car," Peter told his team and two agents stepped forward. Keller put his hands behind his back without a fuss.

"Looks that way to me," the kid said.

"Yeah?" Keller glanced at his rival as he got his hands cuffed. "I mean, you were locked up, broke out. Maybe it's my turn to accept a challenge. Best two out of three." Peter was not happy about that statement and could see on Neal's body language that he did not either.

"I'll see you around, Caffrey."

Neal took a step forward and told Keller something for his ears only. Then they led him away to the car.

"Poor Sergei's going home empty-handed," Neal smiled at Peter who bent down and picked up Keller's bag.

He felt so proud of the kid. There had never been a doubt about Neal's intentions. When the marshals called he had yelled at them not to worry even before checking with his convict what was going on. And seeing the kid out there on the helicopter pad, winning over his rival without mockery, it was such pleasure to see. Peter was a strong believer in fair treatment and no gloating when a suspect was arrested. Even a guy like Keller who was hardcore on the surface could be scared when being cuffed.

He pattered the kid on the shoulder on the way back to the car.

Neal remained where he was and Peter did not ask him to come along. He would not be involved in anything more concerning Keller. If the kid wanted to be alone as the adrenaline rush left him, it was his choice. Peter smiled. Neal would probably not be alone for long. He had a hunch a little bald fellow would turn up as soon as they left.

Neal enjoyed the temporary solitude. He watched the Statue of Liberty out in the bay and Brooklyn Heights on the other side of the river. He was outside his radius and Peter had let him remain there when they left. He took it as a gesture of trust. Still, Neal was pretty certain the moment he returned to his radius, Peter would send his text to the Marshals.

The imaginary freedom he felt down there by the water was worth a lot and he wanted to stay for a while.

Besides, he expected Mozzie to be around soon and was right.

"Did I miss Keller?" he heard his friend's voice. Neal barely needed to nod. The answer was obvious. "Damn. I wanted to see him do the perp walk."

"Sorry. Good news is he won't be bothering us for a while."

"How long is a while?"

"Maybe long enough to finish our chess game." Neal wished it was so.

"You think they have a prison that can hold him?" Moz asked.

"I don't know." He had broken out of one. Keller could probably do it too. Not with the same means, but if he wanted out he would get out. The question was if he wanted to, with an angry Russian mob breathing down his neck.

"Okay, so, what's the bad news?" Moz asked.

"You won't be drinking a million-dollar bottle of wine tonight."

Mozzie grinned

"I'll live."

Life was good. Right now at this moment, Neal had never been more certain that he would gladly spend the rest of his sentence working for Peter.

"You were right," he said and Mozzie glanced at him. "I could use one less mystery in my life."

"Oh, I rescind that comment," his friend said and Neal stared, not very thrilled of this new mystery. "There's suddenly been a lot of chatter about the music box. You need to talk to Alex."

"She won't tell me anything while I work for the FBI."

"Then… make it worth her while."

That was a challenge to Neal's liking.

Like this? Check out https://desnordlund.wixsite.com/altankatt

Happy Death day to you. {Vergil’s Version}

It was raining heavily Y/n sniffled as she hugged her arms, Her wet h/c hair was matted to her face and her blue dress was soaked and stuck to her skin. 

She was just so angry she stormed out of Vergil's house without a jacket, 2 years they've been together! and not once has the white haired man ever told her he loved her or even hinted that he would want a future with her! 

Tonight was turning point it was their anniversary, Y/n had planned this dinner for months! they argued and..and he choose his job and another woman over her! She saw that blond in black corset and leather pants waiting outside looking smug..before driving off.

Y/n made her decision right then and there...Her and Vergil were through! She left her key to his house on the front steps she'd send for her things later so she wouldn't have to see him... 

The distraught woman sat in a bus shelter, her red and tired eyes scanned the schedule then looked both ways the streets were empty only the sound of the rain was there to keep the lonely woman company, Then there was a new sound Y/n's ears strained to focus on it...Footsteps. Her e/c looked out into the darkness through the rain she saw him. A man he scruffy looking was in a prison jumpsuit stained red.

She felt a chill go down her spine when she recalled the news about the escaped murderer, but she was sure they caught him. He looked up from where he was standing and smiled in way that was almost un-natural as he slowly took a step forward towards her... 

Y/n's survival instincts kicked in and she took off running with the man hot on her heels...She dared not look back as she turned into an alley only to be met by a brick wall! The last sensation Y/n felt was a large hand grabbing her shoulder...

A group of teenagers found what was left Y/n that morning...Soon the alley was closed off the crime scene was set up, When Dante opened his door that same morning he was confused to find two police officers standing on his front steps looking grim.

"Are you Vergil Sparda?"

"No I'm his brother Dante, is everything alright?"

"Sir, Do you know a Y/n S/n?"

"Yeah she's my brother's girlfriend... Why, is she in trouble?"

The two officer decided it was best if Vergil heard it from his brother then from strangers. "I sorry sir, She's dead...last night a dangerous convict had escaped.." The officers left as a lightheaded Dante walked over to his phone and called Vergil and Trish. 

["...left her alone on your anniversary, are you thick?!]" He heard the she-demon yell at his brother, Dante winced fuck it was Y/n & Verge's anniversary yesterday.. "What Dante?!" his brother snapped as his twin swallowed trying to breathe, Was he seriously doing this over the phone? Yes he was.

"Verg..You need to come home,now!" Dante said sternly as he brother began to protest as he and Trish were in the middle of a job. "Vergil! It's Y/n, something happened I'm sorry...She's gone." the younger twin's voice was getting hoarse, There was a few seconds of silence when a portal opened in the DMC's office as Vergil and Trish walked through it. the blond could already tell something horrible had happened the Dante's aura was listless and forlorn.

"Where is she? did she leave a note?" Vergil huffed assuming his brother meant Y/n had run off, He went to reach for the door Dante tried to stop him. last night the rain had covered up the smell of blood, now it had stopped...A harsh wind blew through the air and with it the scent blood...

Vergil knew whose blood it was, he smelled and tasted it enough times there was no mistaking it, It was Y/n's... That's how Vergil learned his girlfriend was the nineteenth victim of the Red Grave Slasher...And Vergil was going to get his revenge.

[one month later]

E/c eyes snapped opened before blinking a few times trying to adjusting to what little light there was in the room, Was she home? Had Vergil come back? Y/n winced as she lifted herself up her body felt sore, heavy and her head was killing her. the h/c girl's eyes had finally adjusted and she got a good look at the room she was in, this wasn't her apartment and it certainly wasn't Vergil's house!?

W-where was she?! she then looked under the sheet that was covering her...She was naked?! what happened last night?! she felt like she was hungover but...She didn't drink that much or maybe she did? the sound of foot steps snapped Y/n out of her freak-out, Y/n quickly flopped down and closed her eyes pretended to sleep as the door clicked open;

And a black haired man who definitely wasn't her boyfriend walked in stared at her for a few seconds rolled his eyes and went to the window pulled the curtains opened. as his back was turned Y/n slowly reached for the lamp on the nightstand planning to strike him with it and escape..."Y'know..." the man spoke up causing the h/c to freeze. "If you're going to pretend be asleep, don't make it so obvious." Y/n eyes snapped opened she sat up and saw the man staring right at her unimpressed as she hugged the sheet close.

"Where am I?!" She demanded voice wavering as the man studied her, before sighing "Your in my room above my shop Dead man's pawn." he said tiredly as he pushed away from the window and approached the bed.

 Y/n flinched as he reached into the nightstand drawer and toss an envelope on to her lap the h/c girl looked down at it bemused then look at the man. "What this supposed to be, hush money? After what you did I'll-" she hissed the man put his hand up to silence her.

"I didn't do anything to you, just look inside it'll tell you everything that's happened the last two months." Y/n eyes widened as soon as he said that. T-two months?! that can't be?! he had to be lying it couldn't be August...The guy was off his rocker! "My name is Henry by the way...now get cleaned up, dressed and meet me downstairs." Henry said walking towards the door "you have a busy day ahead of you." with that 'Henry' closed the door and Y/n was alone.

*what did he mean, Busy day?* a chill went down her spine as she thought about whatever he was planning. Then looked down at the envelope, swallowing she opened it and newspaper clippings and a folded letter fell out searching the clippings Y/n stomach churned as read the headline. "Red Grave Slasher claims Nineteenth Victim." how does this answer why she woke up in a stranger's bed? 

She read the article and Y/n felt like her stomach was full of sand as she saw her name and picture staring back at her, it must be a mistake or a trick! she reasoned as she read the details and felt more frantic before looking at the letter her hands were shaking as unfolded it praying she'll see Dante's handwriting saying :GoT'ChA  or something like that...But that all shattered when she looked at the paper in her hands...

I wasn't a letter, it was her death certificate. 

[twenty minutes later.]

Y/n came downstairs wearing a large hoodie, sweat pants and flip flops, Henry was waiting for her doing a Crossword looked up and sighed "Ok..You found the clothes I left. good now let's go." Y/n kept her distance and stared at him suspiciously. "what's going, who put you up to this?!" The [y/height] hissed obviously not believing she was dead, Henry grumbled something under his breath. "Look I'll explain once we get there." he said keep his aged eyes on her, making it clear that Y/n had know choice in the matter reluctantly followed after the lanky man.

"Where are we going?" 

"Someplace that’ll make you feel better.

"A where would that be?"

"Your grave Snow-pea."

"...Snow-pea?" 

Soon the two were at the cemetery gates Henry led Y/n through the graveyard passed a few rows before stopping Y/n eyes widened when she saw Vergil leaving flowers; immediately she tried to run to him only for Henry to hold her back. "Don't, he won't recognize you." her brows furrowed as turned to look back at Vergil only see him walking away with that blond woman he ditched her for...Y/n felt rage bubbling in her stomach as Henry dragged her over the grave Vergil left flowers on...

Soon her anger turned to melancholy as she saw her tombstone [Y/n L/n y/b/d/-2019 loved and missed dearly.] then the anger returned "Loved and missed..." she snorted Henry cocked a brow as her curiously "He sure got over me pretty quickly..." She mumbled bitterly as the light bulb went off in Henry's head "Y'know you really shouldn't assume things..."the tall man deadpanned as Y/n shot him a look "I'll start listening to you, when you tell me what the fucks going on." The man hummed before taking leading Y/n out of the cemetery and eventually to a fancy high-rise apartment building, They got into the elevator and were headed to the penthouse floor.

"You were suppose to have this speech months ago, but your soul was so shattered that it took it's sweet time pulling you back together." The black haired man began as Y/n brows furrowed as she listened intently."So, what? Am I ghost or something?" the the man snorted and muttered something under his breath "You're definitely something Snow-pea, but a ghost you are not." The h/c was beginning to get frustrated as Henry continued his explanation.

"See, you have selected since the day you were even a thought, the second Roy bumped in to you and extracted your soul from the ties that bounded you to the mortal plains...Y/n welcome the ranks of the grim reapers." He said happily as elevator door to reveal a bloody massacre there was blood and bodies littering the apartment causing Y/n gag and throw up.

Except, something freaky happened instead of liquid this weird cloud of shimmering vapor came out Y/n's mouth causing the y/height girl to gawk at it, she curiously went to touch the cloud as it slowly faded away only to see her hand was spectral.. "Gah!?!" she yelped showing Henry who clicked his tongue at her.

"Don't worry that'll go away once we some food in to ya." He pulling the pale girl into the bloody apartment. "please tell me we're not here to raid their fridge." she said to sick to eat at the moment trying not to touch anything as Henry started looking around and smile when he found what he wanted.

"Naw-naw of course not...We're robbing it!" he said indifferently Y/n relaxed until she registered what he said; then heard a loud crash looked in the dinning room and saw Henry in the wine cabinet pulling out bottles and reading the labels.

"Are you insane?!" she shrieked as Henry waved her "They're not using it anymore, where do you think most of my wares come from?" before Y/n could convey her disdain at Henry's behavior a woman's voice cut in.

"Sorry Henry, but I called dibs. so everything here is mine.~" ??? purred as Y/n whirled around to see a beautiful woman wavy red hair wearing a dark green cocktail dress with a sports bag slung over her shoulder stuffed to overcapacity with what Y/n assumed to be clothes, jewelry and other belongings of whoever these people were.

"Cod dammit Megan! can I at least keep the wine?" Henry pleaded as Y/n between him and "Meg" who's gray eyes widened when she noticed the newbie. "Tell you what, you can have two...if I get Nineteen out those rags." she bargained as Henry sneered at the redhead "Five...I keep four of my choice and we split the fifth." the two stared each other as Meg caved.

"Deal...let's go Nineteen" Y/n awkwardly introduced herself as Henry sifted through the wine selections. a few minutes later the girls came back Meg had dress Y/n in a light-blue sundress, black stockings and light brown ankle boots. she still wore Henry's hoodie over it either due to low-self esteem or she was cold, whatever the reason she made it work.

"There, doesn't she look cute?" Meg ask as Henry look her over and just shrugged "meh... Anyway we gotta get going, we still have a few more stops today." Meg frowned at the shaggy haired man's indifference. "Well that was to be expected..You take of yourself Nineteen." The redhead chirped putting the h/c on the head as she grabbed another sports next to the exit and walked down the fire escape, She heard a zipper and Y/n saw Henry stuffing SIX bottles into a backpack before ushering the y/height girl towards the elevator.

"C'mon before she come back.."

"Wha..whoa! okay stop shoving!" Y/n yelped nearly tripping on a dead man's leg as Henry practically carried her to doors, cue the most awkward elevator ride ever. As Y/n and Henry waited for their floor the Reapling" as Meg called her had to ask.

"So...How did those people die?"

"Murder/Suicide. husband though the wife banging his best friend,...Turns his friend was gay, And his wife was just trying to help him come out to everyone."

Y/n felt bad for the wife and friend; killed without ever given a chance to explain...She wanted to ask if they were going to be reapers too? then the elevator came to a stop Y/n felt heart jump when she saw a familiar blue coat about to enter, she quickly threw her hood up  and kept her head down as a pair of familiar boots stepped on to the elevator stopping next to her. "Rough night?" Henry asked jokingly as Vergil rumbled in annoyance.

"Y'wanna talk about it." the h/c swallowed hard as the hunter coldly answered "I have no business with you." he hissed Y/n suddenly felt lightheaded as the elevator started up again, her breathing got shallower as tears started falling down her cheeks getting Vergil's attention. 

His hand suddenly moved like it was going for her hood, before Henry threw his arm over her shoulder and spoke up "Sorry about her, she had a bad night, can't handle liquor very well." he said as Vergil's hand lowered back to his side, “I see..” the white haired man hummed, Y/n relaxed as the elevator finally came to their floor. 

As the two reapers exited a large gust of wind blew causing Y/n's hood to fall off, her eyes traveled towards the closing doors just in time to meet Vergil's icy blue eyes she saw a flash of confusion slowly morph into recognition!!! She felt her mouth go dry and suddenly grabbed Henry's hand and took off running dragging the confused man behind her. 

Soon as they were far away from the apartments, the senior reaper got her to stop they finally did in-front of a Computer repair shop. "Why did you make us run ten fricken blocks?..I'm all for quick getaways, but damn!" Y/n didn't answer she pulled her hood back up frantically.

Then it click Henry sighed in frustration. "Is this because of your boyfriend? Look I told you before he won't recognize you." the black haired man huffed Y/n didn't seem too sold. So he brought her to the store front showing her the TV/Camera display that was pointed at the street "See? this is what we look like to the living." He the h/c nervously looked up at the screen to see a sickly looking girl who sort of resembled her, but the girl she was looking at had different [Skin tone, longer/shorter Darker/Lighter hair color, a dull not/your eye color.]

Y/n was stunned for a moment as she brought a hand up to the glass, her doppelganger did the same then she looked at a broken mirror and saw her normal appearance looking up at her before turning back to Henry "Who decides what we look like?" the black haired man shrugged along with his surfer dude looking doppelganger, the h/c girl felt a chill go down her spine as she remembered Vergil...

"Does this trick work on demons too?" She asked warily as Henry looked at her bemused. "Well demon aren't really human. So no, Why?" He asked as the temperature in the street suddenly plummeted causing the older reaper to pull his coat closer then he noticed, no wind so where chill coming from?

He saw Y/n looking across the street almost terrified he followed her gaze to see a dragon-like demon [SDT! Vergil.] it was huge and surrounded by blue flames that seem to freeze everything it touched...

"What did you say you boyfriend’s name was?" he said shivering as the demon got closer "V-Vergil Sparda." She stammered before Henry could react a blue flash obscured his sight and something large grabbed the stunned girl, when Henry could see again Y/n was gone... 

The Pull (39/?)

Summary: The Ragnulf’s are one of the oldest lines of werewolves known. A gift from ancient times was given to the line. Though not all of the line will experience it. There are some who will experience a Pull. This Pull leads them to their true mate, a soulmate. The problem is, just because the wolf finds their true mate does not mean that they are the same for that person.

Author: @lettersofwrittencollective

Pairing: Stiles x Hale!Cousin OC (Reader)

Word count: 4540

Warnings: Angst, mentions of violence, mentions of sex

A/N: Please don’t murder me!

<<Prev || Masterlist || Next>>

“Aiden and Ethan are on their way,” Lydia says as she comes back into the room.

Whatever had been planned was going to need everyone. Everyone but you.  Aaric and Ro and managed to convince your friends that you needed to sit this one out. So you were trying to figure out some way to be helpful through all of this. 

Making your way to the kitchen you prepare some chamomile to try and calm your nerves. Scott comes in not too long after and you motion towards the heating water, “Would you like some?”

He nods his head and you go about making the tea. 

Scotts clearing his throat, “I- uh… I’m sorry about the other day.” 

You chuckle as you pour the water into each mug, “It’s not your fault. None of us knew that the Oni had Emerald Wolfsbane

“No, that’s not it-” Scott says with a shake of his head, “I uh... I should have known that…”

“You’re right, you should have known,” comes Aaric's voice and you groan. 

“Aaric,” you warn. 

“Nah kid, Stiles is his pack. He should have known things were off.”

Scott goes to say something but you cut him off, “Aaric, she knew something was off but it was kind of a hectic day and I didn’t listen to her. These are Scotts lands, this is his home, don’t you think that he’d be a bit more distracted than I was?”

“He’s an Alpha,” your brother challenges you

“Right cause you’ve never made a bad call,” you challenge back.

“Guys!” Scott interrupts you and you turn to him, “I screwed up alright. I should have known but I didn’t and I’m sorry you got hurt Natasha.”

You offer him a small smile and Aaric nods before he moves about the kitchen. 

You hand Scott the finished tea and are sipping on your own when he asks, “So- How you holding up?”

You can feel the tension roll off your brother and you softly shake your head. He’s going to be a bit of an ass for the foreseeable future it would seem. Scott must notice it too because you can see him visibly stiffen and you reach out to touch his arm, “I’ll be okay.” 

He returns the smile and covers your hand with his before giving you a comforting squeeze, “I am still sorry.”

“Hands off her pretty boy,” your brother growls softly and Scott looks at you, eyebrow raised. 

Sheepishly, you pull your hand from him and shake your head, “Don’t mind Aaric, he’s just being an ass.”

“Right because your mate is going to so appreciate you smelling like another male,” Aaric snaps at you and you growl at him.

“Don’t give me that Ylfa, you’ve been foolish enough as it is,” your brother scolds you and you notice that he sounds more scared than mad in that moment. 

Immediately, you calm down and make your way towards him, reaching out you call his name. He pulls you into a tight hug and you allow him to just hold you for a moment before pulling back, “I didn’t mean to scare you..” you whisper. 

He scoffs before kissing your forehead, “Then don’t go around threatening people’s mates.”

Making his way to the showers Stiles walks in and turns on a faucet. He’s throwing water on his face and reminding himself that all he has to do is stay awake when movement in the mirror catches his attention. 

He looks over his shoulder and does, in fact, see  Malia in the showers. Quickly turning back to the mirror in front of him he looks down and tries to focus on something else. Thinking back, he’s sure he walked into the boy's room… didn’t he?

“Don’t worry Stiles,” Malia’s saying, “You didn’t just accidentally walk into the girl's room.”

“Thank God,” he clears his throat and looks at the floor as he moves towards the door but his curiosity gets the better of him and he asks her, “Okay… so what… what’re you doing in the boy's room?”

“Showering,” she replies as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“I can see that,” Stiles responds before he realizes how that comes across. “Well I mean I saw that,” he tries to recover and it just sounds, “Well actually, I didn’t see anything really… I just.” he’s frazzled and completely out of his element, “there was too much steam to uh… not that I would prefer there to be less steam…”

“Stiles I don’t care,” Malia calls out and he is so grateful that he’s allowing er she’s giving him an out and keeping him from sticking is foot father in his mouth. 

“In the woods, there was no boys and girls room,” she continues, “And if you really need to know they keep the water temperature in the girl's room too low. It’s much hotter in here, ever since I turned back to a human I just can’t seem to get warm.” 

God help him he has no idea why he doesn’t leave but instead, he continues the conversation as he places his hands on his hips, “Maybe you just have a- a low core temp,” he offers. “You know you might be sick or-”

“I used to have a fur coat,” she snaps at him as he tries to offer other alternatives but she’s right. 

“It- it could be… it might be that. It’s probably that,” he offers and hears her turn off the water. 

His eyes flick over to her as he watches her grab the towel before he snaps them away but shes noticed. 

‘Now you’re staring,” she points out and he shakes his head.

“No, I’m not,” he points out and 

He can see her move out of his periphery and he tries not to focus on her skin, as she walks up to him, “Then what are you doing?”

She’s wrapped a towel around herself and he sighs in relief, before turning to her, “I was kind of wondering why you punched me…”

He watches as she raises an eyebrow and scoffs “Did you think I was gonna thank you?”

That had been exactly what he’d thought but she seemed like that was the last thing she wanted to do, “No…” he starts off then shakes his head, “Maybe? We did kind of save your life.”

“You’re right Stiles,” She says and he can tell she doesn’t actually mean it. She continues, “Thank you. Thanks for invading my home. For putting me on the run. For turning me back to human so that I could look at my father every day and try to figure out how to explain to him that the reason my sister and mother are dead is because I almost ate them on a full moon. Thank you so very much.”

With each statement, Stiles feels smaller and smaller and by the end, he feels no worse than a cockroach. He hadn’t thought of it that way, none of them had.

“We were just trying to help,” he whispers apologetically. 

“You wanna help me? Find a way to change me back,” she demands of him. 

There’s a conviction in her voice that he doesn’t understand so he tries to clarify, “You want to go back? To being a coyote?”

There’s something at the edge of his mind that seems to think it’s actually quite possible and he can actually help Malia with this. He’s trying to follow the thought when Malia grabs him and demands what he knows. 

Natasha… 

It’s a whispered voice but it makes sense. Isaac had told Scott about her spending time in fur… perhaps she knew how to actually transform into the wolf part… Licking his lips, he looks at Malia, “I might know someone who could teach you how to change.”

Malia looks like she’s grateful and nods her head, “Okay, what do you want?”

He’s not even sure that Natasha can help but maybe she can… Besides he needs to know what’s in that basement… he has to try, right? So he tells her, “I need to get into the basement. Which means  I need to get the keys off that orderly, the big one.” 

“Brusnki,” she confirms. 

“You help me and I’ll help you.”

You look at your group of friends and your family as they got about making plans. Everyone seems to have different ideas. Ally and Lydia seem to think it’s better to get a GPS tracker on the truck and Ro and your brother want to try Kira’s idea and get the truck while it’s still at the station. 

They’re going back and forth, bickering over who has the best idea when you’ve had enough, “Guys! Why not put it to a vote?” 

They look at you for a moment before nodding. They put it to a vote and it’s tied-  Lydia, Ally, Aiden and Scott on one side against Aaric, Ro, Ethan and Kira on the other. 

You’re the tiebreaker…sighing you look at both. Both ideas have their merits but both are also pretty bad. The problem is there’s not enough time to plan anything good. There’s not enough time to recon the way that things work out here.

“What if we did a mix of both?” Ro asks them before you can make a choice. 

Looking around you see the confusion on their faces At the same time you see what Ro was talking about. He picks up the toy car and tells them, “The biggest problem is that we have no idea what roads the truck will take and while yes, the GPS can get us that, there’s no guarantee we’ll be able to block them off. We need to split up, have Allison and one or two of us go to the station. One creates a distraction while Allison and another try to get into the truck. If the distraction isn’t long enough then Ally can throw a tracker on it.”

You nod your head and point out, “You’ll need to have groups of two or three stationed throughout the city,” you point out a couple different spots that could work. “Pay attention to the GPS and be ready to move to stage an accident or go help stage one.” 

“Exactly,” Ro agrees and you all look at the group. 

No one says anything for a moment but then Aly nods her head. “Guys this’ll work. This is going to work- We’re losing Stiles. My dads in jail for murder…” 

“Derek’s in there with him…” Aaric reminds them as well.

“We can do this…” Ally repeats. She sounds more like she’s trying to convince herself in your opinion but it seems to be enough for the group, “we need to do this…”

Malia’s managed to start a fight with Oliver as a part of a distraction. There was a risk that Brunski would put her in the closed ward but she seemed to think that he wouldn’t just yet. 

Oliver has her pinned on the floor and is screaming, “You’re lying!  You’re a liar!”

Some of the other patients are surrounding them but no one seems to be willing to get between them or help either one of them. A few of the orderlies run over demanding to know what’s going on. 

“Get this nut job off of me!” Malia groans as the orderlies pull Oliver off of her. 

Oliver continues to scream “NO! She said that they drill holes in your head! She said they’re gonna put a hole in my head!” 

The orderlies manage to get Oliver off Malia and Stiles has moved so that he’s in the perfect place to help her up. As he helps her up he feels her pass the keys she’d managed to lift off of Brunski to him. They both look over and see Oliver smile at them for a second before the orderlies take him and he continues, “No! Please don’t! Come on, please don’t drill a hole in my head, I swear I’ll behave!”

Outside the station, Alexander watched as Araya walked out into the parking lot. She stopped and looked in his direction, the two of them met eye before she nodded her head once in acknowledgment. 

“You have less than a month before my men come for her,” she said from her spot but he heard her. He merely nodded his head in response. Clara would be taken care of by then.

Araya merely got in her car and was driven off by one of her “men.” There was no love lost between the two of them or their families. She was probably the only one that realized that hunters were their own brand of supernatural beings. Though he suspected she said nothing considering the fact that they were all still alive. Human in the most basic sense of the word but each and every one of them felt a pull to their jobs.

They needed to be able to lie to themselves to convince themselves they were something else. Each one of them hunted his kind and other supernatural creatures, not because they thought them a problem but because they needed it deep down.

Walking into the building, he was able to get an audience with Argent, claiming to work for the FBI. 

Argent sat across from him and the tension in the air made his wolf's hackles rise. Deciding not to let this man bother him he merely stated, “You need to protect him.”

“Who?”

“The boy… Stiles.”

“I’m trying. But why’s it matter to you? He’s just some teenage kid you don’t know. If it weren’t for your daughter you -” Argents face looks like he’s pieced something together and Alexander knows that it’s only a matter of time.

“So it’s true then?” Argent asked him. 

Of all the hunters in the world, only the Calavera’s knew about his family’s history and why they were the way they were. Interestingly enough, they hadn’t told the rest of the hunters from what he could gather. One of them had either told Argent or he’d gotten his hands on enough notes about his family to be able to piece it together on his own. 

“You owe me, Argent,” Alexander growls out. “Do this - keep him alive and we’ll forget about it.”

He watches as his host walks through the hallways. He’s vigilant looking around as he makes his way towards the door but he seems to think he’s gotten away with this little attempt of his and drops it has he tries the keys.  

Perhaps he has gotten away with it but he has a suspicion that the key his host is looking for isn’t actually there. He watches as Stiles tires key after key to no avail.

“Come on,” he hears his host and it seems he’s becoming more and more frustrated. It seems he remembers that he’s supposed to be being careful as he watches him glance over his shoulder before turning back to the door. He’s looked back a moment too soon and missed the burly man turning the corner.

“I thought this guy had the key to everything.”

Brunski grabs his host and turns him around, “I do.”

His host gives the keys up much too easily and Void wonders if that’s something he should address when he gets him back while the older male tells him, “Nobody has a key to that room.”

He’s taking his host down the hall and Void wonders if they’ll sedate him or just put him in solitary. He follows them and is happy to find that his host will be alone. 

“Into the Quiet Room, little man,” they tell him as they force him into a bare cell. The man finds something, on his host and asks where he got them.

“A vending machine,” he responds. It would seem the woman was trying to help keep him away. 

No matter, she won’t be alive much longer anyway. 

“Give him five of the Haldol,” he hears Brusnki tell some of the others and Void watches as his host struggles against them. 

“I can’t - I can’t go to sleep,” he’s saying but the Haldol has already done its job and he’s reaching for the nurse, “You don’t understand- I gotta..” he’s saying but the words are becoming slower, slurred as it seems the sedative takes effect, “You don’t get it. I gotta stay awake.”

Void watches as his host closes his eyes and loses consciousness. Void wastes no time in diving in. 

Kira’s with Scott as they’re getting ready to go meet up with Allison at the station. She looks at Scott and frowns, “My mom tried to kill her you know…”

“No,” Scott denies with a shake of his head, “I’m sure whatever that was… was just some kind of misunderstanding.”

“It doesn’t feel like that. I mean sure, she says she threatened my mom but what kind of person is my mom to…” she trails off, uncomfortable with the thought that her mother had tried to kill her friend. Scott doesn’t respond and he and Kira finish getting ready before heading out. 

Eyes snapping open, Stiles finds himself standing in a locker, he tries to open the door but finds he's been locked in. 

“No… no…” he murmurs frantically and begins to pound against the door.

“Hey… Hey..”He calls out and his voice carries, “Let me out!” he screams and can hear his voice echoing through the room. 

“Let me out!” He continues to scream, hoping that someone, anyone, will hear him and help him. 

Through the slits of locker, he sees the bandages. Pushing his back against the wall, Stils watches as the body seems to move amongst the lockers. 

“Let me in,” comes the haunting voice. 

Stiles moves so that he can see the creature move, “What… what do you mean?” he asks with a shaky voice. 

“You know,” Voids voice echoes, sending shivers down his spine. 

Stiles shakes his head and leans back against the locker, “Screw you and your stupid riddles.” 

There’s a banging sound as the locker he’s in shakes and Stiles can feel his body being jerked around.

“No riddle this time, Stiles,” Voids saying, “You know what it means.” 

He’s 90%c sure he knows what Void means but he’s not gonna give him control. He’s already hurt someone he cares about and he’s not about to let this asshole hurt anyone else. He can feel tears in his eyes and has to take a breath to try to keep them at bay. 

“Let me out… Just let me out,” Stiles pleads as he bangs his fist against the locker and begs again until he’s screaming,  his voice cracking through the air, “Let me out... Just let me out!!!” 

He watches as Voids bandaged body moves impossibly fast and there are silver teeth screaming at him in a demonic voice, “Let me in!” 

Jerking awake, it takes him a moment to realize that he’s no longer in the locker and that Malia is there. There’s something warm about her.. Something that was unexpectedly calming that he didn’t expect. Forcing himself to breathe, he waited until his breathing was steady before he asked her, “How did you get in here?”

“I broke the lock,” she explained as she checked the door before turning back to him, “If I concentrate I can be pretty strong. Get up,” she tells him as she pulls him to his feet. Once he’s steady, she informs him that there’s another way through the basement, they just have to make it through the closed unit.

Theo’s back and you’ve never been so grateful to have him around. Regardless of what your past and future are, Theo became one of your closest friends when the two of you were together. He’d told you that there were some interesting things about Eichen House that he wants to cross-reference but that it doesn’t seem too dangerous. 

“Theo… that’s not all that inspiring… you do know that right?” you question him and he nods his head. 

You glance at the clock, wondering if they’ve been able to get things figured out when you hear Theo ask, “Do you want to go out there?”

Eyes flicking back to his, you scoff, “I can’t do anything. Ro and Aaric would have a fit.” 

“Then don’t do anything,” he says as he leans back on the sofa, “Just sit here and drive yourself insane. Or,” he tells you with that mischievous smirk you know is going to get you exactly what you want without breaking the rules, “Just go watch. We don’t have to do anything but observe and if something happens then I can step in and you can hang back that way you don’t get into trouble,”

You both know that if you go and there is trouble, there’s no way that you’re just going to hang back and let others get hurt. 

Stiles follows Malia into the basement and it’s exactly as he had seen it in his vision. His gaze falls on the kanji and he knows what it means. Voids already given him the information to that one. Swallowing past the lump in his throat, he makes his way towards the kanji when Malia asks, So, what are we looking for?”

“Something to do with that,” he says as he points out the etching to her. 

The two of them make their way over to it and Malia runs her hands across the symbol. She turns to look up at him, “What does it mean?”

“Self,” he says with a scoff. How exactly that’s supposed to mean anything to him he has no idea but he tells her anyway. 

“Maybe you should tell me more?” she questions. It sounds like she genuinely wants to help but if she knows the whole story, “you won’t like me very much.”

She reminds him that she’s a werecoyote who murdered her own family and that she won’t judge him. It’s a strange relief to hear that and so he nods his head. 

Sighing, he runs through his hands through his hair before he starts. He tells her about the sacrifices, the nightmares that were only too real, about the missing time, the hospital, Coach, the bus, the station and about how he’d stabbed her... how he was sure that if she did live, she would never want anything to do with him ever again.

You and Theo pull up to the sheriff's station and can hear the sounds of a fight in the alleyway. You see a large, slightly terrifying man, throwing Scott around like a rag doll. He’s leaning over Scott and you go to try and run after him when you feel Theo’s arms across your waist, “Cariña, you cannot take him on. He will literally tear you apart.”

You’re about to respond to Theo when the sound of four roars catches your attention. Looking around, you see that the twins and your brothers have arrived to help apparently. They’re going after the large man and somehow the twins and Ro are knocked down. It leaves just Aaric and the large man fighting. 

Aaric is able to get the man on his knees and is about to claw out his throat when Scott and Lydia yell for him to stop. He keeps his hand in the air but you can hear him bite out to Scott, “If you let him live, he will come after you. His friends will come after you. He’s Yakuza by the looks of him, they’re dangerous.”

“So are we,” Scott tells your brother and Aaric just scoffs. 

“Not nearly as dangerous as you think,” he moves to kill the man but is interrupted when Scott grabs his arm. 

“He’s in my territory, under my protection.”

Aaric looks at Scott and then back at the man before throwing him down. 

“Make no mistake Scott McCall, any blood this man sheds is on your hands,” Aaric criticized him. 

Scott moved passed your brother and pulled something out of the man's shirt pocket. Lifting something in the air, you figure they got what they needed. 

“Yakuza… I told Isaac it wouldn’t end well…” you pointed out before turning to look at Theo. There’s a silent communication between the two of you, a silent understanding that things will be fixed and he will be the one to see to it. 

“We need to go,” you tell him and he nods, Getting back in his truck, you make your way back towards Derek's loft when she tells you, Eichen House… You tell Theo who doesn’t look happy about it but takes you anyways. 

You’re looking at the building and something tells you that you need to be here for now. Somethings happening… 

You have no idea what use you could be when you can’t even get into the building but you and Theo both shift into your canine forms and move to the hedges where you and your brothers had been the day before. 

Stiles and Malia haven’t found a damn thing yet. They’ve gone through boxes upon boxes and while they were able to find out this place used to use some very questionable, methods to get things done, there was nothing that could help them with Void. 

Throwing the papers he has in his hand down, he asks Malia to check the figure on his back and she informs him that the lines are almost gone.  He stiffens and feels dread rush through his body. 

“I’m guessing that’s bad,” Malia says as she apparently catches on to it. 

He nods his head and when her fingers touch his skin he jumps at the iciness. 

“Sorry…” she apologizes as she moves her hands away, “I told you, I’m always cold.”

After the warmth she’d brought him, he doesn’t like the idea of her being cold and reach out for her hands, “Here.” Taking both her hands in his, he realizes that she really is freezing and tells her as much. They share a chuckle and a silence falls amongst them. 

He turns to her and before he realizes it, her lips are pressed against his. 

You’re not sure how long you and Theo are out there but there’s a comfortable silence between the two of you. You’d sifted through the different scents you could make out until you could kind of make out Stiles. 

Trying to pay attention to him, you’d noticed the frustration he must have been feeling and wondered what exactly it was that was frustrating him. Suddenly, the scent changed to lust and you tried to force a sneeze to clear your nose. 

Standing up, you made your way closer to the gates and took a deeper breath, a whine escaped you at the scent you found. 

Moving back across the street you looked at  Theo who’s face only showed confusion and sorrow. Sitting next to him,  you motioned to his truck and he nodded his head. Shifting back to your human form, you threw on his leather jacket and allowed the scent to fill your nose, chasing the scent of lust and orgasm away. 

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“I saw your future” - Misunderstanding and projection in The Last Jedi

I want to write about something I’ve been thinking about for a while now: the way this movie is ultimately about misunderstanding between characters in general, and specifically about the mutual projection between Rey and Kylo Ren.

To give a brief summary:

Star Wars: The Last Jedi repeats the theme of misunderstandings several times. We have Poe and Holdo whose clash is caused by both failing to communicate properly and misjudging each other's character - Poe doesn't trust Holdo's leadership and Holdo sees Poe as nothing more than hot headed pilot. Finn and Rose, too, have a rocky start stemming from Rose's misunderstanding of Finn's actions - only gradually she comes to realize he isn't the coward she took him for. There's also DJ, who the heroes assume to be a decent guy, only for this to backfire when he betrays them. And of course Snoke meets his end when he fails to understand the changes in his apprentice.

That the theme is central is very obvious, but it’s what goes on between Rey and Kylo that is really interesting, because not only is that where the theme gets examined more deeply, I also believe this is where many differences between how viewers have interpreted the story come from. You see, in this aspect TLJ is a tricky movie - it fools the viewer into choosing one flawed perspective and buying into it.

What does an abandoned little girl see in a boy whose master turned against him? What does a man terrified of his own weakness see in a scavenger possessing great power? Only what they want to see.

I’m putting the rest under a cut because this got a bit long. For the record, I'm fairly critical of TLJ as a movie, but I believe this particular aspect of it has been misunderstood and ignored. English is not my first language so I apologize for any mistakes.

After The Force Awakens, Rey sees Kylo Ren as nothing more than a monster. When he shows up, she lashes at him, calling him just that. But when Kylo shows her his perspective - how he was betrayed by his master Luke - Rey's opinion changes. She attacks Luke. And although we see Luke's version of thing's which is different, Rey has begun to believe now that Kylo can be redeemed and she takes a great risk to go meet him.

Why? Because in TLJ, the dynamic between Rey and Kylo Ren is not just about misunderstanding - it's also about mutual projection.

Rey is an orphan, who has waited patiently for years for her family to return, refusing to give up, continuing to hope and trust that they care for her and will come for her. This abandonment that she has not yet faced, defines her. Finding her parent's is her greatest wish, accepting that they left her is her greatest fear. So it's not surprising that when she sees that vision of young Ben Solo, betrayed by the uncle her trusted, that she is very emotionally affected by this. It connects straight to her own trauma of abandonment. She attacks Luke which such fury, it is almost like subconsciously it's not him that she is angry at, but rather, it is the repressed anger towards her parents that comes out. Rey easily believes Kylo's version of the story - that he is the victim, Luke and his parent's let him down - because all those things are true FOR HER. Rey is the victim, left alone in a merciless planet to fend for herself. Her parent's did betray her trust. And so, she starts to project her own experiences onto Kylo, believing that they are not so different deep inside. And if they are not so different, then Kylo, too, must be desperate to find a family, a place to belong to. If Rey just gives it to him - offering friendship, forgiveness, telling him he can still come back, he still has a family - then Kylo will surely accept and return to the Light.

But meanwhile, Kylo too has come to believe there is a special connection between the two of them, and that deep inside he and Rey are not so different. And just like Rey's, his assumptions of who she is and what she desires are a projection. Kylo Ren is obsessed with power. His own weakness, vulnerability, is his greatest fear, and his greatest desire is to eliminate this weakness, to metaphorically murder Ben Solo and the past that keeps him from fully embracing the Dark Side. Kylo does not seek to return to his past, his family, but to move away. What Kylo knows of Rey is essentially that she is seemingly a nobody, a lowly scavenger, abandoned by her family, yet exceptionally gifted in the force. It is inevitable, given his own issues, that Kylo then assumes that naturally Rey must hate her family and must wish to kill her attachment to them that is hurting her and holding her back. Another defining trait of Kylo Ren is his obsession with legacy and status, the way he idolizes Darth Vader and seeks to emulate him, the way his own bloodline and it's specialness has defined him. So it is also inevitable then, that he would assume that the Rey must be equally fixated in these things and therefore, the idea of her parents being "nobodies" would disturb her. If only Kylo gives Rey a way out - encourages her to kill her past, to accept the reality about her parents, if he gives her the opportunity to escape, to become special like him, something more than a daughter to be sold  for drinking money, that Rey would of course accept, turn to the Dark Side and rule the galaxy together side by side with Kylo.

There is a very fascinating little that sums up this dynamic, their mutual fantasies of each other's that are so far from reality. I'm talking about the scene in the elevator just after Kylo catches Rey. Here is their dialogue:

REY: You don't have to do this. I feel the conflict in you. It's tearing you apart. Ben, when we touched hands, I saw your future. Just the shape of it but solid and clear. You will not bow before Snoke. You'll turn. I'll help you. I saw it.

KYLO REN: I saw something too. Because of what I saw I know when the moment comes you'll be the one to turn. You'll stand with me. Right?

This is interesting scene. We know force users are sometimes capable of seeing (or at least sensing) the future. But nothing we've seen has indicated that this would be truly the case here. Rather, it seems that both of them are making assumptions of whatever they sensed - or believe they sensed, for this an important distinction here. But we see in this moment, that both are convinced they are right.

Then, they step in front of Snoke, and although it seems for a moment that Kylo has lied to Rey, lured her into a trap, he turns his lightsaber against his master instead. They then fight the guards side by side. For a moment, it seems like they are on the same side. But this is an illusion. And in the next moment, the illusion comes crashing down.

Rey tells Kylo to order the First Order to stop attacking the Resistance. But instead, Kylo tells him: "It's time to let old things die. Snoke, Skywalker, the Sith, the Jedi, the Rebels, let it all die." And now Rey starts to understand. That Kylo Ren is not the man she believed he was. Kylo wants her to rule the galaxy with him. It was never about family, finding a place to belong - to her yes, but not to him. Kylo Ren did not kill Snoke to destroy the Supreme Leader, but to become the Supreme Leader. In true Sith manner, the apprentice kills the master and takes their place. Kylo no longer needs Snoke, and ironically, it seems that his connection with Rey and the illusions it was build on, helped him  become more confident in his convictions. Look at Kylo's reaction when Rey rejects her.

It is not merely disappointment or hate. It is first confusion, then angry frustration. He offers his hand expecting Rey to take it. "No, no, you're still holding on, let go!" The he tries to use the truth (?) about Rey's parent's to turn her. I think it's important to note here that Rey doesn't speak much - it is Kylo who talks about her parents, and there is no reason to believe he has any real info about them. He merely states Rey's worst fears to manipulate her - or at least, what he believes her worst fears are. He believes that it will hurt Rey to know her parents are "nothing" and she "has no place in this story" - and that then offering her a chance to become something ("But not to me") will make her change her mind. Rey cries, but I don't think there is any reason to believe that she cares about her parents being "filthy junk traders". We're never given any hint that Rey wants to be "special" - that is Kylo's obsession, him projecting his own issues with his legacy onto her. She simply cries because she knows her family is probably dead and may never have cared about her to begin with. And because she has already found a place to belong to and people to care about, she rejects Kylo. The last shot of them together has Rey closing the door of the Falcon - and cutting the connection between them.

Kylo Ren never sought Rey out for his salvation, and Rey never sought him for power and chance to run away from her past. And yet, many people who watched the movie, seem to have been mislead the same way as the characters were. Especially Kylo's character arc is often seen as path towards light, when it seems to me clear that this was merely what Rey and the viewer are first lead to believe. I see no real evidence that TLJ takes Kylo closer to redemption - quite the opposite, he clearly takes an important step towards growth as a villain (not that he couldn’t been redeemed later - it just doesn’t happen here). In the last minutes, when he assumes the title of the Supreme Leader, orders the Millennium Falcon (with Rey inside) to be shot down and confronts Luke, we see Kylo Ren as more confident than ever before. Here, he finally seems like a true Sith, not a boy playing dress up.

Similarly, some viewers seem to take Kylo's interpretation of Rey as truth. I've seen many people arguing that the talk about "nobodies" and  having a place in the story seem to go against Rey's character, but like I explained, this is Kylo speaking.

It is also Kylo speaking when he talks about letting the past die, a line that some have taken to be some kind of core message of the movie. That supposedly, Rian Johnson wanted to send the message that the past - the previous movies, the nostalgia - should die. But again, this is a line by the villain and the movie makes it pretty clear in the end that Kylo is wrong. Because killing the past didn't work. Like Snoke says, murdering Han Solo made Kylo weaker. As Obi-Wan once said to Vader: "Strike me down and I will become more powerful than you can ever imagine." The memory of Han and the guilt will haunt Kylo forever.

This is also important for Luke's characterization, because it is here that we see Luke overcome his own guilt and sense of responsibility towards Kylo. When Kylo kills Snoke and still rejects Rey's offer, he does it all out of his own choice. There is nobody manipulating him now. Until that moment, he has been able to blame Luke, blame his parents, blame Snoke. Now, he is the one in charge of First Order, nobody is ordering him around, Rey has offered to help him, Leia still loves him, he could return at any time - and he doesn't. Luke was a loving uncle and a good master to Ben Solo for the boy's entire life. Yes, he failed Ben, one time, for a split second. But Luke didn't make Ben slaughter his students and run away and join the Dark Side. He - and Han and Leia - are not the one's to blame. Ben Solo made his own choices, and he is the only one who can save himself. This is not Luke Skywalker as some horrible monster or pathetic failure, this is a man who lived a long life dedicated to the good and made one mistake, then ended up punishing himself for it for years. Far from iconoclastic anti-nostalgia lesson, the true message of this movie is one of accepting and confronting the past (Rey and her parent's, Luke and Kylo).

I think these are all my thoughts about the subject - this ended up being longer than I wished... But yes, this is what TLJ, in all of it's flaws and other issues, is ultimately about to me. This is what I personally believe Rian Johnson set out to achieve with his movie.

[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 17

Ah, right. We left off with Ross being arrested for Hughes’ murder. And something tells me that the Goths having a member who can literally walk right into Central undetected, to say nothing of the Fuhrer himself being a Goth, means that the deck’s stacked against her.

Yup, Ross is in an interrogation room, a scowling MP just dropped a deformed bullet onto the table. The very one that killed Brigadier General Hughes. Ok, so what if it’s the same caliber as her pistol? This is the military, everyone’s gonna have the same firearm. What about the ballistic fingerprinting? Fire a round from her gun, and see if it matches with the killing round. Unless the Goths stole her gun for the murder and then returned it… Oh! Well that’s pretty damning - a requisition form for a single bullet. But that shot was fired to defend Ed… at the “unmanned” Fifth Laboratory that’s now a pile of rubble. An eyewitness? Bleh, that’s right, they would have seen Ross (or Gracia, but I’m assuming Envy switched back to Ross afterwards) leaving the scene. But who saw her? Paperwork that she fired one bullet around the time of the shooting, an eyewitness saw (someone looking like) her leaving the murder scene, and her only defense is family testimony that she wasn’t there that day. Yikes. Ok ok, she doesn’t have a good alibi, but what about motive? Why would Ross of all people want to kill Hughes? Explain that, copper! Outside, Armstrong’s been turned away from seeing Ross while she’s being questioned. And then Brosh comes running up. Ouch. He’s confirming Ross’ story, saying he fired a single round at the Fifth Laboratory too, but everyone’s ignoring his report. Armstrong wonders if the Conspiracy is trying to frame Ross for the murder. Episode 17 - “Cold Flame” Winry’s still looking sad, cleaning Al’s armor and remarking how up close she can see all sorts of dings and scratches. Al’s brrrrr, sorry, bit silly and creepy at the same time to see headless Al just calmly polishing his helmet. All Al can do is give a weak chuckle at the comment. Aw, why must my babies be upset? Winry asks Ed what their next move is. Ed doesn’t know. [Flashback!Elicia]: “Mommy… please don’t cry.” NO. BAD SHOW. VERY BAD SHOW. Ed asks what Winry thinks. The mechanic is surprised that Ed’s actually asking her for advice. Damnit, stop being melancholy, show. I don’t want to listen to Winry’s voice shake as she talks about the brother’s digging up dangerous information that could get them killed. [Winry]: “I mean, you could die… I’d still be here, and you’d just suddenly not be there anymore. Like my mom and dad.” GUH. Would you quit it, show? Stop being so Leto-damn depressing! So to sum up, Winry’s torn between supporting their goal to get their bodies back, but also wanting them safe and alive. In the end, she really doesn’t know what they should do. THANK you, Al! Little bro teases Winry about how nice she’s being, lightens the mood at the expense of a few more dings and scratches. Good for you, little guy. In the Warehouse, Falman and Barry are playing chess when the newspaper comes by, no question what the main story’s going to be. Yup, Falman takes one look at the paper and jumps to the phone. Ed’s in his room, going over his notes when WHAM Al bursts through the door with the newspaper. Wait, convicted?! The brothers rush out to see someone in charge. In prison, oh hey it’s Ling! Who’s complaining about his ID cuffs, while chatting up the guard. Wait, only 15? Huh, I was thinking early 20’s. Running guards? Intruder? Oh, the Ninjas must have finally tracked down their wayward master. Although the music’s a bit spooky… NOPE, not the ninjas! It’s Barry! How did he get out of the Warehouse? He’s just striding forward, bullets bouncing off of him.

Even Ling’s guard with a high-power rifle just knocks his helmet off. Crap, run red-shirts, ru- wait, he knocked them out? [Barry]: “This would be a lot more fun if I was allowed to cut ‘em up.” Oh! It’s a prison break! With the conspiracy framing Ross, Roy’s crew sent Barry to bust her out! How in the world did they convince him not to kill innocents, though? Ling asks the Soul Armor to let him out, Barry almost walks by, but picks up on Ling being from Xing. That opens the door for some reason, and Barry tells the Prince to go with him. Hey Ross, wanna leave this dump? Of course Barry has to be unnecessarily creepy breaking her out, but shows her the paper and offers an escape. After a bit of despairing about a life of crime and apologizing to her parents, Ross is heading for freedom. And methinks Barry has yet another crush on a tough lady. The Inquisitor gets news on the jailbreak, orders the men to scour the city for her and her violent accomplice (what, doesn’t Ling get any love?). Along with shoot to kill orders if she “resists”. Cue picture of Angry Roy donning gloves. So wait, was this your plan, or did your crew do this on their own? The escaped convicts are running through the alleyways, when oh hai Elric Brothers! [Al/Barry]: “Ah! You’re that guy!” Aw crap, the Elrics are trying to figure out what’s going on, but Barry’s irritated at them being slowed down, orders Ross to run to the Warehouse while he holds them off. Ross has to run into the darkness as the Elrics call after her, asking about Hughes. Aargh. Ok, ok, miscommunication continues to stand in the way of a good time, but as long as Ross can get to the- oh. Oh crap. [Pissed-off!Roy]: “You’re Maria Ross… right?” Roy. Roy, just hold on RoY ROY NO WHAT THE FUCK ROY That was an explosion. Um. Al’s arrived to find Roy facing away from a burnt… body. Um. Was Roy in on the plan? Part of me is thinking that this is a decoy, convince the authorities that Ross is dead (oh jeez this is gonna kill Brosh). And once “they got her” Barry was quick to run away… but if Roy wasn’t in on the plan? Then he was facing down the person that was convicted of murdering his friend. I honestly don’t know which way the show will go. ...those are the burnt ID cuffs. W 6186 Maria Ross. Kinda leaning towards Situation #2 here. Mid-show cards ID the Inquisitor as Henry Douglas. Back in the alleyway, Ed oh dear he’s charging Roy. And Roy just decked him. [Roy, adjusting collar]: “You threaten a superior officer?” Maybe he’s just acting so detached? If the Conspiracy is listening in, then Roy has to act the good soldier, following the “shoot to kill” order. Even if it means standing over the possible charred corpse of a friend of the Elrics. Leto, these poor boys. The MP have arrived, taking pictures of the evidence while Douglas demands an explanation from Colonel Mustang. Who has no chill as he questions if one of Roy’s crew helped her escape, just so that Roy could kill her personally. Roy calmly says such speculation is best avoided. All while the Elrics sit quietly against the alley wall, Ed glaring daggers at Roy. At the hotel, Armstrong’s apologizing to the boys for not telling them about the murder sooner, tries comforting Ed when he says that it was his fault. Wait, doctor? Ah it’s the hospital, not the hotel. Aaaaand the doc says while the body was almost completely destroyed, the dental work says… it was Maria Ross. Um. The Doc proceeds to chide Roy for turning her into charcoal, while Roy just sits on a bench and says nothing. [Doc]: “Is the vengeance as sweet as you imagined it?” Roy gets up to leave, when Armstrong… [Armstrong, trembling with emotion]: “Colonel… Please allow me to apologize for one of my own officer’s actions. I could never have imagined that Second Lieutenant Ross would commit such a heinous murder. She was so straightforward and earnest… compassionate… A truly fine officer!” Armstrong’s glaring at this point. Argh, if this is all an elaborate ruse to get Ross away, then Armstrong doesn’t know about it, does he? He’s not in Roy’s crew. So from his perspective while he speculated that Ross was framed, he believes Ross was killed by Roy in vengeance for Hughes. Roy just tells Armstrong that he looks fatigued, recommends he take some leave back where he was. No big city noise, and lots of beautiful women. Is… is that his way of saying Ross was sent east? Or just Roy being the womanizer from the shorts? Monsters in cages, Envy is meeting with the Goths and letting them know about Ross’ fate. Lust is irritated that the plan to keep Roy amiable fell through, but Envy points out that he shouldn’t be distracted with Hughes’ murder being free now, and that there’s a bonus of his crew not trusting him anymore. Cue Riza putting a request for leave on Roy’s desk. Ok, still hoping beyond hope that it’s a ruse, but if it’s not, if Riza’s leaving to get away from a murdering boss for a while… Leto. Roy approves the request and Riza briskly leaves, slamming the door behind her. Wait, Roy’s smiling? Please tell me… Barry’s humming while he sharpens his cleavers, Falman’s freaking out over Barry going out on his own? Crap, if there was a plan Falman wasn’t in on it? Oh, and Barry brought back Ling as well! Who’s building a signal fire/cooking a fish oh hey Ninjas, nice of you two to finally show up. [Snarky!Ling]: “Wow… Impressive response time.” Poor Falman. Roy’s chatting on his office phone, to Elizabeth? Wait, who’s this? Why does Roy call her when Riza’s not around? Where’s this character coming from, messing up my ship? In any case, Roy’s paperwork gremlins are irritated as Roy natters about how he hasn’t had a day off since he got to Central, invites Lizzie on a fishing trip. Sudden bombastic military music as the Blonde Trio lounge in their room, Ed goes to answer the door and SUDDEN MIGHTY ARMSTRONG PUNCH what the Leto. Ed’s sent sprawling as The Mighty Armstrong strides in and picks the boy up, announces that his automail is broken and says he’ll escort him to Resembool immediately for repairs. I am just as confused as Ed right now. The Mighty Armstrong glares directly at Al, saying that he’d stand out too much so he must remain in Central. Wait why are you breaking up the Brothers? What on earth is going on here? If The Mighty Armstrong needed an excuse to take Ed somewhere, was saying that his arm needed repairs while standing next to his mechanic and telling his brother that he’d stand out in his own hometown really the best one? The Mighty Armstrong’s carrying our Protagonist through the hotel foyer like a sack of flour, says that he can’t put the boy down because of his orders. From “him”? Cut to Roy being told that The Mighty Armstrong and Ed are on the train, causing him to smirk and think that “everyone’s out of the way.” What is going on?! Is Ross dead or not?! In the Goth Cage Room, Envy’s passes on a sketch of Barry as the one who orchestrated the breakout. No direct connection to the Colonel known, but Envy bets that he was the one behind it. Doesn’t know where Barry is though, complains that he’s short on manpower. Are these chimeras finally going to get play, then? Wait, what? [Lust]: “Looks like you’re finally on… Barry the Chopper.” [Humanoid in cage with bone-skull-mask-thing]: “Graaaah!” Hold up, did the Goth’s kinda-sorta resurrect Barry? But his soul’s still in the armor! Or is it like a soulless clone, a chimera copy? Oh crap if they can make chimera clones, as much as I freak out about having a shapeshifter the ability to make evil copies of our heroes has the potential to be much worse.

Well, I’m lost! I honestly can’t tell if Ross is dead or not, I mean how do you fake dental work? I suppose the Doc could have been in on the scheme, but if Roy isn’t even telling The Mighty Armstrong about the plan then I doubt he’d bring in anyone else. If she’s not dead then please let us know soon for me and the poor kids’ nerves, if she is dead then what the hell show.

My kingdom for a fic where Dick just full on ignores the fuck out of every reservation, concern and condemnation Bruce has about Jason and his choices after his return, because like this is his brother, the only family member that’s ever come BACK from the dead after Dick’s lost them, and he’s not about to let anything get in the way of that, thanks. 

(But also in this AU Jason didn’t almost kill Tim, because that’s the one thing Dick wouldn’t easily be able to look past or forgive and still be in character, even for the sake of another brother, and its crazy to me that it doesn’t come up more as Dick being like, hey Jaybird, you are Valid for a lot of what you feel and are doing but you were NOT Valid for almost killing Timmy and I can be and am quite rightfully peeved at you for that like wtf bro).

Right, so here, Jason doesn’t do that, and literally everything else he does Dick is more than capable and willing to shrug and go oh is that it? And then blithely resume having a relationship with his little brother wherein they hang out and have movie nights and be obnoxiously competitive, with not a single fuck given about anyone else’s feelings that Dick should not be doing this. 

Meanwhile, the vein in Bruce’s forehead has grown so large its evolved its own consciousness and identity, its name is Vinnie, Vinnie the Vein, and Bruce and Vinnie are of one mind when they’re like “Richard John Grayson, I FORBID you from shenaniganning with your wayward brother until he has ceased his murder sprees.”

And Dick’s just like can’t stop, won’t stop, anyway love to stay and chat but I promised Jay I’d meet him in half an hour and I’m already running late, gotta go love ya lots, byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye.

Eventually Bruce really tries to put his foot down because its highly unlikely Jason will come in from the cold on Bruce’s terms if Dick keeps ‘enabling’ his brother, mostly because Jason’s not really out IN the cold in the first place as long as the brothers are hanging out, as they do, having a perfectly chill familial relationship whilst waiting for their father to get the hell over himself and also unclench long enough for Timbers to escape the inexorable magnetic pull that is Bruce’s Aura of Contagious Paranoia, and like...come join them on their brotherly outings, it’ll be fun.

And finally Bruce is all, Dick, you realize your brother is killing people, right? And Dick serenely is just like: “Oh is that what all the fuss is about? Gee, I thought it was all just a fight about the proper pronunciation of ‘gif.’ You know how out of control those can get. No shit Jason’s killing people. I’m aware. Also, I don’t care.”

Before Bruce can finish firing up his Righteous Indignation and Judgment and jump in there, Dick continues, ticking points off his fingers one at a time.

“One of my best friends is literally the daughter of Evil, and has on occasions, plural, been evil herself. I couldn’t care less. One of my best friends has a daughter with an internationally infamous assassin who has definitely tried to kill me multiple times, with this quite probably being a violation of some kind of Bro Code. I couldn’t care less. One of my best friends was possessed by evil spirits and did tons of terrible things right before he died and I couldn’t care less when visiting his grave, nor do I care that his dad, an even more internationally infamous assassin than Roy’s baby mama, and who has DEFINITELY tried to kill me multiple times, does lots of terrible things on the regular, both before and after we meet up for coffee every now and then to reminisce about Joey.” 

He comes up for air, refuels his tank, keeps going.

“One of my teammates is an identical duplicate of the former teammate who betrayed us all and almost got us all killed. Its weird and awkward but we make it work. Another one of my teammates was a killer robot that previously murdered one of my dearest friends. SUPER fucking awkward, but again, we made it work. Other things I give no fucks about: the rap sheets of any of my teammates on the Outsiders, the rap sheet of one of your star-crossed lovers, the body count of your other star-crossed lover. I mean sure, I’m a snarky asshole about it, but I’m a snarky asshole about butter pecan pie too. I don’t like, care care. Not like the way you cared about Huntress’ unwholesome methods before I was her booty call, and yet that too played no part in my decision making before I let her hit this. Half of your teammates decided to treat your memory like an Etch-a-Sketch once, but somehow you all managed to make nice again, but not until after the invasive spy satellite you made got hijacked and unleashed an army of killer robots that definitely did kill a metric fuck ton of people. Major Disaster and multiple other Justice Leaguers have done some Very Bad Things, Diana snapped a guy’s neck on candid camera and still isn’t sorry, you play chess every once and a while with a guy who spends half his time as a millennia old demon who has eaten entire fucking civilizations, and do not even get me started on Hal Jordan. Are you starting to see a point here, B?”

Bruce says nothing, but Vinnie the Vein has a shit poker face. Dick sighs.

“And you know what all of those people have in common, Bruce?”

Bruce bites. “What’s that?”

“None of them are my goddamn brother. So if I can figure out a way to coexist in the same sphere as all of that insanely hot mess, I can figure out a way to coexist with my brother, so long as I know and trust he’s still fighting the good fight. Which I do. Do I like that he kills people? No. Does he know that? Yes. Do we fight about it? Occasionally. But know who I’m not gonna let be the reason me and my miraculously back from the dead brother don’t meet up for Taco Tuesday night? A bunch of murderers and rapists, because I wish they were sitting in Cell Block D for the next sixty years instead of dead. End of the day, their lives just aren’t as important to me as my little brother’s, and that may make me all kinds of hypocritical, but I’ll give you three guesses what’s another thing I don’t give a shit about. Now you can go home and spend the night hanging out with your moral convictions, but if you don’t mind, I’d rather spend it hanging out with Jay. And if we’re all done here, buh-bye, I’m late and I wouldn’t want Jay to think I flaked and wasn’t coming, who knows, he might go out and kill people instead.”

And eventually Bruce too pulls his head out of his ass because he can be Unconditionally Moral or he can be Unconditionally Dad but he can’t unconditionally be both, and this was kinda a choice he was supposed to have made back when he first signed on the dotted line that supposedly meant his kids would no longer be pinballing through life looking for someone to unconditionally love and support them, because he was volunteering as tribute to do just that.

And finally Bruce makes nice, or at least actively less hostile, baby steps are sometimes required with superhero cryptid shaped a-holes, and then they all live dysfunctionally ever after. Periodically interrupted by one of them dying and the rest of them besieging Death’s door and banging obnoxiously on it and refusing to let her get any sleep whatsoever until she crankily says none of them are worth this aggravation and she’s not getting paid enough for this shit and tosses their recently deceased relative on their ass back on the mortal coil just to be rid of the annoying pests.

Erejean Week Day 4//Freedom

Jean sat there in his office, one of the best lawyers with the Innocence Project and he was waiting for his next case. He had been looking over a few pretty interesting ones, but he paused as he read over one that seemed to talk to him. It was different than his usual case, but it seemed this guy had been waiting for long enough for someone to come and help him prove his innocence. Though it was not hard to imagine why people did not want to touch this case with even a fairly lengthy pole most would never even dream of trying to touch this case because of the nature of it.

A pretty brutal murder, someone’s head bashed in with a crowbar and shot in the head to make sure they where actually dead. That was nothing less than terrifying to most, but down right no to even more. Jean had always enjoyed a challenge. He had a feeling he could do this. He looked up the number for the prison where the client was, he had waited for over fifteen years for his Justice. Thirty-three years old and the poor guy’s life seemed to be over, talk about a massive amount of suck, Jean would do what he could to help. He flipped through the phone numbers until he found the prison’s number and made the dial.

“Hello? Warden Smith speaking, might I ask who this is?” A somewhat tired, yet scholarly voice said from the other end of the phone.

Jean couldn’t help but wonder what type of warden this man was. Was he a good person? Did he treat the inmates fairly? Would he allow Jean to speak to his new client? He had better, Jean did this because people deserved to have their names cleared, and Jean hated having to jump through hoops just to have to just talk to his client and set up the discussions that should be going on for all of this.

“Hello, my name is Jean Kirstien. I am a lawyer with the Innocence Project. I am calling with the request to be put through to the inmate in your prison known as Eren Yeager. He has a conviction for first degree murder and it seems that the evidence against him is sketchy at best. I want to discuss things with him over the phone before our first face to face meeting. I love to become familiar with my client before I meet them and talk my plan to prove their innocence. Trust me when I say I am a man who does not go dishonest and I never charge for my services as I do work for a non-profit. I am here only to help him.” Jean gave his same basic greeting and explanation that he always did when meeting a new warden, though at this point he was sure his reputation likely proceeded him. Especially in this area.

“Ahh yes, I have heard of you. Judge Zackely sings your praises Mr.Kirstien. I suppose I should have expected someone like you would take this case.” The warden commented in a somewhat thoughtful way.

“Just from my preliminary read through, it seems most of the evidence against him is circumstantial at best, and at least on of the forensic tests is no longer admissible in court. I intended to fix this miscarriage of justice, now may I please speak with my client?” Patients wearing thin, Jean started to tap his pen as he waited to get to his main objective.

“Oh, my apologies. Of course you may, please hold while I put you through to him.” Erwin instructed and put Jean on hold.

Jean groaned, he always had to deal with stuff like this. Holding while they got the prisoner out of the cell. He couldn’t help but feel for Eren, this guy had been waiting for fifteen years, likely stuck in the same dingy smelly cell with only about an hour or so per week in the workout yard if he behaved for the prison. Something it seemed the male could not do as he was known to get into fights. He felt some relief  when the phone started to ring again, surely this Eren guy would pick up now.

“Hello?” A gruff, depressed voice answered his call, likely this Eren guy they had talked about. 

It seemed that the case, the murder of a Ymir McIntyre, the former girl friend of Historia Riese, the incumbent Mayor of the town was what Eren had been accused of all those years earlier. Jean sure had his work cut out for him, but he was sure that this Eren guy would understand him taking so long to call, because he would ensure Eren went free. Having maintained innocence for this long Jean was more than willing to believe he was innocent.

“Hello, Eren Yeager correct? My name is Jean Kirstien. I am with the innocence project. I am here to help you get out of prison for your wrongful conviction. You have been waiting for far too long. Is there a day I can come in and give you my plan of attack?” He asks as he gets his appointment book out for him. This was a pretty big thing going on here.

“You mean that huh? It does sound nice....finally being free again....we can meet this Thursday at noon....I am sure you see the, unflattering picture of my hair and mustache at the moment and would like to take the next few days to try and clean up a little.” Was the only real reply he got. It seemed that this Eren was a man of few words, that was fine by him.

“That sounds great to me, I’ll see you then. Thank you very much Mr.Yeager. Good bye.” Jean hung up as he finished scribbling down the appointment and then went to start his own mini investigation into the case that had taken place several years earlier.

Needless to say Jean already had several good plans at this point. Supposedly the bite-mark impression and a microscopic hair analysis comparison test had been the star pieces of evidence piled on top of circumstantial evidence the prosecution had presented where the stars of the case. That alone gave Jean some room, now he just had to get some DNA from Eren for a test and present that case, thankfully there where no witnesses otherwise things would have been much harder. Jean had already called his friend Marco, a forensic scientist working at a private lab who would do the case retests to ensure an impartial third party did it.

He made his way into the prison, a long and boring process really. He was a lawyer not a criminal planning to but his buddy out. Oh well, society did always assume the worst of people.

Soon he was inside, and led in to meet Eren Yeager. He did look quite a bit different than his most recent picture indicated, mainly he had shaved off the facial hair, but his hair was still pretty damn long, they would have to gel and man bun it for court Jean decided.

They started the meeting with a firm hand shake, in which Jean noted just how attractive the inmate was, but he had to banish that from his head, professionalism first.

“Alright Mr.Yeager, I have noticed most of the evidence against you was circumstantial at best. The two forensic tests they did on you are no longer admissible in court, so let’s get this going for you huh? I wioll take a swab of your DNA and send it off to have tested against what little DNA they have for the crime scene, when it isn’t a match you will be a free man, especially with my way of taking and attacking the fake sciences that put you away.” Jean flashed a smile,m and just for a moment could have sworn he saw a blush on Eren’s face, but just a moment.

“Thank you Mr.Kirstien. That sounds wonderful, I cannot wait to finally be free again.” Eren smiled a bit, thinking about what he might be able to do with the freedom, but whatever it was he knew it would be truly his choice at long last.

“You are most welcome, but please just Jean. I wish to be a friend and a lawyer to someone down on his luck, I note your adopted sister Mikasa and her husband Armin don’t really stop by with your nieces and nephews so I definitely think you need one other than the mayor who has limited time for visits.” Jean offered, and he did intended to fix the lack of family visits as well.

“I can’t blame them with what I was convicted of....but that does sound nice Just Jean.” Eren laughed at his own bad joke. “Then just call me Eren.”

Jean groaned but chuckled hearing what Eren said. “Oh you are so original Eren.” Jean now prepared his kit he had with him to get Eren’s DNA. “Now say ahh.” Jean instructed.

Eren did so and Jean got the DNA swab and dropped it in the forensics bag that came with his stuff. He got it all secured and looked up at Eren. “And with that my dear man, I do hope we have what we need to prove your innocence to the courts, and I look forward to working with you more closely in the coming weeks.”

The duo shook hands one last time and Jean left.

The next day hew sent the kit out to be tested and went about gathering the rest of his defenses. He called Eren often and gave him updates, sometimes they just talked about Eren’s family, which seemed to be only the ones who couldn’t visit because of social staus, and his older brother and his family far away, too far to visit, though they also believed him to be innocent. They also spoke about shared interests and the like when there was no updates on the case.

One month later, Jean gave the most heartfelt defense he had ever given and exposed the shortcuts of prosecution fifteen years earlier. When they where done, he sat down in his chair panting.

The next several minutes passed in  agony, the judge seemed to be taking his sweet time with making a ruling, but when he returned everyone stood and then sat, now looking to him again for the decision.

“In  light of the new evidence brought forth of Eren’s DNA not matching that of the person who murdered Ymir McIntyre, and the fact the star forensic evidence against him is not admissible in court,  the court finds Eren Yeager innocent of murder in the first degree and voids his conviction. You have our sincerest apologies Mr.Yeager. Case dismissed.” He then got up and left.

Eren felt his eyes water as he hugged his sister and her husband, his best friend and their kids. However, he turned down there offer to stay with him.

On their way out, Jean stopped him in the parking-lot and looked to him.

“I will not claim to understand why you didn’tgo with your family, but I respect it. However, if you have nowhere to stay, you can come stay with me for awhile.” He offered.

“I would like that.” Eren said getting a bit closer to Jean.

“Yeah...me too.” Jean wasn’t sure what happened next, he just out of the blue kissed Eren. This was perhaps his greatest case yet. And he was happy about that, and maybe he got just a bit more than finding justice for an innocent man.

Ace Mindhunter - 3rd Interview

Characters: Simon Blackquill, Athena Cykes, Shi-Long Lang, and a rogues gallery of AA villains. Fandom: Ace Attorney. Pairings: N/A. Warnings/rating: 16+, I would say. Talk of heavy themes such as death and abuse, plus cursing. Spoilers for every AA game up to Spirit of Justice, AAI2 included. Gratuitous amounts of headcanon for antagonists. Summary: Simon Blackquill is roped into a Behavioral Analysis project along with Athena Cykes. They must sit down with convicted murderers for interviews, in hopes of finding out just what drove them to their convoluted crimes.

3rd Interview Furio

Date: June 11th 2028 Time: 4:34 PM Location: Interpol H.Q. - B.A.U. Office. “Frank Sahwit. A burglar who was caught in the act by the owner of the apartment he'd broken into. He killed her in a blind panic, then shifted the blame onto her ex-boyfriend. He gave testimony about it in court and everything.” “No.” “Hmm... Cammy Meele. She was a flight attendant, but also a member of an international smuggling ring. She helped move things across the border. When an Interpol agent showed up to check the cargo hold of a plane, she panicked and shoved him so hard that he fell off the side of a flight of stairs. She tried to hide his body and when it was uncovered by accident, she scrambled to pin the blame onto a colleague. Looks like her cover-up was blown before the police could indict the wrong person.” “... That is even worse.” “Lucky number seven, then! Richard Wellington. A small-time con artist who mistakenly thought a police officer was on to his scams. He killed the cop, framed the cop's girlfriend, then hit the girlfriend's attorney over the head with a fire extinguisher just before the trial. … There's Mr. Wright's name again. I'll have to ask him about this one.” “The subject meddled with the court process, hm? We're getting warmer. The scammer has earned himself a spot on the consideration pile.” “We don't have a consideration pile yet. Only rejections.” “Then, by all means, start one.” Athena cleared some space on the desk they were meant to share, then placed Wellington's folder in the center. The rejection pile was a substantial one, the pile of profiles yet to be assessed had dwindled so badly that they had very few options left to them. Was this the best Lang could provide? “Next we have...” Athena reached for the assessment pile and opened the top folder. “Florent L'Belle. Eww...” “Pass,” Simon said and for once, he had Athena's full agreement on the matter. One more for the rejection pile. Athena ruffled her hair in a frustrated manner and Simon leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling. There were a few water stains there, perhaps even mould. Interpol would spare no expense when it came to their investigations, but they must not have thought very highly of their Behavioral Analysis Unit if it were condemned to a shoddy basement office. Athena reached for the next folder and flipped it open. “Looks like we're moving on from petty criminals to the big leagues, now. Paul Atishon. I remember that guy... He was a corrupt politician who made a deal for a national treasure with Khura'in's Minister of Justice, then panicked when an archaeologist with an actual moral compass impeded that deal. He killed the archaeologist and at first made the death look accidental, then attempted to shift the blame onto a revolutionist when he got into hot water about it.” “Was that murder premeditated?” “Sure, but there was a lot of clumsy improvisation involved. I don't think there was a single strong thought going through his head beyond wanting to win some dumb election he was in. He was trying to live up to his grandfather's name, though, so that may be... something.” “... Consideration pile.” “Then, how about Redd White? Former CEO of Bluecorp, but also a blackmailer on the side. He killed a defense attorney who had the evidence necessary to expose him and shifted the blame onto her little sister. Looks like this one was definitely premeditated. He roped his secretary into his lies, even though she knew he was the real killer.” “Hnnn...” “Simon! You have to stop being so picky! If you keep shooting every possible interview down, we might as well give up!” If he was being truly honest with himself, Simon was torn on that concept. He'd been selected for this project without his knowledge and his cooperation had, to some degree, been coerced. Spitballing with criminals who'd already been judged felt out of place for a prosecutor. A more productive way to spend his time would've been to return to his usual cases. That way, he could put more of these killers behind bars. Still, there was always that possibility that their research could bear fruit in the long run. That he could apply the insights he gleaned from it in the courtroom. Perhaps the profiles they compiled would serve to sharpen his sword, allowing him to prevent wrongful convictions, or even the crimes themselves. Aside from that, there was a very tempting reward at the end of this road. He would have to trek his way through the mud to reach the Phantom. “The next one, perhaps,” he said, tearing his gaze away from the ceiling and back to Athena. “D'accord! You'll love this one, I'm sure of it! Dahlia Hawthorne, convicted for the murder of her ex-boyfriend! There's two murders that everyone suspected she was involved in, but they couldn't prove it in court. Then a few more counts of confirmed attempted murder and-” Athena broke off quite suddenly, then groaned and tossed the papers aside. “Says there that she's already been executed. They must've given us her file by mistake.” Simon could almost feel his will to keep breathing leave his body. Almost. Distraction came in the form of Lang, who had entered the room so quietly that Simon hadn't even noticed him until he was standing right next to them. Though not exactly giving off a warm glow, he wasn't in a sour mood either. He was, if anything, pleasantly courteous. “Well well, if it isn't our part-time shrinks.” “Please refrain from using that word,” Simon said to him. “What, part-time?” “Hmph.” “Good to see you, Shifu,” Athena called cheerfully. Simon bit down on his feather, the muscles in his jaw straining. “Shifu?” “That's what everyone around here calls him! Didn't you know?” Athena chuckled, then pressed a fist against Simon's arm. “Don't worry, just because he's my shifu doesn't mean you can't be my sensei.” Simon opened his mouth, then closed it again. “How goes the hunt?” Lang asked, perhaps changing the subject on purpose. Athena propped her elbows up on the desk, one hand playing with her earring. “We're having some trouble selecting our next target. Most of the profiles we were given don't meet our criteria.” “Or they're outright deceased,” Simon snapped, waving a hand at the profile in question, which had been scattered across the floor by Athena's fling. “Let's see... Dahlia Hawthorne, huh? Sorry about that. Some people say her vengeful ghost still roams the courthouse. Maybe that's how her name got in there.” Lang gathered up the papers as he spoke, then clutched the folder under his arm and stood upright again. “What have you got from your first two subjects? Anything useful?” “Dee Vasquez and Roger Retinz are difficult to compare,” Athena mused. “Mr. Retinz's murder was carefully planned out, Ms. Vasquez's was a spur of the moment thing.” Lang shook his head. “We already knew that. I'm asking what you found out.” “The Diva Producer's murder has some stains of sexism on it, but they are just that. Irrelevant stains. She took a life because she was threatened, then covered it up because she believed she had done nothing to deserve the punishment in her future. Her remarks suggest that the target of her frame job was chosen out of convenience, not out of spite.” “Hmm.” “As for the Greasy Producer, he suffers from a very typical form of narcissism coupled with internalized insecurities and self-loathing born from childhood abuse. The most-” “Not so fast!” Lang stood up a bit straighter and for the first time since Simon had met him, he looked confused. “Don't narcissists think they're God's gift to the world? How can a guy be a narcissist and still have self-loathing?” Simon sighed and raised a hand to the bridge of his nose, pinching it. “You are not familiar with the concepts of implicit and explicit cognition?” “Uh.” “Explicit cognition,” Athena began, using a slow pace as she sorted out her words, “is something that a person does consciously. Like, say... Explicit memory is when you study for a test and try to memorize all the important things. You remember things because you make an effort to remember. Implicit cognition is a subconscious thing, like associating a certain smell or taste with a past event. Basically, implicit cognition influences a person's behavior, even when they themselves have no conscious awareness of it.” “To summarize, the Greasy Producer's explicit self-esteem is high in order to compensate for the implicit self-esteem, or lack thereof,” Simon concluded. “Though, he confessed to us as Mr. Reus that he is aware of the implicit issue. He did refer to himself as a 'fuck-up', in the end. He's simply unable to remedy the internal disorder and that leads to further chaos.” Lang leaned himself against the side of the desk and as he attempted to move his hands into his pockets, the Hawthorne folder almost slid out from under his arm. “Right. Okay, I get it. That's great stuff.” “While different in most aspects, Retinz and Vasquez did share one important similarity,” Athena pointed out. “They both believed that their victim deserved to die.” “And was that belief misguided?” Lang asked. “In Mr. Retinz's case? Definitely. But I'm not so sure when it comes to Ms. Vasquez. Did the police ever find out whether that Manuel guy was murdered or not?” “Dunno. I could ask around, but since the supposed killer is dead, opening an investigation now would be a waste of law-enforcement's time. Lang Zi says: There's no use crying over spilled milk.” Simon frowned and Athena clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. That was as far as either of them was willing to go when it came to ancient plagiarism. Spilled milk, indeed. Lang paused and glanced down at the pile of folders left on the desk. “So what's these criteria you have for interviews?” “We certainly cannot use too many of these blind panic murders,” Simon said. “If you wish to diagnose the illness which is plaguing this city, we ought to be focusing on the composed planners. The grand names who stood tall even within the prison walls. Gavin, Gant or Alba, perhaps.” “I'll let you talk to someone like Gant when I'm sure you can walk away from that with your heads held high. This unit hasn't exactly got much of a reputation for itself and the last thing we need is for the inmates to think we're weak little pups.” “Can you at least think of some inmates who went out of their way for the frame job? Like Mr. Retinz did?” Athena asked, once again playing with her earring. “... Yeah. Yeah, I got one. He should be in the archives somewhere. Poisoned a guy's coffee, then hid the body and acted out the murder all over again in disguise to fool witnesses. As soon as the blame was shifted onto some innocent waitress, he disguised himself as a defense attorney and botched up her trial on purpose.” “Warte ein moment... I think I heard about this.” “I'll bet you did.” “Mr. Wright's name sure keeps popping up in a lot of these cases...” Athena drummed her fingers along the desk, narrowed eyes directed towards the far wall. “What was that guy's name again? Umm... Cheeto...” “Furio Tigre,” said Lang. ------- Date: June 12th 2028 Time: 2:00 PM Location: Interview Room. Simon still remembered their next subject quite well. Tigre had been one of the loudest inmates in death row and that reputation was sure to continue until his execution. Any attempt at anger management had failed and so, the guards had instead allowed collateral damage. The amount of times they'd had to carry a broken desk or splintered fragments of a cot out of Tigre's cell, Simon couldn't count. It'd been once a week, perhaps. With that in mind, Simon steeled himself to protect Athena from physical harm. He also knew that he might have to lower himself down to Tigre's level in order to be heard. The door from the prison side opened and Tigre was led inside by two guards, each holding onto one enormous arm. Almost ten years in the clink and a ripe age of 51 had done nothing to break down the tough guy demeanor. He was tall and broad in every sense of the word, but not exactly untainted. His spiky black hair held streaks of white and a scar ran across his left eye. Worst of all, his skin was tinged with a spray tan so unconvincing that it would make Klavier Gavin look as if he’d genuinely spent due time in the sun. When it came to the presence of artificial tan within prison walls, Simon had stopped asking such questions long ago. That this man had ever attempted to pass for Phoenix Wright was laughable, but not as laughable as the knowledge that the entire courtroom had been fooled. “I AIN'T TALKIN' TO NO FEDS, YOUSE HEAR?!” he was shouting with such ferocity, Simon could feel the ground shudder. “GWOOOOAAAARRR! GET YOUSE HANDS OFFA ME, OR ELSE!” The therapy animal which entered behind them was so small and quiet, Simon wouldn't have seen it if he hadn't known to search for it. Once Tigre had been settled down in his chair, the two guards backed away with such apprehension, it was evident they expected he might require more restraining. Perhaps he would've, were it not for the immediate change in his attitude when his eyes landed on Simon. He smirked, fingers curling around the edge of the table and nails digging into the wood. “Well well weeell... If it ain't our old jailbird. How's life on the outside been treatin' youse?” “It has been treating me quite well. Certainly, I can get a night's sleep without being disturbed by raving fruitcakes such as yourself,” Simon responded, which was both a truthful statement and an attempt to put his foot down. “Watch yourself, Tweetie! Just 'cause youse got outta here don't mean I can't still break youse kneecaps! Where do youse get off, actin' all high and mighty?! You think youse better than us, huh?!” “As I did not truly stain my hands with blood of any kind... Yes, I believe I am.” “Feh! Youse stained your hands plenty! Just look at how many of us youse had tossed in here! We shoulda strung youse up so high not even your little bird could reach your carcass!” Simon had no immediate comeback to that. Believing he was on the same level as every single killer in the clink was the sort of weight he'd carried around plenty over the past seven years. Now that he was recovering, he couldn't very well allow Tigre to push him right back into that mindset. Even so, it was true that some of residents in death row had been moved there by his hand. “You need to stop your bellyaching!” Athena snapped at Tigre. “Who do you think you're kidding? You've got nothing else to do with your day, right? Then you might as well answer some questions for us!” Not at all fazed by her words, Tigre squinted his eyes at Athena. Then he glanced towards Simon. “What's dis, then? Youse need your girlfriend to hold your hand? I was expectin' a loser like youse to die a lonely virgin.” Simon was no stranger to the sharper sort of prison tongue. Even so, he felt an overwhelming sense of humiliation and raised a hand to his face. The last thing he needed or wanted was for anyone to believe Metis Cykes's daughter was his girlfriend. He wouldn't want the inmates to think that his partner for this project was his girlfriend, either. Such a thing could be very damaging towards the interview process. As for Athena herself, she kicked at Tigre from under the table, causing the man to yelp and jump up from his chair. The two guards were by his sides immediately. “I said cut the crap!” she yelled at him. “We're here for a serious project and if you won't participate, we'll walk right out of here! You can spend what's left of your miserable life all by yourself and nobody will be around to hear you scream!” A dreadful silence fell. Just as everyone else in the room, Simon found himself staring at Athena and never before had he seen a more formidable foe. The last thing he'd expected was for his investigative partner to lower herself to Tigre's level, certainly not in order to defend him. It hurt his pride more than the notion of 'dying a lonely virgin' ever could. Tigre seemed unnerved, this time. A single drop of sweat ran down his temple. He wrung his hands together and sat back down. “All right, all riiight... Women, right? So what's dis project?” Athena set the recorder down on the table and began the usual speech of the Behavioral Analysis Unit and their intended questions. As she did so, Simon watched Tigre go from tense to bored, then finally to lost. Perhaps the words had been too formal for his mind to comprehend. “Uhhh. So you're gonna do a pop quiz?” he ultimately asked. “Something like that. And we'll be recording it, if that's all right.” “I dunno about dis... Dat sounds like an invasion of... y'know, privacy.” “You don't need to do this if you don't want to,” Athena assured him. “Well, all right. I'll do it as long as I knows I don't gotta.” Athena frowned and sat back in her chair. If her impression of Tigre was already odd, it was nothing compared to what happened next. The man leaned down to pick something up from the ground and set it down in his lap. It was a hairless chihuahua, dressed in a pink jacket so bright that it could veer straight off the known color spectrum and phase itself out of reality. Simon knew better than to stare. Athena did not. “W-What...?” she asked. “GRAAAGH! What're'youse lookin' at?! Youse never seen a dog before?!” Tigre roared at her. The chihuahua in his lap trembled, but not because of the volume. It was simply a standard setting for the animal. “Of course I have! I just wasn't expecting...” “Youse take your eyes offa Mitzy right now, or youse can kiss your interview sayonara!” “Jeez, sorry!” Athena hastily began shuffling through her papers. “Let's just get started with some standard questions.” “And you will answer the lady with due respect, lest I slice your tongue from your filthy mouth,” Simon said, now that he'd finally found his voice again. “Yeah yeah...” Athena cleared her throat. “You're originally from New York, but you moved to Los Angeles when you were 28, is that right?” “Uhhh. I dunno. 28 sounds about right.” “You don't remember how old you were?” “Who cares how old I was?! What's dat change, huh?! If I moved, I moved!” Simon wondered whether the defensive attitude was hiding a far grander secret. If it were, they wouldn't get it out of Tigre too easily. They would need to manipulate him into it, just as they'd manipulated Retinz. Athena must've realized the same thing, for she proceeded towards a different angle. “So what made you decide to move in the first place?” “Damn, talk about nosy questions...” Tigre huffed loudly, then raised a hand to the chihuahua's head to pet it. He must've been quite gentle, as the tiny and fragile creature didn't so much as flinch at being stroked by enormous fingers. “I moved to L.A. because the people here are chumps.” “Chumps?” “Sure. Couldn't start a good loan company in a place like New York. Everyone's all wisened up to it. But here in L.A.? Hah! People are desperate to live dat big Hollywood dream!” Athena stopped to take a few notes. As she did, Simon decided to try and take some lead in the conversation, or else be completely emasculated. No other inmate would take him seriously if that were to happen. “What of the family you left behind?” he asked. Tigre frowned. “What about 'em?” “Were you still in touch with them? Would you return to New York for the holidays, perhaps? I would assume the Tigre family gathers 'round a nice, dead antelope for Thanksgiving.” “Grrrrr... I told youse to watch yourself, Tweetie,” Tigre growled at him. “What do I care about family when I've got a business to run? Holidays were a huge cash-in moment. Lotsa new loans goin' out, too. Everybody wanted to buy their missus a new sports car, see, and then another one for de mistress.” “Not even a season's greetings was sent to New York, then?” Simon asked, only to receive a deadpan in response. “You did have family, did you not? Or were you perhaps raised by a pack of tigers in some Brooklyn back alley?” “ARE YOUSE MOCKIN' ME?! WHY, I ATTA SMACK YOU SO HARD-” “Hold it, hold it!” Athena called, raising both hands to try and put a stop to further argument. “We're getting off track, here. Let's talk about something else instead, all right?” Tigre seemed content to do just that and Simon made sure to shoot a grin his way. “This whole story about how you murdered Mr. Elg and why you did it is really complicated. Do you think you could explain what happened in your own words?” Athena asked. Somehow, the question seemed to irritate Tigre. He tisked loudly and glared towards the wall. Following that, he ran his fingers along Mitzy's head, then under her chin as he spoke. “I needed money, see. On account a' Viola's operation. And it was damned idiotic. I had people all over town owin' me money, but none a' those losers could pay up. Not a dime! So I met with Elg, see. He was gonna gimme some fancy schmancy virus I coulda sold on the black market for millions. It woulda paid off my debt to Viola's family just like dat. Then as we're sittin' there, havin' our coffee, dat wise guy goes and wins the damned lottery! 500,000 big ones! He woulda paid off his measly 100,000 debt and left me in the lurch, see. It was the millions I needed. Way I figured, that was what he owed me for keepin' me waitin', too. Interest, y'know. So I killed 'im and took the virus.” Simon felt that there was quite a bit to unpack, there. Far more than they currently had time for. They'd have to pick this apart piece by piece, just as an attorney would cross-examine in court. “You killed a man because you believed he owed you more money than he truly did?” he heard himself ask, despite knowing deep down that was hardly the best approach. “What about it, huh?! You wanna go?!” Tigre grabbed at his prison uniform with both hands, looking just about ready to rip the fabric. What that would accomplish, Simon had no idea. “Stai calmo,” Athena said. “Let's take it from the beginning. You mentioned something about an operation for someone named Viola?” “Y-Yeah...” Tigre was back to absentmindedly fiddling with Mitzy now, his fingers adjusting her jacket. “Was she your girlfriend?” “No- Well- See... Viola's from a real influential family...” “The Cadaverinis, I believe,” Simon supplied, once again throwing a smirk Tigre's way. “They are the biggest mob family here in this 'chump-filled' city. Should one disrespect a Cadaverini, one will find themselves wearing concrete shoes at the bottom of Los Angeles River. If I recall correctly, this tiger sitting before us crossed Viola Cadaverini's car in the most unfortunate way possible and she did not walk away unscathed.” Tigre's eyes narrowed into a ferocious glare. “So... Wait, Mr. Tigre wanted to pay for Viola's operation because he was the one who caused the accident that hurt her in the first place?” Athena rubbed at her own chin, looking doubtful of the story. “Listen! I had to pay!” Tigre shouted at them. “Ol' man Bruto woulda had my head if I didn't! Those damned Cadaverinis! They think they can just make a guy do anythin'!” Athena raised a hand to her chest and closed her eyes. Widget was glowing a bright yellow through her fingers. “... You didn't feel bad that someone ended up in the hospital because of you?” “I had the right a' way! She was the one who didn't look before zooming into the street! And I was the one drivin' a scooter! If anyone shoulda been hospitalized, it woulda been me! But nooo, I got lucky on account a' my helmet and she has to go crack her skull on the steerin' wheel! How's that my fault, huh?!” For a split second, Simon thought that Furio made a good point. If indeed he'd had the right of way and Cadaverini hadn't been paying attention, it would've been hard to fault him for the accident. Then Simon remembered just who they were sitting across and came to the conclusion that the only victim of this story was Viola Cadaverini, who would be fooled by such a despicable man. "She wouldn't just let it go, either!" Tigre was still raving on and on. "Me bein' sentenced to death still wasn't good enough! Dat fuckin' BITCH tried to poison me while I was in here! What, just 'cause I tried to take care a' her?! Who cares if I loved her or if I didn't?! I was doin' right by her by tryin' to pay off dat hospital bill and givin' her a job and shit! Now she's snatched my damn business! Tender Lender was MINE, you hear?!" Athena drew a deep breath, Widget still emanating a yellow glow. Knowing what that color meant, Simon placed his arm on the table and leaned in towards Tigre. "If you don't cease your caterwauling this instant, I will have you muzzled!" "Up yours!" was Tigre's response, though he simmered down all the same. A nimble shake of the head, then Athena continued. “So you took Mr. Elg's virus by force, as it was the only way for you to pay off the Cadaverinis. Could you not simply have stolen it without killing him?” “What, and have him come for me with a buncha coppers? I woulda been the prime suspect once he'd figured out the virus was missin'!” Athena squinted, then turned her gaze towards Simon. He couldn't quite fight off the smile that was dawning on his face, so he allowed it to flourish there. When at last it became clear that Tigre wasn't seeing the problem with his logic, Simon took delight in sharing just that. “Forgive me, Tony Tiger, I must ask,” he prompted with mock delicacy, acting as if he were speaking to a toddler. “What sort of fool would report to the police to inform them that a powerful computer virus, crafted by his own hand, has been stolen? I would daresay that producing malware is an even worse crime than lifting the CD it is on. Had you taken it from him by force or through an underhanded ploy, such a weak man would not have been able to do a thing to prevent it.” Tigre looked dumbstruck, another pearl of sweat rolling down his face. Simon could swear that the spray tan was mingling into it. Three seconds of silence, then Tigre was roaring yet again. “GRRROOOAARRR, YOUSE MOCKIN' ME! I KNEW IT! DAT'S IT, I'M OUTTA HERE!” Sure enough, Tigre made to stand up, cradling Mitzy firmly with both hands. The two guards looked quite uncertain. Athena rose to her feet as well, darting forward to block Tigre's path. Simon was by her side immediately, ready to shield her, should there be a need. Fortunately, Tigre's hands were so full of chihuahua that he couldn't land a punch even if he wanted to. “Wait, wait, just one more question!” she insisted, spreading out her arms. “... What?” “I can understand why you might re-enact the murder to establish an alibi and shift the blame for the murder onto someone else. But why did you...” she trailed off for a second and Simon could swear she was fighting off amusement. “Why did you impersonate a defense attorney? Wasn't the phony murder already good enough to have Ms. Byrde convicted for your crime?” “Pssshh, please. Just 'cause I was a humble loan shark, you think I hadn't heard about all those miraculous turnabouts that kept happenin' in court whenever Wright was involved? I couldn't risk havin' him figure out the murder I set up was a sham.” “Hold on... Are you saying you did it because you felt threatened by Mr. Wright?” “WHO'S THREATENED?! YOU SAYIN' I'M A COWARD?! NOBODY CALLS ME CHICKEN! JUST 'CAUSE HE'S GOT A NICE, COZY BLUE SUIT AND A HALF-ASSED LAW DEGREE, YOUSE THINK HE'S BETTER THAN ME?! WRIGHT'S GOT NOTHIN' ON ME! I COULDA FLATTENED HIM LIKE A PANCAKE! I COULDA SNAPPED HIM IN HALF LIKE A TWIG! FUCK HIM AND HIS LITTLE GIRL SIDEKICKS!” “I was only-” Tigre wouldn't hear any more, instead snapping at Simon. “And YOU! Tryin' to make me out like some kinda idiot! HAH! You really do think you're better than us, movin' right from prison into some big ivory tower on your high horse! If dis is how your little science project works, good luck with the rest of the killers in here! The guards are gonna be scrapin' your guts offa dese here walls and I will fuckin' laugh and LAUGH!” Much as Simon yearned to spout a comeback, he knew that it would be a pointless battle. The only way for him to come out victorious was to be above Tigre's rage, for being dragged down by it would take him to depths he'd rather not see. He crossed his arms over his chest and met the man's gaze with fierce eyes of his own. “Mr. Tigre, please don't-” Athena attempted, but it was no good. “GOOD DAY, MADAM!” Tigre stormed from the room so fast, the two guards had to rush after him in a panic. The moment the door slammed shut behind them, silence fell. Simon stopped the recording device and began to gather up his papers, a feeling of uncertainty nagging at him. Had they just single-handedly ruined the interview? What would Lang say when he found out about this? “... As always, Tony Tiger allowed his emotions to get the best of him. Had he been able to channel his anger into something productive, he would've led quite a successful life,” he remarked, if only to lighten the mood. Athena stared at him. “Simon... Did you seriously not get it?” “Get what?” “Mr. Tigre... He was never angry. Not once during the entire conversation. He was afraid.” “Afraid?” “Afraid of the Cadaverinis, afraid of Mr. Wright, afraid of our questions... I think he was even afraid of what you think of him, now that you're acquitted.” The notion was so backwards that it took a long time to truly sink in. When at last it did, Simon found himself walking away from the prison with a smile and a light, bubbly feeling in his chest. To Be Continued

50 More Days of Comics! 37/50: Dark Horse Presents #137 (1998)

An anthology! I love an anthology! Ask anyone!

Apparently Dark Horse Presents was the first comic published by Dark Horse. Which is fair enough. And it ran from 1986 to 2000 when it was cancelled. And then volume 2 of Dark Horse Presents ran from 2007-2010 and was published on MySpace!

Wild.

Anyway, this comic has the Predator fighting Nazis so it must be exceptional.

So the first of the three stories is Predator: Demon’s Gold.

The story is narrated by an Ecuadorian remembering back to when he was a child. The Nazis came and burned his village and killed everyone in it except for him. Him, they needed.

Narrator: “They wanted the same thing white men have always wanted from my land: silver and gold. They wanted what was hidden high in the Llanganati Mountains, the secret my village had kept so long.”

And they tell him they’ll let him live if he leads them to it.

Something I learned while googling the Llanaganati Mountains to try to find out where on Earth this was set is that the Treasure of the Llanganatis is a pre-existing legend and not something this comic made up.

Per the legend, it was the gold and silver and platinum and assorted other treasures hidden in the mountains by the Incan general Rumiñahui. He had been gathering it as a ransom for King Atahualpa but when conquistador Pizarro just went and had Atahualpa killed anyway, Rumiñahui hid the treasure and never revealed where it was.

Except in this story where he told somebody who passed it down to a nameless village and a nameless narrator.

Knowing that actually adds to the story weirdly enough.

When frightened boy Narrator leads the Nazis to the “sweat of the Sun, tears of the Moon” treasure, they plan to kill him anyway.

And like in the legend, if you renege on a promise to let someone live in exchange for two rooms full of treasure, you don’t get the treasure.

Because as the boy prays to the Inca gods, his prayers are answered in a way.

I don’t know why he was there but a Predator was there and he starts murdering the Nazis in his gruesome Predator way. 

Narrator: “These men who had butchered my village, they were ripe corn before the harvest blade.”

He kills the Nazi leader last, pulling his spine out by his head, like some kind of Mortal Kombat.

The boy assumes the Predator, who he thinks is a demon because sure, will kill him last “would demand one more sacrifice in return for protecting the sweat and tears” but with a swipe of his wrist blades, he cuts Narrator’s bonds and walks out of the cave.

Narrator: “But it spared me. And vanished back to whatever pit had given it birth. That was long ago: I’m an old man now. My own death draws near. You ask me where the treasure is? That secret I take with me.”

There’s so much intriguing potential here. Who was he telling the story to? Was this like a Titanic the Movie setup? Why was the Predator guarding Incan treasure? But alas, as far as I know, they remain mysteries.

STORY 2! My Vagabond Days.

Set April 4th, 1968 and centered around a boy named Martin who is generally unenthusiastic about school. But his teacher talks about Apollo 6 and tells the students to write three paragraphs on “What Would I Like to Accomplish.”

Martin and his friend Jerome already know they want to be astronauts!

And later at dinner, Martin tells his parents about his assignment, his mom noting he sounds excited considering he doesn’t usually do his homework without a spanking.

Martin: “I am! ‘Cause I know exactly what I want to be!”

Dad: “Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

Martin: “I’m gonna be ‘n astronaut!”

Dad: “Ha! Oh you are, are you? Is that what you think?”

Dad: “Astronauts get good grades, and they don’t get caught stealing an’ lying all the time. So where does that leave you, spaceboy?”

And Martin runs to his room to cry. Mom berates dad because this is the first time she’s ever seen him excited about his homework but dad says Martin will be lucky to get a job at all the way he’s going.

Later, Jerome calls Martin out to climb to the roof of their building and use binoculars to look at the moon.

They obviously don’t see astronauts on the Moon with binoculars.

Jerome: “So, what do you think you’ll accomplish in your lifetime, Martin?”

Jerome: “Martin?”

Martin: “... nothin’.”

Jerome: “No, I’m serious.”

Martin: “Yeah... Me too...”

Kids internalize stuff, parents!

This was kind of a bummer after seeing the Predator fight Nazis. Kind of jerking my emotions around, Dark Horse Presents.

Last story: The Ark Part Four

The last part of a multiple part story? You fooled me, Dark Horse Presents! Uncool!

Anyway, near as I can gather, there was an alien spacecraft that got shot down and unleashed a bunch of alien monsters who seem animalistic and not gleep glorp take me to your meepmorps.

Also they’re fairly resistant to bullets.

There are several convicts from the nearby prison and some prison guards or cops? who are with them and worried that the prisoners will attempt to escape in the confusion and then there’s a main guy maybe called Guidry.

He has the idea that since the town of Pruitt has been evacuated, they can vent the natural gas pipes underground, saturate the town, and then drop a match. Boom, no more alien monsters.

On his way into the sewers, Guidry cautions everyone not to take up smoking.

Jonas: “No problem. I’ve got a rule about cigarettes. Only after sex... Or when somebody punches up Leann Rimes on the tavern’s juke box.”

Guidry, later: “I’d like to buy her a carton of Marlboros, and I don’t mean for some country-pop listening party...”

Once the gas has been vented, the group runs into another problem. Somebody has to set it off. And there’s a monster now between them and the manhole.

Then somebody steps up to take the sacrifice.

Narrator: “I don’t know what prompted Dylan to do what he did. Was it out of some suddenly-discovered sense of obligation? I doubt it. Serial arsonists rarely undergo that sort of epiphany. But I can’t help remembering the look on his face. He wasn’t thinking of the pain, or the finality of death. He was looking for the cleansing embrace of the flames. I only hope it was all he had ever dreamed.”

And then the town blows up.

And all the monsters blow up. Except for the biggest and meanest of them. And now its pissed.

The four survivors flee the surviving monster and wind up back at the prison.

Guidry: “Guns, grenades, hell, Warden Moeller probably keeps whips and leather in the basement -- That doesn’t work, we can throw cafeteria food at the thing till it pukes to death--”

Hah.

The warden won’t let them in, even though one of the survivors is Sheriff Hiatt from Pruitt. So Jonas just kicks a prison bus open and drives it through the fence.

Jonas tells Warden Moeller to stfu and the prison guards open fire on the monster, to no avail.

Guidry has one last plan though and tells Jonas he’ll need her help.

So he aggros the monster to chase him through the prison -- and holy crap, this thing is tearing through prison bars like they’re twizzlers -- and all the way to the electric chair room.

He dodges behind the chair to trick the monster into skewering it with its claws and then Jonas turns on the power.

The monster is finally dead. And Guidry voluntarily turns himself in to serve out the remainder of his prison sentence because Pruitt (the town that’s currently on fire and flattened) is his entire life and home and between another six months in jail vs never seeing it again? Easy decision.

Plus, he’s also sweet on Jonas and she seems to be into him too. “I’m a firm believer in rehabilitation.” So, yeah, that’s disciplinary action waiting to happen.