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royalwilmon · 3 years

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fic: all my life is arm in arm with you

wilhelm/simon: the world doesn't seem as overwhelming when Wilhelm has someone by his side, holding his hand through it all.

Leaving a couple of things purposely ambiguous. Namely, the when, where, and what. The focus here is on Wilhelm’s anxiety and Simon’s response - the setting and circumstances of this interaction can be whatever you imagine, or nothing at all. Content warning for a detailed description of the physicality of an anxiety attack. Note that I’m basing this on my own personal very real experiences with anxiety. The title is from “When You’ve Got Trouble” by Liz Longley. I strongly suggest you give it a listen after you read this!

[Read on AO3]

The room was getting smaller.

Or maybe it wasn’t. It was hard to tell. Wilhelm’s eyes darted from wall to wall. Each time he looked back, he could have sworn that they were closer still, inch by inch. It scared him as he thought about what might happen if the walls closed in on him completely. He began to feel claustrophobic. He could feel the lost air in the room tighten in his throat. It felt like two strong hands were reaching through the back of his chest to grip both of his lungs, firmly squeezing with increasing intensity.

Wilhelm brought a hand to his collarbone and pressed down, countering the phantom pressure with his own. Slowly he rubbed, willing the balance of forces to provide some sort of relief. When it didn’t, he pressed harder.

At the same time, Wilhelm’s breathing quickened, letting itself out of his body in erratic puffs. He tried to breathe normally, but it felt like his lungs were working independently from the rest of his body. The more he focused on trying to control it, the more he felt like each and every part of him had disconnected from the rest, unable to work together to keep him breathing.

Wilhelm hated this. He hated this too familiar physical reaction to the world around him. He hated his mind for causing it, his body for reacting, hated himself, hated this, he hated, hated, hated. The thoughts bounced around his mind, ricocheting off the edges and multiplying to create a swarm of hateful ideas. It was suffocating.

Just as he felt his knees begin to buckle, gravity tempting him to pull his body downward and collapse, he startled at a sudden touch. He felt a pair of arms snake around his middle. Warm, soft, familiar. One hand resting flat on his stomach, the other reaching up, trailing along his arm gently until the hand settled on top of his own. The hand that still pushed helplessly against his chest.

Simon.

“Wille?”

Simon’s voice was barely more than a whisper, hardly more than a breath, but it still rang clear in Wilhelm’s ears and instantly filled his body with unexpected yet comfortable warmth. Wilhelm wasn’t expecting Simon to be around. But then again, Simon always did seem to have a sort of sixth sense for knowing when Wilhelm needed him most. It was one of an infinitely growing list of things he loved and appreciated about his partner.

Wilhelm didn’t answer Simon’s greeting right away, the fullness in his throat still too sizable to allow for enough air to speak. Wilhelm instead focused himself on the feeling of a second heartbeat behind his, where Simon’s body stood flush against his own. It was slower and steadier than Wilhelm’s, keeping time with the gentle breathing he could feel warm the back of his neck.

Wilhelm then remembered something he and Simon had practiced many times before - trying to get him to match Simon’s steadier breathing. Inhale, exhale. It had been a long time since Wilhelm’s anxiety had been this bad. As he focused in and slowed his breathing - inhale, exhale - Wilhelm took a moment to be so thankful that Simon had been nearby to help him through this now. He had been doing so well for so long and wasn’t sure he was still able to handle it on his own. Inhale, exhale.

“Wille, it’s okay. It’s okay.”

Simon let go of him, and for the briefest moment, the hands on Wilhelm’s lungs began to tighten again. He struggled on his inhale. Before he could exhale, Simon was there in front of him, and he reached out to pull him close in a needy embrace.

Wilhelm clung to Simon like the world would end if they did not perfectly merge their bodies together into one. He buried his head in Simon’s neck, breathing in the scent of him. Wilhelm took every opportunity to use his arms to try to pull Simon closer and closer. Simon was simply there for him, letting Wilhelm grasp at his body and offering his embrace in return. They stayed that way for some time, mostly in comfortable silence, save for when Simon would occasionally whisper Wilhelm’s name or words of comfort sweetly into his hair.

After several minutes, Simon pulled away to get a good look at Wilhelm. He reached up and held Wilhelm’s head in his hands, his fingers curling around his neck and thumbs resting gently on his jaw. Wilhelm immediately relaxed into the touch.

Simon was calm. His eyes were warm, and they were looking directly into Wilhelm’s. The only sign of distress was the slight frown on his lips. Simon brushed his thumbs across Wilhelm’s cheeks, wiping away some tears that Wilhelm hadn’t even realized he’d shed.

Simon kept on holding his gaze, not breaking eye contact even to blink. Wilhelm realized at this point that he was waiting for him to speak. Although he knew that Simon was patient and would give Wilhelm as long as was needed, he wanted Simon to understand that he was alright. Or, rather, that he would be alright soon. He closed his eyes, swallowed, took a shallow breath, and then looked back up to Simon.

“Hej.” Wilhelm’s breath hitched as he spoke, but he was glad just to have gotten sound out.

“Hej,” Simon replied easily as his frown began to turn upward. He removed one hand from Wilhelm’s face to tuck a stray lock of hair behind his ear. The piece of hair promptly fell right back, but Simon let it be. “How are you feeling?”

It wasn’t uncommon for Simon to ask this question at any given time on a typical day. That was one of the many things Wilhelm adored about Simon. He always wanted to be in tune with how Wilhelm was feeling. The pair had worked hard early in their relationship to make sure they communicated their emotions well enough to stay on the same page, through the good and the bad alike. The more they were able to talk about how they were feeling, the stronger their relationship became. So, Wilhelm made an effort to always answer the question as honestly as he was able.

How was he feeling? Wilhelm carefully considered the question.

Mentally, his thoughts were still racing at a rapid pace: jumping to conclusions, dwelling on the “what ifs”, fixating on the unknown. This was true of how Wilhelm’s mind functioned normally, but the anxiety amplified it tenfold. Physically, his breathing had slowed, but the pressure on his lungs still weighed down on him. His body now felt uncomfortably warm. Wilhelm felt the heat burning in his fingertips. Meanwhile, his head was so full it felt empty.

He answered. “Dizzy. A little.”

“Okay,” Simon nodded. “Okay, let’s sit you down.”

Simon pressed a kiss to Wilhelm’s cheek and then grabbed his arm and led him over to a nearby sofa. The pair sat side by side, each at an angle to face each other, knees touching. Wilhelm immediately took Simon’s hands into his own.

Wilhelm traced his fingertips against Simon’s, grateful not only to busy his hands but also to touch something so familiar to him. He knew every surface, bend, and scar on those hands by heart. Simon’s fingers were calloused from the guitar he had been picking up to practice more and more frequently as of late. These hands made music. Wilhelm loved these hands just as he loved the man they belonged to.

“Sorry, I didn’t think this would-” Wilhelm began, eyes focused on where their fingers were intertwined. Simon shook his head and interrupted him.

“No, don’t apologize, Wille.”

“I’m glad you’re here.” Wilhelm exhaled. He shifted his body to rest his head on Simon’s shoulder. He smiled. “Thank you for being here.”

“Do you want to talk about it now or later?”

Wilhelm appreciated the question. He knew it was important to talk about what triggered this intense burst of anxiety, and he absolutely would speak with Simon about it in time. Still, having the option to wait a while before starting to tackle his problems was a great comfort to him. Simon had always been great about giving Wilhelm proper space and time when he needed it.

Wilhelm answered. “Later.”

“Okay,” Simon nodded, turning his neck so he could press his lips to Wilhelm’s forehead. “What can I do for you now?”

“Just stay with me.”

“Of course,” Simon answered as if it was the only response that existed, his voice so full of certainty and assurance. Wilhelm had never felt safer.

Sometimes, the world felt too big for Wilhelm. It made him feel small when he knew that that was not what the world needed from him. There were expectations and traditions he needed to abide by that often felt difficult for Wilhelm to handle. It was then that Wilhelm started to doubt whether or not he could truly be what everybody around him wanted him to be.

It was Simon who made him feel like he was enough. Simon made him feel safe, and loved, and seen. Simon made him feel capable and strong. Knowing he had this man’s love and support made Wilhelm stronger, and Wilhelm knew he would move mountains to give it all back to him. They were a team.

The world didn’t seem as overwhelming when he had someone by his side, holding his hand through it all.

It would be okay.

He would be okay.

♫

#young royals #wilmon #wilhelm x simon #young royals fic #wilmon fic #this is the first time ive written anything in nearly five years so please be nice to me #ally writes

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little-mad · 3 years

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Downsides of Thievery Pt. 5

~ Previous Part ~ Next Part ~

The moment Gavin stepped out of his cage, he felt ten times more vulnerable and exposed than he had previously. The fact that he was on the ground with everything looming up above him did not help in the slightest. Though the alteon wasn’t even standing at his full height, Rael looked like an absolute monument before him. Gavin felt more like an insect next to the giant than ever.

“Knock it off!” Gavin scolded himself mentally. “He may be insanely big, but I’ve got a bigger mouth.” He wouldn’t allow himself to be cowed just because his captor happened to be taller than a building.

“Hurry up,” Rael’s voice thundered from above, effectively forcing Gavin out of his contemplation.

The alteon looked down on Gavin with his usual level of disdain. He had to wonder how much of that was due to the fact that he was a convicted criminal, and how much was just because of how much he seemed to dislike humans. The criminal part, Gavin could understand, but not liking him because he was a human seemed pretty...was racist the right word? Or would the proper term be speciesist? Either way, Rael was acting like some kind of -ist.

When Gavin didn’t immediately start moving at his order, Rael seemed to grow even further agitated. “Why are you incapable of following simple commands?” he questioned sharply, leaning forward slightly as he glared down at Gavin.

This particular comment was very reminiscent of something Gavin’s seventh grade social studies teacher had said once. The cranky old bastard had basically had it out for Gavin since day one. Apparently Mr. Borgan wasn’t a fan of class clowns. Gavin had never really liked following orders from authority figures before that, but he was pretty sure that ass of a teacher had set him down his path towards crime. Mr. Borgan made him realize that just because someone was in charge, didn’t mean they were right.

And now, here was Rael trying to order Gavin around. Yes, Gavin had been placed in Rael’s custody and therefore was his responsibility. But that didn’t mean he got to order Gavin around like some kind of dog.

“Maybe if you tried asking nicely,” Gavin told Rael. Though he said it sarcastically, it wasn’t entirely untrue. He would be much more likely to do what Rael wanted if the guy would just try being a little friendlier.

Rolling his eyes, Rael shook his head. “I never asked to babysit a human.”

“Well maybe you’re being punished,” Gavin retorted with a bit more bite than he’d intended. Obviously he hadn’t really meant what he said, he had no idea what life was like in the “Imperial Guard.” However, the moment Gavin caught sight of the look on Rael’s face he knew he had said something he shouldn’t have.

There was a dark look on the alteon’s face as he glowered down at the human at his feet. Gavin took an instinctive step backwards. He was sure if his body came equipped with lights and a siren they’d be going off like crazy.

Before he could make another move, a giant hand was coming at Gavin in a flash. He stumbled and ended up tripping over his own feet and falling onto his back. The hand was an inch away from him. He braced himself to be grabbed, slamming his eyes shut in fear. But then a moment passed and he remained untouched.

Cautiously, Gavin reopened his eyes, and the sight he saw made his heartbeat stutter. Though no part of it made contact with him, Rael’s hand hung over Gavin. He was caged in by the appendage, his head sticking out between the massive index and middle fingers.

Looking past the hand, Gavin stared up at Rael’s face, which now hovered almost directly above him. The alteon’s head blocked out the sunlight that filtered through the canopy, and it was almost like his face was a moon that had eclipsed the sun.

Rael’s beautiful teal eyes were clouded with rage, his lips pulled into a snarl. Suddenly, Gavin felt like a mouse that had been caught by a vicious cat. God, what a stupid mouse.

Rael had never been particularly short tempered, or rather, he had never allowed himself to be. If he was ever going to be taken seriously as someone worthy of being a member of the Imperial Guard, he needed to prove that he was more than his peasant parentage. And so he played the role of the refined, even-tempered gentleman.

Perhaps it had been his tendency to constantly suppress his true emotions around others that caused him to snap so abruptly at Gavin Stone. Or perhaps it was just the human himself who had a unique skill for getting under his skin. Either way, Rael had found himself dying to put the little man in his place.

All it had taken was for the human to say something that hit a little too close to home. The fear that Rael had never been and would never be truly viewed as a member of the Imperial Guard had haunted him for a long time. He wondered whether the rest of the soldiers secretly whispered about him behind his back, poking fun at the peasant who dared try to play at being someone of any standing.

When Rael had been given the less than favorable assignment of collecting a human prisoner, the idea that he’d been purposefully given the task due to his background had quickly taken residence in the back of his mind. He had been trying not to dwell on it, to just do his job and move on. However, when the human suggested Rael might be being punished, it reminded him of all his insecurities.

The next thing he knew, he was pinning the human to the ground. His fingers surrounded the little creature on all sides. Rael couldn’t deny the sight gave him a rush. It was satisfying.

Gavin Stone was a thief who was willing to potentially put the relationship between the human and alteon realms at risk just to satisfy his own greed. “He’s a criminal, that’s why I dislike him so much,” Rael told himself. However, in the back of his mind he knew what really angered him about Gavin Stone’s insolence was the fact that he was a human. Humans were smaller and weaker than alteons. In the animal kingdom, would that not place alteons above humans?

“Remember your place,” Rael growled as he stared down at the human trapped beneath his hand.

There was no defiance in Gavin Stone’s eyes, just panic and fear. Perhaps this time the message would sink in.

Rael gave the human one last hard look before removing his hand and resuming his seated position on the log. Though he was still tense, he could feel himself beginning to come down from the sudden spark of rage he’d experienced. He took a steadying breath as he returned his attention to the human. The little man had yet to get to his feet, though he’d sat up and was staring up at Rael with wide eyes. “Hurry up and do your business before I change my mind.”

Obviously, Gavin had known he was tiny compared to Rael and the rest of the alteon dimension. It was pretty hard to forget. And yet somehow he hadn’t quite fully comprehended what it meant to be so insignificant to the world around him.

A part of being a thief was knowing that people, for the most part, were too absorbed in their own business to pay much attention to the actions of a stranger. Gavin could be a ghost, a nobody. Now take that concept and amplify it tenfold. That was how little of an indent Gavin made on the alteons’ world. And that had been what Rael seemed adamant on imparting on his captive.

As much as he hated to admit it, Gavin had been shaken by Rael’s outburst. It had been a harsh reminder of how easily the alteon could hurt him or worse. Laying there trapped under the giant hand, Gavin had felt totally and completely helpless. It was not a feeling he enjoyed in the slightest.

“How am I supposed to stand up to that?” he pondered as he pulled his jumpsuit back up over his shoulders.

Gavin had to wonder whether this was the kind of treatment he could expect from the Emperor. The alteon ruler had been diplomatic and peaceful with humanity as a whole, however, he questioned whether or not that would apply to a human criminal.

Gavin sighed. He really wasn’t looking forward to facing Rael again. He would much rather just stay concealed within the confines of the large bush he currently resided in. Of course, that would only serve to piss Rael off even further. Chances were, the giant would just reach in and snag Gavin if he took too long. He shivered at the thought of being anywhere near that hand again.

And so, quite reluctantly, Gavin exited his cover and returned to the clearing where Rael was waiting. He approached the alteon silently. For once he didn’t have anything to say--or more accurately, he didn’t have the confidence to say anything. Rael appeared as though he had calmed down at least somewhat, but Gavin wasn’t ready to risk incurring his wrath again.

He came to a stop in between Rael’s feet and stood silently. He kept his gaze downwards, unwilling to meet those eyes which had so recently stared at him with burning fury.

When Gavin Stone had returned, he seemed almost like a different person. Gone were the animated expressions that had lit up his face. He was quiet and passive. At Rael’s command, he’d gotten back into his cage without making any sort of fuss.

Now, Rael was back on the path to the city and the human was sitting in his cage without saying a word. It certainly seemed as though Rael’s show of force had been effective. So why didn’t Rael feel more happy with himself?

At the time, when he’d seen Gavin cowering under his hand, Rael had been quite pleased. However, for some reason the feeling had only been temporary. Now he almost felt...bad? “No, surely I don’t feel bad for a human criminal,” he tried to convince himself. Gavin had made himself a nuisance and Rael had corrected the behavior. It was the logical thing to do, right? There should be no reason to feel any kind of regret.

Rael glanced down at the human. The little man had his arms wrapped around the iron bars to keep himself secure. His gaze was focused down into his lap. He almost looked...dejected.

It had been obvious from the get go that Gavin Stone was far from fearless. However, he had seemed to bounce back from his fear fairly easily. It had only taken a few minutes after being grabbed, caged, and transported to a new realm for the man to gain enough confidence to address his giant captor. Now that Rael thought about it, it was kind of impressive.

But now, Gavin showed no signs of bouncing back. It was possible he would remain quiet and compliant for the rest of their journey. Rael should have been celebrating, and yet....

“Perhaps I just regret losing my temper,” Rael thought to himself. He was supposed to be in control of his emotions, and while letting loose for that moment had felt good at the time, he knew it was wrong. “Yeah, that has to be it….right?”

#g/t #giant/tiny #g/t writing #my writing #fearplay #oc: gavin stone #oc: rael #g/t fearplay

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writerfromtheshore · 3 years

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Takanuva and the Elevator To Another World

When Takanuva and Darkness had made a break for the Coliseum, the Toa of Light expected that they would be fighting his way tooth and nail all the way to where ever the Hall of Masks would be. The amount of Toa that had spilled out of the place had suggested that the center of the city was teeming with more warriors who were armed to the teeth and ready to destroy the opposing rebellion.

What he found though was quite the opposite. Instead of opponents and roadblocks, they found empty halls, silence, practically almost no sign of the massive confrontation that was taking place just one floor below. As they wandered the halls it seemed as if the Toa and Dark Hunter were kio away from the battle, and wandering through an empty building on some far edge of a Metru. This floor had not brought them face to face with Vahki, any of Tuyet’s Toa army, or even a single Matoran. If the two of them were not present, there would have been no sign of the occurring conflict. Takanuva forced himself to keep focus on the mission, but part of his mind could not ignore the creeping sensation that the empty halls were giving him.

They came to the end of a hallway, where an elevator door stood nestled into the wall. The bell within rang and the door opened seemingly at their approach. The empty elevator box stood open, inviting them in. The two unlikely partners looked at each other. Darkness himself looked particularly unnerved.

“A trap?” the Toa of Light asked. The Dark Hunter shook his head.

“It may be a way for you, but not for me,” said Darkness. “I sense ill will with this door. Take it if you may, but I shall find another path to this Hall we seek.” The Dark Hunter slid away into the shadows before Takanuva could even say his name in protest.

The Toa of Light breathed hard out of his nose. Typical Dark Hunter, he thought, not willing to risk his own neck. Takanuva was on his own he knew as he took a step toward the elevator.

To the credit of Darkness though, Takanuva thought as he stepped inside, something did seem off about the structure; the way it just stood there, open and silently waiting for him. Beyond the door, the light inside shined down on the lines of gold that ran through green walls. The shadows did not flicker. No sounds of elevator music came from inside. Nothing seemed wrong with the elevator box, but at the same time, something Takanuva could not put his finger on definitely seemed off.

It did not matter if it seemed off. The Toa of Light needed to get up to the Hall of Masks. Whatever way took him there, he would have to take it.

A single bell from within dinged, and the door closed. However, the box did not move. Takanuva looked around at the — suddenly maroonish-purple— walls in annoyance. Shouldn’t the elevator be taking him somewhere? Maybe Darkness was right and another way was a better option. The color change of the interior was an unsettling surprise, but he was not going to let that deter him. This elevator would take him to the Hall of Masks.

A light on the wall with the number four began to glow. Takanuva pressed it, and the elevator began to take him upwards. He smiled with satisfaction, his arrival to the fourth floor soon to come.

The elevator bell gave a resounding ding! as the doors opened. However, the floor the Toa had arrived at looked no different from the one he had just left. Frowning, he took a step towards exiting the elevator.

The Toa of Light paused mid-step. Something screamed in the back of his mind not to exit the elevator. Nothing around him looked wrong. Takanuva could not see any traps, but also something did not feel right about getting off at this floor. This was raw emotion from deep in the core of his mind, screaming, begging him not to get off the elevator. There was a certain sense about the fabric of the alternate universe of Tuyet’s empire, a feel about the very air, that was very different from his own home. This hallway in front of him had none of that same feel. The more Takanuva pondered it the more he felt as if he should not get off the elevator.

What do I do then? The question echoed in his mind.

As if in response to his thoughts, another button on the wall panel began to glow. Floor two. Takanuva pushed it, and the doors closed again. The Toa of Light felt the elevator lurch and begin to descend. He was a little more worried than when he had originally stepped onto the elevator.

The same thing happened at floor two. Nothing was out there, but the Toa of Light felt as if it were simply not safe to get out of the elevator. The light for the sixth floor glowed to life, and he hit it.

The elevator took Takanuva to several more empty floors, where his intuition told him not to get off. After the sixth floor was reached, the light for the second floor lit up. This was followed by the tenth floor lighting up, and then the fifth floor. Takanuva pressed each of these, hoping it was a secret code to access the Hall of Masks, but after the handful, he suspected there was something else at play. Takanuva paused before pressing the lit button for the fifth floor. Looking around he was equally annoyed as he was anxious.

“Whoever or whatever you are behind all of this, I have a mission,” he told the elevator, concerned as he voiced his thoughts. “I do not have the time to play your game.”

He hit the button for the fifth floor, and the elevator shuddered as it began to move. The lights flashed once or twice. The colors of the elevator walls changed again, flashing to a blue and then back to the maroonish- purple shade that they were. Something else rumbled through the elevator as well, the phantom of an emotion which left Takanuva from saying anything more.

He expected the fifth floor to be empty, just as all of the others were. But the door opened to the sight of a smiling Ga-Matoran, who walked into the elevator and turned to stand next to the Toa of Light. Macku! Takanuva thought as he recognized the noble Kanohi Huna on her face.

“Hello there,” she said. Takanuva relaxed at the comforting voice of his Ga-Matoran friend. No matter what dimension he came to, Macku had almost always been there, a certain guide to help beings from another dimension. To see her here— regardless of how corrupted this Tuyet-ruled universe was— brought him relief.

He was about to respond when he saw her reflection in the elevator door. The silvery protodermic material did twist and contort his own Kanohi, due to the nature of the reflective surface. However, observing Macku’s reflection, Takanuva knew something was off. Her height was no longer that of around Takanuva’s thigh— she seemed to be standing shoulder to shoulder with the Toa.

The mask that reflected in the surface of the elevator seemed to be twisted and contorted, yes, but there was more. It seemed to be spiked and wild, the mask bending and appendages coming out in places where Takanuva was sure they couldn’t be, even in a trick reflection. Whatever he was looking at… seemed almost devilish.

The reflection of her eyes flashing to a dark glowing red— a deeper crimson than the Makuta’s eyes— made him decide it was best not to answer.

The button for floor one lit up. Takanuva hit it with as much haste as he could. He didn’t even care as the elevator lurched and went upward. He just wanted to get moving.

The fear and worry that had washed over the Toa earlier was far more than anything he had felt from the Turahk’s staff or Makuta’s fear on his island home of Mata Nui. Those were simulated, artificial doses of fear. But the chilling fear and worry that he encountered from the elevator was incredibly real.

And Macku— or whatever it was next to him— brought Takanuva sheer terror.

The first floor button brought them to the tenth floor. As the door opened, Takanuva completely ignored the impulses and screams for him to stay on the elevator. He forced those voices down, using the calming power of the Kanohi Avohkii on himself, and stepped clear out of the elevator.

“Where are you going?” asked the Macku-that-was-not-Macku. Takanuva ignored her as the doors shut.

As the doors closed, he spun. Three elevators faced him— the one he had departed from on the left, another two directly to his right. The floor numbers on top of all three elevators, even the one Takanuva had migrated from, were dark and unchanging. Upon closer inspection, the symbols for the floors were all written in reverse, as if they were being looked at from a mirror.

Macku-that-was-not-Macku was simply sitting behind that door on the left, waiting for him. He could not explain it, but Takanuva could feel it in his armor.

Some internal force pulled him along as he walked the tenth floor. Hopefully this is the Hall of Masks, and I have simply gotten up here quicker than Darkness. Takanuva walked silently, his lance tight in his hand. The marble of the hallway echoed as his armored feet paced.

After a while though, Takanuva began to think there was nobody here. No security, no masks, not even people. The halls were devoid of weaponry, carvings, even artwork. There was a certain feel about the place, a general vibe that was not Tuyet’s empire dimension. It was the same feeling he had experienced in the elevator— a creeping sensation along the back of his neck, a shadow escaping the corner of his eye, a shudder along his armor— but amplified tenfold. A faint red aura hung about the place that made Takanuva think the elevator— or whatever it was— had led him into a totally different reality.

As he rounded a corner, he saw a window looking out into the city. Takanuva approached it, looking down into the vast sprawl of Metru Nui cityscapes. The place was incredibly still. No battle or rebellion was outside on the ground. No armies marched throughout the streets. No Matoran, no Rahi, not even the sea beyond seemed to move.

The one thing that Takanuva did discern in the city came from the sky. A red cross like shape, which was casting its red, hellish glow, hovered in the sky, unmoving still.

It was like looking at a picture of the city. Everything was still and peaceful, but there was something wrong about it. With no people, no movement, no nothing at all but that red, shining cross shape, there was an impression about the place that Takanuva could not describe which felt off.

Whatever it was, it struck another bout of fear in Takanuva in this latest experience of terror. It frightened him in a way similar to how a Muaka cat was frightened when a villager would shove a flaming branch into its maw. Whatever hellish place this was, it repulsed Takanuva, made him want to whimper out loud and run away. The stillness of the city and the red of the light felt as if he was experiencing a very poisoned version of his home.

Takanuva needed to get back. Even if it wasn’t his home dimension, the alternate Metru Nui with Tuyet was far greater comfort than whatever this place was. He whirled, tripping and stumbling as he strode towards the elevators which he had come from.

He came to the elevator lobby and paused, frantically looking at the three elevators. Even though he was away from the window, the red glow bathed faintly over everything. It was burned into the Toa of Light’s corneas.

He wanted to take another elevator rather than the one he had come up on. The other elevators would help him avoid the devil, that monster in the guise of Macku. But his intuition— which had not led him into actual harm yet— reminded him of advice he had learned what seemed not so long ago. In the tales of the Toa Metru, when fleeing the city to find a refuge for the Matoran, the then Toa of Air had approached a crossroads within the Great Barrier. Go left, Matau had insisted to his comrades. Going right had met with disaster and challenges that had almost gotten the group killed. But going left… as much as it seemed improbable that had been the safer path.

Going left would take him back into the elevator with the monster. But what could the other elevators possibly lead him to?

Not wanting to find out, Takanuva pressed the button for the left most elevator. As his finger drew away, he noticed that the symbol for it was backwards, just like the lights above the elevators.

The door opened, and the Toa of Light slid in, trying his hardest not to acknowledge the too cheery Matoran standing beside him.

Buttons on the elevator lit up, and Takanuva pressed them, curious as to where the elevator was taking him now. After a few floor selections, Takanuva noticed that it was the reverse order that he had originally pressed them in. Hopefully that meant he was heading back from whatever place he was in. Standing beside him, whom he still ignored with all of his might, was the shape and form of Macku, still silently humming.

Takanuva could not wait longer for the fifth floor doors to open up. When it did, he knew “Macku” would leave, and he could take the rest of the elevator ride alone.

He expected “her” to leave silently. Once the doors to the fifth floor opened, “she” took a step forward. Takanuva could have almost cried from relief as he felt “her” leaving his side.

But “she” stopped half way through “her” stride, just as the Toa of Light had done earlier. “She” did not look at him, but at the same time he could feel the neck straining and twisting towards his direction. Takanuva avoided the gaze of the Matoran shaped thing— because that was definitely not Macku— at all costs.

“It is really a shame,” Macku’s voice called. However, Takanuva almost jumped toward the back of the elevator box as he heard another voice as well. A contorted, twisted sound—that may have been one voice or several hundred or several thousand— spoke underneath the comforting tone of the Ga-Matoran’s cheery tone. It was nothing like the friendly tone she had spoken to him with, but at the same time it was. There was an accursed underlayer of the voice, one that spoke to Takanuva from not just the Matoran’s mouth but all corners of the elevator.

“I really thought you would stay longer,” the thing-in-Macku’s-form said in hundreds of thousands of voices as she left the elevator.

The doors closed, and Takanuva slouched against the wall, utterly spooked by the voice. She was gone now, and he was away from whatever she was, but something stuck with him in those nefarious undertones that he could not shake.

The light for floor one lit up. Takanuva stared at it for a second, before hitting it.

The elevator began to move upwards. He knew where it was taking him.

“No!” he yelled in the closed box. His sobs of relief from moments earlier were turning to cries of distraught. He hit the button for floor one again, even though it did not light up. “I am done playing your game. Take me back. To where I came from this time!”

The elevator grated to a halt briefly, as if to consider his words. Takanuva glared at the empty air front of him, hoping to stare down whatever was doing this.

Then slowly, very slowly, the elevator began to move again.

The doors opened at the first floor, and Takanuva barely breathed as he felt a whoosh of breeze fill the elevator box. He could not believe his eyes as he peered out of the doors, seeing the hallways of the Coliseum before him. He examined the walls, everything outside, before stepping out.

Yes, this was Tuyet’s dimension. He did not know how he had gotten back here, but somehow he had managed to return from where he had been.

Takanuva turned around to look once more at the elevator doors, not having heard them close. To his disbelief, he only saw a blank wall. There was no elevator, or even any indication of one having ever existed. Only a blank wall, its marbled surface grey and unrevealing. A shiver went up his spine.

Takanuva turned back to the hall. Probably for the only time in his life, began to run towards the comfort of Darkness.

***

Bionicle crossed with a story from ghostinmymachine.com, a website that deals with legit paranormal stuff found in the world.

https://theghostinmymachine.com/2014/06/25/the-most-dangerous-games-elevator-to-another-world/

Just an experiment in crossing genres, something to get my creative juices flowing. Definitely a rough write.

#bionicle #bonkle #writing #crossover #write off #writing exercise #paranormal #just beware the link it may contain some sensitive frightening stuff

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the-halloween-jack · 3 years

Text

The Telepath’s Daughter ◈ Chapter V

Story Summary: Amelia Xavier was just like her father, a mutant. Though, unlike her father; her powers didn’t end with Telepathy, It went much further. Charles loved his daughter with all his heart, but when she was forcibly removed from him, he unwilling had to adapt to life without her. That was until one day in 1973 when he found himself face to face with her once again.

Charles Xavier x Daughter!OC

Peter Maximoff x OC

WARNINGS: Angst

Series Masterlist

< Previous Chapter | Next Chapter >

Chapter Five ◈ The Experiment

January 3rd, 1963

Amelia could not tell how long she had been at the mental asylum, at first she tried to count the days but as the weeks went on, time seemed to blur together. Every morning she would wake to the sound of voices in her head, but they were not like the voices from home or the playground. These voices were different, they were the thoughts of the insane. And their minds were often riddled with voices of their own; only those voices said dark, evil things.

Amelia was told she was just like them, by the passing men and women in lab coats. Though Amelia understood that she was not insane, she was different, her father had said so. The thought of Amelia's father brought tears to her eyes. She often wondered if he looked for her; if he was missing her as much as she was missing him. Charles and Raven were all she had and they were taken away from her. Every once and awhile, when she closed her eyes she would see them, but they were only memories. All she wanted was to go back, see them smile at her once again, though the day seemed as though it would never come.

Amelia looked through the little window on her door, she knew it was time for the experiments. Everyday people clad in lab coats would come for her, and place her on a metal examination table, all day they would poke and prod at her, hoping to find the answer to her unique abilities; she was merely their lab rat.

As if on queue the door to her holding cell opened and a man walked in. Though before Amelia could even think to resist the man had her by the wrist and was dragging her to the table. She knew now that there was no point in resisting, Amelia was completely defenceless. When she had first been captured she had attempted to use her powers against them, but it was no use, it was apparent she had no control. She could not use her abilities on command, they simply showed at random.

As soon as they made it to the room other people assisted in strapping her down to the table, they could not risk her getting away. All day they ran experiments on her, injecting her with various serums, each doing different things. They were trying to get a response from her, trigger her powers. But they had come up empty-handed.

Amelia tightly closed her eyes. The pain they had been causing her was excruciating. The voices in her head amplified tenfold, her mind felt numb. She knew that if her father was here he would know what to do, but he was not.

Items in the room began to shake, the people around her became unsteady on their feet. Amelia's powers had begun to show. The doctor ran franticly around the room shouting orders at each other. The whole building was shaking by now, papers flew everywhere while furniture tumbled over. The sound of the metal vents caving in on themselves could be heard, if she was not stopped soon, the whole institution would be destroyed. It was evident now to them that she was not insane, she was simply different.

Her head was held down as a needle was forced into her lower neck, Amelia tried to hold on to the light, but failed as the world began to darken.

Amelia slowly opened her eyes and sat up. The voices in her head were quiet now, yet her mind still felt numb. In her cell was a woman, she recognised her from the experiment room from earlier.

'Do you realise what you just did?' The woman asked, her voice showing no signs of emotion.

'My powers showed again, didn't they?' The girl whispered under her breath.

'Yes. You caused quite the scene back there, some of the doctors even claimed they were no longer in the lab, that they were taken elsewhere

'What place did I show them?' Amelia asked,

'Show them?' The woman questioned back,

'Sometimes when I would use my powers I'd take the people around me to a new place, though I don't think we were truly there, only in our minds'

'They said they saw a forest' The woman recalled,

'I think I've been to that forest before' Amelia stated, remembering the time Raven and her father had taken her there for a picnic, then the time she had taken her father while she slept.

'How long have you had these powers' The woman asked, though Amelia hesitated in answering, she knew she could not trust her.

'You can tell me, we will find out whether you like it or not, so you may as well make it easy' The woman continued, looking Amelia directly in the eye.

'I only got my powers a couple of days before you took me, though I heard my father say once that they had shown when I was a baby before he met me, apparently my mother had been there.' The girl replied,

'What happened to your mother?' The woman continued her questioning.

'She died, I never knew her' Amelia said. The girl knew she should have been sad, but she struggled to mourn for someone she never knew. Her father and Raven were the only family that she ever had. If only they were there for her now.

#X-men #Charles Xavier #peter maximoff #marvel #mutant #Raven Darkholme #mystique #professor x #quicksliver #telepath #telekinesis #telepathy #x-mansion #charles xavier daughter #peter maximof x reader

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sensesdialed-aa · 2 years

Text

@obsehrves asked: ❛ it’s okay , we don’t have to talk about it until you’re ready . ❜ // things i wish i had been told

NO WORDS COULD POSSIBLY SUFFICE, nothing Peter might bring himself to say would be near enough to truly illustrate the overwhelming anguish that takes over every part of him. Physical wounds couldn’t compare in the slightest— it’s as if he doesn’t even notice cuts breaking through his body, cracked ribs burning with each step, half-dried blood and rainwater that cakes the side of his face and still drips from freshly soaked hair. His eyes are red, his throat is hoarse, but the ache of torn skin rings DISTANT compared to what feels like a gaping cavity in his chest. Empty, hollow, GONE.

�� HE LOST MAY.

The world has tried to break Peter Parker many times before. Peter Parker KNOWS LOSS. Yet with this... he almost feels a last thread of innocence snap. Lifetime’s worth of grief comes flooding back, amplified tenfold by fresh pain that makes it feel like his lungs are caving in. He tried so hard, he always did, and... not only did he fail in the end, it’s all his fault. Oh, he knows what she said— he couldn’t forget it if he tried. And the recent appearance of his counterparts, they’ve given him the push he so desperately needed before nearly giving up. But right now, in the eye of the storm before their last mission... all Peter can feel is heaviness.

“I- I know-” He chokes out, glancing downwards as his voice shakes. With great power comes great responsibility, but he’s tried to take responsibility for his power, and where has that gotten him? Ruin. Destruction spread to everyone he touches. He doesn’t deserve her here... “We, um, we should... I should focus on the plan, anyways, I’m sorry, I just...” There, his breath hitches, and Peter knows MJ notices the brimming tears. “It... it was all my fault, MJ— I killed her, ‘cause of my stupid plan, and we’ll fix it, but I... I don’t know what I’m gonna do without her... she was all I had left, and I did this to her.”

#(hi i arrive with So Much Pain...... god my heart HURTSSS)#🕸 ❝ oh i’m gonna mess this up oh this is just my luck ❞ → in character #obsehrves #🕸 ❝ no good deed goes unpunished ❞ → no way home #no way home spoilers #death tw #🕸 ❝ another one bites the dust ❞ → answered #🕸 ❝ stay on the ground for a little while ❞ → queue

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pinkandgreenarepurpleandyellow · 5 years

Note

RetsuxDoyle? You did really good with Doysumi. But there's no RetsuxDoyle :/

(pre-fic note: I’m so sorry this took so long to write, i got this ask at 9 pm yesterday, wrote for an hour, and spent like 2 hours writing this before family dragged me to stuff, but it’s done now thank you again for asking!)

*cracks knuckles* A’ight, let’s get to it

Warnings for: gore mention, mentions of torture, mention of electrocution, violence mentions, swearing i think, mentions of alcohol and one mention of drugs

On with the show!

-----

The first time they see each other is not, as Retsu thinks, in the arena. The first time they met had actually been 10 years ago, an event that Retsu remembered as moronic, and what Doyle remembered as an amusing day in a crappy week.

-----

The second time is the arena, and both men are silently struck by the attractiveness of the other, with only one of them recognizing the other from their first meeting.

----

The third time they meet, it’s in the elevator of a shopping mall, as both walk home for the day. Retsu’s shocked by both the fact that he ran into the assassin, and that Doyle invited him for a drink. That entire night catalogs in Retsu’s head as insane, the Scot registering in his head as both a nuisance and a warrior with a secret heart of gold.

Doyle really doesn’t know when or how it started, but he slowly found himself more and more interested in Retsu. The man’s honor, his creative use of weapons, his voice and the way he acts both when angry and happy all jumped onto the feeling of attraction, amplifying it tenfold. (1)

Retsu, on the other hand, was significantly more shocked by his interest in the redhead, denying it for a good three months, even going back to Hong Kong for a week to try and clear his head.

(he’d die before admitting this to the other students of the temple, but they all figured it out.) (2)

-----

It’s while Doyle’s in Russia, sniping a corrupt politician and busting up a mafia or two, that he stops by for a drink with one of his closest friends, one of the only people who he really trusts.

“So, to recap; You broke out of prison, flew to Japan, found ‘Egg’, got the shit beaten out of you by him, guarded his unconscious body for the night, got a free stay in the Shinshinkai hospital, joined the ‘I blew up a Shinshinkai dojo’ club with me and Phillis, admitted defeat to the golden boy of Karate, and now you’re living with golden boy and trying to ask out Egg? Did I get all of that right?” Atchison’s voice is laced with both amusement and venom, the latter a result of the cyanide capsules she stored under tongue at all times.

He nods, and both of them down their shots before signaling the bartender for another six for each of them.

“Yeah. God, I needed a drink today.”

“That bad, huh?”

“You have no idea,” he leans forward, knocking back two of the shots before continuing. “I haven't slept in almost four days, i’ve been shot sixty times, stabbed twelve times, maced three times, and to top it all off, a merc actually tried to throw a beehive at me! Where did she even get a beehive?”

Atchison chuckles, and smoothly swipes a bottle of wine from the passing-by bartender. “First of all, here,” she hands him the bottle and Doyle downs half of it in one go, “and second of all, forget the beehive, did you ask Egg out yet?”

“Working on it. Little busy with the whole career and all.”

“What’s he look like now? It’s been ten years after all.”

“Well he has hair now. And his eyebrows are even weirder than before. He’s actually kinda hot now.”

“So what are you waiting for? Go get ‘im, tiger.” And they both finish off the last of the alcohol between them, and leave without paying. They always do this when they run into each other, get a drink, talk shit about life, compare notes on the unusual people they’ve run into, but this is the first time either one has seen him a second time.

-----

Kissing Doyle feels a little like a great sparring session; it tingles and Retsu feels the redhead smile a little into the kiss. When they break apart, it’s cause of the hoots and hollers coming from the other side of the window.

“Wanna go somewhere a little quieter?” Doyle asks him, still making that cute expression between a smile and a smirk, holding his hand and pulling him up that way. Retsu smiles wide and strides out, yanking Doyle behind him.

-----

It’s been almost nine months now, and Doyle can still fluster his boyfriend with nothing more than a throwaway comment about how hot he is. He loves it, he loves the way Retsu always looks thrown, even if only for a second. Grabbing Retsu’s hand in public also seems to do the trick. Doyle would be lying if he didn’t also add that seeing Retsu blush made his heart jump a little, even now.

-----

Retsu knows that Doyle used to be an assassin, but it isn’t until now that the consequences of this strike him. (3) He puts the pieces together about a year after they start dating, when he’s woken up by arguing voices at 2 a.m. and Doyle is nowhere to be found, even though they both had gone to bed at the same time this evening. So Retsu follows the voices, all the way up to the roof, but something stops him from going up, so he listens from the window Doyle always insists on keeping open.

“......trust.......die in the field soon........can’t keep him safe.....leave.” A stranger’s voice, too low to be a woman’s, and too speaking-English-with-that-accent to be Japanese.

“..............stay.......love him......perfect.” and there’s his boyfriend’s response, sounding as quiet and calm as ever, and Retsu can’t listen like this anymore, so he climbs out of the window instead, climbing out to cling onto the drainpipe and listen from there.

“Look, for the last time, you. can’t. stay. here. Doyle.” the stranger seems almost agitated now. “You know how the job is. You know quite how often it follows you home, what if it runs into your boyfriend first? I don’t know what the ever-loving hell you smoked to get a civilian significant other and bond with him, but you need to drop it before it gets you killed.”

“No,” comes the still calm reply, “I’m not leaving him. He’s not just a civilian, he’s an expert in Chinese Kenpo, so he can most definitely beat you, or anyone else who we know. You can do whatever you want to me, but try to hurt him and you’ll have a much bigger hell to pay.”

“So what, you really love him then?” The man sounds so disbelieving of this, and for the first time, Retsu is also worrying. Oh sure, he had considered the possibility of Doyle not loving him or rejecting him before, but now he was worried that Doyle would stop loving him, an entirely different thing to be concerned about.

“Yeah, I love him,” and this is the first time Doyle’s voice has had any emotion in it, “I love him more than anything. I’d die for him, I’d kill for him, I’d re-live everything we had ever gone through for him. Every single part of it, Lennox, and if you try to hurt him--”

He’s cut off by the stranger’s, “I’m not,” he pauses, “just last question, former friend to former friend. Is it nice, being, well being in love? Being free of...our lives?” And this 'Lennox’ is probably around Doyle’s age, but the way he asks makes him sound like a little kid, curious about a world he’s never seen.

Doyle huffs out a quiet half-laugh at this, “It’s amazing, man, you should try it sometime. Living freely feels like, well, freedom. It’s like “graduation night” was, only better, and everyday.” And at that someone jumps off the roof and Retsu sees a short shadow land on the roof across him before it jumps again. That must be Lennox.

Retsu climbs back in and lies down in bed, all while trying to process everything he just heard. Doyle loves him, turned his back on his career for him, was willing to fight a friend (and Retsu knows how rare friends are for assassins, as well as that the fight between two can be fatal for both parties). His processing is interrupted by the soft, almost inaudible steps of Doyle climbing in, walking over to where Retsu is trying to fake sleeping, and lying down next to him, and his hand is immediately grabbed by Doyle’s, as though his hand is an anchor in a storm. Doyle starts tapping on the floorboards quietly, as though he doesn’t want to wake Retsu up, but the taps tell another story, all in Morse code.

“Retsu, love, I know you aren't asleep right now...Or maybe you’re awake and just zoned out, but either way....I love you..I love you more than you can imagine, and I love that I can say it like this, cause last I checked, you don’t know Morse code...You’re amazing, darling, everything about you is perfect, and I- (Doyle’s fingers falter for half a moment before continuing) I’ll never leave you, not unless you want me to..I want you to be happy even more than I want you to be with me, you deserve that happiness, you deserve the world, my love...” and Retsu’s head is spinning, drowning out whatever else comes after because he’s still reeling from the fact that Doyle’s saying all of these things to him, because this is the first time either one has managed to say ‘I love you’ not ‘i love your hair/eyes/[habit]/[talent],’ just ‘i love you’. So Retsu acts on instinct uses his free hand to send his own message.

“I love you too Doyle, you are perfection, I love you, please stay, you’re a part of life I don’t want to lose, I love you, I love you, I lov-” Retsu’s cut off by the feeling of Doyle’s lips on his, and his hands roaming over Retsu’s arms, tapping out the same message over and over again, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, and why shouldn’t Retsu return the favor and tell him too? So when they stop kissing in favor of still having oxygen in their lungs, Retsu gently pins Doyle down, and says “I love you, Doyle, I love you-”

“Hector.”

“What?”

In the dark, Doyle’s eye seems to gleam.

“My first name’s Hector, Retsu. Just...just thought you should know.” Hector, huh? Not what he expected, but when had Doyle ever been what he’d expected. Retsu tries the name in his head, and yeah, it works.

“Wǒ ài nǐ” he says to the redhead, wondering if he will understand.

“Wǒ yě ài nǐ,” comes the quiet reply as Doyle-no no- Hector looks away, whether out of embarrassment or shyness, and Retsu feels a new surge of love for the man laying next to him.

Retsu feels the part of his body that Doyle’s lying on top of starting to go numb, so he gently nudges the assassin off of him, still not letting go of his hand. They fall asleep face-to-face, and sometime during the night they must have moved, or else Doyle wouldn't have been squished against Retsu’s chest.

---

It’s easier to say, after that. Neither is still good at saying ‘I love you’ in Japanese (4), so they work around.

“Te quiero” greets Retsu when he comes home to the smell of amazing food cooking.

“Je t’aime” and a bottle of Doyle’s favorite wine make his heart skip a beat on his birthday (5).

“Ana behibak!” reads the text that makes Retsu smile, and his students tease him for letting his boyfriend distract him one in a while, but he doesn't mind.

“Ya Tabe kahayu” is written at the end of the note Doyle reads as he finds out that Retsu had to go back to his temple again and will be gone for another three weeks.

“Ich liebe Dich?” Is all Doyle has to say when Retsu finds him in the jail cell of the temple after a student tells him they caught the intruder that had been hiding in their school for ten whole days. Retsu just laughs and goes to try and explain the situation to his master.

After a rough day in the field leaves him with half a dozen bullets in his everywhere, Doyle’s fairly sore, even after he pulls the bullets out, and Retsu picks up on this fairly quickly once he comes home. Retsu makes Doyle lie down and starts massaging his shoulders before moving to the neck and the back muscles. As the redhead slowly relaxes, he starts falling asleep. The last thing he hears before his eyes close fully is, “Ani ohev otcha.”

Retsu’s master dies in a typhoon, and Retsu flies to Hong Kong the moment he gets the news. As he gets ready to leave some offerings on the grave and say goodbye, he falls to his knees, feeling emptiness and overwhelming sorrow at the same time. A hand on his shoulder steadies him, pulls him up, and Retsu isn’t surprised that there’s Doyle, holding a small bouquet of flowers and a few incense sticks. They place the offerings by the stone, and Retsu takes another second to let his master’s soul go completely. As they walk, hand in hand, the whispered “Hum Tumhe Pyar Karte hae” doesn’t take away the hurt, but it makes him feel a little less alone and a little more alive.

Doyle’s in Indonesia when he gets hurt, and so he goes to one of the underground hospitals, staffed and visited by assassins, mercenaries, killers, and other scum of the world. While he’s there, another patient goes crazy and uses his taser on Doyle, nearly killing him. The part that makes this a bad situation is that Doyle hates electrocution with a passion, even before he was sentenced to the chair he had had enough experiences with it to scar him for good. When the two are found, the crazy man’s head is missing. And when Doyle comes home, it isn’t with a light heart or a happy head, it’s still trapped in the sensation of electricity racing up and down his spine. Retsu can sense the pain radiating from Doyle, the darkness around him almost personified, covering the younger man in a way it hadn’t even when they had met at the arena. Retsu doesn’t know what to do, and when Doyle just sits down, staring at the wall blankly, Retsu sits next to him, holding his hands, and staying there for almost another 36 hours until Doyle can finally talk, and hear, and think. The first thing he hears is, “Taim i’ ngra leat,” and Retsu doesn’t stop repeating it until Doyle’s ready to stand up, embrace him, and mutter back tiredly “Taim i’ ngra leat”.

Their third anniversary is the first one where both take an entire day off their jobs to spend the time with one another. A walk in the park, a wine sampling booth, a movie, and finally, just a nice simple dinner at home. They both say it at the same time. “Ti amo” and “Te amo” are almost identical, but different enough that they can both tell the other also said it, and both know the other person feels the same way about them.

-----

They cook dinner for one another, get one another gifts, play pranks, take walks, use their everyday lives to say ‘I love you’. They never lose track of how they say it either, writing down the words and phrases and their direct translations and countries of origin on the wall. (6)

-----

They’ve long lost track of how many times they’ve said ‘i love you’ to each other. They’ve been together for five years now, married less than a week ago, so they decide to visit every country whose language they used to say ‘i love you’. The journey takes almost a year, and leaves them both with many memories, most good and some odd. The oddest to both of them is when they run into Doyle’s oldest friend, Alisson Atchison.

“Hello, Doyle. Hello, Egg,” She greets them, hanging upside down from a lamp-post in Zambia, just a mile or so from the capital. Before Retsu can ask about the strange nickname, his husband speaks

“Atchison,” Doyle nods his head in recognition. “How have you been?”

“Good, and congrats on your marriage! The wedding was a blast, but i didn’t get a chance to give you a gift, so here ya go.”

A long, slender package and two small photographs are shoved in Retsu’s face, so he takes both, hands the package to Doyle, and looks at the photographs.

The first is six kids posing as a group. The redhead in the center looks an awful lot like a much younger version of his husband, and so he hands the photo to Doyle, who looks at it and practically tackles Atchison when he recognizes it.

“You found it!”

“Yep, found all the copies, all six of them. Two are ashes now, we’ve got two, and i gave both the lovebirds their photos back.”

“Did they also like that wedding gift?” Retsu interjects

“Uh-huh! Both just look at each other, compare one another to the photos and start bickering about which one is prettier. Both of them just keep saying ‘as your wife, I declare you prettier.’ ‘no you’re prettier, and as your wife, that’s my call!’ You know how those two are.”

Doyle and Atchison keep catching up, so Retsu looks at the second photograph. This one is a selfie, featuring two kid who he assumes are the teenage versions of the two assassins currently bickering about who owed who a shot from which country and why. But then he looks more closely at it, and notices that there’s a rope ladder the kids are holding onto, and the end of it is visibly off the ground. The background proves even more interesting when he sees a temple...........

looking suspiciously like the one he was studying at at the time........

with a bald, angry-looking man in the background.......

one that looks suspiciously like the younger version of him.......

and this looks an awful lot like a selfie taken by one of the other parties involved in the incident at the temple fifteen years ago............

And Retsu’s brain breaks entirely as he yells, “EXPLAIN THIS IMMEDIATELY!”

“Love, calm down, we’ll explain.”

“It all began fifteen years, with two assassins in training, a mission to a temple, a school in Scotland, and a dare............”

----

THE END!!!!

------

Notes:

(1) Assassins tended to be a tad insane like that, and four years of solitary followed by electrocution only added on the years and years of insanity-inducing torture. It wasn’t like being an assassin was a career he chose, really. It was more like that’s what he had been trained for since he was old enough to remember, and by the time he was old enough to have learned about right and wrong, it was a little late to consider himself on the right side. The fact that he had lived to be 25 while being active in the field was already somewhat of a shocker.

So Doyle’s attraction to Retsu, while somewhat surprising, was significantly not that big of a deal. He always did go for the odd ones; the sword-wielding glitter-covered vigilante he’d shared a kiss with on the roofs of Paris, the guy with a wicked smile and a wickeder way with knives in the Sahara Desert, the woman with needles woven into her braid and a career as a mercenary weren’t exactly conventional lovers or dates, so Retsu could have actually been considered fairly ordinary.

(2) (The fact that Doyle had sneaked into the temple by clinging onto the ceiling, held a 3-hour long conversation with the Great Kaioh on morality and values in combat, and then proceeded to argue with three of the students on whether or not murder was truly bad had somewhat helped their understanding of Retsu’s dilemma.)

(By the time Retsu’s finally come to terms with his feelings, everyone else already knows. Katsumi, Suedo, Katou, and even Doppo Orochi all ask him, with varying degrees of sensitivity, when he will finally ask out the assassin.)

(3) He had noticed all of the things before, mind you, just didn’t realize how far down those went, putting them as minor habits. It was everything about Doyle, really, when he looked far enough. The sleeping and getting up at impossibly random times of the day, the forgetting to eat unless Retsu sat down with him and forced him to eat, the strange habit of almost never using the door to enter their apartment, the almost impeccable knowledge of languages he shouldn’t have been able to practice, not in his home country or in prison.

(4) The languages used are, as follows: Spanish, French, Arabic, Belarusian, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, and Spanish again.

(5) Not that Doyle actually knew when that was, but he had managed to get a file or two from a hospital in Scotland, find out the rough week in October, and pick the day he thought was the most likely to be the day of his birth.

(6) The wall is added to for the rest of their lives. Both of them also keep their own notebooks with the same ‘‘i love you’’s written down, just in case.

#retsu x doyle #baki the grappler #grappler baki #asks #mod z answers asks #writing #my writing #drabbles #tw: gore mention #tw: violence mention #tw: alchohol mention #tw: swearing #my laptop is at 7% rn i should go charge now excuse me #also i'm actually very proud of this fic

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daredevile · 5 years

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You Promised [2/2]

Summary: The newest addition to the Avengers causes Bucky to question his entire past to find their connection.

Warnings: Swearing

A/N: Alright, the last chapter of You Promised for @the-canary‘s lyrical mini challenge is here! Also, this is my first complete series, which is a big achievement for me since I’m a non-committal person when it comes to writing. Anyway, hope you enjoy :)

[ Part 1 ]

The world around you carried a sense of desperation. As men gathered their courage and lined up for their country and women hopelessly grasping all the time they had with their loved ones. That’s exactly what you were doing when Bucky had hinted at enlisting. You remember the exact moment as well. His nervousness amplified by a tenfold, then followed by frequent but short eye contacts before he spilt the news. But you were supportive of his decision—at least that’s what you told him. Whether or not you believed your own words was something he did not need to know.

Bucky’s call was no easy task to endure. His deep yet soft voice carried tones of sadness and regret, but there was nothing he could do at that point. You knew this was coming, however hearing the words flow out of his mouth only worsened the pain. The glimmer of hope you had, washed away as he spoke. That was the cold, harsh reality.

“I want to spend this night with the people I love,” He said, squishing your tiny form between Steve and himself. Oh, how you wished it could remain like that. But, when has the universe ever listened to your meaningless pleas. Inhaling his masculine scent, you shut your eyes, overpowering your thoughts with his presence. However, the perfect moment was disturbed by a voice you had grown to dislike. Fuck you, universe.

As heartbreaking as it was to watch Bucky fall in love with Dot, you couldn’t help but feel happy. His life was illuminated by her and her only. Time went on and took Bucky with it, he was slowly slipping out of your life as his pining for her increased. The dopey smile plastered on his face teased your lips, you hated ignored that fact that his arms were wrapped around her just like you were, moments ago.

“You should tell him, y’know,” Steve stated, watching your eyes lock on Bucky and Dot, “The idiot doesn’t know what’s right in front of him,” Steve was your beacon of hope. After hours and hours of tears, he had repeatedly assured you that one day, Bucky would realise what he was too blind to see.

Contemplation sparked your mind. Although, it was cut short when you spotted the smiling man run towards you. He latched on to Steve, whispering farewells to his best friend brother. You felt your chest constrict as hot tears formed in your eyes. Bucky turned towards you, his baby blues watering at the sight.

“You better come back, I’m gonna kill you if you don’t,” You leaned into his warm and comforting embrace, basking in his scent. “Promise me you’ll come back,” You felt a tiny droplet as he nuzzled his head further into your shoulder.

His next words struck your heart like lightning, “Darlin’ I would never leave you,” His raspy and quiet voice was all you could focus on as he wiped your tears. “I promise,” His nose brushed against yours, lips just mere inches away. Steve’s words rushed into your mind—it was time to tell him.

“Bucky, I—” You started, but before you could continue, Bucky was yanked away by a girl. His girl. Angry at yourself and the universe, you walked away without looking back.

A few hours later, three knocks snap you out of your thoughts. Bucky stood there, clothes wrinkled, hair dishevelled and a dazed look in his eyes, but most importantly, the distinct smell of alcohol tainted his form. He stumbled slightly before laying his entire body weight on you. Instinctively, you brought him to your bed, laying him down on the soft quilt with a sigh. Wiping the thin sheen of sweat that coated his features, you caressed his face ever so lightly. You mumbled a few unheard words before sleep overtook your tired soul.

Usually, Bucky would have rolled over to your side, however, you didn’t feel any warmth surrounding you in the morning. You called out his name but received no reply.

“I know it’s my fault. Almost everything is. But I don’t remember what I did, so please tell me,” Bucky took one step towards you, “Please,” He knew you were a big part of his life before it all went downhill.

Unable to take his expression, you let your feelings take control. “After Steve went in the ice, I had nothing—no one. I barely left the house, barely ate, barely spoke. I was barely living. Peggy brought a doctor, he said I was ill. They offered treatment but I refused, I didn’t want to live in a world without the both of you. Howard insisted I take the serum, that there are still people who care about me. And, here I am,” You finished, looking into his eyes. He had moved closer, his hand inched towards yours.

“I tried to remember you. I asked Steve, but he wouldn’t tell me anything,” Bucky whispered, delicately enclosing your hand in his.

“I know Bucky, I don’t blame you,” You tugged your hand away and walked away, leaving him confused and hurt. Bucky fiddled with the photograph in his hand, observing every detail. His eyes caught tiny cursive letters in the corner.

I love you.

Bucky stumbled up the stairs to your apartment, drowsiness coursing through his veins. He mustered his strength and knocked on the wooden door. As soon as he saw your face, the ends of his lips lifted. He fell into your arms, shutting his eyes as you dragged him to your bed. Though he was extremely out of his mind, he perked up at your words. He listened to your rambling, pretending to be asleep.

“I never seem to have the opportunity to tell you this,” You started, combing through his soft, chestnut hair with your fingers, “I love you. You better come back, James. You promised,” Bucky went still. He mentally cursed at himself for being so oblivious and downright stupid.

The sunlight tickled his skin, an alarm to depart to England. He turns on his side, looking at your innocent and calm self. Regretting all the times where he had put you second even when he was always first to you, Bucky stood on the wooden floor. He leant down and pressed a prolonged kiss on your forehead, “I love you too,” He grabbed his hat and walked out of your life apartment with a heavy heart and tearful eyes.

Bucky ran. He ran around the entire compound looking for you. His unrelenting persistence to find you was on the line, so spotting Steve brought hope to his soul.

“No,” Was his answer, but seeing him distressed didn’t sit well inside, “The roof,” Bucky nodded gratefully before Steve reached out for his shoulder, “Buck, be careful,” Steve warned.

Bucky sprinted up the stairs, deciding the elevator would be slow. He busts through the door, relieved at seeing you, “Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked, looking straight into your eyes.

“Dot,” You replied, looking at the New York skyline.

“I’m sorry, I was an idiot. I didn’t see the one person who cared about me before herself. The one person who stuck with all sides of me,” Bucky stopped speaking, causing you to turn towards him, “The one person who loved me when I didn’t love them back,” He watched your reaction, your eyes glistened with his words.

“No,” You whispered.

“No?” Bucky raised his eyebrows, not expecting that response. You grabbed his hands, the contrast between them didn’t faze you. A soft smile appeared on your face as his heartbeat quickened.

“The one person still loves you after all these years,”

His grip tightened making you slightly wince at the sudden movement, “Sorry,” He spoke quickly, you shook your head, grinning, “I think I apologised for the fifth time today. You’re probably sick of hearing it now,” He sheepishly admitted.

“I get the feeling this is gonna be the last time,” Bucky smiled into your shoulder, “Today,” You added, he lifted his head, feigning annoyance. He let out a giggle, shaking his head. You joined with his laughter as he rested his head on top of yours.

“I love you too,” He whispered.

finis.

#bucky #Bucky Barnes #bucky x reader #bucky series #james buchanan barnes #james barnes #marvel #mcu #winter solider #fablyricschallenge

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tresity · 5 years

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Adrien's first thought as he woke in the Bourgeouis Inn was something along the lines of 'My head is going to explode."

His mouth felt like a desert, yet his body was covered in sweat. Opening his eyes proved to be a mistake, as the morning sun seemed to be amplified tenfold this morning. A sharp click and creek from across the room snapped him out of his last ounce of sleep.

"Chat? Are you awake?" a gentle voice whispered somewhere near his feet. His pounding heart slowed a little, and his headache lessened.

"Princess." Adrien greeted his partner without looking. Her presence was unmistakable, and made him instantly feel worlds better. "What happened to me?"

"You had some drinks with my father and his friends." Marinette's voice seemed to move around the small room, followed by a dimming light. "Papa said you looked like you had more milk than you could handle."

Adrien opened his eyes in time to see Marinette place a cup on his bedside table and gently sit on the edge of his bed.

"I've never had milk before," Adrien confessed, eyeing the cup dubiously. "Please tell me that's water."

"It is." Marinette giggled as Chat pulled himself up to take a sip.

"You are a goddess, my lady." Adrien noted that Marinette fell silent at this, and looked away from him. "Something is bothering you."

"Wh-what- no. I.." Marinette started, a little loudly, then snapped her mouth shut as her bedridden companion winced. "Last night, do you remember any of it?"

Adrien placed the cup back on the nightstand as he thought. He recalled the invitation to have drinks with Tom's friends, and that Tom was grilling him about his relationship with Marinette. But after that... blank. Nothing. He couldn't remember leaving the drinking party, or even how he got back to the inn. "If I'm honest, no. Did I say something strange?" Adrien had dearly hoped he didn't let on his identity to Marinette in a lapse of common sense.

Marinette's only response was the reddening of her face, and a slightly panicked expression. Was she angry at him?

"I didn't mean it!" Adrien blurted out.

"You... didn't?" Her expression turned unreadable. "I see."

She stood up and headed for the door. "Um... Then I... I'll see you later.” She paused for half a moment before adding “Feel better,” and abruptly leaving.

Suddenly alone, Adrien could only sit on the bed wondering what just happened and feeling completely lost.

Long over-due drabble I’ve kept bitterly tucked away in the back of my mind. This was the exact thing I was working on when my last (still new) computer crashed.

It doesn’t have the same spirit as the last one, because I honestly can’t remember what I wrote, and I foolishly didn’t save it. Oh well.

Thank you @saijspellhart for always helping me with these. I have a lot of self-doubt about my writing, so having another set of eyes on it definitely helps. I understand why beta readers are so important now.

#legend of miraculous #miraculous ladybug

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rickhorrow · 4 years

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15 To Watch : Decade in Review for Philanthropy 121619

15 TO WATCH: DECADE IN REVIEW

RICK HORROW’S TOP SPORTS PHILANTHROPY STORIES OF 2010-2019

with Tanner Simkins

It’s hard to believe, but we have reached the end of yet another decade. And in the business of sport, it’s been a busy one. Here are Rick Horrow’s 15 most influential philanthropic actions in sports. We’re off next week, but stay tuned on December 30 for an early look at the year and decade ahead, and Happy Holidays!

Sports is on the RISE. Founded in 2015 by Miami Dolphins Chairman of the Board and Managing General Partner Stephen M. Ross, RISE (Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality) is a national nonprofit that educates and empowers the sports community to eliminate racial discrimination, champion social justice, and improve race relations. Through partnerships and programs, RISE inspires leaders in sports to create positive change on matters of race and equality. RISE provides leadership programming for student-athletes, coaches, and administrators at every level to equip them with the skills to stand up against racism and advance the conversation around race relations. It creates opportunities for athletes to amplify their voice, advocate against racism, and promote social change. And it holds events for fans in conjunction with college and NFL games and public awareness campaigns encouraging the public to join with pro athletes and community leaders in taking a pledge to stand against racism. In our fractious times, these issues aren’t going away anytime soon. Colin Kaepernick is still out of the NFL. Eric Reid was out of the league. Both players suffered for their activism. RISE matters, perhaps now more than ever.

J.J. Watt receives Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award for his fundraising efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The Texans defensive end raised more than $37 million in 19 days for relief efforts after initially setting a goal of $200,000, which he started off with his own $100,000 pledge. Watt then dedicated himself to finding organizations that will apply the funds in the way he has promised the donors and victims of Harvey. "This award is about the inherent good that lies within humanity," Watt said after accepting his award. "It's about the city of Houston and its ability to overcome adversity at a time when it all seemed lost. It is about the hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country and all over the world who donated to a city they may have never been to, to people that they may never meet.” Before Harvey, in 2010, Watt started the Justin J. Watt Foundation in Wisconsin out of a desire to help underserved kids. His personal motto of "Dream Big, Work Hard" culminated into a mission that he continues to use to impact communities nationwide.

Pete Frates starts the “Ice Bucket Challenge.” Former Boston College baseball player Pete Frates died last week at the age of 34 after a lengthy battle with ALS. Frates popularized the “Ice Bucket Challenge” as a "way to focus attention on ALS," inspiring an "unprecedented outpouring of support for research," with estimates ranging from $160-220 million in donations. Now, the man who created Challenge is being remembered throughout sports. The Boston Herald went with, "ALS Couldn't Hold Pete Frates Down." The Boston Globe concluded, "As A Ballplayer And A Person, Pete Frates Hit It Out Of The Park." The Bruins tweeted Frates was the "definition of an inspiration." Tom Brady's TB12 Sports brand added, "A big loss for the Boston community and beyond.” Meanwhile, MLB and its 30 clubs as well as Minor League Baseball organized a charity auction for last week's winter baseball meetings that will raise money for five charities related to ALS.

LeBron James opens the I Promise School. In 2018, the Los Angeles Lakers star and the LeBron James Family Foundation opened the I Promise School (IPS), a public elementary school in James’ hometown of Akron, Ohio specifically aimed at at-risk children. James began researching high school dropout rates in Akron in 2011, and decided to create the “I Promise” initiative as a response. Opening with students attending grades three and four, IPS will be fully operational by 2022, eventually teaching grades one through eight. The foundation is funding additional services for the children and families attending IPS, including uniforms, food for families, career placement services, bikes and helmets for each student, transportation for qualified individuals, and job placement services for parents. Additionally, free tuition to the University of Akron is covered under the pre-existing Akron I Promise Network Scholarship, which was developed between the University of Akron, the James Family Foundation, and JPMorgan Chase in 2015. The Foundation has contributed upwards of $2 million in startup and operational costs, and James reportedly considers the school's founding as the most important professional accomplishment of his life.

Boston Marathon charity eclipses $100 million in donations for cancer over its 20 years. The Boston Marathon withstood two homemade terrorist bombs in 2013 and somehow came out stronger. Boston Marathon runners participating on behalf of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute since 1990 have surpassed the $100 million fundraising mark. The research center says more than $500,000 has already been raised by runners in next year's race, putting it over the threshold. Dana-Farber was one of the first charities allowed to use the Boston Marathon as a fundraiser. More than 500 runners are expected to take part in the 2020 race as part of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge. They are hoping to raise $6.25 million. 100% of the money raised from the team's Boston Marathon runners supports promising cancer research in its earliest stages. The Boston Marathon is the pinnacle of marathon and media coverage and the race will make positive headlines as multiple charities will be highlighted on the day of the event next year, April 20, 2020.

The Golden Knights help keep VegasStrong. In the aftermath of the horrific mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival on October 1, 2017, the brand new NHL Las Vegas Golden Knights, who dropped the puck on their first official home game only eight days later, created an almost unbreakable bond with their fledgling fan base thanks to their response to the tragedy. In the shooting’s aftermath, Golden Knights players embraced the community, thanking police officers, giving blood, and donating tens of thousands of dollars to help victims, their families and emergency medical workers. Noted the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “In a most inexplicable manner, an NHL expansion team of which the majority of players and staff had no ties to Las Vegas before landing here to open an inaugural season, suddenly became a vehicle by which the town could begin its long and difficult road to recovery.” The Knights won nine of their first 10 games and set the tone for what would be a historic season, advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals in their first year. While they didn’t win the Cup, the team continues to provide hope and comfort to the still-recovering region.

NFL players put their best foot forward. Starting in 2016, hundreds of NFL players now showcase causes that are important to them with custom cleats during all Week 14 games for the NFL's My Cause My Cleats campaign. As part of the collaboration between the NFL and players, players represent hundreds of charitable organizations that focus on causes from youth wellness to sex trafficking prevention and support for single parents. On Unboxing Day, players unbox their customized cleats in hospital visits, classrooms, locker rooms and on stadium fields. Through Week 14, players share images of their cleats and the stories behind them on social media, using the hashtag #mycausemycleats. The league also posts videos and profiles on NFL.com to tell the stories. Many players have worked directly with Nike, Under Armour, and adidas to design their cleats. Other teams worked with an independent designer to create cleats for participating players. Players also have the opportunity to raise money for their cause by auctioning their cleats off at NFL Auction; 100% of money raised is donated to the player’s charities.

Roger Federer Hits for Haiti. In January 2010, Haiti was hit with a monstrous magnitude 7.0 earthquake that caused major damage in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and other cities in the populous region, killed close to 200,000 people, and affected three million more. Shortly thereafter, tennis’ World No. 1 Roger Federer organized a series of fundraising exhibition matches at that year’s Australian Open, BNP Paribas Open, and other major tennis tournaments to aid relief efforts. In Melbourne alone, more than 14,000 fans waited hours to get $9.25 tickets to the "Hit for Haiti" exhibition match at Rod Laver Arena to watch Federer and fellow tennis stars Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, Novak Djokovic, and Sam Stosur. Australian Open official Craig Willis announced after the exhibition matches that the crowd had donated A$20,000 in collection boxes with the event expected to raise around A$200,000. Similar exhibitions around 2010 ATP and WTA Tour events, combined with generous player donations, increased that number tenfold.

Rookie IndyCar driver steers toward STEM. In 2018, Group1001 and IndyCar rookie driver Zach Veach announced a partnership with education technology company EVERFI that aimed to bring hands-on STEM teaching to classrooms nationwide and inspire the next generation of engineers. The interactive STEM education program, called Endeavor, introduced middle and high school students to careers in tech fields by using gamified lessons to encourage and prepare students for a career in STEM. As part of the course experience, students virtually hear Veach talk about the incredible amount of technology that he leverages while piloting his race car, and the critical role his engineering and pit crew teams play in powering his performance. This STEM program is available to schools at no cost through 2021. “Since graduating and embarking on a career as an IndyCar driver, I have seen firsthand the importance that a strong science, math and engineering education plays in determining your future and empowering you to achieve your dreams,” said Veach. “I hope to use my story to inspire kids and show them that STEM plays a role in many kinds of industries and that it is not just something you read about in a textbook.”

Curtis Martin strengthens the people in his neighborhood. In September 2018, the City of Pittsburgh, the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation and Group1001 announced plans to design and construct a new youth athletic field in honor of Pro Football Hall of Famer Curtis Martin. Located near the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh where Martin grew up, the new multi-sport synthetic turf field was be made possible thanks in part to a $5 million donation to the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation from Group1001, used to build a total of ten Youth Development Parks over five years in 10 cities across the country. Since 2010, the Ripken Foundation has 78 completed parks across the country in 22 states and Washington D.C., impacting over 280,000 kids annually. Martin played a variety of sports before attending the University of Pittsburgh where he propelled his football career to the next level. He played 12 seasons in the NFL with the New England Patriots and New York Jets and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

MLS kicks cancer. Major League Soccer may have been in the midst of major expansion throughout the decade, but the league didn’t forget those in need. As part of MLS month-long “Kick Childhood Cancer” campaign each September, MLS Works, the league’s social responsibility platform, and eMLS, the league’s competitive gaming property, teamed up to hold their first-ever 24-hour charity live-stream on Twitch. MLS produced a broadcast featuring 19 MLS clubs and their eMLS professional FIFA players playing the newly released FIFA 20. The event brought in donations from a previously untapped gaming community, and aside from fundraising, the live-stream built awareness around the larger MLS “Kick Childhood Cancer” campaign on social media, contributing to more than 2,000 posts with the hashtag #KickChildhoodCancer during the course of the stream. Kick Childhood Cancer donations have helped strengthen Children’s Oncology Group's research efforts across the entire spectrum of pediatric cancers, including Project:EveryChild — which aims to capture the biology and outcome data of every child diagnosed with cancer. MLS has helped to offset the costs of more than 17,000 enrollments to-date, with an expected 25,000 to be enrolled by year end.

Activist Megan Rapinoe is Sportsperson of the Year. Playing the world’s game – soccer – on the world’s stage, under attack by a world leader, Rapinoe dominated last summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup. And in doing so without fear, Rapinoe became a voice for so many across the world as she became Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year. Rapinoe, 34, is just the fourth woman in the award’s 66-year history to win it unaccompanied, a feat that is both a remarkable athletic achievement and a reflection of entrenched gender biases. She earned the honor not only for her part in the USWNT's World Cup win, but for "being a vocal activist for equality." "Rapinoe challenged perceptions of her, of female athletes, of all women. She led her teammates, three months before their tent pole tournament, to sue the U.S. Soccer Federation for equal pay; to declare in advance that they would not visit the White House when they won the Cup; to score 13 goals in a group-stage match against Thailand, without apology,” said Sports Illustrated’ Jenny Vrentas. In addition to her fight for equal pay, Rapinoe has also been a vocal activist for LGBTQ rights worldwide.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series expands outside the U.S. and tops 1 million amateur participants who have raised more than $335 million for communities. Now owned and operated by the IRONMAN Group, part of Wanda Sports Holdings, the Series is known for lining race routes with live bands, cheerleaders, and themed water stations. In 2012, Competitor Group organized its first marathon outside North America when it acquired the organizing rights for the Madrid (Spain) Marathon. There are now 31 events in the Rock 'n' Roll Series spanning nine countries. The Series offers a variety of levels for non-profit organizations to participate and fund-raise for their cause. Since the inception of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series in 1998, charities have raised over $335 million dollars for their various causes. Each year thousands of charity runners take to the streets inspired to run for a greater good while raising funds for a cause close to their hearts – making charity the true Heart of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Zeke jumps into a kettle. In December 2016, during his rookie season, Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott celebrated a “Sunday Night Football” touchdown by jumping into a giant Salvation Army kettle behind the end zone. The unexpected result of that was an influx of donations. By the following afternoon, the Salvation Army had taken in over $180,000 in donations, according to ESPN, which also projected that the advertising exposure equivalent of Elliott’s celebration would have cost the charity approximately $4 million. By Tuesday, those donation numbers had jumped considerably -- the Salvation Army reported that it had received $850,000 in online donations, enough to distribute 91,000 meals to those in need. "We have those kettles there because we do want the visibility of reminding everybody, certainly at this time of year, how doing the most good is putting a dollar in that red kettle,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “To have gotten that attention in front of probably 20 million or so people last night for the Salvation Army was just wonderful."

Led by the Sacramento Kings, the NBA ends the decade with a new initiative, “Play for Justice.” Perhaps inspired by the NFL, the Kings and the Represent Justice Campaign this season tipped off a new NBA initiative that includes a series of conversations and basketball games at correctional facilities between incarcerated individuals and NBA players and coaches called “Play for Justice.” During the event, Kings players, coaches, and executives – including Head Coach Luke Walton, General Manager Vlade Divac, and Chairman, CEO & Governor Vivek Ranadivé – joined Folsom State Prison residents and formerly incarcerated people to participate in a roundtable discussion. This conversation was aimed at uplifting narratives of hope and redemption in an effort to break down stigmas associated with individuals – disproportionately people of color and the poor – who are impacted by the criminal justice system. Following the discussion, Kings players and coaches served as honorary coaches during a basketball game played by residents of the facility and enjoyed by hundreds more in the stands. Johnny Cash would be proud.

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acoolguyscoollife · 5 years

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Chapter 16: The Protege

“What’s the plan, Stan?” CG asked as he slouched against the computer that Tabitha was sat near. A grin was on his face, and for a reason I couldn’t fathom, there was one on Aki’s face too. The possibility of what the two could have done while they were by themselves crossed my mind, but quickly left. That was just a stupid idea.

“What’s gotten you two so happy?” I said, hoping to get insight into their happiness. In turn, Aki sat in one of the computer chairs and spun herself around, arms in the air.

“Aki got closure, and then I showed her the wonders of the internet.” CG said with a cock of his head and a coy smile. “Turns out, she missed out on a lot of TV while trapped underground and also in another dimension.” Aki laughed at that, stopping her spin with an outstretched leg.

“Why would anyone ever leave the house? Everything you could ever need is online!” Aki said happily, and I shot a glance towards Tabitha, who shared my disdain at CG being Aki’s current role model.

“It’s called a job, and they suck. The trick is to find something that can sustain you that isn’t a real job. Like being a writer, or a scientist in a privately-owned, self-sustaining facility with food, water and power.” Tabitha said, making me think that maybe I was the only one that actually disapproved of CG being her role model.

“Exactly!” CG waved a finger-gun towards Tabitha in agreement, before standing up straight. “But yeah, you called me over, so what’s the good news?” He added, and I glanced over at her. Seth was nowhere to be seen, and I wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or not.

“Right, yes. Well, first off, let’s clear up the obvious question. I don’t know where Uchen is yet, but I’m close to finding him. Currently, Seth’s in a world that Uchen had been in, looking for whatever he can find. God knows what that’s going to be, but we’ll find out right about…” Tabitha trailed off from her rambling to glance at her watch, waiting for a few moments before a bright light practically blinded me. When it dissipated, Seth stood in front of me, looking a little disoriented, but otherwise normal. “…Now. Okay Seth, what did you get?” In response, Seth chucked her something with an underarm toss, and she caught it deftly. I stood up to see what it was, and soon enough everyone crowded around her to look at it. It was… was…

It was a freaking cassette tape? Now, I’m definitely an open-minded kinda guy, but this was something else. Of all the things that Seth could have come back with, this seemed like the most useless. I had to admit though, if there was anyone that would have been enough of a hoarder to have kept a tape deck, it would have been Tabitha. Speaking of, she was looking at it with a faint smile, gently feeling the plastic with her thumb.

“It’s an old joke we had.” Tabitha said quietly, looking up at us. “What’s the most data you could put in a cassette tape?” She asked us, and I had no answer. I was sure it couldn’t have been much, they’d been out of style for a long time.

“About… maybe a few hundred kilobytes?” Seth offered, and I had no idea whether that would have been too high or low, but Tabitha chuckled either way.

“The answer…” Tabitha began, before prying her nail into the seam holding it together, pulling the tape apart. “is depends on how big the SD card inside is.” Inside the tape drive had been a smaller, concealed card. “He’s alive.” My eyebrow raised, most likely to the point where it could be seen over the lens of my sunglasses.

“Was… that something that we didn’t know?” I asked, not sure if I’d missed where she had said oh yeah, he could totally be dead.

“Well, no, we knew he was okay, just… it’s been so long. And now, I’m actually close…” Despite her looking down, the quivering in her voice told me that she was close to tears. So naturally, I did what any friend would do in this situation, and quickly changed focus. I swiped the card from her, looking for a slot on the computer to push it into, and found one quickly, slotting it in and moving Tabitha’s mouse before she could even react. The computer took a second to load the video, but soon enough, it popped up, and the man filming adjusted the camera so he could be clearly seen. His white hair reached his shoulders, but it seemed like less of a stylistic choice and more of a… forced one. His face was haggard, but still bore a warm smile, laughter lines etched on his face from what must have been years of happiness.

“Well, you found it, Williams. At this point, I’d have to say you’re way more advanced than I am, if you managed to get this far and still return.” Wallace Uchen’s voice was slightly gravelly, but otherwise easily understood. He spoke clearly and concisely, choosing his words precisely to make sure that he was clearly understood. “I would have told you to stay back, but I have the feeling you won’t listen. So instead, I’m going to do the next best thing, and warn you of what’s coming.” He moved slightly closer to the camera, which must have been propped up against something, as it shook slightly as he did so. “If you come to find me, you need to come prepared. I’m not the only one travelling worlds in here, and the person I’m following is an infinitesimally more skilled traveller than I am. For every step I make, he takes two, and he knows it.” He paused to cough; a rough, body-wracking cough that made me slightly uncomfortable to watch. It definitely didn’t sound like a healthy one, but Tabitha didn’t seem to notice. “But while he slows down, I don’t. While he rests, I move. I just wish I knew what he was resting for.” Never mind what he was saying, I just wished that I knew who Uchen was talking about. I could tell that Tabitha knew, though. She had a tell for when someone didn’t know something, and it was to act very specifically as if she did know, to avoid seeming stupid. “If you find me, prepare for whatever might come next. I don’t want to scare you, but it might not end well.” He finished, a frown creeping onto his face. “I hope to see you again soon.” Uchen said with a smile, before the footage cut off. We sat in silence for a while, all of us glancing towards Tabitha, waiting for a reaction. The one we ended up getting was… different.

“Shit!” She yelled, slamming her fist into her desk and letting fly a flurry of cursing, a lot of which I’d never even heard before. Each word was punctuated by a slam of her fist against the desk, over and over, to the point where her hand must have been injured. “I knew he would have gone looking, the old dumbass did it on purpose!” A few more curses, before she stood up. “Okay, we’re looking for him, and we’re not stopping except for… well, when we need to stop, I suppose. Get ready to jump.” She said, moving to where Seth was stood, ready to transfer herself to another world.

“Whoa whoa, hold on a second. What the hell is going on?” I asked, looking over at everyone else who was as clueless as I was. “I’m totally willing to help but I need context here.” Tabitha sighed, sitting on the edge of one of the tables that had been used for the façade of a virtual reality experience.

“Before Uchen and I met… he had another protégé. This guy, he was a prodigy, but he was insane. They kept fighting over what they wanted to do with this ability they had, since they had equal measures in making the machine in the first place. Most of what I know comes from his protégé’s notes, scrawled and barely legible, but still outstanding in terms of understanding quantum mechanics. If he had been mentally stable, he’d have probably figured out faster-than-light travel.” Tabitha paused for a moment, and I wasn’t sure whether that had been an attempt at a joke. “He’d been working on it, and if what had happened to him hadn’t happened, he’d have most likely cracked it.” She added, and I realised that it wasn’t supposed to be a joke. Once again, the circumstances that we four twenty-year-olds were in reached insane levels of amazingness. “But when Uchen refused to budge, the protégé took it upon himself to travel to somewhere else. Except, doing that without safety measures, like I’ve told you guys, ends up going bad very quickly. Without Uchen manning the tether, the protégé burned up, atomised and scattered between worlds. Or so we thought, anyway. But whatever Uchen’s found must make him think otherwise.” Tabitha stood up, and I moved closer to her, joining her and Seth in the space I knew we’d be travelling from. “He warned me to come prepared, and I have a feeling that it’s because however insane the protégé had been before, it’s been amplified tenfold.” Aki moved over to us as well, resting her hand on my shoulder.

“It’s just as well you’re not alone, right?” She said brightly. “You’ve got us by your side, and we kicked the ass of the king, so we can do anything!” Tabitha smiled at her, but her eyes behind her thick-rimmed glasses were still grim.

“As strong as we are, I have something stronger in mind. But we need to travel first.” Tabitha said, and I looked over at Amy, who was the last one to move. For a moment, she looked at her phone, but shook her head and joined us soon after. In the blink of an eye, we were in the void that I had assumed to be part of the simulation before we learned better. Now that we weren’t in our own world, Tabitha was able to wave her hand and have objects appear, floating in the air behind her head as she walked. Twenty objects in total, suspended in the air and floating behind her as she turned around.

“Mirrors?” Seth asked, being the ever-observant person that he was. Tabitha nodded, letting one float to him. “Magic mirrors. They link to other worlds. Each one links to a different world that I’ve travelled to before, allowing for quick travel without the hassle.” Tabitha said, and Amy raised her arm.

“I thought magic wasn’t real, and it was just energy.” Amy said, and Tabitha nodded, opening her mouth to explain it. Her expression changed to slight confusion, eyes glancing off to the side as she actually tried to think about how it was possible. Before the mirrors could disappear in a puff of logic, she turned back to Amy.

“It’s not really important how they work, we’ll just say it’s transferring energy from our bodies through the mirror, transporting us. But that’s not what matters here.” Four mirrors moved to each person in the void, with four staying with Tabitha. “We can all use the latent energy we have to store these in a world-between-worlds, much like what we’re in now. With a thought and a quick move of the hand like so…” Tabitha demonstrated, having her mirrors disappear from near her, and then reappear a few seconds later. “…We can store them for when we need them. You guys try it.” Aki didn’t look confident at first, attempting the gesture half-heartedly, but perked up quickly when she saw that two of her mirrors had disappeared. She must have forgotten that she’d already been able to use magic, and this was just an afterthought to her. Amy was quick to make hers disappear, as was Seth, with a slight struggle. I looked over at my own, raising my hands so they were visible. I gestured with my hand, three fingers pointing outwards as Tabitha had done, and my hands began to glow purple, the mirrors disappearing. That was… certainly different to everyone else’s magic. Nobody else had seemed to notice, though, so I didn’t bother to bring it up.

“So, what are we using them for? Quick getaways? Luring the protégé through different worlds to tire him out?” Amy asked, and Tabitha shook her head.

“We’re going to use them…” Tabitha began, while turning away from us. “…to shred the protégé into twenty pieces.”

#cool guy #A Cool Guy's Cool Life #creative writing #original fiction #story

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