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fluffypotatey · 9 months

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*smashes in like the Kool-Aid man*

PENDRAGON SIBLINGS YOU SAY????

I have. So many Feels. About Themst™

The complexity?? The layers?? The angst?? Hello??????

Their relationship is just So Much, because you are right, it's all tangled up in miscommunication and missed opportunities, and so many problems that can be sourced back to Uther "War Crimes" Pendragon, who wouldn't know a healthy relationship if it bit him on the ass.

If Merlin and Arthur are two sides of the same coin, then Arthur and Morgana are edges of the same blade.

Because it's the lonely childhoods, the shared grief, the friendship, the vulnerability, the fondness, the teasing, the envy, the jealousy, the almost romance, the protectiveness, the betrayal, the loss, the hurt, the refusal to let go and the desperate hanging on, and the love, the love, the love.

Indifference is the true opposite of love.

Hate is love that's gone rotten.

“If Merlin and Arthur are two sides of the same coin, then Arthur and Morgana are edges of the same blade.” oh fuck….

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH FUCK

WAIT HOLD ON WAIT LEMME PIGGYBACK ON THAT BESTIE @0hheytherebigbadwolf (tagging you bc it will be a couple days after you sent this ask)

(Also, for anyone wanting background context on what me and bestie are bouncing off on: voilà)

OK OK SO

we are all familiar with King Uther being the greatest (worst) dad of all time, correct? places such high expectations on his “only son and heir” whilst never officially acknowledging Morgana as his daughter until the very end?

F+ father of the year :)

he is not above sending his children into the dungeon if they disobey him as seen here:

(Jfc he even put Morgana in chains like wtf)

also, he is not above using emotional guilt towards them when he deems it necessary (aka one of the only times he actually acknowledges them as his children)

UTHER (1x02 Valiant) I trust you will make me proud.

UTHER (1x08 The Beginning of the End) I’ve treated you like a daughter. Is this how you repay me?

UTHER (1x12 To Kill the King) You are the daughter I never had.

UTHER (2x08 Sins of the Father) You would believe a sorcerer’s lies over the word of your father?

not to mention that when Arthur or Morgana try to reason with him or argue with him since they are the only ones with the status to do so, he pulls rank

UTHER (1x12 To Kill the King) May I remind you that you are speaking to your King [...] Take care, child, or I’ll have you restrained.

UTHER (2x08 Sins of the Father) I am your king and your father. You will show me some respect!

UTHER (2x06 Beauty and the Beast) We live in dangerous times, I cannot allow you to undermine my authority.

UTHER (3x10 Queen of Hearts) You have caused this to happen, Arthur. My decision is final.

ngl i could include more but i have already spent hours searching for shit (YOUTUBE WILL DIE BY MY HAND THAT STINGY BITC—) but y’all get what i mean: Uther is an abusive fucker and it has messed up the conditions of Arthur and Morgana

now, about the double edged blade…..

as previously established, Uther is a fucking dick and wants his children to obey him but also adore him. with this behavior, the Pendragon siblings react in two ways: with anger & contempt or submission and remorse

way #1

i’m gonna start with Morgana because anger is the easiest to pick out throughout the show. in the first episode of the first season, our introduction to Morgana’s character is her lecturing Uther about executing the man Merlin witnessed upon entering Camelot (such a warm welcome for Emrys, mh?)

MORGANA I just don't think chopping someone's head off is cause for a celebration. That poor mother. UTHER It was simple justice for what he'd done. MORGANA To whom? He practiced some magic, he didn't hurt anyone. UTHER You were not around twenty years ago, you have no idea what it was like. MORGANA How long are you going to keep punishing people for what happened then?

early on, it is easy to pick up on Morgana’s resentment and anger at Uther, who she believes is blinded by his fear of magic and his need for control (which she isn’t wrong about). also, we find that she isn’t one to back off when poking the bear (Uther). she does it constantly in seasons 1 & 2

MORGANA (1x03 Mark of Nimueh) Why would she kneel on a cold stone floor morning after morning when she could make these things happen with a snap of her fingers? Like an idle king!

MORGANA (1x08 The Beginning of the End) How can this child be your enemy? He's just a boy. UTHER He is a Druid. MORGANA Is that such a crime?…What have these people done to you? Why are you so full of hate?

UTHER (2x04 Lancelot and Guinevere) How many men would you have me sacrifice to save a servant? MORGANA As many as it takes!

to be honest, i wouldn’t be surprised if screaming, arguing and berating Uther about his morals and ethics is her way of proving that she is not weak or submissive to his actions. i mean, Morgana grew up in a household the complete opposite from her time in Camelot. Gorlois, the man whom Morgana considers to be her father and one and only family member, was said to be “just” and “kind” and someone that Uther even considered a good friend who openly kept him in check. Morgana, until the age of ten, understood parental love and empathy unlike Arthur, who spent his whole life without any good or healthy substance of it.

the culture of Camelot and Uther’s wrath is not something Morgana was ever able to fully acclimate to as Uther himself pointed out in 1x12. She “was at odds with [him] since the beginning” and could never picture herself as a Pendragon (point further proven in 4x05: she looked revolted when Queen Annis compared her to Uther) because she didn’t share in their idea of magic = evil and a king = absolute control.

ironic in terms of future plot events, isn’t it :’)

way #2

compare that to Arthur: man’s respressed af. keeps all his emotions under lock and key if they are anything but haughty and serious. y’all, Arthur even says it himself how he “[can't] disagree with Father [Uther] in public.” whenever Arthur finds himself at odds with Uther, he holds his tongue and waits until he can disobey secretly (2x05 when he leaves to rescue Gwen, 1x08 when he helps Morgana sneak out Mordred in the dark of the night, 2x08 when he sneaks out to meet Morgause for more info about his mom, etc). it is only the rare moments when Arthur feels impassioned enough to speak up without fearing any retribution does Arthur talk back at him (so satisfying 👌)

ARTHUR (1x03 Mark of Nimueh) [Morgana’s] right, Father. You hear the word magic, you no longer listen.

ARTHUR (2x08 Sins of the Father) This is what fuels your hatred for those who practice magic. Rather than blame yourself for what you did, you blame them….You hunted her kind like animals! How many hundreds have you condemned to death to ease your guilt?!….You speak of honour and nobility! You're nothing but a hypocrite and a liar!

ARTHUR (3x10 Queen of Hearts) You can't forbid my feelings any more than I can. I won't deny them any longer, I love her. I love Guinevere.

we can even compare how the two react to Uther’s violence towards them

(ahahahahahaaaaa what a wonderful dad)

on the left, you see Arthur’s face right when Uther crushes the morteus flower needed to heal Merlin (his manservant/friend/????) and on the right, is Morgana after Uther discovers she was harboring a Druid child in her chambers and she refuses to listen to his reason.

notice how both faces are remarkably similar 👀

however, Arthur’s look of shock and dismay come from his hope that Uther would do the right thing. that he would help save Merlin’s life from dying of poison. that he wouldn’t use this as a method to teach Arthur “what it means to disobey and cross the king.” he truly did hope, just like he always does with the people he holds close. Arthur cannot help but hope and trust that those close to him will not betray him and yet so many do. hence the remorse

looking at Morgana, her shock comes from the fact that this might be the first time Uther reacted to her words and actions in a physical manner. my suspicion is that most of the time, all Morgana previously got was Uther reprimanding her and yelling at her to stop questioning his methods (bc, let’s be real, she was the favorite child.) never has he lifted a finder on her like Arthur and i have proof (cue transcript!)

AND! and, Arthur is constantly warning Morgana about not angering Uther any further because of the consequences she might face (consequences this boy is very familiar with) when Uther deems it necessary to “teach” his children obedience.

UTHER (1x04 The Poisoned Chalice) You have to learn there's a right and a wrong way of doing things. I'll see you're let out in a week. Then you can find yourself another servant.

UTHER (3x10 Queen of Hearts) You have caused this to happen, Arthur. My decision is final [...] This is for your own good. - UTHER She will die. The enchantment will be broken. You'll see I was right.

UTHER (2x08 Sins of the Father) I am protecting you from your own foolishness!

so educational 🥰 but see, because Uther presents his punishments as lessons, Arthur himself views them as just a fucked up but meaningful way of his father’s concern because “yeah, I am the first born son and only heir to the throne. of course I need to learn not to do silly things like disobey, talk back to him, be my own person.” <- I’m paraphrasing here

Arthur does and has never seen a way out of the life thrust upon him by Uther (see 3x06). succeeding Uther as king, marrying a noblewoman of high standing for heirs and alliance strength was always expected of him. Arthur never saw a way out of this. even when he and Gwen were in their secret relationship phase, Arthur had to remind himself that this would never last. he loved her and knew she loved him, but there was always that reminder (that sounded a lot like Uther) in the back of his head telling him that it would never last so long as he was prince. he had a duty (constructed by Uther) to serve Camelot and going against his father would mean (in his eyes) that he is going against Camelot (as Uther always presented it to be).

so unlike Morgana, he did not kick and scream but stood firm because that was what he believed was stronger. if he stayed in his lane and did his part, then he would be a good king, maybe even a better one than his father, for Camelot. however, the show proves that differentiating himself from Uther actually made him the better king and more respected, but this is not the meta for that. I am getting side tracked.

OK: so we’ve established parental issues between the two siblings. now onto their very complex, complicated yet beloved dynamic

sO, as i mentioned in this post (because i am lazy and too tired to copy/paste the evidence from there), these siblings do care for one another. they just go about it in the most hilarious and repressed and in-denial way (hilarious to me 😤)

when we meet them, it’s established that these two have known each other for some time. enough for them to bicker and have banter, you know, as you do with a Pendragon. also, should add, neither character are ever aware they are blood-related until s3 (because of some weak-ass bitch named Uther), so you have that very, uh, interesting subplot in s1 that everybody forgets about until you rewatch it. (honestly, I have so many questions. number 1: why???? number 2: it’s only in s1—was it scrapped??? is it like it never existed???? what was its purpose to the plot??? bbc explain yourself—)

however, despite how much it is shown that they do care for one another, they’re relationship in s1 is still undefined and vague as if they also don’t know how to accurately define what the other means to them. it’s very similar to the whole “i really love this person so much but is what i’m feeling platonic, familial, or romantic?” because….you know, guy and girl besties who are close are typically expected to grow romantic feelings for each other, so tbh i would not be surprised if both mistook their love as romantically inclined in the beginning bc, reminder, neither of them were aware they were siblings until much later.

[and this is ALL i am saying on this subplot. i do not want to cause any negative discourse, so if anyone has a few choice words about it, either keep it to yourself or feel free to talk about it with people you know. personally? not a fan of the ship and never will be, but i am not here to post about that.]

anyway, have some featured receipts showing Arthur and Morgana slipping up and showing how much they care for each other.

SEE!!!! LOOK AT HOW THE CARE!!!! SEE HOW THEY WORRY FOR THE OTHER AND WISH TO PROTECT THEM FROM HARM!!! (and see how even when they’re on opposite sides there is still that same love. just more warped and corrupted T^T)

^worried/protective Morgana

^Arthur’s face after Merlin informs him that there’s an intruder heading to Morgana’s chambers

Morgana is very aware of Arthur’s trusting nature. Arthur is very aware of Morgana’s empathy and righteous nature. they understand each other so well which is why Morgana knew just how to harm Arthur in later seasons and why Morgana’s betrayal hit Arthur so hard. it’s also why he never stopped trying to reach out to her in s4 & s5. as @merlinemrys said in this lovely post, the show’s driving force is love. love of all kinds. whatever conflict it is, love is there at the center of it all and, in Arthur and Morgana’s case, it does not save them (just like how love does not save Merlin or Arthur from what lies ahead, as the op of the post pointed out).

that is what makes their relationship/love be like a double edged sword!! that is why they are edges of the same blade!!! they protect and fight for what they believe in and for the people they love, but the same blades cut deep and twist their wounds into a lasting scar.

it is because of Arthur’s love for Morgana that he cannot help but hope and mourn the woman he once knew. it is because of Morgana’s love for Arthur that her feelings of hatred are so strong and ugly.

like honestly,

look at them T^T compared to before

their relationship is so tragic T^T because we knew them before it all went wrong. we knew they cared and understood each other. we knew that for some time, they only had each other to rely on for a friend, a crutch, a breather for when the royal life was too much. both of them were fighters and strive to honor their values. both of them had once leaned on the other for support, had wanted nothing but happiness for each other.

fuck, they didn’t even get the chance to really be siblings because they found out too late, and by then Morgana was on a war path and Arthur only found out at the last minute.

like fuck, man

two sides of the same blade: forged with love, yet used for blood

screencaps brought to you by me, @sourdough-morbread, and farfarawaysite

#i will spare you the gorey details of me trying to fine decent screencaps & screenshots for this fucking post or else i’ll get pissed again #(i am considering whether it is worth it to go to war with youtube)#special thanks to my bestie mor for being there for me at the gorey times and helping me find more screenshots #fucking love you bestie 💕💕💕💕#also only including s1-2 bc i am tired and they are the ones where we get pendragon siblings not trying to kill each other #forgive me for always bringing up uther and the pendragon sibs’ upbringing with him it will happen again #also after hours of rereading transcripts and rewatching clips of bbc merlin: it is so obvious that uther cared and treated Morgana like hi #own child more than Arthur. like jfc he let’s her get away with so much stuff he is way for gentle with his words towards her #when he realizes that he was too cruel or rude like bro…..where tf was that for arthur #it just adds to the complicated sibling dynamic because there is the added jealousy and resentment of knowing a parent loved another more #literally most of Morgana’s time with Uther was her at odds with him and yet he views her as his child more #well no ducking dur that Arthur ‘i-would-do-anything-to-receive-my-father’s-love-attention-and-pride’ Pendragon resents Morgana for #always being the one Uther goes easier on and finds ways to turn a blind eye for like wtf #also during my research i was reminded of how done dirty Gwen’s story was by bbc #loses her father to a king fearful of magic barely gets to mourn him bc she now has to keep up the smithy and her maid job; reunites #with her brother who’s been AWOL for some years and still they don’t get a moment to talk about their dad and mourn TOGETHER #her storyline is pushed aside by s4 bc now she’s fulfilling the role of Arthur’s love interest and oh yeah they still need to incorporate #the lanceot/guinevere scandal and then banish her for some episodes without even letting her brother be mad about it like ?????#anyway #continued saga of fluffy rereading transcripts -> uther: ‘it’s been a long time since Ygraine…since anyone’ me: ducking liar >:(#[sir leon begins the slow clap] king you dropped this 👑IT IS 1AM HELP 😂#place your bets on where my laziness for evidence came in! (I honestly don’t know lol scavenging evidence is all a blur)#spent 2 days on this post lol #me: ok i think that’s enough evidence for this argument…………ok maybe ONE more won’t hur—#me after day 2: ….am i done???? am i free????#pendragon siblings coming behind me with a steel chair: nah mate!#me: FUCK THERE’S MORE #bbc merlin #merlin meta #pendragon sibs

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aspenstarflare · 8 months

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Is this round 4 of clone wars headcanons? Yes I think it is:

-Onetime while heavily drugged in the medical bay after a intense injury, Anakin confesses to Kix that he’s married to Padmé and all Kix simply says is “Congrats General but I already knew, now can you please stop moving- JUST HOLD STILL!” and makes Anakin cry really hard from the yelling that when Anakin is sober he doesn’t remember what he said, simply that he cried. Kix jokes about it at 79’s all the time about how his general is such a wholesome Tooka but still so freaking stupid.

-Before the Zyggeria arc, some Jedi Knights around Anakin’s age send him remarks about slavery and Tatooine that make up him upset. Ahsoka sees these and doesn’t understand why they personally are hurting Anakin until after the Zygerria arc and she sees exactly what these remarks mean and why they are said. She is livid when she learns of this. The next time a daring Knight walks up to her dad master and says “look at the slave becoming the slaver, must’ve been-” and before they can even finish Ahsoka punches them right in the face and beats the absolute crap out of them that Anakin has to drag her off the Knight before they were critically injured. Ahsoka after this expects a scolding once they get back to their quarters but instead she gets a hug from her teary master thanking her. After that anytime anyone else tries to even say anything remotely negative about Anakin or his past, they get faced by the wrath of a fiery angry teenage togruta defending her father master. Most people are smart enough from then on, not to bother Anakin.

-Rex and Kix have a entire lesson that they give too Shines when the join the 501st called “Protect our stupid Jedi protocol”. They teach men what to do if they see the Commander Sleep deprived, or the General not drinking enough water, or either Jedi trying to hide a Injury or give off their rations to the men cause they both think they can last without food and that the men need it more. They also tell them what to do if either stupid Jetti gets captured or tries to do any stupid self sacrifice Osik. If the commander has panic attack or the general a PTSD attack. They make sure that all men in the battalion have memorized it, because even though their jedi have good hearts, they are so kriffing stupid.

-When Anakin learned about the chips clones have on their wrist for identification, Anakin being a former slave was absolutely krffin terrified at first thinking the Kaminoians put them there to explode if a trooper went AWOL. Rex (who was relatively new to Anakin at the time) had to awkwardly calm down the distressed Commander who was having a PTSD attack. Getting to know and see for the first time a natborn caring about him and his brothers.

-Once a natborn officer had the audacity to yell at a shiny clone and call them expendable not knowing that General Skywalker was around the corner. That natborn was reported missing in action not long later and was never to be seen again. The entire 501st except Firestorm (who won’t say) don’t know what happened to the natborn officer or why the heck the general out of all people gave Firestorm his name when Firestorm insisted to all his brothers he could name himself. But oh thank god that Natborn is gone, they hated him.

-When Rex isn’t paying well enough attention, Ahsoka and Jesse steals his shines to go spar with Ahsoka. They scare the heck out of the poor shines when they get pounced on by their 14-16 year old tiny commander. After of course though she gives them some sweets she found in the temple as a “thank you” gift. Rex isn’t amused when his shines are returned to him asking if he possibly has a icepack and how kriffing amazing chocolate is and how Rex needs to try it.

-Ahsoka has legitimately taken multiple bullets for one of her 501st troopers and it never was pretty. Everyone was crying for different reasons. Anakin in Anger at Ahsoka for being reckless. Padmé (once she figures out) in despair that her this child has seen so much death she values others lives over hers. Rex in so much guilt that eats at him. The saved trooper at feeling valued but also guilt they’re the reason their commander got hurt. And Kix by being so kriffing tired of his Jedi doing so much stupid stuff.

-Padmé and Rex are besties, you cannot convince me otherwise, they go on shopping trips together, eat out together, whenever Padmé needs extra protection and Ahsoka or Anakin can’t go Anakin sends her Rex. Padmé and Rex have tea parties together gossiping and complaining about how caring but so stupid Anakin is, and how they should go overthrow a corrupt government together while they are at it because why the heck not they have a week before Rex is deployed again. And just genuinely have a great time together while Anakin sulks at the Temple hanging out with Ahsoka and Obi-wan cause he was planning on going on a dinner date with Padmé but instead she’s out at a coffee shop talking with Rex about this book they’ve been reading on their own time. (Padmé has definitely made several friends with all the clone troopers she’s met)

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kellanved-ammanas · 1 year

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Can't Go Home for Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it! Have some SpyDad for it.

“What do you mean we don’t get Thanksgiving off this year?” Scout almost couldn’t believed he’d heard right. He couldn’t not go to his family’s Thanksgiving dinner! They needed him there to help out with stuff and he wanted to go home and see everyone. He’d been looking forward to it for like the past month now.

Pauling shrugged. “Sorry.” She didn’t sound very sorry. “Most of us don’t even celebrate it so the Administrator decided we weren’t getting off this year. In other news…”

“Wait, wait,” Scout interrupted, earning an annoyed look from her. Ignoring that, he stepped out from the group to look at everyone gathered in the meeting room. “Come on guys, back me up on this. Thanksgiving is like… a big deal holiday, right? At least in America it is which is where we are right now so we’re supposed like have it off, right? So we can go see our families and stuff.”

“We will celebrate it here,” Solider said. “We do not need to leave this battlefield until the war in won.”

“We’re supposed to have it off though.”

“War does not wait. We will celebrate here on the battlefield.”

There’d be no convincing him once he made a decision about something so Scout gave up and instead scanned everyone else, looking for support. No one offered any. Engie looked apologetic though which was something but only shrugged when Scout gestured for him to say something. Next, he looked pointedly at Spy, surely he would want off for the exact same reason as Scout, right? His expression was unreadable under the mask though and his body language indicated he was more bored by all this than anything else.

“Anyway,” Pauling said with enough force to pull Scout’s attention back around onto her, “as Soldier said, you are free to celebrate it here as long as you don’t let it get in the way of your duties.” Matter apparently settled, she continued on with other important aspects of the meeting. Scout had no choice but to give up on it for now.

Yes, they would still have Christmas off so Scout could go home to see his family then but… not everyone came home to Mom’s house for Christmas, choosing instead to spend it with their own budding families or in-laws. But everyone would be there for Thanksgiving, they always were. And this year, there were two new niblings to meet. And then there were also his brothers and their kids and spouses that he only got to see in person during Thanksgiving. So Scout couldn’t not go!

He couldn’t disobey orders either though. He really didn’t want to lose this job and going AWOL might actually be dangerous in this line of work for himself and his family. How far the punishment would extend, he didn’t want to test.

“It’s not my call to make,” Pauling said when he finally managed to corner her again to try to convince her to at least make an exception for him. “Otherwise, I’d let you go.”

“Could you maybe talk to the Admin about it then?”

She scoffed. “No. You can try if you like, she’s even currently in her office at the base but I doubt she’ll care. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work I need to get back to.”

With a sigh, Scout stepped back, letting her go. Of course it wasn’t her call. Well, he had one last avenue to try. He’d never tried to talk to the Admin before, why would anyone want to? But he wasn’t afraid of her. … Okay, maybe he was a little bit because only a fool wouldn’t be. He wasn’t going to let that stop him.

He made his way down there and let himself in. She didn’t turn to look at him even though she’d had to have heard his arrival. He strode up to stand behind her chair and ...

“No,” she interrupted before he could even taking a breath to speak. “Now leave.” She lifted a hand in a dismissive gesture.

“But…”

“No ‘but’s. Do not make me repeat myself, understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Shoulders slumping, Scout turned and slunk out, closing the door behind himself. Seems this year he was just not going home for Thanksgiving. Which meant he should probably call Mom and let her know, give her the heads up on it.

Upon reaching the phone booth just outside the base, before he could lift a hand to open it, he paused at a slight sound behind. A barely heard footstep followed by the soft but unmistakable sound the invis-watch made when decloaking.

He snapped around, scrambling for where his gun should be. He was unarmed! But… but it was fine. It was just Spy, his Spy, or at least he was pretty sure of that. Attacks from the enemy were rare when they weren’t in active combat. And the enemy Spy would’ve already attacked him instead of stopping just outside of arm’s reach.

“Don’t do that,” Scout said, trying to pretend like his heart wasn’t racing. Getting snuckup on from behind was kind of a big deal for everyone on the team for obvious reason that Spy should know about and yet he occasionally did this kind of thing anyway.

Spy only grunted as he reached into his pocket to pull something out of his pocket; a small slip of paper that looked like a ticket of some sort. He stepped closer, leaning in as he held it out for Scout to take. “You have one day.” His voice was barely above a whisper.

Hesitantly, Scout accepted it. “What’s this?” he asked, matching Spy’s tone.

“A round trip plane ticket. You leave Wednesday afternoon and return early Friday morning, got it?”

“Wait, this is…” Scout trailed off as he looked down at it. It was first class plane ticket to Boston and back. The dates lined up perfectly with Thanksgiving. “But what about the Admin and Miss Pauling? They said I can’t go.”

“I’ll cover for you. But keep this a secret and when you sneak out, do so stealthily please? And don’t tell anyone else.”

Scout wanted to ask how Spy intended to cover for him but it was Spy, he had his ways and didn’t often like to share them. Besides as long as Scout got to go home, he didn’t really care. Only a day wasn’t as good as the three days they normally were allowed but it was a hell of a lot better than nothing. And it was for first class too, awesome!

“Thank you, thank you! You’re the best!”

“I know, I know. Now put it away before someone sees.”

Hurriedly Scout shoved it into his pocket deep as it would good. He’d have to make extra super sure not to lose that. “You think I could borrow one of your invis-watches for when I sneak out?” And because he’d always wanted to have an excuse to borrow one.

Spy sighed. “Sure but not my new one. And one of the first things you must do upon your return to base is to give it back, understood?”

“Sure! And, uh, since you can’t go, do you have like anything you want me to give to Mom or whatever.” Scout still didn’t like to think about them getting back on friendly terms and maybe even romantic one but given what Spy was doing for him, Scout certainly owed him.

“I may have something, yes, I will give it to you the same time I lend you my watch. Now, get back to calling your mother, tell her you’ll only be there for one day.”

Scout nodded as he turned back towards the phone booth before Spy could turn all the way away though, “Thanks, Dad. This, uh, means a lot to me. I appreciate it and stuff.”

Spy paused for as second or two before replying. “You’re welcome.”

#my writing #tf2 #team fortress 2 #spy #scout #spydad #thanksgiving

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paradisetemporarilymisplaced · 3 years

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So I was being a basic bitch the other day and listening to my true crime podcasts when it occurred to me just how suspicious Nile’s “death” would look to everyone not in the Guard, leading me to a train of thought that, 2200 words later, absolutely got away from me but I can’t let go so I’m inflicting it on all of you!

To set the stage, we know the movie takes place over approximately a week. Here’s what happens to Nile from the military’s point of view:

She dies is very seriously injured

She heals without a scratch

Just before she’s supposed to be shipped out to Germany, she vanishes, leaving two men concussed (and presumably reporting being knocked out by a woman with short hair wearing civilian clothes)

She goes AWOL for several days

They get word from the CIA that she is to be reported killed in action (details unclear)

So, at the beginning of this very weird week, the USMC has to tell Nile’s family of her death critical injury. What her family was told depends on how long she was dead – a Google search tells me that family will be notified in person within 8 hours of a soldier’s death, but we don’t know how long her first death lasted. For an injury, however, they’d get a phone call to notify them and the unit would arrange for them to visit as soon as the soldier is transferred out of a combat zone. Like I remember when I was in high school, a guy from my church who was a Marine was really seriously injured in a helicopter crash in Iraq and from what I could tell, his parents were told immediately and were flown out to Germany to see him, so it stands to reason that Nile’s family would have been informed relatively quickly after her throat was slashed, one way or another.

And then, she goes AWOL. Her family would be notified while the USMC tried to figure out where she went, not least because the military would want to know if she’s contacted them. (And it’s possible that her family may have been on the way to Germany to see her since we know that’s where she was supposed to go!) So for several days:

Nile’s mom and brother have no idea where she is

They know she was seriously injured and most certainly should not have been moving around on her own

They can’t get a hold of her

The military can’t tell them anything

And the next thing they know for sure is that she was “killed in action.” After being injured and vanishing into thin air. And they presumably cannot produce her body or any concrete evidence of her death. In any case, something sketchy is going on, so they’re like. SMELLS LIKE A MILITARY COVERUP.

In a surprise to probably no one, there is a well-documented legacy of mysterious US military deaths, particularly of women of color (TW for sexual assault in these links). The cases of LaVena Johnson and Vanessa Guillenin particular have made national news because of their families’ persistence in seeking justice. Likewise, Nile is a Black woman, and her mom and brother are most certainly hypercognizant of (a) state violence against Black people and (b) these high-profile cases of suspicious military deaths. So her family are seriously side-eyeing the situation, knowing that (a) the military has a serious incentive (and a documented history) of covering up things that make them look bad and (b) nothing about Nile’s disappearance and supposed death are adding up.

And Andy’s right. Nile does come from warriors. And you know who else does? Her brother.

Don’t get me wrong. Nile’s mom would absolutely not back down. She’d know something was up and want to get to the bottom of it. But based on what I know about Gen X parents (mine), they’re not the most technologically savvy. Like they can use the internet, but they didn’t grow up with it the way we young millennials and Gen Z did. So Nile’s brother takes the lead. And what do zillennials do best?

Social media.

Nile’s brother starts going hard on any site he can, trying to get the word out to see if anyone knows what happened to his sister. He starts a Reddit thread. He starts a Facebook group. He reaches out to the media and true crime bloggers and podcasters à la Sarah Turney, getting loud and being a general nuisance in hopes of getting some answers. He gets his friends and Nile’s friends involved. Maybe eventually Dizzy, Jay, and others from Nile’s unit hear about it and reach out, telling him what they saw and how weird it all was. He’s drumming up interest, and soon “Nile Freeman” becomes a household name (at least among the true crime fans).

Copley is, of course, trying his best, but at this point there is just so much that it’s impossible for him to scrub everything. Sure, he can erase new footage of Nile and the Guard, but what can he do about Reddit threads and podcast episodes that are speculating something weird has happened? Maybe he could hack the sites and shut those things down, but honestly, that’s the last thing he’d want to do, because that only adds weight to the theory that Nile’s disappearance is a military coverup. So eventually he has to tell Andy what’s going on.

Andy, obviously, does not take the news well. However, she is also completely computer illiterate, because that’s Booker’s job and he’s the only one who ever bothered to learn what the internet is in any meaningful way. (She probably calls Booker for advice, and for the record, I think Booker would have no qualms about shutting down conspiracy threads, tinhats be damned, but Copley is too concerned about the consequences. He’s ex-CIA for crying out loud, he knows how it’ll look if they scrub every mention of Nile’s name from the internet.) Maybe she confers with Joe and Nicky but, let’s be honest, they’d be equally unhelpful. So at this point, she knows they have to bring in Nile.

But the thing about Nile is that she, too, knows how to use the internet (duh). Aside from her being a young millennial/digital native, we know from the cave scene where she’s giving Booker suggestions on how to track Copley that she clearly is even more computer savvy than the average person. And for that reason she almost definitely took over the day-to-day tech stuff after Booker’s exile. So I think it would be foolish to expect her to be unaware of what’s happening. She’s not contacting her family or posting on the message boards or anything, but she knows what’s up. So Copley and the team probably sit her down to “break the news,” but we know the girl does not have a poker face (see: literally shooting herself in the foot and not being able to play it cool whatsoever) and cracks immediately, telling them she’s seen everything about her case – she’s not interacting with any of it, she certainly didn’t instigate anything, but she knows. (And she is so goddamn proud of her brother.)

At this point, I’d like to pause and consider Nile’s role in the overall narrative of this movie. She’s set up as a foil to Andy, obviously, but she’s also a foil to Booker. Booker, who, like Andy, is a serious pessimist, but who, unlike Andy, still has very fresh memories and trauma associated with being the new kid, which have destroyed him. In his mind (and Andy’s), if Nile communicates with her family, she’ll become just like him in a century or two – bitter, alone, and stuck with her grief and memories of watching her family die and knowing they died resenting her. It’s a small sample size, but this is the only experience they have to go off of.

But it doesn’t have to be like that.

There’s been a lot of discussion of TOG being a fundamentally queer movie – a group of people brought together because of something inherent about themselves that is different, that must be hidden, that causes others to hate, fear, and reject them. Booker’s backstory is the archetypal traumatic “coming out” story – his family learns who he is, hate him for it, and attempt to cast him out of their lives. He’s stuck with his trauma, his pain, his loss, and it consumes him.

But what if Nile’s family would be the opposite? What if her “coming out” to them as immortal is met with acceptance, love, celebration? What if her family is just overjoyed to have her back, and they don’t care what the circumstances are? I'm reminded of this incredible post from @shitty-old-guard-deaths a while back, where Nile’s mother hits Booker with a frying pan because “my baby let me believe she was dead for FIVE YEARS based on your bad advice???” (which may or may not have inspired this whole tangent). Nile takes the advice of someone who did the same thing she wants to do because she doesn’t want to risk her family’s rejection. She wants the good memories with her family and is afraid that showing them her true self will bring her unbearable pain, forever replacing those memories. But, with high risk comes high reward.

Anyway. Nile and the team are trying to come up with a plan for how to handle this whole thing, but she’s not really participating because she’s too afraid to hope. Until finally, quickly, so she doesn’t lose her nerve, she suggests she reach out to them, knowing that, realistically, that’s the only solution before things snowball even further out of control. The team is shocked, but realize that she has a point. They decide that Copley should actually be the first point of contact, posing as a US government official to talk with them and test the waters.

So Copley goes to Nile’s family’s house to talk with her mom and brother. They’re probably distrustful and apprehensive, but nonetheless secretly ecstatic that their work has paid off. They talk and review all of the information that they’ve collected, including testimonials from the people on Nile’s base and recent sightings (along with photos) of Nile (with the same three people) over the last few years that people have sent them but they haven’t posted publicly. At this point, Copley’s like, yeah this is about to blow up, we gotta put our cards on the table. He convinces them to come with him to some safe house/black site/whatever he can get that is technologically impenetrable (I’m picturing them in like, an interrogation room at a police station kind of deal), takes their phones, locks the doors, and brings in Nile.

What follows is the most delightful reunion scene of all time, bringing Joe, Nicky, and even Andy to tears as they watch and listen from outside the room. With Copley’s help, Nile tells her mom and brother about her immortality and what’s been going on since she died (within reason, of course), and they are thrilled. They don’t understand why (because no one does) but they don’t question it and they see it as a gift from God – she’s been resurrected, she will live, and she has a purpose. Her mother and brother are so happy to see her again and are willing to agree with pretty much anything to stay in her life as long as they can.

So. They set up some complicated agreement (they bring in the other three for support/intimidation as needed) setting the terms of their relationship. They swear Nile’s family to secrecy, maybe bringing up the lab to show how high the stakes are, and they readily agree. They come up with some cover story for Nile’s brother to share on the message boards (maybe that the government has opened an investigation but because it’s an open case he has to shut it all down? Tells people to direct their tips somewhere else? Something to that effect). There’s still speculation, of course, but without Nile’s brother at the helm providing the energy, the hype dies down as news stories are wont to do without any movement. And Nile’s family goes to work for the team. The experience has taught them that Copley can’t possibly do everything himself, especially when it comes to social media, so Nile’s brother takes the lead on the day-to-day tracking/social media while Copley and her mom focus on finding jobs and scrubbing their traces afterward.

So there you have it: Nile gets to integrate her biological family into her found family and spend the rest of their lives with them as it should be, Copley gets some badly needed help managing the reality of social media, the team finally has a positive narrative surrounding outsiders Knowing About Them AND about interacting with people from their previous life, and the audience gets the happy ending to this very lovely and very queer story to counteract the pain associated with Booker’s family.

Plus, you know, I’m a sucker for both a good government conspiracy theory and for Nile getting every good thing she deserves.

#the old guard #tog #tog fanfiction #tog meta #immortal family #nile freeman #mine #damn look at me contributing to a fandom! that’s new #pls reblog if you like this my self esteem could really use it #I just love nile so much and I’m being the nile-centric content I want to see in the world #it is just genuinely nuts to think abt how this situation would be perceived by anyone outside the narrative #she just mysteriously heals from a fatal injury and then VANISHES!!! this should be national fuckin news #also I do think there’s a major hole in the story when you think abt social media #like the only time it’s even hinted at is right at the very beginning when Andy erases that girl’s selfie #and the concept of fuckin Reddit is not even brought up despite Copley’s stalker board being analog Reddit #there’s just a lot of places one could go with this which is very much what we got here #1k

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thegreatestofheck · 4 years

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Heck’s Masterlist

OBX Masterlist

Since some of my fics are getting long, here’s a masterlist of everything I’ve made so far in relation to Outer Banks! It will continually be updated as more fics, blurbs, and requests are added!

Also, my requests are open! I don’t generally do smut, but I’m open to mostly anything else!

JJ Maybank

Requests:

Jump - You are John B’s sister and you’ve been following him around your whole life. After deciding to make your own path, you find yourself caught up with a boy who is no good and JJ is the only one who can get you out of it.

Wedding Dress - JJ makes a promise to himself that he’s now not sure he can keep.

Run - You’re John B’s sister and after sending him off on the Phantom, it’s up to you to cover for him. But Ward Cameron is still your legal guardian and he comes to collect his property.

Ransom - John B’s sister is taken by the square groupers. In exchange for her life, they ask for the compass and a heavy ransom price. It’s a race of time as the Pogues, with the help of Sheriff Peterkin, journey into the marsh to save her life before the clock runs out.

Not So Unrequited - in the middle of an argument with your best friend, he says something to you that you had never wanted to hear.

i love you - your relationship with JJ had always been rocky, built on a mutual desire for affection. that doesn’t mean he would never break your heart.

fill the void - she always felt alone, so when he needed her most, she couldn’t resist.

promises, promises - You and JJ have an unspoken thing, passed only though stolen glances and half serious flirting. But the day after he takes the fall for Pope, you find yourself standing at a crossroads; do you step in to protect him from his dad, or do you stay out of it?

Series:

Ocean and Alcohol - (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, Epilogue, Rafe’s POV) You’re a kook, but your life is less than ideal. After a fight with some of the other kooks, you let slip a little about your home life to one JJ Maybank, who is more than intrigued. (reader insert with a name, tw: abuse, canon content)

Tempest and Gin - (1, 2) The gold is gone, but Elma’s problems are just beginning. With her dad in police custody and her mom once again AWOL and refusing to pay for legal council, Elma and Ms. Lana struggle to get through the trial with a court appointed lawyer. At the end of her rope, Elma finds herself juggling friends, family, rivals, and enemies as she struggles to keep her wits about her and do the one thing she’s always done; protect Kid.

Girl With No Heartbeat - (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) After a near death experience, JJ is saved by a girl in the water. When he and the Pogues find her washed ashore the next day, they are more than surprised to discover that she isn’t your everyday girl. (mermaid/siren au, canon divergence)

Imagines:

Sweet as Honey, Hard as Steel - JJ’s girlfriend is the complete opposite of everything one would expect. A straight A student with big life goals, Elena has never been the drinking, smoking, fighting type. And JJ wouldn’t have it any other way.

Coward - Your mom just passed and your absentee father has come to collect you. But that means leaving the life you knew and loved, including your best friend (and a little more), JJ Maybank. But he isn’t ready to hear what you have to say on your last night together.

Rafe Cameron

Series:

Fire and Storm - Rafe Cameron had always wanted her. He wanted to be hers and he wanted her to be his. But she wasn’t and he was slowly beginning to realize that he never would be. (this is Rafe’s POV for a bit of another series, Ocean and Alcohol)

Requests:

Better - Secretly dating Rafe as JJ Maybank’s sister isn’t the easiest thing, especially when your brother finally learns the truth.

Imagines:

Meant to Be Yours - Rafe Cameron, your boyfriend, was more broken than you realized. He wants more from you than you can give. (based on the song “Meant to Be Yours” from Heathers the Musical)

John B

Imagines:

Girl Crush - You spent years yearning after John B, your best friend. You just didn’t realize it until he fell in love with the most beautiful girl on the island...and it wasn’t you. After that, only Sarah Cameron was on your mind. (based on the song “Girl Crush”)

Tethered - (routledge!reader, John B’s little sister) Surfing the surge was a Pogue rite of passage. You had been waiting for the next big storm to show your older brother that you were ready to be one of them. But the storm was stronger than you or your brother could have imagined.

Just Come Home - (routledge!reader, John B’s little sister) You come home one day to find your brother bearing harsh news.

Series:

By Dawn - (1, 2, 3) John B meets a mysterious girl at his court ordered group therapy. After spending weeks trying to get to know her, he slowly realizes that she’s a tough nut to crack. But then one day, she leaves him a cryptic message...the night before she goes missing. With the disappearance of his father still so raw in his mind, John B refuses to lose anyone else. And he will stop at nothing until he finds her.

Sarah Cameron

Imagines:

Kie Carrera

Imagines:

For Forever - When you’re parents find out that you’ve been secretly dating your best friend, Kie, they go off on you. Afterward, she comforts you, reminding you that blood doesn’t mean family. (tw: homophobia, found family to the max)

she - As a Pogue, having a crush on Kie Carrera was almost a prerequisite. You knew that all the boys were crushing on her, at least a little bit, but accepting your own feelings for her is a different matter. (reader has a crush on Kie but isn’t really ready to admit her feelings)

Requests:

Nothing More - You’re secretly dating one of the Pogues and your brother is starting to become suspicious. The only problem; he’s fixated on the wrong friend.

Pope Heyward

Imagines:

Nothing to Prove - Pope helps you with some relationship problems. Later, while hanging out with your boyfriend, you realize that running from your fears got you nowhere and the only place you wanted to be was with Pope. (very soft)

Delivery Boy - With an absent mother and a distant father, you’ve always felt alone living in your empty house. But a certain delivery boy might be the one thing that makes running an estate worth it.

Seires:

Bare Bones - (Preview, Theory 1, Theory 2, Theory 3) Pippa Cantu has always been a little…strange. With a knack for knowing everything there is to know about every conspiracy, every mystery, and every weird happening, she doesn’t have much time (or desire) for friends. But when her chemistry lab partner asks her to join him and his friends on a hunt for the Royal Merchant, she just can’t say no.

Kelce

Series:

Simple Melancholy - (2) Jemma “Little J” Maybank finds herself a little over her head when she accidentally falls for a boy from Figure Eight. Between her overly protective brother and Kelce’s incredibly rude friends, neither of them are sure how they’re going to make it, but they’re determined to.

General (Everybody)

Imagines:

Do Not Stand - One of the Pogues passes away and leaves a message for her friends. Each of them take it in a different way.

Series:

Little Village - (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, Finale) As the oldest of the Pogues and John B’s big sister, June always acted as their mother. She helped with assignments and studying, helped pay bills when it was needed, made dinner, reminded them about hygiene. But then she got pregnant and her boyfriend left and suddenly she found herself unable to do all those things she was once able to. When they say it takes a village, she wasn’t entirely sure they meant a bunch of teenagers. (post-canon, I haven’t decided who the love interest will be or if there will be one at all, so that’s why its here)

Requests:

Homeward Bound - After spending years abroad at a boarding school, Kie’s sister returns to the Outer Banks. The Pogues quickly realize that, despite her cold exterior, there is a free spirit inside her just longing to break free.

A Bunch of Love Stories Masterlist - A series of fics based on Taylor Swift’s album “Fearless”.

Outerbanks Playlist - This is just a list of songs that remind of the Pogues and other characters in the show. A few of the songs are connected to some of my fics as well!

ATLA Masterlist

Zuko

The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars - She is a non-bender from the Southern Water Tribe who somehow found herself smack in the middle of Fire Nation central, where a young prince is fighting an internal battle she hopes to help him win.

Harry Potter Masterlist

Fred Weasley

warm - you and your husband survive the second wizarding war, but so do some of Voldemort’s old followers, and they are hell bent on revenge.

Severus Snape

The Other Her - Severus Snape had two friends while he was at school. One, every body knew as Lily Evans. The other was you, an unknown student who wanted nothing more than to be noticed by your friend. You couldn’t help but compare yourself to the Gryffindor heartthrob every time he mentioned her name.

Only One - You return to Hogwarts years later to watch your son’s Quidditch match, only to find yourself a little bit in over your head.

Criminal Minds Masterlist

Derek Morgan

breathe again - he saved her life and now she has to deal with the aftermath. he’s there to help her every step of the way.

Aaron Hotchner

dark of the night - an agent gets taken in the middle of an investigation. in a race against time, the team at the bau must find her by diving into her deepest secrets. when a video tape arrives with horrible images of the state of their friends, aaron hotchner realizes just how terrified he is of losing her.

The Musketeers (BBC) Masterlist

Porthos

enough for you - the wife of a musketeer reflects on her relationship with her husband while Porthos watches from the sidelines.

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thesquidkid · 3 years

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Lately I've been feeling so alone

Based of this post by @milady-bugg, thank you for letting me use it as inspiration for a fic 😁

This is sadder than intended, and full of Michael Guerin feels, hope you'll enjoy! This is also quite long (5.4k lmao), so you can read it on AO3 if you prefer.

Michael had isolated himself in his bunker, not letting anyone - even Sanders - in. At first, there were a few knocks, the door opening a few times and each time, Michael would slam it shut with his powers. He needed to process. It was one thing, to know that you were the son of a monster, another to face the man as he gave his own son a heart attack. Father of the year, right here!

So Michael had isolated himself between 4 walls, literally underground, where he could let all his anger free without hurting anyone. But the others couldn’t really understand that, and he couldn’t blame them. So everyone went on to live their lives, do what they were good at.

Isobel and Rosa were looking for Max, searching every cave, every abandoned house, turning every stone, using Rosa’s new found ability. Liz was making sure Maria stayed stable and healthy, her state hadn’t really decreased, but it hadn’t improved either. Whatever was going on, she seemed to continue the fight. Because Maria DeLuca was her own saviour, every damn time.

Michael didn’t have any news of Alex, just that he had found Kyle and that he was safe. He had hesitated calling Alex a few times, to compare notes on shitty father, but that wouldn’t have been fair to Alex, the person who tried every damn day to distance himself from his father, to fix what he broke, to be a better man.

So Michael was alone, in his bunker, with Sanders coming in every once in a while to complain that Michael wasn’t working, but both knew it was just an excuse to check up on him, make sure he was doing fine.

And really, he was. After the initial shock of finding out that his father was a copy of his brother (really, all those times Max had played his father, it was just in his DNA), where he completely and utterly lost it, he was now in a much calmer headspace. He had repositioned all the furniture that had been thrown against the walls, had done some extensive cleaning and given back a few tools and random parts he found to Sanders.

Although, he was still feeling empty. Had emptied his entire body, crying, shouting, wanting to break stuff with his powers, but knowing that if he did he would have to replace it somehow. And he was still broke. So he had to figure out another way of letting his emotions free, that didn’t involve breaking the little stuff he owned, and regretting it.

Instead, he focused on what he was good at. Had put all of the alien tech he had on the main workspace, fiddling with it at first, letting his hand move freely on it, feeling the way the tech reacted to him. From then, he realised that he still didn’t completely know what the tech could do, had assumed it was only part of the ship, but the recent events, with Kyle’s radio and Jones’ sword, he was getting curious as to what he could do, with his imagination and mechanical skills.

This is where it all started, with the alien glass and his tools, letting his hands move as they desired, his mind still busy thinking about - well, everything that happened in the last few days, from Jones being his father, to Max maybe still nearly dying, to Maria being in a coma, and to Alex being God knows where doing God knows what.

As he thought about his friends, his family, his people, his fingers were doing something similar. This is how he found himself, after three days in the bunker, barely sleeping, not at all in contact with the outside world - only going out to take a shower, get some food, and use the toilet in the airstream - with a bunch of glass objects, clearly designed for his friends, and not knowing what to do with all of it. Well, he knew, but that meant going out and seeing them, their faces, probably full of pity, no one knowing how to address the elephant in the room - Jones.

He was building up the courage to get out and gift his creations as peace offering, or whatever they wanted them to be, when he was disturbed by a knock on the latch, then it opened, followed by a very familiar voice that he didn’t expect to hear any time soon.

“Look, Guerin, I get that you want to be alone right now, and uh, yeah -” Alex Manes said, passing a hand across the face, fighting the want to jump down that ladder, understanding more than anyone what being the son of a monster felt like, and even then, neither of their experiences were comparable. “I’m just here to tell you that, ah, Maria woke up, and uh, she’ll be staying in the hospital for a little longer, so uh, yeah that’s what I came here to say.” he finished, and stood up from where he was crouching above the opened latch, looking down in the bunker but not seeing more than the ladder and light. He could also slightly distinguish Michael’s shadow, glowing under all the lights he guessed were alien.

Michael thought Alex had left, and nearly closed the latch using his powers, when he heard the last few words, barely a whisper, but clear as day to him. And he knew that Alex knew that he heard them. “I’m here. If you ever want to talk, or whatever. I’m here for you, Michael.” And with that, Alex left, understanding the peace of being alone with your thoughts, and knowing that Michael would come out whenever he was ready to.

And he was ready to come out. Soon after he heard Alex’s car leave the junkyard, he rushed to his airstream to take a shower and change clothes, taking with him the glass object he had made for Maria. When Sanders saw him leave the airstream, showered, dressed in clothes that hadn’t been worn the past three days, smiling, he couldn’t stop the teasing comment, “If I knew getting your boy here would get you out, I’d have done it long ago.” Despite the comment, he was glad that Michael was feeling better, and even more glad to hear the “Not my boy. Maria’s awake,” that came from Michael as he drove away, leaving Sanders in the junkyard, a smile on his face. The kid was starting to realise that family wasn’t the blood coursing through your veins, but the people you choose to surround yourself with. He hoped Ms. Nora would be proud of her boy, wherever she was.

Michael drove to the hospital at a respectable speed, not wanting to get arrested the day Maria woke up - she would never stop making fun of him about it. He nearly ran towards her room, stopping only at the open door, taking in the people in the room. Liz was at the foot of Maria’s bed, holding a board with papers clipped to it - most likely Maria’s health results - talking with her hands, a large smile on her face. Rosa was sitting on the bed, next to Liz, exchanging side smiles with Maria, her entire body more relaxed than she had been since Maria’s coma. Isobel was standing to the side of the room, leaning against the wall, facing the door. She was the first to see Michael, making him smile back, and promising her to talk and hang out, by their psychic bond. Finally, he turned his eyes to the head of Maria’s bed, where the two Manes men who had gone against their father were sitting, Greg leaning against the back of the chair, a hand holding Maria’s and the other going up and down on her arm in a reassuring sign, Alex on the other side sitting with his elbows on his knees, chin resting on one hand, apparently the only one truly listening to what Liz had to say.

He cleared his throat, not knowing how else to announce his presence. “Mikey!” came the synchronised shout from the Orthecho sisters, “what took you so long, dude? We texted you ages ago!” Rosa teasingly asked, Michael not bothering with an answer and simply sticking his tongue out to her, earning him a roll of the eyes from Liz and Isobel, a full on laugh from Rosa and a slight chuckle from Alex.

“How you feeling, DeLuca?” he started to ask, his voice clear with worry, but remembering many of their conversations, he continued with something he knew she would prefer to him worrying too much, “I might check out some other bar if you stay out of the game for too long.”

And he seemed to have been right, as Maria giggled and stood up straighter, “Oh I’m not too worried you’ll be right back at the Pony in no time Guerin,” she said smiling at him, which Michael copied. “And,” she added, pointing her finger in his direction, “you still owe me 15,09 bucks, don’t think I’ve forgotten.”

Michael shook his head, of course she wouldn’t forget the drinks he had during the last year that he hasn’t yet repaid in services. Since it was the pandemic, they both didn’t have much money so they agreed that whatever drinks he ordered would be paid back in free car or bar maintenance, and vice versa. As if they weren’t already cutting deals for each other.

Feeling all eyes on him, especially since he had gone AWOL for the last three days, Michael cleared his throat once more and took a few hesitant steps towards Maria, ignoring everyone in the room but her. “I, uh, made you something?” he said, cursing himself mentally for making it sound like a question, “here,” he put his hand in his jacket pocket and took out four little alien glass hairpins, ‘it’s alien glass, I thought you might like them.”

He looked at her to see some tears in her eyes as she took the hairpins and observed them in her hands. “They’re, Michael, those are amazing ,” she said with so much sincerity that Michael was taken aback by it, “Thank you.” she added with a smile.

In the end Michael sat on the floor against the wall, listening closely to Maria talking about what had happened with Jones. He felt at ease, surrounded by his friends, still feeling the weight of Kyle and Max missing, but everyone enjoying this small light in what had felt like a week of pure darkness.

Being with Maria, giving them his creation, had given him the courage to talk to the others, and hand them their gifts. He went to see Liz, one day, as she was still in Kyle’s office, observing scans of Maria’s brain. He pointedly ignored those pictures, deciding that he wasn’t going to think of what his father could have done to Maria and her brain, knowing the guilt he would feel if he did. Instead he stood in front of Liz and handed her two teardrop earrings made out of alien glass.

She stopped in the middle of her sentence, and stared up at Michael who smiled awkwardly, her mouth agape as she took in the beauty of the jewelry. “Mikey, wow, I - I don’t know what to say.” she said, looking back and forth between the earrings and Michael.

“It’s nothing, Ortecho, really, I had glass laying around and -” he started to say but was interrupted by Liz. “Thank you.” she nearly shouted, standing up and bending him in a tight embrace, which he returned gladly. He then held up Liz’s phone as a mirror as she put them on and admired herself, making both of them laugh, before reality caught up, and they both needed to focus on Max, Kyle, and Maria. Liz kept the earrings the entire day, and wears them on any occasion she can, the alien colorful glass going with a multitude of clothing combinaisons.

The next person Michael gave a present to was Rosa. She was at the junkyard to train her powers when he surprised her with alien windchimes. He quickly used his powers to hang them up while she had her eyes closed and let the wind do the rest of the work. She opened her eyes in admiration of whatever sound she had heard and turned towards the source of it. “Woa,” she said under her breath as she walked slowly towards them, until finally touching them with her hands, letting the windchimes sing under her fingers, the alien glass slightly reacting.

“You made those?” she asked, turning around to Michael. He nodded, smiling, feeling quite proud of his work. “The sound they make,” continued Rosa, turning once again to look at the windchimes, Michael walking closer to her, “it’s - I don’t think I can compare it to anything.” He nodded once more, encouraging Rosa to continue, “It’s like a melody. I can hear the wind, but it’s different, it’s beautiful.”

She leaned against Michael who was now standing slightly behind her, Michael instinctively putting her arm around her shoulders, the two of them standing in the middle of the junkyard, admiring the alien glass windchimes Michael had made for Rosa. She would come buy the junkyard many times, listening at the way the wind circled through the windchimes, admiring their beauty.

After that it all happened really quickly; Rosa and Isobel found Max, Michael and Liz had been called to the rescue (Jones had apparently regained his body and vanished), followed by Kyle waking up, Greg and Maria rushing to some ranch in the middle of nowhere to get Kyle and Alex. Eventually, all this craziness died down for a bit, Max was hiding in Alex’s cabin in the woods, since Jones had used his body to commit crimes, he couldn’t really go grocery shopping without getting arrested, and Kyle had regained his job at the hospital. Michael seriously wondered how he hadn’t been fired yet, but he wasn’t complaining, at least someone in their group seemed to know what he was doing with his life.

He made his way back to the hospital, except this time to see the one person he swore he would never visit as a kid. A doctor. But not just any doctor, a doctor who was quickly becoming a good friend of his, which he obviously wasn’t going to admit. He walked in the corridors, knowing the place quite well by now, and knocked on Kyle’s office door. A tired “Come in” answered and he opened the door.

As soon as Kyle saw who was on the other side of the door, he groaned and nearly snapped, thinking that maybe now would be the time to get a new group of friends that didn’t have alien emergencies every four hours. Michael must’ve sensed what Kyle was about to say (something along the lines “I don’t care that the world is burning because of some alien invasion, I need sleep! And no, a coma doesn’t count.”) because he raised his hands in surrender, a smug smile on his face.

“Relax, no alien life or death situations, or at least not that I know of.” This had the expected effect, Kyle relaxed in his chair, crossed his arms on his chest and raised an eyebrow at Michael, silently asking him why he was here then. Michael closed the door behind him and sat opposite Kyle, on one of the patients chairs. Still smiling, he took out of his pocket two glass paperweights that he delicately put on the desk for Kyle to grab, just as delicately.

Kyle was silent as he turned the paperweights between his hands, admiring all the different angles, reflecting his desk light on the walls and papers he had on his desk. While Kyle was busy, Michael slowly put his hand in his other jacket pocket and took out a glass snow globe with a little cardboard UFO, two little plastic aliens, and pink fake snow. He put it on the desk and waited for Kyle to notice, after having put the paper weights on top of two small piles he had.

When he saw the snow globe, his face lit up with astonishment, and he looked up to Micheal, once again speechless. “I know what it’s like to see a doctor as a kid and being scared,” Michael said, not looking at Kyle but at the little snowball, “and I know it’s not the same, but uh-”

“I’m sure the kids will love it, Michael.” Kyle said, honestly. He took the globe and shook it, chuckling at the way the UFO dangled, the way the little Aliens wiggled and the way the pink snow fell on everything. “Thank you.”

Michael shrugged, “Consider it payback,” he said, with a sincere smile this time, “for all the times you saved our asses.” And with that, he stood up, waved awkwardly at Kyle (who waved back just as awkwardly) and left.

Kyle took care of the paperweights, who in reality weren’t so heavy, but never broke as they fell. All the kids that came by his office would stare at the little snow globe, admiring it, feeling calmer and safer during their appointment.

Isobel called Michael over the next day. She said she wanted to go shopping for Max, since he was stuck away and was getting bored (how he had already read all the books Alex gave him, was a mystery to Michael, but he supposed when there really wasn’t anything else to do…)

Michael ran on her doorbell and let himself in, using his powers to unlock the door. He made his way to the living room and sat on the couch, looking at the decorations of Isobel’s walls. This house felt more homey than the one she had shared with Noah, there were paintings on the walls he knew Rosa had made, a few old and useless metallic pieces he had turned into sculptures and decorations laying around in various places. But what was really different was the huge bookshelf, books varying from science fiction (for Michael), to inspiring novels (for Isobel) to fantasy and romantic (for Max), indicating that this wasn’t just her home for her, but that her brothers were welcomed here too.

Michael put on the table the necklace he had made, the pendant made out of alien glass and the chain from some silver he had laying around the junkyard, and waited for Isobel to come out. When she did, she smiled at Michael and sat next on his left, facing him. “Okay, so I’ve been thinking, and our brother isn’t really the best cook so -”, she started to say, but cut herself as she saw what was on the table.

She grabbed the necklace between her fingers, and looked to Michael, who was leaning against the couch, an arm slung over it, a bright smile on his face. He winked at her, when he saw that Isobel was looking at him, and she leaned against him, her heard on his shoulder, Michael folding his arm around her.

“It’s beautiful, Michael,” Isobel said, emotions strong in her voice, “thank you.” Mihael rubbed his hand on her shoulder, not really knowing what to say, but wanting her to know that he would always be there.

Isobel wiggled the necklace in front of his face, Michael taking it with a chuckle as he attached it around her neck. The two of them stayed like that, leaning their heads against each other, in silence, in peace. Eventually, Isobel stood up, hurrying Michael out the door and into his truck to go shopping for Michael. And if they were a bit later than what they had told Max, arriving with humid eyes, no one made a comment about it, Max glad to have some company and more books to read.

Michael went back to see Max at least once a day, staying for a few hours or a couple of minutes, always checking in. The two had a lot to talk about, especially the elephant in the room - Max being a clone of Michael’s father.

Michael found himself enjoying those little brotherly moments, and more so the one after they had done the whole Jones subject. Michael would make a few comments about Liz staying in Roswell, to which Max would respond with questions about Alex.

“You know,” said Max on the third day Michael came when they were sitting around a fire pit, enjoying a few beers, after Michael had strongly avoided any topic about Alex, while also admitting to having some feelings (which Max knew of already, subtility wasn’t Michael’s - and Alex’s - strong suit), “this is the first time you and I have talked about dumb highschool crushed together.”

Michael chuckled at that, a hint of sadness that Max quickly brushed, “Hey no, the past is the past man, I’m just saying that I’m glad we’re finally talking, you know? Feels like we’re finally not hiding stuff.” And Michael raised his beer bottle at that. It was indeed the first time that they were both completely open, no more secret. They both were at fault on that, but as Max had said, the past was the past, no point reminiscing, when you could focus on making the future better.

With those thoughts in mind, he took out of his pocket an alien glass bolo tie with little turquoise end caps on the ties, and handed it to Max, who took it. They were both hypnotised by the way the flames reflected on the glass, the way the colors seemed to dance in the night.

Max didn’t say anything, didn’t have too. He put his beer on the floor next to him, stood up and motioned to Michael to do the same. Once they were both standing, facing each other, they hugged deeply, strongly. In the end, all the other bolo ties Max owned got mostly replaced by this one, being worn at every occasion he could, always with his brother in mind.

Michael had two more presents to offer, and was sitting in his bunker, not knowing how to approach either of the people they were made for. Luckily for him, he didn’t have to figure one out, as the person in question opened the latch and climbed down the stairs with a grunt. “Kid,” came Sander’s voice as soon as his feet reached the ground, “think you can use that brain of yours to build a lift here? Getting too old for this.”

“Well no one is forcing you to come, old man,” Michael replied, although there was no true bite to it. In fact, he quite enjoyed the old man’s occasional visits, even if all he did was complain. Michael turned around to face him, “Everything all good up there?” he asked, wondering why Sanders had come down. Sanders just nodded at him and took the last steps for him to arrive at Michael’s level, leaning his hands on the workspace. “What you working on, kid?”

“Uhm, actually -” started Michael, now that Sanders was here, might as well give him the present, right? “I got something for you.”

Using his powers, he approached a little metallic sunflower he had made from scrap pieces found here and there in the junkyard, and had made the center out of alien glass. The whole thing was attached to a chain to be held up against the door to Sanders house.

Sanders grabbed the sunflower and looked at it intensely with his good eye, remembering the colors Ms Nora’s creations were, seeing them once again on that little sunflower. Neither said anything, nor made a step forward to hug, neither being used to physical comfort, but they both knew how much that gesture meant.

To Michael, it meant acceptance, family, a sunflower for all the sunflowers they grew at the junkyard over the pandemic. To Sanders, it meant pride, it meant having kept his promise to Ms Nora to take care of his son, it meant family.

The sunflower was attached by Sanders' door, the alien glass glowing under the desert sun, always turning to face it, like all the many sunflowers they had in their field.

Which led Michael to one last gift. And if he was being honest with himself, the one he dreaded the most. Also the one that took him the most time and the most research. A gift for Alex. Taking his courage in both hands, he sent a quick text to Alex before he could have any chance to doubt himself. Free right now? I think I might take you up on your offer.

He didn’t have long to wait, as his phone buzzed almost immediately, On my way. Be there in 30 . He rushed back to his airstream, ignoring once more Sanders’ comment about getting ready for his boy , to get changed and put beers in the fridge. He opened the door of the airstream just as he heard Alex’s car arrive, and sat on one of the chairs, two bears in hand, while he made his way over. Alex sat on a chair next to him, accepting the beer, in silence.

“I heard you were busy while in your underground lair, judging by the gifts I’ve been seeing pop up.” Alex said with a smile, taking a sip of his beer, turning his head to look at Michael.

Michael frowned his eyebrows, “I thought you were busy out of town?” he asked, barely stopping the bite from escaping his lips. Alex looked sheepishly away from Michael at that, “I’ve been trying to not distance myself too much,” she shrugged, his tone lowering, until being a simple whisper at the end, “to not drive myself crazy.” He shivered at whatever thought was going through his mind, then straightened his body and looked up to Michael, “Anyway, you said you’d take me up on my offer, I’m assuming you want to talk?” he asked, forcing a smile that Michael didn’t buy.

“The hell is going on with you, Alex?” Michael asked, with a bit too much force that he immediately took back at Alex’s defeated look, “First you tell me you’d burn down the world for me, then that you don’t want me anywhere you or whatever, and then you end up finding Kyle in some creepy farm, which might I add is the exact same farm you got stabbed in .” He took a breath, and continued, “So yeah, Alex, I want to talk, I want you to tell me what’s going on with you.” He stopped at looked at Alex, who didn’t really seem like he wanted to say anything, so he lowered his voice, taking back all the bite and anger he could, channeling how much he cared and worried about Alex, “You said you were there for me, it’s a two way street you know. I’m here for you too.”

That seemed to do the trick, as Alex’s teary eyes met Michael’s, who wanted nothing more that to wipe his thumb across his cheeks, to take away the fear and the pain he could see in those eyes. But he didn’t, they weren't there yet.

Alex took a deep, shaky breath and told Michael everything, from quitting the Air Force (getting a discharge with full honors, Michael could tell the pride in his voice as the last ten years of Alex’s hadn’t been totally useless), to joining Deep Sky, to the Lockhart machine, to his boss not being who he said he was, to discovering that the Lockhart machine had driven people crazy, to the reason he had been recruited by deep sky. After his explanations, he fell quiet, looking at Michael, not truly knowing what to expect.

What he didn’t expect however, was for Michael to get up hastily, move the airstream and rush to his lair, leaving Alex sitting on his chair, a half empty bottle of beer in one hand, tears in his eyes. But Michael came back, just as fast as he had left, holding some piece of alien tech mixed with metal in his hands. It took a moment for Alex to register what that object was, and once he did, he widened his already teary eyes in surprise, his mouth was slightly agape, his eyebrows were frowned, as he searched for the words to express his confusion, not wanting to get his hopes high. On the other hand, there wasn’t a multitude of people Michael could’ve made an alien prosthetic leg for.

Michael approached slowly with the leg in his hands, handing it to Alex once he was close enough. “I uh- I made you this.” he said, clearing his throat, while Alex was examining the leg, “It’ uh, lighter than the one you have now, but it’s also more resistant and, well, you could really bludgeon someone with it, if uh - if you wanted to.”

Alex kept looking at the leg, not saying anything, which Michael interpreted as him not being interested. “You don’t have to take it, if you don’t like it. I also made you this,” he rushed out, taking a braided leather cuff with a piece of alien glass as a stamp and handing it sheepishly to Alex, who was looking at him, with the same teary look he had for the past few minutes. Michael took a deep breath and sat back down, “Look,” he breathed out, “what I’m trying to say, Alex, is I’ve got your back, okay? I’ll build you whatever you need, I’ll go wherever you want me to, I’ll - I care about you.”

As Alex opened his mouth to say something, Michael raised his hand to interrupt, and continued, “And I’m the son of a literal dictator whose powers I’ve inherited. I can defend myself. And I know that you wanna protect me - I do too - but maybe we could, I don’t know, protect each other by being there?”

Alex, whose tears were now running free on his face, bent down to take his right shoe off, under Michael’s curious gaze, who could also feel tears running down his cheeks. Alex raised his trousers and took off his prosthetic, before grabbing the alien one and putting it on. He knew the size would fit, knew that Michael had worked hard on it, had probably had the idea of making him a new leg from the moment they met again, in front of that same airstream, under completely different circumstances.

They had gone a long way from that day, and they still had some more to do, but Michael was right. Maybe this time, they could be there, together, to take that new road, to protect and take care of each other, together. Before standing up, Alex attached the bracelet Michael had made around his left wrist, admiring the colors of the alien glass under the desert sun.

Alex stayed at the junkyard for some more time, until his alarm rang, informing him that he should head back to the Lockhart machine. Taking a deep breath, he turned to Michael, asking him if he wanted to come with, and together they drove to the farm, down a road they had both taken together once, but this time Alex wasn’t bleeding out.

After that day, Alex still went to the VA in Albuquerque for meds prescriptions and physical therapy once in a while, but all the repairs that needed to be done for his prosthetic, all the improvements, were done by Michael, in his lair, under Alex’s curious gaze, who wanted to know everything about Michael’s ideas.

After all his gifts, Michael found that he still had some alien glass laying around in his bunker. So he decided to turn it all into little rings, wanting to distinguish as much as he could from the weaponizing of the alien glass, like Jones had. Eventually, all of little friend group, all of his people, owned a ring.

And when the day came, when the fight with Jones reached its last stretch, Michael was ready. He didn’t have an alien sword like Jones had, but he had something much more. A group of people, by his side, all sharing his strength through the little alien gifts. His people, his family.

Lately I've been feeling so alone Can someone give the antidote to me so I can Finally understand where I belong

#i am soft for michael guerin #he has people 🥺#michael guerin #alex manes #maria deluca #liz ortecho #max evans #isobel evans #rosa ortecho #walt sanders #rnm fic #roswell new mexico #rnm #lyrics from Head Up by the score #thesquidkid writes

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a-bang-for-your-bucky · 3 years

Text

Welcome Home (Part One)

(NOT MY GIF)

Summary: After not speaking to her brothers for over a year, Peyton Rhodes’ life is turned upside down when her boyfriend of four years cheats on her. She uproots her life with WWE and returns home to Atlanta. She finds herself among great friends and she is finding herself again after being lost for so long.

WORD COUNT: 2,624 (well shit).

Pairings: Cody Rhodes x OFC (Sister), Brandi Rhodes x OFC (sister), Dustin Rhodes x OFC (Sister), past Seth Rollins x OFC, future Kenny Omega x OFC (maybe?), MJFx OFC( maybe?) Could end up being Matt Jackson x OFC (who knows) let the writing gods surprise us.

WARNINGS: explicit language, mentioned cheating, possible future smut (Warnings are subject to change as I continue writing and will be updated as needed).

A/N: This has been a WIP for over a year now. This will be multiple parts. It will be a slow burn. (MAYBE) I’m a sucker for the friends to lovers trope. Please do not think that this reflects my feels toward a certain wrestler (Seth). This story is strictly fiction. I do not own any of the characters except for my OFC(s). Please, please, please, give me feedback. I’m slowly working myself back into the fanfic world. <3

“Cody was right.” I cried as soon as my brother’s wife answered the phone. I hadn’t spoken to my brothers since they left WWE. Cody was upset that I wouldn’t leave with him. Brandi was my way of communication with them. She’d call at least twice a week. This week was different.

“I caught him. I went to congratulate him after his win over Finn and they were,” I sniffled, hurt coming over me again. “It was Mandy. I thought she was my friend.” I explained to my sister in law.

“Pey, I am so sorry. Please come home. You know AEW has a spot for you whenever you want it.” Brandi offered. It was the same thing she said to me every week, but now I’m ready.

“I just don’t know why.” I cried. “I was the perfect girlfriend. I basically put my career on hold for him. I thought he was, I thought he was it for me.” Brandi had said that they were going to be home for Cody’s birthday in a few weeks and invited me to come to the party.

“I’ll talk to Hunter.” I choked out.

Luckily, my contract was almost up and as soon as Vince heard I didn’t want to re-sign, he settled for my release. We didn’t have the best relationship, but Hunter advocated for me stating that it was best for the company as well as myself. He knew the situation and didn’t blame me for wanting to go.

I knew I had to go back one day. I just never thought it would be this soon. I parked my car in the drive. I could hear Pharaoh announcing my arrival before I could make it to the door. I made my way up the sidewalk to the porch. I took a deep breath and knocked.

Brandi opened the door immediately. “Well I'll be damned.” She said, “I can’t believe you came!” I smiled, embracing my brother’s wife.

“Like I would miss my big brother’s 35th birthday.” I lied and she knew it. If Seth hadn’t cheated on me, I wouldn’t be here.

Brandi led me inside where there were some guests who had gathered in the foyer. Brandi introduced me quickly, leading me through to Cody. “Hey, babe. Your surprise is here.” Cody, who was standing by the fireplace, talking to Dustin, turned and saw me.

Awkwardly, I raised a hand to wave. “Hi.” I whispered. Cody sat down his drink and walked over to me. I expected him to cuss and yell, but instead, he threw his arms around me, hugging me tightly.

“Peyton, I'm so happy you’re here.” He whispered. Dustin came up behind him.

“Long time, no see sis. You know, they invented this thing called a phone. You should look into it. Call your big brothers sometime.” Dustin fussed before hugging me too.

“It is really good to see you guys.” I tried to hold back the tears, but some escaped anyway. “How have you been? AEW has really taken off huh?” I said making small talk.

Cody nodded, “Yeah, I have the best business partners. I can’t wait for you to meet them.” Looking at my brother, he was truly happy. WWE had given him a few more stress lines, but seeing him now, you couldn’t tell.

He grabbed my hand, pulling me to follow him. He led me to Matt and Nick Jackson, standing with Kenny Omega and Adam Page. “Guys! Guys! Look who decided to show her face.” Cody beamed, smiling big. The four guys waved.

“Finally! We get to meet the prodigal sister.” Kenny Omega spoke first.

“Peyton, these are the guys.” Cody pointed to each of them. “Matt. Nick. Kenny. Adam.”

“Nice to meet y’all finally. I watch your show every week. You are all very talented.” They all mumbled a “thank you” in tandem.

The rest of the evening went by smoothly. We all sat and talked. Getting to know The Elite was amazing. It was almost as if I hadn’t been AWOL for a year and a half. When the party was over, I was helping Brandi clean up.

“Pey, you don’t have to help. You’re a guest.” She said, grabbing the glasses from my hands. I shook my head.

“I’m family. And family helps.” I smiled, taking the glasses back and continued to the kitchen. Cody walked in behind me with plates.

“Hey,” he started, “Thank you for coming.” He finished, placing the plates in the dishwasher. I added my glasses.

“I’m sorry.” I blurted out, turning to face him. Cody looked at me, confused. “I should have left with you. You were right about that place. My career, my relationship, everything, became a shitshow after you left.” tears began to fall.

“Pey, it’s okay. I’m just happy you’re here now.” Cody wiped the tears away.

“Code. I lost my title. Seth cheated on me, and I barely got any TV time.” Cody scoffed. He never liked Seth.

“He cheated on you?” Cody growled, and paced around the room.

I nodded, “I caught him. I went to congratulate him after his win one night and they were,” I sniffled, explaining to Cody. “I don’t know why.” I cried. “And then I lost my title, and then stopped getting TV time, unless I was on Seth’s arm.” I darted my eyes to the ground. “We still had to work together. After everything, I had to pretend like we were the perfect couple, until my last appearance.” Cody pulled me into a tight hug.

“I pissed a lot of people off with the way I left. I’m so sorry that affected you.” he whispered into my hair, like it was his fault.

“I don’t blame you, Code. I was granted my release.” I mumbled into his chest. He pulled back.

“What?” His eyes were wide.

“I asked for my release and Hunter pushed it through. I’ll be a free agent in 90 days” I explained. Cody smiled like a Cheshire cat.

“Babe! Dustin! Get in here!” Cody yelled, startling me. The both of them came running, looking for an emergency, but they only saw Cody pouring champagne for a toast. Confused looks covered their faces.

Cody gave everyone a flute and started a toast. “To our baby sister, the newest AEW superstar.” Brandi squealed and hugged me tight. The guys joined in.

I was finally home.

It was hard, walking away from my life in WWE; However, finding my place within the Elite was easy. Especially with Kenny Omega. He quickly became one of my closest friends. The next 3 months were the best of my life. The break from wrestling gave my body and my heart time to heal. Everyone did their best to hide that I was coming to AEW, even leaving fake trails that I was going back to NJPW.

After working out the details of my contract, I was officially signed with AEW. Cody wanted me to make a surprise entrance, interrupt one of his segments. Creative loved the idea of brother and sister reuniting, but they wanted to make it interesting. When my debut date came, I couldn’t have been any more nervous.

Sitting in catering, I was alone, lost in thought, picking at my food. It had been a long journey here, but they made it. AEW came to life and it was thriving. Double or nothing had passed, and that meant tonight was Dynamite.

“Guess who?” Someone had snuck up on me, covering my eyes. I smiled because I knew exactly who it was.

“Hmm, Prince Charming?” I guessed quickly. Kenny placed a sloppy kiss to my cheek.

“Close, but better.” He said uncovering my eyes. “Hey, princess. Just thought I’d come save you from your thoughts. What’s going on in that head of yours right now?” he asked, knowing I’ll tell him, taking the seat next to me.

I sighed, rubbing my face. “I was thinking about my journey, how I got here.” Kenny nodded, but didn’t say anything. “I was thinking about how I get to see Jon again, since leaving WWE, and I was thinking about Seth.” I finally spit it out. Seth, his name leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

“I knew something was bothering you. Talk to me, doll.”

“I was scrolling through Insta earlier. He’s engaged. I know I shouldn’t care, but I do. Not because I still have feelings for him, but because she is, was, my friend, and I don’t want him to do to her what he did to me.” I explained to him.

“That’s understandable, Pey, but people gotta make their own mistakes. Mandy knows what he did to you and she still said yes, so that’s on her.” Kenny said, ever the voice of reason.

I nodded in agreement with him, knowing he was right. I needed to focus on my new path, my new future.

“Peyton!” Cody called from a distance, Brandi following him. It was time.

Cody stood, center ring, proudly. He had won the TNT title at Double or Nothing. He went on about how he was issuing an open challenge every Wednesday.

I stood nervously behind the curtain, waiting for my cue. I was about to make my debut. My life has been a little crazy since I left WWE behind, but definitely for the better.

As an avid Fall Out Boy fan, I had struck a deal to have my favorite song as my entrance music. I had been using it for most of my career. The music hit, the crowd went crazy. “Holy Hell, that music can only mean one person. The sister of the American Nightmare. That’s Peyton Rhodes!” JR yelled into his mic as I strolled down the ramp, ignoring the crowd. “Peyton” chants filled the arena as I made my way to the squared circle.

“Peyton Rhodes has joined AEW and the crowd couldn’t be happier,” Excalibur added. I walked around the ring to the time keeper, grabbing a mic from Justin, and strolled on toward the ring.

The music cut, and Cody was first to speak. "Oh yeah. I guess we didn't announce this but Peyton Rhodes is AEW!" The crowd screamed at Cody's news, chanting "AEW".

I soaked in the cheers because I knew it was all about to change. I had been a face for most of my pro-wrestling career, and now I finally get to pursue the heel turn my fans had been begging for. I took in a deep breath and adjusted my leather jacket.

“Oh, Atlanta, shut the hell up!” I groaned into the mic. I revelled in the audible gasp that could be heard. “That’s right. No more sweet ‘Georgia peach’ Peyton Rhodes. I came to AEW to raise hell, and that’s what I’m going to do.” I wandered around the ring, stopping in front of a camera. “I’m sick and tired of wanting your approval. I’m here to get what I want. And I want it all.” I punctuated as I looked dead into the camera.

“Hear that big brother,” I turned and faced Cody, “Hell just arrived in AEW I hope you’re ready.” I gestured to the crowd, “I hope you’re all ready, because if you thought Cody was a nightmare, wait til you see me, the Dream Killer.” I dropped the mic, and rolled out of the ring. The crowd loved it. “Dream Killer” chants echoed in my ears all the way backstage.

I was greeted by Dustin, Brandi, and Kenny. “That was perfect, Pey, they loved it.” Kenny said as soon as I was in sight. I grinned, running up to him, jumping into his arms for a hug.

“The crowd loved you. They’ve been hoping for this heel turn since your WWE debut.” Cody said, smiling from ear to ear as he returned to the back after finishing his promo.

“For real, Pey! You pull off the ‘heel’ thing. I can’t wait to work on your wardrobe!” Brandi squealed, embracing me in a dancing hug. “Just think about the shoes, Pey, the shoes.” Brandi was way more excited about the outfits than the actual turn. She had helped me pick the one I was wearing. Black jean shorts, a front-zip black and white crop top, leather jacket, and black boots.

“I can’t wait to see where this takes me.” I said before we were joined by the rest of The Elite.

Nick was the first to speak. “Not bad, Rhodes. You might be a better heel than your brother here.” He elbowed Cody in the ribs.

Matt nodded in agreement, “For real Peyton, the crowd was so hyped for that turn.” He said with a soft smile, bringing me in for a quick hug.

I turned to face everyone. “Thanks guys. All of you. You gave me this chance.” I thanked them, “I promise I won’t let you down.”

“You’re a great addition to the AEW family.” Adam complimented, “Come on Ken, we got a match to get ready for.” he said before walking away. Kenny gave me one last hug before following him.

Cody and Brandi also parted as she had a segment coming up, leaving me with the Young Bucks. “Come on, Pey, lets celebrate!” We had walked back to catering where some more of the AEW stars were waiting. In the back, I spotted the one person I couldn’t wait to see again. I told The Bucks I’d catch up with them.

“Jon!” I screamed, almost running to him. When he saw me rushing toward him, he opened his arms, inviting me in for a hug. Hugging him was a blast from the past.

“Peyton fucking Rhodes. I heard rumors you were coming. Sweetheart, you knocked them dead.” He spoke into my hair. I gave him one more tight squeeze before pulling away. “Well, you look great.” He said, gesturing to my outfit.

“I’m heel now. Finally.” I boasted. I’ve been waiting for this for the longest time and no one was taking it away from me. Jon and I talked, catching up. I asked about Renee and he lit up. He was happy and that’s all I wanted for him. He was finally able to be the fighting champion everyone knew he could be.

“What about Seth? What happened? The last time I spoke to him, he said you guys were happy and he had bought a ring.” Jon asked, and it knocked the breath out of me. I knew he would ask, but I wasn’t expecting him to mention a ring.

“He cheated on me. With Mandy. They’re engaged now.” I said without choking up, which was a good sign. I could see the disappointment well up in Jon’s eyes.

“You were always too good for him.” I knew he and Seth were still good friends, but I appreciated the words nonetheless. Jon gave me one last hug before he got called away for his match, leaving me alone in catering again.

I found a table close to a TV so I could watch the end of Kenny and Adam’s match. They were well on their way to becoming tag team champions. I started thinking about what Jon had said about Seth, about him buying a ring. I couldn’t believe it. He was going to ask me to marry him and I would have said yes, had I not found him with Mandy. I was pulled from my thoughts by my phone vibrating. It was Seth.

I saw your debut.

You look good.

You’re gonna be a great heel.

I miss you.

I wish you would talk to me and let me explain.

I read and reread the messages a hundred times before replying.

Okay, Seth. When and where?

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problematicfavesareproblematic · 4 years

Text

Band of Brothers-

Cute/charming things they say when they walk into a room and see you/you walk into a room and they see you:

Babe:

“oh SHIIIIIT! There’s my BABY! Do you see her, fellas? GodDAMN, I’m a lucky sonofabitch!”

(you blush so hard and are just like Babe, we’re at work stahp it but he dgaf).

It’s embarrassing and always makes Martin glare so imploringly at you that you’ll go over to Babe just to make him be quiet. Because, you know, YOU’RE AT WORK.

This bitch is shameless when it comes to loving on you, having once come to stand next to you when Sink was giving an important announcement and straight-up PINCHED. YOUR. ASS.

how you didn’t yelp is a miracle, and how no one else seemed to notice was equally astounding

(oh, the boys noticed. They kinda shipped it tho, so it was more a matter of hiding their joy).

Needless to say, it only happened the once, something you made Babe swear after you pulled him aside and punched him in the arm.

Don’t worry, you kissed it better.

Roe:

bb boy doesn’t say anything at first,

the smile he saves just for you is playing at his lips as you walk up to meet him, tho.

The moment you’re close enough that he can smell the sweet mint of your gum, he’ll whisper something sweet like “hey you” or “mon amor”, or maybe just your name

(bc let’s be honest, his accent is 10 out of 10 and he could read me the dictionary and I’d still rock an ugly giggle/snort combo).

If it’s a more serious situation, like if you’re hurt oh lordy

he will literally shout your name until either you shout back or someone tells him where you are.

I could see him being a face holder, in the sense that he does it to reassure himself that you’re okay and make sure he has your undivided attention.

Since getting injured in Carentan, you hadn’t been as close to the frontlines as you had been, so when you were needed you are REALLY NEEDED,

and even if he didn’t like it Gene knew you were the best at what you did.

Gene also feels better if he knows where you are.

Even when you eventually return to Easy, he will feel better knowing which Foxhole you’re in, and knowing he’s seen to it your first aid kit was fully stocked.

Liebgott:

THAT FUCKER’S SMIRKING AT YOU SO OPENLY that whoever he had been talking to instantly goes

*sigh* y/n’s just came in, didn’t she?

And he won’t even ANSWER because he’s already shoving past them to walk up and eye you with obvious satisfaction.

“Bout time you showed up,” he’d say casually, hands finding your hips giving them a quick squeeze.

“Sooner we get briefed, sooner we can get outta here.”

(You’re not fully sure what ‘getting outta here’ entails, but if the way he looked at you was any indication, you had a feeling it didn’t involve anything less than PG-13 sexy times.)

Bull:

“Hey, little lady.”

He’ll say it no matter how tall or short you are, how wide or how narrow.

He will always say it to you that when you first see each other in the morning

(sometimes, you wake up to Hey, little lady being kissed into the soft skin behind your ear.)

(Once while on a 48 hour pass, he’d woken you up that way in a REAL bed and the two of you had nearly gotten him sent up Curahee for being late coming back because you’d ended up spending more time in that bed than either of you anticipated Whoops)

(Even if he had been late, he definitely wouldnt have minded, tbh. He fully considered going AWOL if it mean neither of you had to leave the bed)

but throughout the day he’s more concerned about getting his hands on some part of you whenever the two of you had been apart-

even if it was for like five minutes.

Nothing over the top- holding his arm up and out so you can step into his side, a press of his lips to your temple.

Idk guys i just feel like he’d just love you so much that everyone would be able to see, which they do and they all think it’s fucking cute

Buck:

He doesn’t always call out when he sees you, mostly because your eyes always seem to find his.

The two of you could be across a field from one another with a thousand angry Germans between you, guns blazing, and the two of you would always spot each other like two honing beacons.

If its downtime and you guys don’t have to be on your guard he’ll ABSOLUTELY wolf whistle in at you,

You’ll see a stupid grin lighting up his face as he nods in your direction.

“Take a look, boys. I think we’ve got ourselves a…”

and he always waits until you’re close enough that he can wrap a quick arm around your waist and pat your hip.

“Certified babe-asaurus!”

(in a foxhole somewhere, a wild Babe’s head pokes up in confusion).

You groan and boo him, and whoever he was with inevitably ends up booing him too.

But he doesn’t care because seeing you smile makes him so happy you guys.

Lipton:

If you’re in public, he will quietly step up beside you and place his hand gently between your shoulder blades.

He’s not super into PDA, which you didn’t mind because what he didn’t show in physical touch he more than made up for in open admiration.

He is in awe of you

sometimes he worries you forget how highly he thinks of you, how highly everybody thinks of you

(you don’t forget, but he’s just one of those people who will get intrusive thoughts like that and sometimes has a hard time shaking them so plz just let him say it ok?)

so he always whispers some praise with his greeting

(Hey, beautiful...Doin’ okay, love?...What’re you thinking, brilliant girl?).

It’d probably seem like overkill if anyone else did it but Carwood is just so goddamn sincere that you can’t help but duck a quick kiss to his shoulder.

HOWEVER!

If you two kids are alone….

OH BOI.

He is handsy, coming up and caging you with his arms,

probably pulling you close quickly so you lose your balance and he can hold you a lil bit.

(He likes to sweep you off your feet im so sorry)

That’s when his praises are hushed and sighed between long slow kisses.

Nixon:

Like Liebgott, he’s a snarky motherfucker who will get the most self-satisfied grin on his face the moment he sees you, instantly turning on the famous Lewis Nixon charm ( something he’d long since decided belonged to you and you alone.)

“Uh oh,” he’d say, looking you up and down before raising an eyebrow.

(bc your hot but also he doesn’t want to get all flirty if you’re hurt or sick or something’s up bc ur not just something to flirt with- YOU ARE A BADASS WITH BADASS RESPONSIBILITIES AND THAT WAS SOMETHING HE very often and sometimes FOUND SO HOT THAT IT MADE HIM THINK HE MAY HAVE AN AUTHORITY FETISH this has been a PSA)

“Here comes trouble.”

you roll your eyes, the behavior you once found cocky and arrogant having becoming endearing somewhere between Toccoa and England.

He has absolutely no qualms about PDA (verbal or physical), so it’s up to you to reign him in

(especially if he’s a lil tipsy, poor Luz didn’t need to hear Lewis’s sloppy and shameless plea for you to let him eat you out on top of piano he’d found in the attic of the billet he’d been assigned. You weren’t able to look at George for a week without wanting to die of embarrassment and Lewis Nixon didn’t get any for two weeks. He was sure to never make such a mistake ever again)

And Dick had probably grown blind to how Lewis liked to pull you his lap and run his hands up and down your thighs while you played with his hair.

Also, like Lipton, he probably saves the more explicit acts of PDA for when the company has scheduled downtime

(but only bc you told him he needed to keep it in his pants any other time he tried to get cute with you)

but you can bet your ass his hand will always try to tap it (your ass, that is.)at least once

a day when he isn’t supposed to.

That’s when you get to punish him whoopsies

Dick:

since the day you were introduced to Dick in Georgia, the boy always made sure to stand when you entered a room and will call you “ma’am”,

(you know, LIKE HE DOES ONLY BECAUSE HE HAS TO FOR SOBEL BC RANKS. I feel like he has a “we salute the woman, not the rank” speech queued up for anyone who tried to give him shit for it BUT THAT’s JUST ME)

but he has a knowing look in his eye that makes the term ‘ma’am’ feel anything but impersonal.

It confused the shit out of replacements, who would automatically stand because their superior officer (that would be Big Dick Winters) did- only to see you standing there in your fatigues with a coffee in each hand with a look of mutual confusion on your face.

(bc while they like you, but they’re confused still bc while you’re a boss ass bitch, you didn’t outrank him...or at least they theink you dont?)

Babe had been the one to ask you about the longing looks and lingering glances, and when you didn’t know how to answer him you’d gone to Nixon,

He’d burst into tearful laughter and was unable to get it together enough to explain anything.

Dick had been the one to bring it up the next time they were alone, weirdly enough, as she proofread his report for errors that didn’t exist.

Because you warrant it, he’d said when pressed for a reason why he greeted her like a ranking officer, looking down at his boots as they both blushed like teenagers at a school dance.

After that, he still stood wherever you walked in

but now he made a point to brush his fingers against yours at some point during the time you were together.

He’s the definition of a slow burn friends-to-lovers story, and boi can get spicy LEMME TELL YOU.

(this is my first writing thing ever plz let a sister know if there are any glaring typos. Also i’m roughly 97 years late to fandom but I brought y’all some starbucks so plz let me in thank you)

#band of brothers imagine #band of brothers x reader #babe heffron x reader #eugene roe x reader #joe liebgott x reader #bull randleman x reader #carwood lipton x reader #lewis nixon x reader #dick winters x reader #hbo war x reader #it's vv bad but I'll just add it to the pile of already burning garbage pile that is my bibliography #buck compton x reader

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anotheronechicagobog · 3 years

Text

Rangers, Lead The Way - Chapter 3 - Kenny with Maggie

written by @anotheronechicagobog

warnings: swearing, nudity, profanity, mention of school shooting, guns, weapons, I’m pro gun control (even though I’m Canadian) and this kinda reflects that, mention of PTSD, child neglect, also I fucking hate nazis

When someone called before seven in the morning it was work, a death notification, or one of his fellow trio of lovestruck fools. So when the annoying ringtone Hana installed as a prank and he couldn’t figure out how to remove started blasting on his nightstand at 2:17 in the morning, he was more annoyed than apprehensive. “Crosby.”

“Hey man, sorry to call you so late, but it’s about Maggie.”

“What’s going on?”

“One of her first arrests as an FBI agent just broke out of prison, and she’s been temporarily assigned to the unit being tasked with finding him. Yours. I expect you’ll be getting a call in the next five minutes or so. Maggie can take care of herself, I know that, but...”

“It’s hard when you’re not there to watch her back. Don’t worry, I’ve got her.”

“Thank you. So much. I appreciate this, so, so much.”

“Hey, a couple of months ago I was you. I feel you man, don’t worry. She’ll be fine. Listen, I’d love to keep talking but I’ve got another call coming in and it looks like that work call you were warning about. Talk to you later.”

“See you on the flip side, man.”

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Jess stood in front of everyone with that look on his face that vaguely reminded Kenny of his stern ex-navy fourth-grade teacher. “Everyone, this is special agent Maggie Bell, you may remember her from when we worked with her unit on a couple of cases, but this time it’s just her joining us. Is there anything you’d like to add, Bell?”

“I’m excited to work with you all, but please, call me Maggie.”

“Alright, let’s get to work, then. Maggie, Jason Anderson was one of your first arrests with the bureau, can you brief us on that case and highlight any details you think may be pertinent?”

“Definitely. Well for starters, Anderson is a cheating scumbag and it only gets worse from there.” Maggie’s bluntness broke through the formality that was stifling the bus, smirks and chuckles abound, and it seemed that only he didn’t have the sense to at least try and hid his amusement. An understanding but disapproving look had Kenny composing himself to speak up. “Well then, let’s jump down this rabbit hole.”

Maggie was sitting next to Hana, giving details about the fugitive they were currently after. He was one of Maggie’s first arrests as an FBI agent, so the bureau thought it would be beneficial to have her work with the team. So here she was, dressed in jeans and a sweater as opposed to her usual suits, combining her razor-sharp intelligence with Hana’s. They’d commandeered the top floor of a police station in Boston and were relying on Maggie and Hana’s wit to find out where he was. Jason Anderson, 42, was an illegal weapons dealer. He’d previously been put in prison for distribution and possession of prohibited firearms, and for giving an AK-47 to a school shooter. He was being transferred to a higher security prison because it came to light that he was continuing his business from behind bars, but the security team had been too small and unprepared for the escape plan pulled off by a team of eight. Those eight men were their biggest clue oddly enough, as they’d been dropping like flies since the escape. Michael Howard, 40, was Anderson’s ex-brother-in-law. And the connection between all the, now dead, prison breakers. Unfortunately, Howard’s sister, and Anderson’s ex-wife, had cut contact with both of them along with the rest of their families after Howard introduced Anderson to his mistress and encouraged an affair that created two children. The mistress, Bethany Karnstein, had gone AWOL hours ago when she left her job in the middle of her shift and didn’t pick her kids up from school.

The kids were safe with Anderson’s parents, but they couldn’t answer their questions when they asked where their mother was. The kids did identify Michael Howard as one of their mom’s friends though, he’d come to watch them while their mother was in the hospital about six months prior. They didn’t look shocked that FBI agents were asking about their parents, but they still didn’t know anything.

At the moment, they were splitting up. Jess and Barnes were headed to follow up with Bethany’s clueless boss, he and Clinton were about to go follow up on a possible sighting, and Hana and Maggie were staying on the bus. Thankfully, since Kenny was stressed out enough at the prospect of having to watch out for Maggie on top of worrying about Hana, them being assigned together eased his mind.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was around midnight when he and Clinton were finally able to rendezvous with the rest of the team. There was no sighting, Bethany had one of her affair partners call in a false tip, and when he and Clinton had quickly sussed that out it lead to a shootout and car chase. Jason, the dumbass stupid enough to commit six different felonies for a woman who has two kids with a violent arms dealer, was lying in a heavily guarded ICU bed. They’d managed to get his cell phone but he was beyond unconscious when they’d finally managed to get him to stop shooting at them. “Hey Hana, I brought you something.”

“Jason’s cell?”

“That too, but I was actually talking about this.” He held out a large coffee that she desperately needed if the way her eyes lit up was any indication. “Thank you.” Hana let out an over-dramatic groan as she downed the first sip. “Hey Crosby, thanks for my coffee too.” He looked at Maggie sheepishly, realizing that he’d only gotten two, one for himself and the other for Hana. “I was the one who drove to and then parked in front of the coffee shop while he went and got those, how do you think I feel?” Clinton’s playful jab caused a round of giggles but the knowing look from the older man made Crosby a little nervous. He was sure his feelings towards Hana weren’t super well-hidden, but he really didn’t need anyone on the team tipping Hana off. “Anyway, here’s Jason’s cell. Do you think you can crack it?”

“Normally with this many characters I’d say no... But, his password is seven characters long and his lock screen is Bethany, so... There we go, unlocked.”

“... That was a really poor choice of password.”

“And girlfriend.”

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After working for fourteen hours straight they were all spent and headed to the hotel that the FBI had secured rooms at for them. Jess, Barnes and Clinton were all in one car that was headed straight to the hotel to get everyone checked in. Kenny, Hana, and Maggie were in the other car that was making a detour on the way to pick up Thai food. Hana and Maggie were chatting amongst themselves, but Kenny was still kicking himself for the slip-up he’d made while placing the order over the phone.

“Hi, can I place an order for pickup? Great. The name’s Kenny and the phone number is 123-456-7890. Okay, I’ll get two orders of shrimp rolls, one vegetable pad Thai, one pork Mee Khob, one chicken pad Keeng, and two orders of chicken Kao pad puk, hold on one second- Maggie you want green curry, right?”

“... Yeah, how did you know?” I’ve heard your partner talk about you almost non-stop since he met you because he’s head over heels in love with you, but I can’t say that, can? Especially because you, Hana, and Hailey don’t know that OA, Jya, and I know each other... For some reason, so sorry Maggie, Hana but I’m going to have to lie my ass off here. “Uh, sorry, I thought I heard you mention it earlier, plus you look like a green curry kind of person.”

“Ha, alright, yes I’d like some, thanks.”

“- Sorry about keeping you on hold, I’ll add one green curry to that order. Do you want me to pay over the phone or is it okay if I pay when I get there?”

“Kenny!”

“Sorry, what’s up?”

“Our exit is coming up in... 150 metres, you need to turn right.”

“Shit, thanks, Hana.”

“Are you okay? You seemed like you were in your own world there.”

“I’m fine, I was just thinking. Where do I go next?”

“Go straight for another 700 metres, it’ll be on the right.”

“Got it.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Alright everyone, the food’s here!” They’d all decided to gather in one of the meeting rooms the hotel had to the left of the lobby, Kenny had admittedly bellowed a little loud, but it brought all of his straggling coworkers into the room from their various spots in and around the lobby.

“Finally, what took you guys so long?” He knew that Jess was just hangry, and frustrated that they hadn’t caught the fugitive yet, so he let the snappy comment slide.

“Crosby almost missed the turn.”

“You let Crosby drive? Rookie mistake” He gave Hana a teasing look of betrayal before turning to Clinton. “I’ll have you know I am an excellent driver.”

“You’ve driven into a lake.”

“That was one time three years ago! And we were in a high-speed chase with a guy on a BMX bike who made a sharp turn near a kid’s birthday party, I didn’t exactly have many options.” He sounded more upset than he actually was. Moments like these were nice, where they got to hang around each other and just be friends, and Maggie was fitting in wonderfully with everyone but especially Hana, who sat in between him and Maggie as she started telling a story about OA with her face absolutely glowing.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jason’s cell proved to be far more useful than he was. Bethany had been texting him from a rural address that turned out to be a cottage rental that was supposed to be vacant. The owners had a basic security system that had alerted them that someone was in their cottage, when the local LEOs investigated they immediately recognized the suspect but were able to play it off as having gotten a noise complaint, before going back to their vehicle and calling the FBI, while hiding their vehicle so that they could keep watch over the cottage. There was always a tense atmosphere when people were getting greedy for a raid, Kenny supposed the fresh air and appealing scent of pine trees eases tensions slightly, but not by much. Everyone knew that the worst could happen. That their loved ones could get an overly formal call at an unholy hour, telling them that the worst would happen. Everyone always did their best to try and prevent that, but there was only so much that they could keep out of fate’s unforgiving hands. His heartstrings pulled slightly as he flicked his eyes over to Hana. She was his special someone, even if she didn’t know it, and for a brief moment, he wondered what it would be like for her if he- No. Nope. You can’t think like that, especially not before a raid, and especially not about a woman who was only supposed to be your friend. The final preparations were complete and they were getting in position to breach. Hana still hadn’t been cleared for the field yet, so in the back of his mind, he was appreciative that there was one less person to worry about, with her wirelessly monitoring their body cams and coms. Although that was kind of moot point honestly, because Maggie was with them, in fact, Maggie had taken Hana’s position behind him. “You ready Maggie?” She put her hand on the back of his vest as the SWAT leader started counting down. “Always.”

The door was busted down and all the FBI and SWAT agents funnelled into the house through the three entrances. The sliding glass back door was where Jess was entering, the side door was for Clinton and Barnes, and He and Maggie were going through the front door. The front door went straight into the family room to the right, the eat-in kitchen was on the left, and directly across from the sliding glass door. Flashbangs went off as everyone started shouting, announcing themselves. There were screams and cries of panic, something not unusual in their line of work, what was also not unusual was finding Bethany naked on her knees with Michael Howard standing in front of her dressed in the same manner. Michael’s eyes went wide, and his thought process played out like an open book.

Shit. Feds.

Get gun.

... Gun is not in my holster because I’m not wearing clothes.

Run.

... Can’t run cause Bethany is clinging to my legs.

Kenny had to give the guy props for trying to tackle him linebacker style naked as the day he was born as he stood firm and checked him, sending him flying onto the ground. “Turn onto your stomach, now!”

He writhed around, trying to resist arrest, shouting “SUCK MY DICK YOU PIGS!” And trying to thrust his bare nether regions at everyone, Kenny in particular. “Howard Michael, you are under arrest, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you acknowledge that your rights have been read to you?”

“FUCK YOU!”

“I’m gonna take that as a yes.” One of the SWAT officers approached them with an itchy-looking wool blanket and took their suspect into custody. Maggie and Kenny shared a look before making their way to the two bedrooms that were to the left of the kitchen, they hadn’t been cleared yet and now they were trying to move fast to make sure that no other accomplices got away. Kenny took the right door, Maggie, to the left. “FBI! Freeze!” Kenny was met with the disturbing sight of a dead body on the bed. His throat and wrists had been slit and he was surrounded by lumped together blood-soaked sheets. He immediately recognized the dead body as the last remaining accomplice in the breakout. “Hey, Crosby? I need your help in here.”

“What’s up Maggie?” When he entered her room he stopped in his tracks. There wasn’t a bed, instead, there were two cribs for two babies, both of whom were in an equally freaked-out Maggie’s arms. “Here, let me help you.” Kenny helped lighten her load by taking a baby in his arms. “Hi sweetheart, what’s your name?”

“Kenny, these babies can’t be older than six months, you know she can’t respond to you, right?”

“I know, but they’re so little and scared, I want to at least try to comfort them.” The little girl hard curled up into his chest and nestled her face into his neck. “It looks like you’re doing a great job to me.”

“Who’s kids even are these?”

“I’m really trying not to think about it.”

“I’m praying to every deity there is that they’re not Bethany and Howard’s kids.”

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There had to be thousands of deities, gods, godlings, divine beings, and not one of them could come through for those poor kids? The six-month-old twins Baxter and Hazel were the children of Bethany Karnstein and Michael Howard, who had murdered a man in the room next to their children’s room. The social services department where they were was basically non-existent, so while they waited for a social worker to drive from four and a half hours away they were watching the babies at the local police station while Jess and Clinton were questioning Michael. Baxter was much more social, jumping between the FBI agents, SWAT, and local LEOs, but he was now babbling quite happily on Maggie’s lap, whereas Hazel had immediately taken to Hana and refused to be held by anyone but her and Kenny. He looked at her fondly, Hana was holding the baby close to her chest and humming the tune to a melodic song he couldn’t remember the name of. Hazel looked up at Hana with wide, enchanted, trusting eyes, and all Kenny could do was feel his heart melt. A stray thought placed itself at the forefront of his mind and before he could stop it, he was picturing Hana as a mom, and as captivating as that thought was Kenny had to shake his head to stop it from going too far, they were just friends, it wasn’t Hana’s fault that he’s in love with her. I need to look somewhere else, anywhere else.

His eye-line shifted to Maggie and watching as she bounced an absolutely delighted Baxter on her lap. He knew that OA wanted a family, wanted a wife and a couple of kids, and looking at the tender way Maggie was holding and entertaining Baxter, he could see her being a mom too. Man, if OA saw this he’d have a heart attack, it’s his dream come true.

Kenny saw Hana shift positions out of his peripheral vision and turned to look at her and was immediately concerned. She had a look of discomfort on her face. “Hana? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Her tone was tense and Hazel immediately picked up on it and made a scared noise. “Are your arms tired? Do you want me to take her?”

“No. We’re fine. Maybe you should hold Baxter instead.” She snapped and finally looked him in the eyes, she was clearly angry and upset, but she seemed betrayed as well. Kenny leaned back into his chair his shoulders sinking in tandem. He was silently thankful that since everyone was milling about and talking it didn’t seem that anyone heard the exchange, though Maggie did look at him with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged his shoulders in response, completely bewildered. Maggie shook her head sharply, rolled her eyes, and scoffed. ‘Men.’ She mouthed. Kenny was completely clueless, had either of them noticed him watching them at they were offended at that? He watches Hana work away on her computer all the time and it’s never been an issue, but then again that was always subject to change. His inner ramblings were cut off when Jess and Clinton came back from the interrogation room. “Michael didn’t talk much, but Hana decrypted his cell and he has incoming and outgoing calls to a recluse retiree Evan DeLuca who lives forty minutes from here. Crosby, Bell go check it out, Clinton and I are going to take a break from interrogating Michael for an hour or so, Gibson and Barnes, you two can interrogate Karnstein, see how much she knows and just how involved is she in all of this. We can watch the babies while you’re in there...”

“Admit it, boss, you want a break just cause you two want to hold the babies.”

“Get moving Crosby, Barnes is already out the door.”

“You got it.”

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They were twenty minutes into the tense car ride when Maggie finally spoke up. “Just so you know, you’re an idiot.” Flabbergasted Kenny let his mouth fall open and close a couple of times before tightening his grip on the steering wheel only to release it after taking a breath. “You’re probably right, but can you please tell me why I’m an idiot? What did I do wrong?”

“Can’t tell you that.”

“Why not? You were the one who brought it up.”

“Just... Focus more on Hana, okay?”

“Are you sure? I mean, I thought about it, and maybe that’s the issue?”

“Trust me, it’s not. Just focus on her, got it?”

“Okay... I’m confused as hell, but okay.”

“Isn’t that your usual state of mind?” He didn’t have to look over to see the teasing grin, he could feel it. “Woah, low blow, Maggie, low blow.”

“If you want to hear about a low blow, you should hear about how OA and I had to chase a clown fairy princess twelve blocks at two in the morning.”

“Please, go on.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well. That went terribly wrong. As much as Kenny could appreciate the peace and aesthetic of small towns and cottage areas, he hated working in them because there was never any backup! Forty minutes may not seem like a lot of time, but when you’re in a firefight against a man who has access to a seemly endless supply of weapons of war, that was an eternity. He’d literally fired a bazooka at them, how in the fuck did he get a bazooka?! So, the good news about this situation? They’d found Jason Anderson. Bad news? They’d found Jason Anderson with an arsenal large enough and powerful enough to take down a small army. They’d managed to take cover, but Anderson clearly had night-vision goggles because, despite the fact that it was past eleven and pitch black, he always knew where they were. Oh, and Evan DeLuca was probably a dead retiree, not a recluse. That’s just great, another body to add to Anderson’s growing total. Now, all that he and Maggie had to do was not become part of that number. If only it were that easy. They’d managed to get around the side of the house where there were only two medium-sized windows on side of the house facing them instead of a large doorway like at the front and, presumably, the back.

When Kenny got Jess on the phone it was nothing but panicked observations, and the notification that they’d found Anderson, as he and Maggie ran for cover. His phone wasn’t even near his face when he made the call, so he’s not quite sure what all made it through, only that they were still thirty minutes away from the address.

“We need a plan.”

“He can see our movements so we’re going to have to be sneaky about it.”

“I’ll fire on him, cause a diversion, do you think you can try to sneak around back?”

“Are you crazy?! We didn’t have time to grab our vests, that’s suicide. Besides, how many rounds do you even have left?”

“I’ve got a mag and a half.”

“Really? I thought you fired a bunch of shots at him earlier.”

“I did, but I’ve been carrying extra ammo for this case, I figured I’d need it at some point considering we’re going up against a weapons dealer.”

“Smart-” She was cut off by another several hundred rounds being fired at the, thankfully incredibly thick, tree they were hiding behind. “We don’t have much of a choice Maggie. Head around back, I’ll try to distract him and not get shot.” He knew she’d argue with him, so he didn’t give her the chance to. He ran out from behind the tree and fired through the only window of the two that was open. There wasn’t any light on in the house, so Kenny really wasn’t sure what he was aiming for. After the sixth shot he heard “fuck! Fucking fuck!” And felt a wave of relief; he’d hit Anderson. Hopefully enough to keep him subdued. He ran around to the front of the house only to be met with the sight of Anderson pulling the pin out of a grenade. He ran back out faster than he entered and hugged the outside of the entrance just outside of the doorframe. “GRENADE!” The explosion went off where he’d been standing when he burst through the front door, shrapnel from the grenade exploded through the doorway seconds after he’d gotten out and he could hear some of it embed itself in the interior of the wall behind him.

When Kenny entered through the doorway, they were face to face. Kenny's gun was raised aimed at his forehead, and Anderson stood there weaponless. Pulling the trigger, Kenny made the mistake of thinking that it was over, that Anderson was done for. Click. Horror and vindication simultaneously coursed through Crosby and Anderson. The gun was empty. He'd spent all the rounds. Before he could lower his useless gun Anderson was on him like a feral animal. Despite the gunshot wound to Anderson’s right shoulder, he was just as lethal without a weapon as was when he had one. Anderson had him by the throat up against the wall and was pressing his thumbs into Kenny’s throat. Kenny threw two quick punches to Anderson’s jaw, releasing him and making them stumble away from each other. It quickly turned into a fight on the floor. They were biting, kicking, hitting each other, trying to get the upper hand. Kenny managed to land a solid elbow to Anderson’s head but that seemed to be the tipping point that only enraged him. The next thing Kenny knew Anderon had pushed him up and smacked him on the ground, knocking the air out of his lungs, and started to choke him again. Kenny tried to lay in a punch like the first time, but Anderson saw that coming, just dodged away from the fist and started pushing his thumbs into the centre of Kenny’s neck harder.

“FBI! Put up your hands!” Anderson growled but did as he was told. Kenny lay there gasping for breath knowing that it was too easy, Anderson had another trick up his sleeve, and Maggie was too smart not to know it too. She stepped closer, her gun pointed to the back of Anderson’s head, one hand reaching to her waist to grab her cuffs... That’s when Anderson made his move, spinning around and grabbing her by the waist, Anderson pulled her to the ground, the force caused her to let go of her gun. She tried to reach for it but Anderson pulled her towards him by her hair and put her in a chokeholdJaytill hazy from the lack of air Kenny grappled at him from behind. Trying to do something, anything, to save Maggie. Whatever he did worked because Anderson turned back to face him only now he had a bruise on the side of his face that was already swollen. Anderson tried grabbing Kenny by the neck again, but it was clear he was low on energy and just trying to fight until his last breath. Too bad for Anderson that Maggie wasn’t going to let that happen.

Crack.

And then Anderson was unconscious, lying on top of him, and Kenny barely had the strength to move the gun dealing scumbag off of him. “You good?”

“Yeah, thanks.” He looked at the gun in Maggie’s hand and Anderson on the ground. She was holding her gun by the barrel and there was some blood on the handle. “You cold-cocked him?”

“Yeah, I tried shooting him, but I mistook my gun for yours. I told you that you wouldn’t have enough ammo.”

“That you did. Thanks again, for saving my ass.”

“Any time.”

“I’m gonna call the team and let them know they don’t have to come in guns blazing... Especially because we are surrounded by improperly stored weapons and ammo. I’ll probably call for an ambulance too, to come to check you out.”

“What? Me?”

“Yeah, he had you in that chokehold pretty hard.”

“He strangled you, twice!”

“Three times actually, you weren’t here for the first one.”

“Even if you have to be dragged over by the ear, you will be getting checked out by the ambulance too.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I’m going to preface this by saying Maggie’s fine, she doesn’t even have a concussion.”

“... That was the absolute worst way to start this call. Are you aware of that? Oh the heart attack you’re giving me? What the fuck happened?”

“Long story short, we found Jason Anderson and he tried to kill us.”

“And the long version? Actually, wait do I even want to know?”

“Probably not, but you want to know anyway because you think it will make you worry less, even though we both know it won’t, don’t you?”

“... Yes.”

“We got shot at a lot, got pinned down behind one of the massive trees they have out here, split up with me providing the distraction, I almost got blown up, my magazine was empty from providing cover so we went hand-to-hand, the door at the back was blocked by crates of uzis so it took her a while to get back, I got strangled three separate times, managed to land good hits, so did he, he threw Maggie on the ground when she showed up and she hit her head, he put her in a chokehold, I got her out of it by pinching his armpits really hard after punching wasn’t working, he tried to strangle me for the third time and Maggie cold-cocked him with my empty gun cause she couldn’t find hers. The paramedics cleared her, she’ll be fine. I think that Hana’s gonna try to drag us to the local clinic when we get back to town.”

“She’s okay?”

“Completely, she doesn’t even have a headache or sore throat, and she really saved my ass back there. She’s good. She’s with Hana right now actually. Hana was really off when everyone showed up, she’s been pretty worried and she won’t believe me when I say I’m okay but she’ll believe Maggie. You know you could probably call her, check up on her yourself? We were talking with the paramedics and she kept talking about this halal burger place you brought her to and she’d do anything for one of those right now... But from the look on her face when she brought you up, I’d wager she was actually talking about you. She misses you, even spent an hour talking about you when we all got Thai food in Boston.”

“Alright, thanks, man. I don’t know what I’d do if she wasn’t okay.”

“Gee, thanks for showing your concern for me. You know, your brother in arms-”

“Alright-”

“Fellow ex-ranger-”

“Okay-”

“Favourite blonde-”

“I’m glad you’re alright Kenny. I just can’t believe you two went up against Jason Anderson and walked away unscathed.”

“Actually my throat is pretty sore and the paramedics found some shrapnel in my right leg, all of it was shallow but some of it got pushed in deeper during the fight.”

“... Just go to a hospital, man. Seriously. Also, Hailey is my favourite blonde now. Sorry.”

“What?!”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“We have a problem.”

“What kind of problem, Hana?” Jess may have sounded cool, calm, and collected, but anyone who knew him was able to tell it was the opposite. Jess LaCroix likes for things to get done and stay done, according to Tali that’s why he hates doing the dishes, and this threw a serious wrench in everyone’s plans to escort the culprits, and children because children’s aid still hasn’t shown up, back to Boston and then go home to New York.

“Anderson’s set up a buy, a big one. Everything in that house except for two AK-47’s, ten grenades, and eight rounds of ammo for the AK-47, is for a single buyer, they’re meeting at the base of a hiking trail in two days.”

“Fuck. There were uzis and bazookas, who the hell are these guys.” Anderson was just a weapons dealer, and he was dangerous enough, Kenny really wasn’t looking forward to meeting whoever the buyer was. “I don’t know, I couldn’t find out, but there is some, I guess, good news. They think that he blew up an FBI agent and that that’s who’s in the hospital under armed guard. They think he got away, want to do the exchange earlier than planned, they want to meet in two hours, the same location.”

“Hana, we have the opportunity to also take down some pretty dangerous buyers too, that’s great news, why don’t you think so?”

“Kenny, they don’t know his exact face but they have a description. Six feet tall, blonde, blue eyes, muscular-”

“You think I have muscles?” Kenny realized his attempt at lightening the mood wasn’t welcome when no one chuckled along with him, muttering a quick apology before looking back at Hana, whose face displaced what he could only describe as contained distress. “Kenny, you’re pretty banged up, you shouldn’t be going out there.”

“Hana, I’ll be fine. Everything’s mostly superficial, SWAT hasn’t gone back to Boston yet, and we may not get another chance to get these guys. It has to be done, and quickly. I’ll be okay.” She took a deep breath and looked down at the papers on the table in front of her. She did not like it, that much was very obvious, but she looked frustrated that his logic was right, and that they’d have to go through with his, admittedly not very well thought out, plan. “Alright, I guess I’ll go and get the tech set up.” Jess coughed to draw attention to himself, along with everyone else in the room they’d been ignoring, and Kenny felt his cheeks heat up. “Sorry, is this the plan we’re going through with and should I get the tech together?”

“While I get the local LEO’s to give us some info on the terrain?” Jess looked them both over before nodding. “Sounds like that’s what we’re doing, thanks for doing all the planning guys, everyone, go get prepared.”

“Kenny, can you come and find me after you’re done talking to the LEO’s? I’d like to talk for a sec.”

“Sure thing Maggie.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

His talk with Maggie ended up just being a quick, and confusing, talk.

“I know that it’s been a rough couple of days, but I’m still you really need to be careful.”

“I know, it won’t be like back at the house, there’ll be back up this time, and I’ll have ammo in my gun this time.”

“This isn’t the time to joke but... Okay. And one more thing, be nice to Hana.”

“Aren’t I always nice to Hana? I feel like she’s upset with me but I don’t know what I’ve done wrong.” Maggie sighed before giving him a long look and was clearly debating whether or not to say something. “It’s not that you’ve done anything wrong, it’s just that... current circumstances have been stressing her out. Like me being your partner right now, it’s thrown her off a bit. And she said you’ve been acting strange so she’s worried about you for that on top of your physical safety, and Zadie has been calling and texting her quite a bit asking for updates about you, and it’s just been a lot for her.”

“Why didn’t she tell me any of this?”

“Sometimes it’s easier to talk to someone who isn’t directly involved in the issue. Look, all I’m saying is that you need to be careful, and maybe tell Zadie to not ask about you while you and Hana are working.”

“I didn’t even know she’s been doing that, it doesn’t matter that Hana isn’t in the field, her work is still crucial and she can’t afford to be distracted. Are we good?”

“Yeah, we’re good.”

“Good.”

Maggie was still pretty vague, but when Hana was wiring him up, he promised her he would be careful and cautious, that he was sorry if he worried her, the relief on her face made his heart twinge. He hadn’t meant to make her so concerned.

Two sets of headlights drove up the gravel road that leads to town, bring Kenny back to the present. Two men stepped out of each car and he immediately had to stifle a groan. He was now standing alone in a hiking trail parking lot alone, but with back up hiding in the trees, with four nazis. They were all in their fifties wearing blatant white supremacist clothes. He counted a trump shirt, a confederate flag, an all lives matter shirt, and a swastika shirt. “You Jason Anderson?” Confederate spoke first, and his voice was so loud and boisterous it shook his beer belly. “I am.”

“Is that FBI agent you blew up dead yet?”

“I really didn’t come here, when the feds are really pissed and packing heat, to make small talk. Are you buying or not? I’ve got them all loaded up in the back.”

“Can we see them first?”

“After I see the cash.” Trump shirt looked at confederate for confirmation before walking to the second pick-up truck, because of course, and returned with two stuffed duffle bags. Kenny unzipped them the second they were in front of him, and sure enough, stacks of $100 bills shoved inside in a disorderly fashion. Kenny pretended to count but he was really biding his time, trying to find ways to get them to spill their guts. “What do you guys want with this much firepower, anyway? It’s a bit much for hunting.”

“There’s an abortion clinic a couple of hours away in Boston, we’re going to teach those whores to respect life.” And here I was thinking that these scumbags couldn’t get any worse. Kenny sighed and popped the trunk, revealing the crates of guns, that all had the firing pins removed making them useless, but assholes one through four didn’t need to know that. “Alright, take a look. What do you think?”

“I think... That we just got an arsenal for FREE!” All four aimed their newly attained weapons and... Didn’t fire. “Really? Did you honestly think I’d put ammo in there? Whatever, FBI YOU’RE UNDER ARREST!” They didn’t even have time to start running before the most wanted unit, Maggie, SWAT, and LEO’s had burst out of the trees, guns raised.

Fucking morons.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey man, how’d the bust go?”

“Great, we arrested the head of the local faction of the KKK and his minions, apparently. You know, the second the guns were in their hands they tried to blow me to pieces. They thought we, or Anderson rather, would have them all loaded up for them so they could make away with the guns and the cash. You should’ve seen them when they were arrested, they were genuinely surprised that their plan didn’t work, and that no one wanted to hear their bigoted crap. And Anderson’s ex-wife decided to take in all four of Karnstein’s kids, those he had with her husband and brother, which is great because we were worried about what was going to happen to them, but she said she just wants to keep all the siblings together and that’s an example of sainthood if I ever saw one. And before you ask, yes, Maggie’s fine.”

“I’m getting a little predictable when it comes to her, aren’t I?”

“A bit, yeah- hold on one second... I’m back.”

“What was that?”

“I got another call.”

“From who?”

“Zadie.”

“The girl you’re dating who happens to be the roommate of your best friend and the girl you’re in love with?”

“... Shut up.”

“Hahaha no. Look, we’re both idiots, all three of us were until Halstead figured out how to get off. I can’t talk to Maggie about how I feel, not yet and maybe not ever. Losing her husband left horrendous scars and she needs me to be her partner and her friend, she doesn’t need to deal with how I feel. But you and Hana? You could happen, you could talk to her, I know that you spoke with her about your PTSD and she’s told you about serious things in her life and herself. Both of you have a trust and bond that doesn’t need to be tested. It’s tried and true. You don’t deserve to be miserable, drowning yourself in distractions and being a distraction. Just promise me you’ll think about it.”

“Okay, I will. And for what it’s worth, I don’t think you and Maggie are as far away from each other as you think. She talks about you all the time, she told me so many stories about you two in the field. She trusts you implicitly, and the face she makes when she talks about you... There’s nothing platonic about that. So you need to think about talking to your girl and moving forward too, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Am I really not your favourite blonde anymore?”

“Haha, no you’re not, sorry.”

“You knew her for like three days!”

“Eh, still.”

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t.”

“... No, I don’t. But... Maggie told me about the clown fairy princess and I’m gonna tell Halstead about it the next time I call him, which we’ll be in an hour cause I want to catch him before he goes to work. So, HA!”

“Crosby!”

#fbi cbs #FBI Most Wanted #Maggie Bell #hana gibson #oa zidan x maggie bell #maggie x oa #hana gibson x kenny crosby #kenny x hana #OA Zidan #Kenny Crosby #clinton skye #jess lacroix #jay halstead #hailey upton #upstead #zibell #sheryll barnes #One Chicago #Chicago PD

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percyjacksonfan3 · 3 years

Text

The Last Olympian Thoughts

So because I have absolutely 0 self-control or restraint when it comes to this series and its characters, and for The Last Olympian in particular, I could not put TLO down. Because of this I figured I couldn’t do the usual photo reaction posts I have been so far, because the spam would just be ridiculous, so I am stealing the idea from @yourstrulytaaay to do a masterpost instead. (Adding a Read More cause this got ridiculously long)

Fun fact, TLO came out right after i finished reading the series for the first time so it's the first PJO book i bought and my only hard cover one for the og series. I checked the year and turns out it was published 2009, which means i was actually 9 when i read the series for the first time. I realize this is not really a fun fact but i thought i was older when I first read the series so it's blowing my mind a little ‘cause now I’m 21 and everything hits different and i still have so much love for this series and the characters Okay onto book thoughts: - i was right that this book is gonna destroy me, the first line alone made me so excited and nostalgic it's ridiculous - I love Rachel and Percy sm tbh. Her being a bit of peace and normalcy in his life without always reminding Percy of who and what he is is so good for him. Just a little escape

- of course by the end of the book that's not the case any more but by the end he's lived his prophecy so he doesn't need it as badly, plus he and Annabeth are solid again - Percy saying Annabeth has been hard to be around lately... Ouch my heart. Luke really is the last thing that keeps them from being together and Percy is so jealous and Annabeth so torn and in pain, i feel so bad for them both

- Beckendorf 🥺🥺 - the telkhine with the Lil Demon lunchbox!! I forgot about him. Percy: 'i left him alive, partly because his lunchbox was cool' is one of my absolute favourite lines tbh - Paul taking Percy crabbing and being imperative in helping Percy kill the giant crab 💖 Paul Blofis is important and deserves the world, okay? - aw Percy, you can't save every demigod bb

- 'i had to fight him eventually. Why not now?... What difference would a week make?' Oh Percy you have no idea - real talk tho, the fact Kronos possessed Luke's body would also mess me tf up. Percy keeps forgetting it's not Luke anymore and yeah, that would be so so hard and confusing af, like what another smart little mind game for Kronos to pull on top of everything else - the fact Percy fights Kronos before getting the Achilles Curse and actually doesn't die within seconds is... Astounding. He kicks him in the chest! And yeah Kronos is weaker and still adjusting to Luke's body, but Percy is having trouble fighting Luke cause they used to be friends - Percy breaks Kronos' time magic!! Like?! Boy is POWERFUL.

- OUCH - honestly Luke, Thalia and Annabeth's family breaking the way it did... Don't talk to me. Poor Annabeth, Luke betrayed them, Thalia joined the Hunters because of Luke's betrayal so she's pretty much AWOL all the time and then Luke dies. Like Rick wtf, my heart can't take it? -Percy and Tyson having each others backs when talking to Poseidon in the underwater palace is the brother-brother relationship we love to see - Percy trying to stick a sand dollar in the vending machines at school 🤦🏻‍♀🤦🏻‍♀ - the whole underwater interaction at Poseidon's palace? Perfection. Awkward family drama and all - Connor falling out of the tree when he sees Percy because he's so excited 😂😂

- 😭💖

- k, ik Clarisse isn't perfect but tbh if i was a child of Ares whose father was disrespected and hated by my fellow campers (ares deserves it but still) and that disrespect trickled down to how the other campers treated ME (which if Percy is reliable here, it obviously does) then i would also be irritated at being used for muscle and nothing else? And just expected to fight with the people who act as if they'd rather not have Ares kids around the rest of the time. Like Clarisse isn't totally wrong - Percy reading the prophecy, seeing he's meant to die and just being like 'i do not see it' and refusing to outright think about it makes me so sad for him - (but it taints every action after and he's super reckless afterwards bc of it- including finally breaking and accepting the Achilles Curse) - (also him taking this as the last straw and finally beginning to show Annabeth how he really feels, cause fuck it, he's dying anyway) - Give me more info about Rachel's backstory and family Rick!! - how did i forget Percy willingly eats chocolates that taste like cardboard because 'i didnt have anything against cardboard' like sir? Ik Silena didn't want them but still? - 'she'd always been cute, but she was starting to be seriously beautiful' STOP, MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT - Percy staring at Annabeth and forgetting what they're talking about cause hes so distracted 👌🏻

- hmm yeah... For some strange reason.... - i forgot how Percy totally bombs this convo bw them and now want to cry 😭 Annabeth is trying to talk about what's important and Percy, you sweet oblivious man, you're shooting her down without even realizing - love that they're both on the same wavelength tho. Percy two lines before, hmm it's cool to date ppl from other cabins, wonder why im thinking that around Annabeth, my best friend in the world, and then Annabeth a beat later, hmm, let me bring up Silena and Beckendorf and how it's important to be with the people you love when you have the chance, no way Percy will miss this huge hint right? - they're the best - k i honestly forgot Percy full on physically intimidates Leneus like that - luke telling his mom if he ran away the monsters wouldnt get her..i can just imagine luke crying when he says good bye before running away because he thinks it's his fault his mom is like that and he cant take care of and protect her anymore because it's too hard - uh oh now i have angsty pre-lightning thief luke fic inspo... Him, Thalia and Annabeth on the run... The ANGST - Rick holds absolutely nothing back in this book and i am in pain - HESTIA!! 💖💖🥰 - actual loml - i love that Rick titled this book after her and that he wrote such a great series about the importance of family (biological, found or otherwise) and home, and that he said actually Hestia is the most important bc shes the most humble and keeps the peace and knows when to fight and when to yield and you protect what you love, which is your home - i just... Adore Hestia - Grover! Missed you babes - Hades is so so horrible to Nico, always comparing him to Bianca :/ - but i do love Hades, Persephone and Demeter together they make me laugh - oh god the River Styx - Achilles 🥺 - Annabeth being Percy's lifeline is, and continues to be, A Lot™ - 'my name was Percy Jackson. I reached up and took Annabeth's hand.' LOL Why am i crying? - Like the fact there is no Percy without Annabeth, and that remembering her literally reminded him of who he is in his very soul... It's fine im fine - i won't even get into the parallels of her being his lifeline now and then later when Hera takes his memories but leaves the memory of Annabeth for Percy to fight to get back to (anyone who wants to yell about it with me... Feel free to message) - badass Percy is my fav Percy tbh - him defeating Hades?? Like? Hades is arguably the most powerful god, okay - i feel bad for Nico but if i was Percy I'd do the exact same, Nico, sorry man but this is a high stakes time crunch deal and Nico is literally the only hope of persuading Hades and distracted by his own internal stuff - flashbacks to Luke, Thalia and Annabeth hurt, ow - George and Martha are the best - damn i forgot Hermes full on nearly kills Percy here, yikes - Luke stop cockblocking Percabeth challenge

- i love!! Percy's love for New York!! So much!! - Percy leaving to live in New Rome in HoO is a lie and this is all the proof i need for why - the fact the entire last half of the book is the battle and aftermath... Such great buildup and pacing. All the tricks and twists and battles in this War of Manhattan? I would not take out a thing, Rick, you legend - of course then the final battle in hoo with the gods is what? Two pages? Ugh, don’t talk to me about my hatred for BoO and HoO - 'no detours you two' is still the cutest thing!!! - THE HUNTERS!! Thalia i missed you - good job Percy, you finally spent your sand dollar - Minotaur!! - 'dont i get a kiss for luck? Its kind of a tradition right?' Percy finds out he's gonna die and is out of fucks to give and honestly I support him - also Michael just standing beside these two while they're flirting like umm 👀 👀 while a monster army marches towards them, nbd - Annabeth taking Ethan's knife meant for Percy!!! Cause she just knows his weak spot without him even telling her! They literally invented love - Feral Percy is so scary omg, i love how well Rick incorporates the Achilles Curse in this novel, with the whole heightened weaknesses and stuff ans the parallels to Achilles arrogance being what killed him and Percy's loyalty, fierceness and protective instinct being his own heightened weakness - the fact that Percy is the one who inadvertantly kills Michael Yew tho, I'll never recover from that - the fact Hades offers Maria di Angelo a golden palace by the Styx like how Poseidon offers Sally a palace under the sea tho. Let's talk about that parallel - the entire talk with Prometheus is so so good - not me picturing young Luke hiding in the closet to get away from his mom when she has an 'episode' -i love callbacks in stories and all of the callbacks to the rest of the series in this book make me very happy (medusa, minotaur, the underworld, Rainbow!! My baby!!, Daedalus and more) - Percy summoning a wholeass hurricane against Hyperion - the Party Ponies! They're so chaotic, i love it - Dionysus! 😁 I can't help it, i love him - Percy absolutely losing it when he sees Sally and Paul asleep in the car 🥺 - Rachel telling Percy he's not the hero screws with him so much :( poor bb - although i really really love how Rick wrote this, it's so refreshing to not have one chosen one save the world, but a combination of people - the drakon, Silena and Clarisse make me cry - the Patrochilles references, im not okay - Annabeth giving up on Luke after hearing what he did to Silena and Percy telling her that doesn't make him happy 😭 that whole interaction makes my heart ache - Percy giving Hestia Pandora's pithos 🥺 - and Hades, Nico and the others coming for a final attack is so badass, i love it - listen im glad the og trio were the ones to confront Luke on Olympus but the fact Thalia got so close and then pinned by a statue of HERA makes me so sad. Ik her and Luke were finished and she coped by cutting him off completely and giving up all hope but i would pay money to know what they would have said to each other to say goodbye - Ethan 🥺 - Poseidon joining the fight against Typhon is so cool, such a great scene - 'PEANUT BUTTER!' - Annabeth you brilliant badass you - RIP Luke, you werent great but you werent the worst either - the gods just rolling up seconds too late, wondering wtf happened in Olympus and who the dead body is - the chapter where the Olympians meet and give out rewards is one of my absolute favourites (again i am incensed we didn't get anything like this in HoO) - will Percy turning down immortality ever not make me scream in glee? No? Alright then - Annabeth being relieved like Percy was relieved at the end of Titan's Curse tho - oh Hermes :/ - its so hard reading all this and knowing what comes in HoO... Like it's such a cathartic, earned and mostly happy and peaceful ending and then HoO comes along and undermines it all - aww Rick let Paul see Olympus somehow pls, he deserves it, he killed a dracanae - (i would also love to see it) - Percy being more upset Rachel took his pegasus than her going to Camp and possibly dying, lol, priorities dude - i honestly think that Rick had other ideas for the second Great Prophecy and how things would go down in BoO, cause the prophecy like... Barely applies to BoO, Doors of Death are in book four, and explabations of it is all so unclear when Rick is usually pretty good with that stuff - PERCABETH - lol Percy complaining about privacy when he and Annabeth are caught kissing literally in the middle of the very open and public dining pavilion, okay - BEST UNDERWATER KISS OF ALL TIME - that's it and im a glass case of emotion - very happy to say that this series remains my favourite of all time 💖

If anyone ever wants to come gush about anything Riordanverse related feel free, because as you can see I have a lot of thoughts about it all

#lau rereads pjo #the last olympian is my favourite book for a REASON #honestly every line is killer #so much subtext to read into #the dialogue #the relationships are dialed up to 11 #every character is so on point #the battle strategies too? are just so interesting?#I just adore it #Tay don't read any of this yet cause it's all spoilers #alright I'm gonna go write fic to express these feelings now #tlo #the last olympian #pjo #pjato #percy jackson

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thunderbirds-are-fab · 2 years

Note

9 & 20 with Lee and Kayo

9. If you had to choose one Thunderbird to be a passenger on - which one would it be?

This is such a hard one! They’re all awesome for their own reasons. Rather than just picking the one that has my favourite bro as a pilot (as if I could even make that choice either), I’d probably go for the one that would give me the most unique experience – what could I experience on a trip in one that I’d never be able to get any other way? Initially I’d have chosen Thunderbird 4 because THE OCEAN IS COOL and SEA CRITTERS, but in the end I’d go for Thunderbird 3. It’s a solid combination of supersonic jet and space rocket. If I can only choose the trip of a lifetime once, then why not pick the one that can take me all the way to the sun and back in a day?

20. Send me two characters and I'll tell you which one I think is....

WHOEVER CHOSE THESE TWO CHARACTERS ABSOLUTELY KNOWS ME THEY ARE MY FAVES THANK YOU I MISSED MAKING HEADCANONS FOR THESE TWO SO MUCH

· Most afraid of the dark

I don’t think that either of them would really be afraid of the dark. It was probably part of their respective training for what they do that they can cope with staying calm and functioning without light.

Kayo probably thrives in the dark because she’s an absolute ninja and it would give her a sneak boost. Though probably not afraid, Lee would at least be concerned by the dark, because if the lights go out then he should probably be worried about what else in the space station has lost power and how he's going to fix it.

· Putting off homework/paperwork

Kayo strikes me as the type that always got all her homework done on time, but it took years of Kyrano sitting her down and telling her that she had to do it before she was allowed to go out and play. She probably doesn’t put off paperwork any more because she’s learned not to, and she needs to be a good example to Alan (who absolutely does/did put off homework).

Lee may be an adrenaline junkie flying by the seat of his pants with only instincts aged like fine wine to guide him, but I bet he’d have his paperwork sorted for good reasons.

“Houston, the capacitors in the main circuit have blown and we’re hurtling towards the planet at terminal velocity with only bubble gum and paperclips to make the repairs, but I did put this in the risk assessment so you can tell the legal team that I'm off the hook for this one."

· Going off the grid for fun

Lee absolutely does this, and we’ve seen it in Colony. He’s been dragged back from the moon, supposedly retired, and Kayo has to go flying into a blizzard to find him climbing in an icy crevasses as part of his retirement activities. You can't make this man sit still. I think it’s because he’s based on the Apollo generation of astronauts who were the type of guys who would go hiking and sailing and other outdoorsy adventure activities in their spare time. Because, y'know, it's not like the the day job was exciting enough.

Kayo probably isn’t allowed to do this as much as she’d like for recon because her brothers would get worried if she’s AWOL for too long and come find her and drag her home. She hates being babied.

· Reading Jane Austen in their spare time

I like to think that it’s Lee. As he gets older he probably feels some affinity for timeless classics. Plus he’s probably one of the few characters in the series who has any nostalgia for actual books.

· Going to move off Tracy Island first

Technically this is definitely Lee. One of many small details I’d really have loved to have been confirmed in TAG was Lee’s role in International Rescue prior to the boys being old enough, since it’s implied that he and Jeff may have started it together? Did he ever live on Tracy island in those early days after Lucille died, helping his best friend rebuild his life and ideals? What made him go back to the moon after that? Just little things that would have made these characters and the timeline for the show that much deeper.

Kayo is also mentioned to have ‘been away at school’ when Lucille was still alive in Home on the Range, so I guess she moved in, went away, then came back? Again, the official timeline doesn’t go into enough detail that far back. I don't know if she'd ever leave Tracy island to live elsewhere when she's older. I can't imagine that.

· Secretly replacing Grandma's cooking

Wow, would either of them be rude or brave enough to do that? XD

Lee would probably just make up an excuse not to eat. Kayo would be the only one sneaky enough. Secretly replacing the food instead of refusing it probably fits her relationship with Grandma. We never saw much of them together, but I can tell they mutually care about each other’s feelings quite a lot.

· Taking all the family photographs

I imagine that as Jeff’s second in command, Lee may have been behind the camera on many important occasions. Maybe even taking photos of Jeff and Lucille together in their first family portraits. Who knows? Again, I wish TAG had given us so many snippets of totally unimportant lore and backstories for characters the series barely featured. I guess that’s why we have fan fiction!

· Planning a picnic for the next sunny day

A picnic probably isn’t Kayo’s style, or at least not planning one. Lee I could see planning a day outdoors, perhaps hiking to a nice spot somewhere. The hike would probably involve several miles of trekking and a section requiring climbing gear, but it’s still a walk to a picnic somewhere.

#THANK YOU SO MUCH KIND ANON #YOU HAVE BLESSED ME WITH MUCH NEEDED SEROTONIN #I WILL REMEMBER YOUR GOOD DEED FOR THE DAY #YOU HAVE MY UNDYING GRATITUDE

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hannagoldworthy · 3 years

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AWOL 22

(Savage is fine with brothers, but a sister is giving him issues. Maul tentatively befriends the Boy in the Window. And Barriss literally spits a hate crime back in the perpetrator’s face, as my apology for making her suffer it to begin with. Also, this chapter fought me, and it is longer than usual as a result.)

Maul had managed to cut the cuticle on his horn when he head-butted him. Savage had suffered worse – much worse, this could be easily taken care of with a bacta bandage – but the sting of the cut was not doing much to improve his day.

“What in the world got into those two?” he wondered aloud as he gathered Feral into his arms to take him to medbay. There was a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that they were going to have to make a quick lift-off very soon, and the big bed in the cargo bay did not have the appropriate straps to hold his brother in place.

“Maybe they’re playing hide-and-seek, or tag,” Merrin supplied helpfully, trotting alongside him.

Savage rolled his eyes. “They aren’t seven years old. Why on earth would they do that?”

“Well, some of my sisters liked to play those games with their new mates…it got them some privacy, and it sharpened their hunting skills.”

He’d almost forgotten that the cub was a Witch; Savage still did not know how he felt in that regard. “I don’t think it’s like that,” he said, easing Feral onto the medbay cot.

“How would you know, though? I’m too young to have a mate, but I’ve seen these sorts of things from an outsider’s perspective, whereas you…”

“They were afraid.”

“And that’s normal. Mating is a fearful thing for both Sisters and Brothers; there’ve been times when both of them killed each other while in the process, and they were only found the day after.”

He strapped Feral into the harness. “Maul was chasing Barriss, though. I’ve never seen a Nightbrother who wouldn’t see such a perfect opportunity to run away.”

“And I’d never seen a Nightsister who would not take advantage of a Brother to continue her family line, until I saw the Ventress. But, she wasn’t raised a Nightsister, and nor was your brother raised as a Nightbrother. They think like outsiders.”

Savage sighed, and glowered down at the girl from his full height. “Barriss is an outsider. And I’ve seen her hold her own against things that scare me. She wouldn’t run like that, not unless she thought she absolutely had to.” He hoped that that meant Maul had not driven her away at last; they had just started to grow accustomed to living together, but his strange little brother had a tendency to press too hard when he should back off.

Merrin shrugged. “You know them better than I do, I suppose.”

“I do. Now, help me get the ship prepared for liftoff, would you?”

Before she could reply, the cargo bay doors began to close. Maul’s footsteps rang in the corridor a few seconds later as he ran to the bridge; another second later, the ship’s engines fired, and the liftoff sequence began.

“Stay here,” Savage said to Merrin. The girl would be safe enough with all of the instruments bolted down, and she had a tendency to run her mouth without thinking about what she said, not something that ensured survival around Maul. She took in a breath to protest, but he growled, and she complied; there was some good, at least, which came from being an Opress.

Carefully, Savage crept down the hallway into the cockpit. Maul was in the pilot’s seat, fitfully examining his star charts, his chest heaving from exertion; there were entire paragraphs of aurebesh lettering scrolling across his datascreen without his input, but he seemed neither to notice or care about them.

It was time for the question of the week, and Savage felt like he was risking another head-butt by asking it, this time to the gut. But, it had to be asked, or else he was sure Maul was just going to run them all headlong into danger without a second thought.

“Brother…where’s Barriss?”

Maul didn’t still, and for a few seconds Savage thought he might not answer him; he was about to repeat the question, when his brother took a shaky breath and replied. “Pirates took her.”

“…How? Weren’t you…”

“I wasn’t there,” Maul snarled.

“All right…so, we’re following them?”

“The Ohnaka symbol was on the transport; we’re going back to Florrum.” He set the coordinates into the computer and let it make its calculations. The aurebesh letters were still appearing constantly on the datascreen; with a wave of his hand, Maul deleted them, only for them to start again.

“Maul, what happened?”

Maul examined Savage, and Savage could see the debate that raged between distrust and distress in his brother’s troubled eyes. “I…I frightened her away, Savage.”

“…How?”

“I don’t know. One moment we were having a normal conversation, and the next…she was…” he went silent, and Savage could see his hands as they moved to grip at his temple while he racked his brain.

“What, exactly, did you say to each other?”

“…We were discussing strategy and…and the topic of Kenobi came up…”

“…And? Did you yell at her?”

“No…I…snapped, but that wasn’t what set her off. She…didn’t want me to chase him.”

Savage nodded. “You have to be understanding, brother. She grew up with the Jedi; it’s logical that she would be loyal…”

“It’s not like that,” Maul growled. “She didn’t want me to chase Kenobi. She thought he would hurt me.”

“…Well, you are just getting over your last fight with him, and she did go to a lot of effort to heal you…”

“It’s not. Like. That.” Maul swiveled the chair around, glaring banefully. “If she had been worried that all her work would go to waste, she would have scolded me, or slapped me, or…she’s done those things before. But she…” He gritted his teeth. “She didn’t do either of those things.”

“What did she do?”

“…She expressed…weakness.”

He returned to the calculations; the ship had just left the atmosphere, and he input the coordinates for the jump to Florrum. Once again, Savage waited until Maul was willing to continue; after five minutes of silence, it became patently obvious that that was all he was going to get for now.

“I’m going to make something to eat,” he said at last. “I’ll leave you something for when you’re done brooding.”

Maul stared out the window into the streaking expanse of hyperspace and said nothing.

***

He didn’t know how long he spent in that chair, ruminating endlessly over the same conversation. But, when he finally could not sit still any longer and left the bridge, he found that the other passengers had fallen asleep in the interim.

He learned this by nearly colliding with the drawer-bed in which the young Nightsister lay. Maul rolled his eyes….that had been his bunk, but whatever. Slowly, he pushed it back into its berth; he didn’t want to accidentally rouse a Witch from her slumber, no matter how small she still was.

Savage and Feral were in the medbay, Feral in the cot and Savage sleeping next to him. He wondered what Barriss would have had to say about Savage’s neck muscles and proper sleep positions, as if she had any right to talk with the number of times she’d fallen asleep by (or on) Maul’s sick bed. He could still see her as she had been after Talzin’s first assault, shivering with a chill only she could feel, her hand shaking as he stitched it closed, blue eyes wide with fear.

Stars. An accidental thought had no need to hurt as badly as that one did.

It was as if the medbay had him in a tractor beam; he entered against his own will, when he had been intending to restlessly pace the length of the cargo bay. But this room, more than any other in the ship, had belonged to Barriss, and the chair that Maul drifted into beside the cot had been her seat. If any place could afford some tangible way of looking from her perspective, it would be here.

“I dreamed about you.”

Maul twitched. “I thought you were asleep.”

“I wish I was. There’s nothing to do while I’m awake except think…and all I can really think about right now is you.” Feral snorted softly, and opened his eyes, the light of them reflecting off the ceiling. “It took some time, but I finally know how I recognize you; I dreamed about you often, when I was a child. Did you do the same?”

“I don’t remember.” Maul shrugged sheepishly. “I rarely remember dreams for longer than an hour.”

Feral sighed. “It’s just as well. My dreams about you were never pleasant.” There was a bitter chuckle. “It seems like a very stupid thing to say right now, but I really did hate you.”

Maul raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Well…it’s silly. All I could see was a boy behind a glass window. Glass is precious on Dathomir, and the fact you had one made you richer than anyone in my village could ever hope to become. But whenever I saw you, you were looking out of that window as if you were unhappy, despite the fact that you were warm and safe and clothed and fed.”

Maul moved to sit on the bed beside Feral. “I looked out the window and pretended I was free, like the boy I saw there; I’d thought I was just making up an imaginary friend.”

“I guess we both had each other figured wrong, didn’t we?” Feral looked at him with soft yellow-gray eyes. “Where did you go? One day you just weren’t there when I saw the window. I thought I’d been too mean to you and driven you away.”

“You did nothing. My Master moved me to a different room, one without a window. I tried to get you back; I painted the window on my wall, but I could never see you again even with that.” He left out the part where his paint had been his own blood, or how his Master had thrown him out into the lava plains of Mustaphar to survive when he’d found out. If Feral had not dreamed of these things, then he did not need to know.

The other man shed a tear. “I missed you so much.”

“But I’m here now.” Maul wiped Feral’s cheek; there wasn’t any point in letting him soil his bedclothes. It was a mild touch, almost automatic, and yet…this had been a childhood fantasy, to go out and play with the Boy in the Window. That the boy was real, that he could touch him, that he wasn’t just a figment of his imagination and fuel for his Master to mock him, had Maul swallowing a lump in his throat.

His brother closed his eyes, purring almost undetectably. “I only wish I could hug you.”

Maul sighed, still idly stroking Feral’s face. “You will. We’re going to get Barriss back; she healed me from being cut in half, so a few severed nerves should be no issue.”

Feral blinked. “You were actually cut in half?”

“…Yes?”

“I thought that had just been a fever dream!”

“You saw that?”

“I felt it. It was like it happened to me.”

“You saw the fight with Kenobi.” Maul leaned over to look Feral squarely in the eyes.

“That was the guy? Yes, I saw.”

“So, you know why I need my revenge against him.”

The man on the cot studied him quietly. “You want to hurt him as he has hurt you.”

“Yes.” Finally, someone who understood…

“And you’re prepared for when he hurts you back, just like last time?”

Maul scowled. “This will not be like the last time.”

“I hope not. I don’t want to lose you again.”

He sniffed. “You barely know me.”

“But Savage knows you better, and he loves you. Why should I do any differently?”

The gears in Maul’s brain came grinding to a halt. “Savage…cares for me?”

His brother stared at him. “…Yes? Didn’t you know that?”

“And you feel the same way?”

“Not quite, but I’m willing to trust Savage’s judgment…”

“Aren’t you frightened by me?”

“…No? I mean, when you’re looming over me like this, it’s uncomfortable, but…”

“But you wouldn’t run away from me if you had the ability?”

“…Is that what happened with Barriss?” At Maul’s sharp, pained nod, Feral clucked his tongue. “She was never afraid of you, from what I saw.”

“You didn’t see much.”

“Brother, she had her back to you the entire time she was healing my bed sores. She let you catch her in the middle of a fainting fit. If she was afraid of you, she’d have fought you. Did she?”

“…She…kissed, me,” he could barely say the pertinent word; his lips still tingled at the simple memory of it. “And then she ran when I tried to…return the favor.”

Feral raised his eyebrows. “Wow. Yeah, I’m picking up on some mixed signals there.”

Maul sighed miserably, and Feral regarded him carefully.

“She was taken by pirates, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Pirates you and Savage have met before?”

“On one occasion, yes.”

The paralyzed Nightbrother set his jaw, thinking; to Maul, it was like looking into a tinted carnival window, for the mannerism felt very familiar to his own muscle memories, but it was executed by a much different face from his.

“Brother, I’m going to attempt something foolhardy; if it works, I’ll be able to assist you. Can you help me?”

His eyes narrowed. “What do you want me to do?”

***

Barriss was awakened by a strong scent under her nose – like isopropyl alcohol, but…fishier somehow.

“Come on, greenie. Take your medicine.”

The taste was on her tongue before she could open her eyes. Barriss coughed and sputtered, hoping to expel as much of the liquid as possible.

The Weequay in front of her roared with laughter. “Whatsa matter? Greenie doesn’t know what’s good for her?”

He brought the glowing blue canteen to her lips again – spotchka, naturally. Barriss allowed herself one mouthful – she didn’t swallow, but held it in her mouth. The brute who thought this was funny was about to receive an education…

“Hey, Jiro! What’s this I hear about a big payout?”

Her tormentor turned around with a grin. “Boss! You’re back! How’d the raid go?”

“The raid…did not go as planned. But! It can be salvaged…especially if what your brother told me is true.”

Barriss was suddenly face to face with Hondo Ohnaka himself; she’d never had the pleasure of meeting him in person, but he looked very much like his reputation would have the galaxy believe, with his tri-corner hat, wide-brimmed goggles, and long braids down his back. He glanced over her with an appraising eye, and she tested her bonds…she had her hands shackled behind her, and she was floating in some sort of force field.

“She’s a Jedi too, boss; got her lightsaber off her and put her in the floatie. Figured she’d make a lot of trouble for us if I didn’t.”

“How many crystals in the lightsaber?”

“One.”

“Ah, so that brings us up to four, total. I’d been anticipating six in the raid, but we can make up the price for two with the bounties on the captives.” Hondo stepped into her personal space, studying her tattoos closely. “I think she’ll bring in a big sum, too…look at this,” he cried, seizing her by the chin. “She has at least twenty little freckles here! They pay more for the…”

He returned his roving gaze to her face, and Barriss saw her opportunity. His goggles prevented him from getting an eyeful of spotchka, but she was pretty sure some of it went up his nose at the least.

Silence reigned, as Hondo Ohnaka decided whether it would be profitable to become angry. He blinked for a few seconds, retreated from her, and experimentally licked his lips; Barriss cringed in disgust.

“Whose bright idea was it to give a Mirialan my finest spotchka? And for free, at that?”

Jiro looked around at a number of his fellows who had been watching, but none of them were willing to take the fall for him. “I paid for it, boss,” he said, holding up the canteen as evidence. “I just thought it would wake her up a little…”

“And it did, at that. Keep this in mind for the future: green Mirialans believe that consuming alcohol offends their goddess, and eating ocean-dwelling bottom-feeders such as shrimp offends their god. Spotchka is doubly insulting to their culture, and they will waste it in exactly the same way she just did.” Hondo never raised his voice, nor did he display any aggressive mannerisms. Still, with every word, he slowly approached Jiro, until he was regarding him shrewdly from a distance of scant centimeters. “Also, deliberately infringing upon a person’s religious beliefs is torture, my friend. And torture is barely ever profitable, especially in this instance.”

Jiro shrunk from his boss, his nose wrinkling from the smell of the liquor. “Sorry, boss. It won’t happen again.”

Hondo smiled, and patted his subordinate’s cheek with one hand. “Very good. Now. Get me another shirt, and make it snappy. Mother raised me better than to stand around here smelling like a shrimp’s back end.”

“Right sir.”

As Jiro hurried away, Hondo snapped his fingers. “Put them next to this one.”

“Sir, is that…safe?”

“They’re all in the flotation devices, correct? Then there’s no need to worry. We’ll be watching them constantly anyway.”

There was a shuffling out of Barriss’s vision; the force fields lived up to their name, unfortunately, scrambling the midichlorians in her body, so that she could neither turn her head to see the commotion nor stretch out her Force sense to feel what was going on. So it was only when the pirates set their other captives in front of her, floating unconscious in their own devices, that she realized their identities.

“Jinx…Ahsoka?”

#star wars #the clone wars #canon divergence #AWOL au #savage opress #darth maul #barriss offee #brotp: window twins #slowtp: mauliss #feral opress #nightsister merrin #hondo ohnaka #savage and merrin kinda have a love-hate thing going on #she's been raised to treat men like slaves #but she's desperate for an older sibling #and kids seem to be savage's lot in life #maul doesn't even know how to spell the word love #thanks DAD #maul is space Anne of Green Gables #Feral is stuck with these lunatics and figures he might as well get to know them #the Twin Bond is strong with these idiots #I made Mirialan eating customs a fusion between kosher and halal #no shrimp and no alcohol #slap me in the reviews if that is insulting and I'll change it #hondo may be a murderer an extortionist and a thief #but he's POLITE #this is why he and obi-wan get along

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a-pynch-of-spice · 4 years

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the dreamer trilogy #2 theory

So. Batshit theory time. I think that there will be a significant time-skip between CDTH and TDT2.

Okay, so hear me out. CDTH was release on Nov 5 and the book takes place in early November. The official release date for the sequel is May 18. That isn’t much to base it off of, except there’s more.

Ronan, Hennessy, and Bryde yeeted out in early November 2013. If there’s a six month time-skip that places the beginning of TDT2 in May 2014. Why is May significant? Because May 18 is mid-May, which is when the majority of schools gets out. Based on things Maggie has teased on twitter, it appears that Adam will have a POV (yay!). In 2014, the Harvard school year ended on May 29. Which means Adam will be on break and be able to look for his AWOL boyfriend. I’m also really hoping we get a Matthew POV. Even if we don’t, his fictional high-school with probably be getting out around the 18th of May as well. So that frees up two characters’ schedules to be protagonists in a YA novel.

Six months is a long time. It’s gonna suck for Ronan to be separated from his brothers and Adam, but a lot can happen in that time. Ronan will hopefully have taught Hennessy to pull things out of her dreams that won’t fucking kill her. There will be an established friendship between Ronan, Hennessy, and Bryde. Declan and Jordan could be six months into their (hopefully well-established) relationship, and happy (probably not) and in a good place (also probably not) besides worrying about Ronan and Hennessy 24/7 like the good siblings they are. Carmen, Lilianna, and the Moderators will probably haven been chasing the Dream Team™️ around all that time. Fingers still crossed for Carlianna to be a thing🤞

Another significant thing about May 2014 is that it will mark a year since the Gangsey graduated high-school. Y’all know what that means! The end of Gansey, Blue, and Henry’s travel year! This is a bit of a stretch, but I really, really want Bluchengsey to show up at the end of TDT2 and then play a larger role in TDT3. If they come in the end, depending on how long the period of time the book covers, I’m guessing it will be around the beginning of June. Their travel year will definitely be over by then. I also think that the end of TDT2 will end on a dreadful cliffhanger that leads directly into TDT3. If all this happens, that places TDT3 to take place in summer 2014. Adam and Matthew will be on break, Bluchengsey will be back from their extensive road trip, the Dream Team™️ will hopefully be reunited with the Lynches/Jordan/Gangsey, and the stars will align for an epic conclusion.

I was trying to think of arguments against this theory, but the only one I could come up with was that Maggie might not want the characters to spend so much time apart. And idk if my heart can take pynch being separated that long. Maggie did post a song called “Black Magic” on twitter, tagging it as Adam in TDT2. That has me thinking Adam gets desperate and goes to some considerably dangerous lengths to find Ronan. Awwww, but also yikesAdamHoneyPLeASeBeCarefUL, amiright?

This, of course, could all be thrown off by one of the best predictions for TDT2 I've seen. In their CDTH Special Episode, @ravingirls (aka my favorite podcast literally ever🥰 Check them out if you haven’t already!) pointed out that we don’t get anything at all from Adam after he visits Ronan. Not even a text. We don’t know if he even made it back to school. They also said that if the Moderators knew where Matthew was they probably could track Adam down too. That would explain why Adam didn’t respond to Ronan’s text at the end (still crying over that shit, btw). Until I heard that theory, I had just assumed that everything was fine with Adam. I think the books ends only a day after Adam visits, although I could be totally wrong. Adam said that he had a quiz the next morning so I originally assumed that he spent the rest of the day driving back to Cambridge, then went immediately to bed, then had his phone off for the quiz, and had not yet checked it when Ronan texted. Also, doesn’t Ronan wait like 0.001 seconds for Adam to respond before yeeting off?? Also also, Maggie posted that she was editing TDT2 or somethin with a picture of her computer and there was a fragment of an Adam POV (!!!) bit in which he mentioned his roommate Fletcher, which makes me really hopeful that he did make it to school. Honestly though, who knows.

Thoughts??

please maggie let them all be okay i beg you

#the dreamer trilogy #call down the hawk #ronan lynch #declan lynch #adam parrish #pynch #tdt 2 #cdth2 #hennessy #jordan hennessy #trc #maggie steifvater #tdt theories #cdth2 theories

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favefandomimagines · 3 years

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I Never Planned on You 3

AN: chapter 3 even after the first two parts kind of flopped but hey i like this series and i’m hoping it’ll get better since harry potter tiktok is still somewhat thriving

sorry for going awol!! i was on a family trip and wanted to unplug for a bit! but i appreciate your patience and i’ll try to have a more structured posting schedule! i also apologize that this was so short, the next chapter will be much longer!!

taglist: @x-lulu

After Kendra’s talk with George, she knew that she needed to find Harry. Professor Trelawney said that he was the only other student to have the Grim in his tea leaves. What were the odds that both her and Harry Potter had the same fortune?

She caught up to the young before he entered the Gryffindor common room. “Harry!” She called. “Oh, hi Kendra.” He greeted her. “May I talk to you for a moment?” She asked. “Of course.” He said. Harry told Hermione and Ron to go on without him as he hung back with Kendra.

“What did you need to talk about?” Harry asked. “This afternoon in Divination, Professor Trelawney saw something in my tea leaves. She said that you were the other student to have the same thing.” She started. “You had the Grim too?” Harry questioned.

Kendra nodded her head slightly before Harry spoke again. “Do you think it has anything to do with your father?” He asked. “I-I really don’t know. Everyone thinks I know what’s going on but I don’t.” Kendra answered. “I believe you. You haven’t spoken to your father in 11 years, how would you know anything?” Harry replied.

“Thank you, Harry.” She smiled. The two entered the common room, splitting up to go to their respective friend groups.

“Kendra, we need to have a little discussion.” Angelina said as Kendra approached her three friends. “And what might that be?” She questioned. “What’s going on between you and George?” Alicia asked. “What? Nothing, we’re just friends.” Kendra said.

Angelina, Katie and Alicia all exchanged a look before looking back at Kendra. “He’s always the first person to defend you and the first person to check on you. Especially with recent events.” Angelina said. “Fred is also your friend and he doesn’t do that nearly as often as George.” Katie added.

“We’ll just wait and see tomorrow. We’re all going to Hogsmeade, maybe he’ll personally invite you.” Alicia teased. “Actually, you can count me out for Hogsmeade. I’m not really feeling up to it.” Kendra said. “What?” The twins interjected in unison. “Kendra, you have to come. We’ve been waiting all term for this and even with recent events, they’re still letting us go.” Fred said.

The older twin nudged his brother, knowing if anyone could make Kendra join them at Hogsmeade, it was George.

“Please, Kendra. We haven’t been able to hang out like we did over the Summer before you left.” George said. “You’re really laying it on thick aren’t you, Weasley.” Kendra commented. “If it’ll make you say yes.” He replied. “Fine. I will come to Hogsmeade. But I’m only doing it for you.” She finally said, earning soft cheers from friends. “Only for George, aye?” Fred poked. “And for all of you.” Kendra corrected herself before shooting Fred a glare.

Fred had been trying to set up his brother and best friend since third year. To no avail. They were both too scared to tell the other in fear of ruining their friendship with each other. But Fred knew better. He knew both like the back of his hand and if they needed a few friendly nudges, then so be it.

Later that evening, when everyone went to bed, Kendra couldn’t sleep a wink. She tried everything and she didn’t want to bother Madame Pomfrey at such a late hour. So she resorted to sitting on the velvet couch in the common room, reading a muggle book Hermione had lent her.

As she was just reading about the tragic affair of Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan, the sound of shuffling knocked her out of it.

“Oh, Kendra, I didn’t know anyone would be up.” Harry’s voice alerted her. “Oh, hi Harry. Couldn’t sleep either?” Kendra questioned. “You can say that.” The boy replied. “Well, we can be insomniacs together.” She said. “I actually wanted to ask you something.” Harry said. “Of course, go right ahead.” She told him.

“Do you remember anything about my parents? I know you were young when they died but you said you knew them.” He asked.

Kendra closed her book and turned her attention to the young boy in front of her. “I don’t remember much but I do remember one thing. It was before my mother was killed and we were at your house. You were just born and my mother was good friends with yours. It’s my earliest memory actually. I was sitting on the floor, my mother and Lily were fawning over you,” Kendra started with a laugh.

“And your father sat down on the floor with me and gave me this little doll made out of scraps of clothing. Lily had made it in case they had a girl so James gave it to me. He made sure I wasn’t going to feel left out. He was a very kind man, your father. Knew how to make people laugh, so Remus told me.” She finished.

Harry smiled at the recollection of Kendra’s memory. “So you knew Professor Lupin on the train?” He asked. “Yes. When I lost both of my parents and I was sent to live with the Malfoy’s, Remus did everything he could to get me out of that house. Him and my aunt Andromeda made sure I wouldn’t be forced to share the same ideologies that made the Black’s a very infamous pureblood family. That’s putting it lightly.” She answered.

“This might be a sensitive subject but do you think your father wants to kill me?” Harry questioned. “Of course not, Harry. My father could never hurt you or anyone who is innocent.” Kendra said.

Harry nodded his head curtly before Kendra stood up. “Seems talking with you as done the trick to make me want to sleep. So I thank you for that. Goodnight, Harry.” She said. “Goodnight, Kendra.” Harry replied.

—

The next morning, an abundance of students stood out in the courtyard of the castle, handing their permission slips to Professor McGonagall.

Kendra handed her’s to the older woman. before going to join her friends off to the side. “So, where to first?” Angelina asked. “Let’s go to Honeydukes! I told my brother I’d send him some chocolate frogs!” Alicia answered. “George and I need to run to Zonko’s. We have some new products to plan.” Fred commented.

“Kendra, where do you want to go?” He added. “I’ll come with you to Zonko’s. I really don’t need to be tempted by Honeyduke’s.” She joked. “Well come on then, Kendra! We have so little time!” George exclaimed dramatically.

The younger twin grabbed her wrist and pulled her along towards the village, leaving their friend group behind. “George, slow down! You’ll rip my arm out of its socket!” Kendra called with a laugh.

George came to a slow stop, allowing Kendra to catch her breath. “Is that better, your highness?” He teased. “Indeed it is.” Kendra replied. “Why were you so adamant on me coming to Hogsmeade?” She asked.

“Because we never spend time together just us. It’s always us and Fred or us and Ginny or us, Ron, Hermione and Harry. Do I need a reason to want to spend time with my best friend?” George explained.

George noticed Kendra’s smile falter ever so slightly before she quickly recovered. “No, you don’t need an excuse. You never need an excuse, Georgie.” She replied.

Though the word ‘friend’ was a word she didn’t like hearing from George. “So we’re just going to ditch the rest of our friends?” Kendra replied. “That’s exactly what we’re going to do.” George answered. “If I know Angelina, she’s already convinced Fred to go to Honeyduke’s with her.” He added

Kendra wanted to say she felt bad that they were leaving their friends behind but whenever she was able to spend time alone with George, she took it.

The two arrived at Zonko’s and George looked like a kid in a candy store. He’s been to the joke shop a million times and yet each time still amazed him.

“So what exactly are we looking for?” Kendra asked the boy. “I don’t know, anything that creates the greatest prank in the history of Hogwarts.” George answered. “You’ve already done that by now. At least I think you have.” She said.

“You’re biased, love. You have to think our pranks are the best.” He said. “Oh really? I have to think that?” Kendra questioned. “Of course you do.” George replied. “Alright then. If I’m being honest the last one you did with Peeves wasn’t the best. The execution was sloppy.” She told him.

George paused his browsing and looked at the dark haired girl for a moment. “Sloppy? My execution was sloppy?” He questioned. “It could have been better. That’s why Snape caught you. If you would have taken my advice, you wouldn’t have had detention for two weeks.” Kendra answered.

“You’re a minx you know that right?” George asked with a laugh. “What can I say, I get it from my mother.” Kendra said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

George smiled down at her as she stood at his side. He hoped that she couldn’t hear how loud his heart was beating or if she could tell that his palms were clammy. He just thought she was so pretty he could never think straight around her.

“Did you hear me?” Kendra asked him. “What?” He questioned. “I said did you want to go to the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer before we go back?” Kendra asked. “Uh, yeah, yeah, sure. I’ll pay.” George stammered.

“If I didn’t know any better, Weasley, I’d say you were considering this a date.” Kendra teased. “No, no, definitely not a date.” George lied.

He wanted nothing more than for it to be a date but he didn’t have the courage to ask and what if Kendra said no? It would ruin their friendship forever. Kendra ignored the way her heart felt as if it were tightening in her chest at his words.

Would going on a date with her be that bad to him? Then again, she didn’t want to jump to conclusions. But she also didn’t want to ruin the friendship she had with George if she were to confess her true feelings.

So Kendra did what she did best when it came to her true emotions; and that was to hide them for as long as she could.

#imagine #harry potter imagine #george weasley #george weasley imagine #george weasley x reader #fred weasley #ginny weasley #ron weasley #draco malfoy #hermione granger #sirius black #sirius black imagine

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sparkle9510 · 4 years

Text

Baby Robins and Tiny Ladybugs Ch. 2

Hey guys! Happy holidays! I’m so terribly sorry this is so late! Honestly, I got lazy, wanting to do other things (making presents and drawing stuff), but writers block kept getting to me. I wasn’t satisfied where this was going, so I decided to let inspiration hit me and I am so glad I waited cause indeed it did, and I am much more satisfied with this chapter than my previous idea. With that said, let’s move on with the show!

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Masterlist

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It was a beautiful day at the city of Paris, France. It was peaceful and quiet. All until laughter filled the air near the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie.

“Grayson did what?” Marinette giggled. “I can’t believe he burnt the pancakes.”

“Grayson was always inept in cooking. Though everyone in the family is. You should see father burning the water,” Damian rolled his eyes. “We’re lucky to have Pennyworth with us.”

Marinette chuckled, understanding that Damian was actually showing that he cares for his family. It has been 2 years since they had first met and exchanged numbers. They had exchanged emails very frequently, and emails then turned to phone calls before it turned into video calls. All that time spent talking to each other helped them both know each other’s quirks. At least, she hoped so.

“I’m glad your father’s back safe and sound,” Marinette smiled.

Damian had informed her that his father, who was missing or most likely dead, had been found. He was injured and needed time to heal, but overall, was relatively safe and sound. She was so happy to hear that, especially since his mother figure was not a part of his life anymore so he said.

“I am too, although,” Damian frowned. “now that he’s back, things will be different.” Will I be accepted? He seemed to radiate, from what Marinette can tell.

“Damian,” Marinette decided to interrupt his thoughts. “you are amazing, and from what I hear, your dad will love you.”

“Angel, thank you,” Damian gave her a small grateful smile.

Marinette grinned, opening her mouth to respond when her mom called her.

“Dami, I got to go,” She frowned. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

Giving their goodbyes, she ended the call before heading downstairs. Down in the kitchen, her dad was kneading some dough and her mom was nearby, a phone in hand.

“Maman?” Marinette called. “What did you need?”

“Marinette, we just got a huge order of catering, though the location is pretty far.”

“Where Maman?”

“Gotham.”

———-

Damian sighed, hands in the pockets of his jackets. He observed his father looking over the decorations and progress of the setup. His father had decided to hold a gala in honor of his return. He had understood his father had to show he wasn’t fazed and pick his playboy facade back up, but Damian so did not like these meaningless social interactions.

“Why the sigh, Lil’ D?” Dick asked. “You’ve been doing it more often.”

“Probably cause he hasn’t done his weekly thing,” Tim yawned, typing away on his laptop. “Whatever that is.”

Damian scowled and looked away. He couldn’t be bothered with Drake at the moment. It’s been around 2 weeks since he had last called Marinette. She hadn’t shown up and picked up the call the last two times he called, the most recent being yesterday. She had said she was busy and went awol. O-of course he wasn’t really worried, he told himself. She could just be really busy.

“Ooh, you may be right, Replacement,” Jason smirked, leaning onto Dick. “The demon spawn hasn’t stayed his room for hours. I wonder, maybe he’s hasn’t been-”

Before he could continue, Dick elbowed Jason in the ribs, earning a yelp from the latter. Jason glared at his older brother, only to receive an annoyed look that said, ‘Are you serious?’ In return, he stuck his tongue playfully.

“You don’t know what you’re saying Todd,” Damian scoffed, narrowing his eyes when he felt someone ruffle his hair. “Cease that, Grayson.”

“Dami, you know what you need?” Dick grinned. “Sugar. And you know what? they have some desserts at the cater table and I’ll bet they’ll let you have something sweet.”

“You know I don’t care for sweets.”

“Just have something, Lil’ D. If anything, you can check on the food,”

“Very well.”

And with that, Damian begun heading over to the food, but not without hearing Jason whispering to Dick.

“Dickie Bird, you’re up to something. Spill,” Jason interrogated Dick.

“Just being a good big brother,” Dick cheerily replied.

A good brother? Very unlikely. Damian rolled his eyes. When he got to the area, he saw a large man and a woman setting up the food. It smelled good, and somewhat…familiar? There was one place he thought up, but how could it be here when it was at-

“Maman, Papa! Here are the rest of the order!” a girl, carrying multiple boxes tried to rush past him.

However, she didn’t notice him and bumped into him, sending her almost tumbling down. That is, until Damian helped steady her.

“I’m sorry,” the girl replied. “I’m so clumsy. I-”

Damian’s eyes widen. He knew that voice anywhere. Adding the clumsiness, that could only mean…

“Angel?”

———

Marinette’s eyes widen, realizing who it was that stopped her. She figured there was a good chance of seeing him, but she thought it would be more of her telling him than running into him.

“…We’ve got to stop running into each other,” she smiled, slightly embarrassed she had yet again, ran into him.

“I don’t mind,” Damian chuckled. “Let me help you.”

Grabbing two-third of the boxes, he begun to walk to the table. Marinette immediately followed, still stuck in a dazed state.

“Oh! Thank you, sir,” Sabine quickly relieved Damian’s load. “I hope our daughter didn’t cause you any trouble.”

“It’s no problem, Mlle.” Damian smiled. “It’s an honor to finally meet Marinette’s parents. She told me so much about you during our chats.”

“Chats?” Tom questioned. “Oh! You must be that boy she calls frequently. She mentioned how-”

“Papa!” Marinette called. “Don’t you need to finish setting these up or something?”

Her dad chuckled before going back to his work. Marinette sighed, feeling the heat still on her face. Damian didn’t need to hear what she said about him.

“Marinette,” her mother called, catching her attention. “We’re almost done here. If you want, you can go spend some time with your friend.”

“Really?! Thanks Maman!” Marinette kissed her parent’s cheeks before grabbing Damian’s hand. “Let’s go!”

———-

“So that’s the Wayne Memorial Clock Tower, that’s the Wayne Animal Sanctuary, and here we are at the Gotham City Central Park.” Damian pointed out to Marinette.

“The park’s beautiful Damian!” Marinette grinned.

The plants looked really taken care of. The flowers planted were blooming and bright and beautiful. But before she could say anymore, she felt her stomach rumble, and it wasn’t quiet at all.

“…I’m feeling a bit famished.” Damian looked away. “Do you want to accompany me?”

“S-sure!”

“I know the perfect place.”

———-

“Welcome to the Wayne Manor,” Damian smirked and gave a playful bow.

“Damian, a-are you sure?” Marinette seemed unsure. “It’s a bit sudden and what if your family doesn’t like me?”

“It’ll be alright. They're probably still handling the arrangements for the gala anyways,” Damian assured her. “Nevertheless, they will like you, I’m sure.”

After all, Damian inwardly, this was all set up by at least Dick.

“Welcome home, Master Damian,” Alfred greeted them. “And I see you brought a guest. I hope he has been well behaved?”

Marinette giggled and stuck her hand out.

“He’s been quite the gentleman,” she replied. “Though I’m guessing that might not be normal? I’m Marinette Dupain Cheng. Is it safe to guess you’re the all knowing Pennyworth?”

“How right you are Mrs. Dupain Cheng,” Alfred confirmed, reaching out and shaking her hand. “Just Alfred is fine. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’m glad Damian made a friend. As you may guess, he has some difficulty getting along with many of his age.”

“He has his quirks,” Marinette admitted. “But he’s a sweet guy once you get underneath the tough layer.”

“Pennyworth,” Damian interrupted. “I would like to request a meal prepared for both of us.”

Alfred nodded. “Very well, young Master. While I do that, you may keep yourself occupied in the living room.”

Damian took that time to do a quick tour of the house. Of course, he avoided the areas that could reveal the family’s nighttime occupation. They may have made it hard for visitors to figure it out, but Marinette wasn’t normal. Of that, he knew. She probably will figure it out within the day if he wasn’t careful enough.

He did show her a quick view of his room. It was the place where they chatted anyways, so Marinette was somewhat familiar with it. She complimented many of his drawings hanging on the wall (No, he was not blushing. It was just kinda hot in the room), and was curious about his weapons in the room. Not long after, they decided to hang in the living room, where they quietly conversed.

“Alfie!” Dick’s voice rang out. “We’re home~ We got hungry and thought we might as well have some of your wonderful cooking.”

Oh no. This is going to get troublesome pretty quickly.

“Hey, look who the demon spawn brought in,” Jason’s voice rang from the door entrance of the living room. “Looks like the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

“Close your mouth before you sprout even more ridiculous ideas, Todd,” Damian spat. “What are you doing here.”

“We got hungry,” Tim replied, walking into the room while typing on his laptop. “We didn’t want to go out and eat.”

Damian scoffed. “Nice cover up. Did Grayson tell you to say that?”

“Chill, Lil’ D,” Dick appeared right behind him. “Let’s not have our usual fights while your friend is here. Speaking of which, introductions are due. Hello miss, I’m-”

“Grayson,” Marinette interrupted. “And you’re probably Drake, and that’s Todd. A-ah! I’m sorry I interrupted! I’m Marinette Dupain Cheng.”

“It’s all good cupcake,” Jason grinned, “but call me Jason. Jason Todd’s my full name.”

“Tim Drake’s mine.”

“Richard Grayson, but call me Dick.”

“D-dick? But isn’t that…?” Marinette questioned, but decided to drop it, deciding to turn to Damian. “Wait, I thought- Damian, you didn’t tell me that those were their last name.”

“It wasn’t important,” Damian shrugged. “They’re not of importance.”

He looked at Marinette to see her eyebrow raised. A silent scolding clear on her face that made him feel a twinge of guilt.

“Ignore him,” Marinette turned back to the group. “He doesn’t say it often, but he does care about each of you.”

“Marinette,” Damian glared at her, but unfortunately it didn’t seem to faze her.

“So, the Demon Spawn actually cares for us,” Jason grinned, earning Damian’s death glare, “How sweet~ The devil has a soft side.”

“Todd,” Damian began before he was interrupted.

“Demon Spawn?” Marinette asked. “Isn’t that a bit harsh?”

“It’s a bit of an inside joke,” Tim explained. “Though he does acts like one sometimes.”

“It’s a term of endearment,” Dick whispered to her.

Marinette nodded, “Ah. Wait, Dami, is that also why you call me Angel now and then? You know, Demons and Angels are...?”

Damian winced. Maybe it was a mistake bringing her to the manor. He wasn’t going to escape with his dignity intact.

“He calls you Angel?” Jason’s eyes bulged in glee. “Ah, this is good blackmail.”

“Don’t you dare,” Marinette warned. “You’re not gonna use this as blackmail.”

“And what are you going to do about it, munchkin?” Jason smirked. “You can’t stop me.”

“Can too,” Marinette stuck out her tongue. “Bet this tiny girl can beat your butt.”

With that, they decided to have a match after lunch. Damian knew she could take care of herself. Hell, that was a part of why he quickly was taken in. But Jason was older and had more experience, he was sure. Plus, his violent tendencies might take over, and he didn’t want her to get too hurt.

———-

Marinette was in awe when she got into their workout room. It was huge, with many equipment that she had not seen used as a workout as well. But luckily, there was a large empty area, with mats she assumes is the area where they spar. Damian had told her they do that to practice their self defense.

“Ten bucks that Marinette is going to beat Jason,” Tim grinned, looking over to Dick.

“Fine,” Dick agreed. “She’s a firecracker, but don’t think it’s enough to beat Jason just yet.”

“Tt,” Damian scoffed. “Imbeciles. Betting over things like this?”

“Dami, it’s alright,” Marinette grinned, feeling a bit mischievous. “It’s nice that Tim believes in me. And if anything, it’ll be fun to rub the fact I wiped the floor with Jason to both him and Dick right?”

“No mercy,” Damian smirked.

Marinette shared his smirk, taking position on the mat.

“I’ll go easy on you,” Jason announced.

“Big mistake,” she chuckled.

With that, they began. She sent a big punch followed by a side sweep, predicting where he would move next. He was good, dodging and landing his own hits, but she also was able to land her own. After a few minutes, she did see a certain pattern. He tended to reply on his fists more than his feet and left his side open. It wasn’t a big blind spot from what she could tell, but a blind spot, nonetheless. It was obvious that he spent some training making sure his weaknesses were minimal.

Looking for the right opening, she noticed he still had his leather jacket on. Maybe she could… She looked at her surroundings. Okay, nothing else to work with but she could still do something.

Dodging a right punch, she spun behind him. Before he could react, she grabbed onto the back of his leather jacket, and flipped over him, letting the jacket go over his head. She yanked on it so that it started to come off, but before it completely came off the sleeves, she dived under him before using that sudden weight and pull to keep him pretty subdued as she dragged them both on the floor, her being on top of him.

“Owned by a pixie,” Dick teased.

“Fuck you,” Jason replied. “though he’s right. You got me. Nice job kiddo. Clever idea. Though… hm, I think there might be a slight rip now.”

“Ah! Sorry,” Marinette apologized. “I tend to use my environment to help me, and your jacket was the only thing…”

“It’s alright,” Jason waved off. “I can get Alfred to fix this.”

“No, wait, lemme fix it since I caused it.” She insisted.

Relenting, Jason handed over the jacket. Quickly, she grabbed her sewing kit that she carried everywhere with her. Taking out the necessary items, she quickly went to work. It took 10 minutes, she fixed up the jacket. It was just the stitching that came undone.

“Good as new,” she cheered, handing it back to him.

“Thanks Tinkerbell,” he grinned.

“Tinkerbell?” Tim raised his eyebrow.

“Yeah, she can find things and make something new out of it, assuming she can, and she can fix things,” Jason shrugged. “Plus, she’s as small as a pixie.”

Marinette rolled her eyes at his jab at her height. Damian walked next to her and gave his hand.

“Good job Angel,” he praised. “Knew you could do it.”

“Thanks Damian,” Marinette smiled.

“Dick, you lost the bet, so pay up,” Tim cackled.

“So you were betting instead of getting ready for the gala?”

Everyone turned and standing at the doorway was a man in a suit. Tim and Dick had quickly walked over to him and informed him of what was going on, from what Marinette was hearing.

“Welcome to the manor,” the man smiled, sticking his hand out. “I’m Bruce Wayne. Thank you for taking my son down a peg or two.”

“A pleasure,” she replied. “wait, Wayne, then does that mean?”

She swiveled to Damian, who only smirked and nodded. Oh dear. Ooooh dear. She was with the Waynes. The rich billionaire family, and she just beat one of them.

“Wait,” Dick was laughing when he realized. “Marinette, you didn’t realize we were Waynes?”

“I-I just thought,” Marinette sputtered, rambling off a bit. “the W-waynes were pretty common. I didn’t think you guys were the Waynes. Though I guess the manor and butler should've tipped it off.....”

“… I like her,” Jason grinned. “Can we keep her?”

Marinette still felt a bit embarrassed, though Damian gave her a small pat.

“She’s not a pet,” Bruce joked back. “Marinette, I know your parents will be catering during the Gala, but how would you like to accompany my sons and keep them entertained during that time? They tend to find trouble when bored.”

And that was how Marinette got swept up into more of the Wayne’s shenanigans (with her parents’ permission of course). They gave her a beautiful dress to wear (where did they get it so quickly?). And at night, they came to the gala by limo.

“Ready, Angel?” Damian offered his arm as Marinette came out of the limo.

“It’s now or never,” Marinette took it, letting him lead into the building.

The night was fun. She danced with all of the members of the Wayne family. Jason, pulling her into a very energetic tango. But she danced with Damian the most. Though like Bruce had predicted, she had to stop the boys from starting bits of trouble here and there, especially when they would try to do it behind her back. Jason did take a picture and suspiciously began typing on his phone, but she did not give it any thoughts. Before they knew it, the night was over, and they dropped her off to the Gotham Royal Hotel.

“I had a great time,” Marinette chuckled. “Thank you, guys! I had a great time!”

“No prob, Tinkerbell,” Jason grinned. “We’ll keep in touch.”

“We’ll come visit,” Dick winked.

Waving them off, Marinette stood by the doors for a few seconds. She then felt the vibration from her phone. Pulling it out, she saw she had a new message, from Damian. It was a link followed by a, ‘Todd is an imbecile’.”

She pressed it, noticing it took her to the social platform, Tweeter.

@JayTodd

Welcoming Tinkerbell as an honorary member of the Wayne family. Don’t let looks fool you. This pixie can beat your ass.

The picture earlier! She realized. At least, he didn’t actually show her face, not completely where people can identify her. But this tweet he sent was already at 1.3K and counting.

“JASON!”

———-

And after that, they did meet up more often. Sometimes Damian and his family would visit her, and sometimes they flew her over. She felt bad and didn’t want to keep having them fly her over, but they insisted.

After the first social media fiasco, Marinette did appear more frequently on their social media, though hidden. She ended up making an account for it though, but everyone didn’t know who she was, only knowing her as Tinkerbell.

It was a fun time, and she was really happy. She had another family that cared for her, who she cared for. And she wouldn’t change it any other way.She hummed softly, sewing her newest idea when her phone rang.

“Hello? Jason?” Marinette greeted, a bit curious.

The other line was silent for a while, making her worry.

“Jason what-”

“He’s gone.”

“What?” Marinette’s eyes widen with worry. “Who are you talking about? Who’s gone?”

“Damian, Marinette,” Jason replied, his tone dead. “There was an accident and…”

“He’s gone.”

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Masterlist

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ANNNNND THERE WE HAVE IT! THE NEXT CHAPTER FINISHED. AND THIS WAS TOTALLY LONGER THAN THE LAST ONE AS A TREAT. (Ahhh I wrote a lot of interruptions haha ^^;)I hope you guys liked it!! Any questions, then let me know here or in my ask, whatever’s fine! Btw him disappearing is during the time he died from Heretic. So, he’s gonna be dead for a bit 0w0.

Taglist (let me know if I forgot anyone):

@mooshoon @bluerosette23 @zestyzealot @luciferge @gingerdaile @crazylittlemunchkin @queenmj10 @hypnosharkrebeldreamer @razzledazzle247 @dorkus-minimus @this-is-vander

#Baby Robins and Tiny Ladybugs #my fanfic #daminette #maribat #maridami #marinette dupain cheng #ml #miraculous ladybug #mlb

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grantyort · 4 years

Photo

Prelude IV: Relight

Post-Surgery: DAY ONE

[Sean sits in the hospital bed, legs crossed, staring into space when he hears a familiar voice.]

Joey: Sean, Sean Diaz? Well damn. I never thought I’d see your sorry ass again!

Sean: Geez Joey. Is that how you talk to all your patients?

Joey: Just the ones I like.

[Sean chuckles]

Joey: C’mere big man.

[Joey gives Sean a big bear hug]

Sean: How’ve you been Joey?

Joey: Can’t complain. These days, they got me up in hospice care. You’re probably the first person I’ve seen today that didn’t need their bedpans changed.

Sean: Sounds terrible.

Joey: It’s all not all bad. Lot of these folks have stories that you wouldn’t believe. One of my patients has lived through five wars and two depressions, tells me I’m a credit to my race.

Sean: Yeesh.

Joey: (shrugs) She means well. It’s almost flattering compared to some of the stuff I’ve heard. Been on this job almost ten years now, some people still treat me like I have no idea what I’m doing.

Sean: That sucks Joey.

Joey: Yeah... Anyway, you seem to be doing pretty well for yourself. From what I heard, this procedure cost a small fortune. You must have friends in high places.

Sean: Yeah, something like that.

Joey: And no guard at the door this time. I assume everything got cleared up with the police? Not planning to make a break for it again are ya?

Sean: Nah, no daring escapes this time.

Joey: Good. I don’t think I’d survive another blow to the head.

Sean: Listen Joey I’m really sorry-

Joey: (laughs) Relax Sean! I’m just messing with you! It’s ancient history as far as I’m concerned. Say, did you ever end up finding that brother of yours?

Sean: Yeah. He’s actually coming to visit me tomorrow.

Joey: Can’t wait to meet him!

Sean: Famous last words.

Joey: So… what you been up to these days?

Sean: Mostly just cramming for the SATs, drawing, listening to music. Normal teenage shit.

Joey: That’s good to hear. I was worried about you man. You went AWOL after the hospital. I got police and Feds breathing down my neck for weeks. Then a month later, I hear about a couple of kids trying the border to Mexico on the news.

Sean: Sorry I never reached out. I just didn’t want to get you more involved than you already were-

Joey: You made the right call. They questioned me for hours. My apartment was filled with G-men, my girlfriend was freaked. I honestly thought she was going to dump my ass.

Sean: I’m really sorry Joey.

Joey: Don’t sweat it Sean, it was for a good cause. Besides, everything worked out in the end.

Sean: Yeah I noticed, how long have you been-

Joey: Almost a year now. We’re expecting our first baby in the summer.

Sean: Congratulations dude!

Joey: Thanks, but honestly, I’m kinda nervous, don’t think I’m ready to be a father.

Sean: You’ll be a great dad, Joey. You’re awesome at taking care of people.

Joey: You’re damn right. Speaking of which, we should probably take a look at that eye of yours.

[Joey takes off the bandage and gives Sean’s eye a thorough examination]

Joey: Well it looks a helluva lot better than the last time I saw it.

Sean: That’s good to hear. I wasn’t sure it would work.

Joey: Well it’s too early to say if your vision will fully recover. But at the very least you won’t have to walk around with a patch anymore.

Sean: Good. It’s hard enough finding a prom date let alone one that’s willing to go with a pirate.

Joey: Still with the pirate jokes huh? Hopefully, you’ll have to write some new material after this.

[Joey applies a new bandage on Sean’s eye]

Joey: And you’re all set. Now as much as I love our talks, I gotta make my rounds. Buzz me if you need me.

Sean: Later Joey.

Joey: See ya tomorrow Sean.

[Joey leaves the room. Sean turns to look out the window. The door shoots open, and a small figure comes bursting in.]

Daniel: Sean!

[He jumps onto the bed and into Sean’s arms]

Stephen: (out-of-breath) Sorry, I tried to stop him, but he outran me.

Sean: You okay Stephen?

Stephen: I am… just need a minute to catch my breath. The old ticker ain’t what it used to be- I need to sit down.

Daniel: Take it easy grandpa.

Sean: What are you doing here, enano? I wasn’t expecting you guys until tomorrow.

Daniel: I made grandpa book an earlier flight. I just couldn’t wait!

[he hugs Sean again]

Sean: Haha easy. I just had surgery, remember?

Daniel: Oh right, s-sorry.

[There’s a brief flash, followed by a shutter click]

Sean: What’re you doing, gramps?

Stephen: Oh nothing, just commemorating the moment. Thanks to your brother, I finally got the hang of this newfangled smartphone camera.

Daniel (whispering): He had it stuck on selfie mode for days. Anyway, did it go? Is your eye…

Sean: I mean… it’s not 100% yet but I can sort of see again.

Daniel: T-that’s awesome! Can I see it?

Sean: Dude last time I showed you my eye, you almost cried. Besides, the doctors say I still need to keep the bandage on for a bit, while it heals.

Daniel: Right. That makes sense. Oooh this room looks cool. Do they have Netflix or a Playbox?

Sean: It’s a hospital, dude.

Daniel: Lame.

Sean: So catch me up. Did I miss anything interesting at home?

Daniel: Nah… Chris is still on that fishing trip with his dad so there’s no one to hang out with. Oh I almost forgot. He made you this card. Isn’t it awesome?

[Daniel gives Sean a hand-drawn “get-well-soon” card from Chris]

Sean: Yeah. It’s pretty cool. We can have Claire put it up when we get back.

Daniel: Grandma’s still in that feud with the lady from church.

Sean: Which one was that again?

Daniel: Agnes, the one who gives off major Lisbeth-vibes. She says grandma stole her casserole recipe for the church bake-sale. Lying bitch.

Stephen: Language!

Sean: Maybe one of us should try to smooth things over before it gets nasty.

Stephen: Hell hath no fury… lemme tell ya. I’ve been married to your grandmother long enough to know once that woman sets her mind on something… there’s no stopping her. Best to just let things run their course.

Sean: Claire can get a little… passionate sometimes. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen her lose her temper for real.

Stephen: There’s a fire in that woman. It’s part of the reason I married her. Just pray she never turns it on you. I hope I’ll never live to see that day, god willing.

[Sean notices Daniel circling the hospital bed, pressing his hand on various parts of the mattress]

Sean: (laughs) What are you doing, enano?

Daniel: Just trying to figure which side of the bed I want to sleep on tonight.

Sean: Dude. There’s no way this bed’s gonna fit both of us.

Daniel: The one in Mom’s trailer was way smaller!

Sean: Yeah well… you were a lot smaller back then.

Stephen: They have a nice area for visitors down the hall.

Daniel: But I want to stay with Sean!

Sean: I guess I could ask Joey to bring in a couch or something.

Daniel: Who’s Joey?

Sean: The nurse who took care of me after the accident. I told you about him, remember?

Daniel: Oh right! I can’t wait to meet him!

DAY TWO

Joey: How are we doing today? Any headaches, dizziness, socket pain?

Sean: Nah it’s all good. Still getting used to having depth perception again. It’s kinda weird.

Joey: You’ll get used to it. Anything else to report?

Sean: Nothing major. I’ve just been having some really weird dreams.

Joey: We have a psychiatrist on-site if you need a professional to talk to.

Sean: Nah it’s alright, probably just the drugs messing with my brain.

Joey: Well your vitals look good. We’ll go over some basic tests. You know the drill.

(Sean covers his right eye and tries to read the chart. Joey then shines a light and asks him to follow along. Finally, he asks Sean to put the cap back on the pen.)

Joey: You passed with flying colors. The doctor will be in for a final exam tomorrow and then we can discharge you.

Sean: (sarcastically) Too bad, I was ready to become the first Mexican pirate to attend college. So much for being a trailblazer.

Joey: Good to see you haven’t lost that snarky-ass sense of humor.

Joey: Anyway, I’m taking my lunch now. Want me to get you anything from the cafeteria? Wait… don’t tell me. Chocolate pecan?

Sean: You know it.

Joey: I met your brother in the hall. Cute kid.

Sean: (deadpans) Give it a few days. Then see if you get a “second opinion.”

Joey: He does seem a little… “energetic”. But that’s normal for kids his age.

Sean: Yeah one minute I’m his favorite person in the world. The next, he’s off doing God knows what, and doesn’t want me “bossing him around”. You know how it is.

Joey: Can’t say I do. Grew up in a house with three older sisters. Guess I must have been the annoying one. Daniel’s lucky to have you looking out for him. Must be tough sometimes.

Sean: Oh you have no idea.

[Joey claps Sean’s shoulder, he feels a jolt shooting up his spine, everything goes white]

(Sean sees a door marked: “Miranda A. Connolly, Hospital Director”)

Connolly: You’ve been a valuable asset to this hospital. Stellar feedback from all of your patients and attendings.

Joey: I sense a “but” coming.

Connolly: But, given the dubious circumstances surrounding your transfer and your past involvement with the law. The Board thinks it might be better for one of the other nurses to take this spot.

Joey: Please. I’ve got a kid on the way. We just bought our first house. Can you at least consider bumping up my pay? I haven’t gotten a real raise since I started here. There are kids coming out of nursing school that make what I make!

Connolly: The hospital has limited resources as it is, and the State just slashed our funding again. I just can’t justify raising anyone’s salary right now.

Joey: I break my back for this hospital, work extra shifts, get to know the patients. You promised me at the annual review that I’d-

Connolly: That was before this new information came to light. I’m sorry Joseph, maybe next year.

[Sean snaps out of his trance]

Joey: Sean? Sean are you okay?

Sean: Sorry, Guess I spaced out. Must just be the medication.

Joey: I can have the doctor come by and adjust your dosage.

Sean: I’m fine Joey. I swear. Weren’t you about to take lunch?

Joey: Oh right. We’ll pick this up later.

[Joey leaves the room, looking slightly puzzled.]

Sean: (thinking) W-what what was that? A dream? But It felt so… real.

[Sean takes out his phone and enters the name of the hospital, He finds their website. Under the ‘About’ section he scrolls to the Executive team bio. There is a photo of the woman he saw in the vision followed by a small blurb]

“Miranda A. Connolly is the President and Chief Director of Mt. Cedar General Hospital. She was appointed back in 2016 as Associate Director and has since made ground-breaking changes to the field of medicine and medical care. Under her leadership, this hospital was able to expand greatly, hiring new diverse staff members and vastly improving quality of care for all its patients.”

Sean: (thinking) Holy shit… it’s real. Does that mean I…?

Daniel: Hey Sean! What you looking at?

Sean: Dude! Don’t sneak up on me like that!

Daniel: I wasn’t sneaking. I was practicing my stealth!

Sean: Yeah sure.

Daniel: Are you looking at the new Playbox Pro? My birthday is right around the corner you know.

Sean: Birthday? It’s still January!

Daniel: Never too early to start preparing.

Sean: (rolling eyes) Yeah cuz everything’s always about you.

Daniel: Oooh I bet you were watching those dirty videos again. I’m tellin’ grandpa!

Sean: Hey hands off my phone you little-

[Daniel tries to grab Sean’s phone. Sean wrests his hand away. There is another a jolt]

[Daniel stands in front of the vending machine, staring at the jumbo chock-o-crisp. He looks around to check that the coast is clear. Then he waves his hand causing the chock-o-crisp to fall off the rack and into the dispenser slot.He gleefully retrieves it and devours the candy bar in a matter of seconds]

Sean: Dude, I told you not to eat any more chock-o-crisps! Do you want another trip to the dentist?

Daniel: What are you talking about? I haven’t had one in weeks!

Sean: Yeah sure. So you didn’t pig out at the vending machine before coming in here?

Daniel: How did you-

Sean: Maybe I have magic powers or maybe… you’ve still got crumbs on your collar.

Daniel: Aw, damn it. Promise you won’t tell grandpa.

Sean: Oh so you can tell on me but I can’t tell on you?

Daniel: (smugly) Exactly.

Sean: C’mere ya little shit!

Daniel: Sean stop! Ha that tickles. Quit it!

(After their little bout, Daniel curls up next to Sean, resting his head on Sean’s lap. Sean ruffles Daniel’s hair absentmindedly)

Sean: You ever wish you were… you know “normal” again?

Daniel: You mean not have my powers? Nah. They’re a part of me now. Besides, being normal is overrated.

Sean: (chuckles) I guess it is. But do you ever get that feeling like you thought you wanted something for a really long time but when you finally get it, it nothing like you thought it’d be?

Daniel: Uhhh… you mean like how I begged grandma to get me a PlayBox Live Subscription, but then the exclusives turned out to be shit? And now I have to act like I love it?

Sean: Yeah something like that.

Daniel: (yawns) Meh I’ll just ask for a gaming PC for my birthday.

Sean: Dude you’re like the greediest ten year-old I know.

Daniel: How many ten year-olds do you know?

Sean: Uh… just you and Chris.

Daniel: So, you want me to be more like Chris?

Sean: Wouldn’t hurt.

Daniel: (imitating Chris) “Only the purest of hearts may wield the power of Captain Spirit!”

Sean: Guess that rules you out.

Daniel: (playfully) Shut up.

DAY THREE

Doctor: Okay Mr.Diaz. I want you to follow the light. Look to your right, up and to the right. Good, good, excellent pupil response. Now look at the chart, cover your right eye and read this line.

Sean: Uh… A, O, E, P… T? Sorry I can’t really make out the last one.

Doctor: That’s okay, it takes time.

Doctor: Now this is probably the last thing you want to hear, but I recommend that you wear a patch over your right eye. It’ll be temporary of course, just until you learn to see with your left eye again.

Sean: (laughs dryly) And here I thought my seafaring days were behind me.

Doctor: You know… pirate actually wore patches so their eyes could easily adjust to the darkness and see below deck- Sorry my son’s going through a pirate phase.

Sean: I know the feeling. My little brother’s been through every phase imaginable.

Doctor: Kids, you gotta treasure every moment. Because before you know it, they’ll be all grown up, ready to go off on their own. Look at me, rambling on. Anyway, I signed your discharged papers. They’ll schedule you for some outpatient care in the coming months.You’re almost ready to go.

Sean: Sounds good.

Doctor: And you’re sure you don’t want to get do something about that nasty scar? A good-looking kid like you, it would be a shame to-

Sean: That’s okay, I think I’ll keep it… as a reminder.

Doctor: Alright but if you ever change your mind, I could refer you to a great plastic surgeon.

Sean: Thanks Doc, for everything.

Doctor: The pleasure’s all mine, Mr.Diaz. The groundwork we laid here could help hundreds of other patients in the future. We are making history. Your nurse should be along in a moment to help you get discharged.

[Sean sits in quiet contemplation. Reflecting on his dreams and new “vision”]

Sean (thinking): Be careful what you wish for...

Joey: Looks like everything’s good to go. Remember to use your eye-drops-

Sean: Twice a day. Yeah Joey, I know.

Joey: Guess it’s goodbye again. Don’t be a stranger this time okay?

Sean: I won’t.

Joey: Here’s my number. Call me if ever need professional advice or just want to shoot the shit.

Sean: Thanks Joey. Let me know how everything goes with the baby.

Joey: Oh don’t you worry about that. Soon I’ll be blowing up your phone with pictures.

Sean: Haha can’t wait.

Joey: Now hospital policy says I gotta wheel your ass outta here. For liability reasons.

Sean: At least it’ll be a smoother exit than last time.

Joey: (laughs) Get in the chair smart-ass.

Beaver Creek, One Week Later

Sean: Okay, you ready?

Daniel: (takes deep breath) Alright. Show it to me.

Sean: So… how does it look?

Daniel: Looks… normal.

Sean: You almost sound disappointed. Were you expecting a bionic eye or something?

Daniel: No. I just… it looks good. I like the scar; makes you look extra tough.

Sean: You think so?

Daniel: Yeah… totally badass!

Sean: Thanks, enano.

Daniel: You need a new codename, like Scarred Wolf or Deadshot Diaz!

Sean: Let’s leave the nicknames up to Chris.

Daniel: Hey! I make up awesome names too!

Sean: Whatever you say,“Superwolf”

#life is strange 2 #life is strange #sean diaz #daniel diaz #captain spirit #chris eriksen #stephen reynolds #lis2 #captain spirit ww #joey peterson

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