#you know what they showed me baby? an old time war ship (the ones we’d sail when we were pirates) and it was being held together by many
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Anakin and the Jedi Babies: Where There’s a Whill, There’s a Windu
Context: original post, chrono
(Summary of the AU: Disaster lineage got tossed back in time. Anakin stayed 21-ish, but Obi-Wan and Ahsoka got deaged, took new names for time-travel reasons (Ylliben and Sokanth, or Ben and Soka) and have been officially adopted by Anakin.)
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“You’re attached.”
“You’re just now noticing?”
Master Windu eyes him for a few long moments, and then joins him on the ground. Anakin can’t help but smirk. There’s something gratifying about having respect from the man, in this life.
“The other members of the council are concerned.”
“And you aren’t?”
“I am, but for other reasons,” Windu says.
Anakin doesn’t meet his eyes, doesn’t even respond for a long minute. He just looks out over the Room of a Thousand Fountains, spread out below them like hundreds of jungles pieced together in a jigsaw of flora. It’s been his favorite room in the Temple since he was a child, and it’s always overwhelming.
“Most of them have accepted that you adopted them because of Mandalorian customs, and that you stayed where you were due to the will of the Force,” Windu continues. “But they are… uncomfortable with how blatantly your attachments show.”
“Mandalorians are loud and refuse shame. It rubbed off.”
“You said you would kill for these children.”
“I’m their father. That’s kind of expected.”
Windu’s expression is tired. A little tired of stress, but mostly tired of Anakin’s shit. “You know what I’m trying to get at.”
“Do I?”
“Skywalker.”
“No, I’m serious. I need you to spell this out. I’ve had a million slightly-contradicting lectures on this topic, and I’ve been told pretty clearly that I misinterpreted a solid half of them. If you want a constructive conversation, you can’t be vague. I’m thirty-three years old and a father of two, Master Windu, so yes, I’m attached. What you mean by that word is going to change where this conversation goes.”
It’s gratifying to see the Master actually think it over.
“Ylliben’s tattoos have been causing the most recent stir,” Windu finally says. “They nearly all relate to family, whether new or old, and the symbolism is concerning to those who are already upset about the Mandalorian upbringing. They worry that he’ll remain too tied to people he grew up with, and unable to maintain neutrality in future diplomatic ventures, or at risk of a fall if one of the people he’s seen fit to memorialize is injured or killed. The assume a similar state of mind may be applicable to your daughter and yourself, especially given the off-color jokes about how possessive your children are about each other.”
“They’re worried about emotional immaturity,” Anakin summarizes. He offers a wan, unimpressed grin. “They do realize he’s fourteen, right? Nobody’s emotionally stable at fourteen. The hormones are out of whack.”
“I’m aware,” Windu grinds out. “And I’m aware that your histories, of war and all such things, make your ties much stronger, but you can see why the Council worries, especially those who are wary of the memories your children carry but won’t explain. I’m the only one you’ve told, Skywalker.”
“Plo and Depa know.”
“Plo and Depa aren’t on the council.”
“Yet.”
“Skywalker.”
He relents. “It’s not about Mandalore, Master Windu. It’s about Tatooine.”
Windu lets that sit for a few moments, and then sighs. “I don’t know enough about Tatooine to parse that.”
“Shmi and I are former slaves,” Anakin says, as bluntly as he can. “I was freed at nine, she at eleven, and for all that we are free, we’re not freeborn. We were born slaves, and raised slaves, and we were freed too late to forget that life. The way we think is always going to be affected by the way we grew up. That applies to all sentients, more or less, but it’s… the slave mentality is completely at odds with Jedi teachings, because Jedi teachings can only be taught in a safe environment.”
Windu nods slowly, and says, “That does make sense, but it’s… forgive me, but that’s why we don’t normally take children older than four.”
“From the perspective of teaching cultural values, that makes sense,” Anakin allows. “Teaching a Jedi child that’s cared for with communal resources that they do not need material things to be happy is fine; trying to convince a slave child of the same, someone who grew up being told they do not deserve material things, and that their owner can take anything at any time, including family? I lived that life, trying to adjust to ascetic Jedi values that coincided poorly with slave rules. I know exactly how poorly that transition can go when the person caring for the child doesn’t know how to handle the points of conflict.”
“Do you regret joining the Jedi?” Windu asks.
Anakin shakes his head. “My Jedi master, bless him, cared, and tried very hard, but he wasn’t ready to handle a kid like me and in hindsight, I know that. He needed grief counseling, and I needed therapy, and neither of us was getting it. I don’t… I don’t believe anyone in the Temple would have known how to handle a kid like me.”
“But you don’t regret it.”
“I was meant to be a Jedi,” Anakin says, as firmly as he can without getting unnecessarily bitchy about it. “My struggles with the Code aside, I was meant to be here. But the Temple doesn’t have any resources for children who come older, and I think… I think you do need that.”
“You just outlined why a child can’t follow the Code if they come from a different enough background,” Windu says.
Anakin shakes his head. “No, that’s not—I think a kid like me can learn to be a Jedi, if a little unconventional, if they’re taught correctly. The desperation to cling to anyone and anything you have can be unlearned. It takes time and effort, but it’s possible. Soka and Ben are good at balancing Tatooine care with Jedi control. If you talk to Ben, you get an entire philosophical breakdown about it, but I’m more concerned with the child psychology, because that’s what could have broken me.”
Windu frowns. “You’re building up to something.”
“I think the Jedi need programs for children found older who can’t become full Jedi,” Anakin asserts. “Even those who cannot reconcile what they absorbed growing up with the Code and Jedi tradition… they, we, need guidance. The Council tried to reject me for being too old, and now that I’m grown I understand why, but… Master Windu, what do you think would have happened to me if I hadn’t had my Master to fight for me, and had been turned away?”
“We’d have looked into placing you back with your mother and, upon finding out that she was still enslaved, secured her freedom,” Master Windu says. “Qui-Gon Jinn had taken responsibility for you, and thus you were a ward of the Temple until such a time as you were safe again. It would have been cruel to keep you from your mother if we were not to raise you a Jedi, and crueler still to allow you to return to slavery.”
“And you think I’d have been safe with her?” Anakin asks. He needs Master Windu to understand this. “You think that would have ended well?”
“You don’t?”
“Ventress,” Anakin says. “Maul. Aurra Sing, even.”
Windu considers that. He looks across the grand, green room of the garden, and finally speaks. “You think you’d have been found and corrupted by a Sith.”
“I’d already helped Naboo win a battle. I was a powerful child with no support system in this respect, eager to please,” Anakin says. “Ventress and Maul both got twisted into Sith Apprentices. Aurra Sing was just a bounty hunter, but… even if the Jedi had never found me, and the Sith remained unaware, do you think I’d have ended up better than Sing? Or would the pressures of slavery have led to my Fall anyway, eventually slaughtering my owner, the Hutts, the entire system of Tatooine’s hells?”
Windu rubs a hand over his forehead. “I understand what you’re getting at.”
“It’s not just me,” Anakin says, as carefully as he can. “Even without the Sith, there are plenty of Force-Sensitive children in terrible situations that are liable to Fall just because of how power is wielded by those at the bottom. Refusing to take on students who are already at risk… the Jedi are meant to monitor Force users to prevent Sith and other dark-aligned people from harming the galaxy. It’s one of our primary duties. If the Jedi are allowing darksiders to rise just because of an age limit…”
“I get it,” Windu says, just a little aggressive. “I understand. Give me a minute.”
Anakin tries to wait. He’s older now, he can do that. He can be patient.
He tries to convince himself that it’s true.
“You have a point,” Master Windu finally allows. “And with the knowledge that the Sith are out there, still, it’s a more salient point than most would think. The EduCorps already has a subdivision for teaching meditative techniques to low-level force users who need to learn shielding but aren’t sensitive enough to be Jedi, or are just too old, but I see your point about encouraging a program for powerful Force-Sensitives that aren’t discovered early enough to integrate into the community in full.”
“And a more comprehensive Search pattern for the Outer Rim?” Anakin suggests. He shrugs at the look he gets. “What? You’ve seen my midicount. I was on Tatooine for almost a decade, and the only reason anyone found me was that Qui-Gon had to crash a ship in the middle of nowhere. I’m sure the Force led him to me, given all the coincidences, but that’s still a solid nine years that nobody did, despite how I apparently ‘shine like the sun’ or whatever.”
“Humble.”
“The last time I took a midichlorian test on a portable counter, it literally broke the device. That’s not arrogance, that’s just absurd.”
Windu looks exhausted by the comment. Anakin can’t bring himself to feel too bad about it.
“What about Jedha?” Anakin suggests instead. “Jedi find the kids, but if they’re too old to be Jedi, we could coordinate with one of the temples at Jedha to see about having them raised in the traditions of the Whills? They’re a little less orthodox, aren’t they?”
“In some respects,” Master Windu says. “More constrained in others, but… it’s a possibility. Most of the overlooked children, yourself included, are from parts of the Outer Rim that aren’t part of the Republic, Skywalker.”
Anakin shrugs. “And many of them would have been happy to be found and collected by a Jedi, even if they couldn’t become Jedi. Not the Dathomiri, since they’ve got their own thing going on, but… from what I know about Ventress, she actually did have a Jedi Master before the situation on Rattatak became… what’s the word… untenable? He died and she was left alone, and she’d been a slave already and it just… did not end well for her. But that was a planet overrun by pirates and warlords, and would have been approved as a planet the Jedi could help without it being a weird colonialism thing… if the Senate weren’t made up of cheapskates, at least.”
“Skywalker.”
“My name isn’t actually a reprimand, you know.”
“You’re not supposed to just say that,” Windu groans, running a hand over his face. “The Senate’s choice in funding is not optimal, but insulting them in that way, even in private—”
“They’re assholes,” Anakin says, and doesn’t let his humor show. “Except my late wife, but she’s not part of the Senate in this time, so I feel no shame in accusing the entire shitshow of being cheapskates.”
Windu looks about ready to push him off the ledge.
“You’re never allowed to go on diplomatic missions, are you?” Windu mutters.
“Unless it’s to Mandalore,” Anakin clarifies. “Also, never send me to Tatooine. Ever. Please. I kriffing hate that planet.”
“I’m going to assume you have plans to kill a Hutt if we ever send you to—”
“Yes.”
“Okay,” Windu sighs. “I’ll discuss this with the Council, see how they feel about reaching out to Jedha for your suggestion regarding the Whills.”
“And you’ll tell them not to worry about my kids?”
“Skywalker, they are never going to stop worrying about your family,” Windu tells him.
“That’s fair.”
#Anakin Skywalker#Mace Windu#Obi Wan Kenobi#time travel#de aging#Jedha#Jedi#Phoenix Posts#Anakin and the Jedi Babies
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obi wan x femreader fanfic idea where they go with padme to mustafar to confront anakin. after force choking padme, anakin’s like “you turned her against me! now i shall take away what you love most” and at first obi wan’s confused, “what i love most?” then he realizes anakin’s talking about reader. reader starts to be force choked by anakin and then obi wan says prompt #22 from the main prompts.
What You Love Most
Pairing: Obi-Wan x fem!reader
Fandom: Star Wars
Warnings: force choking!, angsty Anakin, fluff, soft!Obi-Wan, Padme dies
Word Count: 1,476
A/N: Hello lovely Anon! This was really fun to write, and was such an incredibly interesting idea! I really hope you enjoy this and that it's what you wanted. Thank you so much for the request! Feedback is ALWAYS appreciated and welcomed! (e/c): eye color
Summary: Anakin tries to get revenge for Obi-Wan "turning" Padme against him, and you're both left to deal with the aftermath of the Sith's decision.
(gif not mine!)
You glanced toward C-3PO before rushing out of the ship after Padme. You watched as Anakin wrapped her up in his arms, your arm slowly twitching back towards your lightsaber, but you forced yourself to remain calm. Padme was your best friend, you knew you couldn't harm Anakin while she was still here, but everything Obi-Wan told you made it extremely tempting.
You stopped a few feet away from the pair, listening silently, and at the mention of Obi-Wan's name, Anakin's gaze flicked up. His eyes landed on you. His glare was so intense it left you feeling nauseous, feeling like Anakin thought you shouldn't be alive. You gave a soft nod of acknowledgment to the younger boy, your face neutral as he looked back to Padme.
As Anakin's speech continued, you felt yourself getting more riled, the idea of justice getting hard to keep away. Padme turned her head, using her peripheral vision to ensure you were still behind her as she slowly backed up, realizing how crazy Anakin was beginning to sound. Your hand locked around your lightsaber hilt as Anakin yelled at Padme, the urge to protect her taking over your body, not causing you to spare a glance back at Obi-Wan, who had now made his presence known.
"You're with him!" Anakin growled, "You brought him here to kill me!"
"Anakin, stop!" You yelped as he began force-choking Padme.
You went to unleash your lightsaber, prepared to battle the new-come sith, but you felt the force wrap around your waist and begin yanking you back. Obi-Wan's yell for Anakin to let Padme go filled your ears as you realized Obi-Wan was pulling you further away from the deranged boy. He was trying to protect you, pull you out of the line of fire.
A cry escaped your lips as you watched Padme fall. Obi-Wan flinched slightly at your cry, standing in front of you in an attempt to shield you from Anakin.
"You turned her against me!" Anakin screamed, his eyes filled with rage, "Now I shall take away what you love most!"
"What I love most?" Obi-Wan questioned, watching Anakin slide off his robe.
Anakin's eyes locked on you, watching you fight against the force around your waist, trying to get to Padme as tears streamed down your cheek. Obi-Wan's eyes widened, immediately filling with anger and panic as Anakin raised his hand and your gasp filled the air. Your hands fly to your throat, desperately trying to get away from the force on your neck, as the force on your waist drops, and you try to gasp for air.
“If you don’t let her go right now, I swear I will break every bone in your body," Obi-Wan practically growls as he yanks off his robe, his hand flying to his lightsaber.
Your vision is beginning to fill with spots. Your body is panicking, going into fight or flight mode as it tries to keep you alive. Anakin, the little boy you helped Obi-Wan train, is trying to kill you. You realize, as Obi-Wan's eyes meet yours, your hands feel numb now, and your legs surely wouldn't hold you up if it wasn't for Anakin's force around your neck.
Without wasting another second, Obi-Wan lunges at Anakin, shocking his old Padawan, who didn't expect his Master to make the first move. The shock makes the younger boy let go of you, and you crash to the ground, a wretched gasp for air leaving your lips. Tears begin to rush quicker down your cheeks as you struggle to gain focus again, your vision completely blurry as your ears just barely register the sound of lightsaber's clashing together. You struggle, trying to crawl to Padme at the very least, but instead, the darkness consumed your vision before you could.
⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅
You groaned slightly at the feeling of your body being moved, jostled awake by the movement.
"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan's voice whispered, his eyes locked on your face in worry.
Your eyes slowly fluttered open, "Obi-Wan?"
You winced. Your voice sounded terrible. Cracking and hoarse, you sounded like you'd screamed for hours, making Obi-Wan frown, "Yes... I'm here."
"Don't..." You winced again, your throat burning, "Leave me."
Obi-Wan nodded. The distraught look on your face was more than enough to have him cradling you in his lap as he flew to Master Yoda. You'd fallen unconscious again, and although your force life was strong, Obi-Wan was immensely worried about you. He handed you off to Bail Organa, rushing back onto the ship to get Padme.
The next time you awoke, you felt significantly better than the last time, and you smiled as R2-D2's beeps filled the air. Looking down, you spotted the droid at the side of your bed, whistling and beeping far too fast for you to understand, as you were still learning binary.
"Good morning, sleepy," Obi-Wan teased, a smile on his lips as he entered the room.
"Morning," You mumbled back. Your voice sounded much better but was still sore, making you wince, "Thanks for saving me."
Obi-Wan walked further in, coming to sit on the side of your bed and grab one of your hands, "They said your throat will still be sore for a while."
You nodded, squeezing Obi-Wan's hand as a desperate feeling filled your body, "Where is Anakin? And Padme? What happened? Where are we?"
"Calm down," Obi-Wan smiled, projecting calming feelings through the force to you, "Anakin's... he's gone. I had to... he couldn't be saved anymore."
You frowned, squeezing the man's hand once more as you pushing comforting feelings to him, "I'm so sorry, Obi... I know how much he meant to you."
Obi-Wan simply nodded, nodding his head, "(Y/n)... Padme's gone... she passed during labor."
You gasped, your eyes widening in horror as you looked away from the older man. You supposed Anakin's visions had been correct. Padme was sentenced to die, but Anakin had never realized he was the reason she died in all his visions. Tears filled your eyes as Obi-Wan shifted, standing up.
"She... she left something for us-- for you. She asked if you would..."
You scrunched your eyebrows, confused by Obi-Wan's sudden nervousness. He quickly left the room before returning with a small bundle of blankets in his arms. Your eyes widened as Obi-Wan walked closer, and you realized what was inside the bundle of blankets.
"She had twins. They're being separated for safety, but... she asked if we'd take care of him, of Luke," Obi-Wan spoke softly, leaning down to show you the sleeping baby boy in his arms.
You reached out, taking the small baby from Obi-Wan, scooting over to allow the older man to lay beside you, "Normally I would expect to be married, hell even have at least gone on a date, before having a baby."
Obi-Wan smiled slightly, knowing you felt honored that Padme had asked you and Obi-Wan, "That could be arranged."
"Is it true?" You rasped, gently brushing Luke's tiny baby hair with your fingers. Obi-Wan hummed, watching you in awe, "That I'm what you love most... as Anakin said. Is that true?"
Your eyes flicked up to Obi-Wan, and he immediately felt himself smiling, getting lost in your beautiful (e/c) eyes. How could he not be in love with you? He grew up with you in the temple, trained with you, went on missions with you, and it was always you. Even his old master, Qui-Gon Jinn tried to get you two together, but Obi-Wan had always insisted there was a code to follow. But... not anymore.
"Of course, you're what I love most," Obi-Wan smiled, "I have been since you slammed me to the ground on my first day of lightsaber training."
You laughed lightly, looking back to the baby in your arms as you smiled, "I love you too... it scared me, knowing I couldn't help you against Anakin."
Obi-Wan flushed. The idea of you worrying about him made him frown. He turned, lightly kissing the top of your head as he had many times before, only this time it was different, "There is never a need for you to worry about me."
You sighed, knowing Obi-Wan wouldn't admit that he'd been scared of fighting Anakin also, "So, it's just us three now?"
"Just us three. I was thinking, we could go to Tatooine, build a life there, raise Luke."
You smiled, sure this wasn't what you wanted. No, you wanted Anakin and Ahsoka bickering over who could hold one of the twins. And you wanted Padme here, watching everyone coo over her babies. You wanted to be teasing Rex about his armor scaring the children. But... this would do. This, just you and Obi-Wan and Luke, was more than perfect. As long as you have Obi-Wan by you, you knew you could handle anything thrown your way.
#obi wan kenobi#obiwan#obi wan kenobi x you#obi wan kenobi x read#obi wan kenobi x reader#obi wan kenobi x y/n#obi-wan kenobi x reader#obi-wan kenobi x y/n#obi-wan kenobi x you#obi-wan kenobi#obi wan x reader#obi wan x you#obi wan x y/n#obi-wan x reader#obi-wan x you#obi-wan x y/n#obiwankenobi#obiwankenobixreader#obiwankenobixyou#obiwankenobixy/n#obi-wanxreader#obi-wanxyou#obi-wanxy/n#obi wan imagine#obiwanxyou#obiwanxreader#obiwanxy/n#star wars#starwars#star wars the prequel trilogy
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Riverdale 5x04 Recap
Reggie getting lines is the first sign this must be a dream sequence
The Saving Private Archie sequence was well done. The twist where Hiram shoots Archie was a good one I’ll give RAS that
When discussing Archie in the army with some friends last week I said that they would only refer to Archie having been in a war and would only refer to the enemy as the enemy and lo and behold
Archie reading a book is already the most unrealistic thing abut this ep
Archie reading a Farewell to Arms is in keeping with the writer’s usual subtlety
The Second World War style army uniforms work great with the show’s aesthetic
Toni’s pregnant! And the White Wyrm is Pop’s basement!
RAS said we’d probably find out who Toni’s baby daddy is in 5x08. Presumably it’s someone we know which doesn’t leave a long list of potential father: Reggie or Sweetpea would be at the top of the list
Pop Tate better not be dead
Trash bag killer sounds nice!
A Fargo name drop
Is Betty sleeping with her instructor? That’s so unethical
Oh god they’re going full Silence of the Lambs with Betty having been kept in a pit by the trash bag killer
So the Trash bag killer captured an FBI agent and instead of killing her he held her captive for 2 weeks until she either escaped or was rescued or was let go? Unless there’s gonna be some big twist that really doesn’t sound likely to me
That serial killer brother (along with her serial killer dad) is exactly why Betty would never have been let into the real FBI
Chadwick is such a douchey name ( and he lowkey dresses like Hiram). He wants kids after just a year of marriage and wants Veronica to work less? Lotta red flags already
I’m going to quote an interview RAS did with E News regarding the timeline:
"Yeah, we're definitely in a time paradox," he says. "I think it would have been less jarring if we'd had the organic season break. But yes...the show's timeless so that's what we're hanging on to, to be honest. Like yes if you if you really, if you really analyze it it's like we're either in 2028, or we've been seven years in the past...there's a discrepancy there for sure." And yes, he also acknowledges that Veronica claimed post-jump that it is still 2021."Yes, she says it's 2021," he agrees. "But I think in the graduation episode it was also 2020...there's a discrepancy there for sure."
I have extremely low expectations for the Riverdale writers but fucking around with the timeline you’ve already established is just a slap in the face to the audience. Better shows than Riverdale have botched their timelines and it’s always a symptom of big problems in the writers room when they can’t even handle that basic task. Not to mention the contempt it shows to the audience
Graduation was in 2020 so it should be 2027 now. Even if they didn’t graduate in 2020, Fred’s tombstone said he died in 2019 so how does that math add up? If it’s now 2021 and the kids graduated back in 2014 then that would mean that Riverdale High’s first graduating class was in 1939 rather than 1945 which would mean that those classmates who inspired Archie to join the army were enlisting months before the Second World War broke out and two and a half years before the attack on Pearl Harbour caused the USA to enter to war
All strong marriages are built on deception (was that a reference to Katy Keene from the now cancelled Katy Keene show?). This accident better have really been serious if they keep bringing it up
Nice to see Hermione again
They look fine for surviving a helicopter crash
Chadwick collects faberge eggs just like Hiram... and Veronica decided to sell it... methinks Chadronica is not gonna last
Ah yes Fitzgerald and Hemmingway, two writers known for their happy lives and peaceful deaths of old age, really good examples to live by Jughead
Lmao! Only Jughead would be seduced by a chick wanting him to read her book
Good on Kangs for staying together this whole time
Cheryl is straight up living in the 19th century and I’m here for it. Thank god Nana Rose is alive
Reggie working for Hiram is an interesting twist
Kinda weird that Toni is trying to get back together with Cheryl when she’s pregnant with some dude’s kid. Honestly it makes perfect sense that Cheryl would believe that she’s cursed
Omg is Cheryl gonna get into art forgery?? That would actually be so great
Of fucking course we’re circling back to Hiram’s real estate deals
Thank god Pop Tate is alive
Man how stupid do you have to be to hitch hike nowadays especially when the truck that pulls up has a fucking skeleton on the front!
Once more I’ll quote RAS on the serial killer plot:
"As that mystery unfolds, it starts enveloping all of our characters," Aguirre-Sacasa says. "And in some ways tragically, including a character we've known and loved since season one."
That’s a vague statement that something bad will happen but if he means that a character we’ve known and loved since S1 is dying then it won’t be any of the mains. Sheriff Keller would be a good tragic death, the last of the good dads left in Riverdale
In another interview focusing on the ships RAS mentioned that Bughead would still have a lot of trauma from the Barchie kiss to work through, that Barchie would have a deep connection, and that Varchie still have a spark but Archie wouldn’t make a move on Ronnie while she’s still married
I would be surprised if Chadwick doesn’t meet a violent death at some point so I don’t think he’s a long term obstacle. If Hiram is the big bad for the remainder of the series then there’s a path to get Varchie back together as they team up to take him down
RAS also mentioned how nice it was to not always have to write couple scenes, to be able to have Betty scenes without Jughead and Veronica scenes without Archie and vice versa. An odd statement to make as no one was forcing him to keep those couples together. The writers could easily have broken up Varchie after Hiram’s numerous attempts to kill Archie or used the fact that Bughead had a shared half brother and their parents were living together in a romantic relationship to sink them
Well until next Riverdalers
#Riverdale#Varchie#Bughead#Barchie#Archie Andrews#Betty Cooper#Veronica Lodge#Jughead Jones#Choni#Toni Topaz#Cheryl Blossom#Riverdale Recaps
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Let’s Talk: The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion
I finished all 40 eps about two weeks ago, actually. I enjoyed it for the most part, the 1st half especially, but there were several things near the end that took me out.
But first some of the good bits...
The cast chemistry was immaculate. Our four main lead actors were a lot of fun together. Not just Zhang Zhehan and Ju Jing Yi, but also Wang You Shuo and Xu Jiaqi (Loved them!). The four of them have such obvious ease with each other after their previous work together in Legend of Yun Xi and it made scenes with any combination of the main four really pop.
I was especially drawn to the sisters’ relationship and the Prince-Vassal bond going on between Prince Su and Little Marquis. (Y’all know I’m a sucker for both sibling stories and stories about fictional royals and their loyal vassals.)
Most of the ancillary characters were interesting, actually. As y’all know from my last post about this one, I was crack shipping like crazy all the side characters. 😂 This cast made it easy for me.
Except for Prince An. (Sorry to hit the bad so early.) Good god, I hated that man. His character was poorly drawn in pretty much every way, which is unfortunate cuz he’s the main antagonist. Any story with a main antagonist that just doesn’t work is always gonna be weaker.
Also, no offense to people who like that actor but he was the only cast member who did absolutely nothing for me in terms of performance. So much of the story was focused on his weaksauce motivation and dry acting like, my god, put me out of my misery I do not care.
Anyway, the set design and costuming was top notch and I even enjoyed the broader story ideas the show was trying to put forth. The sitcom vibe of the first 20 eps or so was SOOO good. Our four mains’ comedic timings were pitch perfect.
Unfortunately, the writing took a sharp nosedive in the back 3rd or so and it had a rough ending. (The lightning strike on the tower scene, the fight in the underground temple, the return of Prince An’s mom...all of that was trash. let’s be real.)
I mostly blame this on three things: the missteps with the Prince An character, the lack of development of Rong’s prophetic dreams even though that was the main premise of the show, and the jump-the-shark moment that was the wedding night and its subsequently underwritten fallout.
Now to clarify, I don’t mean to say the wedding night event shouldn’t have happened at all but rather the execution of it within the story was poor and it negatively impacted 90% of the other character motivations/progressions and the overall pacing.
You know, it felt like that thing you do as a writer where you wake up and have a specific scene in your mind. It’s evocative, impactful, fun, or otherwise intense. But you just have that scene and it’s something that would have to happen in the middle of your story. So you work your way backwards to try to get to that scene and you do your best to get the characters to make decisions to get there but when you sit down to write nothing works out. It’s clunky or OOC for the scene to still happen so you end up having to either scrap the evocative scene or keep the clunky lead up and hope no one notices. That’s what that wedding scene and everything that happened after felt like. They wrote themselves into a corner and just struggled to recover until the bitter end.
The main pairing suffered the most because of the poor writing choices. No matter how much chemistry ZZH and JJY have together, even they could not completely salvage Rong’s yo-yoing behavior with Prince Su. They started off so wholesome and then dove into such toxicity and miscommunication for no reason.
Don’t get me wrong. I can very easily enjoy angst. But Fu Rong consistently broke this man down. After ep 25-26, it stopped being good angst and became so awful to watch all the emotional manipulation and turmoil. There’s something broken in the writing if 9 out of 10 times Prince Su cried or fell into depression it was because of something Rong did or said to him after jumping to a conclusion with only part of the puzzle pieces gathered.
I could forgive some stuff because Prince An was manipulating things but some stuff was just all Rong not giving Prince Su the benefit of the doubt or plain old not doing her due diligence in investigating. She is supposed to have inherited the most prolific and successful spy organization in the show and she still got 90% of her conclusions wrong. It was like she was determined to always think the worst of Prince Su no matter what despite how often he went above and beyond to help her. Despite the fact that he literally had a reputation as a general for being a harsh taskmaster but fair and just.
I think what broke me was when she did the bare minimum investigation into her own father’s death and just fully blamed Prince Su without confronting him honestly or even considering his personality or their relationship up until that point. She really believed a single street seller’s entire testimony over the man she lived with and supposedly loved for months. Girl...
And this is after she’d previously mistakenly accused him of killing her mentor with very few facts to the point where she stabbed him on their wedding night.
There came a point where I actually wanted Prince Su to finally, truly divorce Rong and settle down with someone who could love him right. Maybe give him time to heal from the repeated heartbreaks, betrayals, and the literal stab wound in his chest but he was so fucking in love with Rong, he just couldn’t escape.
(If there were behind the scenes production reasons for the clunky-ness of the back half, I would not be surprised at all but ultimately they don’t matter cuz the story we got was the story we got.)
Imagine if we had gotten a Rong who used her prophetic dreams to navigate the cut throat world of royal politics. Or imagine if we’d gotten Rong as a true apprentice to Ruyi who learned both metalsmithing and spycraft in the first half and took over the pavilion as a competent leader in the second half. As it stands, it just felt like wasted potential.
I’m glad they had the modern day special AU eps tho cuz those were great. Zhang Zhehan and Ju Jing Yi had the opportunity to really showcase their incredible chemistry but in a modern setting and with better writing than the back 3rd of BRYP.
Now let’s talk Zhang Zhehan since he was the reason I started this in the first place. I loved him in this. I truly did. He was stern and serious but also playful and sweet. He was romantic but awkward, badass but vulnerable. He really delivered a nuanced and charming performance. I loved every second.
I think my favorite moment wasn’t some badass fight or even a super romantic moment. No, it was when he got drunk and started crying like a little baby cuz Rong was constantly doubting him no matter what he did. It was simultaneously sad and hilarious. Like gut busting funny. Y’all can watch it here:
youtube
I laughed so fucking hard at this. Oh my god, guys! This shit was too much.
Random Thoughts:
The romance between the 2nd leads was A+. Truly an adorable affair. Though I think they should’ve gotten together officially earlier around ep 25 or so and we should’ve seen the rest with them as a couple.
The costuming was so good y’all. For all the main four characters but I was especially drawn to Prince Su’s outfits.
The ghostly pale look with the bright red lips and eyeshadow makeup for Rong did not bother me at all. I actually liked it for her though I think it would’ve worked better if she’d had more explicit prophetic abilities.
I could’ve used more actual war scenes with Prince Su and Little Marquis.
The OST for the show SLAPPED!
That one kid spy in Ruyi Pavilion was voiced by the same actor as Chengling from WOH and I have never double-taked harder. lmao
Even though there were things I didn’t like in this show, I appreciated how gay I could make it in my last post. Truly it was a bisexual’s dream aesthetically.
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Title: [VLOG] so you found an assassin droid
Summary: More of that “Luke and Vader meet over space twitter” AU :D
Twin Suns @/skyseekerpilot
Can anybody tell me if it's illegal to own an HK-77 droid? Thanks :D
Still here @/vicTORI-is-here
What did you do????
Bigg Dreams @/darkestlight
More like what did he make me carry home
Scrap Hunting @/scraphunting
Scrap Hunting has uploaded a new video! Click HERE to watch it!
L31a @/ThePrincessHerself
Omg new video???
X
The video started with two boys sitting on a workbench, slowly drinking tea from two mismatched cups.
"So," Luke spoke up, interrupting the silence. "I want to start this off by saying that I am absolutely innocent and have not broken any galactic laws."
Next to him, Biggs just looked up at the ceiling and pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is Hutt Space. What kriffing galactic laws?"
Then, quicker than he could stop it, Luke dug his extremely sharp elbow into Biggs' side, causing him to yelp. Unbothered by his friend rubbing his side all while hissing, Luke continued speaking.
"Anyway! Welcome to a new episode of Scrap Hunting! We sure gained a lot of following since our last video, so we thought we'd do a bit of a different thing this time around?"
Luke laughed nervously as white writing behind his dead proclaimed having gained thousands of followers and being just a little overwhelmed by it all.
"A lot of you were interested in seeing where we get our materials and what our set up to the actual repairs is, so we figured it was time for a vlog?"
A little helplessly, Luke looked at Biggs, but his friend only shrugged in turn. They weren't exactly sure whether it counted as a vlog, they had never really done it before.
"In any case! We brought you something special today, so feel free to follow the journey that led us to this. If you enjoy this format, be sure to tell us."
After these words, Luke leaned forward and picked something up that was out of the video frame. He sat up again and held something large and round and metal in his hands that, after taking a second look, revealed itself as a droid head.
"So here's the story of how we found an HK-77 droid, which we will now start repairing. Have fun!"
X
Biggs loved Luke; he really did. They had known each other their entire lives, but there was no doubting that his best friend was absolutely insane. From racing in Beggar's Canyon at a young age to breaking into a scrapyard in the middle of the night.
"We are so gonna get caught," Biggs hissed. Nervously, he looked around as Luke dug through the mountains of trash. He made sure to keep the recorder on Luke to catch it for their channel. If they were going to get arrested for this, it had to be worth it, at least.
"Nope, it'll be just fine," Luke replied and triumphantly pulled something that used to be part of a hyperdrive out of the mountain. Immediately, waves of junk rolled down, clattering on the ground and causing much more noise than Biggs was comfortable with.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yeah, I can feel it," Luke replied absentmindedly as he inspected the hyperdrive.
X
The video switched back to the workshop where the duo was reassembling the droid. "Fun fact," Biggs said, leaning over the half-assembled droid. "Luke spent too much time out in the sun as a toddler. When he tells you that he has a feeling? It's true 90% of the time."
Then Biggs's eyes widened as if he had just had a realization, his head whipped into Luke's direction. "Do you think you could get me the lottery numbers?"
Luke pulled his arm out of the droid's torso to stare blankly at Biggs. "Do I look like I can?"
"I don't know, can you?"
Luke opened his mouth to reply, then he stopped and closed it again with a frown on his face. "I don't think so," he said slowly. "We should try it out."
The video froze momentarily as a text block appeared, reading: It doesn't work.
X
"He can feel it, he says," Biggs muttered, kicking a rusty pipe. "This sounds insane, you know that, right?"
"Absolutely- hey! Look at that!"
Biggs turned the camera up towards the part of the trash heap Luke was pointing at there. There, in the middle of old ship parts, was a hand.
Not that of a sentient, of course.
"Looks like a droid," Biggs said, studying it with interest. "Do you think you can get it?"
"Obviously."
X
The video cut back to the workshop where Luke was welding the head of the droid back to its body, goggles hiding away his face. "I want it on record that I did, in fact, get the droid. It's here. On the table. It went successfully."
Biggs just grinned and leaned back, arms crossed. "Do you guys want to know how many takes it took him? Twenty-"
"Don't you dare edit this in!" Luke protested, pointing tool threateningly at Biggs, but the other boy was entirely unbothered.
X
Take 1
"Right, I can just step in here-"
He could not.
Take 2
Luke was trying to climb up over what used to be the wings of a ship. He slipped.
Take 3
From a different point than before, Luke attempted to jump up to the next platform.
He failed again.
Take 10
"Just one more try. I swear I got it," Luke insisted.
"Uhu." Biggs only nodded and examined his nails. "Do you want me to grab it? I'm a bit taller than you."
"Eat a bantha, Biggs."
Take 16
"Okay, so if I climb on your shoulders-"
"And who is going to hold the camera?"
"… Good point. This is why we need an assistant."
Take 20
Luke was half up the scrap hill when his right foot suddenly lost grip and he slipped again, catching himself only in the last minute and permanently scaring Biggs, who was holding the camera with shaky hands, for life.
"Okay, this is fine, he can do this. No need to worry. He'll get it."
"Thanks for the encouragement," Luke hissed as he pulled himself up.
"You're not the one who will have to explain to Beru Whitesun-Lars why her nephew looks like he was in a fight."
Slowly, Luke turned around just so that he could give Biggs a look. "My aunt has seen me in worse states."
"Doesn't mean she isn't terrifying."
Luke couldn't disagree with that sentiment. "True."
X
Back in the workshop, Luke was setting aside schematics while miserably looking through his wire collection.
"I hate you so much," Luke sighed and started connecting the droid's artificial nerves to one another.
"Nope, you don't," Biggs said and set another cup of tea next to Luke. "Alright, what's the plan for this baby?"
Luke grinned. "I'm glad you asked! Time for a little summary, I guess."
X
The video changed so that Luke and Biggs were still standing in the workshop, but the background had been edited to be a whiteboard. While the two teenagers in the frame continued working on the droid, and a voiceover of Luke's voice could be heard.
"Alright, so what Biggs and I found here is an HK-777 Assassin droid. This droid was developed by the Separatists towards… The end of the Clone Wars?"
A little unsure, Luke looked over to Biggs.
"Yep," Biggs agreed as on the white background the words Clone Wars appeared, and beneath that an image of the symbol of the CIS as well as the droid. "However, they haven't seen any real combat or at least much of it? They're being used by the Empire now."
The image of the CIS was crossed out and got replaced by that of the Galactic Empire.
"Now, it's important to know that the HK-77 droids are generally considered to be the best of the HK-series ever developed by the Separatists," Luke said. "Obviously, I have opinions on that – but more on that later. Let's talk a bit more history first."
The image of the HK-77 droid shrunk as four more droid models showed up on the video. All of them looked similar to the HK-77 one, though by far not as elegant.
"So, the HK-77 model was preceded by the HK-47, HK-57, HK-58, and HK-67 models. As you can see by the size comparison here, it's a bit shorter than the other models, allowing for greater maneuverability and being less noticeable."
At this comment, Biggs snorted. "It's still built like a kriffing tank, and from what I'm seeing here on the memory banks?" Biggs held up the datapad he was working on. Cables connected it to the droid's memory bank. "Uh, yeah, not noticeable was not it's preferred method. Assassin droid is obviously a misnomer. They should have called it trigger-happy bastard."
"Don't be so mean to him," Luke said and gently pet the droid's detached arm. "Don't listen to him. He doesn't understand."
"He can't even hear me."
"Be silent, heathen."
X
"I got it!" Luke exclaimed and began to pull at the droid's body. Slowly, more and more of its body emerged until suddenly its whole frame fell out of the trash and Luke with it. Cursing, Biggs dropped the camera. After this, only a lot of clattering and shouting could be heard, no clear image being visible, only various dark splotches. The video only continued when Biggs went to pick up the camera. Some time must have passed as Luke was sitting on the ground, nursing his injuries while simultaneously examining the droid. "I think we found something good here."
"Yeah, can something good also walk on its own?"
"Doesn't look like it," Luke commented, poking the droid's joints, which promptly fell apart.
"Great," Biggs replied and ran his fingers through his hair. "Can you walk on your own?"
"Yeah, think so." Experimentally, Luke stood up, wincing only slightly. "Okay, yes, I can walk, but you'll have to carry the droid."
Biggs rolled his eyes exasperatedly, but you could tell that he was obviously relieved that Luke was well.
X
"He did, in fact, make me carry the droid back home," Biggs stated, still examining the droid's coding. "Carry it to the speeder, go back for the other parts and then drive him and all his stuff home and unload it, and then drive back to my place and explain to my parents what I was doing at three in the morning."
Now Luke actually looked a little guilty. "They didn't say anything-"
"No," Biggs shook his head. "I told them I was with you and they just sighed. Are the optical sensors working?"
Luke took the droids sensors and connected them with what would be the eye sockets in humans. "It should now. Test it."
Biggs typed something on his datapad, then nodded. "Yep, it's working. So, to continue our lesson: As you can see, the HK-77 has a narrow head and two optical sensors."
As he said that, Luke pointed at the relevant parts.
"First thing I'd improve if I were to build an assassin droid," Luke chimed in. "It's just impractical that it doesn't have 360° sight."
"Wouldn't that lead to sensory overload?" Biggs questioned. "All these protocols, and jeez, I want to meet who wrote this because this code sure is something."
"Maybe," Luke replied, deep in thought. "You'd have to make space for larger memory banks. I'm just saying, if I were to code a droid like this, it wouldn't be so bad."
"Not doubting that. But while we're already at it, Luke, you wanna handle the body parts?"
"Sure!"
Luke brushed his hands off on his pants, though that didn't make them any cleaner. "Alright, we already mentioned that the HK-77 was the Separatist's golden bantha. To continue, it came in two variants: assault droids and squad leaders. They look identical, but squad leaders are obviously more intelligent. What we have here-"
Putting emphasis on the last word, Luke opened his arms wide, then gestured at the droid lying on the bench. "-is a squad leader! Which is great because that means he can be useful in the future and help us out in the workshop. It has blaster riffles integrated into its arms."
Here Luke lifted one arm up, shaking it slightly. "Though these aren't functional anymore. We'll replace those with proper hands and fire extinguishers. Next up, we will change the plating to be more heat resistant so that he'll actually be capable of helping out on the farm and in the workshop. We should add a smoldering iron as well. The overall cost of such a droid in peak condition is- "Luke stopped talking to look down on something. After a second look, he lifted a datapad close to his nose, where he frowned at the numbers. "Huh. That's a lot of cash. Maybe we should sell it."
"I think that's mostly because of the state secrets such droids can keep. They also work as bodyguards. But this droid's memory is fried, so it's useless. And if somebody left it on Tatooine, it probably can't be that valuable," Biggs intersected.
Luke nodded slowly. "True. In any case, this concludes our discussion of how the assassin droid works. Tune in next time to see how we actually overhaul it."
X
"And done," Biggs breathed and dropped the droid in the back of the speeder. "Are you sure this will be worth it?"
"Absolutely," Luke replied.
"I'll be trusting you on this then, kid," Biggs replied.
The video turned black, then returned to the image of the empty workshop with white writing.
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If you want to support us, feel free to leave a donation @scraphuntingofficial.
X
Scrap Hunting @scraphunting
Thanks for watching our newest video!
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Thanks @aipilosse for the tag! My AO3 account (this one at least) is a bit less curated than most. I’ve been using it since the age of 16 and have gone through the requisite teenage interests and then some so some of these answer will be a blast from the past.
How many works do you have on AO3?
75
What’s your total AO3 word count?
Just over 500k
How many fandoms have you written for and what a they?
According to the drop down menu, 27! A lot of them are overlaps but I’ve still covered a lot of ground over the years. Niche YA, children’s movies, non-niche bestselling YA, Star Wars, anime. A few things I’m still interested in, a few I’m not. Sometimes I get a little embarrassed that there’s a paper trail of all my old fascinations but it is nice to have an archeological record of the last few years.
What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
For It Shines Bright and Never Changes, a 90k Kubo and the Two Strings AU from 2016-2018. My longest and most popular story. I’m actually proud of the planning that went into it.
Aftermath of an Announcement, a frankly kind of shoddily written Steven Universe fic that I remember writing at midnight on the couch outside my bedroom in England. Inexplicably recommended on TvTropes, which might explain the ridiculously disproportionate attention it got?
Regina, a decent little SvTFoE story that got some very good abandoned artwork. Thoroughly disproven bu the rest of the show, I think? I never finished watching it.
The Most Valuable Resource. Probably what my Silm friends know me from! Sauron and baby Celebrimbor in Angband at the very beginning of the first age. I fell in love with writing Sauron in this, he’s a rather delightful awful.
Obsidian Sister, more cartoons, more sibling relationship drama, lots of hopeful worldbuilding for something that I kind of lost interest in. A good read on review though.
Do you respond to comments, why or why not?
Yes! I love comments and getting replies to them so I always try to respond. My only regret is that it can sometimes take me too long to get people their responses. @everyone I am sorry!
What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?
Probably my most recent one? I do tend to lean towards canon compliant vignettes when I’m bored and those can be bittersweet at best but not outright tragic. In most stories there’s a seed of hope, however deeply buried it is.
Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?
No crossovers that I can recall. Keep in mind that I’ve forgotten a good portion of that 75 fic backlog.
Have you ever received hate on a fic?
A few times but it was mostly confusing? I simply didn’t know what to do with it. It’s like being handed a dead lizard by a cat, yes, you’re very proud of this but I’m not sure where it’s supposed to go.
I did once spend several paragraphs defending Elwing in the comments of a story I’d written about Elwing.
Do you write smut? if so what kind?
Not attached to this fake internet identity I don’t.
Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Yes, one of them showed up on Wattpad once? I only found out because I was googling a nice fic rec someone wrote for the same story. In the end I didn’t do anything about it. Maybe my entire oeuvre is on Wattpad but I doubt it because I stopped writing Avengers fanfic a very long time ago.
Have you ever had a fic translated?
Several of my Silm fics have been translated into Russian. It’s a privilege every time and I love going and seeing the final result!
Have you ever co-written a fic before?
No. Used to do a bit of silly RP when I was younger but it’s not quite the same.
What’s your all time favorite ship?
Hmm, I like Silvergifting quite a lot but I have a weak spot for trios. They feel more harmonic. Eonwë/Elwing/Eärendil is probably my favorite Silm ship, for example, though I’ve only written the one story for them. If we’re talking favorite of all time then I suppose we’d have to go back to the basics. Nancy Drew/Bess/George.
What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?
Often by the time I exert the energy to put something down on paper I’m already pretty committed to finishing it? A lot of my drafting goes on in my head so I only have a few WIPs in type from the past year and only one that I think I can discard as abandoned. It’s a Micheal and Sasha Magnus Archives Spirally self delusion and dreams story.
What are your writing strengths?
Decent worldbuilding and turn of phrase? I know I can make a sentence hit, which is good. And I am quite proud of some of my backstory work and research, including some hard scrabble conlang despite my absolute lack of a linguistics background
What are your writing weaknesses?
Too bogged down by melodrama, too many runon sentences, poor grammatical skills. Also I struggle a lot with giving characters distinct speaking voices; they all end up sounding like me which is no good. I’d like to be better at descriptions as well.
What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?
I swap my standards around depending on the feeling of the story and the concepts I’m trying to convey to the reader. Fëa might work for a short specialist one-shot about Gondorian scholars discussing elven concepts but then in a story from Celebrimbor’s perspective I’d use the more generic “soul”. Formality, familiarity, ease of access to lay Tolkien readers, the perspective of the characters and what their “native tongue” is keeping in mind that most of the Silm+ is designed as a translation. There are lots of factors. Same goes for a story with terms in Chinese or another extant language.
What was the first fandom you wrote for?
On this account? A book about teens and magic. Online? The 39 Clues, a co-written boook series for middle grade children. Ever as a human being? It depends on if you count when I was very small and would lead my sisters in games where I was Aragorn niece and we were fighting at the Battle of Pelennor Fields.
What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?
I’m fond of The Thousand Stories, for all that it’s experimental and indulgent. It was a chance to really explore stories about stories and what else is fan fiction for?
It looks like just about everyone else has been hit so @ameliarating and @feanorianethicsdepartment do feel welcome to take a swing if you’re so inclined.
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gay spn Taylor Swift Only playlist 4 @kiransingh
@spacesocialist
GENERAL DEANCAS:
False God
We were crazy to think
Crazy to think that this could work
Remember how I said I'd die for you?
We were stupid to jump
In the ocean separating us
Remember how I’d fly to you?
But we might just get away with it
Religion's in your lips
Even if it's a false god
We'd still worship
We might just get away with it
The altar is my hips
Even if it's a false god
We'd still worship this love
Peace
But I'm a fire and I'll keep your brittle heart warm
If your cascade, ocean wave blues come
All these people think love's for show
But I would die for you in secret
The devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me
Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?
Your integrity makes me seem small
You paint dreamscapes on the wall
Invisible String
Time, curious time
Gave me no compasses, gave me no signs
Were there clues I didn't see?
And isn't it just so pretty to think
All along there was some
Invisible string
Tying you to me?
the lakes
Is it romantic how all my elegies eulogize me?
I'm not cut out for all these cynical clones
These hunters with cell phones
Take me to the Lakes where all the poets went to die
I don't belong and, my beloved, neither do you
treacherous
Put your lips close to mine
As long as they don't touch
Out of focus, eye to eye
'Til the gravity's too much
And I'll do anything you say
If you say it with your hands
And I'd be smart to walk away
But you're quicksand
This slope is treacherous
This path is reckless
This slope is treacherous
And I-I-I like it
I can't decide if it's a choice
Getting swept away
I hear the sound of my own voice
Asking you to stay
And all we are is skin and bone
Trained to get along
Forever going with the flow
But you're friction
DEANCAS DEAN POV:
coney island
Break my soul in two looking for you
But you're right here
If I can't relate to you anymore
Then who am I related to?
And if this is the long haul
How'd we get here so soon?
Did I close my fist around something delicate?
Did I shatter you?
And I'm sitting on a bench in Coney Island
Wondering where did my baby go?
The fast times, the bright lights, the merry go
Sorry for not making you my centerfold
the archer
Combat, I'm ready for combat
I say I don't want that, but what if I do?
'Cause cruelty wins in the movies
I've got a hundred thrown-out speeches I almost said to you
Easy they come, easy they go
I jump from the train, I ride off alone
I never grew up, it's getting so old
Help me hold on to you
I've been the archer, I've been the prey
Who could ever leave me, darling
But who could stay?
I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost
The room is on fire, invisible smoke
And all of my heroes die all alone
Help me hold on to you
daylight
My love was as cruel as the cities I lived in
Everyone looked worse in the light
There are so many lines that I've crossed unforgiven
I'll tell you the truth, but never goodbye
I don't wanna look at anything else now that I saw you
I don't wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you
I've been sleeping so long in a 20-year dark night
And now I see daylight, I only see daylight
DEANCAS CASTIEL POV:
Gold Rush
Gleaming, twinkling
Eyes like sinking ships on waters
So inviting, I almost jump in
But I don't like a gold rush, gold rush
I don't like anticipatin' my face in a red flush
I don't like that anyone would die to feel your touch
Everybody wants you
Everybody wonders what it would be like to love you
Walk past, quick brush
I don't like slow motion, double vision in rose blush
I don't like that falling feels like flying 'til the bone crush
Everybody wants you
But I don't like a gold rush
Willow
I'm like the water when your ship rolled in that night
Rough on the surface, but you cut through like a knife
And if it was an open-shut case
I never would've known from that look on your face
Lost in your current like a priceless wine
The more that you say, the less I know
Wherever you stray, I follow
I'm begging for you to take my hand
Wreck my plans, that's my man
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind
Head on the pillow, I could feel you sneakin' in
As if you were a mythical thing
Like you were a trophy or a champion ring
And there was one prize I'd cheat to win
long story short
Fatefully
I tried to pick my battles
Til the battle picked me
Misery
Like the war of words I shouted in my sleep
And you passed right by
I was in the alley surrounded on all sides
The knife cuts both ways
If the shoe fits, walk in it
Til your high heels break
And I fell from the pedestal
Right down the rabbit hole
Long story short, it was a bad time
And he's passing by
Rare as the glimmer of a comet in the sky
And he feels like home
If the shoe fits, walk in it
Everywhere you go
call it what you want
My castle crumbled overnight
I brought a knife to a gunfight
They took the crown, but it's alright
All the liars are calling me one
Nobody's heard from me for months
I'm doin' better than I ever was
'Cause
My baby's fit like a daydream
Walking with his head down
I'm the one he's walking to
So call it what you want, yeah
Call it what you want to
My baby's fly like a jet stream
High above the whole scene
Loves me like I'm brand new
So call it what you want, yeah
Call it what you want to
All my flowers grew back as thorns
Windows boarded up after the storm
He built a fire just to keep me warm
All the drama queens taking swings
All the jokers dressing up as kings
They fade to nothing when I look at him
And I know I make the same mistakes every time
Bridges burn, I never learn
At least I did one thing right
I did one thing right
I'm laughing with my lover, makin' forts under covers
Trust him like a brother
Yeah, you know I did one thing right
Starry eyes sparkin' up my darkest night
wildest dreams
He said, "Let's get out of this town
Drive out of the city, away from the crowds"
I thought heaven can't help me now
Nothing lasts forever, but this is gonna take me down
He's so tall and handsome as hell
He's so bad but he does it so well
I can see the end as it begins
My one condition is
Say you'll remember me
dean escaping his fathers ghost in good ending Au where he doesn’t commit passive suicide and go to heaven to be neighbors w John Winchester:
i forgot that you existed
I forgot that you existed
And I thought that it would kill me, but it didn't
And it was so nice
So peaceful and quiet
I forgot that you existed
It isn't love, it isn't hate, it's just indifference
I forgot that you
Sent me a clear message
Taught me some hard lessons
I just forget what they were
It's all just a blur
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if it weren't for you meddling kids...
A collection of seven playlists about my character’s inner-muse dynamics with one another.
playlist i: you’ll always be the one i love the most
a general balo and ches playlist
team (lorde) [not very pretty, but we sure know how to run things. livin' in ruins of a palace within my dreams. and you know, we're on each other's team] // drag me down (one direction) [all my life, you stood by me when no one else was ever behind me. all these lights, they can't blind me, with your love, nobody can drag me down] // brave honest beautiful ( fifth harmony ft. meghan trainor ) [don't go and waste your precious time, with all the nonsense on your mind. no, don't criticize yourself no more, you got a smile worth fighting for] // told you so (little mix) [girl, just come 'round mine tonight i've got wine and make-up wipes. i'll hold you (i'll hold you),. we can put the kettle on, talk 'bout how he's not the one. i told you but, i'm never gonna say i told you so] // friends (jasmine thompson) [who knows, who cares what we're gonna be. if you're near, i'm there. it will always be home, wherever we go.] // we belong (pat benatar) [we belong to the light, we belong to the thunder. we belong to the sound of the words, we've both fallen under. whatever we deny or embrace, for worse or for better; we belong, we belong, we belong together.] // safe & sound (taylor swift ft. the civil wars) [i remember tears streaming down your face when i said i'll never let you go. when all those shadows almost killed your light. i remember you said, “don't leave me here alone.” but all that's dead and gone and passed tonight] // buzzcut season (lorde) [cola with the burnt-out taste, i'm the one you tell your fears to. there'll never be enough of us] // unsteady (x ambassadors) [if you love me, don't let go. hold, hold on, hold on to me ‘cause i'm a little unsteady, a little unsteady] // i’ll keep you safe (sleeping at last) [don't be, don't be afraid. god knows, these mistakes will be made, but i promise you i'll keep you safe] // tell her you love her - acoustic (echosmith) [when she says she needs you, tell her you need her too. you tell her clearly, speak what your heart wants you to. tell her she's lovely, always tell her the truth. when she says she loves you, tell her you love her too] // nightingale (demi lovato) [oh, nightingale, you sing to me i know you're there. 'cause, baby, you're my sanity. you bring me peace, sing me to sleep] // deep end (ruelle) [what can i do when it's pulling me under, pulling me underneath?] // hold your breath (ruelle) [hold your breath, don't let go. i feel it coming] // my love won’t let you down (little mix) [we can sit on the edge of your bed, tell me all of the fears in your head. and i'll sing you your favourite song ‘til the pain and all the tears are all gone] // rainbow connection (sleeping at last) [have you been half asleep and have you heard voices? i've heard them calling my name. is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors? the voice might be one and the same.]
playlist ii: #squadgoals (aka balo and ches are sharing the aux):
8+ hours of music the girls listen to when they hang out, please remember to shuffle!
playlist iii: and if you were drowned at sea i’d give you my lungs so you could breathe
a general balo and zander playlist
shaking heads (foxes) [and if i turn around, there'll be no light. i know the danger, but it's alright. pick up the light and keep it, darling. you know that i can tell] // bottom of the river (delta rae) [hold my hand, ooh, baby, it's a long way down to the bottom of the river] // hey brother (avicii) [hey, brother; do you still believe in one another? hey, sister; do you still believe in love? i wonder.] // i hope you dance (lee ann womack) [i hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean. whenever one door closes, i hope one more opens. promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance...] // my wish (rascal flatts) [i hope you never look back but you never forget all the ones who love you and the place you left. i hope you always forgive and you never regret, and you help somebody every chance you get.] // echo (foxes) [look into my eyes, do you see something to defend? spinning in the lights, will i grow old before i die?] // brother (kodaline) [if i was dying on my knees, you would be the one to rescue me. and if you were drowned at sea i'd give you my lungs so you could breathe] // get your wish (porter robinson) [so tell me how it felt when you walked on water, did you get your wish? floating to the surface, quicker than you sank. idol, idol] // icu {madison’s lullaby} (demi lovato) [sometimes i can see myself in the little things you do but i'm not afraid that you'll lose your way. 'cause i believe in you. you're gonna be the one who's strong enough, who can overcome, anything in your way]
playlist iv: i’m afraid of what i’m risking if i follow you
a general ches and zander playlist
into the unknown (panic at the disco) [what do you want? 'cause you've been keeping me awake. are you here to distract me so i make a big mistake? or are you someone out there who's a little bit like me, who knows deep down i'm not where i'm meant to be?] // carry you (ruelle & fleurie) [you are not alone, i've been here the whole time singing you a song. i will carry you] // bud like you (ajr) [kickin' in the basement, kickin' in the basement, hatin' all the same things too. if i need a pick-me-up, would you come and pick me up? i could really use a bud like you] // wilson {expensive mistakes} (fall out boy) [and when i say i'm sorry i'm late, i wasn't showing up at all. i really mean i didn't plan on showing up at all. don't you, don't you, don't you know i hate all my friends, i miss the days when i pretended. i hate all my friends, i miss the days when i pretended with you] // unpack your heart (philip philips) [show me something the rest never see. give me all that you hope to receive, your deepest regret dies with me] // where do you run (the score) [where do you run when you need to breathe? where do you run when you don't believe? where do you run when you can't face your fears? 'cause every time i run, i run to you] // twin skeleton’s {hotel in nyc} (fall out boy) [and there's a jet black crow droning on and on and on; up above our heads droning on and on and on. keep making trouble 'til you find what you love. i need a new partner in crime and you, you shrug] // maybe idk (jon bellion) [i wonder why i feel short when i know my money’s tall. i wonder why i miss everyone and i still don’t call. i wonder why i can’t run that fast in my dreams] // you are enough (sleeping at last) [you're enough, you're enough, you're enough, you are enough. these little words, somehow they’re changing us. you're enough, you're enough, you are enough. so we let our shadows fall away like dust] // midnight sun (philip philips) [oh my friend, look how time has changed the cracks in our skin. oh my friend, let go of the fear that’s inside your head. so stay strong, live on, and chase the midnight sun]
playlist v: beyond every bend is a long blinding end; the worst kind of pain i’ve known
a ches and zander playlist set during the aftermath of the jack posters with an alternating pov (track 2 is zander, track 3 is ches, etc etc. tracks 1 and tracks 12 are mutual)
the choice (gustavo santaolalla & alan umstead) // burning in the skies (linkin park) [i'm swimming in the smoke of bridges i have burned, so don't apologize i'm losing what i don't deserve] // the good in me (jon bellion) [one temptation sparked this, now i can feel the darkness. it's my own fault, but you had this planned. all of me, you take now, like criminals and shakedowns, yeah, you make me forget who i am] // another brick in the wall, prt. 3 (pink floyd) [i don't need no arms around me and i don't need no drugs to calm me. i have seen the writing on the wall, don't think i need anything at all] // bad blood (taylor swift) [did you think we'd be fine? still got scars in my back from your knives. so don't think it's in the past, these kinds of wounds they last and they last] // no light, no light (florence + the machine) [and i'd do anything to make you stay. no light, no light, no light. tell me what you want me to say. you want a revelation, you wanna get it right. but it's a conversation, i just can't have tonight...] // that won’t save us (against the current) [how did we become so numb? we just let it come undone, and i just started giving up. but that won't save us] // hard to say i’m sorry (chicago) [it's hard for me to say i'm sorry. i just want you to stay. after all that we've been through i will make it up to you, i promise to] // believe (mumford & sons) [i don't even know if i believe everything you're trying to say to me] // second chances (imagine dragons) [quicker than lightning, whiter than bone. if you can erase it, then i can atone. oh these days, oh these days get heavy. i get older and life fades, but you remain] // swallow my pride (ramones) [loose lips sink ships, they said but isn't it always that way? swallow my pride, oh yeah] // roads untravelled (linkin park) [weep not for roads untraveled, weep not for sights unseen. may your love never end, and if you need a friend there's a seat here alongside me]
playlist vi: it’s mourning in america
a playlist for the luxor trio - balo, ches, and zander
heathens (twenty one pilots) [we don't deal with outsiders very well, they say newcomers have a certain smell. you have trust issues, not to mention, they say they can smell your intentions] // morning in america (jon bellion) [we're secretly out of control, nobody says it. when the class president overdosed, we all pretended tt was rare, it was shocking and all the town was talking. yeah, we're secretly out of control and everyone knows. oh, it's morning in america] // the kids aren’t alright (fall out boy) [and in the end, i'd do it all again. i think you're my best friend. don't you know that the kids aren't al-, kids aren't alright?] // more than words (little mix & kamille) [i find peace in every story you told, i think of you, i'll never be alone. oh, it's true, you know i do. oh, i need you more than words can say. oh, you save me in ways that i can't explain. always been there for me, now i'll do the same] // family (mother mother) [and when you’re standing on the ledge i’ll pull ya down, put you to bed. and if you’re bleeding from the heart i'll come around, and clean it up] // beautiful people (ed sheeran & khalid) [we don't fit in well 'cause we are just ourselves, i could use some help gettin' out of this conversation, yeah. you look stunning, dear, so don't ask that question here. this is my only fear: that we become beautiful people] // immortals (fall out boy) [they say we are what we are but we don't have to be. i'm bad behavior but i do it in the best way. i'll be the watcher of the eternal flame, i'll be the guard dog of all your fever dreams. i am the sand in the bottom half of the hourglass, i try to picture me without you but i can't] // family (the chainsmokers & kygo) [when i am blind, in my mind i swear they be my rescue, my lifeline. i don't know what i'd do if i, if i'd survive my brothers and my sisters in my life, yeah] // walking the wire (imagine dragons) [oh, the storm is ragin' against us now. if you're afraid of falling, then don't look down. but we took the step, oh, we took the leap and we'll take what comes, take what comes] // take it out on you (ruelle) [i don’t wanna take it out, take it out on you, on you. it feels like i'm breaking down, watching my words cut you in two, in two. 'cause you are the only who saves me from myself when everything is caving. don’t wanna take it out, take it out on you, on you, but i do] // from now on (the greatest showman) [and from now on these eyes will not be blinded by the lights. from now on what's waited 'til tomorrow starts tonight. and let this promise in me start, like an anthem in my heart] // long live (taylor swift) [can you take a moment? promise me this: that you'll stand by me forever, but if god forbid fate should step in and force us into a goodbye. if you have children someday, when they point to the pictures, please tell them my name] // i hope you’re happy (blue october) [there will be days when you're falling down, there will be days when you're inside out. there will be days when you fall apart, someone else will break your heart. they're never gonna hold you back, i'm always gonna have your back so try to remember that...]
playlist vii: those meddling kids
a playlist for balo, ches, collen, and zander - and their friendship
on my way (phil collins) ['cause there's nothing like seeing each other again, no matter what the distance between. and the stories that we tell will make you smile, oh it really lifts my heart], more than a band (lemonade mouth) [i never knew you could take me so far. i've always wanted the home that you are, the ones i need] // i lived (onerepublic) [hope that you spend your days but they all add up and when that sun goes down hope you raise your cup. i wish that i could witness all your joy and all your pain, but until my moment comes, i'll say...] // i’m gonna be {500 miles} (the pretenders) [if i get drunk, well, i know i'm gonna be the man who gets drunk next to you. and if i haver, yeah, i know i'm gonna be i'm gonna be the man who's haverin' to you. but i would walk five hundred miles, and i would walk five hundred more just to be the man who walked a thousand miles to fall down at your door] // tongue tied (grouplove) [take me to your best friend's house, ‘goin' 'round this roundabout, oh yeah. oh, take me to your best friend's house; i loved you then and i love you now, oh yeah] // i’ll be there for you (the rembrandts) [no one could ever know me, no one could ever see me. seems you're the only one who knows what it's like to be me. someone to face the day with, make it through all the rest with. someone i'll always laugh with, even at my worst, i'm best with you, yeah] // drag me down (one direction) [if i didn't have you, there would be nothing left, the shell of a man that could never be his best. if i didn't have you, i'd never see the sun, you taught me how to be someone, yeah] // miss americana & the heartbreak prince (taylor swift) [it's you and me, that's my whole world. they whisper in the hallway, “she's a bad, bad girl.” the whole school is rolling fake dice, you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes. it's you and me, there's nothing like this, miss americana and the heartbreak prince. we're so sad, we paint the town blue, voted most likely to run away with you] // sharp edges (linkin park) [sharp edges have consequences, i guess that i had to find out for myself. sharp edges have consequences, now every scar is a story i can tell. we all fall down, we live somehow. we learn what doesn't kill us makes us stronger] // family (mother mother) [a motley crew, a rodeo. a goddamn zoo, a circus show. but oh don't you know how it goes, we are all walking each other home] // the story of tonight (hamilton) [raise a glass to freedom, something they can never take away - no matter what they tell you. raise a glass to the four of us, tomorrow there’ll be more of us - telling the story of tonight.]
#I debated if I should wait or not#because this was legit the post I was working on today when the admin note came up#but... have the meddling kids playlists#all of my heroes died all alone ( musings )#all you cool people better leave now 'cause it's about to happen ( balo | zander )#musings ( playlists )#musings ( friends )#I'mma reblog it to the other two in a more spaced out manner but yeah
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For the Domestic ask: ❝ Did you walk the dog? ❞
I FINALLY FINISHED THIS. Actually super proud of this story, I like the emotional resonance.
Number One: Will Riker reacts to finding out Picard's named his dog "Number One."
Read on AO3 here.
“Did I hear him right?” Will asks. Deanna raises an eyebrow. He raises both eyebrows back. “The dog, Deanna. Did I hear him right?”
Deanna smiles. She reaches for the bottle Picard brought and looks at him questioningly, but he gestures to her that he has had enough. She pours herself a glass. “I don’t know, Will. What did the dog say?” She exchanges a glance knowingly with her daughter. Kestra grins back.
“What’d he call him, Daddy?” Kestra asks innocently.
Will rolls his eyes. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?
Deanna raises her glass to her lips and grins. The day is dragging into dusk, and they are enjoying the onset of melancholy that crept in as Jean-Luc left. Jean-Luc: because he is not the Captain anymore, or Admiral, but their friend, their mentor, their daughter’s grandfather. Kestra loved his dog, so much so Will looked at Deanna with puppy eyes--and then started when he heard his name.
Will says, “‘Number One’--what do you think he means by that?” Deanna looks at Kestra, who is happily occupied investigating the garden for fireflies. She is listening, of course. She’s their clever girl, though Deanna thanks every star forming Beta Zeta that she has Will’s forthrightness to blunt her empathy.
Deanna says, “I think he’s lonely. Have you spoken to Geordi? He’s inviting him to dinner next week.”
Will sighs. “And he refused. He told Geordi he was too tired.” He maneuvers himself onto the deck chair, swinging leg over leg and adjusting himself. He is getting too old to move like that. Deanna has never quite understood why he makes a performance out of sitting down--he does have nice legs, but she’s seen him fall too many times to imagine he’s doing it to show off. He catches her scrutinizing him. “What? I can still move!”
“Not that,” Deanna says absently. “He’s self-isolating again.”
“He came out for us, Deanna. For Kestra. And he’s got a dog. God. All that time.” Will straightens in his seat and puffs out his chest. He comes out with his best Picard imitation: “‘Make it so, Number One! Engage.’” He flourishes dramatically. “All this time, and he names a dog after me. He replaced me with a dog, Deanna. You ever look back and wonder how we did it all? Well, now we know: a dog could’ve done it, on the old Enterprise.”
“You do need to be taken out on walks,” Kestra calls from the rose bushes.
“Hey!” Will says. “I resent that.”
“Because it’s true!” Kestra cackles. She takes the knife her brother made her and cuts a rose carefully. She hurries over and presents it to her mother. Deanna looks up at her softly. What a wonder they made: Kestra knows she is distressed, Kestra already knows how to deflect the mental angst and give what comfort she can. She wants to tell Jean-Luc: look, she’s as wonderful as you said she would be. Come over again, she’s growing up too fast.
Then Kestra abruptly stabs the rose into her hair and runs off again. Deanna gingerly removes the flower from her hair.
“You okay?” Will asks.
“I’m worried about him,” Deanna says. “At least he’s not alone on his vineyard, but he does tend to dwell. He doesn’t seem--tired, to me. Muted, instead.”
“He’s dwelling,” Will says. “Naming the dog after me. I mean, he could’ve just said he misses me, and we’d have him over for dinner every other night. Just like on the Enterprise.” He sighs, crossing his legs and arms. The dusk is darkening, and they watch their daughter chase fireflies silently. Deanna sips again at her wine. Grief comes in waves, as sure as the darkening of the dusk on their little villa, and now she can sit with his pain. She lost a child, Picard his idealism, and both of these things are somehow wrapped up in retirement, in Data’s death, in the endless wars the Federation has faced. She wishes she had gotten him alone for a moment, to ask him if he had found a new counsellor--but she had retired from her practice, hadn’t she? After Thad’s death. Because she could not take it anymore. She could not take on any more pain, not when she had had enough of her own.
Will speaks. “He needs to move on. It’s been a long time since we were on the Enterprise. And a dog won’t give him that--comradeship, that he needs. Why didn’t he and Beverly--”
“Will,” Deanna interrupts. “For the same reason he named his dog after you.” She smiles at the face he makes. “Because he needs to remain the Captain, and she was the Doctor, and fraternization in the ranks--”
“Oh come on,” Will protests, “we did enough fraternization. Remember you and Wof?”
“Yes,” Deanna says flatly. “I do remember how you made a fool of yourself.”
Will presses a hand to his chest. “For love. A fool, for love.”
As always, she is charmed despite herself. “A ship of fools,” she laughs, and Will grins, happy she’s happy. “The good old days.”
“But that’s the problem, isn’t it?” Will says thoughtfully. “‘The good old days.’ They’re over, have been for a long time, ever since we took that promotion on the Titan, had our babies. But Jean-Luc….” He sighs. “You would think, that after all this time, he’d be able to rest. Because it was all so much, we can’t pretend it was fun.”
Deanna says, “But that was all he ever had, Number One. The ship and the crew and the motto--going boldly, where none had gone before. And adventuring is all well and good, but you need to make yourself a place to go home to. That is not a ship and crew.”
Will looks over his shoulder, where Kestra is running wild. “Kestra! Don’t go too far!”
They hear a faint call of disapprobation from the bushes.
“I mean it!” he yells. He moves to get up, but Deanna takes his hand.
“Sit with me awhile,” she says. “She’ll be back in just a sec.”
#picard fanfic#picard#star trek#tng#star trek fanfic#troi/riker#deanna troi#will riker#kestra troi#jean-luc picard#number one#saathiray
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Homeward Bound
A ship crashes on Shuggazoom, and Chiro learns about his past
Listen I was having feelings and many thoughts. Take this as you will.
-
One Year after the Start of the War of the Dead
A ship had crashed in No Man's Land, between the City and the Wastes where the Skeleton King and his army lived. By the time the Hyperforce had managed to get there, the hull was surrounded, pillaged by Formless, taking whatever dead that remained before they could stop them. All that remained was a few supplies and crates, their contents long gone.
"This ship looks like its seen better days, even before the crash," Sprx said, walking around the decrepit hull. "It's way out of date. They don't make this model anymore."
"We can check the ship's logs to see who manned it," Chiro said. "We can at least put their names on the memorial."
The memorial was a new addition to Shuggazoom. It read the names of those taken into the Formless Army or fell in battle. It was thankfully a short list.
"On it! Let's see if we can pull up the ship's manifest and crew on their computers," Otto said, going to the control panels. "Maybe we can see what happened to-"
He pressed a button, and there was a whirl of life as the bridge came back to life...and then sputtered with sparks, smoke, and flame. Otto gagged, coughing as he waved it away from his face.
"Nevermind- ack!" he coughed. "I'm not sure how much is salvageable."
"We might be more likely to find information based on the ship's name," Antauri said. "We must head back before nightfall."
"Agreed," Chiro replied. After one final sweep for Formless or any lucky survivors, they exited the ship through a large crack in it's side, walking around to the tail where they came across the name 'Tomorrow's Destiny' in red. Chiro furrowed his brow - it sounded familiar. Perhaps it was a ship from Shuggazoom.
"Tomorrow's Destiny?" Sprx said aloud. "Huh."
"What's wrong?" Nova asked. "Do we have a ship you know nothing about?"
"No, it's a smuggler ship," Sprx said. "There was a bounty on it years ago! But it was supposedly caught."
"What's it doing on Shuggazoom?" Gibson asked. "I'm loathe to think smugglers had a hideaway in our city."
“Could have just been floating in space and got caught in our orbit,” Sprx shrugged. "We'll run the ship number in the Robot and see where it's home port was registered."
The ship was surprisingly registered to a port in Shuggazoom. There was no name attached to the building or ship, long since erased or hidden, no doubt. The port and ship hangar itself was abandoned, not having been in use since the Tomorrow's Destiny had flown off. Spiderwebs and dust covered every corner. Old lockers and crates were abandoned to dust and decay, tools long since been rendered useless for want of a mechanic.
Chiro couldn't place it, but he knew this place. Antauri could sense his confusion in his mind. "Chiro? Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm just...this will sound crazy, but I feel like I know this place, but I don't," Chiro replied. "I'm just not sure how."
"Maybe you were a little baby smuggler!" Nova joked, elbowing his knee. He laughed. "Just imagine little Chiro, sneaking contraband onto the planet."
"Awww, little criminal!" Otto cooed with a laugh.
"Please, like our Chiro would have done anything of the sort," Gibson chided.
"They're just joking," Chiro said. "Besides, maybe I just saw a movie or a show that had a similar setting."
The lights whirred on, as well as a large computer monitor at the far end of the room. Sprx came out of a backroom. "Found the switch! Now let's see what we're working with."
Chiro walked up to the computer, brushing dust off the screen and panels. "It's asking for a handprint or passcode."
"Let's see, 39 keys, average passcode length is 6," Gibson murmured. "That would be over a million possible combinations, but if I create a code-"
Chiro slipped off a glove, and cautiously placed his hand on the scanner, expecting it not to work...but something said to try.
"Handprint Accepted. Welcome: Chiro."
The group looked up in shock as everything became available - shipping logs, crew, everything.
"So Chiro was a baby smuggler."
"Nova!"
"Message available for: Chiro. Play message?"
Chiro looked at Antauri. "How does it know me? Should- Should I even play it?"
"If this isn't something you wish to learn about yourself, perhaps we should come back," Antauri replied. "I know much of your childhood...is missing to you. This may be a clue into your past."
He took a deep breath. "Computer, play the message."
The screen flickered. The date of the recording flashed - it had been recorded when he was younger, maybe 8 or so, and just before the ship had last been seen. It flickered again, and the message played. A woman sat in front of the camera - she had short black hair and blue eyes, like Chiro, but wore a dark red coat and gray turtleneck. She smiled, and it was friendly yet playful, and Chiro felt himself go stock still.
"Hey Chiro," the woman said. "I don't know when you'll be seeing this, but I hope even more that you won't."
She sighed.
"I'm about to go on my last flight. It should be, anyway. It's a big score for me and the crew. We won't have to do any more shady things. But, last flight...brings up some bad images in my mind, and worries too. I know I'll come home, I promised you that. Remember? When I got back-"
"We'd go get ice cream and go to the arcade," Chiro said in unison with her.
"Chiro, there's so many things I wish I could tell you, about me, about what I do," she continued. "But you're still so young, my baby boy. I don't want you to have the burden of me being, well, a criminal on your shoulders. There's a lot of things I don't want you to go through, not like I did. But you are the best thing in my life, and know that I'll always come back for you, my darling son."
"Wait, that's your-" Nova sputtered.
"My mom...," Chiro said. He remembered now. He remembered their small little apartment, the smiles she had, the way she made coming home from school an adventure. The day she brought him here and scanned his palm on the computer...the day she left...
"Oh, my little star sweeper, one day I'll give you the stars- the galaxy. I'll show you every planet," she said. "For now, I just care about you being safe and happy. This hangar is yours now. There are a few ships in the back, but one is my personal cruiser. When you're 16 I'll teach you to fly it, and at 18, it's yours."
"I just hope to be there, Chiro," she looked back up, and it felt like she locked eyes with him. "Remember that I love you, so very much, and every day I'm away, all I'm thinking about is you. I'll see you soon, I promise. Captain Mara, signing off."
The video ended, and Chiro leaned heavily on the control pattern. He had nearly forgotten her voice, her face...the idea, the confirmation that she was dead, sank like a stone in his stomach. He could care less about the criminal past. He could hear the monkeys murmuring around him, trying to get his attention, but it sounded far away as he was caught in the riptide of his thoughts and emotions. It wasn't until he was pulled onto the floor by them did Chiro's head rise from the waters as his team pulled him into a hug, shushing the threatening tears away.
"She seemed wonderful," Gibson said, gently. "For a smuggler-"
"We're sorry, Chiro, that you had to find out everything like this," Nova said. "Why don't we return tomorrow to continue our search?"
Chiro shook his head, rubbing his eyes. "Let's finish here. Maybe...maybe I can find more about my mom that way."
"Alright, Chiro," Antauri said. "Let's see what we can find."
-
Mara woke up.
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AN: Here’s chapter three!
Title: The Ripple Effect
Characters: Hordak, Entrapta, Odessa, features others including OCs
Pairing: Entrapdak
Rating: M
Read on AO3.
Tower
Odessa has her gear prepped to go. Extravehicular Mobility Units were not used too often anymore, however, Entrapta and Hordak took extra precautions with the EMUs, and have even modified Tristan’s and Hydrangea’s spacesuits as well, to account for their height, weight, and metabolic rate. Darla had been upgraded continuously throughout the years, but has since been retired for this mission. Which didn’t bother Odessa in the slightest, as her parents believed she should have a ship of her own.
Celeste sits in the hangar, a cavern that had been excavated to accommodate for the growing number of people that now resided on Beast Island. The chatter of pookas echo through the vicinity. Her uncles had learned to live on the island, and that included taming some of the beasts that resided here. Pookas were not too dissimilar from the usual pet once their behavior was understood. She notes a few resting on Celeste’s roof, chittering at her as she walks beneath them. Odessa glides her fingers along the metallic surface, “Hey, it’s been a while since I used you.”
The ship whirs on, responsive to touch, but only from the genetic makeup of those that have been programmed into her system. Her parents, her siblings, Tristan and Hydrangea, and herself, are the ones that have been given permission to access her ship. However, it’s meant to be hers and no one else’s.
“This is so exciting!” Entrapta shouts. Hordak strides over, Entrapta shuffling beside him on her hair. Her father lugs heavy equipment bags with ease. Settling them on the ground, Entrapta beams at the two of them, “I wonder what our baby will find on the flagship!”
“It may be overrun with vegetation,” Hordak says. “None of us have bothered to go to it since the war.”
“There were collections of weapons and tech on the flagship as well that might be useful,” Entrapta says. She turns to Odessa, handing her a communicator. “I hacked into the mainframe of the ship and managed to give you a map of it, using old data from my past devices to navigate it. This one should be better, and I also updated its ability to detect heat signatures.”
Odessa looks at the screen, before smiling at her mother, “Thanks, Mom. This is going to be helpful. But, did none of you ever check the ship once Adora helped to defeat Prime?”
Hordak’s ears flick down for a moment, “It was no longer a concern, at the time. We only regrouped the rest of my brothers that had been left aboard. And when your mother and I had gotten closer to finishing up the repairs for Beast Island, turning the Fright Zone into New Chelicerata, and aiding everywhere else, we had not believed it necessary to investigate it further. There simply was no purpose to a flagship that was decimated of its original functions.”
Odessa nods, “It makes sense that it wouldn't work any longer. It’s hard to do that when a large amount of trees are protruding out of it.”
“With that, the atmosphere is not safe to breathe, of course,” Entrapta adds. “I have ensured that your oxygen tanks will last for nine hours—an improvement from the usual amount!—but you should be cautious, regardless of how confident you are that the tanks will not deplete their air supply too fast.”
Hordak opens the hatch, walking into the ship. He places all the equipment down, hooking the bags onto steel clasps. He points to weapons that he lines up along the wall, pressing a button for them to stick to magnetically, “Should you need any of them, they’re here.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Odessa replies. Walking up to him, she grins, resembling her mother, “I think we’ll be fine, but it’s good to be prepared, right?”
Hordak smiles at her, patting the top of her head, smoothing back her hair. Affectionately, Odessa pushes her head up into his palm, the way she used to as a child.
“I know we said we’d only be here for six weeks, but I do appreciate being allowed to pursue this,” she tells him.
“Your mother and I wouldn’t discourage you from curiosity,” Hordak replies.
Odessa beams up at him, shaking with excitement.
Her friends arrive ten minutes later, on time. They know how punctual Odessa and her family are, and after making her wait once, they learned to not do it again.
Entrapta, excited, bounds over to them, “Look! I upgraded your suits!”
“Ooh, cool!” Tristan says, holding up his. “I love the sheen going on.”
“I thought you might!”
Hydrangea grins at her, “Ooh, you changed up the texture for my fingers!”
“I even added these new features where you can get a snack and drink if you need it,” Entrapta tells them, explaining how to access it. Tristan and Hydrangea clap at her innovative features, thankful at her thoughtfulness.
Hordak, pleased at their display of gratitude, walks over to them, “In case of emergency, we have extra suits tucked away in the hatch, in addition to oxygen tanks stacked in storage. The distance is not far, but we made sure that you will all be comfortable on your journey to the flagship.”
“Thank you—both of you,” Hydrangea says. Entrapta hugs her tight, mimicking Scorpia surprisingly well.
Hordak pats Tristan’s shoulder, “The three of you be mindful. We will be on the communicator whenever one of you is in trouble, and we will send a portal your way.”
“Yes sir,” Tristan says. “We wouldn’t put Odessa in danger.”
Hordak smiles, touched, “I know you wouldn’t.”
-
Odessa always feels at home in space.
The endless darkness, speckled with shining stars, leaves her breathless each time. Space is too amazing to leave unexplored. There’s so much left to find out there.
She turns to her friends, “It won’t be long now. The flagship went further away, but thankfully it remains reachable.”
Hydrangea flips back her hair, “Des, do you believe we’ll find anything? The flagship had been overrun with plants, and I’m quite sure it had grown.”
“I don’t doubt there’s an abundance of it,” Odessa replies. She grins at her, “But that’s where your powers come in.”
Tristan zips up Hydrangea’s spacesuit, lifting her hair, “We’ll need to make sure there aren’t any living organisms on it. That thing’s been floating around Etheria for two whole decades. It’s likely made itself home to another alien creature by now.”
Odessa holds out her pad, “Whatever is on there will show up on the monitor. But, frankly, we shouldn’t find much else except for whatever bodies were left behind.”
Hydrangea walks over to the window, looking out. She hasn’t been up here for a good few years. There are shimmering sights beyond where they are, and she wonders if they’ll find what Odessa is looking for. Her friend has a determination that knows no bounds, but she doesn’t want to risk that there’s a chance she might not succeed. Although, she should give Odessa more credit. If an experiment or hypothesis proves incorrect, she is the sort to accept that it isn’t possible and move on to the next project. Hydrangea glances at Odessa, red eyes fixated on the pad, brows knitted together as she maps out the best course to head in.
Smiling, Hydrangea touches her shoulder, “You’re excited.”
Odessa grins at her, “Of course! It’s been a long time coming since you, Tris and I were on an adventure together.”
Tristan leans against the wall, “Hopefully, this won’t turn into a mess like last time.”
“Last time we were younger—inexperienced and kind of dumb,” Odessa answers. “We are perfectly equipped this time around. We’re not going to be reckless when we land.”
Hydrangea giggles, “You have to admit, the mess made it a little more exciting. And even then, we didn’t get into too much trouble. We just got lost.”
Odessa looks at Tristan, “Besides, why are you worried? You winged it when we were on R-175. You were more than fine.”
“Just because I know how to improvise doesn’t mean I’d like to do it again. I’d like to take it easy,” he replies. Moving over to them, he smiles, “I’d rather not play babysitter to the two of you.”
“Ooh, what an adult!” Odessa says, squishing her cheeks together. She then folds her arms, smirking, “This is coming from the guy who sulked at not having the last bowl of ice cream.”
“Uh, I called dibs and you swiped it, right under my nose. Yeah, I was gonna be a little upset.”
“Doesn’t help your case, Tris. Honestly, you’re not much older than Des and I,” Hydrangea says.
“Yet I know that if something goes wrong, I’ll probably get more shit for it. ‘You’re almost 18! This is on you!’” Tristan mocks, wagging a finger. He crosses his arms, “Like the two of you can't make up your own minds.”
“Don’t worry your pretty little head,” Odessa replies, pointing to the communicator. “You know my parents never discouraged us from exploring, and they do know we’re all capable of making our own decisions. I’m leading this expedition, so if anything does happen, it’s on me.”
Hydrangea leans over to check the monitor. She looks at Odessa, “Do you know where we’ll be landing on the Velvet Glove?”
Tristan snickers, “That name I swear…”
Shaking her head, Hydrangea feigns a sigh, "So sad. I wonder if he compensated for something.”
“Do you think that’s what he called his dick?”
“No, that’s the name of Horde Prime brand condoms,” Odessa says. “His dick was probably something like ‘The Illustrious Rod of Justice.’”
Giggling, Hydrangea adds, “He did go around ‘impregnating’ hundreds of galaxies. That guy had a loooot of repressed sexual feelings, I think.”
“Yeah, like, he did and didn’t?” Tristan says. “He was bizarre. He got boners over rules and oppressed people with his holier-than-thou morality.”
“Seriously. Did he have shitty parents that couldn’t go ‘hey son, maybe bullying people into following your rigid, black and white laws is pretty messed up’ or what?”
“Well, whatever he was,” Odessa says, looking out the window, “Prime’s remnants are still in the Velvet Glove. His, hopefully, very much intact and preserved genetic material.”
“Des, that sounded so wrong!” Hydrangea laughs.
Tristan makes jerking off motions and makes a ‘sploosh’ sound.
Odessa grins at them, turning back to the monitor, “But to answer your question, my father informed me of an open bay area that should still be functioning. We’ll dock there.”
Tristan bends down, voice low, “By the way, we’re all aware of the two red dots above us, right?”
Odessa whispers, “Yes, it’s been there for a while. But I didn’t want to alert anything to make sure we could sneak up on it.”
Hydrangea nods, “How should we proceed?”
“Gea, leave for the main corridor. Send an electric shock through the air duct to incapacitate, not kill the intruders or damage Celeste. Tris, you stay to the side and be alert in case that doesn’t knock it out—take my spear from me. I’ll stand here to look vulnerable. Countdown now to 120 seconds.”
Tristan removes her weapon without trouble. Hydrangea walks out of the cockpit, the doors whooshing open and closed. Glancing over his shoulder, Tristan meets Odessa’s eyes.
Suddenly, sparks of electricity crackle into the vent. Cries of shock reverberate through the duct, followed by loud banging as something hurries along within. Odessa narrows her eyes as Tristan rushes toward her, both stances offensive.
From the opening, two bodies fall down in front of them. Electricity fluffs up tufts of fur, as Adam and Molly look up at them.
Hydrangea bolts back inside, “Hey, what came fr— Oh!”
The three look down at two of the quadruplets.
Adam grins, lightning coursing over his whiskers, “What’s up, everyone! Fuck Prime, am I right?”
Molly groans, thunking her forehead onto the floor.
-
“I am so, so, so sorry!” Hydrangea says again, handing Molly and Adam packets of food. “I do hope the shock wasn’t too much.”
Adam waves a hand, “Nah, we’re fine, aren’t we?”
Molly sighs, wishing she was anywhere else.
Tristan kneels down in front of her, “Why didn’t you tell us you were here?”
At Molly's silence, Adam grins, scratching his cheek, “Weeeeell, you see, I thought it would be fun if we came to visit. I saw Odessa’s ship, thought, ‘Hey, that seems cool!’ so I got in—”
“—I tried to stop him.” Molly adds, giving a small glare to the floor. “But he was climbing in anyway—”
“And ta-daaaa, we’re here! In space,” Adam finishes. “It was really nothing more than the lust for adventure.”
“That was very dangerous,” Hydrangea scolds, placing a hand on her forehead. “We could’ve killed you by accident.”
“Now it will be on purpose,” Odessa hisses, stalking toward them. “You two fools could’ve endangered your lives, that of my crew, and neither of you have experience in space travel. You are liabilities that may impede our progress.”
“Odessa,” Tristan begins. “Your parents provided us with extra supplies. It’ll be okay.”
“I have to agree with Odessa,” Hydrangea says, staring at Adam and Molly. “What the two of you did was irresponsible.”
Molly remains mute, looking away.
Adam stands up, “Hold on, we'll be okay keeping up with the three of you.”
“That’s not the point,” Odessa snarls, hair slightly curling. “I don’t even know how you snuck inside Celeste, much less evaded detection for almost three days.”
“See? We’re very quiet! You didn’t even notice us until now. I think we’ve proven our capability to you,” Adam insists.
Arms in a placating position, Tristan remarks, “I think we need to take time to reflect on the next course of action. Adam, why don’t you and Molly go wait in one of the rooms?”
“Aww, that’s no fun,” Adam says, irritated.
“If it’s fun you want, I’m more than willing to tear it into you,” Odessa threatens.
“Yeesh! Okay, okay, I’m going,” Adam complains. But he exits the cockpit to enter a room down the hall.
Tristan stretches out a hand to Molly. She looks at it for a moment before taking it in hers. Guiding her to the door, Tristan nods at Molly, who gives him a small smile.
Once gone, Odessa says aloud, “Celeste, lock the two of them in their quarters.”
“Affirmative,” the ship answers.
Hydrangea sighs, claws rubbing her temples, “I have to admit, this isn’t the sort of conflict I was expecting immediately.”
Tristan returns Odessa’s staff to her, “Perhaps we should consider allowing them to tag along.”
Frowning, Odessa glares out the window. Arms folded, she shakes her head, “I would prefer not.”
“It may serve better to deal with them directly,” Tristan says. “I doubt you would want to allow Adam free rein of Celeste.”
“Ooh, yeah, that would not be good,” Hydrangea agrees.
Growling deep in her chest, Odessa throws her hands up in the air, “Fine! Fine, but if they step one toe out of line, I’m leaving them on the flagship. Don’t think I won’t!”
“Got it,” they say together, very aware she’s serious.
-
Reaching their destination, Celeste is docked. Odessa steps out onto the flagship, staring around at the expanse of white and grey. Once sleek walls have indeed been overgrown by flora—vines weaving through its corpse, leaves scraping its sides. There’s no oxygen in space, but they were correct to assume it’s only grown. The plants were called forth by She-Ra, and seem to contain a magical property that prevents them from wilting in zero gravity.
Odessa collects a sample in a small test tube. Plugging it closed, she says, “No one touch anything. The flagship isn’t moving, but there’s no certainty that Prime had not built back-up systems into it. Should one of you find something of merit, call me over.”
Adam pumps his fists, “Whoo-hoo! Let’s go exploring!”
Rolling her eyes, she turns around to face him, “Adam. Look at me. Are you looking? Look at me. Do. Not. Touch. Anything.”
“You just told everyone that,” Adam replies.
“Yes, but I have to make direct eye contact with you to ensure that you will, indeed, in the back of your brain, not touch anything.”
“Relaaaax,” Adam says, wrapping his arm around her, ignoring her scathing leer. “You’re talking to the King of Cool. I’m not going to mess anything up.”
“You better not,” Odessa threatens before stalking away. Not peering over her shoulder, she adds, “Tris, take Molly. Gea, take Adam.”
Pulling out her own pad—quickly modified by Odessa due to unwanted company—Hydrangea smiles at him, “Let’s go see what’s around, hm? I think heading east leads upwards to the elevators.”
“Sounds fun!” Adam says, breaking into a sprint. “I’ll race you!”
“Adam, that leads to the supply closets!” Hydrangea yells, running after him.
Tristan looks down at Molly, “Why don’t we go west, then?”
“Yeah, um, that sounds okay…” she whispers, feeling cramped in the EMU.
He smiles at her, unsure of what to talk about. Settling on silence, they walk in the opposite direction.
-
Hydrangea catches up with Adam, “Hey! You can’t go wandering off like that.”
Adam grins, “I know where I’m going. I have an excellent sense of direction.”
Shaking her head, Hydrangea walks alongside him, “Alright, but I think following the map will yield better results. This mission is very significant to Odessa, and we should make an effort to find what she needs.”
He glances at her, “What exactly are we looking for?”
“Pardon?”
Shrugging, Adam says, “She didn’t specify what she needed, so how can we put in any effort for things we’re unsure of?”
“Honestly, none of us are too sure of what we may find here. The flagship has been abandoned for so long, whatever may have been here might not even hold up anymore.”
“If I was her, I’d go scout for any leftover weapons.”
“Why’s that?”
“They wouldn’t be of any use floating around in the nether regions of space. Wouldn’t her family want them?”
“Her family would not,” Hydrangea states. There have been no wars, no battles, no unrest on Etheria since the Horde invasion came about. She knows that Odessa’s father and uncles have done their best to make reparations for past injustices towards her people, and what she is aware of is bringing back weaponry may instill fear and distrust again.
It had not been easy the first few years—the first decade—since Hordak and his brothers made a genuine attempt to make Etheria their home. Etherians, understandably, had very little faith and charity towards the Horde clones. Glimmer, Bow, and Adora vouched that things will change between the two factions of race. Adora assured the people that Prime’s defeat would bring a new dawn for them all, and Catra, having been Hordak’s very own second-in-command, stepped forward to aid him in making peace with the Etherians. For it did not matter that she was She-Ra’s lover. She, too, had caused destruction. Had tormented and ravaged Etheria, and even admitted that she was the mastermind behind the majority of attacks, much to Hordak’s chagrin. There were many villages who remembered her for that.
The idea of bringing Horde weapons onto Etheria would have consequences. The years go by, and she knows plenty of Etherians who welcomed them eventually. As of now, it’s nearly the majority. They have integrated into Etherian society remarkably well. Known in their respective communities, Talon and Hordak are two, in particular, that chose partners who were as equally recognized for their achievements in the realms of magic and science, respectfully. She knew Entrapta had not been accepted prior to the war, and had to prove herself after. Nyxia, from what she’d been told, had raised several eyebrows for taking a Horde clone as her husband, though no one commented on it. To her face, at least.
Hydrangea comprehends the value of peace. The lack of war was not the issue, for dissent can be riled without impending doom. Civil unrest depends on power structures. Everything continues to hinge on the belief that harm is not what the Horde desires.
She holds up the pad, showing Adam a different route, “We can go to another room. You can even pick.”
“Fucking awesome,” Adam says, pointing to another hallway.
-
Tristan continues along through the hallway, minding his business.
Molly does the same, but with an inclination toward anxiety, her thoughts bounce back and forth between not caring that he’s here, and wondering how anyone can stand her being here. Adam had to go and sneak into the cargo hold. Adam had to drag her along by grabbing her against her will and making her jump in. Adam had to insist on climbing into the vents instead of saying they were onboard, wound up electrocuted, and got Odessa mad at them.
Odessa isn’t a person she knows too well, but Molly would prefer not being viewed as a pest by the one leading them into unknown territory. She wouldn’t blame Odessa if she did abandon them on this empty hunk of junk.
“We’re coming up to a divide, which way should we go?” Tristan asks, breaking her from the reverie.
Molly crosses her arms, “I don’t know…”
“Do you want to go left?”
Glancing that direction, she frowns. Shaking her head, she says, “I’d rather go right. If that’s okay!”
Tristan smiles, “Right it is.”
Keeping up with his long strides, Molly sighs to herself.
“Not exactly what you planned on,” he states, attempting, once more, to make conversation.
“No, I definitely did not expect to be out in space for three days,” Molly complains, crossing her arms. “I don’t really care for it.”
“Space travel isn’t for everyone,” he says. “I’ve only gotten to go a handful of times.”
Looking up at him, she lightly clears her throat, “When?”
“When I was younger, I went on a trip with Gea, Des, and her parents. It was amazing! Normally, we talked with her via telecommunicator.”
“All the time?”
“Every day if possible.”
Molly gives a small nod, “That sounds nice…”
“It was,” Tristan replies. “Granted, like I said, it was a handful of times. Our parents weren’t too keen on Gea and I being gone for extended periods of time.”
“What was the longest you were gone?”
“Five months. Half a year was too much for them, I think,” Tristan laughs. Not that he would’ve minded being gone for that time, or longer. There was so much out there to investigate, it didn’t make sense to stay in one place. That, and he didn’t venture out of his room unless it was to spend time with his friends. He’s considered a homebody by his parents, but truthfully, he doesn’t spend much time at Salineas.
“Right,” Molly remarks to herself. “There was a festival a couple years back. You and your friends weren’t there.”
“Right, the Fresian Festival,” Tristan replies. He smiles at her. “I’m amazed you remembered.”
“Oh! People commented on it. I only just connected the dots,” she says, chuckling nervously.
“Even so,” Tristan says. Stopping in front of a large entrance, he reaches his hand out. Ensuring there’s no barrier, he walks through. A table sits, unobtrusive, in the center. He inspects it all around, kneeling to peer at its underside.
Molly rubs her arm, feeling more stifled. She tilts her head, “What is a table doing here?”
“Not sure,” Tristan replies. He looks at its edge, noting the faintest outline of a pad. He shrugs, “It must’ve been used for something.”
“I guess it’d be bad if we checked…”
“It may not work anymore,” he says. “It could be a control pad for navigation, or releasing dozens of soldiers at once.”
“Maybe it’s a hologram for entertainment,” Molly lightly jokes.
He grins at her, “Maybe!”
Returning the smile, she clicks her claws against each other, “Um, well, Odessa said not to touch anything. So we should probably leave it alone.”
“We’ll bring her back to look at it,” Tristan replies.
Exiting the odd room, they begin down the other corridor.
-
Dangling from wires that stretch deep into black, hundreds of bodies hang suspended where Odessa walks. Being the main goal for this expedition, she steps past several columns before pausing in front of a random case. Wiping off imaginary dust, observing the weathered face inside, she wonders if it’s even viable. The system has continued to function. She spent the first few hours merely inspecting an aspect of her life that she only heard about. The weapons were kept in storage, and she found the pool of liquid where her father had been stripped of all free will. Further along, she encountered an odd room with a single table, its buttons and pad faintly outlined. Pressing it, it opened a hole where copious amounts of surgical tools were kept, laid in neat rows. She took them for herself, and some were medical instruments she never saw before.
With that accomplished, she ventured out to find this room. Approaching another container, she looks within to see a similar individual with long, white locks, eyes closed. Prime. Or one of him. All of these must be him. The actual Prime was never retrieved from the chasm of the flagship. No one wanted to bury him, and she doesn’t blame them. She wouldn’t either.
But this… this is another of his forms. An impressive specimen, she must admit. Even in this state, at his peak, he would’ve stood out among her father and uncles. Likely as a way of preserving their species’ capabilities of agility and strength, while keeping their physical bodies weaker than his own to overpower and dominate.
Touching the glass, she presses her face closer to the vitrine. Her father told her that he’s dead, but there had been a way of accessing his memories. Prime had done it before. She surmised that his previous bodies were kept on hand for knowledge. The body may be inanimate, but the brain, if preserved, could be examined. A corpse with a living mind. Its own special little coffin. Such a thing would frighten Etherians, who, despite their alliance with her people, still have a difficult time comprehending—or, rather, accepting—what science can do.
Odessa touches the black pad wrapping around the case. It turns on, and she balls her hand in a light fist, gently pricking her palm with her fingernails, uncertain of what to do. Rubbing her thumbs underneath her fingertips, she decides to press down on a few buttons. Nothing. She slides her digits over the longer, colored section, and it hums with energy. The vitrine lights up within, haloing the body. Its eyes remain closed but she sees his form better.
Odessa taps a few more combinations, and it glows even brighter—
Right before it opens and spills the contents out onto the ground.
“Shit,” she murmurs to herself, kneeling in front of the body. Glancing at its case, she knows there’s no way to put it back in. Tugging its face toward her, she inspects the body. It really is remarkable how preserved it is for all the decades it's been deceased.
Setting down her bag, she pulls out cotton swabs to collect skin samples, trims off claws, and pulls out teeth with a plier. Then she stares at the head for a good moment or two.
Pulling out the trephine, a gift from the table earlier, she drills a hole in the head to relieve pressure, as well as to remove excess liquid so that nothing sprays out at her. Once complete, having opted for a full removal, she puts away her tool for favor of a small, circular blade. Shearing off the hair, and some wires, from the scalp, Odessa marks where to cut with a pen. She digs into the skin and stops for a second when it makes contact with bone. Clicking it on, the blade begins to gingerly whir, and she follows the path.
Brain fluid and blood seep out onto the floor, mixing with the liquid from the vitrine. Carefully, she pulls away the bone flap, and inspects the brain for possible damage. Taking out a small scalpel, she slices at the thin layers of membrane that cling to the inside of the skull. The meninges cut, more cerebrospinal fluid spills out. Tugging it out inch by inch, she snips the connection at the brainstem and spinal cord; Odessa holds the brain in her free hand, its weight sinking into her palm. Holding up the organ, she inspects it: perfectly intact.
Laying it down on a towel, she wipes her hands off the edge of it. Odessa brings out a large jar from her bag, filling the container with any of the remaining liquid from the vitrine. She needs every bit of it though.
Holding down her helmet’s interphone, she says, “Tristan, do you copy?”
“I do, what’s up?”
“Can you come to my location and help me with something?”
“I’ll be right over,” he says.
It doesn’t take him long before he arrives, and the first thing she hears is Molly yell.
“What is that?! Is that a body?!” she demands, jumping back in disgust.
Odessa crosses her arms, “Yes, obviously.”
Tristan walks over, looking down at it. Then he turns to her, smirking, “I hope he was dead already.”
“He was,” Odessa smirks back. “I need you to move some liquid left in the vitrine into the jar behind me. I took some but it needs more.”
Molly wrinkles her nose, bothered by the nonchalance displayed by the two of them.
Tristan moves his hands in a flowing arc, pouring the water into the jar until it reaches the top. Odessa spins the cap back on, pleased with her work.
Groaning, Molly keeps her eyes on the door.
Tucking all her items with care into her bag, Odessa says, “What did you find?”
“We came across a room with a table in it, but we didn’t touch it,” Tristan replies.
"Was it before you came here?"
"Yes, why?"
Odessa gives her bag a slight shake, "These were from there!"
"Nice," he says. "Good thing we didn't open it, that'd be anticlimactic."
“Anything else?”
“We came across the kitchens, the holding cells, the area where it seems clones are born, all that fun stuff,” he says.
“Interesting,” Odessa answers. “It seems that the flagship was to keep the amount of soldiers he had, and different areas were few and far in between.”
“Seems to be,” Tristan says, walking with her and Molly to the exit. “I guess interior decorating wasn’t his thing.”
Odessa laughs, “No, I suppose not.”
Heading down the hall, they contact Hydrangea, who says she is nearby Celeste. Odessa is led by Tristan to the room with the single table, and she remarks, “I wish there were more instruments in here."
"Didn't you already have these things on hand with you?"
"Yes, but it doesn't hurt to have more!"
“I guess...” Molly murmurs.
Continuing down the corridor, Odessa asks, “Did you explore that area?”
Tristan shakes her head, “No, Molly and I checked everything else. Gea, maybe?”
“Hey, Gea, did you happen to investigate the northern corridor?” Odessa queries, clicking her interphone on.
“No, I didn’t,” her voice comes through the intercom.
“Tris, why don’t you two head back to Celeste? I’ll only take a minute. And for the love of all that’s good, keep Adam from the controls.”
“Will do, Captain,” he replies.
With that, she takes her leave. The hallway is covered with the faintest layer of dust, floating, never settling onto the surface. Odessa notes cracks in the walls, stepping over foliage that wraps through the metal. She finds a room filled with keepsakes, creatures and objects lining the walls. At the forefront, she notices shattered glass on the ground. Bending down, she raises it to her eye level, its surface poorly shining. The colors are strong, however, and it seems to have formed a particular shape at one point.
Compelled, Odessa gathers every broken fragment and places it inside her bag.
-
“What is it?” Hydrangea asks, combing through Tristan’s hair. They have bid their unwelcome guests, as Odessa puts it, goodnight, and are congregated in Hydrangea's sleeping quarters.
“I’m not sure,” Odessa says, holding up a small piece of glass. “It doesn’t seem to hold much value anymore, that’s for certain.”
Tristan tilts his head down, letting Hydrangea brush better, “A treasure from a conquered planet. Doesn’t seem to be anything else, aside from a sad reminder.”
Peering at it, Odessa checks every bit of its blue, dulled by time, but no less impressive in its sheen; its delicate thinness reveals a species that valued aesthetic beauty. Whoever this belonged to stood no chance against Prime.
Twirling the fragment in her hand, Odessa says, “But we found much more than we believed, which counts for something.”
“Which is exciting!” Hydrangea says, switching places with Tristan. “We don’t know what all this means yet, but I’m sure we will eventually.”
Odessa smiles, shaking her hands at the possibilities. Any object or clue that they find has potential. She isn’t sure where this will go, but she wants to learn as much as she can.
Like her mother always says: for science!
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Love Isn’t Always On Time Part Twenty Four
Previous Part | Next Part | Masterlist
Notes: These next few chapters are gonna be kinda Steve-heavy due to the nature of the MCU
Not beta-read
Warnings: Uuuuh none
Summary:
Steve had been in D.C. for nearly seven months; I got regular updates about him from Natasha, but he didn't know that. I was worried about him getting lonely while he was down there, had asked her to keep an eye out.
"Come on, please? Just for a weekend."
My brows rose at the tone of voice, and I shifted the phone where it was cradled between my ear and shoulder. It was slow as hell at work -- one couple making out in the corner and a regular that I trusted to pour his own drinks from the bottle of Jack I'd left on the Formica-topped bar. I wasn't too far off from it anyway - close enough to make it look like I'd just set it aside to spiral a lemon peel if my boss stepped out of his office.
Steve had been in D.C. for nearly seven months; I got regular updates about him from Natasha, but he didn't know that. I was worried about him getting lonely while he was down there, had asked her to keep an eye out.
I liked Natasha. We'd known one another before I went back in time; she'd always told me I was in the wrong business. When I'd come back, I'd bonded with her and Hill more than I thought I ever would.
"I'm trying to get him to go out more," Natasha told me the last time we'd spoken, "But it's hard. He's got this little notebook he keeps of things people tell him he needs to look up. I'm pretty sure he's been spending all of his free time either working out or looking things up."
"Steve likes to be thorough."
"I bet he does." That flirty edge to her voice told me Steve had mentioned a thing or two about our past relationship.
I ran my hand over my face, looking around the bar, as if there was someone or something there that needed my help to get me off of this call. I'd been dying to see Steve, but adamant with myself about giving him his space.
"Sounds an awful lot like you're begging me to come and see you," I finally said.
"I am."
There was a firmness in his voice that I hadn't heard from him in a long time. At least, not where I was concerned.
"I miss you," He added more quietly. I wasn't expecting that. In all of our other conversations, Steve had nothing but good things to say about D.C., the sparse details of the missions he was going on, the things he got to do and see, some fancy combat moves he'd learned while sparring with Natasha. I leaned against the bar, resting my hand on the phone and sighing.
"I miss you, too, Stevie."
"Then come see me. Drive down in that swish car Stark gave you and stay the weekend."
---
"You haven't been sleeping well," I observed when he opened the door. He pursed his lips.
"It hasn't even been a minute and you're already scolding me," Steve pulled me into a warm hug before I could say anything else. I leaned into it, sliding my arms up over those broad shoulders and letting myself curl against him.
"Come on," He urged me inside, an arm still around my waist as he led me into his apartment. I whistled, looking around.
"They set you up in a nice place," I commented, looking around.
"I like it. Three times as big as our old place," Steve reminded me.
"And not even half the size of the floor Stark set you up in," I teased.
"I went on a mission last night. That's why I look tired," Steve justified to me. I hummed in understanding, leaning against the arm of the couch and looking up at him.
"Everything go okay?"
"Fine. Fine, just. Natasha..." He trailed off, shaking his head, and I frowned, waiting for him to finish. When he left it at that, I sighed.
"Nat's a spy, Stevie. Not a soldier."
"You sound like her."
"I'm stating a fact. S.H.I.E.L.D isn't like the old days, we can't go back to that. Everything is different now. The way we treat our privacy is different, the way we fight wars is different. And with Loki, in New York? Thor? Gods, demi-gods, magic, whatever the fuck the Tesseract is? The world has changed."
Steve's lips were pressed into a thin line. Neither of us spoke right away.
"I thought Nat was kidding when she told me that not being in the game was driving you crazy," Steve said.
"You two talk about me?" I asked.
"About as much as you two talk about me," Steve retorted. I nodded. That was fair.
"Why don't you talk to Fury about getting reinstated?" Steve asked. I snorted.
"That's not gonna happen, and you know it." I pushed myself off of the arm of the couch.
"We should go do something. What do you wanna do?" I asked.
"Could check out the exhibit." I knew exactly what he was talking about. I nodded.
"Let's go."
"I'll grab my jacket."
"Still can't believe you haven't gone yet. It's been open for months. I hear Morita and Falsworth were at the opening," I said, leaning in Steve's doorway as he pulled his jacket on.
"They were. I saw them separately. I can still drink them under the table."
"Only because alcohol doesn't effect you. That is elder abuse, Rogers."
"Hey, I'm an elder. You wouldn't believe the look the ticket taker gave me when I asked for the senior discount at the movies last week." I snorted, grinning, and straightened up as Steve made to leave the apartment, baseball cap in hand.
"Hey, Steve."
We turned at the sound of a woman's voice, and I raised a brow at the sight of a pretty blonde in nurse's scrubs and a denim jacket. She cast me a smile, and I did my best to return it, even as my mind was racing.
"Hey, Sharon," Steve greeted.
She ducked into her apartment before introductions could be made. I could swear I had seen her before, but I couldn't place her. Steve must've taken my furrowed brow and staring at her door for simple confusion.
"My neighbor," Steve explained.
"I kinda got that when she opened the door to the apartment and went inside."
"Alright, smart-ass," Steve grumbled.
"We taking your bike?" I asked, tucking my hands into my pockets.
"We can, if that's what you want."
What I wanted was a good reason to hold on to Steve.
---
We took the bike.
---
"I still don't understand why they're exhibiting this in the Museum of Air and Space," I commented. Steve had surprised me by taking my hand in his as we walked toward the building.
"I mean, no offense, but the one time you flew a plane, it didn't go all that well," I added. Steve shot me a look from under his cap, and I couldn't help but snort.
" 'm just saying,' I mumbled.
I felt Steve tense as we drew closer to the exhibit. The words, 'Captain America: The Living Legend And Symbol of Courage' were in thick type at the entrance.
"If you wanna go at any point, we can," I offered. Steve nodded, giving my hand a squeeze as we walked inside.
"The story of Captain America is one of honor, bravery, and sacrifice."
Steve's shoulders were practically at his ears, head ducked like if he stood up straight, people would know him instantly. I didn't blame him- a baseball cap wasn't the most efficient method of cover.
Drifting through the exhibit with Steve's hand in mine made me think of the World's Fair, Bucky's last night in Brooklyn, and our last night as us.
"Hey," Steve said softly, squeezing my hand and drawing my attention to a photo. I turned to look at it, and I felt my jaw drop. I wandered closer to it, stunned at the sight of a picture of Steve and I. It was from behind the scenes on the bond tour.
I could tell from our positions - my face tipped up and grinning, lipstick smudged, his head bent toward me, hands cradling my face- that he'd just gotten through kissing me fairly thoroughly. The caption beneath the portrait said 'Captain Rogers with unidentified fan'.
"'Unidentified fan'," Steve read, brow furrowing.
"Well. I was a fan. Still am, in fact."
Steve lowered his voice, "Do you think that was... S.H.I.E.L.D's doing? Keeping your name out of things?"
"If they knew this was listed to be part of the exhibit, they never would've let it through. I did my best to keep my head down and my face out of the pictures back then. I guess this one slipped."
"This and that picture of you and Howard."
I hummed in agreement, nodding. Tony had gone through a few of his father's things, finding notes on Steve, me, Bucky, and a newspaper clipping from the World's Fair; a photo I barely remembered with me pulled into a grinning Howard's side; I'd looked like I'd seen a ghost.
"I used to think you were just camera shy. Especially when Bucky borrowed that one from Ernie, to take a picture of you before he was shipped off.”
My face went red at the memory, Bucky's careful cajoling as I had stripped down to my bullet bra, garter belt and tap pants ("You really think I'd ever let the guys see this?...Aw, baby, no, this is just for me...And maybe a copy for Stevie...Look at you, all flushed. So pretty for me, baby.")
"You okay?"
Steve's words broke me from my remembrance, and I raised my eyes to meet his. He had a small, mischievous smile and a twinkle in his eye.
"I'm fine. I was...Somewhere else."
"I think I know where that might've been," Steve teased, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
"Shut up," I mumbled, ducking my head as if I could hide the blush Steve had already seen.
"Tell you what," He added, "I still have that picture."
"You do not."
"Do, too," Steve laughed.
We rounded a corned and both froze when we saw it. Bucky. A photo of his face, that stern moue of his mouth.
"Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both school yard and battle field. Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life in the service of his country."
Just beside the display, old reels of footage showing Steve and Bucky pouring over maps, of the two of them side by side, laughing despite of where they were, what they were doing. I turned my head, resting my forehead against Steve's shoulder and closing my eyes for a moment. I missed Bucky every day, but that loss always felt little more poignant when I was with Steve. It wasn't fair that he and I were there and Bucky wasn't.
"Y'alright?" Steve asked. I lifted my head, swinging our hands between us and casting Bucky one more look before nodding.
"C'mon," I urged, "I wanna see if they have a bobble head of you in the gift shop."
---
"You seeing anyone?" I asked. Steve squirmed in his seat, eyes set on his fries. I'd waited until we were well into our meal to start politely grilling him. It wasn't going well.
"No," He said.
"Not even Natasha? You two seem pretty close." Steve shrugged his shoulders.
"We've been working together a lot."
"She's attractive, you're attractive--"
"Is that all it takes?"
"You two are very similar people," I finished, watching Steve, "You're both calculated, quick. I'm not saying being hot is a requirement but it doesn't hurt." Steve grunted, and I could tell it was a dead-end.
"What about that neighbor we ran into?" I prodded. Steve lifted his head, meeting my eyes.
"Have you been seeing anyone?" He asked.
"We're not talking about me."
"Well have you?" I held his gaze as he stared me down before I shook my head a little bit.
"No."
"Neither have I."
"Not even one date? One drink, one dance?"
"Nope."
"What are you waiting for, Steve?"
"Nothing. I've already met the right partner. I made the mistake of leaving her in New York." My stomach twisted, and I felt myself drawing away, slouching a little; it was my turn to look down at my fries.
"Nat's down here with you," I pointed out.
"It ain't Nat and you know it."
"Steve--"
"I have had... A lot of time to think," Steve said, "And Nat has spent a lot of time trying to set me up." I laughed, shaking my head and raising my eyes to meet his. Steve leaned forward, folding his arms and watching me.
"I haven't just woken up. I have spent time in the 21st century, and I've been doing it without you, and it's awful. If you don't feel the same, that's alright, I get it. I haven't been the best at keeping in touch--"
"You've been working things out. I was trying to give you your space, too."
"I don't want that much space."
"...So what do you want to do? Stay here in D.C.?"
"Work will keep me down here, probably. Headquarters is here." I nodded. Steve bit his lip, thinking.
"I ...Would you come down here?" He asked. He looked shy, nervous. I smiled.
"I think they've got bars down here. I could get a job."
"Wouldn't have to worry about an apartment," Steve added.
"Or a car," I smiled. Steve's shoulders relaxed for the first time since we left the museum. He took hold of my hand, raising it to his lips and pressing a kiss to the back of it.
"Fuck, I've missed you, doll," He sighed.
"Language, Rogers."
Tag List: @gloryevans @redryderdesigns @winter-scolder @aactuaaltraash @secretagentben @staplerrrr @moli1497 @adayinmymeadow @allonszassbutt @mannls @witch-of-letters @niallssweetheart22 @uneniffler @rinthehufflepuff @panic-angel3314 @firstangeldragonranch @kaetastic @mcuwillbethedeathofme @skeletoresinthebasement @i-dont-know-what-im-doing-yay @kkaos15 @iiamnotoverlyfondofwhatfollows @bassclarinety @tomshelbystits @rvgrsbrns @marvelmenarebeautiful
#Steve Rogers#steve rogers x reader#steve rogers x you#steve rogers x bucky barnes#steve rogers x reader x bucky barnes#stucky#stucky x reader#stucky x you#Bucky Barnes#bucky barnes x reader#bucky barnes x you#Love Isn't Always on Time
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You should do all of them questions and 90 is true
I love you!!!!
1. Favorite instrument?
I work at a music store u can’t just ask me this. When my coworkers play it’s the saxophone or the flute, when the boys in the repair shop are testing repairs and they harmonize with each other or try to outplay one another it’s the bassoon or the trombone or whatever they’re fixing at the moment. When I hear 🎺 give his lesson on Wednesday afternoons it’s the trumpet, and when I think about middle school it’s the clarinet, the flute, the French horn. When I hear the nutcracker pas des deux is the oboe and when I hear edith piaf l’accordeoniste it’s the remarkable human voice. Really my favorite instrument is all of them, it just depends.
2. Favorite fic trope? Mutual pining 🥺
3. Sport you played for the longest amount of time? LMAO I wasn’t a sporty kid but I did ballet
4. Shoe size? 10-11
5. Most recent (good) dream? Uhh I had a dream last night about my coworker 🎹 it wasn’t bad though I can’t really remember what it was about
6. Last person in your DMs? smugg
7. Can you do a handstand? Nooo nooo lmaoo nooooo
8. Unpopular food opinion I don’t like oranges or red meat
9. Conspiracy you believe in? There’s some kind of weird weather dome in my hometown around the military base that makes most storms pass around us
10. Is your hair its natural color/style? Most of it is I dyed the bottom layer of my hair tho so it’s blonde rn
11. state a useless fact all that’s coming to mind is outright lies rn hold on. The inventor of pringles is buried in a pringles can that’s so fucking nasty omg
12. most interesting gossip you’ve heard? Idk I don’t really care for gossip uhhhh have u heard tho rin dippindogs is a huge gay hah she uhh she like men AND women lmao gaaay gaaaay
13. Middle name? Carolyn
14. Sexuality? Bisexual
15. Amount of sleep you got last night? Idk actually I think like 9-10 hrs tho I slept in until 11
16. Opinion on ice cream cake? Tasty!!!
17. Opinion on (cup)cake frosting? It’s depends buttercream is usually too sweet for me in large amounts so I prefer whipped cream frosting
18. Last board game you played? Idk??? We played hunt a killer tho last Thursday me n my family I guess that counts kinda
19. Project you want to start? I need ideas first baby
20. Project you’re working on right now? HAHAHAHAHAHA
21. TV show you’re watching? nothing rn I just rewatch bojack a lot if I watch anything
22. Last movie you watched? Lego batman I think
23. Ever left anon hate? Not legit hate
24. Ever left anon love? Yes all the time. Sometimes to strangers it’s my favorite thing to do
25. Best Disney movie? The princess and the frog
26. Best Pixar movie? Soul or Up I can’t decide
27. Best Star Wars? Um. Empire strikes back
28. Last thing you consumed? Fuit gumy
29. NoTP? Idk I don’t really hate ships unless they’re gross like pedophilic gross
30. story behind your (nick)name? When I was a fetus my great grandfather had a dream that my name should be Carolyn Marie but my parents were huge dweebs so they named me Marina after the actress of Deanna Troi in Star Trek. Idk about my nickname ive just always been Rina/Rin as long as I can remember
31. ice cream order? Lately it’s lemon sorbetto I know it’s SO high in sugar but I love it
32. describe your blog in <5 words I love you
33. how many blogs do you follow? 436
34. Describe your voice it depends usually I sound like a sick child but my customer service voice is really pleasant
35. Describe your smile it’s cute :)
36. What is the place you live known for? LMAOOO LMAO we have a military base nearby and like. I could go on abt that one but also like. There’s a lot of gang violence and a lot of the other consequences of poverty. People from the cities around us see us as “””ghetto””” or violent but it’s just. It’s more than that it’s always more than that. And idk what else there’s nothing really particularly special about this town except that we’re all here and not anywhere else
37. What is the place you’re originally from known for? (if they’re different)
38. pronouns? she/any idc
39. Languages you speak? English
40. first friend you made through tumblr? Idk. I probably don’t talk to them anymore :(
41. Person on tumblr you know in real life? my brother
42. First dog breed you think of shih tzu I have 2 next to me rn
43. room wall color? Purble!!!! The paint color is called grape juice that’s why I picked it!!!
44. Song that’s stuck in your head right now? It’s tricky to rock a rhyme to rock a rhyme that’s right on time it’s trickyyyyy
45. Favorite number? 5, 34
46. Color you associate with your name? Red
47. Favorite jolly rancher flavor?watermelon
48. Pets? 2 dogs rocket and groot and 4 cats loki danni who r from the same litter and we raised from kittens, miss kitty who we adopted from a shelter after my boy blue moon passed away and ben (his real name is Kylo Ren thanks to my mom but I refuse to call him that) he is my little baby and he has 7 toes on his front paws
49. Collections? Hot wheels
50. Character outside of your fandom you’d marry? Girl what lmaooo idk
51. Character outside of your fandom you’d kill? That’s mean :(
52. Have you met any celebrities? NO thank god id have to kill on sight
53. Favorite time period in history? Itslian Renaissance & Romantic Era
54. What time is it right now? 2:35 am oops
55. History or future? Future but like . A good one. Or prehistory
56. Space or ocean? Space
57. Fears? Abandonment
58. Command + v and post. It’s this list of questions u don’t want that
59. Favorite season? Spring
60. Describe your aesthetic. Messy just a mess, neon and old buildings and things, antiques, countryside if there weren’t so many trump pence flags still lmaoo give uppp give up, nature just al of nature and space and places humans can’t touch and places they used to touch but can’t anymore
61. MBTI? Infp but I haven’t taken it in a few years
62. What’s your relationship with your family like? Normal.
63. “Biggest fan” in your tumblr activity? I’m in mobile hold on acc to tumblr it’s akky
64. Favorite musical? Sweeney todd
65. Comfort book? Idk how to read 💔💔💔 wuthering heights tho
66. Comfort movie? Whisper of the heart
67. OTP? Girl idk
68. BroTP? Joey and Tristan yugioh
69. AUs or canon compliant? Canon ig idk
70. Opinion on the person who’s sending the ask? It’s an anon!! But I love them
71. FMK + 3 characters anon didnt leave any characters and I was going to say something very bad but I won’t
72. Dream date? I’ve wanted to do this for a while but ideally it would be after we’d been together a while maybe even engaged or whatever, I wanna go to like a Home Depot or a furniture store and pretend to be married and looking for house paints and furniture and plan what our home is going to look like I wanna do that so bad. But idk for a first/early relationship date i really want to go to the zilker botanical garden it’s one of my favorite places, we could also go to the natural gardener which is a plant nursery in Austin I really love it there too and it’s not that far from zilker.
73. Relationship status? Single
74. Ever dyed your hair? Do you plan to? Yes and perhaps. Maybe
75. Dream job/career? Idk anymore I used to have big girl goals and I haven’t had any in a while. But when I was younger I wanted to be a game warden
76. Favorite band/singer? Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
77. Something that makes you soft/that you find adorable? My cats
78. The first thing you would do if you won the lottery? Buy a house
79. Are you superstitious? Yes
80. Character you project onto? Shizuku tsukishima
81. Fictional character you’ve had a crush on? Vergil devil may cry. Forever husband
82. Celebrity crush? LMAO
83. Person on here you’d date? my mutuals
84. Person on here you’d marry? 🥺 my mutuals
85. Person on here you’d throw into the void? Smugg
86. Other social media you have? I’ve got a photography insta that I barely use and a Twitter that’s just nintendo switch screenies that’s it
87. Finish the sentence: Due to personal reasons, ___________i will be passing away
88. Bad habit? I find it rlly hard to say no or like to say when and why I’m upset I don’t feel like for the latter I don’t feel like I should bring something that’s upsetting me up because I know I’ll get over it on my own and I don’t really trust myself to be upset about rational things. Idk I’m working on it
89. Three things you like about yourself? I’m hot, I’m kind, I’m resilient
90. Ily and you deserve the world I love you!!!!! YOU deserve it too!!!
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My Little Blue Star
Jim Kirk x Kat Sparrow (Original Female Character): Soulmate AU - Identical tattoos or birthmarks
Kat sighs staring down at the blue star on her wrist. She was almost thirty years old and hadn’t met her soulmate yet… which normally would mean she never would. Hell for all she knew they could be dead or already happily married with kids. The soulmate tattoos caused a lot of controversy. Many people used to have their kids soulmate tattoos removed when they were babies or children. That was until it was forbidden for a soulmate tattoo to be removed until a person was twenty-one years old. This was to prevent parents from forcing their children’s removed and to keep teens who thought they were in love from having it done.
Many people would fall in love and get married only to later end up in a horrible situation when they met their soulmate. They would have to choose between their spouse and the person they were destined for. Most couples who weren’t soulmates got their tattoos removed at their ten year anniversary, others when they first got married, or when their kids were born. If one soulmate removed their tattoo the others would disappear, the same would happen if someone altered their tattoo; their soulmates would change as well; whether this was by adding to the tattoo, removing part of it, or having a scar change it.
Some people had multiple tattoos, meaning either they were destined for a polyamorous relationship or they simply had multiple chances at finding a soulmate, or one of their soulmates was destined to die… something no one ever wanted to think about. But Kat simply had one. Her blue star had never changed… at least not as long as she could remember. It sat right over her pulse point on her left wrist. A simple light blue star with a black border… it looked almost like a sketch, with the multiple lines making up each edge. The star was faded, like someone had tried to wash it away… Pictures of her when she was born show the star being much more vibrant.
“Kat, are you coming to dinner?” Kat looks up as her best friend pulls her from her thoughts.
“Yeah, I’m coming, Nyota.” She closes down her station following her friend to the mess hall. Kat was head of computer sciences aboard the USS Enterprise. She had worked on the ship since the Nero incident a little over five years before. Nyota had already found her soulmate in her boyfriend Spock. At first the only friend Kat had on the Enterprise was Nyota. Then she’d introduced her to the rest of the head crew. Kat had instantly clicked with Hikaru and Pavel, the two instantly earning themselves a place as her best friends. Hikaru had also found his soulmate in his husband Ben. The two had a daughter now.
“Hey, Kat” She smiles as Pavel waves her and Nyota over to them. Nyota sits down next to Spock, who is talking with Bones, another of Kat’s best friends. The doctor was yelling at him as usual while Spock simply raised an eyebrow in concern? At least that’s what she thought that face meant; the half-vulcan was very hard to read at times. Hikaru and Pavel seemed to be in the middle of some type of challenge, they each had houses built of forks in front of them and were adding more. Scotty and Keenzer were cheering them on. Jim, the captain of the ship was watching all this in amusement. That was their little family.
“What exactly are you doing?” Kat asks as she sets her tray down.
“I bet Pasha here that I could build a taller tower then him.” Hikaru says smirking. Kat shakes her head sitting down and eating her food. She pulls her blue sleeve back from her wrist to look at her tattoo again, letting her mind wander as she eats, absentmindedly listening to her friends argue and talk excitedly.
“Are you worrying about that again?” She looks up as Bones addresses her. Kat quickly covers her tattoo with her sleeve. She wasn’t one to display her soulmate tattoo; many people didn’t, wearing black bands on their wrists to cover it. Normally Kat wore one as well, but hers had broken that morning. This made it a lot harder to find your soulmate, but kept you from finding them while in the middle of situation that was inappropriate, such as at work, or during a negotiation of some sort. The only other person in their friend group who had ever worn one was Jim. But Kat had noticed he’d stopped wearing his when it became legal for Captains to date their crew; so long as they disclosed the relationship to the admiralty, their first officer, and their head of medical.
“Worrying about what?” Kat asks playing dumb, as she pushes her glasses up her face, a nervous habit she’d picked up as a kid. She was allergic to the medicine that fixed eyesight and so was one of the few people in the federation who needed them, something she had once been very subconscious about.
“Your soulmate, you normally move your band to look at it or fiddle with the band when you’re thinking about it.” Nyota says. Kat scowls.
“You people are too damn observant.”
“You shouldn’t vorry; you’ll find zhem when iz’s time.” Pavel says placing another fork on his tower.
“Not everyone does, Pavel. With my luck they’re either dead or already married.” Kat shakes her head.
“Well you’ll never find them if you keep the tattoo covered like you do? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it?” Bones points out.
“I thought you didn’t believe in the soulmate tattoos?” Kat counters crossing her arms. Bones had been married when his wife had found her soulmate and divorced him. He’d been very cynical about it since. It didn’t help his soulmate had removed their tattoo when he was around sixteen.
“I believe in them, just don’t like em.” Bones counters.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen it either?” Hikaru points out.
“I normally wear my band; it broke this morning though…” Kat shrugs.
“But why hide it if you want to find yours, Lass?” Scotty asks. Kat looks away.
“We weren’t allowed to show them in the orphanage or during the war…” She explains. “If we did we’d be beaten, arrested, or killed… It’s become a habit I guess…” Kat had grown up on the none federation planet of Arulan in an orphanage. A war had raged on the planet for most of her life. She had left the planet at nineteen to join the federation and a year later once she was a citizen of earth, to join Starfleet.
“Oh…” The table falls silent. Kat stands up.
“I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
---Line Break---
A week had passed since the day in the mess hall. Nyota had been pushing her to show her tattoo off ever since. She wasn’t being overly pushy about it, more reassuring than anything. Kat hadn’t bothered getting a new band. She figured her sleeve would be enough for most situations and figured Nyota and the others were right, if she wanted any chance of finding her soulmate she had to show it. They were on Shore leave on Yorktown that day as the ship needed repairs from a fight with a few Klingon war birds earlier that month.
“Okay, so the purpose of this trip is to show your tattoo to as many people as possible.” Nyota says as she drags Kat into a club where they would be meeting the rest of the head crew for drinks.
“I know; you’ve gone over this ten times, Ny.” Kat shakes her head rolling her eyes. She was wearing a blue sundress, her tattoo completely uncovered for anyone to see for the first time in her life. Her long wavy brown hair was pulled back in a braid, courtesy of Nyota’s hair styling skills. Nyota drags her over to the others. Hikaru was dancing with Ben not far from the table, Pavel flirting with a girl nearby. Spock, Bones, and Jim sit sipping drinks. Scotty was playing pool with some guys from engineering.
“Hello, Nyota, Kat.” Spock greets them as the two slide into the booth. Nyota next to Spock, Kat across from her beside Jim.
“So I see you’re not wearing a bracelet. Decided to show off your tattoo?” Bones asks clearly a bit drunk already.
“Yes, she has. Our goal tonight is to show it to as many people as possible, see if anyone recognizes it as their own or someone they knows.” Nyota says.
“Well then, let’s see it.” Bones says leaning around Jim to see. Kat laughs shaking her head.
“You’re nosy when your drunk, Bones.” She holds out her wrist hesitantly. Before Bones can get a good look, a waitress comes over to them asking for their drink order, Kat turns back ordering herself a scotch. Bones now distracted by his drink doesn’t ask again and the group falls into their usual conversations. After a while Nyota drags Spock onto the dance floor, Bones heading to the bar to get another drink.
“So, your actively looking for your soulmate now?” Jim asks sipping his own scotch.
“More or less… Nyota’s idea…” She shrugs.
“You don’t seem too happy about it?”
“It’s not that… I’m just not very comfortable showing it… I feel like I’m going to be arrested or attacked for it any minute… I know I won’t be but…” She looks down at her wrist running a finger over her star.
“But fear isn’t logical.” Jim finishes. “I had to keep mine covered before… I didn’t want to find my soulmate on the ship, knowing I couldn’t be with them…” He says pulling the sleeve on his right arm up.
“Makes sense” Kat nods. She runs her finger over her star once more before turning to look at him fully.
“Have you ever imagined what your soulmate will be like?” Jim asks.
“Yeah… I hope their nice, a good person ya know? But I don’t know what to think… my tattoo is still here but it’s faded… I would have thought it was supposed to be, but pictures of me as a baby show it being a lot more vibrant… I can’t help but wonder if my soulmate attempted to remove the tattoo and failed…” She explains a worried look clear on her face.
“It could have been an accident or their parents? My mom tried to remove mine with a home remedy when I was a toddler, I only know because my older brother told me… She didn’t want me having one after my father died… something about not wanting me to go through that pain… she tried the same on my brothers… it didn’t work. Now mine’s all faded.”
“That’s horrible…” Kat shakes her head.
“Yeah… But I still like mine… my little star.” He smiles looking down at his wrist, Kat tries to make out his tattoo but is just at the wrong angle to see it.
“A star?” She asks, glancing down at her own little blue star.
“Yeah, it fits, with me loving the stars as much as I do… I hope she likes them as much as I do…”
“She?”
“Yeah, I mean, I’d be fine if it were a he or whatever they are… but I feel like they’re a she…”
“What else do you feel they’re like?” Kat asks with a small smile.
“Their favorite color is blue, and they love the stars and the ocean… They’re a cat person, but like dogs too.” He says with a thoughtful look. “They are a huge nerd.”
“All that from one little tattoo?” She laughs.
“Well, yes and no… I’ve daydreamed about them, whoever they are my entire life… got me through some of my worst moments.” He downs his drink.
“I guess that makes sense… I was too busy trying to survive to get a chance to dream of stuff like that… I love my little blue star though… It fits me perfectly.” Kat says laying her left wrist on the table to show him her tattoo. Jim leans over to look at it, his eyes slowly widening.
“Holy crap.” He mutters as he slowly looks up at her. Kat raises an eyebrow.
“What?” Jim lays his right wrist beside hers. Right on his pulse point is a little blue sketch like star… her little blue star. Kat stares openly at the tattoos for a minute before she slowly looks up at him.
“You’re my soulmate?” Jim asks, looking completely shocked. “All these years… we were right there… and we never knew?”
Kat stares at him, her heart racing in her ears. She slowly and almost fearfully brings her right hand to trace the star on his wrist. As soon as she touches it a small shock shoots through her, not a bad shock like static electricity but an amazing one. The shock is like a bucket of cold water being poured over your head on a warm day, the satisfaction when you put the final piece of a puzzle together, like the first bite of your favorite desert, or hearing the chorus to your absolute favorite song. It’s like the first snow of winter, or first bud of spring. Absolute belonging, like the world finally making sense. Something Kat had never known. Like for the first time in her life, she was truly home.
Kat looks up at him her brown eyes wide, made even wider by her glasses, locking with his bright shocked blue. Blue… just like her… no their little blue stars.
“Oh my god…” She mutters out, she covers her mouth with her right hand her eyes flickering from his eyes back to their wrists then back to his eyes again.
“Is… is that a good ‘oh my god’… or a bad one?” He asks slowly, looking at her nervously now. Kat blinks at him not getting his meaning for a moment. She moves her hand pushing her glasses up her nose.
“A shocked one… I… oh wow… I never thought… that my soulmate could be… someone like you.” Kat says her eyes locking with his again.
“I know… you probably expected someone better… Someone who deserves someone as amazing as you…” Jim says looking away, clearly misunderstanding her. “We don’t have to be together… I understand if you don’t want to be.” Jim says his voice breaking.
“What? NO!” Kat shakes her head quickly, grabbing his right hand in her left frantically. “That is not what I meant!” Jim looks down at their hand then up at her confused.
“Then what did you mean?”
“I meant I never expected my soulmate could be someone as absolutely amazing and wonderful as you!” Kat says looking up at him desperately, worry clear on her face.
“You… you think I’m wonderful?” Jim asks, a large grin slowly stretching across his face, happiness, wonder, and love replacing the hurt and pain. Kat nods slowly, her face turning red.
“Well… yeah.” She looks down at their hands. Jim uses his free hand to lift her chin softly so their eyes a locked again.
“I think you’re an amazing, wonderful, beautiful, strong, and sometimes a bit scary, woman. I couldn’t have been given a better soulmate.” He says sincerely. Kat stares at him tears starting to form in her eyes.
“You… really think that?” Jim nods a large grin splitting his face tears sparkling in his own eyes.
“That and so much more… I’ve liked you for a long time… hell much more than liked, but I didn’t want to make a move knowing you still had your tattoo meaning you were probably waiting for your soulmate…”
“I was doing the same thing… we really are idiots.” Kat laughs a large grin splitting her face as a few tears leave a trail down it. Jim brushes the tears away.
“May I… kiss you?” He asks after a moment. Kat nods her smile turning nervous again. Jim slowly leans in, kissing her softly. Kat kisses him back, her heart leaping with joy. After twenty-nine years, she was finally home.
---Line Break---
This is a repost of a story from 2016 originally posted on my main account that I have cleaned up and updated. I really like the little AU and figured it was time to clean it up a bit and move it here, I hope you all enjoy!
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Demon Fam Fic: Yusuke’s birthday.
[A/n] this was @askmarietheapprentice‘s suggestion! I meant to get it out earlier but it ended up kinda getting away from me. Anyway enjoy some babies in Hell
“Happy birthday Yusuke!”
After 3 months in Hell, they’ve all gotten used to Ren’s sudden entrances, but usually he’s kind enough to appear when it isn’t the middle of the night.
“What time is it?” Haru asks, shielding her eyes from the blue flames that Ren brought to light up their shared bedroom.
“4:28 and 32 seconds, Pacific Time! The exact moment Yusuke was born.” Ren says.
“How do you know that?” Yusuke asks.
“Father owns your souls.”
“Wait, so it’s actually your birthday?” Goro asks.
“Well, yes.” Yusuke says.
“And you didn’t tell us?” Haru gasps. “We would’ve put something together like you guys did for me!”
“I don’t really want anything.” Yusuke says. “I was just going to make my favorite dinner and some cake.”
“Well, we could’ve done that for you, at least.”
“I like making my own dinner and cake.”
“So we know what we’re doing for dinner.” Ren says, picking up Yusuke. “But there’s another 12 to 14 hours before that, and until then I’ve got the perfect plan for a birthday trip.”
“Can we sleep in a little longer?” Yusuke groans.
“Nope! It’s very time sensitive! You’re lucky, waking up at the exact moment you were born means you have enough time for breakfast!”
~
After a hearty breakfast of birthday pancakes and tea, they’ve all gathered on Kidd’s ship. There’s a thick fog in the area, that cills to the bone.
“We’re here!” Ren announces as the fog parts, and a giant glacier comes into view.
“Drop anchor!” Kidd orders, and the ship comes to a stop. “Alright, so what’s the plan.”
“We’re going to the top for a bit, and then back down.”
“You goin’ like that?”
Ren tilts his head. “Like wha- oh right.”
With a poof, Ren turns into a cat and lands in Yusuke’s arms. “Now we’re good.”
“Why do you have to be a cat?” Haru asks.
“Oh, Goemon’s definitely going to attack us if he finds out I’m here,” Ren explains, “and I kind of suck at fighting in places where it’s cold.”
“For my birthday you took us somewhere we're going to get attacked?” Yusuke asks.
“What’s the first thing I taught you?”
Yusuke sighs. “Everything is going to attack you.”
“Right! And that’s why you brought your weapons. And besides, his grudge is with me, even if he did notice something as tiny as you three, he’s not the type to get revenge by proxy.”
“See you soon, Captain!” Haru waves as they get on one of the smaller ships to get to shore.
“Have fun! Don't die!"
On the shore of the glacier, there’s a raging snow storm.
“K-kind of wish we’d gotten goggles.” Goro says, shivering.
“We’ll add t-that to the shopping list.” Haru agrees.
“F-follow me g-guys.” Ren’s black body stands out in stark contrast to the snow. They all hold hands, and follow Ren until they come across a door.
“S-someone with hands, open it.” Ren says.
“I got it.” Yusuke yanks on the door as hard as he can, and it slowly opens enough for everyone to squeeze through.
“Alright. So now we just have to climb up all these stairs and get to the top, preferably without Goemon seeing us!” Ren says.
Yusuke, Goro, and Haru stare at the giant, winding staircase and then at each other.
“Why do demons have to be so damn big?” Goro mutters as he lifts himself onto the first step and Haru and Yusuke follow suit.
As they climb, Yusuke keeps stopping to admire the art pieces on the wall. There’s watercolors, acrylics, and careful sketches lining the walls. “Hey, Ren, did Goemon make these?”
“Yeah, I mean, this is his workshop.”
“Amazing!” Yusuke gasps. “The way he blends colors together to portray the different emotions, it’s beautiful. I hope to be this good some day, thank you for bringing us here.”
“Well, this isn’t exactly what I wanted to show you.” Ren says, “but I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”
They come to a larger platform, where intricately crafted ice sculptures are on display.
“Woah. I didn’t even think you could get ice to do this,” Goro says examining a sculpture of a woman who looked as though she was wearing actual fabric.
Yusuke wanders over to a group of statues contorted into various abstract shapes. While on their own, the intricate patterns were impressive, taken together...
“These are about the war with Yalbadoath!” Yusuke realizes.
“How can you tell?” Ren asks.
“Ok, so start here. This one is rigid, uniform all the way to the top, and then this one, it’s rigid in a similar way but there’s a tiny flaw right there. And in this piece the flaws are bigger. Then this one, any sort of structure is gone, and it’s sharp and chaotic. Then in the final one there are two clear sections, one that has that ordered pattern from the first, but only on the top half while the bottom half is still chaos." Yusuke explains. "They represent the world under Yalbadoath's rule, Satanael's rebellion, and the wars in Hell afterwards!"
"Oh, that's so cool." Goro says.
"Not bad, small one." A voice says. A large demon holding a pipe rises from the ground behind them. "Although I would encourage you to consider how the artist feels about the event, and what they might be trying to say about similar circumstances through his piece."
Yusuke nods. "Ummm… the artist feels…" Yusuke stares at the sculptures, trying to decipher their secrets.
"You seem rather young, how old are you?" The demon asks.
"Seven." Yusuke says.
"Seven…" Goemon laughs. "Oh, I've forgotten how short lived you humans are. Do not be upset if you can't figure it out, you've barely lived a decade!"
“Excuse me, are you Goemon?" Haru asks.
"I am. And I take it you three are Satanael's human children?"
"That depends." Goro says. "What would you do if we were?"
Goemon laughs again. "Such bold children! I have no problems with humans, or Satanael. Were Arsene here, I would freeze him in the heart of this glacier for stealing from me, but I have no quarrel with you three."
"Oh thank goodness." Haru sighs in relief. "I'm Haru, this is Goro, and Yusuke." Haru's eyes fall on Ren on Goro's shoulder. "...and our completely normal cat… Akira! Akira the cat from the human world and who is just a cat."
"Meow." Ren says.
"It's nice to meet you. Now, what brings you
here? Usually Zorro would come if your father had a message."
"Well, it's my birthday so we're here to see something at the top of the glacier." Yusuke explains.
Goemon lifts his gigantic pipe to his mouth and colored puffs of smoke float out. "How often do you humans celebrate your birth?"
"Every year." Yusuke says.
"Ah! We demons do celebrate our birth, but only once every century or so. A year is barely a blink of an eye to someone who lives for eternity. To be so short lived you celebrate every year. Fascinating." Goemon nods to himself. "Yes, I do believe you three have given me an idea for an art piece."
"You're welcome." Goro says. "Do you think you could give us a ride to the top? We're told it's time sensitive."
"But of course!" Goemon taps the ground with his pipe, and suddenly everything rushes past them and they're at the top of the glacier.
The air is still here, unlike the lower parts, and looking down, Yusuke can see the snowstorm raging below.
From the top of the glacier, the ocean spreads out for miles, and he can also make out Captain Kidd's ship.
"I do believe it's time. Look up children."
The sky's dark one second, and then suddenly it's awash with colors. Blues flow into greens flow into purples flow into pinks, all dancing across the sky.
"It's beautiful." Yusuke says in awe.
"I've never seen anything like this." Goro says.
Haru nods. "I think I might cry."
"The lights only appear here every 500 years or so." Goemon says. "You are quite lucky, children and cat."
Yusuke makes a frame with his fingers and looks around, finally settling on Haru, Ren, and Goro back lit by the lights.
"Yusuke, what are you doing?" Haru asks.
"I want to capture this moment in a painting." Yusuke smiles. "My first birthday with my new family."
"Awww." Haru starts to walk over to him
"Don't move!" Yusuke snaps before pulling out his sketchbook. "This should only take a few minutes."
Once he's finished with the sketch, Goemon takes them all down to the bottom of the glacier.
"Thank you so much!" Yusuke says.
"Thank you for providing me with inspiration. In fact, here's a gift. From one artist to another." Goemon snaps his fingers and two lobsters appear in Yusuke's hands.
"They're beautiful, thank you." Yusuke says.
"I hope you'll let me see your piece when it is finished."
Yusuke nods. "I will."
"Goodbye children and cat! Enjoy your tragically short lifespans!" Goemon says as they make their way to where the boat was. "And feel free to return any time without Arsene."
"Thank you so much!" Yusuke waves back.
"So, did I plan a great birthday trip or what?" Ren asks, once their a ways from shore.
"I loved it." Yusuke says. "Goemon's nice too. What did you do to make him hate you?"
Ren rolls his eyes. "He's still mad I stole from him."
"Why'd you steal from him?"
"Like I said, I'm bad in the cold, so I like to practice my thievery in places where it's cold. And he's still mad about it like, 500 years later!"
"I'm kinda on Goemon's side here." Goro says.
"What?"
"I mean you did steal from him."
"It's not like I took anything important!"
"You'd hate it too if someone stole from you."
"No one's good enough to steal from me."
"You're missing the point!"
Haru sighs and turns to Yusuke. "So what were you thinking about for that cake?"
#in which the fam goes on a field trip#yusuke gets an art uncle#and I can't end a fic well to save my life#demon fam au#demon fam fic#demon fam yusuke#demon fam ren#demon fam haru#demon fam goro#satanael's kids#alto writes#wordcount: 1500-2000
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176. Sonic the Hedgehog #108
Oh… please, come on, man… not this…
Robotnik x 2 = Trouble!
Writer: Benny Lee
Pencils: Ron Lim
Colors: Josh & Aimee Ray
So, did you think that perhaps for once in the history of comic books, that we'd actually seen a major villain die for good? Well, apparently not so! Eggman has detected the strange reality fluctuations caused by Knuckles several days ago, and gleefully demonstrates to the newly-roboticized Snively that one such fluctuation can be localized directly within their lab. What - or who - might this fluctuation affect, you ask?
Just outside of Knothole, the Freedom Fighters are relaxing and playing a nice game of hide and seek, when Tails, who is "it," runs smack into Robotnik, looking battered and scared. They're all, of course, incredibly shocked at his reappearance, and skeptical when he claims that Eggman brought him back, but is even worse than he ever was. He ran for his life, wishing now to seek shelter in Knothole. The Freedom Fighters reluctantly bring him to the king and queen, who get him a checkup by Dr. Quack to ensure he's not merely a robotic duplicate, and then, despite his literal war crimes, just… allow him to stay in the village. With all the people he tortured and terrorized barely more than a year ago. Seriously, not even a trial for his crimes? Nothing?
Robotnik seems to have settled right in, despite Sonic's obvious exasperation, and as the crew flies him to Robotropolis he eagerly speaks about perhaps becoming allies after all this is over, while they mostly ignore him in favor of playing cards. They infiltrate the city and fight a cursory number of shadow-bot guards, and Robotnik leads them to a room with a suspiciously-shaped "computer," inviting them to stand on a platform in the center of it and have Nicole take some readings while he accesses the mainframe. Of course, this is when he shows his true colors, and traps them in an energy field that harnesses the power of Eggman's "matter fluctuator" while the two alternate-universe villains giggle with each other, ecstatic that their plan to erase their enemies seems to be working.
The Freedom Fighters reveal that they knew Robotnik was trying to trick them all along, and only played along so that he would lead them straight to the device that brought him back so they could destroy it. He's baffled by this since he's already been brought, and as he and Eggman begin to fistfight over the failure of their plot the Freedom Fighters leave, satisfied that their job is done. Their true intentions become clear very quickly, as due to Robotnik's manner of return, his molecules were very unstable, and in the middle of the fight he vanishes back into oblivion, causing Eggman to punch Snively accidentally and then become furious at his loss once again.
This story basically ended up going nowhere, as Robotnik really, truly is gone for good this time, but I suspect it was mostly written as a lead-in to the two character files we'll be perusing today - one on the original Robotnik, and the other on Eggman, AKA Robo-Robotnik. We'll be skipping the explanations of their life stories, as we already know all of it - no new information is provided - and instead we'll look at the technical details. First of all are their height and weight. These details are identical for both entities, as they come from near-identical backgrounds in their respective zones. Their height is 189 cm or 6'2", which is only one inch taller than their game counterpart. However, their weight is where we run into a bit of a problem. Given all the tasteless jokes made especially in the early days of the comic about how fat and humongous and gargantuan Robotnik is, how heavy exactly would you imagine he is? I bet you didn't guess 61.7 kg or 135.8 lbs. That is not just an absurdly low weight for a being of his stature, that is my own weight. I'm pretty sure this is just a big oversight on the part of the writer, because there's no way in hell an obese six-foot-tall man shares his weight with an average-height, average-build girl in her early 20s. For Eggman, however, though I'm sure he shared his body type with Robotnik when he existed within his own zone, those stats are likely to be a bit different now due to his being a robot in a new body and all.
As far as their ages, this is where they differ significantly. They shared their early history in their respective zones, so both were born on the same birthday of September 10. However, the original Robotnik died at age 45, almost 46, when the Ultimate Annihilator went off. I include "almost 46" because the character file actually gives an exact date of death, June 13, meaning we now know to the day exactly when Endgame occurred. Endgame played out over the course of three days, so that whole shebang started on June 11, which was also the day Sally supposedly died before the truth was revealed. Please keep this date in mind, it will become important in a few issues. Eggman's reality, on the other hand, diverged a few years before Endgame, resulting in his own roboticization at the age of 43. At this point, his physical age likely "froze" since he was no longer bound by the aging process of flesh and blood, while his mental age continued to progress. His zone's timeline has already surpassed that of Mobius Prime, as in that zone Sonic and Sally were married with children, so mentally he'd more likely be somewhere in his late fifties or early sixties. Makes sense to me, though original Robotnik was certainly a little younger than I had imagined him to be.
"…A Girl Named Hope!"
Writer: Karl Bollers
Pencils: J. Axer
Colors: Josh & Aimee Ray
Sally has received a letter from Hope Kintobor, who was taken along to Station Square with the rest of the refugees, and decides to bring it to her parents to read it out to them. Hope proves herself to be a very well-spoken young girl in the letter, writing about how when she and her people first landed on the outskirts of Robotropolis and she saw Sonic, she thought he looked scary, as she'd never seen a Mobian before. However, over the course of living in the city, she began to mistrust her uncle after seeing more evidence of his roboticization of Mobians, and eventually realized that the Mobians were better than she had been led to believe after witnessing them rescue both their roboticized brethren and the rest of the Overlanders.
She describes how most of her life in space, ever since she was two years old, was spent in cryosleep, learning about the history of their home planet, including the details of the Great War between her people and the Mobians. They only ended up returning because their ship's power supply began to fail, but now, she no longer feels at home amongst her people, with the loss of her stepfather and grandmother.
This is honestly a very sweet story, and I'm glad we'll be seeing more of Hope. She was definitely the most interesting character among the Overlanders, and she's obviously a very observant and intelligent girl.
Reunification (Part 3)
Writer: Ken Penders
Pencils: Dawn Best
Colors: J&A Ray
Lara-Le is not at all happy about Knuckles' decision to join up with the Legion, even scolding him for what his father will likely think when he finds out. Knuckles becomes defensive and asks her why they can't just hear him out first, and she replies that she thinks he's too much of a threat to her children.
Wow, Lara-Le, you and Wynmacher have been pretty busy then, huh? That's a pretty big gap between your kids' ages there - Knuckles is gonna be seventeen by the time that baby is born, assuming that Mobian echidnas have a similar gestational period to humans. While he and his mother continue to discuss matters, Dimitri goes before the council to argue his case for reuniting echidna society. Most of the members present have obvious misgivings, but one Mitre agrees that society should come back together instead of fighting, though he expresses some disapproval of Dimitri's methods through such extensive cybernetics. While they continue to argue things out, Lara-Su waits outside Lara-Le's apartment, waiting for Knuckles to come out so she can spy on him and ensure he's not killed. He exits, and she follows him to the council chambers, witnessing him talk briefly with Lien-Da on the steps outside the building. She recognizes Lien-Da as "the one person Mom absolutely refuses to talk about." The two go inside, and Knuckles steps forward to express his reluctant support for Dimitri, commanding the respect of those present since they know he's fought with Dimitri many times before. Interestingly, the current echidna government is referred to as "the theocracy" in contrast to Dimitri's "technocracy" - elements of an echidna religion have been hinted at here and there, such as Lara-Le praying in the Aurorium, and the councilor all the way back when Dimitri first "died" quoting from what sounded like some kind of bible, but I think this is the first indication we've ever had that the current government is literally a theocracy, running according to a religious tradition instead of an intellectual one. This puts an interesting - and even more worrying - spin on the whole "banning technology" thing, as real life has shown time and again that religious fundamentalism almost always leads to hypocrisy and needlessly-restricted personal freedoms, which honestly fits exactly with everything that we've seen over the echidnas' history so far. But anyway, while Knuckles says his piece about trying to work together and resolve differences, Lara-Su tries to badger her way into the council chambers, only to be stopped by a guard.
What a cliffhanger! I'm sure there's no way she's interpreting the situation wrong due to not seeing everything that's happened up to this point, right? Right?
#nala reads archie sonic preboot#archie sonic#archie sonic preboot#sonic the hedgehog#sth 108#writer: benny lee#writer: karl bollers#writer: ken penders#pencils: ron lim#pencils: jeff axer#pencils: dawn best#colors: joshua d ray#colors: aimee r ray
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