#...there's also a fifth member but the team is hunting them down for something that they should not have done

[riversimmone]

Three's A Crowd - Chapter 11

RiverOfTheSand

Summary:

SasuSaku. He didn't mean to kill that man. He had simply reacted to being attacked. And now Konoha is forced to hunt down the rogue members of Team 7, or risk open war. Eventual NaruHina.

XXX

Read from the beginning. This is a work in progress story you can find on tumblr and AO3 and completed on FF.NET.

[All tumblr posts will be tagged ‘Three’s A Crowd’ with their corresponding chapter for quick and easy access.]

Enjoy. :)

Chapter Eleven: Job Satisfaction.

Silken Heat was the name of the most erotic night club in Kumogakure. Unlike in other hidden villages, it was both an underground kind of place, as well as high reaching. It wasn't like ninja frequented this dark, rickety establishment – or if they did, it was with a very skilled henge or something of the sort – but there were rumours of Shinobi connections with not only the owner but quite a number of the employees. The clientele varied, despite this, and Silken Heat was nothing if not adaptive to the needs of their regulars.

The nightclub was also soaked in the pungent smells of smoke, alcohol and whores… Sasuke Uchiha could tell a lady from a whore, on or off the job – whores had a distinctively nauseating stench to them. He would never understand how men and women alike could spend inordinate amounts of time in the company of someone that stank, constantly. The persistent smell of sex was mixed in with sweat and the odour of whatever establishment they worked at. Sasuke only liked the smell of sex on Sakura. He didn't like other people's body odour anymore than his own, and being surrounded by it made him want to dry heave.

Sitting three feet from him on a love seat, Naruto Uzumaki was in an entirely different frame of mind – the baka was enjoying the attention from the lap dancers. When a particularly busty woman sauntered over to them, Sasuke quickly shook his head and waved her away when she eyed him off – she perked up a moment later having noticed the excited looking blonde near him. So it was as Naruto was receiving his fifth lap dance for the night that a familiar face finally strode onto the catwalk.

Sasuke had been against this. He was angry at her for suggesting it, at Naruto for going along with it and at himself for not thinking of a better alternative to shut them both up. Sakura Haruno was a beautiful woman, and incredibly intoxicating as she danced like a professional. The pole at the end of the catwalk was a whore; his girlfriend was making out with it, moving with the music, and raking her eyes over the audience. Her emerald orbs hesitated as they met angry dark eyes and then swept away for their own safety.

And despite his reservations about this, her moves and suggestive swaying was giving him a hard on. She wasn't required to go nude, and if it had been, the owner would be dead the moment Sasuke set eyes on him. But Sakura was stripping, the tight, glittering tube top slipping off first as she looped her free arm around the pole. Cat calling from the male audience seemed to spur her on and she winked at them, throwing the top into the audience.

Meanwhile, Naruto was trying desperately not to look at the stage – even the busty woman dancing about his lap couldn't completely distract from the fact that Sakura was dancing and swivelling around a pole, wearing almost nothing. He blushed profusely, turning his head to keep Sasuke from seeing, but was grateful that for once, the jealous boyfriend of the pinkette was focusing all his resentment on said girl. He had not liked the idea when Sakura proposed it a day ago and he sure as hell hadn't warmed up to it since then.

Naruto supposed that Sasuke was just worried that one of these drunken idiots would try to make a grab for her. She was only doing this because the owner of this establishment rarely came out of his office or whatever hidey hole he'd dug himself into, and the only way they knew for sure would work was if he thought to take advantage of a new female recruit. Sasuke hadn't been able to find him despite his "talents" for doing so (and refrained from going too far based on the rumours that ninja did in fact frequent this club), which was understandable considering they only knew of this guy via his cover name and reputation. Luring him out was the next best thing – Sāmu was a contact for Orochimaru and was probably using the club for recruiting subjects for the snake's "experiments". They had to know for sure, but the more immediate concern was how he contacted the Sannin.

So Sasuke had been outvoted (the voting did seem to be going awry lately) and grudgingly did nothing to physically stop Sakura. She had been very excited about this all day, her exuberance not remotely contagious, and one would think, looking up at the pinkette in that moment as she shimmied out of her short shorts, that she was on top of the world.

Sasuke made a mental note to bring this up with her later and swivelled his attention away from her as the door to the upstairs offices opened. He kept it in his peripherals, watching as a man he didn't recognise stood still, his eyes raking appreciatively over the new pink haired dancer.

Was that him?

Naruto glanced at him as well and caught Sakura's eyes. She took the hint, finished her routine without losing her underwear (much to the displeasure of the crowd) and sauntered off stage. Sasuke stood immediately, ignoring the blonde as Naruto who was now trying to untangle himself from a busty redhead, and moved methodically through the crowd. He didn't want to spook the guy, but wouldn't let him out of his sight either. The man was talking to one of the other female workers and she nodded, smiling, and then turned toward the backstage. It looked like she was collecting the new recruit for some time with the boss. Naruto caught up to Sasuke a moment later and watched with him as a now fully clothed Sakura was led into the owner's office.

"Come on," Naruto said, "there should be a back entrance."

Silently, Sasuke let him take the lead and looked around the club to make sure they weren't being watched. His desire to beat the living crap out of that man was surprisingly extinguished the moment he and Naruto barged into the small, dingy room from the back alley entrance. Sakura had the man by the hair and was belting him in already, calling him a pervert, a scoundrel… basically anything and everything that came to mind. She didn't even notice she now had an audience as she clenched her fist one last time, hitting the gangly man across the jaw and knocking him unconscious.

X X X

Naruto was making cooing noises, like one did to a baby, his face right in the man's line of sight as Sāmu slowly woke, and wearing his cheesiest grin.

"You're such a child, Naruto," Sakura said, leaning in closer to their captive. "He's not a baby."

"He just cringed like one."

"Only because I'm scarier than you."

"Pfft, I could've kicked his ass just fine!"

"You don't get to have all the fun, Naruto."

"Will you two be quiet, you're giving me a headache."

They stepped away from this Sāmu character at Sasuke's scolding.

"Sheesh teme," Naruto said sarcastically. "Calm down." He pointed to the brown haired man and grinned. "You'll scare the baby."

They were in Naruto's room in Hakumatomi Tavern, and Sāmu was tied to a chair, in the centre of the small living room. Honestly, they preferred not to conduct such affairs in places so easily broken into, but in this case, it couldn't be helped. Sasuke had put up a genjutsu so that once this guy started screaming, no-one would hear him outside this room. He still felt oddly exposed doing this here, but this was important.

"Where is Orochimaru?" He asked, leaning in toward the prisoner.

The man just grinned maniacally, as though he knew all the secrets of the universe and being captured was fun.

"Just hit him," Naruto growled. "Or use your Sharingan. Don't waste time, unless you want me to–"

Sasuke cut him off with a glare, grabbed Sāmu by the hair, and spoke venomously. "Tell me where your master is or you'll leave this world screaming for death."

The man remained quiet, his focus intent on the now blazing Sharingan and realisation dawning on his features. He screamed at the feel of a kunai digging into his ligaments, thrashed as Sasuke twisted the blade, scraping against nerve endings without severing them.

Naruto paced in the background and Sakura sat wearily on the floor. As far as she was concerned, Sasuke was enjoying this too much. And he kept at it, whispered his demands and adding pressure to the man's body. Sāmu whimpered out a few incoherent words and then fell silent. Sasuke was careful not to get the man's blood on the floor, so he didn't open any veins, but his clothes were ripped and bloodied nonetheless. He pulled away, allowing the servant of the snake Sannin a few moments to compose himself.

Eventually, Sāmu seemed to recover his wits, but instead of looking up fearfully at the Uchiha, the gangly man was laughing… Sasuke grabbed the back of his hair again, roughly. "What's so funny, freak?"

The man croaked a few times before managing the words, laced with his mirth at the situation. "You're worried about Orochimaru, seriously?"

Sāmu continued to laugh, even after Sasuke struck him across the face again, and fell to the floor, dragging the chair he was tied to down with him. His amusement was pissing the Uchiha off and if they didn't need his information, he'd have killed him already.

"Spit it out," Naruto snarled.

Sāmu looked up at them, his eyes resting on Sakura, probably still thinking about the fun he'd been robbed of when she attacked him. "If I were you, I'd be less concerned about Lord Orochimaru, and more worried about the Raikage."

Sasuke snarled. "Why?"

The man let out a high pitched giggle. "He knows who you are Kitsúne, and he wants you, real bad."

X X X

[sonicasura]

Tales of Father Rung: Sonic

The second part of Father Rung. For this one, it's Sonic the Hedgehog specifically his movie variation. There will be some changes to him though. Let's get started.

Rung finds little Sonic one week after the hedgehog ends up on Earth. The bot is heavily concerned not only for the toddler's condition but also the fact he's being hunted down. Rung takes Sonic intobhis care.

It was bit of a rocky road at the start. Rung knows what a humans needs but not an unknown hedgehog species. He can't forget that Sonic is small enough to fit in human pockets. The trauma the blue blur has was something Rung could tend to.

Absolutely got dragged despite Sonic being small and on a leash. Child harness was the only way. Sonic likes laying on his chest when Rung is lying down or in recharge. He does it less once he's older but never fully stops.

Sonic grew deathly ill when he was 6. Rung looked desperately for anything to save his ailing son. He finds a shard of the Paradox Prism which binds itself to Sonic. The hedgehog recovers but now has transformations utilized by other Sonics. Except for Werehog and Colors, Dark, Excalibur, Darkspine are weaker without a proper conduit.

Knuckles joins the family when Sonic's seven years old. An unintentional encounter between the hedgehog and echidna while Rung was out gathering supplies. Or therapist comes back to an impromptu adoption.

It took time for Knuckles to adjust into their peculiar family. Learning things outside his tribal warrior background was slightly less difficult. The echidna is not the type for sudden hugs at least by strangers.

Tails appears around a week after Knuckles' 9th birthday. Rung was absolutely not prepared to find the infant fox mobian outside the den. Much less raise him. The therapist still took up the task.

No letter was left behind when Tails been abandoned thus his nickname became his actual name. His unique two tails were loved and never seen negatively like in canon. Rung nearly had a spark attack when Tails taught himself how to fly. Even moreso once the fox acquired a plane.

The last member to join the mixed family (before TF shenanigans) is an amnesiac Shadow the Hedgehog. A warp ring malfunction dropped the family of four to where he was held on Tails' fifth birthday. The fox opened up the pod and brought Shadow to Rung. Poor bot couldn't withstand the birthday boy style puppy dog eyes paired with 'Can We Keep Him'.

It takes at least two years before Shadow gets his memory back. The hedgehog is still a bit closed off but shows his soft side around his family(and later close friends.) Search for the Master Emerald and clashes between Dr Robotnik(intruder from different universe) still occur. Hyper Sonic alongside Super Sonic are acquired in the aftermath.

G1

Rung was completely unaware of the Nemesis and Arc being on Earth much less the war being present here. Learns about the situation as their family home is next to where the Decepticons' spacebridge being built. The Cons discover Rung who been coming back from a grocery run.

Autobots get front row seats to Team Sonic go into protective mode and chase off the opposite faction. No one messes their dad. Rung can only sigh knowing the war is back now with his kids involved.

The family are taken into Autobot Protection which leads to moving in as their home isn't safe anymore. No bot knows the war is gonna get fully flipped over its head. Team Sonic guarantees that.

Rung prepares to profile the Decepticons. If their personalities are similar to those from his universe, getting them to stop the war is a viable strategy. Tails helps with the task.

New Challenge unlocked: Beat Sonic the Hedgehog in a race! The speedsters of Team Prime eager to try and outspeed the Blue Blur. A challenge happily taken in stride by Sonic although he ain't going easy on anyway.

Science bots get an assistant in the form of Tails. Wheeljack is quite ecstatic to teach such a young clever mind about Cybertronian engineering. Explosions are kept to a minimum thanks to Tails(and Rung's threatening parental aura.)

Wrecker style roughhousing with Knuckles. Shadow wants a nap but everyone is too loud especially the Wreckers. He often leaves to vibe with the Dinobots who like the tiny hedgehog creature alongside strange eyebrow bot.

Autobots and human companions get father treatment from dorky therapist. Everyone chuckles when Optimus gets forced to take a nap. Leaders need their rest too.

Transformation mayhem or how alien robots learn that the small blue hedgehog can transform too. Dark Sonic terrifies everyone with Darkspine in second place. Werehog being loved by Dinobots and Wreckers. Colors wreak havoc on Starscream while Megatron is forced to clash blades against Excalibur. Super Sonic and Hyper Sonic defeat Unicron.

Animated

The family of five's home had been near Detroit's outskirts. Until construction began to expand closer. Not wanting to lose their home, the kids begin to sabotage the construction whether by messing with the equipment or creating obstacles such as trenches and even walls.

This results in Team Prime being called in. Bumblebee gets taken by Knuckles so the rest of the team would follow. None had expect their friend being fine or Rung alongside his family. It became clear to Team Prime that they were just protecting their home.

The construction is cancelled under the clause of 'Endangered Species' in the area. (Actually true upon accidentally discovering a critically endangered deer species nearby.) This didn't stop the visits to come from Rung's family.

Sari gets some non-mechanical friends for once. The five play games and chat whenever they can. Rung is happy his sons now have more friends whether it be Sari or the young bots.

Night of the Werehog aka Sonic decides to be a little shit and scare his new friends. Successfully spooks everyone but Prowl who got the last scare. Fuzzy werehog later gets his fur ruffled by a curious Sari, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Prowl.

Tails makes a lab underneath the Team Prime's home. Ratchet now has more efficient tools to repair his fellow bots and a fuzzy assistant. Grumpy medic gets to take more naps.

Rung casually dads Team Prime. Optimus is very awkward when it comes to positive words and hugs. Shadow just tells everyone to get used to it as he knows his father won't stop.

Mystical communication between dorky therapist, ancient life giver, robotic ninja, large green emerald and young echidna warrior. Knuckles feels a bit overwhelmed but becomes accustom to it overtime with Prowl's help. Both meditate in their spare time.

Decepticons and villains of the week get menaced by incredibly strong fuzzy animals. Detroit alongside Elite Guard are utterly confused with Team Prime's companions. Befuddlement increases when Rung gathers newly born bots like lost sheep and guide them.

Cybertron

Rung is immediately awakened one night by the destruction of Unicron. Tails discovers a massive black hole upon accidentally hijacking an Autobot video feed from Cybertron. Familiar of five gather info on how to stop this massive threat.

Red Alert uncovers a data transfer from Tails and sends the info to Optimus' team. Vector Prime immediately senses Rung once touching down on Earth. The sudden connection causes the therapist to collapse but also release a powerful signal when he was coming back with gifts for his four sons.

An accident that leads to an attack from an investigating Starscream, Thundercracker and Megatron. Team Prime to see Team Sonic defend Rung but also force the three Decepticons to retreat. Both now work together to stop the black hole.

Rung requests Vector Prime to not speak of his true identity. If he has to tell truth then it'll be on his terms. For now, Rung just wants to be treated as a father of four sons. Vector Prime respects the therapist's decision.

Minicon and human shenanigans increase with the addition of four Mobian siblings. Jetfire wants a break from energetic children but Tails always snares him via cuteness. Shadow pities the bot.

When a certain blue blur accidentally adds a fifth course to the Planet Cup: Sand Oasis. Or Sonic slips away to the Speed Planet for Darkspine practice. Everybot except for two factions are confused at seeing this strange hedgehog creature. Confusion later becomes shock when Sonic outspeeds Override.

Massive rumble on Jungle Planet as Big wolf Snarl meets small werehog Sonic, and smaller fox Tails. Protective instincts activate in lupine Beastformer while his rhinoceros teacher is amused. Knuckles doesn't like Scourge so much and Shadow hates mosquitoes the size of corgis.

Super Sonic vs Empowered Starscream followed by Super Sonic + Super Shadow + Primus + Rung vs Empowered Starscream 2.0. Battle of Five Titans while everyone scrambles for safety. Vector Prime is the only one watching in amazement.

Small Mobians on Gigantion leads to hysterical chaos. Massive bots are utterly awestruck at these even tinier visitors being so fast or powerful. Knuckles gets dubbed a 'Mini Wrecker' in the process. Rung struggles to wrangle his curious kids.

And that's it for now! Until next time folks, I'll race you back to Cybertron at super sonic speed!

[eliteoftheskies]

The names of your pokemon are lovely! Some of them sound like they have special meanings or stories behind them. If so, do tell! 👀

(@cinderpaw11)

Fifth ask! Yessss! And this one isn't mistakenly assuming that I am a Pokemon, either!

Hello! Thank you very much for your ask! I personally try to put quite a lot of thought into the names of my Pokemon, thank you very much for noticing. I'm more than happy to break down a few...

Medoh: Her name was actually supposed to be Medli, after a long-ago hero of the Rito I personally look up to. However, I was very young at the time and, for better or for worse, my childish mispronunciation stuck. Medoh herself has never minded, at least.

Galerider: I am, of course, a gifted Pokemon Trainer. However, my many talents hardly end there. Among other things, I am also the best aviator among my people in recent memory, and I have devised a way of creating an updraft that allows me to soar even higher. I call it Revali's Gale. Galerider's egg hatched on the day that I perfected my Gale, and as such I felt it only fitting to name him in a way that would commemorate that achievement. It was a good name for him; he, and he alone among my Pokemon, is capable of riding out my Gale for as long as I can.

Kingslayer: The former Champion of this region, as you may already know, held his title since before I was born. He held it for so long, in fact, that some of his detractors began to mockingly refer to him as a king instead. After I was (incredibly unjustly!) removed from my position, I began to train a new team with the intent of taking down his team of dragons and stealing his position, since he wouldn't give me mine back. Kingslayer, my Togekiss, was central to this endeavor.

Though I did get... many strange looks for calling a Togepi that...

Cloudhunter: I believe this one is reasonably self-explanatory. He hunts among the clouds (and rather looks like one himself.)

Shockbiter/Awestriker: There is an old saying, I don't care to reclal the origin, something along the lines of "shock and awe," my Kilowattrel and my Pelipper synergize very well with each other's strengths in particular and also tend to get along better with each other than with any of my other team members.

Fireflyer: She is a Fire-type and a Flying-type. Also, she and I like to race each other around the peak of Death Mountain when it's erupting for extra training.

I do have other Pokemon, of course. With the exception of Medoh, and in the interest of not giving anyone an unfair advantage when challenging the Hyrule League, I have no intention of sharing information about my other Pokemon here. If you are particularly lucky, you might happen to catch a glimpse of one or another in pictures.

Once again, thank you very much for the ask! I'm always delighted to talk about my Flying-types~

[borelle]

Jane “Lady Luck” Asanti, the Artificial Elemental Master of Luck. Better hope to the high heavens that she doesn’t find your finest jewels and money, because she will for sure steal that!

Her nanosuit is always present due to her overusing and constantly using her element to change even the smallest of things in her favor, although this does negatively affect those around her (even her allies).

[spneveryseason]

Here We Go Again, Somehow: The Winchesters Trailer #1 Breakdown

It’s been two years since my last trailer breakdown, and somehow we’re come back to this. Let’s get started I guess.

We start with Dean narrating on a road, standing next to his car.

I already have questions. When is this supposed to be set? Sam isn’t around, so it’s possible this is set during Stanford era (Dean looks way too old for that, though). It’s also possible this is set between 15x19 and 15x20, where Dean sets off on his own. This doesn’t really track with me though: why would he go searching for answers at this point? Also: “I need to uncover the truth about my parents”? What truth is that exactly?

We then see John and Mary driving through Lawrence, traipsing through a cave, and meeting some kind of monster while Dean speculates what drew them together for some reason. We also see a shot of someone wiping off a dusty book to reveal the title “Men of Letters”

Clearly John finds out about his dad in some capacity. This indicates some canon inconsistencies, which we’ll see how they deal with.

Dean then proclaims we need to go back to 1972, and we see John returning from the Vietnam War and speaking to his mother (who is a confirmed mechanic!)

We then see the moment John meets Mary and it’s…well.

He’s attacked by a demon (which are supposed to be rare at this time, but oh well), and Mary saves him. What follows is a minutes long physical comedy but where they keep accidentally hitting Mary, who tells John to stop helping her before getting rid of the demon and doing the demon reveal to John. She also tells him he wants no pet in this. The tone is comedic and a little out of left field.

John then indicates that he’s been looking for his dad, and now suspects he’s a hunter. He also now knows what hunters are in this universe, so I wonder how this disparity will be addressed with regards to canon.

Mary is also looking for her dad, who was last seen hunting demons:

So that’s a Pilot reference right there.

We then get a shot of what I assume is their version of the bunker:

Before meeting the other members of their team, Latika:

And Carlos, who helps John with his first hunt.

We see Carlos hit a demon (another demon!) with a van and shoot holy water at it, before making a joke about staying hydrated with it.

We see John asking Carlos if this is what hunting life is like, and he responds that the only thing worse than how it starts for hunters is how it ends (which I believe is a reference to a much repeated idea in the original show.)

We then flash back to their hunt in the sewers with a lot of quick cuts of them fighting some kind of creature

John indicates he’s all in, then tells a story about his dad and how he told him he could trap the monster under his bed (another pilot reference).

His mom begs him not to go down this road and says he’ll understand when he becomes a parent (wink wink nudge nudge). Which. What a strange thing to do. Reference the tragedy of parenting failures and repeated cycles of abandonment in this tone of a teen fantasy adventure.

John says he’s been searching his whole life for something, then we get The Group Shot

So that’s John, Mary, Carlos, Latika, and an unknown fifth person.

John then says this is good versus evil, and we see this person:

Who looks to be in the same sewer thing as Samuel Campbell so this is probably the Big Bad of the season and/or series and what he’s hunting.

We get some more John and Mary banter/interactions, then this symbol:

Mary tells John she was born into this life and he wasn’t and he can still get out. We then cut to John telling his mom “saving people, hunting things, that’s what I was born to do.”

We flash back to Dean narration saying that his parents past has always been a mystery (no it’s hasn’t) and he says he’s on a new mission to find answers, and the story is just beginning. He drives away.

We end with John saying “As long as there’s a Winchester alive, there’s hope.”

General thoughts

Original show reference count: 6

So what it looks like we’re going for here is: Mary trying to find her dad who is hunting some big bad (we know Samuel survives this). John and the rest will help her. John is trying to find his own dad against the advice of his mom (as we know he never does). But somehow he is also supposed to forget all this by the time we sync with the timeline in 4x03?

Positives: maybe we get to learn more about hunting culture and the men of letters here, which could be interesting

Negatives: canon inconsistencies, strange tone, strange dialogue

To be honest this trailer doesn’t indicate to me this show will be good, add anything to the story, or worth the time slot. Maybe the actual show will be better but it’s too early to tell. I think maybe we should uncancel Riverdale

[moon-light-jukebox]

“All you have to do is ask.” Chapter 9 - [Reid x Reader]

previous chapter // series index // next chapter 

Summary: Dr. Spencer Reid is one of the most brilliant men in the entire world...but even geniuses can be dumbasses. Once he realizes he’s made the biggest mistake of his life, the next step is getting Reader to forgive him. 

Pairing: Spencer Reid / (Female) Reader

Rating: Mature

Category: Angst. but then the fluff we all need. 

Content Warning: Talk of drug addiction, mentions of injuries, angst. 

Word Count: 9.4k for Chapter 9 

A/n: I’m sorry I didn’t get this out as quickly as I wanted; I know I broke your hearts in chapter 8. So, please let me and Dr. Reid put them back together. Thank you for sticking with me. 💖 Chapter 10 returns to the smut we all signed up for. 

-- Chapter 9 - “You know why.” -- 

Out of all the compliments I've received in my life, "you're such a strong person" is the one I have gotten the most often.

I was “so strong” for busting my ass through college with dreams of going to the FBI.

My friends told me I was “so strong” when I gave myself a few days to lay around and cry about my ex before I bottled it all up and moved forward.

Everyone said I was just “so strong” for joining the FBI and finishing in the top of my class at the academy.

And when I told everyone I was a profiler that hunted the most dangerous monsters on the planet? I was both “so strong, so brave.”

It’s a nice compliment to receive, but I have never really agreed with it. I’ve never really felt strong. I've always felt resilient. The two words have always felt very different to me. It took enormous amounts of strength to go to college, join the FBI, and then become a member of one of the most prestigious units; but eventually, that strength fades, or it just tires out. Resilience came when the strength was gone when the fight had left your body, but you couldn’t give in, you would endure this pain and any pain after it…because that’s just who you are.

It didn’t take strength to leave the hospital 3 days after Spencer Reid broke my heart. It didn’t take strength to go back to the same apartment where I could feel echoes of him in every room. It didn’t even take strength to not break down and cry.

I kept going because I had to. Because I was resilient.

--

“You sure you got everything you need, mama?” Morgan had been annoyingly thorough in his duties today; Garcia had assigned him to be the person who brought me home and got me settled.

I offered him a wan smile. “I’m fine, Derek. It’s just a gunshot wound. I’m actually surprised how well I’m feeling.” Not good. I don’t know if I’ll ever feel ‘good’ again.

He didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure? Because the last thing I need is Garcia to throw one of her damn shoes at me again. Those things are heavy, y/n.”

I chuckled at him. “Well, you won’t get maimed on my account. I’m really okay.”

Morgan regarded me from his position by the door, his eyes ran over everything from the exhaustion on my face to my arm that was in a sling; he took note of everything before he sighed heavily. “I know it’s not my place to say but…”

“Then don’t say it, Derek.” I brought my gaze up to his, my eyes were pleading. “Please, just don’t say it.”

Reluctantly he nodded. “You call any of us if you need anything.”

I nodded. Because I would call any of them if I needed anything…any of them except the one person I really wished I could call.

--

My life went on like that for a time. On my first night home, Rossi had flowers delivered. On my second night home, JJ came by to bring me groceries. On my third night home Emily came by and helped me wash my hair in the sink because I couldn’t lift my arm yet. On my fourth night home Garcia came over with a stack of action movies and popcorn. I didn’t ask why she brought mindless action movies; I knew why, and I was grateful.

On my fifth day home, the team left on a case. The in-person visits slowed down a lot after that, much to my relief. I loved them all but they're profilers and I was so tired of pretending to be strong when the only reason I was still standing was because I was too fucking stubborn to fall down.

But still, Garcia would schedule the odd visitor every now and then to come to check on me; usually either her, JJ, or Emily. No one ever brought up Reid, and I was very careful not to ask about him. I don't know what they knew and what they didn't…but I just couldn’t talk about it.

I was cleared to go back to work on the second Tuesday after my injury, but I would still be on desk duty until I was 4 weeks out. I had sent Hotch an e-mail on that second Tuesday morning and requested to use some personal time, just until the end of the following week. His response was, “Whatever you need.”

He didn't respond to the e-mail I sent yesterday. The e-mail I wasn't even sure I wanted to send but knew I had to. I had submitted a hardship transfer request.

“Then maybe you should reevaluate your place in this team,” Reid had said to me. Maybe he was right. I had thought my home was with the family inside the BAU…but I had also thought Spencer Reid wanted my heart.

“But I think your judgment has been compromised.” Maybe my judgment was never that good to begin with.

--

Twenty-four days after I was shot and two after I requested my transfer there was a knock on my door. Scheduled visits weren’t a thing anymore. Only Garcia had been coming by; Emily and JJ would send me texts, and Morgan drove me to physical therapy a few times but that was it. So, I was very surprised when I heard a sharp knock at my door at 2 pm that Friday afternoon.

I opened the door only to find the last face I expected to see.

“Hotch,” I said, my brows drawing together.

He just gave me a rare smile. “Not who you were expecting?”

“It’s not that you’re not who I was expecting,” I began carefully. “It’s just that…when I think of cheerful visitors coming to surround me with rainbows and sunshine…I don’t think of you, boss man.”

He scoffed, which I had learned was his version of a chuckle. “Garcia is busy. So, can I come in?”

I waved my arm, offering him inside.

He surveyed my apartment; he’d never been here. None of the team had ever been here before- Stop. Don’t think about it.

“How have you been?”

I gave him a very sour look. “Peachy with a side of keen, Hotch. But that’s not why you’re here.”

He didn’t look abashed in the slightest. “You’re right. That’s not why I’m here.”

We both sat on my couch; I kept my gaze on my hands, but I felt his eyes on me.

“Why are you requesting a hardship transfer?”

I was prepared for this question. “Because there is a personal issue within my team that affects me; I can no longer be an effective agent of the FBI in this unit.”

Hotch gave me an almost smile. “That’s a very political answer.”

“It’s the truth.”

“It might be.” He sounded so thoughtful I turned to look at him. We were both profilers, but Hotch was in charge for a reason; that man saw things in ways I don’t think any of us did. “The reason might also be that Reid is a dumb ass.”

I was in no way prepared for that statement to come out of my boss’s mouth. A laugh, the first real laugh I had had in almost 25 days, burst out of me before I could clap my hand over my mouth.

He did smile then. It was a soft, sad smile. “I figured that’s what it was.”

“He’s a genius, Hotch.”

“And he’s also proof geniuses can be dumbasses.”

That one got a small chuckle out of me. “I didn’t know you were funny.”

“I have my moments,” he said dryly.

I took a deep breath, my eyes moving around my apartment, searching for something to focus on. “I don’t know what you know, I don’t know what any of you know…but I can’t stay. Not like this.”

The older man considered me for a moment, planning out his next words. I knew that the team knew that Reid and I had been…something. I hadn’t asked what they knew; I couldn’t ask.

Hotch let out a long sigh, his shoulders dropping before he spoke again. "Hayley had an affair."  

…I have no idea how I’m supposed to respond to that. “I’m sorry, Hotch.”

He just nodded, his gaze sort of far off. “The team was working a case in Milwaukee; it was right before you joined. I was considering transferring; it was right before Gideon left. I knew it, she knew I knew it. I think that was sort of the beginning of the end for us.”

I just stared at him. Hotch didn’t talk about personal things.

He continued on. “It was never really brought up again until the divorce. You think divorce will end your fights…it never works out that way.” Hotch let out another sigh. “Anyway, I think about this one specific fight a lot now. I just…She was so fucking cruel, y/l/n. She said things she knew would hurt me.”

You can’t call a dead woman a cunt, y/n. You just can’t.

“I think about it so much now because I know she lashed out because I hurt her and she was scared. I picked my job over her and Jack. And she’s right…I did.”

Enlightenment finally dawned on me.

“Hotch, I see where you’re going but it’s different,” I stressed. “Protecting the team is my job. I protected a member of my team.”

He just nodded, his eyes never leaving my face. “You also jumped in front of a bullet for a man who is in love with you, who now thinks it’s his fault you got hurt.”

“He is not in love with me!” I interrupted, not that Hotch seemed to care.

“And you also told him you loved him, for what I suspect was the first time, while we all thought you were dying.”

Hold the fuck up. “You heard me? Spencer heard me?!”

Hotch nodded his head solemnly. “Rossi figured he hadn’t told you. He was inconsolable on the way to the hospital. He rode with you in the ambulance. Morgan had to restrain him when you were taken into surgery.” I felt my lungs seize, there was no more air in the room. “His legs gave out from under him when the doctor told us you made it. He was in your room right before you woke up. He ran out when your heart rate spiked.”

That…that can’t be right. “I…I don’t know what happened while I was under, but you weren’t there. You didn’t hear what he said to me, Aaron.”

“You’re right,” he said softly. “I wasn’t, but I have been around him every day since you were injured. I’ve known him for years, y/n. He’s hurting…because he’s a dumbass.”

I tried to focus on Hotch’s words, I really did. But one thing kept playing over and over in my head. That asshole heard me. He lied to me.

--

-- Spencer POV –

“Because I love you.”

“Because I love you.”

“Because I love you.”

The worst thing about having an eidetic memory is that I never forgot anything. I remember the crushing disappointment I felt on my 8th birthday when my dad didn’t call. I remember how gutted I felt when I found Gideon’s letter in his cabin. I remember the self-loathing I felt when Emily was beaten by a deranged cult leader at Liberty Ranch because she didn’t think I could handle it.

I could remember every single crushing moment of my life with absolute clarity, including the moment when I told y/n I didn’t love her. I could see every detail of her face in that moment whenever I closed my eyes. How pain covered her face for just a moment before it went blank.  

Her face in that moment was all I saw when I was awake, but what I saw at night may have been worse. I saw her happy. I saw her laughing at some joke Morgan made. I saw her smiling at me while I explained the scientific impossibilities of the show we were watching on her couch. I saw how thoughtful she’d looked before she kissed me for the first time.

In the 24 days, 21 hours, and 16 minutes since I made the most painful decision of my life, I had regretted it and rethought it countless times. But then I remembered how her eyes fluttered closed that day, how her blood ran out of her body and down my arms, no matter how hard I pressed on the wound. I remembered how it felt to think I was going to lose her.

The members of my team were all furious with me for my decision; I even felt tension from Rossi and Hotch, though it was more subtle. Y/n hadn’t been with our team long, but she had already carved out a place in everyone’s heart…and she’d carved out all of my heart; now it was filled with almost nothing but her. At first, it was just Morgan who was pissed at me, then Emily started becoming frustrated, even JJ stopped inviting me over for dinner as much. They were all still my friends, but everything felt different.

I hadn't realized there was a giant problem until the last person I ever expected to be mad at me finally snapped. We were in the conference room discussing our last case when I had asked Garcia a question. Looking back, I can see it was a dumb question; Garcia cross-referenced everything and dug into people's lives before we even had a chance to ask. But even my stupid question hadn’t warranted her response.

“Garcia, do you know any of the victim’s extended families have any connections to one another? Even distantly.”

She had clicked her tongue against her teeth, her shoulders stiffening. “Of course I have, Reid. That’s a stupid question…but I guess we should expect stupid questions from you now. Since you’ve suddenly become an-“

“Garcia,” Hotch warned.

“Sorry, sir.” She let out a breath.

“Yes, Dr. Reid, I have checked and found no apparent connections.

She’d been avoiding me ever since.

I knew that I had made a mess of things, but the team just didn't understand. They'd only felt her warmth from afar; I'd actually got to be a part of it. They didn't know how her feet were always cold and how she'd shove them under my leg while we watched TV. They didn't know that she mumbled in her sleep sometimes, or when she was really stressed about a case, she'd grind her teeth. The pain I felt now was indescribable, but I couldn't live with losing her.

We’d gotten back home from a case earlier this morning, Hotch let us all go home around noon. Usually, he'd make us stay and finish our paperwork, but he said he had "something" he had to take care of.

Not being at work was bittersweet. Because work reminded me of her, but at least I could occupy my mind with other things; when I was home, she surrounded me. I couldn’t lay in my bed without imagining her beside me. The look on her face when she told me she was ready to be with me. For the first few days after I could still smell her shampoo on my pillow. That was long gone now.

It was just after 2 pm when there was a very loud knock on my door.

“Open up, dumbass!’

What is Morgan doing here? I got up from my couch to open my door. Morgan was in the same clothes he wore to work, he didn't look injured, but his jaw was set, his teeth clenched together. Uh oh.

“Why are you here?” I sighed. I already knew why he was here.

“I’m here,” he began, shoving his way into my apartment. “To see why you’re still being a dumbass.”

I didn’t bother correcting him. Maybe I am a dumbass.

“Morgan-“

“Nu-uh. You sit your little scrawny ass down and listen to me.”

I’m not that scrawny, I thought grumpily while I sat down.

He put his hands on his hips, coming to stand in front of me. “Reid, what are you doing man?”

“I don’t know,” I mumbled.

“Well, I’ll tell you what the fuck you’re doing, Pretty Boy. You know, we were all content to let you flounder along for a while longer. You’re smart, you’d figure it out. But that was before y/n submitted a request for a hardship transfer.”

My shoulders stiffened. I had told her to rethink her place on the team, but I didn’t mean leave it. “What? When?”

“I’m not sure when,” he replied. “Hotch is at her apartment now trying to talk her out of it.”

So that was his important business.

“Look, kid.” He came to sit beside me on the couch. “I know you’re scared. I know you almost lost her, and you couldn’t bear that. But you’re losing her now too, man!’

“It’s different, Morgan,” I protested.

“Yeah, it is different, because you don’t have to lose her! You didn’t see her when she came home from the hospital. She wasn’t even sad, Reid. She was numb. We all knew she had walls up before…but these new walls, man? They make the old ones look like nothing.”

I put my hands together, lacing my fingers tightly. “But-“

Morgan stood up. “No, Reid! No! No buts. I understand that you’re hurting, believe me. But did you ever stop to use that big ass brain of yours to think for a second that you’re hurting her too?!”

“I know I’m hurting her, Morgan,” I said hotly. “I know! But it’s better she’s hurt like this for a little while then die over me!”

“Oh, come on, kid! You can’t make that choice for her! That’s not how love works!” He let out a sigh. “You’re acting like a coward, Spencer. And that’s not the kind of man you are.”

It’s exactly the type of man I am. “Morgan, she’s…she’s everything to me. She’s the sun at the center of my universe. I can’t let her disappear.”  

“Okay, okay,” Morgan nodded, considering me. “Now, I’m not a genius but I do know some stuff after hanging around your ass for all these years. The universe would fall apart without the sun. But…what happens if the sun dims?”

“What?” My heart refused to work when I processed his words.

“You heard me. What happens to the universe when the sun dims? It’s still there, but it’s nowhere near as bright anymore. Because she may be the center of your universe but she’s still a part of a lot of other people’s…I don’t know, galaxy or some shit.” Morgan flicked his hand around to gesture at nothing, like this somehow proved his point.

“Spencer. I know you’re scared. I get it. But you’re making the choice for her. You lied to her, man. You got her to let you in and then you fucking shut her out when you get scared! Do you think she wasn’t scared to let you in in the first place? She’s never going to be totally free of danger, Reid. That’s part of what makes her who she is; she is always going to put herself at risk to help people, we all are! It’s why we’re on the same fucking team!”

The impact of Morgan’s words was a blow to the gut. What if I wasn’t keeping her safe? What if I was putting her through this…because I was afraid? Did I push her away from me for her? Or did I-

“Oh my god. I’m a dumbass.”

Morgan threw his hands in the air before slapping them against his hips.

“I fucked up.”

Morgan opened his eyes very wide and tilted his head down in a universally recognized expression of “you think, dumbass?”.

“What do I do?”

“You apologize, Reid! You go over to her house and you beg for forgiveness.”

My palms were starting to sweat. “What if she doesn’t forgive me?”

Morgan shrugged. “Then at least you tried, man.”

“Will you give me a ride?”

His face split into a wide smile. “There’s the genius! Let’s go!”

--

-- Reader’s POV --

It was just after 4 pm when there was another sharp knock on my door. I picked up the remote to pause the TV show I wasn’t watching; I had just needed some background noise. With a huff, I pulled myself off the couch and started shuffling towards the door. Hotch hadn’t been gone long, so I just figured maybe he’d come back to impart more wisdom on me.

It wasn’t Hotch. My heart stuttered when I saw that mop of curly brown hair out of my door’s peephole.

He knocked again, more hesitantly than before. “Y/n,” he called. “I know I don’t have any right to ask. But…I need to talk to you.”

My eyebrows drew together in confusion. What could you possibly have to say to me?

I cleared my throat. “Is something wrong?”

I saw his head snap up; his eyes fixed on the peephole on my door. “Yes. Everything is wrong.”  

Oh. “Are…are you alright?”

“No.” His answer was simple and firm. “I know I don’t deserve anything from you…but, please, y/n.”

Taking a deep breath, I cracked open my door. “What do you want, Reid?”

I only allowed a tiny sliver of my face to be seen through the door. “C-can I come in?”

“I…I don’t know,” I mumbled. You’re still everywhere. If I let you in now…how will you ever fade?

Reid just nodded. “I understand. I just…I owe you an apology. I owe you so many apologies.”

I swallowed; my throat suddenly coated in sandpaper. “Reid, I don’t…you don’t…”

His eyes never left mine; he was leaving the choice up to me. “I don’t have to come in. I’ll talk to you through your door. Or I can talk to you over the phone. I’ll send you letters if that is easier. Just…please say you’ll talk to me?”

Very, very slowly, I eased the door open. He was cautious when he walked in, his hands stuffed into his pants pockets. “You don’t have to-“

“Yes, I do,” he interrupted. “That day in my apartment… I asked you not to lie to me. And I’ve done nothing but lie to you for the past 24 days, 22 hours, and 30 minutes.” He shifted his weight from foot to foot.

“I already know you heard me, Reid.”

He just nodded. “That’s one of the things I lied about. But it’s not all. It’s not even close to all. I told you my feelings changed, and they didn’t. They haven’t. I still feel the exact same way that I always have. I’m so sorry I even let you think that I didn’t l-“

“Stop.” I wrapped my arms around my middle. “I-I can’t. You…you can’t say that.” I will break if you say that.

His hands came out of his pockets, his arms outstretched, palms facing me; like I was a wild animal he was trying not to startle. “I won’t, I won’t. I’m sorry. I won’t say it until you're ready to hear it if you're ever ready to hear it. But…you have to know why.”

My teeth dug into my bottom lip; my eyes averted from him. “Why what?”

“Why I…Y/n, I just…I thought that I was protecting you.”

My face fell into a frown. “Protecting me from what?”

He stuffed his hands back into his pockets. “From me.” I opened my mouth to say something, but he hurried on. “I know I contribute to the team in some ways, but I also know other people have to pick up my slack sometimes. I just…I know members of the team have gotten hurt protecting me before.” He swallowed, his eyes blinking rapidly. “I couldn’t let you get hurt trying to protect me too. I’m not worth it.”

I felt anger start to burn in my stomach. “You don’t get to make those sorts of choices for people, Reid.”

He nodded. “I know. I was wrong.” He squared his slim shoulders, pulling his hands out of his pockets to rest them at his sides. “I fucked up. I’ve made the biggest mistake I have ever made in my entire life. And I only know one way to fix mistakes this big.” He paused, his throat working when he swallowed. “In Narcotics Anonymous the hardest steps for a lot of people are steps 8 and 9. Step 8 is acknowledging that our actions have caused pain and we need to make amends. Step 9 is making those amends and making them in a way that won’t hurt anyone.”

Hands back in his pockets, he took a hesitant step towards me. “I promise, y/n, I will never hurt you again. This isn’t an excuse, but I was so…I was so scared. I thought that…I thought that your injury was my fault. And I thought if I distanced you from such a…a colossal fuck up like me that you’d be safer.”

My body started to shake, but I wouldn’t let any tears fall. I couldn’t. If the dam broke now, I don’t know that I’d be able to put it back in place.

“Y/n, I don’t deserve the opportunity to make amends to you. But…if you’ll let me, I’d like to try. You’re…you’re everything, y/n. Everything. I even lied before when I said you were sunshine and warmth. You’re so much more than that.”

I heard the tears in his voice, but I couldn’t look at him. I’d break if I looked at him.

“You’re the sun. You’re the center of my universe. And I thought I was keeping you safe, but…I didn’t give you the choice. I took your choice away from you when you’ve always given me a choice in everything.”

I moved my eyes upwards to look at the ceiling, crossing my arms over my chest, my hands rubbing over my upper arms. “I don’t-I don’t know what you want me to say, Reid.”

I heard his shoes on my floor; I felt the air shift in the room when he took a step closer to me. “Just…Just say you’ll…that you’ll at least wait before you push your transfer through. That you’ll let me try to fix this, even though I don’t deserve it.”

A humorless laugh left my throat. “I already told Hotch to hold my transfer request.”

His voice cracked when he spoke again. “You did? When?”

“He came by about an hour ago.” I finally, finally looked at him. I saw his glassy eyes, his wild hair, and the clear pain mixed with a spark of hope on his face. He wasn’t my boy, not anymore. But…goddamnit. “He said…He said you were being a dumbass.”

Reid laughed a bit at that. “That seems to be the general consensus.”

“He asked me to give it some time. To see if working with the team again would actually be a hardship. My first day back is Monday, and I’m cleared to go back on active duty Wednesday.”

He shifted, his hands coming up to push is hair out of his face. “So, you’ll be back on Monday?”

"That's the plan," I said softly. "But…Reid, I don't-I don't know if I can…"

“I’m not asking you to forgive me. I’m just asking you to let me try to make amends for this.”

I brought my hand up to rub my forehead. “What is your goal here, Reid? What do you want?”

His face was as open as I’d ever seen it, his eyes were wide, and his lips were parted. “I want to go back to the moment you started to wake up in the hospital. I want to hold your hand and tell you how much I” he cut himself off, which I was grateful for. “And I want to be the one that drove you home. I want to be the one that helped you wash your hair. I want to be the one that sat on your couch and watched movies with you.” He sighed, his eyes shifting to the side. “But I can’t have any of that. Morgan came by my apartment around the same time Hotch was here…he told me that I was hurting the thing I was trying so hard to protect. And he said you were building a wall around yourself.

Dr. Spencer Reid brought those brown eyes back over to meet mine. “I want you to let me try to knock down that wall again.”

My voice was soft, I could feel my chin trembling, my nails were digging into my arms. “But why?”

For the first time since he entered my apartment, he smiled. It was small but overwhelmingly warm. “You know why.”

I felt something pierce my heart; it was small and sharp, both painful and soothing at the same time. “Reid…I…I don’t know if I can…I don’t know…”

“You don’t have to know,” the man said simply. “You just have to be willing to let me try.”

“But they’re just words, Reid. They’re just words. How am I supposed to believe that you won’t do this again the next time I get injured? Because I can handle being injured…but you gutted me.” I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek, using the pain to help me focus. I couldn’t let the dam break.

“They’re not just words,” he whispered. “I’ll prove it, y/n. I promise.”

I took a very shaky breath, not making an attempt to hide my pain. “I gave you everything, every single part of me and you brushed me aside. You left me in agony when I needed you.”

My choked words lashed at him, but he just took it with a nod. “I know. I don’t deserve another chance. I have no right after what I’ve done. What I’m asking for isn’t fair…but I have to ask. Please?”

“Okay.”

“What?” His words were soft, but the smile that spread over his face was the brightest thing I had ever seen.

I huffed. “You heard me. Don’t push it.”

‘Okay.” He smiled at me again as he made his way around my body, heading for my door. I wrapped my arms tighter around myself like I could somehow physically hold myself together. I heard the lock turn and the door pull open; I heard his feet shuffle through the doorway…before he paused. “Thank you, y/n.” The door clicked shut softly, and I finally allowed myself to breathe.

I wasn’t strong, I really wasn’t. Because if I was strong, I wouldn’t have felt so fucking hopeful.

--

After my conversation with Hotch yesterday, and my surprise visit from Reid last night, I expected my Saturday to be fairly uneventful. Which is why I wasn’t expecting a knock on my door at 8 pm that night.

“Who the fuck is it now?” I muttered, sighing with exasperation.

I thought Hotch was the most unexpected person I would ever see at my door unannounced, but this one caught me more off guard for so. I opened the door to see the bright smiling face of a young man in a delivery uniform. “Y/n y/l/n?” He asked politely.

“…Yes?”

He handed me a plastic bag with styrofoam containers inside. “Here you go. The bill has already been taken care of. Have a good night, ma’am!”

He was already halfway down the hall before I realized what was happening. “Wait, I didn’t order anything,” I called.

"I know, ma'am," he turned, walking backward as he spoke. "The order was placed in the store. A man came by and ordered the food, left a note to put in the bag, and told me to leave before you had a chance to refuse it." He smiled sheepishly at me. "I'm sorry, he gave me a really good tip. Have a good night!"

Frowning, I shut my door and moved into my kitchen, setting the bag on the counter. Sure enough, there was a note on top of the container.

“I know it’s your favorite. S.R.”

The thing about Reid is he had the worst handwriting I had ever seen. Even if I hadn’t suspected this was from him and he hadn’t signed the note, the handwriting would have given it away.

I went into my living room and snatched my phone off the couch before I quickly fired off a text.

“Why did you have dinner delivered to my house?”

His response came a moment later. “You know why.”

--

On Sunday morning, I had one of my last physical therapy appointments. I hadn't sustained any permanent damage to my left shoulder from the bullet. The only real issue was the healing muscle and the artery that was nicked. Even though I was right-handed, it was important in my line of work that I did not lose any strength in my left arm. The physical therapist had made an exception to see me on the weekend since my first day back at work was tomorrow.

The thought of going back to work made me incredibly nervous. I wasn't sure how things would be different. Not only did I have to worry about my relationship with Reid, but I also had to worry about how it would affect the team. I knew they all cared about me…but Reid had been a part of their family much longer than I had. Hotch’s visit on Friday meant a lot to me; I don’t think I would have been able to come back to work without it.

Despite my nerves, after being home on my couch for almost a month, I was itching to get back to doing the work I loved. I had already passed my post-injury psychiatric evaluation, which was pointless anyway as the BAU wrote the questions, but now with this approval from the physical therapist, I would only be on desk duty for 2 days once I returned.

I was so caught up in thought when I got to my apartment that I almost missed the paper taped to the front of my door. It was an envelope that looked some sort of parchment. If the type of paper didn’t give away the sender, the messy way my name was written on the front certainly did.

Calm down, y/n, I thought, reaching up to pluck the note from the door. It’s just a piece of paper. I knew my fear was irrational but trusting him after everything that had happened was terrifying. Because despite my best instincts, I wanted to trust him.

Inside the envelope was a letter, it wasn’t written on standard paper; but, nothing about the man it was from was ever standard.

--

“Y/n,

Before my mother’s schizophrenia became as bad as it is now, she used to read to me all the time. She was a professor of 15th-century literature. My love of reading came from her. Her favorite author is Margery Kempe; and when I was thinking about what I wanted to say to you, one quote in particular from Kempe kept coming to mind.

‘Patience is more worthy than miracle-working’.

The fact that you’ve given me even the slightest chance to apologize to you is the closest thing to a miracle I’ve ever seen. It's not a gift I'm going to take lightly. I know this is so incredibly hard for you. I know tomorrow is going to be hard for you, but I don't want you to feel like you're being forced to do anything before you're ready. I want to make amends, or at least try to, but I don't want to cause you any more pain.

You were patient with me in the beginning of our relationship; you were so unbelievably kind and generous – I think those are the things that made me…feel how I do now. I just want you to know that I’m prepared to be patient too. I never expected you to forgive me, and on the off chance you did, I knew it wouldn’t come easily.

I’d wait for you forever, y/n.

I don’t want to go against your wishes, but I want you to know that I’m ready. I’m ready to tell you now and every moment after for the rest of my life. All you have to do is ask and I’ll never stop telling you what you mean to me.

- Spencer”

--

My hands shook as I refolded the letter, slipping it back inside the envelope. I was dialing his number before I was even fully aware of what I was doing.

“Hello?” His voice sounded slightly apprehensive, almost shy.

“I got your letter,” I said quietly.

“I-I…I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

I let out a sigh. “No, Reid. You didn’t make me uncomfortable.”

“You’ve not called me Spencer since…”

“I’m not there yet.” I closed my eyes when I said it; even now…I didn’t want to hurt him. I’m just not there yet.

I heard him shift around on the other end of the line. “I know. You don’t have to be. I just…I just wanted to tell you how I feel.”

“And send me dinner,” I added dryly. He laughed softly before I asked what I really wanted to know. “Reid…how have you been?” I ran my hand over my forehead. “I mean…before I was…before I was shot I know you were struggling with-“

“Ah,” he mumbled when the realization hit him. “It wasn’t easy…it hasn’t been easy. I went to a lot of meetings after you were…And I spent a lot of time on JJ’s couch trying to convince her and myself that I was doing the right thing by pushing you away.”

I flexed the fingers of my left hand, my posture shifting while he spoke. “But you haven’t…I didn’t make…”

“Y/n,” he said, his voice was so fucking gentle that it almost shattered me. “I haven’t. And even if I did, it wouldn’t have been your fault. No bad choice I make is ever anyone’s fault but my own. My demons are my own.”

I sighed. “I know, Reid, but I don’t want to be…I don’t want to make them worse.”

“You couldn’t,” he said firmly. “Whenever I did think about calling a dealer, doing anything I could to not feel the pain in my heart…I-I kept seeing your face. You looked so understanding when I told you about dilaudid. You made me feel proud of myself for the first time in a long time.”

I had to put my palm over the end of my phone. I didn’t want him to hear how my breathing had become uneven.

“Y/n, I’ll do anything to have you look at me like that again.”

"I don't need to ask why do I?" I asked lightly, in an attempt to defuse the tension.

He laughed. “No, I don’t think you do.”

I found myself smiling, grateful he couldn’t see me. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Reid.”

--

When I arrived to work on Monday morning for my first official day back, I was apprehensive but hopeful. The world wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t as dark as it has been.

Right when I entered the bullpen, I saw something on my desk that made me pause. There in the center of my desk was a large iced coffee from my favorite cafe, the one near my house. No matter how early I got up, I never seemed to have time to stop there before work most days. So, the fact that a cup was there in the first place was cause for notice but that wasn’t the strangest part; the ice wasn’t melted. There wasn’t any condensation on the plastic cup.

I know I’m not a genius, but that can’t happen. Right?

“There she is!”

I turned to see Rossi making his way towards me, his arm's outstretched. He wrapped me in a tight hug, pressing a kiss to my cheek.

“We’re happy to have you back, y/n.”

I smiled widely at him, meaning it when I said, “I’m happy to be back.” He gave my upper arm a squeeze before he started to walk away. “Hey, Rossi. Did you do this?” I asked, gesturing to the cup on my desk.

He just had a sly smile on his face. “I did not, kiddo.”

Of course, he didn't. After taking a deep breath, I turned to the desk across from mine. Reid was already sitting there scribbling away, doing a very good job of pretending he didn’t know I was already here. I marched over to him before I lost my nerve. “The ice wasn’t melted.”

He looked up at me, not the slightest bit surprised at my presence, a soft smile on his face. “Beg your pardon?”

“The ice. In my iced coffee. It wasn’t melted.” I waved my hand around in the air. I’m not crazy, am I? That couldn’t have just happened.

“That’s because I asked them not to put any ice in when they made it,” he said simply. “You don’t like it as much when it’s watered down after the ice melts some; so I just added the ice here.”

My heart started to beat faster. “Why would you do that?”

The smile on his face got bigger, his eyes seemed to soften somehow when he looked at me. “You know why,” he said simply.

I didn’t know what to say. So, with a tight nod at him, I turned and walked back to my desk.

The rest of my first day back went how I expected. When Morgan saw me, he gathered me up in a giant hug and spun around ignoring my demands to put me down. Garcia hugged me like she hadn’t seen me in years and brought me cupcakes. Emily and JJ took me to lunch. Hotch made me fill out forms. And Reid…well, whenever I turned to look at him, I found he was already looking at me.

--

The very next day when I showed up for work, I was suspicious. Every day since that Friday, Reid had done something. But when I arrived in the morning there was nothing on my desk. Nothing appeared out of place. Maybe it’s a fluke. Reid was already sitting at his desk, scrolling through his e-mail.

I knew what he had done the second I sat down. For as long as I had worked at this desk in the BAU bullpen, there was one wheel on my chair that was wonky. It never wanted to roll, and it always drove me insane. No matter what I tried the wheel never worked this well, and especially not this smoothly. Did he-?

When I looked over, he was already looking at me, that same soft smile on his face.

--

On my third day back at work there was nothing on my desk when I arrived, there was nothing anywhere. But I knew him, I knew he wasn’t done yet; there had to be something.

That something was on my desk when I got back from turning in my return to active duty forms to Hotch. There was a single sunflower in a vase sitting on my desk. I walked up to it and touched the petals softly. It was beautiful, but I was confused.

Walking over to his desk, I didn’t bother trying to hide the confusion or apprehension on my face. This time he wasn’t pretending to be doing something else; his eyes had been on me since the moment I walked out of Hotch’s office.

“It’s beautiful,” I began. “But I don’t understand the symbolism.”

He tilted back in his chair, looking up at me. “Sunflowers always want to be looking at the sun…and so do I.”

Because he thinks I’m the sun.

“But don’t sunflowers stop turning towards the sun when they get older?”

He just nodded. “They might, but I never will.”

I ran my tongue over my lips before I pulled both of them in between my teeth. I felt tears prick the corners of my eye. “Why?” I asked, my voice slightly thicker than normal.

Spencer stood up then; it looked like he would reach for me, but he quickly put his hands at his sides. “I’ll stop if it hurts you. Y/n, I promise to never hurt you again.” His words were earnest, his eyes were pleading. “But ‘why?’ You know why.”

I just nodded my head slightly, blowing out a shaky breath. “Thank you, it’s lovely.”

I don't know why Spencer said I was the sun because his smile at that moment was the brightest thing I'd ever seen. "Is it too much if I throw in a cheesy line, like, 'it's not as lovely as you?'"

“Brat,” I muttered, turning quickly so he wouldn’t see my smile.

That bright smile was still on his face when we all met in the conference room 20 minutes later. I saw Rossi clap him on the back when he walked in. JJ shot him a very sweet smile, it was almost motherly, like she was proud of him. Prentiss just winked.

Morgan wasn’t subtle. I’m not sure he knew how to be. He held out his fist for a fist bump, laughing openly when Spencer just wrapped his hand around it and shook.

“Alright,” Hotch said from the front of the room. Fuck, even he is smiling a little bit. “Let’s get started.”

--

Less than 30 minutes later, I was boarding the BAU jet for the first time in more than a month. We were off to Arkansas to assist the Hot Springs police department to catch a suspected serial killer.

I was one of the last ones on board; I smiled awkwardly when I saw everyone’s eyes on me.  

“What kept you, Pretty Girl?” Morgan asked with a grin.

Oh, I’m Pretty Girl now? Subtle. I shot Morgan a look to indicate I wasn’t amused. “I had to talk to Garcia.”

Rossi looked at me expectantly “…About?”

They were all just staring at me, and they weren’t even trying to hide their amusement. I sighed. “I couldn’t just leave it on my desk, you assholes.” Garcia might have squealed loudly when I brought her my sunflower and asked her to watch over it for me.

Every one of them laughed…except Reid. Reid just bit his bottom lip and dropped his gaze. He looked so much like my nervous boy that it made me ache. That was the first time I allowed myself to admit how much I missed my darling boy.

--

I was in the middle of going over victimology when a cup of coffee was sat down beside me. I mumbled my thanks, not even glancing up, just reaching out to grab it. It wasn’t until my fingers wrapped around the cup that my head snapped up.

“Morgan,” I called. “What’s this?”

His smile was very, very bright. “It’s your coffee.”

I picked up the iced coffee, giving it a once over. “Are you or are you not the same Derek Morgan that has said multiple times, ‘I ain’t no damn barista if you want special coffee you go get it your damn self'?"  

He nodded, his smile never wavering. “I am, so don’t get used to it. But when my boy has finally stopped being a dumbass and is trying to win his girl back?” He winked at me. “I’ll make an exception when he asks for a favor.”

I heard JJ laugh softly from the other end of the table. I scrunched my face into a mock glare at both of them. “Don’t you have a murderer to catch?”

He turned before leaving the room, putting a hand to his chest in a very dramatic fashion. “Pretty Girl, you should know SSA Derek Morgan can multitask!”

--

I still don’t know what it is about towns in the middle of nowhere, but it never fails, one of the cops from said town will try to weasel his way into my bed the second the case is over. I was packing up after the unsub was booked when someone cleared his throat behind me to get my attention. This time it was a tall, slightly out of shape Officer named Reynolds. His smile was greasy but at least he didn’t try to touch me.

“I’m sorry,” I said, offering what I hoped was a polite smile. “I have a boyfriend.” I always tried to be diplomatic when this happened, just because I didn’t need to Hotch reprimand me for threatening a member of the local police…again.

Officer Reynolds’ scoffed. “He doesn’t have to know.”

The smile dropped off my face, my eyes hardening. Fucker. “That’d be pretty fucking difficult since he’s a member of my team and he’s sharing a room with me.” I picked up my bag and tossed a sarcastic “nice working with you” over my shoulder before I hightailed it out of the conference room. I didn’t stop until I got to the main entrance of the precinct, where I planned to wait for the rest of the team.

“So, am I the boyfriend you mentioned?” A voice asked from behind me.

Of course. I turned to see Dr. Spencer Reid looking very pleased with himself. “I also didn’t know you wanted to share a room with me tonight. We each have single rooms though, so we don’t have to swap with anyone else…” he trailed off pretending to think. “So, who’s room are we taking?”

I rolled my eyes. “Reid, if it got some slimy cop off my back, I’d tell him you were my husband. I will throw you under the bus to save myself from a very awkward conversation that would probably lead to me punching someone.”

His face changed, he no longer looked overly pleased with himself. He looked like the same man that sat on the couch with me all those weeks ago and asked me if I kissed my submissives. He looked like the Spencer that used to be mine.

“You act like I’d mind,” he said quietly.

“Mind what? Being thrown under the bus?”

“Being called your husband.”

I froze, my eyes immediately dropped to the floor. I couldn’t look at him, I couldn’t. I let out a very shaky exhale, a sure sign that I was about to cry. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t. Why is he doing this to me?

I saw his beaten-up converse move into my field of view. He was close to me now, but he didn’t touch me. “I’m sorry, y/n,” he whispered. “But I promised I wouldn’t lie to you anymore.”

JJ walked around the corner then and he broke away from me. I just stared at my hands the whole drive back to the hotel.

--

The clock on the bedside table blinked 11:47 pm. I had been lying in bed since 9 pm trying to fall asleep. When we arrived back to the hotel, I didn’t speak to anyone, I just kept my head down and walked straight into my room. Once I was inside, I tore my clothes off and got into the shower, turning it on the hottest temperature I could tolerate.

I felt the tears; they were right there, I felt them pulsing underneath my eyes. I didn’t know how to do this. I didn’t know how to deny myself everything I had ever wanted when it was offering itself to me…I was the reason I was in pain right now, and it was all because I was so fucking terrified to trust him again.

I glanced back over at the clock. 11:49 pm.

Taking a deep breath, trying to pull some sort of courage into myself, I picked up my phone.

He’s probably sleeping, I reasoned, giving myself one last chance to back out.

But then the phone was dialing. I listened to the ringing and held my breath. Because what was I supposed to do if he didn’t answer? What was I supposed to do if he did?

“Y/n?” his sleepy voice asked, sounding disoriented but urgent. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Everything. And no. But I couldn't get my mouth to open. I couldn't say anything. If I opened my mouth, then everything would spill out. All the pain, all the secrets, all the hopes, and fears…and it would all be bared to Spencer Reid.

In the way that Spencer knew everything, he knew what I needed then. “I’ll be right there.” I heard a rustling on his end of the line, but he never hung up the phone.

Before I was ready, I heard the same hesitant knock on my door that I heard every night he came to my hotel room just because he missed me; the same knock that I had heard that first day at my apartment. The knock was the final crack that broke the dam I had built around my emotions in an attempt to hold them back so they wouldn’t sweep me away.

I don’t remember walking to the door, I don’t remember unlocking it; all I remember is Spencer standing on the other side in the same Caltech t-shirt and sweatpants he wore in my apartment when we sat on my couch on our first real night together.

“Y/n?” His eyes ran over me frantically. He came into the room, shutting the door behind him. His hands reached out like he would grab me, but I saw the indecision on his face. “Tell me what you need, baby. Please?”

The moment that I was so afraid of happened then. The tears finally flooded my eyes and my jaw unlocked. “Spence, I’m scared.” I swallowed, trying to control my broken voice. “I want this so much but I’m terrified.”

His arms enveloped me before I was finished speaking. One hand in the center of my back, the other on the back of my head. He smelt like coffee, laundry detergent, and my Spencer. My body shook in his arms. The pain from his words at the hospital, the pain from him not being there when I woke up, the pain of losing him, and the pain of having to turn him away for almost a week when he was all I wanted; all of that pain just poured out of me while I sobbed into his chest.

“I’m so sorry, y/n,” he whispered against my hair. “I’m so, so sorry. And I will do anything-I’ll do everything to prove to you that I will never hurt you again.”

He kept holding me until my tears finally quieted, my body almost went limp in his arms. The weight of all of that pain was so heavy for so long, and now that I didn’t have to hold it, I was so tired.

“Spence?” My throat felt raw, my eyes were puffy.

“Hmm?”

I didn’t lift my head to look at him. “I’m ready to hear it now.”

Spencer froze, I’m pretty sure he stopped breathing for a moment. Then he leaned back, pulling his chest away from my face. Both of his hands cupped my face, his thumbs moving over my cheeks softly, wiping the tear trails away. Spencer held me like I was more fragile than glass like I was made of something that would crumble into nothing if he so much as moved wrong.

“Are you sure?” he asked quietly, his beautiful golden-brown eyes searching mine.

I nodded. “Yeah, I think so,” I said, giving him a small shaky laugh.

He tilted my head up slightly before his lips brushed against my forehead. “I loved you before you were ready to hear it; I loved you before you even knew I existed.” He pressed another kiss my cheek. “I loved you since the first time you smiled at me.” He kissed my other cheek. “I will never stop telling you how much I love you.” He trailed his lips over to my mouth. “I will love you forever…because no one has ever loved someone the way I love you,” he whispered, his breath washing over my lips.

I leaned forward and brushed my mouth against his. I felt the final layer of my resistance crumble. “Please don’t hurt me again, Spence.”

He pulled away to stare in my eyes. “I will never hurt you like this again. I’m so fucking sorry, y/n.”

“Just kiss me, Spencer.”

He gave me a tiny grin at the command. “I thought you didn’t kiss your submissives,” he teased.

I brought my hand up to hold his face. “You know I break all my rules for you, my darling, nervous boy.”

--

--

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[beewolfwrites]

And When I am Formulated, Sprawling on a Pin - Chapter Seventeen: Breaking Point

I wasn’t feeling too well while I was editing this, so I’m sorry in advance if the writing isn’t as good. Though I've been through it several times to try and make it better. Hopefully you can still enjoy it :) 

This is a Chishiya x OC/Reader fic, for those who don’t know. If you’d like to catch up with the previous chapters, you can find them all here on AO3. 

Thank you so much for reading!! You guys are amazing <3

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

I collapsed to the ground in a shriveled mess of tears and shaking limbs. The rifle had been empty. Either he ran out of bullets and he just rolled with it, or he purposely emptied it beforehand with no intention of killing me. I don’t know how long I sat there on the floor, shivering and telling myself that I was alive, that I was okay, even if my body wasn’t convinced yet.

Eventually, the lights turned off in the hall of mirrors, and I was submerged in near darkness. It should’ve been scarier than it was, but now that there was no light refracting off every surface, and most of my fear had subsided, I could finally see the true path to the exit.

Picking myself up off the ground, I left the building and followed the signs through the park towards the entrance. In the distance, Aguni, Niragi and Last Boss were inspecting their weapons as they approached the car. There was no sign of the fifth member of our group.

Niragi smiled brightly as I appeared. ‘There she is! Our little zebra survived.’

I folded my arms against the cold, avoiding Niragi’s gaze. On the other hand, Aguni frowned when he saw me. ‘Get in the car,’ he said.

I didn’t know if the ride back to the Beach was better or worse than the one going. With our fifth team member dead, Niragi took the front passenger seat, meaning there was room in the back to sit by myself.

But it was impossible not to notice the occasional glance of mild confusion Aguni sent at me through the mirror. ‘彼女を殺さなかったないか,’ he said quietly. You didn’t kill her?

I stiffened in my seat. Aguni knew what Niragi had been up to, but from his bored tone and mild curiosity, he had no interest in my death.

So it’s just Niragi who thinks Chishiya, Kuina and I are plotting something.

Niragi leaned back in his seat, looking at me through the rear-view mirror. ‘まだまだ.’ Not yet.

After that, they talked in hushed tones, and I struggled to understand what they were saying. Only a few feet away, Last Boss was silent. His katana, smeared with blood, was propped up on the back seat.

I couldn’t wait to get back to the Beach.

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

It turned out that if you’d been in a game with Niragi, Aguni and Last Boss, returning to the Beach wasn’t just a slip-inside-quietly-and-take-a-shower deal. With one arm around my shoulders, Niragi steered me along with the group as we paraded around the pool.

‘Oi! Turn that music off,’ Niragi snapped at someone, and everything went quiet. All eyes were on us.

This was bad. This was very bad. I didn’t want to be associated with the militants, and the way Niragi had his arm around me, people would think that I was with him, especially considering the rumours floating around about what had happened. Eventually, Aguni stopped when familiar faces came into view.

The boy from the Tag game, the climber girl and Kuina. They were relaxing together on recliners. Before leaving for her game, Kuina had said something about getting to know the boy, and from the looks of things now, they were already in the process of making friends. At the sight of our group, they stopped talking.

Kuina’s eyes instantly landed on me, then widened at the arm around my shoulder. Part of me was silently pleading for her help, but I also didn’t want her to get involved. Knowing Kuina, she was smart enough not to rile up the militants.  

Aguni scanned the two new members. ‘Where’s your friend?’

Does he mean the blond one from the game?

The boy tried to speak but couldn’t bring himself to say anything. It was obvious what had happened.

‘What a shame,’ Aguni said, lazily. ‘So only the small fish survived.’ His eyes roamed over the climber girl, then he nodded to Niragi. ‘Bring that woman over.’

My heart jumped. He was going to take her.

He’s going to do to her what Niragi…

Releasing me, Niragi moved towards the girl. Now free, I took my opportunity and darted away from the group, earning a raised brow from Aguni and a grin from Niragi. He placed his hand on the girl’s arm, beginning to pull her away.

I wanted to protest. I wanted to speak up. But my body refused to cooperate.

Why can’t I say anything?

But to my surprise, someone did interject. The boy.

‘Hey, don’t get involved with this,’ Kuina warned him.

Niragi’s eyes glinted in that familiar way. It had seen it before at the bar, and when he chased me at the theme park and zoo. And now, there it was again. He smiled at the girl. ‘Our boss says he wants to have a taste of you—’

‘I said stop!’ The boy grabbed Niragi’s arm. This couldn’t end well. I waited with bated breath for Niragi to punch him, kick him in the ribs, or even shoot him right there on the spot.

Instead, he shrugged out of the boy’s hold like it was nothing. ‘Boss, what should we do with this brat?’

Please don’t kill him, please don’t kill him.

‘Take him away and break his legs so he’ll die in the next game.’

With one signal from Niragi, several militants from the crowd moved forward to take the climber girl, while Niragi pulled the boy away by the scruff. That was, until the boy tore away from Niragi and darted back to the girl, blocking the militants’ path.

I don’t think I can watch.

Fingers lightly brushed the back of my elbow, and I turned to find Chishiya standing next to me, hood pulled up over his head. His hand retreated back into his pocket as he watched the scene before us. I couldn’t help but relax at his presence.

‘What’s going on over here? Is this a fight?’

Hatter’s voice broke through the crowds, as the Beach’s residents parted to make way. Niragi rolled his eyes.

‘Back off Hatter,’ Aguni said, ���this doesn’t concern you.’

‘I can’t do that,’ Hatter replied, waving his hands in a regal display. ‘As number-one, I’m obliged to maintain order at the Beach. Could you do me a favour, Aguni, and stop driving the newcomers away?’ When there was no reply, Hatter turned to the others. ‘Niragi?’

Rebellious as always, Niragi simply looked away. ‘I only take orders from the boss.’

‘Then let me ask your boss.’ He squared up to Aguni as they stared each other down. ‘Who’s your boss?’

Beside me, Chishiya hummed ligtly with amusement. The whole pool grew stiff, waiting in anticipation as the two men locked eyes.

‘It’s you, right?’ Aguni said simply.

Hatter stepped away. ‘Go take a shower,’ he muttered, then called out across the pool. ‘I need executives to gather in the meeting room now.’ As Aguni, Niragi and Last Boss disappeared into the hotel, Hatter gestured to the newcomer. ‘You too, Arisu.’

Arisu… so that’s his name.

The two left, and the pool slowly relaxed, the music and bar picking where it had left off. Chishiya brushed past me to join Kuina’s side.

‘So, what do you think about him?’ he asked quietly.

It hurt a little that Chishiya had directed the question so blatantly at Kuina rather than the both of us, but I was too tired to say anything, let alone complain.

‘I like him,’ Kuina said, smiling. Then as if suddenly remembering, she spun around, seeing me hovering behind the recliner. ‘Hey, what was that about before?’ Her eyes dropped to my feet. ‘And where the hell are your shoes?’  

I shook my head. How could I even begin to start telling them was happened in the game? I was still coming to terms with it myself. Chishiya’s eyes slid from my dirtied clothes, to my muddy socks, then back up to mine.  

‘He tried something during your game, didn’t he?’ Kuina muttered.

I wanted to tell her everything, but the words just wouldn’t come out. We were surrounded by people everywhere, and there were a few of them nearby who were looking at us curiously. They were pretending not to listen too much, but from the way their eyes glanced over, it was clear they wanted the latest gossip.

‘Kuina,’ Chishiya said, ‘take her to your room. I’ll join you both after Hatter’s meeting.’

With that, he headed off, leaving Kuina to shield me from prying eyes as we made our way back into the hotel.

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

I hadn’t intended to cry. In fact, I hated the way I always teared up at everything like a child. But even just talking about the game had brought back the fear of being hunted down by Niragi, and the pure terror of that final moment when I wholeheartedly believed I was going to die.

Stop crying, I told myself, as Kuina passed me another tissue. Stop crying.

We were sitting on Kuina’s bed as I talked through every second of the game, the predators, how Niragi had shot at me from across the park, the bear attack, and then finally, our showdown in the hall of mirrors. I even told her about the conversation in the car, and how Niragi planned to kill me at some point, but only when he was finished having fun.

‘You did pretty well to survive without a weapon,’ she said, impressed. ‘I can’t believe you wrestled a bear.’

‘I didn’t wrestle it, I tased it,’ I pulled the converted Walkman from my pocket and tested the buttons. It was still broken. ‘It didn’t have any effect. It was like the animals weren’t real. They didn’t react to injuries like normal ones would.’

Kuina nodded, understanding. ‘Yeah, I’ve seen animals like that in games before. It’s like they’ve been designed specially to kill players.’

I shuddered at the memory of the bear’s hot fur, the smell of flesh on its breath, the beady darkness of its eyes. Despite the misfortune of the whole game, I was lucky to have survived without a scratch, and that was more than some people could say.

There was a creak as the door opened and Chishiya entered. He pulled up a chair and without needing to be asked, talked us through the executive meeting. As it turned out, there was only one card left to collect – the Ten of Hearts. And with Hatter’s visa running out tomorrow, it meant only one thing: the militant sect was going to take over sooner rather than later.

With his explanation over, Chishiya looked to me, waiting. ‘Your game,’ he said, ‘what happened?’

I repeated everything I’d told to Kuina, but aside from an amused glint or a raised brow, he didn’t seem at all surprised or disturbed. It was only when I finished that he finally spoke.

‘I gave you that taser for Niragi, and you go and waste it on a bear.’

I knew better than to expect sympathy from him by now. ‘I didn’t waste it. The bear would’ve killed me.’

He tilted his head. ‘Actually, from the sounds of it, Niragi saved your life. I’m not sure what there is to cry about.’

‘I’m crying because I thought I was going to die. Maybe not you, but most people would cry in that situation.’ I looked down at the blackened taser in my hands. ‘I’m sorry, I might have broken this though.’

With a hum, he took it from me and gave it a once over. ‘I’ll fix it.’

‘We should do something to get back at him,’ Kuina said quietly. She regarded Chishiya like one would an irresponsible child. ‘This all started because of your feud with him. It’s up to you to fix this.’

He dismissed the idea immediately. ‘Forget about that for now. We’re running out of time and we need to focus on the plan.’

We spent the rest of the evening discussing whether or not the Ten of Hearts would appear. After all, if we stole the Beach’s cards and the final one never showed up, it would be almost pointless. Considering the layout of these games, they were created by people, which meant that someone out there was controlling what cards were assigned to which game. It was as if they were waiting for the perfect opportunity, maybe even a certain condition, to introduce the Ten of Hearts.

Chishiya and I eventually left to head back to our respective rooms. Much to my surprise, he accompanied me all the way to my door, but I didn’t want to question it in case he decided to leave. He didn’t speak much, except to tell me that I could lose the bandages around my arm by now, but the gauze was still a necessity.

When we finally arrived at my door, I hesitated to go inside. ‘Maybe Kuina was right… we should do something about Niragi.’

‘I’m surprised,’ he said, considering me with a sigh. ‘I thought you knew me well by now.’ Then putting in his headphones, he disappeared.

If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve assumed he had no interest or intention of getting back at Niragi. But I did know better. Chishiya wasn’t one to simply ‘react’ to provocation. In fact, he didn’t ‘react’ to anything. He was always one, or even three steps ahead, just how he liked it.

That’s why it didn’t surprise me at all when I later learned that a fire had broken out that night in Niragi’s room.

[hedwigstalons]

High Expectations - Ch20

I’ve been a little quiet for a bit because illness hit me hard (although thankfully not for too long).  I’m back though and I bring another chapter of the beast that keeps on growing.

Extra thanks to @willow-salix who had to deal with my post-fog writing going back a few stages and who helped beat this into some sort of coherency.

Earlier parts: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen

AO3 chapter link

Chapter Twenty

The mood in the plane was buoyant and the air was charged with testosterone and bravado.  The transport flight was filled with Air Force personnel and their destination was Fort Hood, Texas.  Scott hummed absently, his fingers drumming out a little beat on his knee, feeling relaxed for the first time in weeks, normally being a passenger on a flight made him agitated as he itched to be in the pilot’s seat but today was different.  

The Army was the designated host of this year’s United States inter-service sports tournament and Fort Hood was the location where, for the next few days those selected to represent their respective services would compete in their chosen sports.  

The tournament was supposed to be a friendly coming together of the various United States forces plus the various World Security Patrol branches, and for the most part it was friendly although it would be a lie to suggest there wasn’t a certain amount of posturing and goading underneath the surface.  For those taking part it was a chance to uphold the honour of their chosen service and score some one-upmanship,  for those like Scott who had been selected before it was also a chance to settle old scores.  

For Scott it would be a blessed interlude between missions; after his last assignment he was in desperate need of some R&R but with taking leave off the cards this came a close second for allowing him to decompress and see the good side of military life. It would be a chance to indulge in some physical activity that he didn't have to think too hard about, recently his life had been nothing but one exhaustive mission after another. For once he was happy to be free from the burden of command for a while, his primary mission now was to run fast, fight hard and add as many points as possible to the Air Force tally. 

His thoughts turned to last year’s competition; he’d done well and never placed lower than fifth in any of his events despite one Seaman Jeffries of the World Navy tripping him in 1500m, an action that by rights should have seen the man disqualified.  Unfortunately the rankings were upheld with Jeffries placing second while he had struggled to regain ground and claim fifth.  The injustice still rankled and he wondered if he would have to face the nefarious Jeffries again this year.

“Sir,” Scott called across to the Major who had been designated at team captain and was in charge of the Air Force contingent, “do you have a copy of the events list I can take a look at?” 

“Sure Tracy, I brought some spares just in case” Major Ellis replied, passing a sheaf of papers across the aisle.  “You’re up on the Wednesday afternoon for your track events and then Thursday afternoon for the martial arts.  See any familiar names?”

“One or two” Scott replied as he checked out the list of competitors.  “The US Army have put Moran in the hurdles again.  I’d love to beat him this time and wipe that smug smile off his face.  I’ve never met anyone so gloating.”

Having scrutinized the running order and competitors for his own events, no Jeffries, thank God, Scott began idly flicking through the rest of the programme.  As he scanned the lists he spotted a familiar name, wanting confirmation of his suspicions he pulled out his phone and sent a message. 

How far out of Fort Hood are you?

About 40 minutes came the response.  This was quickly followed by How did you find out? Everyone at home promised not to tell you.  I wanted it to be a surprise.  If it was Alan I’ll kill him.

Competitor list.  See you soon.

Scott let out an involuntary chuckle knowing Gordon would be mad at giving himself away and thus depriving himself of the element of surprise in any pranks he had planned. 

“What’s tickled your funny bone?” asked Ellis.

“It looks like you’re going to get to meet my kid brother.”

“Really?” Ellis asked curiously, opening up his own copy of the events list.  “Is he on the other flight?”

“No, Gordon isn’t Air Force, he joined WASP.”

“You’ve got a brother in WASP?  That’s a bit of a polar opposite to the Air Force.  I bet that didn’t go down too well at home.”  Scott had worked hard to build his own reputation but it was still well known who his father was and the Air Force pedigree he was following.  “Is he another sprinter like you?”

“Dad took a little persuading” a frown furrowed his brow at the memory of Gordon’s journey into WASP; ‘a little persuading’ really didn’t do it justice but he wasn’t going to have the family’s dirty laundry aired in public, “but WASP was the natural choice really, Gordon’s a swimmer.”

Major Ellis found the relevant page and looked over the listings.  The name Ensign G. Tracy leapt off the page again and again within the WASP entries.

“He’s all over the pool like a rash!  Talk about putting all your eggs in one basket.  Is he really that good?”

“You evidently don’t follow swimming that much.  I should’ve realised WASP would jump at the chance to put him on the squad.  It’s not often anyone gets to field an Olympic medallist.”  He couldn’t help the smile that split his face at the thought of seeing his brother swim again for the first time since the Games.  Gordon had dedicated so many years to his sport and had achieved glittering success that gave Scott a rush of pride at the memories.   

In the confined space of the plane their conversation was beginning to attract attention.

“What’s that about an Olympic medallist?”

“Dunno, ask Tracy.”

“Hey, Tracy, who’s got a medal?”

“My brother, Gordon.”

“You’re kidding!”

While Scott’s own unit might have been well versed in his sibling’s success story the competitors were pulled from across the Air Force, most of them complete strangers before boarding the flight.  There was a flurry of movement as a couple of people pulled out their phones and plugged the name into a search engine.  By now most of the plane was taking an interest.  It didn’t take long for someone to dig out one of the news reports; Gordon’s Olympic win had taken place less than two years previously and coverage was easy to find.

“Here, listen to this.”

Team USA continue their race to the top of the medals table with a successful day in the pool.  The crowning glory came from Gordon Tracy, a rising star in the swimming world, who not only achieved gold in the 200m butterfly but set a new world record in the process.  This achievement is made more remarkable in that Tracy is just 17 years old.

“That’s your brother!  And now he is on the WASP team?  Heck Tracy, can’t you do something like hide his trunks so the rest of us stand a chance?” one of the Air Force’s own swimmers exclaimed.

“No can do.  There is no way I’m sabotaging my own brother and don’t any of you think of trying anything either.  If you had ever met Gordon you would know that wouldn’t work anyway, he would probably just do the race butt naked.” 

xoxoxox

Gordon gazed listlessly out of the window of his own transport flight, the clouds forming an unbroken blanket below them, the vista bland and uninspiring.  After 4 fours in the air he was feeling bored, cramped and fed up.  He’d started the flight all keyed up at the thought of competing again but the long hours in the company of strangers was starting to wear thin.  For one thing there was too much trash talking for his liking, he’d never gone in for the verbal sparring side of sport but it seemed his companions very much viewed the other services as the enemy at this event.  It wasn’t an attitude he had encountered elsewhere in WASP and he hoped the bad mouthing would be constrained to these few days, it also wasn’t behaviour he could join in with in good conscious and so he had stayed quiet and kept himself to himself, trying to get back into competition mode after so long off the elite circuit.  A vibration in his pocket startled him and he pulled out his phone.

How far out of Fort Hood are you?

Without thinking he typed About 40 minutes and hit the send button.  Only when it was too late did it register who had sent the original message and he realised his mistake.  He had wanted to surprise his oldest brother, the one who was hardest to meet up with due to their differing military commitments.  He’d been able to tell the wider family about his selection during his period of leave over Alan’s birthday but with Scott away on his mission he’d been able to keep the news secret from his eldest sibling.  

How did you find out? Everyone at home promised not to tell you.  I wanted it to be a surprise.  If it was Alan I’ll kill him.

Competitor list.  See you soon.

Well, he supposed Scott would have found out in a few hours anyway and at least this way they would both be looking out for each other.  He wasn’t quite sure of the format of the event or how easy it would be to break away and hunt down a member of one of the other services.

xoxoxox

Gordon wasn’t sure what he had been expecting from competition or from Fort Hood but it looked like finding Scott wasn’t going to be easy.  Outside of their own events the personnel were able to watch the competition but there was very little free time beyond that.  Even if he could get away, finding his brother was going to be like finding a needle in a haystack; the different services were billeted all over the base and by the end of the first day all he knew was that WASP was sharing a dorm block with the Coastguard Service and a mess hall with the US Navy.  

Not that he had much time to brood, the swimming was taking place on the first day of the competition proper and after a hurried breakfast Gordon found himself hustled towards the pool.

He was looking forward to the chance of some competitive swimming again.  The specialist training on the Merlin had been intensive and the extended time beneath the waves had ignited a passion for marine biology but the cramped space of a submarine had hardly been conducive to physical exercise.  This competition would give him the opportunity to indulge in his first passion, he just hoped he was up to the task having been entered into far more events and across a wider range of disciplines that he was used to.

Aside from his trunks lacking the Team USA branding the competition was much like any other Gordon had attended.  A fair crowd had filled the viewing gallery but Gordon couldn’t tell if Scott was amongst those in dark blue.  Events were called, heats were swum (and usually won) and Tracy was once again a name to be reckoned with in the pool.  It felt good to be cleaving through the water again.  Despite not being in peak condition for swimming he was still in fine physical form over all and the muscle memory from all those races past carried him along to victory time and again.  The main difference to his usual style of competition was the lack of medal ceremony at the end and at the conclusion of his last race Gordon was able to wend his weary way back to the changing rooms where he flopped down on a bench. 

Pressing his shoulders against the cold tiles, eyes closed and head tipped back, the last of his energy was spent.  It had been a long time since he’d pushed himself to those lengths in the water and normally his race card was rather more sparse, one elite athlete among many, each responsible for their own specialisms.  The problem was, despite the high physical standards demanded by the military, elite athletes were in short supply and his pool times had placed him as primary candidate across more events than he was really comfortable taking on but he hadn’t felt able to say no to his superiors this early in his WASP career.

He concentrated on his breathing, listening to the hum and chatter of the other competitors around him, a cluster of WASPs gloating about their healthy position in the league table were his nearest companions.  He knew he ought to be getting dry, knew he ought to be digging out the tracksuit he’d been issued for the event, but his limbs felt leaden.  He wanted to be collapsed on his bunk but that involved moving and right now moving felt an impossible task.

“Gordon, eat something.”

He sensed a dimming of the light levels through his eyelids as a figure stepped between him and the harsh lights of the changing room.  The voice was commanding but his eyes stayed firmly shut and his body refused to obey. 

The figure in front of him was causing quite a stir but then that was typical of Scott.  He tended to exude an attitude as though he owned a place and this evidently wasn’t going down well with the WASPs around him who bristled with resentment at the young figure in Air Force blue invading their section of the changing rooms.  There were muttered jibes, reminiscent of those from the flight over, but the intruder wasn’t giving the WASP delegation the rise they so clearly desired.  Having failed in their goading one of his team mates decided to square up to the man they evidently viewed as the opposition.

“And who the hell are you to order us around, flyboy?”  

Scott’s eyes glittered at the challenge, a warning look that Gordon would have recognised from his own childhood had he been fully cognizant of the situation, Scott was not in any mood to be pushed. 

“That’s Captain to you” there was a pause as he took in the insignia worn by the other man, neither were in traditional uniform but the competition sports kit still had a place for rank slides; after all, the military thrived on hierarchy “Chief Petty Officer, although I accept you may not be familiar with the rank structures of the other services”  

Scott turned his attention back to his brother, ignoring the WASP who was now brisling after being firmly put in his place.  He was well aware of the animosity being directed towards him but his focus was his sibling, not some jumped up sardine with a chip on his shoulder.  He’d been concerned at the amount of events Gordon had pulled, and now, seeing his brother in the aftermath, he knew that concern had been justified.  The figure in front of him was breathing a little too shallowly for comfort and hadn’t moved from the moment Scott had spied him from across the changing room.  It had been a long time since he’d seen his brother swim himself to this level of stupor, years of competing had made Gordon pretty well attuned to his bodily needs, but evidently today he had neglected his post-race routine. 

Gordon had gotten as far as taking off his swim cap but no further, water dripped down his torso from the flattened hair that was still slick from the showers.  Even accounting for his time under the waves his skin was far paler than Scott was used to seeing.  He’d come down with the intention of congratulating his brother on his success in the water but now his primary concern had turned to Gordon’s basic wellbeing.  

Scott knew he had to get his blood sugars back up again.  He grabbed his brother’s kit bag and rooted around in the end pocket.  He allowed himself a small smile of triumph as his fingers closed around the packet of glucose tablets it appeared his brother still had the sense to carry.  He extracted two tablets from the tube and, crouching down in front of his brother, placed them in Gordon’s palm before closing the lax fingers over them.

“Gords, you still with me?  You need to get these into you.”

He paused while Gordon’s body processed the order, then let out a little breath of relief as the arm jerked up and Gordon began to suck on the tablets.  

He hadn’t seen his brother crash this bad since he was about twelve.  An early promotion to senior squad had seen the pre-teen eager to please his new coach while trying not to show anything that could be construed as weakness by his new and much older team mates and so the kid had forgone his post-race refuel.  The result then had been Gordon turning a grim shade of grey and falling off the medal podium in a dead faint.  

With the glucose tablets administered Scott turned his attention back to Gordon’s kit bag and pulled out a celery crunch bar, a firm favourite for the swimmer.  He opened it and placed it in Gordon’s now empty hand.  This was evidently an imposition too far for the WASP already disgruntled at being put in his place by the young captain.

“With all due respect Sir” there was a distinct sneer behind the formality “there’s no eating allowed in the changing rooms.”

If Scott’s eyes had glittered before, now they blazed with anger and contempt.  Rising from his crouch in front of Gordon, he drew himself up to his full height and positively loomed over the belligerent WASP.

“With all due respect I would have thought you would rather your team mate got his blood sugars up, or does your first aid training not cover hypoglycaemia?” He took a step towards the WASP, encroaching into the man’s personal space in a clear display of dominance.  “Not that you seem to be acting as a team right now.  Would half of you even be here if it wasn’t for the relay events, or maybe you tried to enter him for all four legs of that at well?”

With the glucose hitting his blood stream Gordon became more aware of the increasing commotion around him.  Voices that had once been jubilant now had a dangerous and angry edge and…yes...most of the anger seemed to be coming from Scott. 

Something tripped blearily in his brain; what on Earth was Scott doing here and why did he suddenly feel so cold?  Amber eyes cracked open and he forced his head open off the wall.  The movement was clocked by Scott who was back in front of him in an instant. 

“Hey Fish, you back with me?”  All traces of anger had gone as he turned his attention back to his Gordon, the Air Force Captain replaced by the brother of old; the caregiver with the ready supply of band aids, ice packs and gentle admonishment as he presented yet another injury for inspection.  

“Yeah, I’m...I’m good.”  He looked down in confusion at the crunch bar in his hand, not entirely sure how it had got there, but took a bite anyway.  “Guess I should have known better than to skip refuel.”

“Yeah, you should” 

Yup, that was the Scott he knew from Kansas.  Gordon felt like he was 9 years old again, being told off for being an idiot in the same ‘I told you so’ tone that had made it quite clear that of course jumping off the shed roof or using the frayed rope swing had been a bad idea. 

“Yeah, thanks for that” A snort, an eye roll, and a re-emergence of the same attitude common to his past nine year old self. 

“You’re okay now though, right?  You’ll finish your bar and get dressed?  Glucose tabs are back in the end pocket if you need more.”

“I’m fine, honest.”  Okay, the slight whine was a little too much like a kid but he was tired and there was something about Scott’s familiar care that had him regressing 10 years.  He forced protesting muscles to obey and hauled his back off the wall, rolling his shoulders to try and loosen the muscles that were rapidly seizing up.  He tried to suppress a groan at the exertion, he wasn’t quite ready to try standing until after the crunch bar was finished but he also knew Scott would not be pacified until he saw some sort of response.  The skeptical look he was given showed that Scott still wasn’t entirely convinced.  Mustering up his remaining energy he returned the look with a grin which seemed to appease the elder Tracy.

“Hmm”, Scott didn't sound like he believed him but couldn't argue it, “well, get dry and get your kit on.  You did good out there.  I’ll be on the track tomorrow afternoon; I’ll see you there.”  Without waiting for an answer Scott turned and exited the changing rooms.

The departure of the Air Force officer was followed with an outburst of grumbling from the WASP delegation.  

“Asshole.  Who the hell does he think he is, ordering us around?”

Gordon still hadn’t found his footing among the other swimmers, or the wider WASP delegation.  He might be the highest ranking of those at the pool but he was also by far the youngest and with the shortest amount of service under his belt by a country mile.  Rank structures overall seemed to be treated differently during the competition and these particular team mates seemed to have little regard for authority.  He was conscious that a wrong move now could make life distinctly unpleasant for him, he might never see these men again after the competition was over but he still had to get through several more days in their company.  He decided to play it for what it was; Scott being an irritating older brother.

“That was Scott.  I think he got the whole older brother thing hard wired in at birth.”

“You’re related to that?” There was a contemptuous sneer aimed at Scott’s retreating form that set Gordon’s hackles raising but he knew sniping back would be an error.

“Yup.  Of course, I got blessed with the good looks while he got the height.”  He flashed a grin, trying to diffuse the tensions.

“Is he always such a jerk?” a Seaman sat to his right piped up, finding his voice now the imposing Captain was no longer practically standing on his toes. 

Gordon shrugged; evidently the tensions were still there.  “Only when he needs to be.  I should’a thought to  grab the glucose tabs myself after that many races.  It’s been a while since I hit the pool competitively.”

There was a slight shuffling from the other swimmers, signs of guilt at not looking out for the young Ensign that had carried the team.  Scott’s words about the rest of them only being there to make up the numbers for the relay, while not wholly accurate, weren’t far off the truth.  They were all back in their dry kit while Gordon was still in his trunks, his skin still pale from the exertion even if his eyes had regained some brightness.

“Anyway,” he scruffed at his hair before drying off the rest of his body ready for dressing, “I need some real food after that and then I need to find out where the track events are being held.”

A snort.  “Well we’ll be watching the shooting tomorrow.  You can join us, or are you really going to do what big brother tells you?”  

There was a challenge in the tone but Gordon was feeling more alive again and less tolerant of their needling.  “I’m not going because he told me to, I’m going because he’s my brother and I want to.  In my family we support each other and Scott, well, he’s done a lot for me.”

Decision made and allegiances stated he swung his kit bag over his shoulder and headed out to find some food.  

[my-lady-knight]

Favorite Reads of 2020

I take back everything I said last year about how 2019 was a comparatively bad reading year for me. 2020 was even worse. I only read 48 books, I could barely focus on reading even when I did find a book I liked, and, just like last year, I ended up with fewer favorites than usual. Starting in August I’ve been having trouble reading any written media that isn’t TOG fic. And some of my eagerly awaited releases by favorite authors ended up being disappointments (Deeplight by Frances Hardinge and Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee).

2020—the year that keeps on giving.

I sincerely hope 2021 will be a better year in all respects, including my reading habits, but, as with everything else, who knows.

Regardless, here’s my list of favorite reads of 2020, in chronological order of when I read them:

Network Effect by Martha Wells

I’d read the first four Murderbot Diaries novellas when they first came out and enjoyed them, but I didn’t fall head-over-heels in love with them. Maybe because they were novellas, and too short to get fully invested? Possibly. As it turns out, Network Effect is the novel-length fifth entry in the Murderbot Diaries that turned me into full-on squeeing fan—SecUnit, aka Murderbot, continues to be its delightfully acerbic, antisocial self, SPOILER makes another appearance and oh how I’d missed this character, the supporting cast is fun and endearing, and the novel-length story means there’s time and space for the brand-new corporate espionage/colonization/alien civilization murder mystery to unfold and spread its wings. (Sounds like a Sanctuary Moon plot tbh). SecUnit is possibly my favorite non-human fictional character atm, and I am now fully on-board for every and any new story in the series.

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

When I first heard about this book and read the words “time travel romance”, I immediately went, “Nope, not gonna read.” I don’t like reading time travel stories, and honestly, I was imagining it to be something like The Time Traveler’s Wife, which granted I haven’t read but also sounds like it’d be the opposite of my cup of tea. 

And then I went to a reading where Amal and Max took turns reading chapters – letters written by Red and Blue, enemy agents who repeatedly taunt and thwart the other’s plans to ensure their side is the one to win the time war and who can’t resist smugly outlining just how they’re staying one step ahead of the other – and the prose was witty and gorgeous and clever and intricate, and Red and Blue were snarky and arrogant and talented and fun. I had to read it. And I ended up loving it, this enemies-to-lovers story that is a meld of fantasy and science fiction such that they’re indistinguishable from the other, where the past is as equally fantastical and alien and imaginary as the future, where Red and Blue’s power play transforms into something different and scarier and more intimate than either of them imagined. 

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

Becky Chambers has done it again, writing a gentle, hopeful story about humans working together out of a share a love and fascination for scientific exploration and wonder for all the possibilities the entirety of space can hold. With the advent of both space travel and technology that alters human physiology to allow them to survive otherwise inhospitable environments, a team of four astronauts and scientists have embarked on a mission to ecologically survey four distant planets and the life forms that inhabit them, from the microscopic to the multicellular—not to conquer, but to record and to learn and to share the gathered knowledge with the rest of Earth. In the meantime, lightyears away, Earth is going through decades without them, and the four of them must also contend with a planet that may have forgotten their existence—or that’s abandoned the entire space and scientific exploration program.

Reading Becky Chambers is the literary equivalent of sitting down with a warm mug of my favorite tea on a bad day – I always feel better at the end and like I can imagine a future where humanity does all the wonderful things we’re capable of doing.

A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker

I started reading this book right as NYC was gearing up to go into lockdown, which should have made this a terrible choice to continue reading since part of the premise is that a combo of multiple stochastic terror attacks and a brand-new, deadly plague upend the world as everyone knows it by causing the U.S. to pass laws that keep people physically apart in public for their own safety and make concerts, theatre, and any other kind of artistic gathering obsolete.

But that’s largely just the set-up, and the real story is that of Luce Cannon, an up-and-coming singer-songwriter who played the last major concert in the before times who twenty years later performs in illegal underground concerts, and Rosemary, a younger music-lover who’s only lived in the after-times, and who’s taken a new job scouting out talent to add to the premier virtual entertainment company’s roster of simulated concerts.

It’s a love letter to live music and what it feels like to connect and build community via music in unusual and strange and scary times, the energy involved in making music for yourself, for an audience, exploring the world around you, imagining and advocating for a better tomorrow, and embracing the fear, the possibility, and the power of change, both good and bad. This was the book I needed to read at the beginning of the pandemic, and I’m thankful I ended up doing so.

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2019 edited by John Joseph Adams and Carmen Maria Machado

When I end up loving half of the stories in an anthology and greatly enjoying all but two of the rest, that’s the equivalent of a literary blue moon for me. My favorites included the following;

"Pitcher Plant" by Adam-Troy Castro

"Six Hangings in the Land of Unkillable Women" by Theodore McCombs

"Variations on a Theme from Turandot" by Ada Hoffmann

"Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Memphis Minnie Sing the Stumps Down Good" by LaShawn M. Wanak

"The Kite Maker" by Brenda Peynado

"The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington" by P. Djèlí Clark

"Dead Air" by Nino Cipri

"Skinned" by Lesley Nneka Arimah

"Godmeat" by Martin Cahill

"On the Day You Spend Forever with Your Dog" by Adam R. Shannon

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

No one is more surprised than me that Harrow is on this list, given that I am one of approximately three people in the universe who did not unequivocally love Gideon the Ninth. 

And yet the sequel worked for me. 

Maybe because this time I already knew and was used to the way the world and the Houses worked, and I knew to not take anything I read for granted because I could be guaranteed to have the rug pulled out from under me without even realizing. Maybe Harrow’s countdown/amnesia mystery worked better for me than Gideon’s locked room mystery. Maybe the cast of characters was more manageable and fewer of them were getting murdered left and right before I got a chance to get used to them (and some of them even came back!) Maybe it’s that Harrow blew open the potential and possibilities Gideon hinted at and capitalized on just how fucking weird and mind-blowing the whole premise is in a way that felt incredibly and viscerally satisfying.

Also SPOILER happens three-quarters of the way through. That was pretty fucking awesome.

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

P. Djélí Clark is a master of melding history and fantasy in ways that are in turn imaginative and clever (his fantastical alternate-history, early 20th-century Egyptian novel A Master of Djinn is one of the books I’m most looking forward to in 2021), while also using fantasy to be frank and incisive about the history of American antiblack racism (as in the above linked story in The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2019). Ring Shout combines the late-nineteenth and early 20th-century history of the rise and normalization of the KKK with Lovecraftian supernatural horror, in which the release of The Birth of a Nation summoned literal monsters (called Ku Kluxes) that became part of the KKK’s ranks. Maryse Boudreaux is a Black woman who’s part of a grassroots organization hunting both the monsters and the human members in order to keep the Klan at bay. However, there’s soon to be another summoning ritual atop Stone Mountain that will unleash even more Ku Kluxes into the world, and Maryse and her friends are running out of time to prevent it from happening.

Maryse is a fantastic character, as are her two friends—brash, unapologetic Sadie and WWI veteran, weapons expert Chef—her mentor and leader of the Ring Shout group Nana Jean, and all the other members of the group who work and fight together as a team and a family. Maryse’s past and the journey she goes on in the book to uncover the truth and stop the summoning is harrowing and heart-stopping, the supernatural elements are both horrific in and of themselves while also undergirding the real-life horror of the KKK and the hatred they engender. It’s smart, it’s fun, it’s eye-opening, and it’s also being turned into a TV show starring KiKi Layne. It’s really, really good.

The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley

“Stick to the brief.” This is the maxim given to Dietz and all the other soldiers who join the war against Mars, where soldiers are broken down into light to travel to and from their assigned battlefields instantaneously. Only Dietz isn’t experiencing the jumps like everyone else – Dietz, like Billy Pilgrim in Slaughterhouse-Five, has become unstuck in time and is experiencing all the battles in the mission briefs out of chronological order, to the point that Dietz starts to build a picture of a war and a reality that’s been sold to Dietz and everyone else on Earth as pure fiction. 

I’ve always appreciated Kameron Hurley’s stories, but this is the first book where she fully succeeded at writing the book she set out to write—it’s fast-paced science fiction thriller in the form of a loaded gun that takes brutal aim at late-stage capitalism, modern military warfare and the dehumanization of everyone involved on all sides, the greed of ungovernable governing corporations, nationalistic and military propaganda, the mythology of citizenship and inalienable rights, and it’s viscerally bloody and violent without being grotesque in the way all of Kameron Hurley’s books are. Especially important for me, I loved that Dietz went through the entire book not being gendered in any way, shape, or form (those last five pages didn’t exist, what are you talking about), and I love in general that Kameron Hurley is committed to writing non-male characters who aren’t less violent or fucked-up or morally superior to men just because they’re not men.

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

Middle grade is a hard sell for me these days, as are books in verse, and I wouldn’t have known this book existed if it weren’t for the Ignyte Award nomination list earlier this year. As it turns out, this book, the story of Jude, a pre-teen girl who wants to be an actress who leaves Syria and the encroaching civil war with her mom to go live in the U.S. with her uncle and his white wife and their daughter while her dad and older brother stay behind, is full of beauty, curiosity, humor, confusion, grief, pain, and joy, and the poetic prose is both lyrical, nuanced, and perfectly fitted to Jude’s voice. I devoured this book in one day, which is the quickest amount of time it took me to read any book this year, including novellas.

Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram

The first book Darius the Great Is Not Okay was one of my favorite books in 2018, and I’m ecstatic that the sequel is equally as amazing.

It’s been approximately half a year since Darius went to Iran, met his maternal grandparents in person for the first time, and found his best friend in Sohrab, and in that time he’s come out as gay, joined the soccer team, got an internship at his favorite tea shop, and started dating for the first time. Darius is also working through some things though—when and if he wants to have sex with his boyfriend, his grandfather’s worsening illness, his dad’s recent depressive episode, his emotionally distant paternal grandmothers on his coming for an extended stay, the fact that he’s getting to know and growing closer with one of his teammates who’s best friends with Darius’s years-long bully, and a bunch else. 

Darius the Great Deserves Better has the same tender and vulnerable emotional intimacy as the first book, more conversations over tea, new instances involving the mortifying ordeal of being a cis guy with a penis, even more Star Trek metaphors, and so much growth for Darius as he works through a lot of hard situations and feelings, and strengthens his relationships with all of the people in his life he loves and cares about. I can’t think of any other book that’s like these two books, and I love and treasure them dearly.

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

I had zero awareness of this book until a bunch of SFF authors started praising it on Twitter a couple months before the release date, and I was intrigued enough to get a copy from the library. I loved this book. I happened to be reading it right at the time of the presidential election, and it phenomenally served the purpose of desperately-needed distraction from the agony of waiting out the ballot counts.

It’s book about the power behind borders, citizenship, exploitation, and imperialism, set in a late-late-stage capitalist future, in which a prodigy invented the means to access and travel to slightly divergent parallel universes to grab resources and data – but only if the other universe’s version of “you” isn’t there. It’s the story of a woman named Cara – poor, brown, born in the wastelands outside the shelter, security, and citizenship privileges of Wiley City – who’s comfortably employed to travel to all the parallel worlds no one else can visit, because all her counterparts in those worlds are dead from one of the myriad ways Cara herself could have died growing up. It’s the story of Cara traversing the muddied boundaries between her old life and her new one, the similarities and differences between her own life and that of her counterparts, as well as the figures of power who defined and shaped her and her counterparts’ existences, and solving a mystery involving the unexplained deaths of several of her counterparts and the man who invented multiverse technology.

It’s a story of the permeability of selfhood and self-determination, and complexity of power dynamics of all kinds – interpersonal, familial, collegial, intimate – and the interplay between violence and stability and identity, and how one can be both powerful and powerless in the same dynamic. It’s a story with literary sensibilities that is unequivocally science fiction, written with laser-precise prose that flays Cara open and puts her back together again.

I worry this description makes this book sound dry and removed when reading this book made me feel like I was coming alive every time I delved back into it. This is a book I cannot wait to reread again to experience the brilliance and skill and thoughtfulness and emotion of Micaiah Johnson’s writing. I have no clue what, if anything, she’s writing next, but I have a new favorite author.

Honorable Mentions

Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

Stormsong by C. L. Polk

The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin

Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (I feel bad putting it here and not in the first list – it is undeniably a modern classic and a brilliantly crafted book! But I had zero interest in any of the Italy chapters, and I found the way he finally figured out how to access fairy magic by essentially making himself mad to be both disappointing and narratively unsatisfying.)

War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi

For my yearly stats on books written by POC authors, in 2020 I read a total of 24 books (one of which was co-authored by a white author), which is fewer than last year (30). However, because I also read fewer books this year overall, this is the first year ever that I achieved exactly 50-50 parity between books written by POC and white authors. I honestly wasn’t expecting this to happen, as I stopped paying deliberate attention somewhere around April or May. Looking over my Goodreads, the month of September ended up doing a lot of heavy lifting, since that’s when I read several books by POC authors in a row for the Ignyte Award nomination period. But also, it does look like the five or so years of purposefully aiming for 50-50 parity have materially affected my reading habits, by which I mean even when I’m not keeping my year’s count in mind, I’m still more likely to pick up a book by a POC author than I was five years ago when I had never kept track at all. My goal for next year is to once again achieve 50-50 parity and to not backslide.

[lostsoulaltair]

OnS Theories (10S). Fifth Theory - Escaping from the progenitors

This might be a small theory or perhaps long but, before starting, I want to mock a bit with the progenitors...I mean, what the hell, they’ve been running ever since chapter 76 and they haven’t appeared yet despite being progenitors! Even Krul arrived first; 14 chapters have passed after Rigr literally launched missiles towards them and then they literally took off their path by feet...anyways, let’s start with the theory!

NOTE: THIS THEORY DOESN’T SUPPORT ANY SHIP AND STANDS WITHIN A NEUTRAL POINT OF VIEW TOWARDS CHARACTERS

To begin with, the progenitors such as Urd, Lest Karr, Krul Tepes and Ky Luc; noticed that the First Progenitor awoke after 1000 years; of course, they decided to go to Tokyo quickly; of course, in the process, Rigr Stafford decided to stop them so they couldn’t interfer with his plans.

This only made that the progenitors gathered slowly, of course, Krul found a way to flee and run quicker towards Tokyo; while the progentiors started to head off towards Tokyo at their pace.

Now, what’s the issue with them?

The main issue here is that the squad is currently damaged, in emotional terms; Yu is literally heartbroken and it is highly possible he won’t be able to be alright if he needed to fight; Shinoa has no control over her powers since the First Progenitor boosted her strength; Kimizuki, Yoichi and Mitsuba are fighting and their strength is not in equal terms with Yu; Mitsuba’s demon is still a mystery; therefore, what’s the problem after all?

Correct, if Krul managed to track down Ashera, Yu and Mika before the incident in chapter 90; that means the progenitors are likely to get close to their exact location. 

Right now, for the next chapter, it is likely the squad will flee from everyone, since they can’t trust nobody but, what is likely to happen? There are several outcomes for their destinies and those points are the next ones:

Escaping with Krul

This is the most possible scenario for the whole squad and why?

If everyone recalls, when the squad escaped from the JIDA in chapter 43, Mika gave the idea of going with the vampire queen Krul Tepes, of course, when they managed to find her, they couldn’t save her; thus, knowing that the JIDA was the creation of the First Progenitor, it is likely the squad goes with the Vampire Queen to find a new path and unleash new secrets hidden beneath.

Of course, it is also possible that there might be feelings of resent since Mika was sired by Krul Tepes but at the same time, due to Krul’s attitude and reasoning, it’s possible she takes in the squad to a safe point on which they can talk without being suspected of the other progenitors.

Captured by the JIDA

This is another scenario with less probability than the first point, and you’ll wonder why?

To begin with, the JIDA was fighting all the missiles and vampires along members from the Hyakuya Sect, thus it is likely Kureto will focus on protecting the remaining humans from any more harm and taking in count that Kureto doesn’t know Shinoa’s condition, it’s likely he’ll also start a hunting team in order to catch the First Progenitor and finish him even if it’s remotely impossible; but, at the same time, the JIDA has the odds, what do I mean with this?

Exactly, the Vampire Progenitors are heading their way and knowing Urd is in top form along Lest and Ky, it’s likely Kureto and his soldiers might not be able to fend against the Second Vampire Progenitor Urd Geales,and this is mainly because Kureto doesn’t have the Seraph of the End at his hands; his power was drained after defending everyone from the missiles and it’s likely he’ll push his body to the limits.

Within this, there’s also a possibility he’ll start searching for the squad within the process but,as I stated, the possibility of happening is low. 

Possible kidnapping

The vampire progenitor’s goal is to get the opportunity to reach Sika Madu’s location, whenever they’re able to detect his presence or not will be a mistery with the current condition he is since he’s sealed within Shinoa.

But, in the case Shikama Doji is able to give signs of detection, then it is likely the Progenitors might track and kidnap Shinoa for interrogation; it’s likely this scenario might not happen due to it’s very low percentage to happen compared to the other two scenarios

Squad getting captured by the Vampire Progenitors

This scenario has a higher probability of happening mainly because vampires can smell blood from distances specially if they’re vampire progenitors, their senses are amplified thus, it’s likely they can manage to track down the squad along Krul’s position if that was the case, as I said with the previous point, this has a low chance of actually becoming  a fact but it is higher compared to the third point.

It is likely the squad will run with Krul Tepes mainly because Mika trusted her a lot; that was the squad’s goal before Ky Luc got her and took her with her.

What do you think guys it’ll likely happen? Do you think the squad will go with Krul Tepes or something bad will happen?

Let me know!!

[thesalemsaga]

𝟰 — 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹

—   𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙢 𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙖.

𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩 : 6.5k words

𝙨 : the team is officially assembled, but this is far from the end of it, it’s only the beginning. it seems like things were going according to plan, they were even tempted to set off. but a sudden explosion in the training arena ruined everything.

“ you should’ve risked breaking iron thorn than your arm. ”

but it was all worth it in the end.

seren was ecstatic at that moment, that much was obvious from the way her eyes creased and cheeks bloomed with a pink hue almost matching her hair. she was overjoyed, because it had all gone according to plan.

her father’s reaction wasn’t one she was expecting, though. the way he smiled when she told him caught the girl off guard, a girl who was used to seeing a stone cold man mostly nod through trials and tribulations and relied mostly on a poker face rather than smiling or laughing. getting that sort of reaction out of him made the girl feel somewhat proud of herself.

the only issue he disapproved of was her minor sacrifice injured in the midst of the dueling lesson. he heard of her burnt forearms and immediately requested for her to return to her dorm where the nurse would visit her. according to the kind woman, she would heal eventually. but the scars would remain, possibly as a reminder of her foolishness.

“ i know ”, seren countered.

they were sat together for dinner. he had approached her at the end of the school day to ask her about her injuries and she eventually revealed that she had accomplished her goal. at that moment, he proposed they ate together before going to bed. it was awkward, her father was a cold man and he hardly had time for these sorts of things, often hiding out in his office till ungodly hours. sitting across from him at a dinner table was a foreign sight for his daughter.

their meal had been a minor stew served with a few slices of bread, though seren found her appetite to be particularly short that evening. whether it was caused by her injury or the fact that she now had a full functioning team was unknown, but she felt no hunger peering down at her food. what didn’t help was the way her father was peering at her.

“ iron thorn can be replaced. it can be fixed without much of an issue. had you shattered your arms, i wouldn’t have been able to pay to get them fixed ”, he stated, taking a bitter sip of his wine. a shiraz, no less. “ you begged lockhart to keep evangelos out of trouble. ”

the girl hated being reminded of what happened. dwelling on it made her recall the flicker of guilt that breached through his usually cold and bleak face, and it just made her feel worse. she had been foolish with her actions and it might have cost someone their reputation or their sense of self-respect. no good feeling comes from hurting someone unintentionally, and when the expression on his face settled for just a few seconds, seren felt worse.

the girl gulped, “ it’s not his fault, it was mine. he was countering when he knew he was going to get thrown down. it was his final move, and had it been another enemy, it would have been fatal. maybe he thought he was in a real fight, that is what we’ve been trained to do ever since we’ve started in this school. ”

“ you’re seriously making excuses for the boy, seren? ”.

“ y-yes! well, i’m justifying. he didn’t do it intentionally, i know that. had it been intentional, i would have most likely be in the hospital ”, her tone went grave, but she continued speaking her mind. “ it was a duel, that was what lockhart said. he wasn’t playing dirty and he didn’t do it on purpose. evangelos is innocent, it’s most likely my fault for not being fast enough to jump away. or i should have sacrifice iron thorn but . . . ”.

she was attached to the weapon.

in actuality, it was the only relic she had left from her mother. celine armsend had spent years of her life making weapons and by the time she married arthur, she had made a reservoir of blades that would never be used. upon realizing she had married into a noble and traditional family with customs relating to war, celine picked the best blade and gave it to seren. it was the only true gift she received from her mother. after that, it was just post-cards on birthdays and jewelry on christmas.

it was a valuable gift. it had been by seren’s side longer than her mother ever had and it had aided her in many disputes, many duels, and it was likely she was going to bring the rapier with her on the journey when they choose to leave. she couldn’t leave with a broken blade.

arthur held the brim of the glass between his lips and hummed, returning the glass to the dinner table. “ well, the scar will stay. but at least you didn’t fracture anything ”, the girl nodded at his words and presented him a comforting smile, it was clear she wanted to change the subject. “ in other news, congratulations. you have your final five. ”

it was a victory the girl was going to take long to come down from. an accomplishment like this wasn’t easy, and it was unlikely she was going to grasp the opportunity to celebrate it when tides were changing. they needed to make a move soon. 

“ thank you ”, she said. her attention was brought to the shorter locks of hair that had been reaped off. you wouldn’t really be able to tell until you got a better look but it made her feel uncomfortable. it was going to serve as a reminder until it grew back, which might take a while. seren told herself many times not to rake her hand through her hair so much. “ i hope you’ll let us off soon. the sooner we leave, the better. ”

her father nodded, “ of course. but i need to ensure that you’ll make a safe route to salem’s whereabouts. i haven’t spoken to any of the military generals yet, i fear they might refuse even with my influence in the situation. ” the girl gave her father a questioning look. “ what? ”.

“ n-nothing ”, seren replied. and then tilted her head. “ it’s just odd to see you being so willing to help me out of this. don’t get me wrong, it’s mostly because you don’t really let me do stuff. ”

he knew that very well, so seren didn’t think to put it down lightly. he knew that he didn’t keep his promises, he knew that he tended to be rather cold and kept the girl inside on most occasions. what made her curious was whether he ever did it for a reason, and if so, if he ever felt guilty for it.

arthur shrugged softly, “ it’d be wrong to refuse this from you. you’ve finally found your purpose and your willingness to complete it is admirable. you also found some decent people to accompany you and even injured yourself for the sake of it. it would be rude of me to refuse something you worked hard for. ”

a warmth flooded within her suddenly. arthur, a difficult man, had his moments of true love and protection for his daughter. you’d think she would grow to hate him after a number of years of being sheltered and constantly held back from things. she never did. the thought never crossed her mind, to hate her father when he had never done anything to hurt her, only protect her. seren admired the man for handling things so well after all that happened.

when celine decided to take herself out of the armsend family and surround herself with nature and learning, it left arthur alone and looking like a terrible husband. it brought shame upon his family name, and he was always being invigilated, people constantly waiting for him to make a wrong move. and after his older daughter married and the youngest passed away, he was left in shambles trying to recover his reputation as not only a principal, but as a member of society.

and he had done well. he had managed to clean a tarnished name and managed to protect his only heir without the help of his wife or any other armsend relative. now, to answer your question, could seren hate her own father? no.

“ thanks, dad. ”

arthur sighed after finishing his glass of wine, stood and walked over to his daughter. upon pressing a kiss to her forehead, he smiled again that evening. was it due to the beverage he’d been drinking? regardless, it had seren smiling from ear to ear. “ no worries, kiddo ”, he mumbled, spotting the shorter locks of her hair. “ when are you going to dye your hair back to your normal color? ”.

her cheeks burned, “ if i dye it back, the shorter hairs are gonna be more obvious. it’s better with pink for the time being. ”

“ evangelos did this? ”.

“ dad, give it a rest! ”.

it had to have been the fifth time that month where her father has requested this from her. unbeknownst to him, she dyed to save him from immediately heartache. she was a replica of her mother, and if she were to remain with her natural color, she would catch the sadness in arthur’s eyes and wouldn’t be able to handle it.

he shrugged and lifted his hands up in a surrendering manner, “ i’m just worried. you can’t blame me. ” grazing his fingers against the bow on her hair, arthur sighed and patted her shoulders. “ go to bed, kiddo. i’ll have you and the others inside a classroom tomorrow so we can discuss your journey. ”

after that, he sent himself straight to bed. whenever he drank, which was rare, he happened to stumble into a state of sorrow. especially when he spoke about topics relating to his wife and his family. celine armsend was still very much alive, hidden within the wild, hunting and learning and risking her life almost every single day and it seemed unlikely that she would return to the aristocracy she’d been forced into when marrying arthur. she was born and raised in the wild, it was unlikely she would have stayed within the walls for long.

though she was glad to see him head to bed and not up to his office, where he would most likely spend the rest of the night in deep feelings and thoughts and they were rather harmful. arthur managed to be cold, but it didn’t mean he had a weakness. and that was his wife.

the girl spent a few moments at the dining room, offering to help the maid bring everything bad to the kitchen but was instead sent to her room. the maids didn’t like seeing her up late, and she loved to pieces, having never refused the advice they give her.

by the time she got to her bed, it was nearly midnight, an ungodly hour to be up both as a teenager and as a student that used up all of her force in the day. she had to be rested up, yet she found that sleeping did not come as naturally as it did prior to all these changes in her life.

seren was day-dreaming of those grassy plains and shattered pillars and abandoned castles and chapels, she wanted to see the world with her own eyes and return with tales to feed the thousands. story-telling had never been an interest, often finding that she couldn’t raise her voice high enough with sufficient interest to be deemed a good story-teller. which was why she had bought a notebook already, to make notes, to draw. she was tempted on borrowing her father’s camera to take some pictures, yet the worry of being robbed or losing it deemed the idea unfit for their journey.

as she lay in bed, seren couldn’t help but wonder of the journey ahead. yet, she was not prepared for the turbulent obstacle she would have to face beforehand.

time skip . . .

the school fell silent by midnight. the library had closed down, locked by the temperamental librarian. the cafeteria was empty, lounge rooms rid of any light. the only sounds that came were the whistles of the janitors who had just finished their night shift and were briskly preparing to take a yggdrasil line train back down to the city, returning to their normal lives.

seren was fast asleep. never had she looked quite so peaceful despite the day that she had. her braided locks fell against her pearly white pillows and her blanket fell over her figure, though it would be on the ground by the time she woke up. she would not have time to dream and kick her sheets to the floor as she usually does, however. because dead at night, when the city downstairs seemed like it was always going to bed, and the only sound in the background was that of the wind, something disrupted her sleep.

it started as a bang. one which awoke her with a start, sitting up from her previous position, groggy and tired in every sense of the world. she could feel her heart skipping in her chest. she wasn’t expecting such noises late at night, and her father was one to be asleep by now.

when the second bang came, it was louder. it felt like the ceiling and floors shook. and it wasn’t until she peered at her chandelier hanging in the center of her room that she noticed that the room was shaking. trembling, everything began to tremble. the jar of water began to swing until it tipped over the edge of her desk and fell into the carpet.

was the school collapsing? seren gave a startled yelp when a sound she was familiar with erupted. similar to the explosion that came from evangelos’s gauntlets, the shots he fired when he cut through her hair. it wasn’t the exact same sound, but it was still an explosion. an unnecessary one, one which should not have happened.

there was no emergency drill scheduled for that week, not that she knew of.

covering her ears, the girl braced for another explosion but it never came. what came instead was a booming voice treading through the walls of her bedroom, the sound of lockhart’s alarmed tone tannoy through the loudspeaker.

“ attention, a breach in the training arena has been detected. requesting all teachers and staff members to the cafeteria. all students are asked to stay within their dorms and are not to come out. i repeat . . . ”.

seren fought through her blanket and bolted towards the balcony door, throwing it open. her view fortunately had sight of the training arena island that was due west of the main tower. normally the roof of the arena would be closed, but tonight, the girl caught smoke rising through a vacant hole that had been blown through. someone had breached in. intentionally. that didn’t look like a mere accident.

when the girl recalled the conversation she had with her father that friday evening, she felt a chill ride her spine. salem is going to counter and do anything in order to slow down the attempts at finding her, her father’s voice echoed.

“ d-dad! ”.

seren ran back into her room, threw the door open and flooded out into the hallway where she saw some of the maids huddled in a circle in the living room. one of them stood up when a worried daughter came looking for her father, “ w-where’s my dad? is he still in his room? w-w-what’s happening?! ”.

“ there was a breach in the training arena ”, the youngest maid said, at least two years older than seren. “ i-i don’t know a lot but i heard some teachers say there were two men there and they’ve managed to lock them inside the arena. but the security won’t hold up for long. they’re trying to cut through the door. ”

two men? two henchmen, more like.

seren knew she was advised to stay inside her dorm. but she needed to see this for herself and confirm her theory. and as she raced back to her room, she worried about whether salem had found a way to penetrate through the walls of valhalla, whether these two men carried the intention of hurting someone, and if so, how many lives would be claimed tonight if nobody did anything.

and that was why she quickly found her sword tucked under her bed and slipped on some shoes and bolted out of the dorm whilst the maids were elsewhere. she was putting herself in danger. soon enough those two men were going to break through the arena door and they would start claiming lives and if she was lucky enough, she might be able to stop utter catastrophe from occurring or at least reducing some of the possible casualties.

she forced down the hall with slight apprehension, hugging her sleeping robe tightly to her body. she had put on some tight shoes in case she engaged in combat, and it didn’t dawn on her that she was half asleep and was likely going to hurt herself until she reached the end of the hall.

seren was going to turn back around in fear that her father might look out and see her and she did not want to spoil the previous chat they had at dinner. so she took a step back, only to squeal when her back hit someone’s chest.

“ w-woah, you okay? ”.

when she recognized perseus’s fruity tone, her heart race reduced exponentially. of relief. she almost thought that she had ran face first into the enemy and that her life was going to end tonight. she quickly turned around, mindful to not end up swinging her sword and cutting his face. “ perseus ”, she mumbled. “ what are you doing out here? ”.

“ trying to find the others. i’m alone in my dorm and i feel like the school could use some help ”, he sounded very tired, it was clear by how his eyes were falling closed a couple of times. seren set her hand by his arm in case he fell forward. “ y-you heard what they said over the loudspeaker, right? ”.

his tone was grave. nobody had expected something like this to go down. but seren had always told herself that salem would always try to have the upper hand, inciting fear with every chance she could because fear would be what kept people away and what enabled her to distance herself from those who wanted her head on a stake.

“ i did ”, she muttered. her figure hunched slightly, almost deflating. “ these men . . . they most likely have a connection with salem. i knew something like this was bound to happen at some point. ”

for a moment, it was silent. she paid a good glance at perseus and offered him a smile despite how shaken to the core she felt. she had expected to run into trouble on the battlefield, but never did it cross her mind that the threat would reach home, breach through the walls of the school. it perturbed her, made her grow even more impatient and willing to step out beyond the walls and finish it for good. for the sake of everyone.

as she faced perseus, she became aware of a growing anxiety rooted within her out of nowhere. it crept up like ivy, puncturing through every organ in her body in a series of pricks and jabs of fear that could not be explained. and that was when she noticed something. something behind perseus, down the hall, and although it was dark, she saw it gleam.

“ p-percy! ”.

he threw a glance over his shoulder and pushed the girl back and rose a hand. at that moment, a cold beam shot through the palms of his hands, a shard of ice hissing through vapor and spearing through whatever had tried to attack them. upon closer inspection, seren recognized it to be a goblin.

a goblin.

“ we need to find the others, now ”, he claimed, his voice orotund yet also exhausted. magic spells require a lot of mana, which drains energy from your body. seren stood there marveling at the bleeding creature that had seemingly come from nowhere. lockhart did not mention that one of them could summon smaller, more annoying minions. like goblins. there were going to be more, much more.

so they took off running. the halls were dark, only a small hue of light emitted by the lines on the ground that would only light up at night and lead students elsewhere if they needed something. seeing as how nobody really came out at night, seren was perturbed by the darkness, by the silence, it was chilling in the very least.

they didn’t have to wait for too long before they encountered most of those feisty minions. this time, there were about five or six of them huddled on a table at the lounge, hissing and snarling at each other and upon seeing perseus and seren, they pounced.

of course, seren wasted no time before shifting in between spaces, meeting each goblin half-way and tore through their small bodies with the blade of her sword. what she found unpleasant was the putrid odor that erupted, something like a polluted swamp with something seriously rotting in its waters.

their green blood spilled on the carpet in ounces, seren continued to run through the lounge just a few steps behind perseus, throwing a glance over her shoulder and locking the lounge door in case anymore spawned and tried to trail after them. it would be of no use since they could spawn anywhere, but at that moment, seren was doing anything to take precautions.

“ we’re almost by romeo’s door! come on! ”.

if they had their gunner, it would be much easier. if they had their entire team, she would be able to breathe properly. but her nerves were scattered everywhere. her thoughts lingered on the goblins, on her father, on the maids that she had left with no protection unless if they’d locked themselves in. where was her father, where were the others? and last but not least, where were the two men responsible for tonight’s breach?

it didn’t take two pounds on romeo’s door for the boy to slip out, his gun in hand. seren took a moment to marvel at it, it was a vermilion red and she couldn’t help but gaze at the sword handle available at one end. it was unlikely that he would ever have to engage in close combat, but that was a marvelous idea. focus, seren! this is not the time to drool over guns!

“ we’d be much safer if we found the teachers and staff members in the cafeteria ”, romeo stated, bringing them into his room for a moment and seren got an immediately whiff of cup noddles and some sort of soda. “ but if we’re seen, we might get sent to our dorms. ”

perseus frowned, “ who cares? they need all the help they can get. half the staff members are unarmed and the security officers have probably been locked out in another section of the school. if we leave them alone, they . . . ”.

his gaze fell heavily on seren, who pretended not to notice it. she knew where the end of that sentence was heading, what he meant by such a phrase. her father was among that crowd and although he could handle himself, he may not know what he’s dealing with and he cannot face it alone.

just then, the loudspeaker boomed. lockhart came through.

“ attention, students. please ignore previous orders; we implore you arm yourself and prepare for the worst. please move steadily towards the main hall where we will dispatch you down to the railway. if you encounter something bizarre, don’t resist the urge to fight it. you are not alone tonight. ”

romeo rolled his eyes, “ well, here goes nothing. ”

it wasn’t long before students were flooding into the halls with their massive weapons, friends clinging to each other and third years in particular aiding the younger years through the right directions to safety. they hadn’t found the others just yet, seren became worried that they might have encountered some trouble. that was until she saw a towering giant through the crowd. her voice broke, “ kailen! ”.

the archer caught sight of her and jogged over, evangelos and alexander joining him. seeing them all brought her a temporary sense of relief, they were still in danger but as a full group, they might be able to get to safety, well, safely . . .

“ anyone else encounter the goblins? ”.

“ goblins? ”.

“ in the main lounge, we found some just piling onto the table. we figured they were being spawned randomly, something to do with one of the men in the training arena. even if they can’t break out, they will find a way to harm the students. ”

just when evangelos was about to propose an idea, the ground trembled once more and for a moment, it seemed like the world was tilting. the building gave a minor lean before righting himself, and it probably settled on the minds of everyone, on how the world they were managing to make so much damage, how they were making the school shake, and just what they were doing in that training arena.

“ if we can take them down, we might be able to reduce casualties. and who knows, we might be able to understand what they want ”, kailen spoke, nodding towards the hall that would take them up to the training arena quickly if they were willing to job.

alexander shook his head, “ we might just end up making everything worse. we’d be better off heading down like everyone else and avoid any harsh injuries. ”

“ where’s your heroism, alexander? ”, romeo spat. “ we don’t know what’s in there, sure, and we’re most likely never going to find out unless if we get off our asses and seek them out. we could stop them from advancing until reinforcements come in. we could reduce casualties but if we stay here doing nothing, it’s not going to matter! ”.

“ well let’s just go then! ”.

seren managed to bellow out the final word, which brought everyone out of their complex panic and sent them moving towards the training arena, resisting the wave of petrified students who just wanted to get to safety. the girl felt sorry to see the pale faces of first year students, innocent and naive youths who were most likely the targets of tonight.

student casualties would strike the heart of valhalla and shatter the school spirit, possibly putting arthur’s leadership into question and the military’s defenses into skepticism. nobody would be happy regardless but they could resist, they could try to resist it.

soon, the wave of students broke and their steps quickened whilst darting down many halls. one convenient hall gave the view of the training arena from a lower level but she could still see the smoke rising and what seemed to be like lights sparking within the huge, cracked dome.

“ they’re trying to explode their way past the doors! ”, evangelos called.

seren’s semblance kicked in, she pushed past everyone and reached the front of the group. “ kailen, evan, you’re with me. we’ll take the longer way to establish a forward attack plan. the rest of you, you need to go via the elevator and each put up your defenses on those doors. do not let them out, and if they do kick through the doors, keep pushing them into the arena! ”, she instructed, and this time around, nobody seemed willing to counter.

the longer way was through a staircase leading to a top entrance of the arena. the others would be heading into the lower bounds and could take up their positions by exit doors and whichever door they broke through, somebody would be able to push the men back. there were three exit doors, which she thought would be the only stroke of luck they would have tonight.

from what she knew, alexander could break out of his healing capabilities and access security buffs and probably enchant the doors. perseus could wrap a door in ice, and romeo could stun them with grenades if they breached out. they had strong defenses, which meant that her, evan and kailen would most likely come into the offenses.

it was just a matter of luck. a lot of luck, because they were entering through the stands and would have to be beyond quiet, quieter than silence in itself to not raise any alarms. and strike from above.

easier said than done.

“ do we have any information on these guys? ”.

evangelos’s question brought seren out of her thoughts quickly and she darted to respond, “ one has a summoning semblance or some sort of summoning magic. the other man, i have no idea about. they’re hearing laughs from the arena, so i’m assuming there’s a maniac in there. ”

kailen grunted, “ two, if we’re being honest. ”

the last thing they needed to deal with was a mad hatter, and yet she was certain that was exactly what they were going to be dealing with. an insane jester of a henchman with tomfoolery behavior. and as they reached the end of the stairs and bolted down through the entrance hall towards the stands, it became a lot more obvious.

the maniacal laughter could be heard from the other side, followed by the tremors of explosions and summoning spells being chanted. they were brewing up a storm within the training arena and were ready to unleash it through the halls and attack the heart of valhalla before all the students could be evacuated. but seren could not stand the thought of her home being destroyed, of this monolith falling from the sky.

because if it did fall, it would crush the city beneath them.

“ great, how do we get in without making it obvious? ”.

seren held her index finger to her lips, experiencing a sudden stroke of genius. she rose iron thorn’s acicular tip and pressed it against the lock, and with a minor click, the door swung silently open, and they flooded in before the light could see out.

in the arena, sound traveled more than anything. and in this instance, the maniacal laughter that came from the center of the closed dome covered every atom in the space. though seren crouched behind the arena seats, she would peek over and she had caught sight of two, simply put, demonic figures at the center. one throwing what seemed to be explosives in the shape of colored balloons, and another using what seemed to be druid magic.

“ oh, isn’t this fun, annakin? just you and me and these steel doors! ”.

seren was horrified when she got a closer look at the jester. he was tall, six feet in height. well, she couldn’t tell if it was a he or she, it was an it. because there was no way it was human. it didn’t have a head. rather, in place of its heard, there were two masks. two french theater masks, one wore a smile, whilst the other wore a saddening frown. it wore what seemed to be a medieval court jester outfit, simple, with a satchel tied to its waist, where it seemed to have been taking out its balloon grenades.

and beside him, stood something to completely contrast an almost theatrical henchman. a horned demon, seven feet in height, wearing dark robes, wielding a spear which glowed every time it chanted. annakin, as the jester called it, was the one behind the goblins. seren could hear that disgruntling laughter of those inferior forest vermin in the sea of green that annakin brewed and summoned them from, placing them around randomly and it explained how they ended up in the lounge room.

the girl heard evangelos utter something under his breath, and turned to see him crouching in close proximity to her, she gulped slightly when her heart gave a small jump in her chest. “ i could crash the party and give everyone outside an alert to come in ”, he dropped his voice lower than a whisper and she still managed to hear him over the chaos downstairs.

seeing as how he relied a lot on his anger to moderate his more powerful attacks, she didn’t hesitate before nodding at him, it would be very effective if he went in with the surprise attack and if she followed suit, kailen staying up above to strike anything or anyone down.

evangelos moved quickly, pacing down the steps until he reached the edge of the stands. if he moved, he’d drop. and that’s exactly what he did. oh, he lunged, gauntlets fired up, flaring with that same red glow from yesterday, throwing himself over the edge and whistling in the midst of his fall.

seren actually flinched when the impact made the ground, she grasped onto a chair but followed suit, crouching behind the small wall of the stands and peeked over to where kailen stood, bow stretched, arrow ready to strike.

“ sorry to invade your party, boys! just kidding, i’m not! ”.

“ why, you little-- ”.

when seren pushed herself over the edge, the ground quickly met her feet and she shifted, soon finding iron thorn against the jester’s throat, glowing with the faint blue of an ice essence that was ready to freeze everything in her line of sight. and that excluded nearly nothing.

jester turned but made no further attempt at attacking. the frowning mask appeared to fold in more sorrow, and panic erupted through its voice. “ p-please, don’t hurt me! it takes such a long time to sow me back up again, i don’t want to be a burden to lady salem ”, it cried.

seren blinked slightly. that was when she noticed the cloth-like appearance to an almost animated figure, it was far from human and it didn’t seem all too magical. it was probably why it trembled under the weight of iron thorn’s blade. 

what struck her was that this dumb doll had just given everything away. this was salem’s doing.

when the exit doors suddenly exploded, she made a harsher attempt at keeping this jester in place, digging the tip of her rapier deeper against its chest and pushing it towards the center of the arena.

“ would you look at that! a demon and a clown, how . . . anticlimactic as fuck ”.

romeo would have incited a laugh out of seren that time around but her expression remained grim, never once did she rip her gaze away from the monstrosity that now fell to the ground, scrambling as if searching for mercy.

“ if you’re working with salem, you’re going to be really valuable for us ”, evangelos sounded psychotic, but he had a reason to. they had struck horror within the school that night and nobody wanted them out more than the students did. but they would be valuable if kept under surveillance and forced to talk. “ drop your weapons before it gets ugly. ”

it took them a moment to listen. annakin gave a grunt, hesitant to hand his weapon over even though evangelos’s gauntlets were gleaming at this point and alexander seemed ready to bring in a deterioration buff. jester also made no attempt at moving until iron thorn began to glow again, seething with ice.

“ a-annakin, drop it! ”.

he didn’t. which was why perseus suddenly launched his hand forward and a yellow hue engulfed the spear the demon clung so tightly on, and when the boy began pulling as if to shake the spear from his grasp, annakin held on tighter. “ we’re not joking, drop the weapon! ”, romeo cried. 

perseus grunted and pulled harder on an invisible rope, and it seemed like he was almost there until jester suddenly pounced and removed something from his pouch and launched it at perseus when the boy’s defenses were at their weakest point. one of the balloon grenades flew directly towards the boy and only seren saw to it in time to cut through the grenade, and unfortunately, was thrown back by the impact of the explosion rattling against iron thorn. and like a repeat of the dueling lesson, smoke engulfed them.

rather, the jester. alexander cut his hand through the air and a strong current of wind blew through the smoke, brushing it aside quickly but by then, the jester had already vanished. and the spear was back in annakin’s grasp and suddenly he was brewing up something they could not stop.

because when he dug the tip of the spear into the ground, the building shook once more, enough to throw all of the students to the ground like an earthquake found them while they were airborne.

“ they’re getting away! ”.

this time, seren couldn’t stop them even if she tried, battling against the immense vibrations on the ground that made it impossible to stand up, like a giant tap dancing on the floor, the world around them seemed to be shaking with no intention in stopping.

when annakin grabbed jester, they bolted towards one of the exits, and the clown made no attempt in stopping the terrors of tonight when it grasped another balloon grenade and threw it up at the ceiling. the contact was inevitable and whilst the henchmen escaped, the dome began to cave in on them.

seren saw the ceiling breaking into chunks, one descending right on top of her and she closed her eyes, preparing herself to be crushed. and she swore, for a moment, that she heard the collapsing horn of a train outside.

it never came.

all she heard was an explosion directly above her and felt two arms scoop her up, wind against her skin, before she was back down on the floor. upon opening her eyes, she was met with the eyes of a concerned evangelos looming over her, and even through her ringing ears, she could hear him asking her if she was okay.

the girl was unresponsive as she glanced over to see her teammates safe and sound, nobody got crushed. 

the tears came flooding in like a dam bursting.

seren turned her head softly back to evangelos, bottom lip quivering, jaw clenched, soul aching. “ the railway . . . t-the emergency train . . . ”, her voice came out in a weak excuse of a pained whisper.

“ seren? ”.

“ t-they shot the emergency train down . . . ”.

[miruka-cioccolata]

What about La Squadra with a female s/o with a stand that can bring out the deadly seven sins in someone? Like, it goes with whichever sin comes natural to whoever she’s using it on so you can know what their deepest darkest temptation is. What sin would be more prevalent in what La Squadra member??

(YES!! the seven deadly sins have fascinated me ever since I saw the movie “Seven” as a kid! I even drew something with La Squadra and the 7 sins once many, many months ago:

my absolute favourite ask up until now, thank you!!)

Risotto Nero: Greed (If it wasn't limited to seven, I'd have assigned Greed to Sorbet & Gelato, it would have fit them much better than Risotto imo, but weeeell. Greed isn't limited to money, it also expresses a hunger for high status. Since Risotto wanted more territory and wealth for his team and in turn also more power, I think this sin is pretty fitting for him. Also his later motif of revenge and overthrowing the boss falls nicely under Greed.)

Prosciutto: Pride (This was a little tough since Pride is said to be the original sin and initially I had thought it would most likely suit Risotto as the leader, but honestly, Prosciutto just seems more prideful too me than the others: His neat and tidy appearance could indicate that he's prone to vanity and his self-confident and strong-willed attitude also points to his sin being Pride.

a little note on the side: I personally like to headcanon that Prosciutto's somewhat of a brat and the only one of the group who can be eye to eye with Squadra's leader (think of hubris, which is another represent of sinful Pride).

Pesci: Sloth (Actually a tie with Gluttony here, but I think Sloth fits him better: Pesci is quite hesitant and not self-confident at first during the GD arc and he only truly steps into action after Prosciutto's death. While Sloth is more about laziness and apathy, it could also be seen as passiveness and lack of willpower, two things you could use to describe Pesci before he finds his determination.)

Formaggio: Gluttony (So, Gluttony is more about eating a lot and while (mostly) all of them are named after food, I went with the cheese man for this one. It's a bit of a stretch here since he isn't ever shown eating or such, but I guess we can assume he likes drinking, judging from the bottle he uses in the fight(?). Gluttony not only represents over-indulgence and overconsumption, but also selfishness. As I said before it's a little far-fetched, but he just seems like a laid-back guy to me, someone who enjoys life and would easily give in to temptation such as good food.)

Illuso: Envy (For him I was reminded of the Evil Stepmother and her mirror from Snow White lol. Envy is expressed in the desire to deprive others off their traits, possessions, status, etc and being jealous because someone is supposedly better or has more than oneself. Illuso doesn't show any obvious signs of envy or jealousy during his arc, but his ability just strikes me as fitting for the sin: He operates from the shadows, cunningly robbing (!) his victims from their Stands when they enter the mirror world. Could also be argued that his ability isn't necessarily good for melee and that he too – similar to Formaggio – is jealous of other more combat-oriented Stands, but that's just a loose thought.)

Melone: Lust (This was the most obvious one together with Ghia. I mean...everything about this dude screams “Lust”, starting with his weird Stand computer thing that impregnates random women, him always being on the hunt for potential new mothers and his trademark tongue actions. His design also gives off that particular vibe, I see pink/lavender as very fitting colors for Lust. )

Ghiaccio: Wrath (Pretty clear, isn't it? He is by far the most aggressive of the bunch, constantly shouting and behaving impulsively. Wrath is about anger, rage, destruction and impatience and I think nobody of La Squadra represents those sentiments better than Ghiaccio.)

the female S/O scenario is under the read more!

Risotto Nero:

Risotto has done and seen countless awful things in his life, but what great sin is his biggest driving force? Curiosity overcomes his girlfriend as she waits until Risotto is wavered in safety and dozes off, head rested in her lap and letting his guard down under her gentle touch. That's when she gets out her Stand. The intensity of Greed's grip on her boyfriend stuns her for a moment. Risotto is always so calm and collected, so seeing his darkest desires so vividly and so intense is enough to make her gasp. Ever the light sleeper he wakes up from her hasty motion and asks her what's wrong, but she keeps quiet about her discovery.

Prosciutto:

There's nothing wrong in taking pride in one's actions, but Prosciutto seems a little too prideful at times. His girlfriend notices the purple mist which follows him with every step, indicating the vigor of the deadly sin Pride within him.

Prosciutto had told her at the start of their dating that he isn't exactly an innocent man and she can second that with the sin-sensing vision her Stand grants her, but she decided to stick with him nevertheless.

Pesci:

Her boyfriend never struck her as someone who would have dark desires, Pesci seems far too nice and gentle as to have any sort of sinful wishes, however, the light blue gleam of Sloth is undeniable. When he first gains knowledge about her Stand ability, he is worried that she might dump him since she is able to take a peek into his heart. Being able to see other's sins can be a burden at times – especially in a romantic relationship - but she assures Pesci that she'd never leave him because of that.

Formaggio:

She told him what his strongest sin is, because he just wouldn't stop asking. Formaggio is sure that if he knows where his weakness lies, he can work on it and become a better version of himself for his girlfriend's sake. Yeah, that idea doesn't last very long, especially not when he forgets about his ambitious resolutions after the fifth beer. However, she is fine with the yellow aura of Gluttony circling around her boyfriend, willing to accept him how he is, all of his flaws and quirks included.

Illuso:

“You can really see people's sins?”

Illuso is still wondering about his girlfriend's ability. He notices her eyes lingering on certain people when they walk around the city, it's like she can see ghosts in the open daylight.

“Yeah. That guy over there for example”, she says, pointing at a passerby”, he is probably going to cheat on his wife tonight. You see that woman? She is extremely greedy, I guess she would even kill for some cash.”

Illuso is amazed at her unique perception. “Now tell me, which sin do you see in me?”

She takes a long look at her boyfriend, but what for exactly? She already knows the acid green veil of Envy that surrounds Illuso well enough. Her answer is a mere shrug.

“I...don't think you need to know. Some things are better left unsaid.”

Melone:

He is convinced that his lovely girlfriend's ability is wonderfully compatible with his Babyface: He'd know exactly each potential mother's secret desires and could thus better teach his evolving homunculus-like Stand.

Whenever Melone talks about his missions and gets passionate about it, she can see the sin of Lust flaring up in a bright pink light around him. She knows he is a sinful man, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't love him with all of her heart. Ghiaccio:

Frankly, she has never seen a person with such a persistent red aura of Wrath ever since she passed Polpo's entrance test and became a Stand user. It's almost concerning how the aura never seems to lessen, the tension being almost tangible like a shaken bottle of sparkling water ready to burst at any moment. Even though she is aware of Ghiaccio's sins, she is willing to put up with it, she had just  hopelessly fallen for him.  

[hidding-in-shadows]

Resbang 2019: hot for the teacher (chapter one)

Here is my piece for Resbang 2019! Chapters are going up every hour to finish it off and little a little room for antici------pation! When my lovely artist, ringochan, posts their art I will add the link for viewers! In the mean time, here you go!

Summary: Maka had always wanted to become someone who left their mark on the world; an inventor, a political leader, an author. She never thought her legacy would be educating eight-year-olds on how to read, multiply, and conduct experiments. Now, in her first year of teaching, Maka is realizing that being the top student in college is different from being an effective teacher in the classroom. And, it doesn’t help that her newly appointed co-teacher is annoyingly better than her. (And attractive.) As Maka struggles to push herself through the year and get through her perfectionism, her and her co-teacher, Soul, form a teaching bond that impresses even the snooty district personal. And themselves. Teacher/Elementary School AU. Warnings: sexual content, drinking, swearing, mental health, family/childhood trauma

Rated M Pairings: SoMa, SidxNyga, BlackStarxTsubaki

ffn link ao3 link

Chapter One below the cut!

She is up before the alarm goes off and she wonders if this is what first day jitters feels like even though it's not her first day. The kids don’t come for another week. It’s a mantra in her head, but her heart still flutters as she glances towards the outfit she had hanging on the closet door. Its a basic skirt and button down combo, but she’s beginning to doubt her choice. 

The beeping of the coffee machine pulls her away from the doubt and she shuffles out of the room. One cup of coffee later and she is deciding what cereal to eat. Chocolate bunnies or cinnamon bunnies? As she’s balancing the boxes in her hands, the familiar ringtone of my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, and they’re like, it’s better than --

"I thought you slept in until the last minute,” Maka decides on the chocolate shaped bunnies as she answers. A laugh crackles over the phone and she winced. Just because her mind decided to wake up at five in the morning didn’t mean she wasn’t affected by the sharpness of Blake’s … everything. “Seriously, Blake, what’s up?”

“Don’t sound so excited to talk to your best friend, Maka,” the familiar voice fills her ear as she presses the phone between shoulder and cheek, “I wanted to check on you. First day jitters?”

“Can that even happen if it isn’t my official first day?”

“Kids come next week, Maks, and this week is going to be filled with silly meetings and trainings. Don’t be so nervous.”

“Well you’re a natural,” Maka hunts for a spoon in the clean side of her sink, “and you’ve been there for three years.”

“Everyone starts somewhere,” something in the background muffles Blake’s voice, “and three years isn’t a lot of time.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Maka begins to move the cereal around in her bowl, making sure every chocolate bunny is covered in milk before taking a bite. “We have to be there at seven-thirty, right?”

“Yes ma’am,” she rolls her eyes at his tone, “anyways, I just wanted to check up on you. I know how nerves can be and I need to make sure my college buddy is ready for the big world.”

“I think I was ready before I even went to college, Blake. Remember, it was you who thought I was in my final internship.”

“Eh, the past is the past. I’m gonna go.” The call ends abruptly and Maka puckers her lips as she looks at the End Call screen. He was never good at goodbyes. 

She sighs as she looks at the chocolate bunnies floating in her milk. She stirs them around a bit and suddenly is being pulled back into her thoughts. 

She graduated, moved across the county, and got a job, all in the year. She thinks back to her first day of college, walking into her Introduction to Education class and snickering when Blake Star, a crazed looking frat boy, waved her down because he wanted to complement her trench coat. He had asked if she was the other speaker coming in for the freshman. 

He then continued to talk and talk about how his junior year was going and his professors. He even asked her questions before answering them himself. After a full five minutes of him holding a conversation with just himself, she slumped down next to him in the chair and nodded along. The look in his eyes when she stood up and introduced herself as a student in the class was priceless.

Something wraps a warm tail around her leg, breaking Maka from her train of thought. She looks down to see her cat, lithe and black, curling around her leg. Her yellow eyes pierce up towards Maka. Maka leans down to give her a scratch under her chin. 

“Lilith,” Maka sighs as she discards the rest of her cereal onto the growing pile of dishes in her sink, “I hope everything goes okay today. I mean, I’m sure there will be some boring meetings and a lot of paperwork but ... ,” Maka stops and laughs to herself a little bit, “I am venting to my cat. And now I am talking to myself. Teacher brain has already begun.” 

--

The cafeteria has tables folded and pushed to the side and there are rows of chairs for the morning meeting. She is the first one in the room, and there’s a distinct smell of cream cheese and coffee in the air from the complimentary snack table in the corner. Maka shifts the bag on her shoulder and debates if she should move toward the front or fall into the back.

Before she can make a decision, the doors to the cafeteria swing open and Blake comes in with a bellowing laugh and two others behind him. His hair is dyed a neon blue, matching one of the school colors, and his green eyes twinkle. He sports an old school shirt for DWMA, gym shorts, and beat up Nikes, but Maka didn’t expect anything else from the P.E. teacher.

“Maks!” He hollars her name even though she is only a few feet away from him, “always the early bird.”

“Good morning to you too, Blake,” she smiles and her grip on her bag strap lessens. She moves toward the small group. Blake’s smile grows some more and then he blinks as if realizing something before twisting to the two people behind him.

“Barret, Nyga, this is Maka Albarn, the new third grade teacher! She’s my friend I told you guys about.”

Behind Blake are two other people, one man who stands a good head and a half taller than Blake and a woman who is about Blake’s height. They man’s dreadlocks fall just past his ears and his eyes are dark and warm as he gives Maka a smile. His hand is rough in her own when he shakes it. He wears similar attire to Blake, and Maka guesses he is the other P.E. teacher.

“Sid Barret, but everyone really goes by last names here,” his voice is deep and friendly, “and this is Mira Nyga-Barret, my wife. I work with Star here as a P.E. coach and Nyga here is our lovely math coach for the school.”

“So you’ll be seeing me a lot,” Nyga speaks and her voice is strong, as strong as her deep blue eyes, “I’ve heard good things about you from Star and Dr. Mortimor. I look forward to working with you this year.”

“Likewise,” Maka smiles and shakes Nyga’s hand as well, “I’m excited to start my career here. It feels unreal getting my first year position at DWMA.”

“Well, there’s a reason we have Academy in the name,” Barret begins to move towards the chair,s “you’ll start to notice, though, that as bright as our kids are, there are some troubles because of home situations. It wasn’t a mistake when Dr. Mortimor placed the Academy here.”

“It’s important that all kids have access to arts and science,” Maka says as she settles down in one of the chairs. They were in the middle of the rows, a comfortable distance from the front. 

“We pride ourselves in it,” Nygas adjusts herself, smoothing her hands over the long, dark blue skirt she wears,“especially the arts. Every year our art teacher has created a statue with the graduating fifth grade class. They’re placed all around the school. Maybe Blake can give you an official tour so you can see everything.”

“She’ll want to see her classroom first,” Blake leans back on two legs of the chair, hands clasped behind his head, “besides, I think Dr. Mortimor or Ms. Leon will do the tour. They kinda run this place.”

The doors open again and more voices fill the cafeteria. Barret excuses himself to go talk to the group that just walked in as Nyga and Blake begin to get into a conversation about scheduling. Maka sits with her bag between her feet and begins to fiddle with a loose string at the hem of her sweater. Slowly, as the cafeteria becomes filled with staff members, Maka’s nerves begin to increase. There’s easily fifty people in the cafeteria now, mingling and roaming around. Some talk and laugh while others are scroll on their phones. Maka feels welcomed and shut out all at the same time -- no one has eyed her up and down, but also no one has come over to welcome her to the school. She tries to slow down the blooming feeling of anxiety in her chest. 

“Welcome, welcome,” a high voice purrs over the intercom system in the cafeteria and everyone begins to lower their voices, “welcome back teachers and staff members! We have a meeting at seven thirty in the cafeteria with bagels and coffee, complimentary from the PTA. Make sure to grab a snack, find a seat, and get ready for some icebreakers to start us off right for this new year!” 

“You must be the new third grade teacher,” the voice came from beside her and Maka jumps slightly as she turns to see a woman older than her standing there. Her blonde hair is cut short and choppy, and it holds a slight curl. She wears a black turtleneck and dark business pants, and Maka can tell from the look in her hazel eyes that this woman is judging her. 

“Yeah, I’m Maka Albarn,” she plasters her best real-looking-fake-smile on as she holds her hand out, “excited to be joining the team!”

The woman looks at Maka’s hand for a moment before reaching out and shaking it. Her long black nails tap against Maka’s skin. “Medusa Gorgon. I’m the other third grade teacher. I’m right next door to you.”

“So will you be my mentor?” Maka asks, letting her hand fall into her lap while Medusa raises a perfectly plucked eyebrow into a deep arch. “I mean, when I went to my new teacher orientation they told me --,”

“Wait, you’re a first year teacher?” Medusa points a finger towards Maka as if accusing her of something. Maka’s eyes go crossed for a moment as they track the nail. She looks back to Medusa. She simply nods with her tight smile and Medusa purses her lips before returning an equally tight smile. “Well, it looks like we’ll be working pretty closely. I’m going to have to guide you towards not screwing the kids up too bad this year.”

“Excuse me?”

“Maks!” Blake’s voice cuts through the tension that is beginning to build between the two teachers and they both look to see the man standing a few chairs away, hands on hips and stupid grin plastered to his face. “Come get some snacks. I can introduce you to some of the others!”

“Well, that’s my cue,” Maka stands and hoists her bag onto her shoulder. She gives Medusa another smile, “I look forward to working with you this year.”

“Likewise,” Medusa’s eyes trail over Maka one last time before she turns on a heel and goes towards the front of the cafeteria. There is a tight, eerie feeling in Maka’s belly, but she pushes it down and turns to join Blake at the bagel table.

“The Thompson Sisters,” Blake makes a wide arm gesture towards two women who look like they should be models instead of working in a school. 

The tall one has her hair down, long and straight, glossy in the fluorescent light. Her features are slightly accentuated with makeup and she smiles with her pink tinted lips. The outfit she wears looks like it has been pulled straight out of a teacher Instagram account; light washed high waisted jeans, a pale green button down blouse, and a slightly over large tan-and-brown plaid blazer. She’s tall and slim, but the heeled boots she wears make her even taller, closer to Barret’s height. 

The girl next to her is the total opposite, though equally stunning. Her face is round and her cheeks are dusted pink. Baby blue eyes sparkle under thick lashes and she has a bubbly smile as she reaches out for a hug. Her dress sways around her calves as she moves in and squeals as she squeezes Maka against her chest.

“Maka Albarn! Our new third grade teacher! I am so excited to work with you!” The bubbly woman’s voice matches her personality perfectly. 

"Star's told us a lot about you," the tall one smiles and it's blindingly beautiful. "I'm Elizabeth, but you can call me Liz. Patti is the one who goes by Ms. Thompson."

"Thanks for the warm welcome," Maka pulls back and blushes under their gaze, "and I hope it's all good things he’s told you."

"Well graduating top of your class with recommendations from almost all your professors is quite a sign," Liz waves her hand in the air, her pale pink nails manicured to perfection, "I may have peeked into your files online. I'm the family services and volunteer coordinator by the way. So you'll see me running around here."

"And I'm the school counselor," the other one, Patti Thompson, said. "I'll be coming in to talk to your kiddos during the school year. You'll hear from me a lot."

"Let's not overwhelm her just yet, girls," Blake clasps a hand on Maka’s shoulder and flashes his usual big, dumb grin, "the Doc should be in soon to start this thing off. Let's go back to our seats, Maks."

Maka settles back down with Blake next to her and Barret on the other side. It felt odd being between the two P.E. coaches, but something inside of Maka tells her she should stay as separated from Medusa as she can before the school year starts. The chattering in the cafeteria had begun to settle down and soon everyone was facing the stage, waiting for Dr. Mortimor to come out. The clock ticks and ticks, people whisper, and then finally the man steps out on stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” his voice is high and holds a playful tone. Dr. Mortimor is a tall man, towering on the stage, and he wears a crisp black suit with a pale blue shirt underneath it. His black hair is gelled back, hazel eyes sparkling behind a pair for wide, black rimmed glasses. His mustache is twisted at the ends, and Maka imagines his smile hidden behind it as if he were a cartoon character.

“Welcome back,” Dr. Mortimor continues with arms outstretched, “as you may have noticed, there are a few new faces around here! I want us to go around and introduce ourselves quickly, then we’ll get into our real icebreaker activity!”

Her heart pounds at the mention of an icebreaker activity, but Maka knew this would happen. She’s a teacher for goodness sakes, she designs icebreaker activities for a living. But, even as people introduce themselves and their jobs, along with something they did over the summer, Maka feels her heart sped up as her time comes closer and closer. The sentences she is going say repeat in her mind as everyone goes, and soon it’s Nyga’s turn, then Barrets, then hers.

“Good morning,” she smiles and silently curses at herself at the way her voice hitches, “I’m Maka Albarn. I’m the new third grade teacher. Something fun I did over the summer was get an apartment.”

“Where is it,” someone calls out.

“Grigori Gardens,” Maka wrings her hands in front of her, “and this is my first year teaching.”

Some people let out a congratulations and others give a simple clap. Maka pushes her flush down and nods at everyone before taking her seat. Blake springs up next to her and starts going off as Maka tries to breath and calm down her nerves. She was used to speaking in front of a group of five year olds, last year she spent the whole school year in a kindergarten class for her final internship. Standing in front of a bunch of adults was a totally different story. 

Once everyone had introduced themselves, they turned their chairs toward a large projector screen that was lowered above the stage.. 

“Time to do our quick icebreaker! Mrs. Leon will be passing around a slip of paper to everyone. I want you to do Two Truths and a Lie. Then we will go around and share with small groups with Life Boats! Directions are on the powerpoint let’s go-go-go!”

The man’s peppy personality did not match that of his outward appearance, and Maka noted that she might need to be extra-extroverted with the man. She receives her slip from Mrs. Leon, the assistant principal who had a dazzling smile and a perfectly tailored power suit. The activity is pretty simple and fun, she gets into three different groups and everyone laughs and guesses at what the truths are and what the lies are. She gets to meet a few other teachers; two fifth grade teachers, a resource teacher, and the art teacher that was mentioned before. Once the activity is over, a few details regarding the weeks schedule are given, then the teachers are dismissed to their rooms.

“I can show you your classroom,” Blake slaps his knees and jumps out of his seat, “and help you move stuff. We don’t have too much to do right now, plus, Barrett said he would be the ball-checker today and I just needed to clean up the office.”

“Thanks, Star,” Maka sighs as she stands, adjusting her bag on her shoulder, “I have a lot though, are you sure you’ve got time?”

“For you Maks, anything.”

--

“You really do have a lot of shit,” Blake huffs, a sweat breaking out across his forehead as he places the last box down. Maka nods and takes in the room. It is large and carpeted. When she walked in, she literally gasped. Looking into the class, there is a smartboard mounted to the left wall, then three, tall ceiling windows on the opposite wall to the door. Another door is diagonally across the room, an emergency escape. Then, the wall where the main entrance was was covered with a large whiteboard and two corkboards flanking it. There weren’t many corkboard spaces, and Maka knew she would have to figure out how to decorate them later, but everything is lovely.

There is even a large wall of cabinetry against the wall across from the smartboard and an island where a few laptops and tablets are piled up. Desks are scattered around the room, and various group tables. Three large bookshelves are in a corner and she already knows she is going to move them. Her boxes sat stacked near the entrance, piled high, along with furniture she had brought. 

“Well, I’m gonna head off now,” Blake wipes his forehead with the back of his hand, “let me know if you need anything, okay Maks?”

“You got it,” she smiles, “thanks again.”

He leaves and Maka ties her hair up tighter and gets to work. It’s hours of moving desks, humming to herself, and dusting things off. She hunts through all the cabinets, making piles of math, science, and reading resources and another pile of garbage. The desks are arranged into the center of the room and the book shelves are standing side-by-side against one of the tall windows when it’s all done. There’s decorations laying around, random piles that no one could deceiver, except for her. She is laying on the group carpet, sweaty and exhausted by the time five o’clock hits. And there’s still so much more to do. 

“Wow, you didn’t get much done did you?” a voice calls and Maka jumps, sitting straight up. She turns toward where the voice came from, a door that connects her classroom to the one next door, and sees Medusa Gorgon leaning on the door frame. 

“Yeah, I mean, I went through all the cabinets and piled some stuff up so I knew what to do with it tomorrow,” Maka stands up and brushes at her skirt, “what about you?”

“Oh, I’m all set,” Medusa looks at her nails, “student’s desks are arranged, set up the library, even got to laminate a handful of questions stems for my small groups.”

“Sound productive,” Maka leans back on her heels, “well, I think I am going to head out now, it’s getting late and I live pretty far still.”

“You’re going to leave it like this?” she raises a perfectly plucked eyebrow at the state of the room. “Well, I guess so, if you’re planning on coming early tomorrow.”

“I-I wasn’t,” Maka feels herself flush with frustration and embarrassment, “but I’m confident that everything will get done.”

“Cute,” Medusa’s tone is flat and she pushes off of the doorframe, “well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Have a good night,” the door slams as Maka says her goodbye and she feels herself scowl. Who knows how this will work out.

She takes one last look at her room, heart fluttering with excitement and nervousness. Her teammate may have some discouraging words, but Maka knew how she felt. Confident, sure, and down right ready for her own students.

[psyga315]

Fixing RWBY Volume 4

Volume 4 is… interesting, to say the least. It is obviously a breather volume, but at the same time, it tries to hammer home that every character is suffering to some degree. It also tries to do a sort of Game of Thrones-style “location-based arcs”, where multiple plots unfold across different areas. The only problem is that not everyone gets that spotlight. I can point you guys to the scene where Ruby sees Jaune training and nothing comes of it.

This is where I was beginning to see the problems of RWBY (dropped out midway through Volume 1 and only picked it back up before Volume 3), but I couldn’t quite put my finger on where exactly. Some critics have pointed to Volume 4 as a place where things begin to fall apart, especially in regards to Blake’s character. Then again, she was drawing pictures of the man who abuses her so…

As such, I’m going to tackle this Volume and try to tweak it so that it’s better. As before, I’m not going to reinvent the wheel or slap unneeded characters around. At this point, the only biggest change was Hazel’s appearance earlier in the show. With that in mind, we should begin with a meta-story first.

Keep Moving Forward

Volume 3 was a success and hype for Volume 4 was at its peak. Because RT managed to sell the idea that RWBY was gonna get dark way earlier than they did, I don’t see them using RWBY Chibi for anything other than training people to use Maya. Although there were plenty of animators from Volume 2.5 that used Maya, the ones RT picked out had experience with Poser and thus, they need to bridge the gap before the big Volume.

Around the same time, Miles and Kerry begin to realize that they’ve undertaken a rather ambitious task. Realizing the limit of their age earlier than they did (no joke, part of the reason the Faunus subplot got ditched was because they considered themselves too young and inexperienced to properly tackle it), they had an emergency meeting to figure out how to handle this Volume.

One solution was to simply keep the girls separated for one or two episodes before they’re reunited, nipping the problem in the bud and allowing the plot to continue. Miles insists that there should be a longer degree of separation. After all, all these girls have been traumatized and this isn’t going to be a simple pat on the back for them. The idea is then extended to one volume, to which Kerry suggests that the girls spend two Volumes separated. One where they’re getting over their trauma and the other where they’re doing something about their situation.

Instantly, the idea sticks and plans for both Volumes 4 & 5 began to take shape. Now comes the question of how to handle the high concept of four, maybe five plots going on at once. I’d assume that, with the Volume 2.5 thing, RT would have a lot of animators they could call upon. And so, a means to tackle the idea was formed: Much like how RWBY split up, so too should their animators. Miles and Kerry would continue to write scripts for the episode (barring suggestions from each animation team) and the four animation teams would handle their respective arc.

We have Team Mistral, the main team that deals with all the RNJR scenes and scenes that don’t involve the other members of RWBY, such as Salem’s Lot and Oscar. Then we have Team Atlas, who handles Weiss’s scenes. Team Menagerie handles Blake’s and Team Patch deals with Yang’s.

M&K also decide, this time, that, if they’re going to get serious, they should at least set up some sort of timeline. This leads to a month of brainstorming between them and other members of the crew to figure out what sort of hijinx would happen in a 6-8-month timespan and more importantly, how the saga would unfold. Should it all be at the same time or split across different points? Miles argues that it’d get too confusing, so at the same time would do.

They also decided to plot out how Volume 4 would unfold. Each episode will have RNJR as a major focus, with the members of RWBY sharing focus each episode. The way it works would be as follows:

· Episodes 1, 11, and 12 would focus on RNJR and WBY.

· Episodes 2, 5, & 8 would focus on Weiss.

· Episodes 3, 6, & 9 would be on Blake.

· Episodes 4, 7, & 10 would be on Yang.

· Some episodes would sprinkle in scenes of Salem’s Lot and Oscar.

This obviously messes up the flow of Volume 4, but at the same time, it would give everyone proper focus instead of randomly across the entire volume.

With the hype of Volume 4 reaching critical mass, it premieres on October of 2017 (remember, they delayed Volume 3 by a year to get the additional animators) and this is how Volume 4 would be tweaked…

Salem’s Arc

The first thing we see is Salem’s group celebrating their victory over Beacon while berating Cinder over getting injured. Salem destroys any vague wording she had given in the original and outright says that the method of which Cinder took her powers was considered unnatural and that she did not expect Ozpin to have a Silver-Eyed Warrior in his academy. Hopefully the audience can put two and two together that she’s talking about the Grimm-

[cue that clip of the audience reacting to the Volume 4 trailer and someone shouting “IT’S SUMMER!”]

… Salem explicitly points out that Cinder used the Grimm and that’s why she got fucked up by the Silver Eyes.

Most of these scenes stay as they are with the exception of Hazel being the new member of the group and thus be introduced to Watts and Tyrian, the latter of which being the one who saved Cinder last Volume. Hazel shows some remorse to the Fall of Beacon (to the point where he takes over Emerald saying “it’s almost sad” from last Volume) but when Salem says Ozpin was killed, he is relieved. At least something good came from the bloodshed.

Another change would be that Salem assigns Watts to Atlas instead of Haven. Her reasoning is that, with the CCT being down, she’d need to find a means to see what’s happening in Atlas. Watts understands and prepares a transport to Mantle, knowing he can hack into it with relative ease. When Hazel gets his assignment to talk with Sienna Khan, he asks if Tyrian would be a better choice, since… Y’know, Faunus. When Salem considers switching Tyrian’s job with Hazel’s (hunt the Silver-Eyed Warrior) Hazel and Tyrian instantly reject the offer. Hazel because he doesn’t want to hurt Ruby and Tyrian because he wants to hurt Ruby. Note that Salem doesn’t mention anything about the Spring Maiden. It’ll become apparent why in Tweaking Volume 5.

Also, I’d keep Salem’s motherly nature in this scene because that was always the nice contrast to Ozpin and considering how I dialed up the untrustworthiness of Oz, having Salem treat her minions like children instead of tools or assets would set up a huge contrast.

Cinder’s scenes are kept the same. At some point, I want to establish that the reason characters seemingly teleport all over the place is that it’s something Salem’s Seers can do. This would be done by placing multiple Seers across Remnant, which his why Watts is also going to Atlas, and then using one Seer to teleport to the other.

Oscar’s Arc

I like to thank Vexed Viewer’s video on how the creators screwed up introducing Oscar, since it gives me an easy means to avoid all the shit they did.

Oscar’s arc begins same as it does, but this time, his aunt (who we actually see) enters his room and asks if he’s okay. This has been the fifth night in a row where Oscar has had night terrors, almost centered around the exact same thing: the Fall of Beacon. Despite living so far away from Vale, he remembers the massacre vividly. More importantly, he remembers fire. Lots of it.

One of the episodes would end with focusing on him, only for a voice to pop up: “Hi! I’m Professor Ozpin!” That’s clearly more of an ending bit than a beginning bit.

Episode 6 and 7 would be where we see a good chunk of Oscar’s story unfold. Obviously, we have Ozpin trying to get Oscar to go to Haven, Oscar wants nothing of it. He has dinner with his aunt where, slowly, Ozpin takes over Oscar and forces him to go to Haven, convincing Oscar and his aunt that he always wanted adventure. Even without a body, Oz manages to find someway to ruin someone’s life to have his way.

Also, we don’t have him take the train. That’d be like if in Lord of the Rings, everyone was walking into Mordor and suddenly some 12-year-old kid flies in on the hawks. He’d be in actual walking distance from Haven. About an hour away. The encounter with Hazel stays the same, but Oscar has a slightly longer conversation with Hazel where he asks him if he’s ever been pressured to do something he doesn’t want to do. Hazel, having no idea about Ozpin’s reincarnation, tells him he has, but the reward would be to have peace of mind. This motivates Oscar to fully commit to going to Haven.

Also, skip the stinger because we’re going to use that for Volume 5.

Yang’s Arc

It’s mostly the same, but Port and Oobleck aren’t in the house since they’re dead. Also, Ironwood states in a letter that he apologizes for DQ’ing RWBY and that there’s no need to thank him for the arm so we can get rid of that meme.

There’s another plot detail, one that I’ll establish in Weiss’s arc, but the long story short of it is that the news plays footage of the ball where the Trophy Wife laughs about Vale lacking proper defenses, setting the already upset kingdom into fury, since those defenses were Atlas’s and as far as everyone knows, they were part of the problem. Taiyang is forced to go out and help quell the demands to go to war on Atlas.

Here’s how I’d structure it:

Episode 1 would have Yang adjusting to life without the arm. The simple montage of her doing chores which gets interrupted with Adam flashbacks.

Episode 4 has Taiyang giving her the prosthetic. She tries to wear it, only to have flashbacks of not only Adam, but injuring Mercury and Blake leaving her. She gets her signature hand trembles as she remembers the train from Volume 2, Gretchen’s death, and Raven telling her about Summer. It ends with her asking if she should really become a Huntress.

Episode 7 shows her watching the news when the Trophy Wife footage comes on and sees Weiss attacking her with a Boarbatusk. For the first time since arriving in Patch, she feels concern for her teammates. She knows that Ruby would be safe since she has Jaune and the others and Blake can die in a fire for all she cared. Taiyang comes home, tired and even battered a bit, having to stop some people from committing Atlasphobic attacks, which led to a Grimm attack. They have a chat about the state of Vale and Yang asks Taiyang why she even became a Huntress in the first place, to which Taiyang replies that she wanted to be like her mom, Summer. After she left and was presumed dead, Ruby had been menaced by a small bird Grimm (I’m going there) and Yang tried to fend it off. This was the spark that led to her being a Huntress. Yang, however, doesn’t buy the idea and goes to bed.

Episode 10 would bring the Atlasphobic attacks right to Yang’s home as the house is bombarded with people citing Taiyang as “Ironwood’s bootlicker” and “a droid sympathizer”. They want Taiyang’s head because if he’s not with them, he’s against them. The sad thing is that most of them are traumatized people who lost loved ones to the attacks. Yang wants nothing of it, but the moment the group grabs Taiyang and tries to string him up, her anger flares up, grabs the arm, and slaps it on her. She goes in and saves Taiyang from getting lynched but when it comes time to attack the crowd, she flinches and remembers attacking Mercury and recalling the words of doubt Blake casted in her head. She ejects the arm and, realizing she’s fighting people without awakened Auras, fights to knock them a few out before calling everyone out for letting fear control them. This obviously doesn’t instantly resolve the tensions with Atlas, but it does inspire Yang to return to being a Huntress.

Episode 11 has Taiyang, after healing up from the beating he got, talking to Yang about Raven. Because she knows about STRQ in this tweak, we don’t need to do the whole “oh, so now you talk about her” thing, but Yang does ask what Raven meant with Ozpin valuing Summer as a Pawn. Taiyang asks when she met Raven and notes that she would add that little detail. He then explains to her that Summer was special, just like Ruby, and that she was sent on special missions that none of the others were invited to. With Ozpin kicking Raven out, having favoritism placed on Summer and making Qrow his personal Huntsman, he slowly dismantled STRQ and Taiyang has quite a bit of upset over that. Realizing that this is what’s happening to RWBY, Yang decides to head to Haven…

Episode 12 has her using her motorbike, only to be stopped by a Huntress, Heather Shields, who asks for her help in tracking down a bunch of bandits. She isn’t interested until Heather says that their leader is possibly in league with the White Fang as they have a Grimm Mask. This piques Yang’s interest since this could either mean Raven or Adam.

The reason I added this subplot about Atlasphobic attacks is that I really didn’t want that ballroom scene to be in a bubble and I also wanted to emphasise the whole “angry at Atlas” thing.

Weiss’s Arc

Quite literally the same arc, but with a battle between Weiss and Jacques because he didn’t really have any earned comeuppance in Volume 7 and it’d be a better place for “This Life is Mine”’s rock version than battling giant bumblebees.

Episode 1 has Weiss more subdued than her earlier Volumes, showing her father’s leash is well on her neck. She is asked to visit her father, leading into episode 2, which has no actual changes outside of the reasoning for Ironwood’s embargo being more vaguely worded, since we want to illustrate that he’s going 1984 right now.

Episode 5 is Episodes 6 & 7 of the original mashed up into one episode. However, we get a shot of Watts recording the ball, then using the Seer to teleport to Vale and hand his recording to a local news outlet before moving to Mistral with the Seer.

Episode 8 is Weiss mastering her summon and sneaking out… Only to be caught by Jacques. Jacques is well aware that Weiss’s songs were nothing but hate speeches to him and he demands respect. Weiss refuses, telling him that he’s a poison on the family. Jacques remarks that she’d technically be poison too, since the Schnee children share his DNA. It soon leads to a battle in the Schnee manor where Jacques over relies on Dust as he isn’t a skilled fighter while Weiss over relies on her summon. As such, the two are evenly matched until Jacques runs out of Dust. Realizing that her fighting has become sloppy, she goes back to using her Glyphs and uses one to pin Jacques in place in a manner similar to how Watts pinned Ironwood in their V7 fight.

Episode 11 has her try to get on an airship before Ironwood stops her and tells her about the closures in place… Then assures her she has clearance to go, inquiring that she goes to investigate Winter’s findings on Haven. She jumps at the chance because she thinks Winter is there. Episode 12 is her on a private military aircraft with Pilot Boi.

Blake’s Arc

… Oh boy. You can tell why I saved this one for second last. Blake’s arc is by far the most infuriating of the arcs and really sets a bad standard for her. I remembered flipping her off when she said “we’re not going to fight the White Fang” when I was first watching Episode 11 because I had it up to here with her tomfoolery.

So, instead of making the battered abuse victim abuse Sun and chilling at her parents’ place as the rest of her team suffers while being stalked by someone who has a big lesbian crush on her, we’re gonna rehaul her entire arc.

Episode 1 has her secure passage on a boat. It’s not as grand as a liner in the original, but it’s not the rinkydink rowboat she was on in the comics. Rather, a simple cargo ship she had to bribe in order to get on. She has no clear goal in mind and when asked where she’s going, she says “nowhere. I just want to keep running.”

Episode 3 plays similarly to Runaways and Stowaways, but Sun stalking Blake is removed. If he wanted to be a good Samaritan, he shouldn’t dress up like some fucking cultist for no discernable reason other than “le bait and switch!” Instead, he’s there because SSSN need a lot of supplies and money to back to Haven and Sun is just doing his job as a security guard. He plays catch up with Blake whose moody nature causes a Grimm to attack them. The Grimm is defeated, but the ship has taken damage and must make a pitstop. When asked where it’s landing, the captain says “Menagerie” and this fills Blake with fear.

Episode 6 has Sun and Blake arrive on Menagerie, where it’s actually crowded this time. Failing that, the big problem is that they’re intolerant towards humans, since this is their turf. Obviously, the captain is met with tons of scrutiny and forces Blake to do the one thing she’s avoided her whole life: Talk to her mother.

I should explain something before we continue. In this tweaking, Ghira was killed by that group of people in Adam’s short. This explains the sudden shift between White Fang leaders and Adam’s words in Volume 3. In honor of Ghira leading a noble cause, Kali was given the title of Chieftain of the village I forgot the name of (Kua Kuana?) With her status, Kali could grant humans a temporary pass. And so, Blake reluctantly visits her and we get a touching reunion.

We also see Blake get introduced to the Albains, who in this tweaking aren’t telegraphing that they’re bad guys and are genuinely trying to get in Kali’s good graces. When Blake gives the Albains the business of the White Fang killing people, they state that they’re well aware, as they have Adam in custody and will sentence him to exile in the wilds of Menagerie where he’d most likely meet his end at the hands of monsters. Keen eared viewers would notice that Salem said that Adam was meeting Sienna Khan so… what gives? Well, that’s going to be explained in…

Episode 9 has Blake and Kali talk a bit about Ghira, we have that much needed talk, but instead of Sun busting it, it’s Fennec. He reports that Sun had been kidnapped by renegade White Fang members, but not saying that it was their members that kidnapped Sun. This causes Blake to give chase and goes to the outback where we get to see one of the vicious monsters Blake talked about instead of leaving it to the imagination or DC.

There, we see Sun and Blake were able to defeat it with moderate difficulty before they see Adam. The three fight, but as Blake’s trauma kicks in, Sun protects her and ends up knocking Adam senseless, revealing that it isn’t even Adam, but Ilia using a Semblance that makes her camouflage as other people (think Neo’s Semblance, but on a smaller scale). Blake and Sun are confused before Ilia knocks Sun out and retreats. I should also mention that in the battle, they also knock the scroll out of her.

Episode 11 has Blake explain to Sun why she ran (without her being a bitch about it) and Sun says why that reason’s bullshit. Kali and Corsac come in and they converse about how Adam is still out there. Kali shows plans for a raid on Haven and Corsac feigns condemnation of Adam’s actions. Blake then states that the White Fang has gone too far with its corruption and must be destroyed.

Episode 12 isn’t focused on Blake, but rather on Ilia, as she reports to the Albains and informs them on why she had to disguise herself as Adam. It’s here we find out that, yes, the Albains were in on Adam’s plans the whole time, but had to keep up appearances. They then explain that their goal is to try and prevent Menagerie from going to Mistral’s aid.

Ruby’s Arc

Finally, we get to RNJR. This is gonna be a long one since they’ll have all 12 episodes, even if they appear in only one scene. Let’s knock these out of the park by saying that Episodes 1 & 2 relatively stay the same, but episode 2 has them arrive in Shion just as Raven’s team attacks. This leads to a battle where Ruby battles her sister’s mom and doesn’t even know it. However, Ren sees the mask and freaks. Making matters worse is that the Nuckelavee appears and forces Raven to retreat. The group manages to hold off the Nuckelavee, but are unable to defeat it, leading them to run with a Huntsman following them, the same one that died in the original.

Episode 3 has Ruby talking to Ren about what the hell was up with his freak out but Ren refuses to talk and Nora isn’t helping matters. The huntsman introduces himself as Shiro Wan and says how he’s been assigned by Lionheart, the Headmaster, to investigate a recent string of bandit attacks. He then says that, if they can help him with the bandit, he can get a good word in to bring the group to Mistral. Ruby later confronts Jaune on his training with Pyrrha’s video as Jaune berates himself for letting Pyrrha die at Beacon, saying that if he was stronger, he would have helped her. We end the episode with him confiding in Ruby something: “Ozpin tortured Pyrrha…” That or he wants to kill Cinder.

Episode 4 reveals that Qrow is not only following them, but is talking to Raven about the Spring Maiden. Raven feigns ignorance, but her wording leads Qrow to confirm that she knows where the Spring Maiden is. Also, I want him to say this:

Qrow: If you don’t tell us, we’re all going to die.

Raven: And who’s this ‘we’ you’re referring to?

Qrow: EVERYONE, YOU DUMB FUCKING EDGELORD BITCH!

… I just want to do that.

Episodes 5, 6, and 7 are relatively the same, but Tyrian kills Shiro. Episode 8 has Jaune lay into Qrow about Pyrrha and Qrow tries to defend Oz by saying that Pyrrha chose, but Jaune brings up how he saw the contrary, even asking Qrow if they informed Pyrrha about Salem and the Relics, to which he sadly says no. Episode 9, 10, 11, and 12 are relatively the same as well, with only two exceptions. The first is that, in the flashback for Kuroyuri, we see that Ren makes friends with a ten-year-old girl before Raven and her bandits attack. Nora is also there and with her depression and the bandits, the Nuckelavee is let loose onto Kuroyuri, the ten-year-old last being seen with Raven and looking at the destruction with remorse. During the Nuckelavee fight, Ruby’s silver eyes act up, freezing the Nuckelavee in place for Ren to hand some final blows, rather than “hold arms down to win”.

The stinger isn’t really plot important, but reveals what will immediately happen in Volume 5 as Jaune, Nora, and Ren, with Pyrrha’s shield (if you’re gonna say she has extras, at least show she has extras), carry it over to a house and knock on the door… It’s clear what’s going on, but as the door opens, we cut to black. To be continued in Volume 5.

DVD Extra

I’d say four extra stories starring each member of Team RWBY. Maybe even adapting a story from the comics?

And that’s Volume 4… The next tweaking is going to be my final one and I’m gonna go out on a bang.

[popculturebuffet]

Analysis of X: Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn

In honor of britan’s premire superhero team returning today, we take a look back at the original team. Kitty Pryde and Nightcrawler must team up with a drunkard magical british superman and his chipper shapeshifting sorta girlfriend to save their old teammate from an alternate dystopian future with the power of a god from both a squad of skin stealing wolves sicced on her by a sinsiter reality show producer from another dimension and a group of intergalactic weirdo bounty hunters after her due to an entirely separate omniversal dictator who wants to bang british superman. Somehow, Grant Morrison didn’t write this. I would like to, if I may, take you on a strange journey after the cut. 

Excalibur has always been the odd mutant out of the X-Men franchise.And that’s in part because the bulk of it’s mythos and characters come not from the deep wells of the X-Men comics of the time, but from another character Chris Claremont had a huge hand in: Captain Britain

Created shortly after Claremont got his start on the All-New All-Diffrent X-Men, redefining the X-Men forever and making them into the sales juggernaut they were for the 80′s and early to mid-90′s and are again today at long last, Captain Britan was Brian Braddock, a scientist who, while escaping a hired goon who torched his workplace, crashed his motorbike. He was saved by, of all things, Merlin... yes exactly the one your thinking of.... and his daughter and omniveral guardian Roma. They choose Brian to be their champion choosing either the staff of right or the sword of might and, not really being a fighter, Brian chose the staff and a hero was born. 

Cap was created for the UK Divison of Marvel and while Claremont did a sizeable amount of work on the character, including introducing Brian’s sister and future X-Man and as of this week Captain Britan herself Betsy Braddock,  it was two other men who made most of his mythos and the stuff that would end up being the backbone of Excalibur: Alan Davis, an absolutely monsterous talent of an artist and all around nice guy and... your going to want to sit down if you don’t know this I sure as hell was surprised, Alan Fucking Moore... and if that’s not his actual middle name it should be. Yes he of long beards, genere definting runs and yelling at the young people to get off his lawn and DC to stop hurting his baby Watchmen, THAT Alan Moore worked for marvel breifly. This was his only work with them shockingly. Not so shockingly he and Davis redefined the character, created most of the concepts that would be carried over to Excalibur, and gave the character a spiffy new costume seen above, one so good it’s stuck even into the modern era. Moore, and some other artists in addition to Davis, crafted a long epic about Cap going up against Mad Jim Jaspers, a reality warping mutant who was as insane as his name suggested and introduced many things that would become the backbone of the character, as well as establishing Moore’s habit of taking a less than sucessful B-List hero and utterly turning him on his head. Their also the ones who dubbed Marvel’s main universe 616, a fun fact I honestly had forgotten.  But of course after Moore left Cap fell by the wayside, making a cameo or too in other marvel books in the US while Betsy made her way to the X-Men just when they needed new blood most. More on that in a bit. But he wouldn’t stay on the sidelines for long. See Chris Claremont has a habit of taking characters he created and using them later if they’d been forgotten somehow or put off to the wayside. Mystique, one of the x-men’s most iconic enemies... was a Ms.Marvel (The carol danvers one before she got the rank up), enemy. Sabertooth? An old iron fist villian he’d created and taken a shine to. Arcade was inveted for a team up of Spider-Man and Captain Britan before primarily becoming an X-Men villian for most of his life. And of course Betsy was a a supporting character who became one of the x-men’s most iconic members through a weird mind swap with a japanese woman before recently getting her old body back. Claremont dosen’t like leaving his charcters to twist in the wind and thus brought most of them into the x-men mythos. Even Spider-Woman, depowered at the time, ended up as a major Wolverine supporting character. One of Claremont’s strengths as a writer to me is that he never truly forgot anything he created or worked on, and the X-Men benefited greatly from it.  So while it probably surprised american readers who only thought of Captain Britain as a c-list hero who teamed up with Spider-Man and Captain America, it’s no surprise in hindsight that for his second X-Men ongoing, having also made a TON of mini series, he choose to bring Brian to the big time. While I can’t find much background on Excalibur, I conjecture that Chris wanted to go a bit lighter. 

The X-Men were in a DARK place at the time. I mean the X-Men were never all sunshine and roses but most of the humor of the book and lighter moments were gone at the time thanks to the Mutant Massacre, an event where the Morlocks, a group of disfigured homeless mutants who felt at odds with society and thus lived in the tunnels under New York, were slaughtered by professional hitsquad the Mauraders who killed all but a handful of them and during the fight with the X-men took 3 of them out of commission:  Nightcrawler had fallen into a coma after overtaking his already crippled teleportation powers defeating one of the mauraders, Kitty Pryde slowly started to disappear, unable to phase back to solid after taking an electric spear for Rouge, and Colossus was heavily wounded in ways I forgot and since he rejoined the X-Men, aren’t really relevant here anyway. The X-Men were up against the wall against a barrage of ruthless opponents, working with longtime foe  magneto since Xavier got trapped in space, as you do, and were not in a really happy place. So it feels like, even if the angst was still present because Claremont would go into withdrawl if there wasn’t some form of angst to work off, Excalibur was created as a way for him to do something different in the X-Mold and lighter so he could go as dark as he needed to. So by injuring Kitty and Kurt, he took them off the board and had a starting point for the team, and by adding Captain Britan and his girlfriend Meggan, a shapeshifting  empath brought back one of his own creations and brought him into the american side of Marvel, and gave him an almost complete team. It also had the bonus of likely enticing Alan Davis, who in one of the few background things I could find about this book, didn’t really want to work on an established title like X-Men where there were expectations how it was supposed to look etc. But they were still about one member short of a team... but thankfully chris claremont had squared away a spare x-man for just such an occasion. 

Enter. Phoenix, aka Rachel Summers. The daughter of Jean Grey and Scott Summers from the Days of Future Past timeline, Rachel ended up in our timeline, bonded to the Phoenix Force like her mom, and struggling with the power, eventually running away after attempting to kill Selene, an evil sorceress who hunted her in an attempt to drain her power. She fled, not sure wether she should rejoin her team or not, and was instead lured into joining Mojo on the promise of a new start. Mojo.. is this guy. 

Strap yourselves in for this one: Mojo is the dictator of another dimension that runs off TV, essentially crafting shows for the media hungry populous and kidnapping the X-Men every so often to show up on his programs, to the point he once swapped Psylocke’s natural eyes out with robot camera eyes that looked like the normal eyes so he could record the X-Men’s adventures as it happened, which itself isn’t a bad concept. He didn’t show up to Rachel in person of course, partly because he’s too lazy and partly because he looks like what happens when lightning strikes a pile of twinkies and exposed wiring and somehow brings them to life.  She was sent here for the same reason as Kurt and Kitty: to keep her off the board and set up her return here. It’s one of Claremont’s strengths to me: While he ocasionally forgets a subplot or dosen’t realize how wonky one is, more often than not he knows where the story is going and has a plan for it, and thus set up Excalibur a year in advance in the pages of Mutant Massacre. 

Speaking of setup there’s one final thing to cover before we begin, the second X-Men crossover event and the one that directly leads into this: Fall of The Mutants, aka one of the worst days in the life of one Kitty Pryde. First her best friend and human google translate Doug Ramsey died while on a misson with the new mutants, sacrificing himself to save the life of his girlfriend Wolfsbane. 

As if someone was challenging god to make her days worth, at the same time as this tragedy the X-Men, at the time made up of Storm, Wolverine, Psylocke, Rouge, Havok, Dazzler, Longshot and with tag along Madeline Piror whose story is too much to get into here, were locked in a battle with force of chaos and actual demon Nemisis, a being summoned by their sorta ally Forge by accident. Forge can also build any device he pleases but since every fifth x-men character has magic ruin their life, someone had to take the bullet caked with demon blood. At any rate the only way to stop him.. 9 souls were part of the ritual that brought Nemisis in, 9 souls were needed for the ritual to seal him up. And the X-Men, being true heroes determined to do whatever it took, gladly offered up their lives to defeat the demon and save the world. As the world looked on, the X-Men died, for once not feared and hated, but honored and mourned as heroes. Of course this being a comic book Forge’s method of saving the world was turning the X-Men into pure soul energy and throwing them at the demon but that somehow makes it more epic. And of course, it’s no suprise one of their dearest friends was watching from Muir Island, which was serving as a recovery ward for the surviviors of the massacre and was run by longtime X-Men Ally and lynchpin of Hickman’s run Moira Mactaggert

Thankfully, Kitty got one tiny sliver of sunshine on the worst day of her life: Kurt woke up from his coma... just in time to tell him the only family he’d ever known is dead. And that’s where we pick up, with our two heroes trying to figure out what to do now they’ve lost everything. But before we FINALLY get started, this bit was way longer than I meant it to be, your probably curious how long the X-Men stayed dead as well.. this is comics and they were the hottest team int he world. This wasn’t going to stick even if Claremont was serious about ending the series. And the answer, and i’m not making this up I counted, is two pages. Yup, TWO PAGES. Not kidding. Ironically enough Roma, the omniversal goddess daughter of merlin I mentioned, got wrapped up in all this and, moved by the X-Men’s bravery, gave them the chance to come back and start over however they like, and the X-Men choose to be unable to be picked up on tape and let the world think they were dead so they could strike back at their mounting enemies. Granted I feel that while the “play dead and take out our worse foes while we have the advantage” is a good part of it, not telling the new mutants or kitty and kurt is not only cruel, but just paints a target on a bunch of teenagers backs. Sure teenagers who’ve faced worse but still. But I digress, that’s a rant for when I cover Fall of the Mutants at some point and this exposition has taken far longer than I wanted it to. And so here we are at the one shot that would forge a team and finally, we can get into it:  The cover, way up there is decent. It shows a nice right melee between Excalibur, the Warwolves and the Technet, though it makes it look like Gatecrasher is part of the team when she is in fact one of the issue’s main antagonist and is overall a bit weirdly composed. It doesn't help the proper Excalibur #1 has one of the best x-team covers of all time. 

As you can see the comparison dosen’t help the far messier above cover. It’s just average in comparison to the creative and funny covers Davis would provide throughout both runs and the majestic one above.  WE open on Kitty Pryde, understandably, having a nightmare, being dragged by a crew of makeup people just off screen and smack into

Oh good marvel’s already working on the new X-Men movie. Thank god I thought they really WERE going to take 5 years to do it. Naturally she is curious why their in hollywood but dosen’t suspect fowl play because well... to put it in a personal persepctive if I saw my grandpa I lost a few years ago or my dog I lost in high school that was the same age as me, alive healthy and back, i’d be confused as hell but mostly? I’d just be relived and hope beyond hope it was real, as poor Kitty is diong. Unfortunatley the illusion something isn’t up lasts all about a panel before this happens. 

First of all: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!. Second. as AHHHHHH! as it is.. it could’ve been worse. 

It soon becomes clear something is up as Kitty wails around confused, wondering why Rouge’s powers don’t work and why the X-Men are acting as if nothing is real before action is called and they run off.. it’s then Kitty finally encounters a freindly face. 

It's now from context clear just what the fuck is going on: this isn't JUST a dream: Rachel has somehow dragged Kitty into Mojoworld through her dreams, warning her, as seen above that with the X-Men gone, their image can be twisted and exploited by those wanting to use it for their own image. This warning is cut short when Fake Xavier starts shouting and soon we get this lovely image.

As we can see Rachel deeply regrets running but Mojo won't let her go.. fortunatley Kitty phases the chains and lets Rachel go, with Rachel promising to see kitty again soon as she flees.. unfortunatley Kitty's pissed off Mojo's actors...

Again, it could’ve been worse. 

Kitty wakes up and naturally angsts a bit over that fucked up dream she had and then sees a phoenix in the sky, wondering what could it mean and what could the dream mean. 

A lot to unpack here. First off... Perverso...

Second, my heart breaks at that last line.. and it’s true. Kitty likely feels, like a lot of people going through grief, that  maybe they could’ve done something. Maybe if she was there she could’ve stopped their deaths and saved the day or failing that, she could’ve gone with them. So she wouldn’t have to feel awful about being here while they aren’t, so she wouldn’t feel the unbearable weight of being one of the last X-Men. But the sad truth is, she wouldn’t of made any diffrence. None of them would’ve taken the last slot and would’ve given it instead to their tagalong Madeline Prior so she could see her family again. They died selfilesly, and nothing she could’ve done would’ve stopped them. 

As seen above Kitty tries to take solace in petting her dragon Lockheed. Yes Kitty has a dragon for those who didn’t know about him or were only familiar with her from the cartoons.. though why X-Men Evolution never thought to introduce Lockheed is beyond me. He’s a space dragon that stowed away when the X-Men returned from well.. space, and saved Kitty’s life, taking up residence as her pet. He was later revealed to be far more sapient than he seems, but still hangs around Kitty because it’s an effed up world, but it’s a two player game.  But as demonstrated Kitty’s powers have inverted. While she has gotten better, as I talked about in my Mauraders #1 review she was fading from existance shortly after the massacre, her intangiable state is now her natural one. She has to concenrate to turn solid. So in addition to having lost just about everything, her powers are broken too. Kitty then sees a picture of her shortly after she joined the X-Men before having a good cry about how most of the people in the picture are dead and professor xavier got shot up into space. Thankfully he dosen’t have to watch cheesy movies.. unless it’s Cho’d turn to pick the movie. For some reason it’s ALWAYS Cool as Ice. no one knows why. 

Meanwhile, in the seas of mood whiplash, we meet Meggan. Meggan, like most of the cast, is a mutant, something I was unaware of until now even though the I just thought she was some sort of magical creature, but no, she’s a mutant and the naration outright calls her one. I’m just stupid or thought they just classifed her wrong I guess. Unlike most mutants, who manifest powers at puberty, she manifested hers at birth. Megan is an empathic shapeshifter, basically meaning that she shifts based on those around her’s perception of her. And sadly her upbringing was not a happy one as, since she was born with fur, her parents saw her as a monster and left her in a caravan alone, with the rest of her romani community making up rumors about her.. and due to being unable to control her powers shape shifted into the monster they thought she was. She was raised on televisoin and thus has a rather naive sense of the outside world, and later bonded with brian after he took her in, her home having been destroyed due to lots of stuff I don’t have time to go into, and she later took up her current default form after realizing she was a shapeshifter in the first place.  But yes our bubbly shapeshifter is swimming with the dolphins and due to her emphatic ablites, she can commuincate with them learns how to swim like them and, thanks to her ablities, has shifted to do so the best. She’s lost track of time though and heads home to the lighthouse she and Brian live in. She returns home to find the place ransacked, and since she didn’t feed her mogwii after midnight.. this time, she searches for the cause.. and the cause turns out to be similar to the reason Kitty is crying her eyes out miles away in scotland. 

When Kitty and Kurt lost their surrogate family, Brian lost his too. As stated far above Betsy was his sister, and they were very close from the looks of it, and the loss of her naturally shattered the man. Meggan tries to comfort him but.. it goes  about as well as you’d expect, especially since Brian has been heavily drinking on top of his grief. 

This scene.. is really damn sad but really well written. Brian, as I joked in the teaser, has the powers of superman basically minus the add ons like heat vision and frost breath.. yet he couldn't save Betsy. But as Meggan accuratley puts things, he couldn’t of known she was in danger and she was a grown woman. As I said, she choose to sacrifice herself, and as I didn’t fill in, the spell only works with WILLING participants. All that would’ve changed had he gone is Madelyne Prior would be alive and not him. And it’s things like this that also made me take such umbrage with the X-Men faking their deaths: their causing, real genuine greif to people... while I joked mildly about the telpathy thing, i’m not sure betsy’s range, I AM sure that being a telepath one of the simpliest trick is masking your presence. It’d take a lot of effort and be mildly invasive, but keeping yourself hidden to tell your brother goodbye is hardly more morally grey than faking your death and leaving him in a drunken stupor. This is especailly bad once they get a teleporter shortly into their australian stay, as Gateway could SEND HER to him, with no risk of detection, and have her explain it in person with storm in tow. Instead they hurt their friends and loved ones for a plan that ultimatley didn’t quite pan out. 

Meggan herself mopes for a second, understandable as Betsy was her friend too and she's hurt she's gone and blames herself.. before snapping out of it, realizing that Brian is just lashing out and needs help, but unable to face him like he is, she leaves him a pictoral note, since she's functionally illiterate, and goes to get advice from Kitty and Kurt, wanting to help him open up the way he helped her do the same. Meanwhile...

Jesus christ this comic loves abrupt tonal shifts.. but yeah Kurt is excercising, but then reflexively teleports after he takes a hit. As  I mentioned earlier Kurt’s teleporting is strained, having gotten injured in a battle with Nimrod, who really hickman you couldn’t of come up with either a better name or a reason he’s called that when you brought him back in House and Powers?, and as a result comaed himself defeating one of the mauraders. And while the coma thing cleared up nicely his powers are still a fraction of what they once were and one teleport while injured no less leaves him too shaky to continue and reaching for the saftey panel. Thankfully Kitty phases through it while checking up on him, having been told through the island’s backup alarms that he was doing this borderline suicidal shenanigan. Kitty naturally lays into him over it. 

Kitty's rage is entirely warranted: She just lost her surrogate family and her best friend. Things with her parents are strained. She dosen't want to loose the only family she really has left because he feels the same things she feels and is nearly killing himself to try and deal with it. Kurt apologizes, admitting the painful part of it: that he was HAPPY when he woke up from his coma, overjoyed to finally be alive again, to live again.. only to find out his family is dead from one of his closest friends. And with this i'm reminded of Steven Universe.. just go with me. There Pearl mourned for a good decade about loosing Rose because well.. she was everything she had. She , literally and metaphorically, freed her, she was her world.. and Rose moved on to someone else romantically and then decided to up and leave the mortal coil. Her entire world left her and she had no idea to cope or as she put it in song, "Who am I now in this world without her?" That's what our heroes are dealing with: for Kitty and Kurt the X-Men were their world.. not in such a co-dependent way as rose but for Kurt, it was his family: through them he went from a monster in the world's eyes, hiding from it and tired of having to do so, to a bold hero who refused to hide who he was anymore and who had family and a purpose. For young Kitty, she found parental figures in a time when her actual parents, particularly her dad, were going through a messy divorce, found strength she never knew to the point she EARNED her right to stay on the X-Men after Xavier started a junior class and wanted her to go there, and really came of age. The X-Men made them who they are today and without them.. just who are they? But before they can dive into that themselves our heroes find out something disturbing: they had the same exact dream about rachel, complete with helping her escape. Maybe they really did or maybe it was just a warning, the conculsion our heroes reach, and while Kitty does resolve to do something about it, determining that just because their injured dosen’t mean they’ve stopped being X-Men, but before they can deal with this they get a guest. 

No but she’s just as weird and abrubt:

This is Gatecrasher,  leader of the The Technet, a group of interdimensional mercenaries and bounty hunters. She wants to speak with the lady of the house but that’s not really and option as she’s kinda on a schedule. You know people to grab, drinks to be drunks, sapient racoons to bone.. that sorta thing.. and the last one isn’t something I pulled out of nowhere the recent Rocket Racoon solo not only brought in the technet but had her fancy the guy. Guess it’s the fuzzy, as Kurt himself will tell you chicks dig the fuzzy. It’s why he’s Krakoa’s orgy meister. Before Kitty and Kurt can find out who Gatecrasher is and why she’s here, Meggan soars in.. and hisses at Gatecrasher. See The good captain and the Technet have a history: they’ve been both enemies and reluctant allies, so naturally Meggan is worried their here for Brian. But this time they have no buisness with the good Captain... and when asked by kitty why she’s here Gatecrasher uses a telecom crystal, some sort of magic hologram recording, to explain herself:

Saturnyne is , as she says an omniversal majestrix. This basically means she runs the day to day operations of the Captain Britan Corps, basically the Captain Britians for every reality, helps give underdeveloped words nudges toward advancment and general multiversal maintince stuff. Sorta like a combination of Omnitraxus and Hekapoo from star vs the forces of evil but without being a racist asshole. I mean she’s still an asshole, just not a racist one. She and Brian have a romantic history. As you can also see each of the team is having a different reaction to her: Kurt is popping a boner just off screen, maybe he can invite her to Krakoa orgy night hmm?, Meggan is pissed because she and Brian were a thing once, and Kitty just found out she likes ladies AND she likes guy. What i’m saying is it dosen’t take an intellectual to get that she’s bisexual. And yes I know she turned down Karma off screen later on but that was A) the result of another writer changing things after the previous writer on both character, Chris Claremont himself, apparently had sizeable ship tease for them. and B) if her ex boyfriend iceman can be retconned to have been a heavily closeted until very recently gay man this whole time, Kitty can also have been sticking to the closet or just simply have not explored that side if we want. Anyways it turns out there here for rachel at Saturnyne’s orders, because she’s apparently a theat to the multiverse.. not too much of a stretch when in one reality her mom going dark phoenix destroyed damn near everything and even here the phoenix force has snuffed out entire galaxies. She’s apparently on her way back to earth, and it’s the Technet’s job to catch her. As for the specifics.. Gatecrasher has no idea. And frankly when an omniversal goddess asks you go fetch someone for what I assume is a yak that has a comparentment in it’s back with millions of dollars stashed inside,  you don’t really care. Kitty being Kitty, refuses to help her find their friend and until she knows more, she’s willing to fight her on it. Unfortunatley, as you can probably tell, Gatecrasher wasn’t dumb enough to go after a being that can eat an entire solar system alone. 

It's here we meet the Technet proper and a fight between two former teammates, a shapeshifter they only just now met and who only Kurt recognized, and a team of weird as shit but highly trained bounty hunters goes about as well as the classic matchup of Wolverine vs "Anyone trying to get between him and his beer stash". Kitty is quickly taken out by the yellow girl with green hair, scatterbrain, whose power is.. just that: anyone she touches has their brain go all spacey and weird and kitty knocks herself out falling over when Scatter shuts her thinky parts off. And as for Meggan..

This is Bodybag. And his power is exactly what it looks like: he gulps people up and then keeps them in his sack on the back. It’s weird but i’ts my kind of creative weird and it makes sense for a team of bounty hunters to have a member to store their quarrry. Kurt wisely BAMF’s the fuck out of there, but Gatecrasher decides not to persue him: He’s not their target, and if he wants his friends he’ll have to come back for them anyway, so it’s not like chasing him all over is really worth the effort. She does have Bodybag snag kitty though, and plans to use her and Meggan as bargaining chips. 

Meanwhile Rachel finally returns to the story, as seen above a bit discombobulated given you know, she just crossed dimensions or whatever hapepned. She then ends up at a charity masqurade party , just poofying out of nowhere and when she tries to you know, leave...

I just... what the fuck kind of charity event IS this? The chains she brought with her but “no one leaves without permisson. “ I just... THIS IS A CHARITY BALL NOT VIETNAM. And who, besides racist assholes, thinks holdiing someone down with chains is a good idea. Just WHAT IS THIS SCENE. Thankfully we get some other party crashers. 

These are Warwolves, a new, as far as I can tell, creation and basically Mojo’s literal hunting dogs. Rachel tries fighting them off but naturally, their Psi-Proof so just blasting them with telekenisis won’t work and uses the objects around her, including her own chains to duck them. But she mutters what’s the point it’s just another sound stage.. except as I said, it isn’t. She’s in foggy london town. 

Rachel continues her run through the urban jungle eventually ending up in a subway. No not the restraunt, she’s not that unlucky. Duckign onto a train one of the warwolves globs on. 

To be fair most hollywood contracts are basically slavery, but Rachel as a point.. she was basically tricked into singing it, again not exactly uncommon, and refuses to take this bullshit.

This bit is awesome, and doubly so as I left out a bit of Rachel's backstory on purpose earlier: she was a hound. Basically it meant she was enslaved and conditioned to hunt down other mutants, only escaping shortly before days of future past happened and then escsaping into the present. So naturally the thought of being enslaved and forced to do some asshole's bidding again, to loose her free will? She'll die before that happens and slaughters the warwolf to prove it.. though also scares her fellow passangers in the process. While Rachel tries to explain thing the warwolves greeve.. and Teleporter, Gatecrasher's lizard thing, has located Rachel. Meanwhile Madison is grappling with the fact that not every issue can be settled by comittee... Meanwhile Kurt arrives at the Lighthouse to find Brian stinking of booze and asleep, so he decides to do the only logical thing he can think of. 

I fucking love you Kurt. So since Godzilla is too busy at his tax audit to save him from the depths of the ocean Brian wakes up himself pissed and assuming someone tried to kill him. Which granted Kurt outright admitted he might drown but given the only two friends he has left in the world and an innocent he just met who fought beside him despite having no reason to besides it being the right thing are in mortal peril, he has no time to play nice. Kurt’s responses to Brian’s outrage are fucking amazing. 

Fucking brutal and accurate: Brian’s alcoholism is killing him and is just as borderline suicidal as Kurt’s play session with largely the same intention. Kurt has no time for wallowing in self pity, no time to baby Brian, as much as it might be warranted, through his grief. Kurt Wagner needs a hero, and since the avengers and fantastic four would likely take hours he dosen’t have, Brian is his best bet at saving his friends.  He has no time for pity or sadness, he only has time to save what he has left. He explains the situation to Brian as well as how the hell he found him: since he at least knew of Brian, likely due to Betsy as she was staying with the X-Men prior to joining and just before the massacre, he dug up the X-Men’s file on him and spent the rest of his time getting to him. Brian is, unsurprisingly, in no real mood to help and mopes that there’s really no point in it… and that’s when Kurt somehow gets even more pissed  off and 20 times as awesome, with a speech worthy of Sir Patrick Stewart himself.

And as I’ve made abundantly clear that’s the point of this story: The X-Men’s temporary death was unfair, left a lot of pain in their wake and left our heroes scrambling to figure out where do they go from here? And it’s here Nightcrawler is the first besides Meggan, whose simple world view means it was a lot easier to process things and took her three panels to get herself in gear to help Brian, to really turn a corner on his grief. He’s sad his friends are dead, he wishes more than anything that he could’ve died a hero like them instead of living with the misery and sorrow of them being gone.. but he’s alive. And he’s going to honor them the best he can by being the kind of man they wanted him to be. And to me this is why Kurt became leader: out of the five he has the most experience,  with only Brian rivaling him in that, but also the most drive. He may of lost everything, but by god he’s going to keep moving. Sure his friends died, it’s the risk of the trade.. but they’d want him to live, to take up the sword and keep  fighting so that the dream dosen’t fade out. It’s why, as much as I don’t agree with it, they kept hteir resurrection a secret: because the safety of all mutants, of their friends, is more important than one man. And Kurt is going to honor that. But not before giving Brian another verbal bitchslapping.

Of course it’s not easy as Brian DID die to become captain britan.. and the memory haunts him. And he wonders when it’ll come from him.. and he’s afraid of it. But the question is will he let his fear of the reaper swallow him whole or live like Kurt, fighting on anyways. To truly live.

Meanwhile Rachel is the only member of the forming team to not have had a full on mope sesh so she gets on that, but it only lasts for about a panel and like most of the angst in this comic is warranted: Rachel comptemplates if she should go back to the X-Men.. but realizes despite running out on them , their family, and she has no other options. But before she can learn the truth the technet are upon her and bodybag scoops her up. Gatecrasher plans to release Kitty and Meggan and one thing I like that I hadn’t noticed in previous reads is Gatecrasher is a fairly intresting antagonist. She’s not “evil”, she’s just a merc wanting a payday, and in this case was hired by a legitmate if pompus source. While she takes Kitty and Meggan, it’s more out of pragmatisim and as noted she plans to release the two when she could’ve let Bodybag digest them, and when first showing up is perfectly cordial to Kurt and Kitty, and only fights when it’s clear our heroes won’t let her just walk off with their old friend. It makes me glad there’s far more of her and the technet to come as the series goes on and a ton more in Alan Davis run when I get to that. Their intresting characters with unique power sets and inject a sense of fun into what would otherwise be a fairly dreary story.  Anyways before she can do that the warwolves strike and are too dumb to know when to quit so a fight breaks out and Gatecrasher beats the piss out of one while Kurt arrives, watching from  the shadows. As for why no one’s spotted him... i’ts simple: One of his powers is to blend into shadows. It’s not used often and it’s forgotten quite a bit, but it is one he’s used on ocasion and even IF Claremont just retconned it out, his foes are too busy to notice. Kurt once again shows how awesome he is and tricks one of the wolves into slashing the bags containing his friends open. Gross but oh so triumphant. 

Unfortunatley his victory is short lived: Meggan and Kitty are still woozy as, while I didn’t mention this earlier, Bodybags bags contain a paralyzing goop so they still aren’t quite ready to fight and while Rachel is, she can’t psy zap the dog. Luckily for Kurt gatecrasher yanks it away. Unluckily, she prepares to beat him into furry blue chunklets on the ground. Luckily...

Brian has finally gotten his shit together to save the day.. for all of a panel…

While Brian is fighting who or whatever that is Rachel and Kitty try to get into things but are blindsided by ringtoss and joyboy whose powers well...

Yeah while ringtoss, if still weird isn’t TOO out of the ordinary for Marvel, Joyboy seems like he’s some sorta lost Jojo’s bizarre adventure stand. It’s also another reason to love the technet as again, their powers are just so fucking creative and weird. But that’s also what makes them such a threat: Their powers aren’t what most heroes usually deal with, and thus they have the element of surprise, helped by the fact their all from separate dimensions, meaning even in space, where their likely more ready for nonsense, they still have the upper hand by being races most space peeps aren’t ready for. Speaking of not ready,w ehave two last members to cover... 

They speak for themselves, and while they do so Brian tries to rescue Meggan but is stopped by scatterbrain. Nightcrawler notices their asses are getting kicked and figures out WHY: The Warwolves and The Technet are teams. They work together regularly. Excalibur at this point is three former teammates in a disorienting situation and two british persons they just met. And if they don’t’ start working together they aren’t going to last. So Nightcrawler decides to fix that by knocking a warwolf into Ringtoss, who then collapses into waxwork whose touch takes out both and leaves Rachel free. Rachel quickly takes out Joyboy and with him out of the way, Kitty and Kurt can focus on Gatecrasher:

And with that Gatecrasher knows when to fold em and teleports the team away to fight another day, while the Warwolves slinked off in the confusion. Both will be back, obviously, but for now our heroes have one, Brian and Meggan make up and make out, and with the chaos settled Kitty, Rachel and Kurt have a tearful reunion.  

Our heroes celebrate with a campfire and memories of their fallen comrades, with Rachel admitting she’s not sure what’s real or not after her experiences with Mojo. Brian prepares to leave and take care of the Warwolves himself.. but Rachel objects. The three others don’t have lives to return to, and just because the X-Men are gone dosent’ mean Xaviers dream should die out, likening them to the symbol of King Arthurs sword Excalibur. Kitty and Kurt start to agree, pointing out their dream taught them that if theirs a vacuum left in the X-Men’s legacy, someone will use it for their own ends. Rachel affirms her reasons for staying as a team, saying she’s tired of running: She’s done so all her live and she wants to , for once, stand for something. Meggan, having had similar problems in the past, agrees with her and the rest of the crew quickly come on board and thus we close on this image as a new team, and a new legacy, is forged: Excalibur is born.

Final Thoughts: The Sword is Forged is an utter classic and a great way to start things off. Our heroes are established, Rachel, who I felt was a bit thrown around by the plot during her time on the X-Men, is fleshed out a bit more and given purpose while Brian and Meggan are decently introduced to the audience. My only real complaints is that Davis and Claremont sometimes forget that American audiences won’t know who half these people are and while they introduce the Technet and Saturnyne well enough, they still never backtrack to explain them better later and what history I DID get I had to dig up for myself online. That aside the story, while having a lot of angst, is well done and has a good flow to it and ends on a high note, the characters are likeable enough, the villains are all creative though the Warwolves feel slight next to the Technet and will get fleshed out a bit more in the series proper. And of course I’d be a moron if I didn’t compliment Alan Davis wonderful art, which captures the whimsical tone well, the emotion in certain scenes perfectly and holds up beautifully years later. Overall The Sword is Forged is a great team origin story and if you liked what you saw here I’d recommend checking it out. Next time, hopefully tonight, we finally get to to the new Excalibur as Brian and his sister and thrust into the shit and a new Captain Britain is born. Until then, courage.

[aliciaspinncts]

⧼   alisha wainwright, cis female, she/her /   lost in translation - frankie + sweat so prevalent you can see it glimmering in the sun, running in the rain with a mouth half-consciously open, letting the cold water roll off the tongue, curling up in a huge jumper with a cup of something hot in front of a garden of flowers, that moment the patience snaps and fists start flying.   ⧽   ━━   hey, isn’t that ALICIA SPINNET? i read a daily prophet article on them, once ; the TWENTY-SIX year old [ muggle born ] WITCH is a [ GRYFFINDOR alumnus who has gone on to be a PERSONAL TRAINER FOR PROFESSIONAL QUIDDITCH PLAYERS. ]. i’ve heard they can be quite EXUBERANT & FIERCLY LOYAL, but i don’t know… they came off very RECKLESS & STUBBORN in that interview. it really is hard to know what to believe these days though, isn’t it?

heya!!! i’m vicky, twenty-two, and live in the gmt timezone!! i am EXCITED!!!!!!!

so, alicia’s wiki is sparse ( as can be expected ). here’s what it does tell us:

she’s two school years older than the golden trio ( so she would’ve left hogwarts after the fifth book )

she was only a reserve chaser until her third year, when she made the main team

was a member of dumbledore’s army, even letting the meetings cut into her quidditch training time

returned to hogwarts for the battle of hogwarts

was friendly!

her blood status is unconfirmed, so i went with muggle born based off her reaction to draco calling hermione a mudblood in the second book:

Alicia shrieked, "How dare you!"

--

chronologically:

alicia was born in scotland to two muggle parents ( so sounds like a weaker version of this, not as strong because of spending time at hogwarts & in london post-school ). grew up, went to primary school, made lots of friends. was devastated she didn’t get to go to the same secondary school as her friends, but this was quickly overshadowed by how cool the wizarding world was.

she played football ( the soccer kind ) in primary school and was immediately entranced by the idea of a magical sport, dedicating most of her first year free time to figuring out the ins and outs of the rules & practicing whenever she could ( possibly by making friends with some of the slightly older students and hm... persuading them to take her out with them and teach her )... almost failing some of her classes ! getting on the reserve team only made her work harder at this, and it took a mini intervention from head of house mcgonagall for her to realise her grades were taking a hit too.

time jump !

alicia had left hogwarts obviously by the time the battle came around, but she still carried her dumbledore’s army coin around with her wherever she went. jobs were few and far between in the wizarding world, so for those two years she ended up moving back home and taking on a muggle apprenticeship in personal training.

when things really began to heat up, her parents could sense that things were not right. she helped out with lee jordan’s radio getting the news to the resistance, and shielded some fellow muggleborns a couple of times in her family home, giving them a bed to sleep in for a couple of nights and some warm meals to build up their strength – beyond thankful that her parents could see the hunted look in her friend’s eyes and understood what it meant to them.

when the coin called, she went to hogwarts – sneaking away without saying goodbye to her parents and regretting it almost immediately, with no way to take it back. in the quiet moments inbetween fighting she had horrible daydreams of her parents’ faces if someone had to go back and tell them. hogwarts had been a place she’d been able to call home, and now it was ransacked. she fought alongside her friends, and felt the back-breaking, bone-twisting agony as some of them were lost. used some muggle tactics when fighting a couple of death eaters, and enjoyed the surprise on their faces. it felt perverse to say, but she never felt more at home than in those desperate, awful times – being able to face down the threat with direct action and side-by-side with her friends once more, with that intense feeling of community encasing them all.

it was hard to go back to the mundanity and obliviousness of muggle life after that. she moved down to london, popped her parents onto the floo network finally so she could visit more conviniently. attended as many funerals as she physically could – surprised to find that tears were hard to come by. the adrenaline wouldn’t wear off enough to let that happen.

that’s how she got back into the personal training, as she started working out more and more to try and out-run the constant vigilance her brain had latched onto. she enrolled on a muggle personal training course nearby, accidentally spending almost every lesson mentally rearranging the exercises so they’d work for quidditch players, which sparked the idea. ( i reckon she probably pitched the idea to one of her friends who’d been scouted in the leagues, did it for fun & then was encouraged to make a living from it – bolstering business through word-of-mouth ).

but her way of coping is distraction, keeping her mind so occupied she can’t possibly think of how much was lost, which is no way of healing at all.

-

plot-wise !

the dark mark sends her into a spiral of panic. alicia hasn’t processed the first tragedies, and her mind goes to dark places imagining what could happen now to the little amount of peace she’d managed to gather in the aftermath.

the prophecy worries her, she believes in it. she’s never had much cause to question things in the wizarding world ( she never would have imagined magic existed as a child, so why not prophecies and wrack-nosed snouts and all that stuff ? ) but she has never been very good at riddles and puzzles so regarding that she buries her head in the sand and hopes that the people with the smarts to figure it all out are on it.

despite this, her teeth are on edge and she can feel the fear transforming into something more like resolve. if she can do anything to stop things progressing into what it became before, she’ll do it. always more of a follower than a leader, though, she’s looking for the answers to fall into her lap and so her day-to-day is spent pretending and gathering strength – her dada books have been dusted off, and her pull-up numbers are increasing steadily. 

-

here’s a wanted connections part !

LOTS. OF. FRIENDS. that straight up. dm me if you want to go over details, but you can 100% assume that your character(s) and alicia are friends from a get-go. personal training clients would also be sick! i’m rubbish at doing this formally but YEAH plot with me babie!

more formally:

ALICIA SPINNET ( alisha wainwright ) is looking for their ANGELINA JOHNSON who resembles UTP (must be black) and should be 26/27. applicants do not have to contact VICKY to talk over the details before applying.   ( alicia and angelina were certainly close friends but the details of this can be utp: whether they’re close but not super close, were best friends etc. alicia had a bit of a hero worship teenage crush on angelina, but it’s also utp whether this was unrequited or they’re dating or exes or anything !  )