#also i will cry (and it will happen) when i see sabres being in the last spot/with least points (or percentage number) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

panthera-tigris-venenata · 2 years ago

Note

I feel like I should apologize in advance.

CJ coping with the death of one (or both) of her siblings?

(See? I'm sorry. Apparently I like imagining characters suffering.)

...You totally should apologise. Writing this nearly made me cry on several occasions. Which is, of course, why so much of the text is crossed out and a lot of it is not-really-sane purple prose. (In my defence, CJ).

Anyway, proceed with caution. CJ is coping with the death of both of her siblings; set between D2 and D3 (meaning Core 4, CJ, Freddie and Uma are in Auradon).

CJ is having a nightmare.

She must be, surely. Because none of the things that just happened can possibly be real.

None of it.

Smee twins bursting to tears when she asked them how Harry and Harriet are.

Celia falling dead silent and calling for Freddie, for Freddie to play the messenger of the dooming news.

Freddie’s impossibly soft voice when she says the words.

„Your siblings are dead, CJ. I’m so sorry.“

Why is she sorry? She didn’t kill them.

The sentence echoes in CJ’s head over and over.

„Your siblings are dead, CJ. Your siblings are dead. Dead, dead, dead.“

See? This is why it must be only a nightmare; why it simply cannot be real. Her siblings cannot be dead. The world would stop spinning if they were.

…CJ’s head is spinning, caught in a whirlwind, in a tornado. Being pulled under the water surface by a horrible whirlpool, by the Charibdis herself. Freddie’s hand with claw-like nails on her shoulder is the only thing anchoring her to the reality, but then again, if the reality is like this? Maybe she doesn’t want to be a part of it.

She shakes off Freddie’s hand.

„How?“ she asks, and it means so many things. How did they die? Who got them? Did they go fighting, did they suffer? How did anyone dare–

How does she avenge them.

CJ barely registers the answer, beyond „They went together,“ because of course they did, and because she should have been there with them–, because her own mind got the best of her, already answering the last question in a million different ways.

Explosions flicker in front of her eyes, her vision turns red, and her ears still ring with the single word „dead,“ but there is one more question to ask:

„The fuckers who did this?“

CJ hopes they are not dead yet, so she can make them suffer and scream and beg for mercy that won’t be coming.

„I believe that Sammy, Anthony and Gil took care of that already. Also Ginny,“ says Freddie, speaking for Celia and the twins again, and CJ lets out a chain of curses so horrible that it would make Harriet ground her for a month.

CJ sets off then, not bothering to tell them where she is going or to say goodbye, because what else is left to say? What else is left to lose?

CJ doesn’t want to yell at Freddie and Celia and the little Smee twins – those are not the ones that have earned her wrath.

And yet, the voice in her head won’t stop screaming, calling for blood.

She doesn’t know she is screaming out loud, nor does she notice the hot tears flowing down her cheeks, ugly pathways of broken dams. Only destruction in their wake.

„So… Are you gonna stop her?“ asks Celia, hiding behind her older sister as the pirate pushes past them.

„Nah,“ answers Freddie, and if CJ were able to comprehend it, she’d have cracked a wrecked smirk to her.

Alas, no.

The world has dissolved for CJ Hook.

There is no meaning for it now, no but one: The world must pay. And, oh by the forgotten gods of the dark, will CJ make it.

It only takes one visit to her room for her to get all she needs, her hands doing their tasks completely on autopilot. Unsteered.

Take the dagger, CJ, tuck it to your belt. Then the other one. And another. Don’t forget your sabres. The boxers, for when you feel like you want to punch something – you do want punch something, don’t you? Someone? Their bones cracking under your knuckles, their hot blood splattering all over you?

You do know that a few cracked faces won’t miraculously heal broken reality, don‘t you?

…Yes, that goes for skulls and spines too.

CJ’s own skull throbs violently, she wants to go to Harriet and make her tell her that everything will be okay, even if it’s a lie.

Somehow, explosives find a way to her bag.

Oh, who is she kidding? She knows full well how they got there, and she knows how she wants to use them, too. Her fingers just itch to zap the lighter and throw the gotten-on-black grenades with all her might.

Watch the world burn.

But not yet.

She knows who has to pay first. Who else should it be than the king that condemned her siblings to death for the mere crime of being born?

The atrocities afterwards do not count.

Old king or new king, CJ doesn‘t care anyway.

The old king and his family, the woman who set up the shimmering Barrier of CJ’s childhood prison and her siblings’s mausoleum, all the people who turned a blind eye to the Isle for the last two decades.

The entire royal council, yeah, sure, why not.

Go big or go home.

CJ laughs hysterically as she walks through the front gate of Auradon Prep, straight to the Castle Beast.

No one stops her.

No one stops her when she passes to the royal gardens.

The tears don‘t stop either. Or the laughter – why is she laughing anyway? Her mind is screaming.

She stalks through the halls of Castle Beast and slashes her dagger through any portrait she sees, just because she fucking can.

Through their neck, giving them a second smile – maybe that is how her siblings went? It would be only fitting, wouldn‘t it?

CJ flungs one of her daggers at a particularly bothersome vitrage and watches glass crack and fall down in shimmering rain with satisfaction. She hits the window with the hilt of her sabre, too, just to speed up the process a bit. It is a complete accident that she hit the vitrage-prince-Beast in the balls, of course.

Another hysterical laugh escapes her lips. It’s not sob, she’s not sobbing, she’s not crying–

She continues down the hall, looking for the Beast to slay, pouring gasoline in her steps. The fluffy rugs drink it up greedily, like Death claiming yet another life she should not have had.

It takes the sorry excuse of royal guards approximately four to nine minor explosions and one actively burning gallery to catch up to her.

„What are you doing here, little miss?“ they ask her, as if she wasn’t actively committing arson and on the warpath to kill a few of their beloved monarchs.

„None of your fucking bussiness,“ CJ snarls. She doesn’t have time for underlings. Incompetent ones, at that.

„Get out of my way.“

„I’m afraid we must take you to the cells, or maybe the medic’s first, to calm down a bit.“

„Fucking catch me then.“

It is a dare, a challenge, a prayer to the universe to stop this freefall she found herself in.

That said, yeah, CJ doesn’t remember the next few minutes.

She doesn’t know if she killed any of those guards.

She isn’t sure if she cares.

She does care, however, when she finds Belle’s beloved library.More accurately, she cares for destroying it. Burning it, blowing it up…

The flames lick the painted ceiling and sing in a beautiful inferno, drawing out the voices in CJ’s head a little bit.

In the rapidly thickening smoke, she feels like she can breathe for the first time in forever.

Maybe this could be it… Castle Beast going down in flames. Maybe this could be enough… But no.

Auradon could never pay back for her siblings' lives. Not even if she coloured all it‘s rivers red with blood.

But damn it, it would be bloody satisfying at least.

She punches through a glass vitrine to pull out a surprisingly decent-looking tiara and carefully sets it on her head, only to take it off again and flung it against the wall. Only because she fucking can.

She sprints down the halls, her lungs burning like hell itself, and she laughs because what else is there left to do?

…Yeah, fine. Find the Beast and his family, some other people. Hostages. Feed them to sharks, like Harry almost did when he captured the boy-king for Uma.

It really seems to be Ben’s destiny, to be fed to the sharks, doesn’t it?

But maybe CJ will leave the young king live. Only him, though. He has the fancy thing that takes down the Barrier, after all.

Dagger to the neck, a bit of a rope and gentle encouragement, CJ finds herself with two unwilling royal hostages. They move a bit easier when she tells them that now she will go to find Ben, and if they don’t cooperate, he might find himself dead, like her siblings, or gravely injured.

Ben ain’t at the palace, though, no, he is at school. Of course he is. It’s a dumb fucking idea to make a highschooler a king, that what it is.

Shame CJ didn’t remember to pick him up before… Now she has to go back to school.

It isn‘t hard to find him, though.

Auradon could really do with better security.

On her way back, though, she meets Freddie, who is just having a rather unfortunate run-in with Mal, who is also on the verge of tears for some reason. Weird.

„She blew up the Castle!“ Mal screams.

„’s fine by me,“ answers Freddie, „She isn’t dumb enough to stay in a bulding that is going down.“

„She might be trying to harm the king and queen!“

„And?“ Freddie yawns, „Oh, hi, CJ.“

CJ just waves at her with her dagger, as she keeps her other hand on Ben‘s mouth. She also returns the blade back at his hip immediately after.

„SHE IS HOLDING MY BOYFRIEND AT A KNIFEPOINT RIGHT NOW!“ Mal screams, and honestly, Ben should be used to that by now.

„Aren’t you gonna stop her?!“

Freddie gestures for CJ to get on her way, which CJ happily obliges, as she has, you know, hostages waiting, revenge to carry on.

She hears Freddie’s answer, even if she wishes she did not.

„You don’t have any siblings, do you, Mal,“ Freddie says, and it feels like CJ’s heart is being broken all over again: It must be nothing but dust, iron sawdust, coursing through her veins and tearing her apart with every beat of her heart.

Why is it still beating?

She tries not to think about that, or anything, really, as she drags her hostages to the beach. Only the three of them so far, but it’s fine, she can be back for more. She just needs to visit someone first.

She is knee-deep in the water when she cries out Uma’s name, again and again until the sea witch appears.

„Uma,“ she says, „Harry is dead. Harriet is, too. I don’t know who else.“

Because her siblings… they wouldn’t have gone without a fight. And after their death– eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. Life for a life.

CJ doesn’t want to think about that.

Thinking hurts.

Everything hurts.

„Harry is what?!“ Uma asks, voice like the sea just before it shatters into deadly waves.

„Dead,“ answers CJ. It still feels like a nightmare, but the tears on her cheeks are real; so are the cuts on her hands and the bruise rapidly forming at her ribs – where did she even get this one?

It takes Uma only one look to realise that CJ isn’t lying; it takes a confirmation from the Facilier sisters to break her out of her horrified paralysis.

And that night, Auradon falls in storm and fire and subtle bouts of Shadow magic.

In CJ’s opinion, it’s still not enough.

#disney descendants #cj hook #uma descendants #freddie facilier #mal bertha #king beast #harry hook #harriet hook #character death #violence #arson #really people it’s not pretty #coping with loss #angst #angst no comfort #angst no happy ending #well Auradon burns tho #and that counts #descendants fanfiction

16 notes · View notes

b-lessings · 4 years ago

Text

How does patience work?

(Surat Al Kahf - The Cave 18:68-69)

We read Surat Al Kahf at least once a week, and we pass by these verses often, we all know the story of Musa (as) and the servant of Allah swt who had knowledge, we often make reference to these verses, but how often do we exactly stop and actually give ourselves time to grasp their meaning?

There is a reason we were told and encouraged to read this particular surah every Friday: it is full of lessons, lessons we need to recharge our souls, refresh our eman, and be able to carry on thru this tough world. It's a very rich surah, SubhanAllah, but in this post I just want to focus on these two inspiring verses: 68-69. So when Musa (as) asked the wise knowledgeable slave of Allah swt (also known in the literature as sayiduna Al khidr - but Allah swt does not name him in the Quran), he asked him for permission to accompany him and learn from him. And we all know the answer in the previous verse (67): قَالَ إِنَّكَ لَن تَسۡتَطِيعَ مَعِىَ صَبۡرًا (He said, "Indeed, with me you will never be able to have patience.). To strengthen or prove his point, the wise servant of Allah swt added a rhetorical question (that doesn't have an answer) in verse 68: He wanted to justify that Musa (as) will not have the patience for the journey as he cannot be patient for something he lacks knowledge about.

وَكَيْفَ تَصْبِرُ عَلَى مَا لَمْ تُحِطْ بِهِ خُبْرًا

And how can you have patience about a thing which you know not!

Tafsir/ explanation:

`For I know that you will denounce me justifiably, but I have knowledge of Allah's wisdom and the hidden interests which I can see but you cannot.

Through this verse, we understand that the inability to be patient in times where we don't understand what's going on, in times where we can't see the bigger picture and we can't understand Allah's plan is only human nature. We (portrayed by Musa (as) here) are humans, we lack knowledge, we are flawed, there are divine things in the universe that we can't fathom with our simple mind, so we will not be able to understand, that's beyond our power. As a result, we will slip, we will deny, we will fall, we will reject, we will be torn, we will cry, we will hurt... It's only human, it's only natural. Patience in times of doubt and in hard times, patience when we don't understand the reasoning, when we can't see the end is really a super power, it sounds unhuman, almost impossible.

Luckily, and by Allah's mercy, the answer (normally a rhetorical question doesn't have an answer but Allah's merciful.) comes in the next verse through Musa (as)'s words:

قَالَ

He said,

سَتَجِدُنِي إِن شَاء اللَّهُ صَابِرًا

If Allah wills, you will find me patient, (with whatever I see of your affairs)

وَلَا أَعْصِي لَكَ أَمْرًا

and I will not disobey you in aught.

means, `I will not go against you in anything.'

So how do we be patient when patience seems like a superhuman power?

" If Allah wills " - first and foremost, we be patient by Allah's will and Allah's mercy. We RELY on Allah swt, even if we don't understand what's going on or why we are going through awful horrible things, even if what's happening to us seems " unfair ", we still have tawakkul and complete trust in Allah swt, for He is the best of the planners, the most just, the most merciful. And we pray that Allah swt give us Sabr. We pray to have patience, we make duāa that Allah swt fill our hearts with patience because He is As-saboor and He is the source of patience. We can't have it from anywhere else but Him, we can't have it by any other means except through getting close to Him and asking Him.

" I will not disobey " - Obedience is the key. Though in this verse Musa (as) was referring to obeying Allah's servant's orders, we understand in the bigger picture that systematically he was obeying Allah's orders as Allah's servant was only executing Allah's orders. The bottom line here is, even in hard times, especially in hard times, when we are going through calamities and bad things are happening to us, that's when we have to obey Allah swt the most. A lot of people in our ummah take it out on Allah swt, they take whatever wrong is going on in their lives on the religion. When something bad happens to them, it they lose someone dear to them, if they happen to be victim to any kind of abuse, they might abandon praying or fasting, some women or girls might take off their hijab as a first reaction or response to whatever oppression they faced. Others, might start doubting in the existence of Allah swt all together. But is that going to give you peace? Is that going to help with the patience? Obedience is your path to patience. Even when it gets really hard for you to get up and pray, to put your forehead down on the ground and say Subhana rabbi'a al āalaa, you still have to do that because you show that you are submitting, and you are accepting whatever is decreed upon you from the almighty, and you are being patient.

Finally, I leave you with the quote of sayyiduna Yaaqoob (as) : فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ ۖ وَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ

But come sweet patience! The help of Allah is always there to seek. (12:18)

May Allah swt fill our hearts with sweet patience to be able to accept His qadar and survive the calamities and hardships. May Allah swt save our people and our ummah suffering in Palestine, in Syria, in Yemen, in Kashmir, in China, in India, in Ethiopia, and all over the world. We can only survive this duniya by the mercy of the Almighty.

~ bintafriqiya.

#gazaunderattack #sabr #patience #al kahf #tafseer #quran translation #quran stories #musa as #story time #Friday #friday reminders #surat al kahf #the cave #on patience #palestine #islam #ummah #religion #islam lessons

287 notes · View notes

ibijau · 3 years ago

Note

I’ve sent you an ask like this before but like. reverse au where nhs’ goal is wrh instead of jgy - imagining little nhs with his father’s blood on his saber unable to stop bawling but insisting that he has to go on trial for the murder of his father - being furious when he’s not pronounced guilty because it has to be someone’s fault - little nmj crying sympathy tears and trying to guard huaisang against whatever’s making him cry -

lxc only starts to let go of his jealousy of how frivolous sect leader nhs is allowed to be when wrh attacks nhs in the middle of a cultivation conference and is bravely defeated by now-jgy and lxc sees nhs first realize through his tears that wrh may have been the one to kill his father - he lets go of it entirely as he begins to suspect the decimation of the main branch of the wen clan took a lot more hard work than chance

oops, I went for something centered around the Nie brothers with this orz

It was just the three of them in that room when it happened, and though Mingjue is quite young, he is brought to testify at that trial his da-ge insists on having. When the elders ask, he explains that he had closed his eyes and didn't see much. He doesn’t tell them that his da-ge had just ordered him to close them. If it’s relevant, his da-ge will say something.

But Huaisang stays silent, except for some quiet sobbing.

“You didn’t see, but you heard,” one elder insists. “So what did you hear?”

“A-die was angry,” Mingjue replies, eyes darting toward his brother. “He was shouting at us.” He hesitates. “It’s words da-ge says I’m not allowed to know and if I use them around grown-ups I’ll be in trouble.”

The elders smile weakly at this well-behaved boy of seven.

“Just for today, you can say it. We need to understand, er-gongzi.”

Mingjue glances again at his brother. He only speaks again when his da-ge nods at him through his tears.

“A-die said that I was just the son of a whore and he was tired of me scheming against da-ge,” Mingjue recites, the accusation branded onto his mind. He can still hear the exact tone of his father’s voice, feel the power of his unrestrained aura oppressing him to the point he nearly fainted. “A-die also said that da-ge was a disgrace anyway and he was going to get rid of both of us and have real sons, instead of a Wen and a bastard. Then I heard blades hitting, and A-die shouted a-die couldn't hurt me, and there was a fight, and then everything was very quiet and da-ge said I needed to go get help.”

The elders nod solemnly. Huaisang sobs harder, his face awash with tears. He presses both hands against his mouth in an effort to keep quiet, so he won’t disturb the trial too much, but it’s not very efficient. Their cousin Zonghui, standing next to him, pats Huaisang’s shoulder to try to calm him.

“What did you see, before you left the room?” one elder asks.

Mingjue doesn’t answer right away. It’s fine to take time to remember, they told him early on, so he does that. In truth though, it’s not like he could ever forget the sight of his brother, usually so soft and funny, standing over the still twitching corpse of their father. He hasn’t forgotten that their father was breathing and even moaning when he left. He recalls, also, how different his da-ge had looked with his bloody sabre in hand, that hard look on his face.

When Mingjue had returned with help, his father had stopped breathing, and there was no hardness left to Huaisang who had dropped his sabre and was sobbing in a corner.

“There was a lot of blood,” Mingjue says, which isn’t a lie.

His eyes catch Huaisang’s. His da-ge, who doesn’t let anyone insult him for his mother, who told Mingjue many nice stories about her, since he never got to meet her. His da-ge who encourages him even when others say that the son of a servant shouldn’t be given the education of a young master, shouldn't dare to be better than children of higher birth. His da-ge, lazy and spoiled, but always putting in the effort when he feels Mingjue needs protecting.

It’s Mingjue’s turn to protect him now.

“I onlyremember the blood, and that I was scared,” he claims.

This time, it’s a lie.

But he can’t let them hurt his da-ge.

At the issue of that trial, it is decided that Huaisang acted out of self defence, and cannot be too harshly punished for the murder of his father. He has to offer sacrifices to the heavens and make public penance, but there won’t be lasting consequences, and he still gets to be sect leader.

Uncle Wen would not allow for anything else, Mingjue hears some of the elders whisper.

Uncle Wen went through a lot of trouble to make sure Qinghe Nie stopped bothering him, they also say. And now his sister’s child is ruling the only sect that used to stand up to him.

Huaisang laughs when Mingjue repeats this to him one night, while his da-ge puts him to bed for the night. Everything else has changed, but not this: Huaisang makes the time to take care of his didi, and Mingjue worries for his da-ge. Making time is harder than it used to be, the worries have become bigger than before, but fundamentally it’s still the same.

“Don’t listen to what those old farts say,” Huaisang advises as he tucks Mingjue under his blanket. “And don’t let them catch you listening, either. They’ll think you’re going to repeat things to me.”

“I do repeat things to you,” Mingjue points out. “And they shouldn’t be saying things like that. It’s not right to speak about people behind their back. A-die said people should speak their grievance in the light, or not at all.”

Huaisang smiles, and pets his hair.

“A-die was a good man,” he says. “Don’t let anyone make you forget that. A-die was the best man in the world. The way he was at the end, that wasn’t him. He was kind, and he loved you, and he was the best man any of us will ever meet… but this isn’t a world for good men.”

Mingjue frowns. His da-ge has always said odd things, but it has gotten worse lately.

“Da-ge is good too,” he mutters, unable to express the worry starting to form in his chest.

What he means is this: if good men are struck down by a cruel world, then his da-ge, who is good, might be at risk of dying. The thought terrifies him, and he would do anything to keep his da-ge alive. He lied for him at the trial, and he can do it again.

Huaisang laughs again.

“Don’t you worry about me!” he snickers, ruffling his brother’s hair. “I’m not good at all. Haven’t you heard people complain how little good I am?”

“You’re lazy not good, not bad not good,” Mingjue corrects. "Not like uncle."

Da-ge's good humour is shattered, replaced by a severe frown which makes him look too much like he did, that night their father died. Mingjue doesn't like it.

"MingMing, you remember the rule about uncle, right?"

"I don't say anything bad about uncle where others can hear," Mingjue meekly recites. "Only da-ge can say if it's safe to talk about uncle. Sorry. I know you didn't say."

"It's fine this time, but be more careful. Uncle is dangerous. He killed a-die, he'll kill us too if he realises we're not on his side. And we're not. Whose side are we on?"

"Each other," Mingjue dutifully replies.

He knows it's the right answer, but only if they're alone. If there are sect elders, Mingjue must claim loyalty to the sect. If they are in front of Wen Ruohan, he must say family. But the truest of truth is that he'd do anything for his da-ge, and da-ge has proven more than once he'd do anything for Mingjue.

"You're a good boy," da-ge said, ruffling his hair once more. "Don't think too much about these things. Da-ge will take care of all the problems for you."

"But I can help!"

"Yes you can," Huaisang agreed, pinching his cheek. "You can help by doing as you're told. Can you do that?"

Past events prove that Mingjue, on the whole, isn't good at doing what he's told, not when he thinks he's told to do something stupid. Sometimes, he makes a big argument about that. He's young, not stupid, and he doesn't want to do things just because grown-ups have ideas about how things should be.

But da-ge looks really tired tonight, and Mingjue doesn't want to become yet another problem on his brother's mind. So he nods dutifully.

It makes da-ge smile, so it was probably okay to lie.

#nie huaisang #nie mingjue #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #jau writes #might continue it later but also might not #It's just that you know...#reversed nie bros my beloved #and also I'm trying to make a small dent in my prompts lol

90 notes · View notes

arduadastra · 4 years ago

Text

Lost Faith - Part One

A/N ITS FINALLY HERE!! Thank you for the support and I can't believe I wrote this, if you want a part two let me know!

FINALLY updated to this gorgeous header by @sirtadcooper (who you definitely need to follow)

This is set right after the season two finale and is kind of what I imagine Din would be feeling right after he’s handed Grogu off and what it would be like to find him.

Also, the crest didn’t explode ok, I refuse to believe that.

- 2.1K - (what happened?!)

/// Din is alone. He’s been alone most of his adult life. Once he left the convent he’s captured quarries solo for years. He’s used to the quiet solace hyperspace provides, the occasional hums and beeps from the crest console and the sounds of starlight rushing past is nothing more than white noise at this point. So why does it feel different this time? He leans over and flips a switch. He likes quiet, he knows quiet. Talking has never been his strong suit - in fact, he actively avoids it if he can but there’s a tightness in his chest he’s trying to ignore and he needs a fucking distraction before he punches something. After he had handed... to the Jedi he doesn’t really remember much else. Bo Katan had said something about needing to discuss his future and the dark sabre but he hadn’t paid her much thought to be honest. He had felt numb and it just didn’t seem important at the time. He remembers looking at them all and how they looked back at him. He didn’t even really realise why they seemed to stare so much until he accidentally kicked the helmet at his feet. He hadn’t bothered to put it back on. What’s the point? He had barely managed to justify putting it back on after revealing himself for that imperial scanner. Every soul that saw his face after that had died, other than Mayfeld that is. Technically no living being had seen his face so his creed remained unbroken. But this time? Din caught himself staring and at a lever with a certain missing sphere on top. He looked away. His creed. The one thing he held above all else. The thing that he had engrained into him since he was a foundling and what made him who he is: a Mandalorian. Yet, he has met Mandalorian's and they did not cover their face. They had called him different. ’A child of the watch’ Bo-Katan had said - was he even Mandalorian then? The thought cast his eye to his helmet lying discarded next to him. He thought he’d feel bare without it and he did back with the IG unit but now he just feels angry. The creed he abided by is broken now, but that doesn’t piss him off nearly as much as the realisation that it might not have even fucking mattered in the first place. He huffs. No, that’s not it. It is but it isn’t. The pressure in his chest returns and he gasps. “Dank Farrik.” Din clenches his eyes shut against the pain, it’s not like any other pain he’s felt before and he has been hurt a lot. He feels a burning sensation behind his eyelids and he shakes his head, opening his eyes and setting his next coordinates before he can think too hard about why his vision is slightly blurred. ///

It was nearing the end of your shift and you took in the sparse patrons left around you. Bar work wasn’t really what you wanted to do with your life but it’s all you had. No siblings and dead parents made for one lonely existence so you needed the company your customers provided. Drunken patrons tend to have the best stories too. You’ve heard it all over the years: divorced from the wife, hiding from the boss, hiding from the police - those were the best kind. Usually, you could guess why each one was there and why but you were stumped by someone. You had noticed the lone Mandalorian in your bar a while ago. You wouldn’t take a second glance usually but what strikes you is the fact he hasn’t moved in twenty minutes and he’s just been sat staring blankly at his own helmet the whole time. The bar is quiet and you’re the only one working so who gives a shit if you’re polishing the same glass over and over, he’s interesting. You haven’t seen a Mandalorian before let alone one as stoic as him. You’d heard the stories, of course, battle-hardened warriors capable of bringing grown men to their knees in a matter of seconds… Now that's an image. You love people-watching, or thing watching this far out in the rim, and it isn’t often you see humans. Especially ones like him. He seems sad, but not in the obvious moping, crying, shoulder shaking sad - more like he’s grieving. He’s been sat staring at the helmet on the table for a while. His hands are balled into a fist in front of it and it’s like he’s looking through it to the wall behind. His dark eyes have barely blinked and his hair is tousled on his head. He’s tanned too and has the most striking lips you’ve ever seen on a guy. You cock your head as you look at him - he’s hot. You feel bad thinking that when the guy is clearly miserable but he’s gorgeous. You have a thing for stubble and you can’t help but think how it would feel against your skin. And strangely you hate to see him so sad. You have an idea so you turn around and start making your favourite drink while you check on him over your shoulder. After a while, pleased with what you’ve concocted you walk to his table and drop the drink in his line of sight. You smile at him. “On the house.” He doesn’t look up, doesn’t seem to even acknowledge you’ve spoken to him let alone standing two feet to his left. You clear your throat. “That means it's free." He looks up at that, seemingly broken out of whatever trance he was in yet his eyes still seem so far away. “I’m not thirsty.” You nod your head to the table. “Well if you want to keep sitting here, you need something in front of you.” The man looks back at the drink, bumping it with his right fist then stares back ahead. “Ok.” He’s a chatty one. You look back at your bar and around at the other tables, no one seems to need assistance and you’re sure as hell not about to go back to standing behind an empty bar so you take in the Mandalorian and decide to sit across from him. You sigh, “Well the least you can do is have a sip, I made it after all.” The Mandalorian meets your eyes silently then glances down at the drink by his hands. He seems to take a few seconds studying the contents before bringing it to his lips for a drink. You watch him, watch as he drinks from the glass and how it travels down his throat. You see the tendons stretch and his adam apple move as he does. God, how can this guy make drinking sexy? You chide yourself on the thought. This guy is clearly going through something and he doesn’t need some random woman objectifying him. He’s finished now and is actively avoiding your eye line as he looks around himself. He seems lost like he doesn’t know how to have company with him. You decide at that moment that you aren’t leaving this guy alone. “My name is y/n by the way. What’s yours?” Nothing. He’s still not looking at you. You try again. “How was the drink?” The guy must have some form of manners because he responds at that with a slight nod. “Good.” Not much but you’ll take it. You’ve gathered from this short conversation that

this guy isn’t much for small talk so you decide to cut straight to the point. “Who did you lose?” He seems surprised by that. He looks at you fully then and you’re startled by his eyes. The rest of him seems so closed off, so shuttered but his eyes are a dead give away. They swim with grief and pain and it takes your breath away. He doesn’t respond but he keeps looking at you so you take it as permission to keep going. “I know sadness when I see it. See it every day here,” you gesture around you, “but yours seems deeper than that.” He turns away from you and you notice his jaw tense slightly, subtle but you caught it. You’re on the right track at least. “Was it your wife...or husband?” “No.”

Very quick you notice, so not a partner then. “Your friend?” He’s still looking away. Not that then. You look at his face again, he seems older than you. “Your kid?” That gets a reaction. His jaw ticks and his hand's clench. You see his bicep flex at the action and your mind wanders again and just what he looks like under that armour. “Leave me alone." You continue, “What were they like?” He frowns, and looks back at you, “You’re very insistent.” You scoff, “And you barely talk but I don’t judge.” You take a pause then lean forward into his space, “I just know it's useless when people say ’sorry’ or ’that's terrible.’ You know that already. I always found talking about them is more helpful, means there’s someone else out there to remember them.” The Mandalorian doesn’t say anything for a long time. He studies your face, eyes scanning over yours before dropping to your hands that have instinctively reached out towards him. Your fingers are grazing ever so slightly and you think he likes the contact. He leans back slightly in his chair and casts his eyes over your shoulder. “He’s not dead.” You hum, “Ok…” You think, “ ...so he’s missing?” The Mandalorian seems frustrated and shakes his head "Not missing, I mean I don’t know where he is but I - “ He casts his gaze back to you, almost as if he didn’t realise he had been talking, “Why are you asking me this?” You shrug, “Dunno, you just seemed like you needed someone to talk to.” He keeps looking at you. You lean forward more and so does he. Your fingers bump more insistently and you struggle to not rest your hands over his. The energy between the two of you changes ever so slightly, and you feel your hair stand up on end as he stares you down. He’s very intimidating. You like that. Neither of you moves away and the silence between you stretches on. You refuse to speak first because you sort of want to see what his next move is. You get the impression no one stands up to this guy and you want to be the first. He narrows his eyes, his jaw tenses when he speaks coldly, “I don’t need to talk. Go away.” Undeterred you smile at him, flashing him your teeth when you say “Oh I disagree.” He scoffs at that and gets up, leaving the drink you made him and walks out the door. You stand to follow him, grabbing his helmet as you go - how did he forget that? "Hey, we were talking!” you call after him, pushing yourself through the few stragglers still around on the street. He keeps walking, ignoring your yells so you shout louder, “you didn't even finish my drink!" Still nothing, "and you forgot your bucket!" That makes him turn and he sees the helmet under your arm. You walk towards him as he crosses his arms and sighs. He reaches out his hand for it but you hold it out of reach, “ah ah ah, I said we weren’t finished.” He scoffs “I say we have. Give it back.” “Nope.” You say popping the ‘p’ and you smile at him, “Not till you tell me what’s wrong.” He stalks forward and attempts to take the helmet but you’re quicker and sidestep him and cross it over into your other hand, leaning it out of reach again. He growls at that, “I’ll just take it from you.” You dance backwards slightly, “Oh I don’t think you will.” He remains where he is and scowls, “Don’t you have work to finish?” You shake your head, “Nah it's quiet and they’ll all leave now I’m gone. Besides, this is much more fun.” He’s getting annoyed now and gestures towards you, “What? Standing there holding my helmet hostage knowing full well I can just come over there and take it?” He walks forward again, anger now very present on his face - you love that you’ve rattled him. You know it must take a lot to get this guy mad but it seems you’ve done it rather easily. You grin at him, “You’ll have to catch me first.” And with that, you turn and run. ///

If you want to be tagged for part 2 let me know!

Tagged: @darlingotaku @theoriquewitherseld @v-mack @soul-of-daisies @bbwithaknife @luciamajer @altarsw @redredchangesintheskys @thatoneidiot16 @24-blackbirds @dindjarin-mandalorian @engineeredfiction

#din x reader #din djarin x reader #din x reader fic #din djarin x reader fic #din djarin #din djarin fic #mando #mando x reader #mando x reader fic #mando fic #the mandalorian #the mandalorian x reader #mandalorian fic #pedro pascal #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal fic

78 notes · View notes

mymidsummersunshine · 3 years ago

Text

Written very quickly and with minimal editing so I apologize for any typos or inconsistencies in verb tense lmao, but some birthday Grzork!

—

Anders steps off the ice at Warrior feeling good. There’s no reason for him not to, it’s the same feeling he gets after any good workout, and it’s also his birthday. He’s got dinner plans with some of the other guys later tonight. But there’s one of his former teammates he hasn’t been able to catch, and he’s the one he wants to see the most.

Right up until the trade deadline, Anders had thought he and Matt might be on their way to being something more than friends. Of course, covid had put a damper on that, they weren’t allowed to see each other outside of the rink, but they always made the most of the time they did have together. Matt would always laugh at his jokes in the locker room and on the bench, even if they weren’t that funny or didn’t make sense, and Anders wants to think that he did so more for him than for anyone else. They always found each other first in cellys when they were both on the ice together. In those moments, Anders could almost let himself believe.

But then.

It had all happened so fast. One day he was taking warm-ups before a game as a Bruin, and the next he was showing up to practice at Warrior, but as a Sabre, wearing new colors and a new number for the first time in his professional career, about to play against the guys who were just his teammates a mere 48 hours ago. In a way he’s almost glad Matt wasn’t able to play that game, because he’s certain it would have made it so much harder than it already was.

It’s not that they fell completely out of touch after that, but neither of them are really great about answering their phones. They would go weeks between answering texts sometimes, especially when Matt was in the playoffs, and then in the summer… it’s not that being halfway across the country made it impossible, but it certainly made it harder. And this doesn’t seem like the type of conversation that should be had over text, anyway. He wants it to be in person, and he thinks Matt would, too.

When he came back to Boston, Anders knew Matt would be skating at Warrior, and although the main reason he was too was to keep up with his off-season workouts, he can’t deny that there’s a little extra incentive at the chance they’ll run into each other and be able to talk finally. To maybe even hug. But it seems like they just keep missing each other. Matt would come in on a Monday when Anders is there on Tuesday, or he’d be there in the morning when Anders comes in the afternoon. He knows he could probably text him, but texting has not proven to be the most efficient way to contact each other. So he just holds onto hope that they’ll finally run into each other one of these days, before he has to pack up and go to Buffalo for the season.

Anders has no reason to believe today will be any different. It’s another day where Matt was on the ice in the morning and Anders in the afternoon, so when he steps off, he knows Matt will be long gone. He makes his way down the hallway to the locker room to shower and change, but when he gets to his stall, he’s surprised to see a little gift bag. He sets his stick down and takes off his gloves to open it, and inside is a card, addressed to him in Matt’s neat handwriting, and a box. He opens the box first to find a metal bracelet, with numbers carved into it. He smiles and slips it onto his wrist with the others. It’s a perfect fit. He opens the card next to read it.

Happy birthday, Anders! I wish I could have given you this in person, but I hope you still like it. It’s the coordinates of the Garden and the KeyBank center, and if either of us end up on another team I left room to add more (but I hope we don't). Anyway I hope you have the best day ever, you deserve it :)

Love, Matt

Anders has to stop himself from crying. It’s not even just about the bracelet, and the meaning of the numbers, although that alone is enough. But also just how much thought Matt had put into it. The fact that he still cares about him enough to give him a present at all on his birthday. Leaving room for their future, because he wants Anders to be in it. Signing the card with “Love.” He really wants to believe that’s what this is, because he knows he still loves Matt, too, even with all this distance and time between them.

“Just text him, man,” a voice says from behind him, causing Anders to jump. He turns around to find Torey, who has also been skating with them, and who had to put up with the two of them for several years. Not as much last year, obviously, being in a different division, but Anders doesn’t blame him for wanting them to just get it over with. So he pulls out his phone (which he was going to do anyway) and sends him a picture of the bracelet on his wrist.

Thank you so much, I love it ❤️

He hesitates for just a second before sending a follow up.

Do you want to come with us to dinner tonight?

He sets his phone down in the stall next to him and starts taking off his gear, not expecting a response right away. So he’s surprised when he hears it vibrate only a few seconds later.

I’d love to ☺️

#my fic #grzork

8 notes · View notes

algernoninwonderland · 4 years ago

Note

Hi i rlly like ur blog and ur takes!!, whats your fav episode of ml?

Hi! Thanks! It may not look like it, but Miraculous isn't a show I that I hate, because I don't tend to watch shows that I hate unless I really want to rip them to shreds. Which requires some intellectual honesty, so I need to watch everything so that I can discuss everything.

Miraculous is a show that frustrates me, because I actually like quite a few episodes! So giving you only one answer is going to be super hard. Would two-parters be considered as one episode? Who knows. I'll try to give you two answers for each season, and my favourite season 4 episode this far.

So, season 1! It was a fun one, there are very few outright bad episodes, it was a very promising one overall!

Stormy Weather

It is, to me, the best season 1 episode, and maybe the best episode of the show proper. It's basically all of what Miraculous can be, condensed in twenty-two minutes, and while it also includes some of the show's flaws, they are rather minor here.

The storyboarding is stellar, the use of shot composition is genuinely terrific and so is the visual storytelling in general, the character acting is brilliant, the rendering is the best the show has ever gotten, the lighting is so expressive, they make full use of the show being 3DCG by moving the camera around in ways that make sense rather than having it spin around stupidly and meaninglessly as would often be the case later on. The character writing is really effective, so that, by the end of the episode, you know who these characters are, and you've got a few ideas of where the show could be going next and you find yourself wanting more. It establishes the storyworld and the basic character dynamics in a very efficient way and it made a strong impression on me. This is how you make a pilot episode.

The Origins two-parter.

It's the proof that the show can attempt character arcs and continuity and be good at it, and make the Love Square actually appealing and not a somewhat annoying gimmick. It captured what falling in love as a teenager actually feels like, and that's an impressive feat I've rarely seen anywhere else. Thank Étienne Guignard for the Umbrella Scene, he's the one who boarded it (he went on to work on some of the best sequences in Steven Universe: Future). Back then, “they're made for each other” made actual sense and didn't make me want to turn off the show. It's a satisfying two-parter.

Moving on to season 2! Which also did tons of interesting things which made up for less competently-written and animated episodes.

Dark Owl

Worldbuilding revolving around civilian characters? In my episode of Miraculous? It's a rarity but we love to see it! It's a very fun one, the pacing is great and M. Damoclès' Knightowl cosplay/Batman fantasy actually makes a lot of sense and is very entertaining. The Love Square interactions in this one are great, that bit of reveal for the kwamis actually felt impactful, something actually happens to M. Damoclès once he's been deakumatised and what caused his akumatisation in the first place is being addressed and solved. It's very enjoyable! Just thinking about this one makes me smile.

Riposte

I like sabre fencing. I like perfectionist “gifted” kids crushed by parental pressure who put on a front of coolness but are still just kids underneath. So of course I liked Riposte and I loved Kagami from the very start. The fencing animation is good, they get the timing and poses right, the rendering is actually pretty great for this one too. It makes sense that Marinette would behave this way and have such a strong bias against that other fencer, even without knowing that it's Kagami. It's not without its flaws, the reveal that “it's actually a girl and she's cute, and could this be a rival for Marinette?” annoys me, and “she's Japanese, therefore that whole Samurai BS, in the year of our lord 2017” makes sense considering who her mother was but we could only make inferences back then, also it doesn't make it any less orientalist bullshit. Nevertheless, it's an episode I really quite enjoyed.

Moving on to season 3!

It's my least-favourite season so far. Doesn't mean there aren't good moments in it. I would put Oblivio on this list if not for the last two minutes which are, if you'll pardon my French, utter dogshit that makes me hate what they're doing with Chat Noir, it kind of ruins everything. Because the rest of the episode is genuine fun, like, actually genuinely fun and then this shit happens. Desperada could be a good Adrien episode but it's disguised as a Luka episode and it's just not very memorable. Most plot-heavy episodes have very mediocre execution and questionable creative choices that make me frustrated with a lot of them.

Chris Master

It doesn't get talked about a lot, and I understand why, but I also really like this one. The art direction is fun and reminiscent of A Town Called Panic, one of my favourite Belgian cartoons ever, which uses real toys and stop motion. The animation is lovely, the show remembers that Marinette is a fashion designer for once. Chat Noir is fun. The akuma is fun. It's just a fun time overall! Sometimes, you just want to watch giant toys and weird flying fish and Miraculous delivers on that.

Ikari Gozen

Hate the orientalist BS, hate that they're doing the whole Samurai spiel in, wow, 2019, but aren't actively disproving it by having other characters not buying into that. These are the only two Japanese characters in the show for crying out loud. Hate that Kagami is still wearing a school uniform for no good reason, even when doing kendo. Despite these flaws, Ikari Gozen is great, for both Marinette and Kagami. It has some of the strongest character writing in this show and I didn't expect that.

Moving on to season 4! But you probably know what my favourite episode so far is, it's the same as everyone else's.

Gang of Secrets

It's not perfect, not by any means, but it does so many things right that I can't help but like it. It builds on everything the show has been so far, and it's a very gratifying experience for the viewer. Continuity gets to play a major role for once. Alya finally gets to be a fully-realised character again, the show stops treating sadness like a fashion accessory and actually does something good and clever with the theme of its episode. And most of everything clicks together in a way that delivers in terms of emotional payback. This episode is a game changer. I hope there will be other episodes like that in season 4.

#ml #miraculous #long post #my favourite episodes #ml sugar #me? praising this show?#you would not believe your eyes

9 notes · View notes

ihaveastarwarsobsession · 4 years ago

Text

The Mandalorian season 2 episode 6, chapter 14 review

OMG THE NEW EPISODE! I have so many thoughts and it’s all jumbled so my review this time isn’t going to be as neat but well here it is

Firstly HOW THE HELL DOD THIS THING MAKE ME CRY BEFORE WE EVEN GIT THE TITLE! Does anything else really need to be said for that. The way he was toying with him by saying his name and how he got mad when he used the force because he doesn’t want him to leave! ❤️😭 👉🥺👈 Also din calling Ashoka a nice lady, like I probably wouldn’t choose that, I’d probably choose badass but you know

Honestly Din trying to find a mechanical solution to the seeing stone like Din:

And now we finally know what’s happening with Boba Fett. And of course Din doesn’t believe him at first but why would he. And he brought the bounty hunter back from near death and now she works for him, that’s cool. We also got some badass boba fett fighting those storm troopers

Grogu sent out one big signal so who is going to find him?

The Razer Crest was blown up!!! He’s going to have to get a new ship (more merch for Disney ��, but it worked story wise so that doesn’t bother me). All that survived was the ball and spear. AND THE WAY DIN PICKED UP THE BALL AND POCKETED IT. Also the spear obviously survived, it’s beskar and plot essential.

They retconned the J’angoissai not being a Mandalorian thing! Also the reference to the simple man trying to make my way in the universe!!

Cara is now a republic marshal and about to break the rules for Grogu. And they’re breaking out the guy form season 1

The dark troopers were cool, but they didn’t do much. They probably will next episode. The gang is now realising the Empire isn’t really gone.

Moff Gideon activated the dark Sabre! And GO GROGU, kill those guys with the force. Also GIDEON KNEW THAT GROGU HAD BEEN IN THE TEMPLE. But I’m also worried for the baby, like what if he is heading towards the dark!

This next episode and the final is going to be awesome, it will be a massive group thing. Like they’ll be Cara, Greef, Din, Boba, Fennec and the guy from season 1. (Also there is possibility of Ashoka and Bo Katan which would be so cool to see them together, but probably won’t happen until a later season)

#star wars #the mandalorian #the mandalorian season 2 #the mandalorian series #boba fett #din djarin #grogu #grogu djarin #mando #review #sw

14 notes · View notes

mousehole5000 · 4 years ago

Text

this is it... the final post.... 226 through THE END!!!!!

this shit with mu qing and the river of lava is SOOOO dramatic im loving it

oh my god theyre on a FUCKING bridge of course they are okay let’s go boys

“You’re right. We’re alike. You think me odd, I think you to be rather weird too.” - so what im getting from this is that xie lian and mu qing are the only characters in this book with working gaydar okay yup got it this checks out

god... the fact that xie lian is ready to be like “look mu qing we can just forget about the past it doesnt matter we dont have to be friends i know you dont like me but im not gonna let you die over it” and then mu qing is like “.... god i really do admire you huh”

“You...certainly...are rather amazing. You’re...also...a better person...than me. Long story short, I...very much wanted...to become your f-f-friend.” - going to think about this for the rest of all time im about to become utterly unintelligible im overcome with emotions

“And, at the end of the white silk band, Feng Xin was gripping Ruoye with one hand while the other was holding on to a steel-faced Mu Qing, and he shouted towards him.” - the fucking IMAGE of this im gonna cry this is everything i could have asked for im so happy also mu qing dangling there like “ welp. guess ill live“

“Feng Xin was almost burnt by that pillar of fire, and he shouted in outrage. “WHAT’S WITH THIS BAND OF DOG SHITS, ATTACKING PEOPLE WHILE THEY’RE DOWN, SO VILE! FUCK YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY!” Xie Lian responded, “IF THEIR ENTIRE FAMILIES ALL LOOK LIKE THAT, YOU SURE YOU WANT TO FUCK THEM??” - theyre so funny!!! and theyre best friends!!! theyre joking together now in the middle of all this i could cry theyre back!!!

“Using sticks as arrows, he held the bow with one hand and used his teeth to bite back the bowstring.” - no clue how practical this is but okay archer boy. hot

i actually have so many little quips between the three of them highlighted but we’d be here all night if i included them all. im literally so delighted by this omg worth the wait

“Each sabre strike slashed to the bone. It wasn’t like Xie Lian had never seen Hua Cheng use the sabre before in the past, but his style had always been easy and leisurely, nonchalant and casual. Rather than say he was handling a weapon, it was more like he was toying with a small knife. Yet those blade marks were filled with killing intent. It was easy to imagine just how skilled the one exchanging blows with him was, and how perilous this battle.” you have no idea how mad i was when i read this and thought we missed witnessing the fight between hc and jw omg

“Behind him, Feng Xin muttered, “Dear fucking god, may all the gods and buddhas grant their blessings, that better absolutely be Crimson Rain Sought Flower, otherwise he’s gonna go mad!” “Stop your rubbish,” Mu Qing berated. “We’re all the gods and buddhas ourselves and we can’t grant shit, just keep up with him! Look at the stumbling way he’s running, he’s gonna trip and fall to his bloody death before he even sees the man!” - okay i know i said no more quips but this is literally too funny i just wanted to read it again

“ However, for whatever reason, that vicious ghost, in its muddled state, took that large group of live mortals under its wing and fled for many days. In the end, they were still surrounded by millions of ghosts, trapped in a dead end, and it was going to be eaten along with those humans.” [...] “That vicious ghost almost made a move against those humans, but for some reason, in the end, it didn’t. It instead used one of its own eyes as the price to forge a blood weapon. That vicious ghost was already forcibly hanging on with its last breath; after digging out its eye it should’ve broken apart completely. Yet somehow something had shocked it, and it instead woke to its senses completely. “ - THIS IS AMAZING ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? IS THIS ALL WE GET ABOUT HIS GHOSTLY LORE?????? HUA CHENGGGGGGGG

“What a terrible offence, his old habit had come out, and he quickly apologized. “I’m sorry! You don’t have to listen to me!” Hua Cheng, however, only smiled happily. “Everything gege tells me is the best advice, so why wouldn’t I listen?” - this isnt the fucking time afjdkfjsdkl they really never stop

“So you can hold the illusion of a perfect Crown Prince of Wuyong to face and dismiss the Jun Wu now. Isn’t that your objective? Did you think I don’t know what you’re thinking?” “THAT’S NOT IT!” Guoshi cried. “Stop getting tied up in right and wrong, victories and defeat, I’VE NEVER THOUGHT THAT WAY BEFORE!” - jun wu only being able to see xie lian as his successor and believing that thats all anyone else sees too... okay

honestly this whole final showdown was a blast i cant put everything in but it was so much fun to read. the DRAMA the LAVA the SHOUTING t

“Hua Cheng had poured too much spiritual power into him. There really was too much, so much that it was completely outside the amount the cursed shackle could withstand.” - okay.... okay... the love you give will set you free... okay....

“With Jun Wu in his grip, he carried both their bodies and forcefully slammed into the incomparably-solid rock wall! He used all of his power in this smash, and in the rumbling and crashing of rocks, he also heard the sound of something breaking.” [...] “A moment later, Jun Wu suddenly asked, “That move. What is it called?” “...” Xie Lian raised his sleeve and wiped away the blood on the side of his face. “Shattering boulders on the chest.” YES!!!!! YES!!!!! xie lian actually lived that life!!!!!! i loved this detail so much

“After a moment of silence, Xie Lian took off the bamboo hat carried on his back, took it in his hand, and covered it over Jun Wu’s face.” - xie lian... good... another detail i love. a hat that protects from the rain, given in a moment of need, even to someone who has caused you hardship... we do not forget the kindness granted to us

“There was gratefulness, there was shame, there was heartache, there was wild joy, but above all else, there was incurable love.” - :pleading: i wish it was just that easy tbh. “i have to tell you about the worst parts of myself” “ive already seen them and i dont care i still love you“ truly the dream

“ It’s been so long since anyone listened to me talk, won’t you stay? Don’t...actually do this. I won’t be able to take it. Twice, it’s been twice already! I really don’t want there to be a third time!!!” - the bit about just wanting someone to listen to him talk... xie lian... :(

emily corpse bride moment.... i knew it had to happen.... butterflies.... death and rebirth.... inevitable

xianle trio bickering about ruoye..... mu qing complaining but not letting anyone else fix it... im so happy

“The Rain Master sat down on the spot, looking like she was going to perform a passing service for her. After all, Xuan Ji was the only one left of the Kingdom of Yushi besides herself.” - xuan ji you sure the hell were... a character. this little moment tho..... yushi huang... many thoughts

“ Who hasn’t made promises, or swore to the mountains and the seas when they were young? Talking of affection, of love, of forevers. But, the longer I hang around in the world, the more I understand, something like ‘forever’ is impossible. It’s never going to be possible. Having it once was already good enough. No one can truly achieve it. I don’t believe in it anymore.” - jian lan im happy for you bummer it didnt work out with feng xin but yeah that was looooong ago. also this quote me same mood kin but its chill. having it once was already good enough

although yeah tbh if theres anyone who can have a forever like that... it would be a ghost and a god

fasdfjadklfj GOD... pour one out for ling wen.. but is that not the truth of this world? the one can be pardoned for being good at paperwork that no one else wants to do? isnt that the plot of the shawshank redemption?

okay but the fact that all xie lian’s friends come to visit him while he waits for hua cheng is making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.... fengqing coming together to try to get him out of the house but get scared off by his cooking... amazing

“Last time, they spent eight hundred years running towards each other. This time, it only took an instant to fall into each other’s embrace.” - im completely unaffected by this. im not lying i swear (i am lying im very emotionally affected)

okay i love this final wrap up chapter party its so fun. mu qing moving on from the broom thing!!! good for him!! the beggars get their reward!!! the fun ghost city chefs!! SQX!!!! and he xuan is?? here too??? he’s hungry??? fjadlkfjsdl

“The grounds that Feng Xin and Mu Qing had just swept were once again filthy from that giant crowd of muddy feet. Mu Qing gripped his broom, looking like he felt someone had infected him with fleas, and his eyes were wide.” - me when my dad comes into the kitchen when ive just finished washing dishes i get it king

the little folklore bit... fun!!! oh my god its over..... :(

that was really fun i had a blast reading it and on the whole really liked it i WISH soo badly that hua cheng had gotten more outside of being cunty and devoted even tho those are both important i just wish there was more about like how he got by during those 800 years and like did he ever have doubts? what shaped his worldview was it all xie lian or was it his experience as a mortal as well? why is he so mean to e’ming? theres bits and pieces here and there and i know it was already SO long but that really would have been great if there was more about hc cuz tbh by the end, at least for me, the hualian relationship didnt actually feel as fleshed out as the xianle trio relationship like i still liked hualian’s dynamic and it was really sweet how much they clearly really liked each other and everything but i kind of wish some of the other subplots had been dropped or diminished in favor of more hc development i think that would have been cool

but anyway thats some of my thoughts and i really did enjoy the hell out of book 5 that was a riot and uhhh thanks to everyone who read these or commented *lends you spiritual energy through a high five*

#tgcf liveblog #it is Complete i can move on now #i actually have a lot more thoughts about hl because i uhhhh relate. to things. and have opinions due to my experiences #but its also quite Personal soooo i might just keep them tucked away #anyway im freeeeeee #mouse mumbles

7 notes · View notes

illusion-reality-steve · 5 years ago

Text

If the Galaxy Family has Board Game Night

Here’s a bunch of ideas of what would happen.

I was originally gonna use these ideas to write a Quarantine AU one-shot for the Galaxy Family. But I ran out of motivation. So...have an idea dump instead! If you want to use these ideas for your writing, please credit me and give me a shoutout.

So, imagine one day Time suggests that the Galaxy Fam have a board game night tradition. Because what can possibly go wrong? It’ll bring the family closer together, right? Riiiiight?

Here’s how each family member reacts:

Elemental Steve:

When Time Steve first told him the idea, he legit started to cry because he always wanted to have a family tradition qwq So he was originally very excited about the concept, but that was only at the beginning.

Galaxy, being the inter-dimensional traveler and a social butterfly, has a lot of stories about all the games he played and all the game nights he had, which Elemental is eager to listen too.

But then board game night starts to open old wounds between him, Galaxy, and Void.

He gets very competitive.

Then Elemental changes his whole mind about game night and now hates it and hates his own family. Game night has enlightened him. Family is not friends. No, they are enemies that he must put down.

Elemental sometimes becomes a cheater. Like sometimes, he will freeze the dice in time just to get the numbers he needs to win.

Illusion Steve:

He gets very frustrated when listening to the game instructions and learning how to play.

Some nights, he is very competitive and engaged. Other times, he gets bored quickly, abandons the game halfway through, and goes to his room to play Animal Crossing or something.

When the board games are super strategic, he comes up with these very elaborate strategies to win.

During charades and similar games, he just shapeshifts into the character or scene he needs to play out. It’s boring.

He is not allowed to play cards. Because he can read people’s minds to figure out what cards they have.

When they play Life or Monopoly, he rambles about how these games are allegories of how unfair life is and how life is like a game. No one cares about it.

He will also cheat by using his illusion powers to change how the board game looks for other people. That will make them use the wrong strategy because they are looking at an incorrect board.

When he leads a board game night, he will argue a lot with Void and Galaxy about following the rules.

And of course, he will act salty to everyone if he ends up losing or not being respected. How can he not?

Void Steve:

Time: Wanna play board games with us?

Void: No. It’s for children.

Time: Galaxy’s playing. You can outwit and beat him at board games.

Void: WHEN DOES BOARD GAME NIGHT START?!

He is competitive as heck

He insults everyone and opens up personal wounds when he’s losing.

During the conversation-based games, like Cards Against Humanity or Never Have I Ever, he always says the edgy things. Always. Sometimes they’re disturbing as heck. Sometimes he sounds like a cliched edgy middle schooler.

He is later filled with so much rage one board game night that he forgives Galaxy for all their past feuds. Because he has found a more important reason to hate Galaxy now: board games.

Galaxy Steve:

Prepares all the snacks for board game night, or eats all the snacks Time prepares

Some game nights, Galaxy doesn’t pay attention because he already knows all the rules. He just wants the food and the family together.

He accidentally looks at other people’s cards when trying to socialize with them, breaking the rules.

He loses all of his confidence when he loses in strategy-based games. He’ll cry silently until Time or someone else comforts him, or if someone pities him and lets him win one game.

He makes the family wait half an hour when he goes to the kitchen to get something to eat while it’s his turn

Makes Dad Jokes during games like Sorry. Elemental hates it.

Crippling fear of failure causes him to cheat.

Memory Steve:

Memory is both the best and the worst family member during game night, because he can be the secret weapon to victory with his powers.

Void starts paying Memory to erase the memories of the other family members so Void can win. For example, when they’re playing Uno, Void will look at other people’s cards and Memory will erase everyone’s memories of witnessing Void cheating.

Time and Elemental find out about this and hate Memory for helping Void cheat.

A few days later though...Elemental bribes Memory with a bigger payment to convince him to help him cheat instead of Void .

Now Void and Elemental are at a race to see who can give Memory the best bribe to get him on their side for this week’s game night.

Sooner or later, Galaxy also discovers this and starts trying to bribe Memory to help him win.

Time, being a good boy, says he will not tolerate this and Memory’s schemes.

Two days later:

Time: ...So...can you help me win this week’s game night?

Memory: ...I thought you said you would never tolerate cheating.

Time: I know. So I think if you help me win, no one will suspect me of cheating and think I won fair and square.

Time: Look, I just want game nights to start feeling like a peaceful family bonding tradition! That can’t happen if these game nights bring out the worse in us. I want to prove this family that being kind and respectful is the best way to win, but I actually can’t win that way when everyone cheats. So I ironically need your help to win, so that maybe the family will start seeing game night as a kind and friendly gathering. Are you in?

Memory: ...Ok.

Time: Great! What do you want from me in exchange? Gift cards? Movie passes?

Memory: Nah, I’ll help you cheat for free.

Time: Why?!

Memory: Your plan sounds really boring, but I want to see how long it takes before you go feral and start abusing my memory powers for personal gain. The satisfaction of seeing you fall from token good guy to corrupted cheater is the payment I need.

Time: Well, I guess I’ll pay you with gift cards because that won’t happen!

Memory: (I’ll wait for a few weeks before I use those gift cards, because you’ll definitely give in to the temptation soon.)

One week later, Time does go feral and start cheating for personal gain. Memory gives Time those gift cards back. Memory probably shed a tear, proud that his cousin finally came to the dark side.

Illusion Steve finds out about this whole business and gets super mad. He starts a petition to ban Memory from game nights. No one signs it, because everyone loves using Memory to win. Illusion is salty about it and Memory continues profitting each game night from people paying for his help.

The only time everyone agrees with Illusion is when Memory unexpectedly wins game night one week. Everyone is about to murder Memory because they are absolutely sure he erased everyone’s memories to win. Memory quickly teleports out of the room to have a good laugh.

Besides that, he is the most chill person during game night. He’s the only one who stays sane during these events.

Time Steve:

He tries to keep the family together by being the peacekeeper every board game night.

Takes 20 minutes to make a move in chess

Probably internally cries when playing Battleship or Monopoly. He wonders if he’s a bad person for shooting down enemy battleships or for building a monopoly, even though it’s all fictional. Elemental comforts him and assures him that he’s not a bad person.

Then he goes feral in like, two months, corrupted by Memory’s abilities allowing him to cheat.

During the more intense game nights, everyone argues loudly until they wake Sabre up. Sabre will angrily surround the entire house with redstone and activate it, disabling everyone’ s powers and making everyone mute.

#steve saga #the galaxy family #long post #galaxy steve #time steve #elemental steve #void steve #illusion steve #memory steve

33 notes · View notes

eyeslikefoxglove · 5 years ago

Text

Episode 10 - Tywin Lannister called, he wants the Rains of Castamere back & once again, Foxglove cheers when someone gets shanked

Hiiiii! Welcome to episode 10 commentary! I’m doing this one right after episode 9 because for once in my life I started on this early enough in the day I can get more than one single episode in. Hope you enjoy!

Before I descend into several “wtf is wrong with this guy” rants, let me point a funny to y’all. The corpse that WWX checks for pupillary changes is not only breathing, you can see his carotid pulse jumping on his neck.

Ok done.

WHAT THE FUCK THAT’S A LITTLE GIRL WHAT THE FUCK.

Fuck this creeper oh my god. I know he’s supposed to have a tragic past and be cute and charismatic but I just want to shush him every time he opens his mouth.

(XXC truly looks like an elven prince doesn’t he)

Aaaaaand WWX gives zero fucks about your dramatic exit stage right.

He also gives zero fucks about the fight to the death happening right in front of him, I mean, why would he when he can flirt with LWJ instead?

Speaking of said fight, I really hope they sped up the footage of them spinning through the air, because if whatever machine and harnesses they used truly spun them so fast I feel for the actors/body doubles.

Hey XXC that’s your boyfriend right there!

Today is really not XY’s day is it.

(That disgusted face WWX makes is pretty much a visual representation of what I feel when XY tries to be cute. Seriously)

SHUT UP XY MY BOY IS HAVING A FANBOY MOMENT.

I can’t believe I’m saying this but he’s got a point. Not in this case, because these five are actually good people but the rich and powerful are indeed a bunch of hypocrites. *Softly plays Eat the Rich*

LWJ is a hairsbreadth away from slapping XY out of his faux-innocent act and I can’t say I fault him tbh. And WWX is fucking smug because he is the king of being a little shit and this amateur got nothing on him.

Is Zhu Zanjin wearing eyeliner or are his eyelashes actually that incredible?

I’m making pained noises because I keep wondering what would’ve happened if WWX had asked XXC for help after people mounted a witch hunt against him and why do I keep doing this to myself?

WWX: *talks about his boyfriend*

JC: *eyeroll*

Oh my god this bit is so painful. You can see how starved WWX is about finding the smallest connection with his mum and my soul hurts.

And LWJ’s face watching them go. He’s probably just realised this was a dream you could have, and there it is, walking away. I’m gonna go make myself some tea and eat some cake or something, I deserve it after all this emotional turmoil.

(Aaaaaaand there goes XY being a fucking creep again)

LOOK AT MY TWO LIL CUPCAKES BEING FUCKING ADORABLE WHEN THEY GET PRAISED. LOOK AT THEM.

We’ve already established that I have the survival instincts of a concussed lemming but NMJ is a dude I want to get into a shouting match with. I don’t dislike him or anything and he’s badass, but watching this is obvious a five year old with an attitude can push his buttons. And he’s both a political leader and has a whole baby brother to take care off, you can’t allow yourself to get so angry you contemplate murder in your living room my dude. Furthermore, I know his way of cultivation makes him even more unstable and prone to Qi deviation; but instead of finding a way to work around that this idiot is ok with dying young and leaving everyone who loves him fucking devastated. Because why? It’s the way of his clan? It’s traditional? It’s honourable? Fuck that, no wonder NHS dislikes sword fighting so much if that’s going to eventually kill his big brother.

NMJ: I am a just and frank man, I fear nothing in presence of sinners like you.

Me, with a megaphone: HUBRIS IS A BITCH

The One Braincell Trio being MY fanboys gives me life *insert another million canon-divergences in which they befriend MY and everything is less Lannister red as a result*

THIS ASSHOLE IS2G SOMEONE SAYS SOMETHING LIKE THAT ABOUT MY MUM AND NO ONE WILL FIND THE BODY.

Ok, NMJ called Lan Yi “the great talented leader of the Lan”, I want to pick a less violent fight with him now.

Wei “let me be damn sexy while drinking” Wuxian back at it again.

WUJI IS ON! MOONLIGHT! ROOFTOPS!

WWX: Lan Zhan I’ll sleep on your roof tonight

LWJ: Wei Ying I have to go

WWX: Lan Zhan I’ll sleep on your roof tonight

LWJ: Wei Ying, there’s room in my bed if we snuggle.

There, I fixed it. (Here I come again, joking to hide the pain. Parting is such sweet sorrow and all that)

... oh hey I’d never noticed how big Wang YiBo’s hands are and now I’m in trouble. Which is funny, cause LWJ is v much not my type, but Wang YiBo apparently is now? I mean, I’ve reblogged stuff about him because he’s ridiculously beautiful but...

*falls down a google images rabbit hole*

...

Yeah I can safely say I’m into Wang YiBo’s badboy-prettyboy-coolboy-gremlinboy attitude.

Anyway back to the show:

That was a fucking great sword throw and I love the little smirk MY’s wearing.

... what did I just see?

I don’t know how to describe it, but when WZL sticks the tip of his sword into the flat of NMJ’s sabre and drives him back and you see then go through the frame in front of WC? That’s like the most ridiculous anthropomorphic version of a train dragging a car along the tracks. All that’s missing is the “nyooooom” sound.

Speaking of WZL that’s one coolheaded dude.

Ok, I’m going to go down a Meng Yao rabbit hole again. Brace yoselves.

At risk of sounding like NHS I really don’t know why MY would’ve set XY free. I mean, if he gets XY and the Yin Iron back to WRH he’s got the chief cultivator’s favour... but everyone and their mum wants WRH out of the scene, including as far as he knows Daddy Dearest. He’s clever enough to realise there’s going to be a war, so he might’ve though that if he put himself up as a spy this soon it would’ve benefited the, yet nonexistent, SunShot Campaign. In the book he also murders his bully of a superior right before “defecting” and becoming a spy, and much like in here, NMJ catches him and stabbing happens. Do I think he, like the Jins, was playing both sides during the war? Yeah, but in this instance if I were him I wouldn’t trust in the benevolence of a man who makes puppets out humans for funsies, especially seeing how much he gets bullied.

Now if we go the other direction, of wrong place wrong time, MY doesn’t seem displeased with the Nies. I mean, NMJ and NHS like and respect him as far we’ve seen, NMJ even follows his advise. Why would he want to risk his fucking neck against NMJ just to get a potential in (that again depends on WRH liking him) to spy in a potential war? Call me a hufflepuff, but I’d stay put. Right before NMJ finds MY murdering someone we hear the voice of he asshole captain who loves to mess with MY, same captain that wasn’t present when confronting WC and that was really fucking drunk last night. I’m not saying this man works for the Wens, but hangovers make you sluggish and tired, who’s to say XY didn’t actually break tf out if this yahoo was the one guarding him (back again to the bit when MY asked the captain to post extra guards and the captain told him where to stick it, we don’t know if he actually doubled the guard) and MY walked in on it. Now this asshole has the perfect scapegoat! The *insert his preferred MY slur* did it! He saw it! And MY either panics or snaps and gets stabby.

Listen, it’s murder either way, and I won’t pretend MY doesn’t have a whole alphabet of plans for every situation, but damn I cheered.

Shut the fuck up WC.

My one track mind is shrieking because MY has a stab wound in his chest and he’s just... chilling? (Like a villain lol)

Did y’all see the fan smacking the hand bit? Now that I’ve seen the whole thing is evident, but that’s pretty much the same exact show as at the beginning with the “mysterious man”. Ooooohhhh I love the hints!

HOLY FUCK NMJ IS CRYING (my 3zun ship is sailing y’all can’t stop me).

Speaking of 3zun if y’all could point me to nice fics where everything doesn’t go up in flames for these three idiots I’d appreciate it.

And that’s all for this episode. Thanks for reading.

#cql #the untamed #mdzs live action #mdzs #foxglove watches cql #foxglove watches the untamed #wei wuxian #lan wangji #wangxian #jiang wanyin #jiang cheng #nie huaisang #nie mingjue #meng yao #jin guanyao #3zun #Foxglove cheers when someone gets shanked #again #foxglove babbles

30 notes · View notes

ibijau · 3 years ago

Text

Counterfeit AU pt6 / On AO3

Meng Yao makes himself useful after losing his job, and discovers something unexpected

Names are funny things, Meng Yao thinks as he stares at the sheet of paper in his hand.

Funny things indeed.

After everything that went down in the Hanshi, it's Beastie that saves Meng Yao from himself.

Left to his own devices, he would have either wallowed in misery, or waste time proving to himself that everything that happened wasn't his fault, the way he knows he's done in other lives. But when he comes home after having his past lives thrown into his face and losing a job he loves, Beastie’s mother corners him just as he puts his key into his lock. Her daughter is on school holiday, she explains, and was supposed to be looked after by a friend with children of a similar age. But one of the children came down with something contagious, so the whole plan fell through, and the poor woman now desperately needs help finding someone to look after her daughter.

She’s not asking for Meng Yao to play the babysitter, but he knows so many people, he has so many connections, maybe he could pull a favour somewhere, help her out again.

“I can take care of her for a few days,” Meng Yao offers without thinking. “I’m jobless as of today.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry! What happened?”

“My employer died,” Meng Yao replies, which is close enough to the truth. He doesn’t think Nie Huaisang will continue using his Shanzi alias after this, and they’ll never meet again. He might as well be dead. “I don’t plan on looking for a new job right away, so I can babysit for a while, it’s no big deal.”

She tries to insist that he doesn’t need to be doing that, but quickly agrees after some reassurance that Meng Yao doesn’t mind. She looks so relieved she could cry as she says she’ll drop Beastie in the morning. Meng Yao smiles, certain that his mother would be proud of him for doing what’s right.

Having Beastie around is definitely the best choice he could have made. She’s a good kid, but she’s also high energy and needs to be entertained, which means he doesn’t get to think too much about how much he misses Nie Huaisang and Lan Xichen.

They watch movies together, as they’ve always done when he picked her up after school. They go for walks to a nearby park, and once to a museum to look at old armours and swords. He buys Beastie a fake sword, though they agree to keep it at his place, since her mother already despairs that she so strongly favours boy’s toys. In fact, Meng Yao ends up just spoiling that little girl, the way he would have loved someone to do for him when he was her age. He even has Nie Huaisang’s console repaired so she can play on it, instead of selling it as he’d intended.

The video games are a big hit with her. She’s particularly in love with the same game Nie Huaisang spent too many hours on, that weird little terraforming thing which Meng Yao can’t see the appeal of. He liked that it made Nie Huaisang happy. He likes that it also makes Beastie happy, and that she’s very careful not to ruin the work previously put into it, focused instead on maintaining it and planting flowers

“It looks like home,” she explains when Meng Yao asks about that, and lifts the console for him to see.

It doesn’t look like a homely place, he thinks, and more like a military fortress right out of a wuxia drama. But Meng Yao doesn’t get to make that remark, because his phone vibrates, demanding his attention. Beastie, sitting crossed legs on some cushion on the floor, goes back to watering virtual flowers, while Meng Yao checks some news from his bank account. A lump sum has been sent to him, a good deal more than his usual salary, coming from an account registered under a name he doesn’t recognise.

It has been a week since he was fired.

Nie Huaisang kept his promise.

It really is over.

Not that Meng Yao really doubted it. Nie Huaisang has many faults but indecision has never been one, though he’s always been good at pretending otherwise. Once his choice is made he toys with expectations but rarely ever changes his mind.

Rarely, of course, isn’t never. Meng Yao, foolishly, hoped to be one of those few exceptions.

Those new zeroes on his bank account feel like a divorce, and he never even got a honeymoon.

That night, Meng Yao allows himself a few hours to wallow in misery, after Beastie went back to her mother. He is only human, and it does feel good to eat take-away in front of a cheesy romance. The film's hero doesn't get the girl, who was dead all along. Meng Yao cries, even though he's seen that movie before.

By morning, he's in control again, and takes Beastie to the park so she can run around in the sun, and scare pigeons with her sword.

Those holidays are all great fun, until Beastie’s mother reminds them that she has homework to do.

Beastie is a clever kid, there’s no doubt about it, but she doesn’t much like doing her homework, least of all when she feels she could be playing. It takes all of Meng Yao’s negotiation skills to get her to even look at her school books, and he almost resorts to bribery to make her pick up a pencil. But she works hard once she starts, and Meng Yao, wanting to encourage her, sits with her at the kitchen table to update his resume. Beastie will go back to class soon, and inactivity just isn’t in his temper.

When Beastie is done with her work, she gets permission to put on whatever movie she likes while Meng Yao checks what she’s done in case it needs correcting.

But when he picks up the sheet of simple maths she’s expected to give her teacher on monday, all Meng Yao sees is her name.

It’s really funny. He knows her name of course, though he hasn’t heard it in a while. Even her mother took up to calling her Beastie after he nicknamed her that. It just fits her so well, that active little girl who prefers trousers over dresses because they're easier to move in and always wants to play at fighting. She’s a real little monster, and Meng Yao loves her like that. She’s just Beastie.

But according to the homework she’s spent the afternoon on, she’s also Nie Mingjue.

It could just be a coincidence. Names are funny like that, they pop up in unexpected places, they get forgotten and reused. Perhaps in another life, Meng Yao would have just dismissed it as a random incident.

In another life, he wouldn’t have been called Meng Yao.

It’s the first time this happens since that first life they all shared. He’s Meng Yao again, Lan Xichen bears his old name too, and now he’s found a Nie Mingjue, hiding right under his nose. A Nie Mingjue who likes fighting, and claims that her toy sword is actually a sabre, and who always insists a lot on things being fair, even when Meng Yao tries to give her the biggest share of a food she likes.

It can’t be a coincidence.

Meng Yao needs to tell someone.

He needs to tell Nie Huaisang.

He tries, of course, and without surprise his former employer’s number has been terminated. He has the same luck trying to send an email. Nie Huaisang might as well never have existed. Meng Yao feels helpless, torn between tears and laughter. After spending centuries looking for his brother, Nie Huaisang just might have lost his chance due to being so damn dramatic. Serves him right, Meng Yao thinks, still bitter about being discarded so easily, and never getting a chance to see if things might work better in this life.

Bitterness doesn’t last. Meng Yao cares about Nie Huaisang, more than he should if he were a little smarter, and he knows how important finding his brother again would be for him. And if Nie Huaisang can’t be directly contacted, there’s always indirect ways.

It’s not that Meng Yao misses Lan Xichen, he tells himself that night, when Beastie is back with his mother and he starts writing a long text message on his phone. Well, it’s not just that, anyway. He does miss Lan Xichen, sweet and funny and so eager when talking about art. But more importantly, Lan Xichen probably has access to Lan Wangji, who clearly must know how to contact Nie Huaisang.

Texting Lan Xichen is a strategic choice.

The way Meng Yao's heart jumps inside his chest when Lan Xichen immediately replies is… it's strategic too. He's just glad that his plan is working.

How have you been? :)

I could have been worse. I've just realised something and I think it concerns you. I've told you about that kid I babysit, haven't I?

Little Beastie? Is she okay? D:

She's Nie Mingjue.

This time, the answer isn't immediate. Meng Yao stares nervously at his phone, wondering if Lan Xichen thinks he's lying, or planning something. Considering their first life, who could blame him?

But after a few minutes, his phone vibrates again.

Sorry, I dropped my phone and couldn't get it back from under the couch. Are you sure?? (⊙ˍ⊙)

It all fits. You could come meet her if you want. But it's him, I'm sure.

Did you tell Nie Huaisang???

I can't contact him. Are you in touch with Lan Wangji? Maybe he can warn him.

I have his number, I just texted him! I'll keep you updated! It's so wonderful if it's da-ge!! Can I really meet him? ╰(*°▽°*)╯

Her*?

I'll send you my address. If you can come tomorrow, she'll be there.

Are you sure? I don't think da-ge would still want me around. (≧﹏ ≦)

Meng Yao gives that question the consideration it deserves. It's not an unfair worry to have, and he'd be wondering the same if he hadn't known Beastie for so long.

I literally killed him, and he killed me. If she had to hate anyone it'd be me, but we get along great. We're no longer the same people we used to be. It's the same for her.

If you're sure, then I'll come! (❁´w`❁)

Meng Yao is very sure indeed.

So Lan Xichen comes.

It's odd to invite someone to his flat. It's a small place, a bit messy, full of trinkets and DVDs that Meng Yao would never admit to owning, not with the image he wants to create. He's always avoided guests. But having Lan Xichen over is as rewarding as it is terrifying. Lan Xichen brought some charming little cakes, as if he's visiting someone important, and he smiles at the sight of a movie poster on the wall, confessing he watched it so often as a teenager that the tape broke one day.

"It's my favourite too!" Beastie exclaims. "Meng-ge has it, you know! Can we watch it now?"

Normally, Meng Yao would point out that it's a little rude to ask that when they have a guest. But he can see that Lan Xichen is nervous and unsure how to act around Nie Mingjue, and maybe a movie will let them all relax.

In the end, they spend a pleasant afternoon, the three of them. Once Lan Xichen stops worrying that the Nie Mingjue of old will appear and shout at him for getting him killed, he starts chatting with Beastie about her favourite movies, what she's learning in school, what she wants to be when she grows up. She's very happy to answer, and very impressed when he explains he's a teacher, even though she's finding it hard to accept that most of his students are fully adult.

And when Beastie is back with her mother, Lan Xichen lingers for a while, tempted by the offer of Meng Yao's favourite takeaway.

“It’s amazing how much like him she is,” Lan Xichen says as they sit on the sofa to wait for the food to arrive. “It’s the first time he reincarnates, you know. At least, Wangji told me they’d never found any trace of him before.”

Guilt shoots through Meng Yao. It’s his fault if Nie Mingjue’s soul was so fractured it took him this long to be reborn. Or at least, it’s the fault of someone he was, once, which is nearly the same, and yet completely different. Meng Yao has learned from living and dying several times, and he’s lucky enough to live in a kinder world than Jin Guangyao did. It helps.

“She’s also different from him, though,” Lan Xichen continues, moving just a little closer, until they’re almost touching.

“We’ll, for starters she’s a kid,” Meng Yao points out, wondering if he should take the other man’s hand. If this had happened before the Hanshi, he would have, but he’s not sure where they stand now.

“It’s not just that. In that first life, I knew da-ge as a child too and he was…” Lan Xichen sighs and makes a vague hand gesture. “He was a lot. Way too serious sometimes. We all were, I suppose, but him most of all. The Nie tended to grow fast, to compensate for dying young. I’m… I’m glad that he gets to properly be a child this time. That she gets to be a child.”

“The world has changed,” Meng Yao says, finding the courage at last to brush his fingers against Lan Xichen’s. “Things aren’t always easy but they’re… easier, I suppose.”

Lan Xichen’s returns that touch, gentle and careful as always. This, too, is easier now than it was back then. It’s not easy, but there’s less pressure to conform, less demands to be good dutiful sons, and just a little more space to be their own people, to make their own choices.

Maybe in their next life they’ll meet again and it’ll be even easier to be like this. But even now, Meng Yao is ready to take the chances that his past self wouldn’t have dared to dream of. He leans toward Lan Xichen, hoping to kiss him, but a knock on the door interrupts them and he jumps to his feet to go get their food. The delivery man looks at him a little funny, but makes no comment. If Meng Yao is half as red as Lan Xichen, he deserves those odd looks.

Nothing happens again that night. The moment has passed, and after eating, Lan Xichen has to go home because he has engagements the day after that he can’t cancel.

It's not a date that night, no more than any of their previous encounters were.

It's not a date then, but next time, when Lan Xichen invites him to a restaurant, Meng Yao is informed in no unclear terms that this is, in fact, a date. They go see a movie after, and Meng Yao gets to kiss one of the two most handsome men in the world.

Life is good.

Life is really good, and yet Meng Yao wants more.

In spite of their efforts, Lan Xichen and him can't get in touch with Nie Huaisang to inform him that his brother has finally reincarnated. Even Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are getting worried. From what they told Lan Xichen they haven't had any contact with him since the day they picked him up at the Hanshi.

"They say he's done that before," Lan Xichen tells him. "They think he'll return in a decade or two, maybe a little longer. Time is hard for immortals, they lose track easily."

That's all very well for them, but Meng Yao doesn't have a few decades to waste, and neither does Nie Mingjue. They're not immortals. One bad illness, a reckless driver, just tripping in the stairs, and it's all over until they reincarnate again, and Meng Yao is done with missed chances.

If he can't directly get in touch with Nie Huaisang, Meng Yao can make a few discreet calls to former buyers, and advise them to get their purchase asserted again, just in case. He makes sure to only contact people who bought legitimate artworks of course. He wants to make a wave, not get in trouble. If Meng Yao knows Nie Huaisang even half as well as he thinks he does, then even in hiding Nie Huaisang will be checking what’s happening in the world of art collectors, and he’ll hear about some of his buyers suddenly becoming fearful of fakes.

It’s a little mean perhaps, when Nie Huaisang is so proud of his counterfeits, but kindness has never been Meng Yao’s greatest quality.

Besides, it works.

One afternoon, when Meng Yao is alone at home, checking a job offer that he’s probably going to reject because he deserves better, there’s a knock on the door. Meng Yao considers ignoring it, but some of his elderly neighbours have been coming to ask for help with their phones or whatever new fancy blender their kids got them to make life easier. Usually, five minutes of easy work means free homemade food for his next meal, which is always a great deal.

When he opens the door, there’s a very old man waiting in the corridor alright, but free food is probably out of the question.

“Well, I’m here,” Nie Huaisang says. “Whatever is going on, it’d better be important.”

#xisangyao #xiyao #sangyao #xisang #counterfeit au #lan xichen #jin guangyao #nie mingjue #nie huaisang #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #jau writes

32 notes · View notes

ariainstars · 5 years ago

Text

Skywalker Men - The „X“ Factor in the Equation

Recently I have heard and read quite a few interpretations of the Star Wars sequels; and regarding its conclusion, there seem to be two major theories.

1. Kylo Ren will pay for what he did and end in a terrible way, making the way free for Rey as the heroine who will save the galaxy, and who maybe also will turn out to be a Skywalker / Solo / Kenobi after all. 2. Kylo will be Ben Solo again and Rey will be the one who brings him back to the light.

But we know that this is the Skywalker saga. As Luke himself said, “This is not going to go the way you think.”

The two above-mentioned developments are, each in its own way, the most logical and straightforward ones, depending on whether you see the protagonist as Kylo Ren the villain due to his crimes, or as Ben Solo the hero undercover / the victim due to his uncle’s betrayal and Snoke’s manipulation.

But when you are dealing with a Skywalker, you can be certain only of one thing: the unexpected. Because the Skywalker is always the X factor in the equation.

Every Skywalker man is a hot emotional mess. Their impulsiveness is one of the major factors of the saga, urging the plot on. And that’s not wrong in itself: if they make a spontaneous decision reaching out to someone, it turns to be the right thing in the end. It’s when they make things only about themselves that they fail.

With characters like Obi-Wan, Yoda, Han or Leia to name a few, you usually know where you’re at. Their personalities are well-defined and you can foresee what they will do from a mile away. Han sometimes is spontaneous too, but his actions are dictated by slyness, not by rushed emotions. Being Anakin’s daughter, Leia is hot-headed too, but due to having been raised a princess even if she takes sudden action, she never loses her sense of responsibility and always thinks of the common good.

With a Skywalker, you are definitively always in for surprises. They often don’t do what they are expected to do, whether from us viewers or from the characters around them.

Skywalkers usually do not explain or justify themselves. They do not speak about these spontaneous acts, which leads both viewers and the figures around them wonder about their motivations and to judge them, depending on whether we or they see them as the heroes or the villains (or, occasionally, as the fools) of the story.

Prequels

Anakin Skywalker’s very existence is a mystery. He is the most powerful Jedi of all and comes from the humblest beginnings. His mother is not even aware of how she got pregnant with him.

It is 9-year-old Anakin who brings the Naboo Battle to a closure, destroying the droid’s control station which was orbiting the planet. All he did was to “stay in the cockpit”.

On his mother’s death, Anakin lashes out for the first time. His anger and grief are understandable, however it is as terrible as it is unexpected that it will push him so far as to kill the entire tusken village.

Knowing the original story we were of course aware that Anakin would marry Padmé; however to the Jedi, this was unthinkable because they would never have guessed that a Jedi would dare to oppose their strict code. Even Obi-Wan did not know for years, until on realizing that Padmé was pregnant he finally put two and two together.

Anakin’s marriage may seem foolish, immoral or romantic depending on your point of view. In any case, it’s crucially important because without this marriage, the two children who will later bring down the Empire would not have been born.

Again, as viewers we did know that Anakin would turn to the Sith. But the Jedi did not see it coming and they could not stop him. Obi-Wan was shocked on finding out that the one who had killed the Jedi younglings was indeed his former apprentice, saying over and over to Yoda that he could not believe it.

On Mustafar, Padmé almost succeeded in convincing Anakin to leave everything behind him and come back with her. It is interesting that she still had the power to do that (thus proving that there still was good in him) despite the horrible things he had done.

Would Obi-Wan have suspected that Anakin would survive Mustafar, a quadruple amputee burning in the lava? Assuredly not. That’s why he left him behind. We can only imagine his reaction on finding out that Lord Vader, Palpatine’s right hand and the scourge of the galaxy, had been built from Anakin’s miserable remainders.

Classics

Luke proves right away to be a true Skywalker when he learns that Leia is about to be executed. He is in terrible danger on an unknown space station and he has never met the girl in person, but he immediately feels that he has to rescue her.

Darth Vader is Moff Tarkin’s subordinate. But the suggestion to let the rebels leave the Death Star in order to track them down comes from him - a risky tactic that proves to be fatal. Not being a Skywalker, Tarkin would certainly never have come up with such an unexpected idea.

Despite the protests of both his mentors, Luke rushes to Bespine because he feels Han’s and Leia’s distress. To Obi-Wan and Yoda, both straightforward characters, the obvious thing for him to do would be to stay on Dagobah and complete his training. But as usual, Luke follows his heart.

The probably most unexpected plot twist in movie history: “I am your father.”

Not only is the fact in itself totally unpredicted, it’s that Vader does tell Luke at all, in an attempt to keep his son with him. Knowing the truth, Luke can no longer hate Vader. From this moment on, he is lost to the Dark Side.

When the Falcon first escapes, Vader does what everybody would have expected him to do: he chokes captain Needa to death. On its second escape, he just exits the bridge wordlessly. The encounter with his son seems to have shaken him more than he thought.

Why is Return of the Jedi the quintessential Skywalker film, the peak of the classic trilogy? Because so many things happen that no one would have foreseen.

Luke tries to solve matters with Jabba the Hutt diplomatically. Any kick-ass action hero would have entered his cave showing his strength and skills right from the start. Luke only grabs his light sabre at the very last moment.

Darth Vader, the cold-blooded killer, the most iconic villain, is still salvageable? “There is still good in him, Leia.” No one but his son could have realized this unexpected truth.

A decision that is controversial in the eyes of many fans to this day: Luke’s decision to give up fighting.

Palpatine has done his utmost to corrupt Luke, trying over and over to create enmity between father and son. Luke refuses to be separated from his father once more: he proclaims himself to be a Jedi “like my father before me.”

His loyalty is ultimately what brings the Empire down.

Although it costs him his life, Vader destroys Palpatine in order to rescue his son - another spontaneous decision taken at the very last moment, so unexpected that even Palpatine, who knew him so well and for so long, did not see it coming.

Sequels

Adult Luke is normally a calm and self-controlled person. But on sensing his nephew’s power, he is overwhelmed by a sudden moment of panic, and he draws his light sabre because he fears the loss of everything he loves.

Kylo Ren has no qualms killing innocents and torturing prisoners. But as he interrogates Rey, he is surprisingly gentle.

We see Kylo interact with Han on the bridge: his words to Snoke “He means nothing to me” were obviously false, he does feel something for his father. Yet he commits the patricide. He does the unthinkable, believing in Snoke’s words that this will finally end the conflict inside of him pushing him to the Dark Side for good.

Kylo would have had the opportunity to kill both Finn and Rey who are untrained with the light sabre. But he only wounds Finn (despite calling him a traitor, too) and lets Rey go unscathed.

After his terrible deed, we would expect Kylo to now be the ultimate villain. But as we see his face again a few days after the patricide, he is obviously deeply traumatized.

On her visit in the cave, Rey is confronted with her loneliness. The only person who offers her companionship and empathy is the alleged villain.

Ben does not speak with Rey about his intentions. He kills Snoke when he was least expecting it, taking both Snoke and Rey entirely by surprise.

Again, surprise: Luke is not really on Crait, he’s a Force projection. He uses his nephew’s anger against him in order to save his sister and her resistance, and to end the battle on Crait without spilling one drop of blood. A move that is as cunning as it is compassionate.

After the battle, Kylo would still have the time to send someone to go after the Falcon and shoot it down. But despite his assertion to destroy everything he just remains back, crying silently.

Now about the theories for Episode IX.

Being the last of the Skywalker family Kylo Ren / Ben Solo is, again, the X factor in the saga’s equation. Like with his grandfather before him, we know too little about his background to really know what we’re at. We see the sequels more through Rey’s eyes, which is why we tend to mistake her as the protagonist; hence the above mentioned two main theories for the saga’s conclusion.

Kylo is not predictable. He will most certainly make a few decisions no one would have reckoned with. As Lor San Tekka said right from the start, he cannot deny the truth that is his family. All we can do is hope that he will act for the right reasons.

What makes everybody wonder about the Skywalker men, is the same over and over: what do they want after all?

One would expect the protagonist of an action saga, of a hero’s journey, to do what action heroes usually pursue: save the world, kill the villain, get the girl. One would expect a Jedi to always do the right thing and a villain always to do evil. It is admittedly irritating when the protagonist takes unexpected turns over and over.

Knowing the Skywalkers, what I believe they ultimately want is belonging. They are fiercely loyal, but it can literally drive them out of their minds if their loyalty is not requited. And unfortunately, their power often makes people mistrust them, using them at times, but not really requiting their services with trust and appreciation. Snoke’s downfall came due to the fact that he showed his apprentice lack of respect, a huge mistake Palpatine never made with Vader.

Anakin had to give up his mother and his wish of becoming a pilot. He did all he could to suppress his emotions in order to find belonging with the Jedi, to no avail: they never trusted him. When he feared to lose the only ones he did belong to - his wife and unborn children - he lost himself. Only when his son proclaimed his loyalty to him did he turn and find belonging again.

Ben Solo, too, originally had the wish of becoming a pilot. He did struggle to become a Jedi, but he got unsettled when his parents sent him away from home and pushed over the edge when his own uncle seemed to give up on him.

Luke is the exception because he is so deeply human, and so accepting of other people’s humanness, that people can’t help but trust him. Luke is always more a human being than a Jedi. He does employ his powers but they do not define him as a person.

So, if we try to guess how the saga will end, we must not ask ourselves what Rey will do.

Will she kill Kylo Ren, making him pay for his crimes?

Will she save him with love and forgiveness?

I don’t think that’s the right question to make. The question is: what will he do?

Kylo committing some other horrible, unpardonable crime? No actual surprise there after the patricide.

Ben helping / saving / joining Rey? No surprise there either, after all the times he reached out for her.

If the Skywalkers were not the way they are, their saga would not be half as captivating and the plot twists not half as fascinating. Who wants to follow a story where most everything goes as expected?

With a Skywalker guy, the only thing to be expected is the unexpected.

Let’s keep our hopes up and tuned.

P.S. I did write a few meta’s about my own theories for Episode IX, you may want to check them out. Yes, I know, I’m a bloody tease. Guilty as charged. 😉

#star wars #skywalker family #luke skywalker #anakin skywalker #ben solo #kylo ren #princess leia #obi-wan kenobi #yoda #Jedi council #padme amidala #bendepmtion #rey #darth vader #episode IX #read more

256 notes · View notes

thebookkeeperslibrary · 5 years ago

Text

Lost Time: Ch. 4

Fandom: Time Warp Trio

Author: The_Bookkeeper_96

Rating: T

Summary: Another summer at Horae Manor begins, but before Joe and Tessa get the chance to train, they are sent out on a mission to explore the magic capital of the universe, Mancika. Rumors of illegal magic conversion spread throughout the city, and Joe and Tessa need to locate those responsible. But after the events of last summer, Joe isn't eager to work with his Aether partner, and the two are struggling more with each other than with their enemies.

A/N: Ayyyy, look who finally decided to update. Been sitting on this one for a while before I realized I was never going to be 100% happy with it. And I finally have wi-fi again! Hopefully it’ll stick around and I’ll actually be able to work on my fics and post more frequently.

Read on AO3

Preview:

"Even the mightiest empires would crumble without a strong foundation to support them." - Mancikan Proverb

Fred stumbles down the hallway after Arwen. "Would you slow down a little? I have to jog to keep up with you."

"You really can't take a hint, can you?" Arwen sighs in defeat and slows her long strides.

"Aw, come on. I thought we ended things on good terms last summer. We're all gonna have to be friends eventually." Fred really didn't understand what was up with these girls. Why did they hate him and his friends so much? Sure, last year had been a little chaotic, but they all made it out alive. He'd been trying to play nice, but they were being so difficult, always acting like they were better than him and his friends.

Then again, Arwen's a Red Sox fan. Maybe Fred shouldn't be trying so hard with her. He glanced at her, trying not to be obvious about it. He likes that Arwen doesn't look like most girls with their pounds of make-up and frilly clothes. Honestly, Arwen looked more like a boy than a girl.

But Fred's smart enough not to say that out loud.

"Look, just show me where this training room is, and I promise I won't bother you. I need someplace to keep in shape for football. Besides, I always listen to my music when I work out anyway."

"I just prefer to train alone."

"You won't even know I'm there. Promise." He puts his hand over his heart and gives her what he hopes is a trusting smile.

Arwen studies him out of the corner of her eye and purses her lips. "Fine. I guess it wouldn't be too terrible if you got in shape and learned how to throw a punch. It would definitely have been useful last summer."

"Get in shape?" Fred's smile drops. "I'm already in shape. I mean, look at me!" He flexes his arms to emphasize his point. Despite his best efforts, there isn't much to see.

She scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Right. Bulging muscles aside, do you know how to fight?"

Fred thinks about the brawls he's had with his brothers and all the times he's wrestled with Joe and Sam. He rarely won against his brothers, but he held his own against Joe and Sam well enough, but he's pretty sure Arwen wouldn't count those as real fights.

"I'll take your silence as a no then." She tries to hide her smug smile, but Fred sees it anyway.

"Fine. I don't know how to actually fight, and maybe I'm not as fit as I should be. I don't suppose you'd be willing to teach me anything?"

Fred knows she's going to laugh at him and say no. After all, all of the girls were pretty far ahead of them when it came to this magic stuff. Besides, they'd been treating him and his friends like annoying younger brothers since they met, and Fred was all too familiar with how those relationships worked out. He didn't need another Mike in his life.

He's about to let the whole thing drop and find some other way to entertain himself tonight, but Arwen surprises him by saying, "Why?"

Fred blinks. The only response he'd been expecting was a 'no'. "Why what?"

"Why do you want to work out with me? Or hang out with me at all?" She stops walking to look him square in the eye. She crosses her arms. "What's your goal here?"

"Uh…" He really didn't know how to answer that. He liked Arwen. Out of the girls, she was the easiest to read. She never seemed like she was hiding anything, even when it came to how she felt about him. He respected that honesty, even if it hurt sometimes. She was also hands-down the toughest of the girls. Fred still couldn't believe she fought a drakon one on one with no weapons or armor. Plus, working out was always better when you had a friend to spot you at the gym.

"I guess I just enjoy your company." That didn't really explain his feelings, but it was true.

"Even though I'm a Red Sox fan?" Arwen's frown turned into a playful smirk.

"Yes, even though you're a Red Sox fan. It's not your fault you were born in Boston. If you were a New Yorker, I'm sure you'd love the Yankees."

Her gaze drops to the floor. "I don't think my dad would ever let that happen."

"Why?"

She chews her lip. "He's just a really big Red Sox fan. Runs in the family, you see."

"Sure." Fred totally understands that. Everyone in his family is a die-hard Yankees fan. He can't even imagine what they would do to him if he tried rooting for another team.

Arwen starts to move down the hallway again, taking a sharp right into a plain doorway. "All right. I guess I can teach you a thing or two."

"Really?" Even after all that, Fred is still surprised to hear her say it.

"Yes, really. You should come in before I change my mind."

Fred hurries in the room after her, excited to see what kind of cool magical training gear he would be able to use. He could picture fancy machines that would let him work out all parts of his body at once. Or maybe even enchanted armor that fought him in hand-to-hand combat. Would he get to learn how to use weapons? Like Tessa's sabre?

He bursts into the room, more excited than he's ever been to work out.

His excitement plummets as he takes in the gym. He recognizes every piece of equipment here. It's just a normal work-out room, like the one at his regular school back on Earth.

Arwen chuckles from behind him. "You seem disappointed. What were you expecting? This is a training room for non-magic users."

"Well yeah, but, we're still at a magic school. I expected more. I'm pretty sure my brothers have more equipment than this in their bedrooms back home." He walks over to the weights in the corner. The highest dumbbell is only thirty pounds. He sighs, crosses his arms, and leans against the wall.

"The stuff my brothers and I use is better than all this too, but we could always ask Ro and Cas to get us better equipment." She walks over to a large black mat on the side of the room. "They haven't had non-magic people here in a long time. That's why most of this stuff is so outdated."

"What's so special about us then? Why do we get to be here if we can't control time or space?"

"I don't think we're the special ones. Did you see the way Joe and Tess were acting at dinner tonight? Their meeting with Ro and Cas must have been bad, and their future must be bad enough that they're allowed to bring an emotional support team with them."

"Whatever it is, it can't be that bad." Fred joins Arwen on the mat where she's already begun to stretch. He does the same.

She shrugs in response. "I just can't help but feel like we have a long summer ahead of us."

They stretch in silence for a few more minutes. Finally, Fred jumps back to his feet. He sways back and forth, like a video game character waiting to strike. "All right, coach. What's first? You gonna teach me how to roundhouse-kick someone? Or do a judo-flip? Oh! How about an ax kick?" With each question, he strikes out at the air, like he's fighting an enemy only he can see.

Arwen shakes her head and remains seated. "How about we start with a simple punch?"

He stills. "A punch? I can throw a punch. I have two older brothers who pick on me all the time."

"Show me how you throw a punch then."

"On you?"

"How about you use the practice dummy that's right behind you instead?" She points over his shoulder to a large black fighting dummy. Like everything else in the room, it's fairly basic and has no arms or legs. The head is also bent at a weird angle, showing its wear.

"Oh, right." Fred blushes and turns to the dummy instead. Of course, Arwen wouldn't want to actually fight him. After seeing what she did to the drake in Caelus, he has to admit, he's kind of relieved.

He hears her get to her feet behind him. She moves to stand directly beside him and faces him. Her eyes do a quick scan up and down his body. Not even remotely in a flirtatious way like he's used to from the girls at school back in Brooklyn. This look is purely analytical. He can tell she's already judging his posture and technique.

"Well? Punch away."

Fred notices Arwen smirking at him from the corner of his eye. He scoffs, ready to show her up. He was insulted that this was all she was asking him to do. His skills were way above this. Throwing a punch was something he'd mastered a long time ago when learning to survive his brothers' torment.

He shifts his weight back on one foot, pulls his elbow far behind his head, pauses for dramatic effect, and then lets loose on the dummy. He strikes it directly in the chest.

And forces himself not to let out a pained cry.

Why did that hurt so much? This dummy was made out of rubber, not concrete. He bites his lip and lowers his fist, hoping that it isn't swelling up as much as it feels like it is. "See?" he manages to get out without too much whimpering. "Punching is easy."

Arwen's hand is covering her mouth. Fred can tell from her shaking that she's trying not to laugh, and failing miserably.

She takes a deep breath before dropping her hand, calming her giggles. "Be honest. How badly does your hand hurt right now?"

"Not at all."

"Really?"

"Yup."

She raises an eyebrow at him, one hand falling to her hip. "If you want me to teach you how to fight, you need to at least respect me enough to be open and honest with me."

"Oh, like you girls have been so open and honest with us?" The comment slips out before Fred can help it. The pain in his hand and annoyance at Arwen for laughing at him makes his words harsher than he means. "Sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No, it's fine." Her face closes off again. Whatever progress they had made towards friendship is gone.

"No, really. I know Joe's been a pain in the ass about all this. Maybe he's just rubbing off on me. I don't think you girls are that bad."

"Was that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Um…" Fred rubs the back of his neck. "You guys have been coming off as kind of stuck-up. I know you're way ahead of us with all this magic stuff, but it would be nice if you helped us be more like you rather than shutting us down all the time. We have a lot to learn to catch up to you, so why not get us there quicker, and then we can all learn together."

She squints her eyes at him. "That's… unexpectedly thoughtful and smart of you."

"Well, I play a lot of sports. Teamwork is kind of my thing." His hands drop to his sides. "Maybe we all should start fresh. Just forget what happened last summer and move on."

Arwen chuckles and shakes her head. "I think too much happened last summer for that to work, but it's a nice thought. Look, I meant what I said earlier. I want to train with you. It would be really nice to have someone else be the muscle for the group every once in a while, but I also meant it when I said you need to be honest with me. I can't help you otherwise."

"Seems like we need to make a compromise then. You'll quit acting like you're better than me, and I'll be honest next time I break my hand. Deal?" He holds his swollen hand out for her to shake, a grin spreading over his lips.

"Deal." Arwen laughs and grabs his hand, not to shake, but to inspect the damage. She lets out a low whistle. "Damn, you really did a number on yourself."

"Will I live, doc?"

"Only if we amputate it immediately."

The two teens laugh, breaking up the last bits of tension in the room. When they finally manage to settle down, Arwen tells Fred to reposition himself in front of the dummy. He does as he's told and lines up to strike again.

"Freeze." Arwen moves in close to readjust Fred's form. The scent of her perfume fills his nose. She may look boyish, but she definitely smelled like a girl, and not like the cheap body sprays the girls at school wore. She wore a rich, intoxicating perfume. The kind he imagined supermodels or heiresses wore.

She moves behind him. For the first time, Fred realizes that she is actually taller than him, not by much, but enough for this whole situation to become somewhat embarrassing for him.

"Lower your arm and hold it here." She moves his elbow down. "And twist your heel out. You need to punch with your whole body, not just your arm." She fixes his posture with ease, like she's done this a thousand times before.

"Where did you learn all this anyway?" Fred holds the new position she put him in. He has to admit, it feels a lot more natural this way.

"Well, I have eight older brothers."

"So you had to learn to fight to survive?" He understood that. It was the same thing he had dealt with growing up.

"Not exactly." She continues to make minor adjustments to Fred's stance. "Even though my oldest brother, Ryan, is twice my age, we've always been pretty close. We had our scraps like any siblings, but we never beat up each other just for fun."

Must be nice, Fred thinks to himself.

"I learned to fight because the twins, Riley and Richie, were getting picked on a lot at school. They've always been the pacifist type, so someone had to learn to stand up for them. I took a couple of classes, showed up to their school one day, and put those bullies in their place. My mom was furious," Arwen shrugs, but a gleam in her eye reveals how she really feels about it, "but the twins haven't been picked on since. And it turns out, fighting is really fun.

"So when Tessa asked me to come to Horae Manor with her, I immediately said yes. A chance to train with warriors and fight magical beasts? How could I say no? Of course, just like you, I was disappointed when I realized that wasn't the case."

"Aside from fighting magical beasts," he adds.

She grins. "Aside from that, yeah. But in order to fight them, you have to do a lot of research. You have to learn about their weaknesses and any special abilities they may have. Fighting people is way easier as long as they can't use magic. Then all the rules change."

He cringes. Studying isn't exactly his favourite pastime. Why can't he learn as he fights his way through the magic world? He'd figure out pretty quickly how to take down any monster. Then he remembers the acid flying out of the drake's mouth, and how it burned through marble and stone. Maybe a little research would help.

"Okay. This is how you should stand when you're about to punch something. Feel it?"

Fred settles into the stance. "I think so."

"You'll definitely feel the difference when you punch the dummy this time. Now, when you're striking out make sure you use your whole body. It adds more momentum and makes the punch way more powerful, but once you make contact, stop your fist and pull it back into you. Watch me."

Arwen stands in the same position as Fred. She pulls her arm back and swings at the dummy, hitting it square in the jaw. She pulls her arm back without any whimpering or hand swelling.

"Now you try." She steps out of the way. "Oh, and don't punch someone in the chest. Focus on the weaker spots like their chin or throat."

Fred stands like he was taught, pulls back, and lets loose. His fist strikes the dummy in the throat this time, and he quickly pulls his hand back in front of him. His hand still hurts, but nowhere near as bad as it did after the first punch.

"Better?" Arwen crosses her arms and smirks at him.

"So much better." Fred smiles back. "What else have you got for me, coach?"

#time warp trio #fanfiction #joe #sam #fred #my ocs #my post #kellie writes #kellie fanfic #kellie twt

6 notes · View notes

determinationisnotcrash · 5 years ago

Text

Red to the Rescue! Value of True Companions

Another @gbpack-discord oneshot! An action one where Sabre, Impact, and Red team up to fight a mechanical dragon.

Impact, the Blaster raptor GB Papyrus belongs to me!

Sabre the part time seiyuu the mysterious Blaster from an unknown timeline belongs to @paddie-ut

Red the GB Fell Sans belongs to @goosygander

Everything was going perfectly – almost too perfectly. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and everyone around town seemed to be in a great mood. …Perhaps at that time, that should have been cause for concern. After all, when an amazing stroke of good luck came, what usually followed was…

***

Interlink City

Impact applauded his friend, lightly clapping his mechanical floating hands as they departed from the recording studio. “Splendid work on your performance, Sabre! You did a wonderful job. It was like I was seeing Heero Yuy in the flesh!”

That comment drew a slight chuckle out of the small quadrupedal bone beast. “Heh, funny you say that. I don’t have any flesh. And your performance wasn’t half-bad, either. Very accurate at portraying the larger-than-life villain type.”

The blind man was unable to see it, but the raptor nevertheless took a small bow. “I appreciate the compliment! I’m glad to know that I at least remain successful in that field. After all…” Impact cleared his throat, putting on his best impression of the Mad Dummy’s voice. “My destiny is already smeared with blood. I won’t be talked out of any transgressions! I’ll live right to the bitter end – the hard life of a warrior!”

“Yes… Well then, what do you want to do now? Find another of those great places to eat? I’ll treat you to a meal this time. Mind, you’ll need to lead the way.”

The Papyrus beamed in response to the Sans’ generosity. “I would love to! Let’s go!” Head held high with pride of a job well-done, he started to head in the direction of the most economical restaurant he could think of… only to realise the small Blaster wasn’t following. “Sabre…?”

Impact turned back to see the dogman sniffing around on a ground like a… well… dog, muttering to himself. “This scent… it’s faint, but…” Sensing the presence of his friend nearby, likely watching him, he felt his face heat up. “Ah, Impact… I just detected something strange. I think… we’re being followed. By something from your world.”

The scent… where was the scent…? He kept sniffing in all directions, like a game of Hot and Cold, until he found the direction it was the strongest in. His nose led his sightless gaze upwards, causing him to carefully rise up onto his hind legs. “Impact… can you look in the direction my muzzle is pointing?”

“Doing it now.” His functional (in contrast to Sabre’s) eyes followed his friend’s… right up to one of the tall buildings next to them. Peering right over the edge were two strange, ball-like contraptions. They both had a metallic silver sheen, smooth all over, except with one camera for an eye. They almost looked like creepier cyclops versions of mascot characters from a popular mecha show Impact’s brother loved to watch.

Before he could take in more of their appearance, they abruptly jolted and flashed, as if startled. Their cameras blinked rapidly, before they ‘jumped’ off the building’s roof, landing on the pavement and starting to roll away.

Combat data collection drones…!? But all the two skeletons were doing was a part time job! Unless… oh, no… Were they analysing their physical properties!? Impact didn’t know everything about Sabre’s past yet, but he did know what the small blind man could become, and what that thing could do. If that information got into the hands of literally anyone… it would spell certain disaster.

“GET BACK HERE---!”

Impact immediately gave chase to the balls, Sabre following close behind so as not to lose him in the crowd of the city. They were sprinting with all their might, at far greater speeds than an ordinary human could go. Yet the strange metal spheres stayed just out of their reach. They were clearly engineered for speed.

Unbeknownst to both of them, one of their allies also happened to be in the city at the time, raising funds for the party in his own way by selling hotdogs. They both brushed against him in a rush, not even noticing his presence in their focus. The wind stirred up by Impact was almost enough to bowl him over, sending sausages and condiments alike flying.

Naturally, this was enough for him to notice the two skeletons and wonder just what the hell they were doing. Wiping the mess off his black leather jacket with a grumble, he joined in on the chase. He wasn’t as fast a runner as the other two, but with dedication, he would eventually be able to catch up.

***

“SLOW DOWN, ALREADY…!” Impact accidentally roared, slamming his mechanical hands over his muzzle when the realisation hit him. By now, they had done a full lap of the city, before the two spheres retreated into a nearby lake.

What kind of energy did the things run on!? Wouldn’t such small things have run down to nothing by now? Impact was still fine, but Sabre was starting to tire… Just where (and who) were these things headed to!?

The moment Impact wondered that, his question was answered. Of course, it wasn’t anything good. The twin spheres jumped into the water with a plop… and immediately after, two metallic dragon heads attached to long, cable-like necks ripped out of the lake’s surface! A terrible shriek vibrated the air, sending civilians running for their lives in terror!

“T-that’s no data gathering unit!” Impact realised, horror welling up inside him. “It’s an extermination unit! The enemy must have sent it here to clear the land of ‘pests’!”

As if confirming the statement, one of the heads lunged at him, a vicious deadly snake about to bite!

“OH SHI…!” Impact scrambled to respond. Neither he nor Sabre had a Mechanical Guardian on them, so they didn’t have much in the way of firepower. Fortunately, they weren’t so foolish as to walk around an unfamiliar location completely unarmed! Just like a movie cowboy, he reached within his coat, whipped out a gunblade, and fired several pinpoint shots! All within the span of under a second!

However, quick reflexes didn’t save him! The Blaster raptor yelped in as pain seared through his chest! “W-what the…!? What just… How did…” When he looked down at himself, he couldn’t believe his eyes: the projectiles the metal dragon sent at him… were his own bullets!? A reflection ability!?

He didn’t have more time to process this before the head barrelled straight into him!

“Blurgh…!” Harsh, serrated jaws clamped tight around his ribcage, causing the Papyrus to cough up blood for the… he lost count of how many times that happened in his life. He was actually surprised he hadn’t received any permanent damages from such injuries.

“Impact…!” The scent of blood and the man’s cry were enough to motivate Sabre to action, drawing his own emergency weapon! To accommodate his disability, he decided to modify the futuristic laser blade Impact left with him into a lance! “Haaaaaa…!” With a battlecry, he charged at where he perceived the enemy was – aiming just next to the spot where he smelled Impact and his blood.

With that satisfying buzz of beam weaponry against metal, the attack hit home! Letting out another screech – this time of pain, rather than anger, the dragon’s jaws released! Impact fell to the ground, landing on all fours before rising to his hunched bipedal stance. “Amazing work, Sabre! It seems that melee attacks are effect-AAAAAAAAAAH!”

A sound not unlike gatling gun fire exploded through the air around the two, as they were pushed back by a comparable force! Massive chunks of earth pelted their bodies, knocking them off their feet and sending them rolling along the ground like crash test dummies after a particularly violent experiment.

Heads still spinning from the tumble, Impact and Sabre forced themselves to get up and charge again! But unfortunately, the result was still the same: they couldn’t take even a few steps before another storm of earth hit them, feeling like they ran straight into the path of a speeding truck!

The sighted monster of the two noticed something strange: several oddly-shaped craters that certainly weren’t there before now dotted the land around the lake. “Craters around the lake…? Is the land itself being reshaped to attack us…?”

A cold feeling passed through Sabre’s body as his mind started to piece together what this dragon’s ability was… “This… this isn’t good. If that ability is what I think it is…” He could smell and hear a large amount of water around the area, too. Putting two and two together…

Confirming Sabre’s fear, one of the dragon heads stuck its head beneath the lake’s water, draining the massive reserve, while the other’s neck started to swiftly expand like a balloon inflating. This was enough to have Impact realise what was going on. “One head takes things in, and one head ejects them!?” The ability was a lot simpler than some enemies that he faced in the past… but it was still powerful enough to spell the two Blasters’ doom! After all, a weapon for killing didn’t need to be fancy, it just had to do the job.

Like an aquatic volcano eruption, a high pressure, high volume waterspout erupted from the dragon! The seconds following were almost tormentingly slow: the lake water blotted out the entire sky around them, hanging stationary in the air… then slowly… started to fall, coming down on them like judgement from heaven.

That volume of water, with that force behind it, would surely be enough to squash the two skeletons flat. Impact abruptly leaped on top of Sabre. The attempt to shield him using his body was likely futile, but better a small chance of one of them surviving than neither. Papyrus squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the end… but it didn’t come.

Rather than a crushing flood, and the crushing defeat that came with it, the two friends heard the pounding of paws on earth, a familiar sound of shifting bones, and the pulse of magical energy from a powerful blast. A wave of heat rushed through the area, causing Impact to look up in confusion.

The entirety of the water had been evaporated into steam! Standing heroically against that backdrop was the towering form of a massive skeletal dragon. Impact at first couldn’t even recognise it – this was a form he rarely saw the man in – but closer inspection was enough to make his face light up. Similarly, a huge grin formed on Sabre’s face at the familiar scent. “Red!”

A small smirk appeared on the dragon’s face, the corner of its muzzle tilting upward, before turning to the metal dragon. Its jaws parted again, letting loose with a second blast, this time towards the dragon!

But the hope that came with the Fell skeleton’s appearance was swiftly cut short. Moving so fast, the naked eye almost couldn’t follow, one of the heads rushed towards the laser and snapped it up. Impact and Red could see the movement of the laser’s glow through its body, almost like liquid through a plastic silly straw, before it emerged from the other end, right back at them!

“I’ll take this one! Red, Impact, get behind me!” To the skeletal dragon’s surprise, Sabre was already in front of him. Had the blind man already planned that far ahead and considered that possibility…? And how was he going to counter the laser?

With a smooth flick of the wrist, Sabre’s laser spear returned to a laser sword. Next, he held it in front of himself and started spinning it like a rotor fan! When the searing heat and force of the returned blast hit, Sabre grunted… almost growled with exertion. He dug his hind paws into the ground, raking up soil as he was slowly pushed back.

The beam sabre rotation trick did indeed shield him from the attack… but it only shielded a portion of Impact’s and Red’s bodies! And on top of that, his arm started to scream from the exertion of keeping the sword rotating at a constant rate! Longer… just had to keep it going for a little longer…! It felt like the blast was assaulting the trio for hours at this point! Did the metal dragon add to its energy somehow, or it simply his perception!?

For one instant… just a single instant, Sabre’s arm cramped, and the enemy’s attack penetrated his defence. “No…!” It was like a giant, flaming meteor collided with him, blowing Sabre and his two friends back. Most of the blast had been blocked, but the remainder of the force was enough to bring the heroes to their knees.

The two-headed metal dragon let out a metallic cackle as it loomed over the despairing, crouching heroes.

Impact, being fearful of all things draconic, felt like he was the one the most intimidated by this display. “Even a Blaster’s laser didn’t work against this thing…!? Is this the last enemy we’ll ever face…?” Panic ran through him, despair starting to wrap its icy grip around his heart. Would this all end here…?

However… Next to him, Sabre was even worse. Fear and panic were prime triggers for his transformation. A surge of energy ran through his bones, coursing through his whole body like electricity.

His clothes started to tighten at a slow yet steady rate, the buttons on his shirt popping off one-by-one. “Urgh… Ghh…” The dragon’s voice steadily began to deepen, taking on a guttural, animalistic rumble.

Despite pushing back against it with all his might, the pressure of the situation was warping his form into something monstrous – in the figurative sense, rather than literal.

Not satisfied with simply making him grow, Sabre’s magic started to warp his features. His fangs jutted out further, extending with a painful creak. Vicious spikes mercilessly ripped through the clothes Impact oh-so-carefully picked for him, completely ruining them as his body expanded. The hellish beast that was his feral side started to seep into his mind, venom dripping from his mouth as a demon began to enter the world through his body. Then…

<SNAP OUTTA IT!> THWACK!

A surprisingly high-pitched yelp escaped Sabre’s muzzle upon a bony object softly, yet firmly hitting his face. He had to pause, rapidly blinking before he could process what just happened. “Did you just… halt my transformation by hitting me? With your tail?”

The blind man could hear the proud grin in Red’s tone. <‘Course! It’s like those old computers and televisions – nothin’ a good whack can’t fix!>

“…I-”

BLAM BLAM BLAM!

“DODGE!” The other two complied with his command, evading the makeshift earth cannonballs alongside Sabre before the near-Blaster could continue. “I may not be experienced in that field, but… that… sounds wrong.”

Red simply chuckled.

Impact tilted his head, raising a brow. “Do you have a way in mind to defeat it?”

<O’ course! There’re three of us now! With our powers combined, we can make it through! You, of all people, should know this!>

The dinosaur-like Blaster blushed, embarrassed that he missed something so vital. “U-understood. What is your suggestion?”

Red’s expression became serious, as he beckoned for the two to get closer in an awkward (due to differing sizes and anatomies) group huddle. <Alrighty, ain’t much time to explain. We’ll……… Got it?>

“Got it!!”

<Good! LEEEEET’S DO IT!>

With that rousing cry, the Blaster trio charged! Unlike Impact’s and Sabre’s previous attempt, they split up and rushed the metallic dragon from different directions! It couldn’t hit them all at once!

Sabre galloped to where he felt one of the heads were. The distance is right…! Here goes! The voice acting stint earlier put him in the mood to announce his attack. “Target, Metal Dragon… Commencing with elimination!”

Leaping into the air, the hellish dragon fired a blast of his own – a bright green burst! It wasn’t as strong or flashy as the others, but it was far more economical on energy use. That, coupled with his current form, just barely gave him enough energy to use a continuous surge. Full output…! GOOOOOO!

The beam came right back out through the other head – to the place where Impact was, but he was prepared for it! Sabre had already demonstrated how to deal with this! “ROTATION BLAAAAADE!” Imitating Sabre’s technique, he spun his gunblade like a helicopter rotor!

With a normal sword, it would have just killed him. But because of the Blasters in his timeline, both his and Sabre’s weapons were designed as specific anti-Blaster measures! Impact’s gunblade wasn’t powerful enough to deflect it, but it was strong enough to block it!

Both of the metal heads were occupied, leaving the enemy dragon immobilised in terms of both offence and defence! With the lake drained from its previous attack, the main body – a big fat lump of rugged metal with the two spheres lodged inside – was open to attack!

Red dived at it, claws glinting in the sun as he prepared to deal the finishing blow. Hot blood coursing through his bones, he called out the name of this technique: <TRINITYYYY… FINISH!>

The metal beast was easily reduced to ribbons of scrap metal, the heads deactivating as the two central processing units were crushed. Just to make sure it was dead, Red unleashed the biggest blast he ever made on it, reducing it to ash. The deed done; the beast let loose with a howl of triumph. Not because he had lost to his base instincts, but for the cool factor.

Once he ensured it was safe to approach the dragon, Impact rushed up to him, tail wagging and eyes sparkling. “That was amazing…! You performed excellently!”

<We performed excellently. Don’t sell yourself or Sabre short.> The dragon turned his gaze from Impact to his fellow beast, a cheeky expression on his face. <Now… how ‘bout that nice lunch you wanted to treat Impact to?>

Sabre went green – the colour of his blush being due to his magic, a wildly unfitting appearance on his now frightening visage. “O-oh… as a voice actor, I don’t get paid much, but… I’ll see what I can do for three people.”

With a series of uncomfortable-sounding cracks akin to a crackling fireplace, he reverted to his normal half-Blaster shape. As he shrank down to his usual size, he couldn’t help but shiver against the cool breeze on his naked bones. “A-after the cost of new clothes, as well… Impact, can you get my wallet?”

“Of course!” After a few seconds of searching, Impact found Sabre’s wallet amongst his clothing tatters. The raptor briefly considered throwing it to him, before remembering a blind man wouldn’t quite appreciate the gesture. Instead, he passed it into his hand, and additionally wrapped his coat around the skeleton as an interim measure.

“Thank you. Now, where to eat…”

***

McDaniel’s

Sabre rubbed the back of his neck anxiously, sweating slightly. “…As I said earlier, I did tell you that I didn’t get paid much…”

Impact quickly dispelled any doubts, as he dug into the burger from his Joy Meal™ with warmth in his tone. “No, this is fine! This is more than enough!”

The now humanoid Red nodded his head in agreement. “Just bein’ able t’ spend time together here is fun.” Chuckling slightly, he lifted up a small figurine. “Plus, I’ve been lookin’ for this one for ages!”

Neither of them felt even the slightest urge to complain – after all, it wasn’t about the food itself. Sharing a meal and company with true companions, who would always be there to support each other… that made it taste better than even an emperor’s feast.

#undertale #gasterblaster au #gasterblaster papyrus #gasterblaster sans #underfell #papyrus #sans #my writing

14 notes · View notes