#also yes i have watched all the Star Trek feel free to ask me anything about it | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

andraedevane · 10 months ago

Text

✨ Intro Post ✨

Hi everyone! I'm Andra Edevane, but you can call me Andrevane or Andy if you want. My pronouns are she/her. I'm pansexual. I don't care if a person is female, male or non-binary. As long as they can make me feel loved, their gender it's a secondary thing. I'm an adult, that's all you need to know about my age. So please, minors, don't talk to me in DMs. You can send me asks and interact with my posts, but that's all. I'm also open to roleplay if you want to! But again, not minors. And feel free to send me ask/DMs me for anything!

【 About me 】

🌸My mutuals: @mustangdemon @shoon200218-blog @generalallxsanjishipper @destroya2005 @fancychaostraveller @zearay @rexnanorum @salsalada @inkfowl @arrhythmicdesires

🌸 Bilingual. I speak English and Spanish.

🌸 Writer (I finally have an AO3 aacount! :D. The username is the same as here btw)

🌸 Artist (I draw sometimes, but I don't know if it's good or bad)

🌸 Music: I like all type of music genders, except reggaeton and trap. My favourite music gender is definitely BSO music. And symphonic metal. Symphonic metal it's... so beautiful for me.

🌸 Hobbies: Write, draw, read, listen to music, watch TV shows and movies.

🌸 Favourite season: Winter.

🌸 Favourite singer/group: Hidden Citizens

🌸 Fics I like: Mostly hurt/comfort, because why not? Is there something more beautiful than a person who comforts another person when they need a shoulder to cry on? Crack fics too, because we need to laugh more in this life and be more happy. Villain redemption, because I believe in the innate goodness in people and I think that's what would make a better world. So you can recommend me hurt/comfort, crack, or villain redemption fics if you want.

🌸Fics I don't like: Rape/Non-con fics because I don't feel comfortable with those kind of things. Fics with toxic relationships because what I want in a fic is a happy ending for all the characters, and if there's a toxic relationship that's definitely not a happy ending to me. And I don't like fics with gore neither. So fics with toxic relationships, rape/non-con, or/and gore are a no-no for me.

【 My fandoms 】

⚡Harry Potter 🌌 Star Trek | Star Wars 🦸 Marvel | DC 🐺 Teen Wolf | Shadowhunters 🏥 Stranger Things 🐞 Miraculous Ladybug 🗡️ Trollhunters 👩 She-Ra and the Princesses of Power 🔥Avatar: The Last Airbender | Avatar: Legend of Korra 🦉 The Owl House 🛸Voltron: Legendary Defender

【 Ships I like 】【 My OTP's 】

Yes, I rarely ship the canon couples. Why? Don't ask me that, I don't know why. I just can't avoid shipping non-canon couples. Maybe it's because all of the canon ships seem like the same to me and I'm tired of that. Or maybe it's because non-canon ships are more interesting to me and they could have an interesting story. Anyways, If you ship canon couples it's okay, but that's not for me.

【 DNI 】

♦️ LGBT+ phobes. I don't care if you are Homophobic, Biphobic, Acephobic or whatever you are, if you can't respect people for their sexual orientation, don't talk to me.

♦️ Transphobes. Everyone deserves to live a happy life. And if someone isn't living a happy life because society asigned them a wrong gender, they have the right to be their true self. If you don't support or accept that, block me or don't talk to me.

♦️ Xenophobes. Hating someone for not being of your country is dumb and it's wrong. So if you are like that, again, don't talk to me.

♦️ Racists. We're all humans, no matter the race. And if you can't respect people for being of another race, don't interact, thanks.

♦️ Sexists. Whether you are a misogynist or a misandrist, if you can't accept that no matter the gender we are all worthy of living in this world, don't talk to me.

♦️ Ableists. Despise or hate persons just for having a disability (If that term upsets some of you tell me) is something horrible and you shouldn't do that. So if you are an ableist, don't interact.

♦️ Radfems/TERF. You can support an ideology, but only as long as you aren't radical. So radfems, don't interact. And if you are a feminist that excludes trans-woman, don't do it neither.

♦️ Fascists. If you are antidemocratic, ultranationalist, right-wing or right-wing extremist, stay away from my blog. I don't want those people talking to me.

♦️ If you support censorship.

♦️ Zionists.

♦️ Islamophobes. If you hate a person just for being muslim, don't interact. Like I said before, I'm a respectful person and I only want to talk to respectful people who support human rights.

♦️ Killers, rapists, pedophiles, MAPs. I don't have to say why I don't want those people intecting, right?

【 Moral of this intro post 】

If you can't be able to admit that we're all humans and we're all worthy of live, and live without being harrassed or abused for our race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, disability, or another reason, block me.

If you are the opposite, if you are good and kind, if you are respectful, you support LGBT+, and you believe in the equality of all humans, no matter race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, disability, or other things, you are totally welcome!

I think that's all! So byeee!,

Andy 💐

14 notes · View notes

bi-bats · 1 year ago

Note

for the get to know the author asks!!! 3, 6, 11, 18, 23, 25. i know thats a lot so feel free to pick and choose haha

p.s. i am LOVING your jaytim week works!! ive gushed in the comments but i really am having a blast reading everything that youve shared so far <3

ASLKDJFALSDKJ omg thank you!!! I'm so flattered that you want to know that much about me actually, cause I never shut the fuck up so this is going to be long 😂 And thank you SO much abt the jaytimweek fics!!! I worked so hard on them 😭 also!!! what's your ao3 username? I usually recognize my serial commenters (and as you probably know sometimes have full conversations with them) so let me know which one is you, if you're comfortable!!

Also, I answered all of these so I'm putting it under a read more because it is. So much lmaoooo

3) what order do you write in? front of book to back? chronological? favorite scenes first? something else?

I write favorite scenes first- usually there's an idea that gets stuck in my head or a bit of dialogue and that hits the page first. Then that spirals into other thoughts I have to write down, until I have something that actually resembles a plot and has the beginning and the climax of the story. (For Know yourself it was chapter 1, then a scene from chapter 8, then the scene where they finally get together, then the scene where they fall asleep watching star trek for the first time, then a bunch of scenes I ended up having to cut. For Rooftops and Bookshops, it was chapter 1, then them getting together, then the scene in the breakroom, then the scene where Tim gets drunk.)

Then for a longfic I take my plot to the corkboard™️ and sort it out, and then I start writing in order. Usually, I end up completely rewriting the scenes I wrote beforehand as I go along, and sometimes I end up replotting the whole thing. Then I work on it chapter by chapter until I get to the end, but I usually along the way I keep writing scenes for future chapters when inspiration hits!

6) something you would go back and change in your writing that it’s too late/complicated to change now?

Honestly? All of rooftops & bookshops. I would rewrite the entire thing and change absolutely none of the plot or dialogue. It's just... the rest of the writing. God. It seems so rushed to me now? something something I've improved as a writer, but like. I would rewrite it if that wasn't so much work. And also, whenever I say that I hate it people rage at me, so. fine. I guess it stays. 🙄

11) what aspect of your writing do you think has most improved since you started writing?

Actually, plotting. I've been writing since I was in the third grade, and it took me FOREVER to realize that the reason I never finished anything was because nothing had a plot. Like, within the last 4 or 5 years I bought a book called Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell after listening to a writing podcast (No Write Way with VE Schwab) where Marie Lu (I think) recommended it, and suddenly, it wasn't just that I could write, it was that I couldn't stop writing.

18) were there any works you read that affected you so much that it influenced your writing style? what were they?

Oh I get to talk about actual books!!! akdfalskdjfkj YES!!

Vicious by V.E. Schwab and the Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey, but honestly anything by either of them is amazing. The way both of them write is just so. SO. ASLKDFALSKDJ. For me, they both scratch the itch for sci-fi and characters that are incredibly fucked up but justified and logical and their prose is just perfect, especially when it comes to lines that just fucking slap. Sincerely, I don't have any fic recs for this one. Just book recs lmaooo

23) any obscure life experiences that you feel have helped your writing?

LMAOOOO okay so specifically when it comes to writing in this fandom, I have a lot of life experiences that have helped me write what I write, especially when it comes to writing Tim. Some of them are not so fun (<- overachiever perfectionist who thinks they need to do everything by themselves), but some of them are funny so we'll talk about those.

I have a coffee problem. Like, I know off the top of my head that the FDA recommends that a healthy adult doesn't ingest more than 400 mg of caffeine a day (I try not to ingest more than 384 mg a day), and you would overdose around 1200 mg of caffeine a day. I use this fact at least once a month when someone expresses concern about my caffeine intake, and I did not have to google that, just ask my girlfriend 😂

Also, I have severe insomnia, which predates the coffee problem. Usually, I average 5-6 hours of sleep on a good night, but I can go about 5 days straight getting between 2-4 hours of sleep before I have to do a night with at least 6 hours. I am intimately familiar with what running on that little sleep looks like. I once was not able to sleep for 4 days! So also, I know what that looks like! I have gone over 40 hours without sleep within the past four months! It just. happens. Like, at some point in the night the calculation stops being "how much sleep am I going to get if I fall asleep right now" and starts being "if I do sleep, will I be more tired than if I just don't?"

And it is such a useful reference when it comes to writing any of the bats, but especially Tim 😂

That also helps because in the time I am not sleeping, I am usually reading or writing. I'm a huge reader and that really has helped me. There's that one quote that's like "a person can be an expert in any field if they put 10,00 hours into studying it", and I have put in my 10k hours. If you write, reading is basically a part of the job.

25) copy/paste a few sentences or a short paragraph that you’re particularly proud of

YES YES YES OKAY SORRY THEY'RE ALL BUMMERS BUT I'M SO PROUD OF THESE BITS. THE FIRST ONE ISN'T IN ANYTHING AS OF RIGHT NOW, THE SECOND ONE IS IN MY JAYTIMWEEK PIECE FROM TODAY, AND THE REST ARE FROM KNOW YOURSELF!!

Tim was his own worst critic. It was just self-defense, something he’d picked up while he was learning how to stay alive. He’d learned how to slip binds, and how to take a hit, and how to be so harsh on himself that whenever someone found a new hurtful thing to say to him, it was the second time he’d ever heard it, because he’d already thought of it first.

But the strangest thing is how everyone believes Jason anyways. Just like that. Then again, Dick is backing him up, so of course they believe him. Everyone believes Goldie, all of the time. He just flashes that gorgeous smile like a fucking master key, and Jason’s always been a tiny bit jealous that everyone else turned out so goddamn endearing.

But apparently, his body had been hiding that instinct somewhere: Jason’s angry. Defend yourself.

He’d done what he did best: tried to freeze over his white-hot anger, and still managed to be surprised when the ice cracked and steam shot out.

Now he knew Tim wasn’t just some kid who slipped into his life like it was a suit that fit him better.

This was what he did. He wrecked things. He couldn’t be trusted with anything delicate or valuable, because he’d crush it in his clumsy, blood-stained hands.

This was so much fun!!! Thank you for popping into my inbox and giving me a chance to ramble for a while, I had such a blast!!!

#🫘 this-was-a-terrible-idea #batsasks #bibatrambles #ASKDFLKJ SORRY THIS GOT SO LONG ALSO #I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT!!!#AND IT WASN'T JUST INSANE RAMBLING AT 3 AM!!!

3 notes · View notes

peapodsinspace · 11 months ago

Text

Pinned Post Revamp!

Intro

Howdy!! Welcome to my blog!!!

I post art (digital drawings, traditional drawings, nail art sometimes) and whatever else I feel like!

You can call me pod/peas/peapods/ whatever else you can come up with!!! (I love nicknames!!!!!!)

Feel free to message me if ya wanna chat (especially if we’re moots)!!

And you can tag me in any tag games and such! It doesn’t annoy me- I just might not participate in all of them!

Mutuals can ask for my spotify and / or discord

My commission sheet ✨

Other places you can find me:

Art fight

TikTok

Ao3

Game jolt

I mainly post on tumblr anyway tho!!

Drawings requests-

I’ll do request for OCs and any fandom I’m in, and maybe ones I’m not in too depending on my mood

No nsfw

No ships (unless you’ve seen me post art about the ship before probably)

Just send me an ask or a message!

Art trades-

I’ll do art trades with anybody! Shoot me a message about it :]

The same rules apply here as the ones with the drawing requests!

Fandoms-

((Bold ones are the ones I’m most active / interested in!))

Rangers Apprentice (and brotherband)

JoJos Bizarre Adventure (I’ve read sbr & am currently reading jojolion at a snail’s pace! I’ve also read the phf spinoff)

Demon Slayer (I’ve read the manga)

Naruto (I haven’t watched all of it yet soo)

The Moomins (1990s cartoon)

Star Trek (basically all incarnations but it’s been a while)

Mob Psycho (reading the manga!)

Saiki K. (Anime only!)

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (I’ll hopefully read the manga soon?)

The X-files (currently rewatching!)

Tags-

My art - tag for my artworks !

My posts - tag for my posts, anything other than art usually

Pea pods lore - information about me or my blog

Doodles - any drawings that are sketches, like art requests!

Drawing requests - you guess it! It’s my tag for drawing requests

Asks - self explanatory, it’s for asks I get (feel free to yap at me or just send random asks!!! I love them !!)

Kibby post 🖤🤎 - tag for posts including Jack and / or Vivienne, my kitties!

Gilbert 💚 - for posts that contain my son! ((Aka a rubber toad))

Submissions in space - for submitted posts!! (Feel free to submit random bs btw !!!)

Pea Pods Writes - my tag for my writing!!

Pods Reblogs Pods - when I reblog my own post!

Pea Pods Paints - a specific tags for my paintings!

Pods Rants - tag for posts I am angry ranting in 😭

Peap odsinspace - my tag for art / content of my fursona :]

*for most of my fandoms I have a specific tag I use only for my posts and drawings! For instance, If you want to see only my demon slayer stuff, then search my blog with “#demon slayer”! For mob psycho you’d search “#mob psycho 100”, etc! You can find the correct tag via my featured tags :]

AU tags- ( yes I know they’re mostly for jjba rn)

[JJBA] glam rock au - my sbr rockstars au

[JJBA] small town kids au - golden wind characters aged down, with cameos from basically every other jojo character-

[JJBA] jojoxter au - my jojo moomin au!

[RA] barons apprentice - an au with Foldar as morgarath’s apprentice, and generally exploring their dynamic

[RA] ra wild west- cowboy au :] !!!

[JJBA] pods mermay - mermaid drawings of jjba characters (this tag doesn’t seem to search well so sorry 😭)

[KNY] morikawa sisters - tag for mine and my sisters’ kny ocs that go together :]

[mp100] mob sailor 100 - mob psycho x sailor moon/ mob psycho magical girl au!

Mutual tags -

My sister cameo - @scarymonsters-andsupercreeps

The alpha 💪💪💪🐺🐺🐺 - @bekahkmcc

Unknown 🧡 - @unknown-art-room1

Dandy post ✨ - @dandelions-arent-weeds

Vinny post 🩷 - @gayfraggle

Gir post 🦇 - @xxbattiepupxx

Percy post 🔥 - @mitsubinyuri

R post 🪻 - @ilov3b00kss0much

Any other mutuals who want tags can ask for them / give suggestions!!!! <3

OCs:

Rani Ambrosi - an oc I have in an original universe

Salty Sal - an oc in the Chaz-Monsters cowboy universe !! (If you know you know)

Berry Barracuda - JJBA oc

Cherry Pie - JJBA oc (pt 7)

Loretta Derby - JJBA oc (pt 4)

Haruka Hamasaki - kny oc

Kiyoko Morikawa - kny oc

Chiharu Hirata - kny oc

((You can search my ocs via the names written here!))

DNI HOG JOKE ADDICTS!!! /reference

Alrighty! That’s all!!!! bye bye!!

#pined post #my posts #pea pods lore #intro post

34 notes · View notes

mystery-star · 3 years ago

Text

Waiting for you - Spock

Pairing: Spock x reader (gender neutral)

Warnings: mentions of injury and death

Words: 1838

Star Trek universe: AOS

A/N: Just a lil thing I wrote because I haven’t written (at least for Spocko) in ages. And didn’t feel like writing on a series.

“She’s here. She’s here” you heard someone shouting beside you and looked around and finally you could see the Enterprise approaching in one of many tunnels above you. You smiled and stepped forward a little and waited for the crew to dismount. When you saw the first of them, your smile got broader and you got onto your tiptoes to look out for your husband. Not many people of the Enterprise had someone waiting for them and those who did seemed overjoyed. It made you look down for moment because you had a feeling that Spock wouldn’t greet you like others greeted their loved ones. Finally, you could see him and slightly raised your hand, hoping he’d see you. When he did, he came straight towards you, stopping half a meter in front of you

“(Y/N)” he said “What brings you to Yorktown?”

“I’ll give you three guesses” you replied and just threw yourself around his neck “I’ve missed you, Spock” you breathed against his skin and he hugged you back slightly.

“Am I therefore right to conclude that you came here in order to see me during my shore leave?”

“Right” you let go of him but only that you could kiss him. He cupped your face and kissed you back. At some point his hand found yours, slowly stroking his first two fingers against yours. But then he pulled away from you all of a sudden, just holding your hand. You turned around and saw two older Vulcans behind you.

“Commander, might we have a word? Alone?” you wanted to ask why you couldn’t come when Spock threw a glance at you and squeezed your hand

“Do you mind?”

“Just be quick” you pecked his cheek “I’ll be waiting for you, okay?” you handed him a keycard of the hotel where you had booked a room for you both. He gave a nod, then let go of your hand and followed the two men. With a sigh you looked after him and returned to the hotel, knowing he would be clever enough to find it when he was done.

But he only came when it was dark and you were already in bed, reading a magazine on your PADD.

“Have you been waiting with sleeping until I return?”

“Well, you got some days of shore leave, then I won’t see you for another two years. I want to use every minute with you that I can” he gave a nod and sat down on the bed, placing a device on the nightstand. “What did they want?”

“I will tell you in the morning”

“Alright” you put the PADD aside and stretched yourself a little before sitting up, crawling closer to him and wrapping your arms around him again, kissing him. “We now have better things to do, don’t you think?” he kissed you back and placed one of his hands in the small of your back, pulling you closer while he ran his other hand over the side of your face. After the kiss he leaned his forehead to yours and you bumped his nose with yours. “Did you have fun out there on the mission?”

“I have written and called you three times per week, as we have agreed on, and informed you about what you call ‘adventures’ and have also answered each question concerning them I was allowed to answer”

“Well yes but your last message was two days ago. I need a recap of the past two days. Or retell me your favorite mission. Doing it face-to-face is much better” you pecked his lips. He gave a nod, pulled you into his lap and started telling you how the Captain had attempted to make peace between two species that didn’t work out as planned. Then he went on to their arrival to Yorktown and suddenly his communicator beeped “Tell me that’s your private comm”

“It is not” he leaned forward to get it and you just wanted to stop him but let it happen with a sigh. Placing you back on the bed, he gave your hand a squeeze, took the comm, opened it and left the room. With a sigh you fell back on the bed, glancing to the PADD and considering if you should continue reading but then looked at the ceiling, repeating everything you had planned to do with Spock in the following days in your mind. Soon Spock returned and you sat up with a smile but his words ruined it “I must go”

“Go? Go where? Aren’t you on shore leave?”

“I am. However, there is a matter that requires my assistance”

“What is it?”

“I cannot tell you much but I must leave Yorktown”

“You’re shitting me”

“I do not joke”

“But… but… will you at least get that time off later on? How long will you be gone?”

“I suppose it should not take longer than 36 hours”

“Oh well…. Then you owe me yet another debriefing upon your return” he gave a nod, came closer to put his comm on his nightstand and pecking your forehead.

“Please make yourself a pleasant day tomorrow”

“Okay. And then I’ll be waiting here for you… again”

But Spock didn’t come home the evening or morning after he had left, so you decided to make yourself another nice day exploring another area of Yorktown. In the late afternoon, you suddenly heard how the station went on alert and after looking around you saw that a swarm of tiny ships tried attacking Yorktown. Around you everyone was in panic, screaming, rallying kids and running away while you stood there frozen, staring at the many little ships on the other side of Yorktown.

“We have to leave. Come. Now” someone next to you shouted, pulling on your arm

“Can we go somewhere safe? Like a… bunker?”

“A bunker on a Starbase?” the man started laughing slightly and shook his head.

“Or can we do something? Something to help? Is there a defense station or militia? Or help evacuate people?”

“That’s Starfleet’s business” as if on cue, there was an announcement, informing the public that there was an attack and that you should not panic. You let out a snort and watched how the people around you seemed to panic even more. You looked around and finally saw a security, officer, going over to him.

“Excuse me, Sir?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll all be safe, just stay calm and…”

“No, I wanted to ask if I can help something.”

“Help?”

“Yeah. Weapons, evacuate people or something” he looked at you, considered it a while then said he’d have to check it out. But before he could return, they managed to somehow blow up all the small ships. Somehow you couldn’t believe that this was everything and sure enough, there was another announcement informing the public that a great part of the ship had been destroyed but that three of them had gotten into Yorktown but that they still had the situation under control and would do everything to stop them. For some reason, you found that three ships hand entered Yorktown almost worse than the initial attack. Because you knew there probably wasn’t much you could do unless the ships came to that part of Yorktown, you sat down in a café, ordered a drink and watched the news on the big screen that gave a permanent update on the situation at the other end of Yorktown. Not even 15 minutes later, you heard that everyone was out of danger and the intruders had been rendered harmless. After a sigh, you finished your drink and then returned to the scene of the action, maybe there now was something you could help, like tidying up damage or helping the wounded. You stayed there and helped until it was dark and the volunteers were sent home, so you returned to the hotel. But you didn’t get far and the receptionist called you over.

“You are (Y/N) (Y/L/N), right?”

“That’s me, yeah”

“I have message for you, from a doctor Leonard McCoy”

“I know him. He’s the doctor on the Enterprise. What is this message about?”

“He lets you know, that your husband… Commander Spock will spend the night in Yorktown hospital”

“Ho-hospital? They’re back? What does he have? Is it bad? Can I visit him? When did they get back?”

“He only told me that so you know where your husband is and in case you wish to see him. I don’t know anything else” you nodded and with a thank-you you ran out of the hotel, to the hospital, where you had brought a few people earlier today. You went to a visitor station to register your visit and once you knew where your husband was and that he currently could be visited, you rushed to the elevator and then to his room. When you saw Spock lying in bed awake, you let out a deep breath and moved closer.

“Spock” you breathed, not sure what to say and having a hundred questions at the tip of your tongue. "How are you?” was the first you asked

“I am well, (Y/N). The doctors insisted I stayed the night to ensure that my condition does not become worse” you nodded and came closer, taking his hand, pressing a kiss to it as you sat down on the edge of the bed. To your delight, he squeezed your hand.

“What happened? To you, I mean?” he explained how on the mission his side was impaled by a piece of metal and that McCoy didn’t have the correct equipment to properly treat him. “At least you’re safe” you ran your free hand through his hair. “When did you even get back?”

“4.2 hours ago”

“That was… that was when the attack happened” he agreed and said it was them who played a great role in stopping them. “Oh so that big ship that destroyed the central plaza was you, the Franklin?”

“Indeed”

“And what about the Enterprise?”

“She has been destroyed”

“Oh no. What about the crew? Are they safe?”

“We have not yet been able to ascertain who has survived the attack on the Enterprise and who lost their life, however, I am certain that at least 350 people have survived”

“Out of 428 that’s still a lot that could have died”

“Besides, I also know of at least 16 casualties from the crew” you gave a nod

“And what now? I mean is your mission over? The Enterprise is gone”

“We do not know yet but it is certain that we will remain her for longer than the originally scheduled 12 days of shore leave”

“Well, then we got more time to do something as long as we’re here. And I get to see you longer. Ha that visit was worth it” you leant down to kiss his forehead. “Now we just gotta make sure you’ll be on your feet as soon as possible because I have lot planned for the next days”

Taglist: @softsapphicideals

#spock #spock x reader #spock x you #spock imagine #aos spock #imagine

242 notes · View notes

nuttynutcycle · 4 years ago

Text

Movie Night

Part Two here

"Is this a Star Wars or Star Trek night?"

Villain glanced back and forth between the two titles, conflicted.

"My gut says Star Wars." Hero answered. They split the popcorn into separate bowls and brought them over to where Villain was sitting. Hero took Empire Strikes Back and began the setup. A sound of rustling papers came from behind them.

"Lion King."

"Nope." Hero replied over their shoulder. They heard Villain scribble something down.

"Thirteen going on Thirty."

Hero considered lying, but didn't feel like going through the cross-examination. "Also nope."

"Sharknado."

"That can't be a real thing." Movie ready, they took a seat beside Villain on the couch. "How many are on your must-see list for me now?"

Villain double-checked their worn notebook. "Around 70."

One movie a night - that was going to take months to get through. Time spent away from keeping people safe. And if the current evening death toll kept up… Hero did the math and paled.

Seeing the look on their face, Villain took a fistful of popcorn from Hero's bowl. “A shame you didn't spend more of your past watching famous movies. Calm down; you're well on your way to interacting in society without making a fool of yourself."

"Ah yes, because Star Wars references are incredibly useful in saving lives." Hero snapped. Honestly, they didn't see the appeal behind the franchise. What kind of antagonist's main intimidation tactic was breathing loudly? Who wears a cape in space? Plus, Hero still wasn't sure who had shot first in A New Hope.

To be fair, they would have enjoyed the movie a lot more without the terrified sobbing coming from the corner.

Blindfolded, gagged and restrained with earplugs, the civilians were never aware of their purpose. Every night a new one would be taken and, if Hero behaved, released when the movie was over.

The first time Villain showed up on their doorstep with a hostage, Hero had leapt to free the shaking young woman. Villain broke her arm in retaliation without blinking an eye.

After a few weeks, Hero had gotten somewhat used to the terrified leverage Villain held over them. If anything, the civilian would be safe for the evening while Hero was out of commission. Whoever was paying Villain to keep Hero 'entertained' excelled at spreading the news of Hero's newfound break time to the rest of the underground. Crime and death rates skyrocketed during those evening hours. Watching the reports later was always the worst part of Hero's guilt-ridden mornings.

"I'll try to grab a quieter one next time. This is really putting a damper on the experience." Villain turned their head to glare at the oblivious civilian.

"Not like it will make this movie any worse. I can feel it lowering my IQ." Better to aim the angry villain at themselves. They knew from experience how much Villain adored movies and the brutal reaction to criticism.

Malice emanated from the Villain as they leaned back with a calculating tilt of their head.

"Darth Vader is Luke's father and Leia is his twin sister."

"… real mature revenge. Thanks for spoiling the trilogy for me, dickhead."

Villain grinned, the tension defusing. "I feel like I just deflowered you in some way. How does it feel to be spoiled?"

"Shut up." Hero grumbled, turning their attention back to the movie. Excluding the civilian's sobbing and Villain's hysterical laughter during Luke and Leia's kiss, the rest of the film passed quickly. Hero even found themselves getting lost in scenes before a siren would go by. They'd grit their teeth and try to ignore Villain patting their shoulder in mock comfort.

Once the movie ended, Villain handed the hostage off to their lackey waiting outside the house and paused. Turning back to face Hero, Villain closed the door behind them. "This Thursday, we're doing a full day of Disney. You're running low on popcorn, make sure you pick some up tomorrow."

Hero froze. Their blood ran cold at the words, at the thought of what could be accomplished in that time. "What’s your boss planning?" they asked quietly.

"She's gotten tired of holding back." An excited, almost manic gleam entered Villain's eyes. "Don't worry, I think you'll love what we do with the city."

Pure fury at the Villain and their own helplessness took over. Hostage forgotten, they lunged for Villain. They managed to crack one hit before invisible hands gripped and slammed them against the wall.

"Don't do anything stupid." Villain warned. They rubbed the spot Hero had struck them, a sharp shiner rising. "Against my better judgement, I've grown fond of our movie nights. I would hate for you to be distracted from Return of the Jedi by human remains all over your couch."

The hands on Hero tightened, and breathing suddenly shot to the top of their priority list. They fought for air. "Why… why are you telling me about Thursday?"

"Who knows? Maybe I like making threats. Reminding you of the position you're in. Maybe I like how you look when you're angry." Villain straightened their clothes and let Hero drop, satisfied with their point made. "Or maybe, like I said earlier, it's the popcorn. Seriously. Get some of that popcorn salt too."

Hero gasped for breath from their place on the floor. "Anything else I should get? Before the big day?"

Villain laughed, kneeling beside them. "I'm not that easy, Hero. You won't get any information out of me. Let's just say I'm very excited." They lifted Hero's chin, probing Hero with a piercing gaze. "Are you going to cooperate?"

After some hesitation on Hero's part, they nodded.

"See, I told her you would behave. Nice to know you're still predictable." They stood, giving a mocking smile before leaving Hero's house for the night.

Clenching their fists, Hero marched over to the couch and searched it for any bugs Villain might have concealed. The same process was repeated for the rest of the room. Satisfied, Hero sat and placed their head in their hands. 24 hours for the criminals to do whatever they wanted in the city… Hero shuddered at the thought.

Their situation was not, as Villain assumed, completely binding of Hero's ability to do their job. It just made it impossible to do without loss.

"911, what is your emergency?"

"Hero is going to be out of commission on Thursday. You need to call in heroes from other cities. The criminal underground is preparing -"

The operator interrupted. "Slow down. How do you know this?"

Hero took a deep breath. What good is a hero with no one to protect?

When it came down to it, they chose people over their secret identity every time.

220 notes · View notes

make-me-imagine · 3 years ago

Text

Tumblr Writers Q&A Tag

I've had some thoughts and questions about tumblr writers for a while, curiosity and all that. So I thought I would make up a little Question Tag of my own, made up of questions I've seen asked before, or things I thought of myself.

I will answer my questions myself as well, and tag some mutuals and other writers to answer them too.

Feel free to play along, and answer or tag your writer friends!

- - - - -

1. How many complete fics/oneshots do you have (that you have not published (yet))? Currently, I have 2 finished fics, and three parts of a nine part series finished.

2. How many WIPS do you have right now? I have 1 WIP, and about 3 or 4 outlined fics.

3. Do you take writing requests or write original ideas, or both? I take requests mainly, but I also write original ideas.

4. If you do take requests, how many do you currently have? Currently, I have about 49 requests. (The oldest of which are a year old, yikes lol)

5. How many fandoms do you write for? I have about 35 fandoms I write for, but I only "actively" write for about 10.

6. Are there any fandoms you wrote for in the past, that you no longer write for? I don't really write for HP anymore. I also don't write or Bones, NCIS, CIS, Percy Jackson, or Narnia anymore. I also used to do gif imagines for any show whether I knew it or not.

7. Do you write for ships, reader inserts, or other? I write for reader inserts only (I try to always do gender neutral).

8. Niche fandoms/characters you write for? Jane Austen movie/show adaptations, Stargate, Lark Rise to Candleford, Btvs, Magnificent Seven.

9. Do you read fics as well as write them? I do not read fics nearly as often as I used too, but I try to read them when they come across my dash from my mutuals and fave writers.

10. What is your favorite genre (angst/fluff/whump/etc) to write for? I love to write fluff and romance.

11. What is your favorite trope (to read and/or write)? To read: idiots to lovers, whump, or mutual pining. To write: Soulmate aus, friends to lovers, and whump/comfort.

12. What do you do to get motivated to write? I re-watch the shows/movies related to my fandoms, or I occasionally read other fics from tumblr.

13. Is there a trope/genre you like to read, but not write? Fics that involve crossovers of fantasy or are completely changed from the fandom canon. Though I wouldn't say I read these often.

14. Any characters/fandoms you want to write for that are never requested? Plenty, like the fandoms Stargate, Prodigal Son, Magnificent Seven, and Star Wars. Some more niche characters in the MCU.

15. How long have you been writing fanfiction? Since 2017.

16. Did you read fanfiction before you started writing? Yes, it is what made me want to write in the first place.

17. Do you only post on tumblr, or other sites as well? (feel free to promote). I mainly post on tumblr, but I post a majority of my fics on Ao3 (make_me_imagine).

18. What do you personally consider the word counts of "drabbles", "oneshots" and "fics" (+other?)? In my own personal "definition", I usually consider drabbles anything from 50-650 words (anything less is a "blurb"). Oneshots are 651-1100, while "fics" are 1100+. (these are all give or take some). It also depends a bit on the amount of dialogue vs description.

19. Which do you prefer to write more? Headcanons, Drabbles, Oneshots/Fics, Multi-Chapter Stories, or other? I prefer to write fics in the range of 2k+ words, but I often struggle to hit that mark. I would also love to write more multi-chapter fics in the future.

20. Are there any stories you have discontinued? If so, why? I have a Sam Wilson x Fm!Reader story called "Worthy" that I have not added on to in 4 years. I might re-write it. I also have a Star Trek, Jim x FM!Reader story that I do plan to continue, I'm just not sure when. Neither of these stories got a lot of traction or reblogs, and I just kind of gave up on them.

21. What is one of your main "pet-peeves" as a writer on tumblr? People that request fics and then do not react to them at all. They might like it, but that is it. No reblog, comment or other acknowledgment. (Its worse when you know they saw it). Also people who refuse to reblog, or just lack of reblogs in general.

22. Do you write at a particular time of day? I find I write the best in the late-morning, or evening, never mid-day. Specific times would be 10-12am; and 9-10 pm. I usually reserve these times to write, and often get entire fics done within those timelines.

23. Do you listen to music, ambiance/noise, etc. to write, or do you need silence? Sometimes I listen to ambiance sounds, or instrumental music, but only if there is stuff going on in the room around me that is distracting. Otherwise I prefer silence. And I cannot listen to regular music, because I get distracted by it.

24. Do you outline your fics at all before writing? Most of the time yes. I never used too, but I find that it helps keep me on track, especially if there is a specific scene or prompt I want to include. Though sometimes I completely de-rail and write something totally different, which is fine.

25. Do you post your writing as soon as you finish it, or do you schedule it to come out at a specific time/day? About 95% of the time nowadays, I write fics ahead of time, and post them all throughout the next week, or the following days. Sometimes I write fics the night before, or even the morning of, but it depends on when the last time I posted was. Time-wise, when I schedule fics, I schedule them to come out at 7am my time.

- - - -

Tags: No pressure at all btw! @spuffyfan394, @whimsical-daydreams, @magravenwrites, @gaitwae, @bwemph, @cosplayingwitch, @thefallenbibliophilequote, @witchygagirl, @imaginefandoms, @thranduilsperkybutt, @whatif-animagineblog, @trashywritestrash, @peter-parkers-cullen-nerd - and Open Tag for any writer who wants to answer these!

#questions #tag #q&a #tumblr writers #tag game #writers tag #made by me #tumblr writers tag #writing question #writing game #fanfic questions #fanfic tags #fan fiction tag game #fanfic q&a

6 notes · View notes

iguana-braces · 2 years ago

Note

for the ask game: 1, 26, 33, 34, 35, 50!

1: I don't know if I have a whole lot of strong comfort characters, but I do have comfort media! The things I always watch to cheer myself up are Star Trek (Kelvin timeline mostly, but pretty much anything in that universe), Pacific Rim (the first one, the second one is dead to me), Rocketman (2019), Speed Racer (2008), and Top Gun 1&2. So mostly action movies with cool visuals? 🤷‍♀️

I also have comfort OCs, from my mountain of unfinished projects 😆

26: Ok, long story time! Aside from the pre-sleep self-insert scenarios I was just talking about with @mothmanssidepiece, an IRL scenario I replay a lot is back when I worked overnight, a guy came into the restaurant at like 3am in the middle of a storm. It was just me and one chef there, and I'm 95% sure this guy was... not human. He was acting incredibly strange, I'd ask a question and he'd just stare at me really intensely. I thought maybe he didn't speak English or maybe he was deaf or mute, but then other times he'd respond completely normally. He tried to call a cab but I'm like, "Dude it's 3am and we're in the middle of nowhere, there ain't any cabs. How the fuck did you get here in the first place?" Then he just walked off into the night, never to be seen again. I've dealt with drunk people and people who are on drugs and people who have disabilities and people who have mental illnesses and not a single one has acted in this specific manner. It was the most unsettling thing that's ever happened to me and I think about it all the time. The only reason I know I didn't hallucinate this encounter due to sleep deprivation was because the chef saw him too when he was trying to call a cab.

33: I haven't been adventuring much lately, but I went on a walk with some friends during our 4th of July observances and we ended up at a park and I went on the swings for like the first time in 7 years. Adults should be allowed to swing more often! I forgot how much fun it is!

34: I know hundreds of songs by heart, that's like the only thing my memory devotes its resources to. Everything else is unimportant but the lyrics to "The Boys Are Back" from High School Musical 3 are crucial information. The problem is getting my mouth to keep up with my mind when I sing along 😅

35: My time zone is Central, in the US (idk if there are other central time zones globally 😬)

50: Yes, feel free to tag me in anything! I appreciate the inclusion ❤️

#ask answered #minilpark #This was so long omg

3 notes · View notes

some-stars · 3 years ago

Text

Fic writer questionnaire! Tagged by @deputychairman, thank you!

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

65....just waiting for 69 so i can celebrate

2) What's your total AO3 word count?

288,609

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

okay, so, there's a lot so we're gonna collapse some. So, 16: The Witcher (games and show), Supernatural, Dark Angel, Glee, Stargate (both SG1 and SGA), MCU, Vampire Diaries, Teen Wolf, due South, DC (comics and movies), House of Leaves, Sense8, Harry Potter, Les Miserables (book), Doctor Who, and X-Men movies. Oh, and I wrote a lot of NSYNC RPF back in the day but you will never see it. (Unless you literally read it back then and remember one and want to reread it, I’m not ashamed of them if you were also in the pit with me. If that is the case feel free to ask.)

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

all some children do is work: this one surprised me, i did NOT think there was this kind of appetite for almost-gen turned-into-a-kid fic, but i do really like the fic itself so i'm contented with its acclaim

method: i mean, it's fake dating, written back when there wasn't much non-modern-AU fake dating in witcher fandom (possibly there still isn't?) so, not surprised

Emergency Pants: this is the one that the Claw chose back in 2012 bc i had written very pornographic tony/bruce about a month after Avengers came out so there was a big appetite for it. i don't much care for it these days except i do still think the tony voice is good

warm you like the sunshine: deeply unsurprised this one is popular (and it's one of my own fics that i reread a lot), it's extremely tender BDSM with a juggernaut pairing, that gets the readers

As often as from thee I go: honestly kinda surprised about this one, which is just a 2500 word confection i wrote for my own satisfaction, but it does have explicit sex and jaskier crying about his feelings so maybe it makes sense

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I almost always do, but usually just with "Thanks!" unless it's a detailed or lengthy comment.

6) What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

"Long black night, morning frost" (Les Miserables) for absolute certain. One of the very few fics I've written with an outright unhappy and pessimistic ending (although I found it very cathartic to write). For Witcher fics, "Kind" and "go ask alice" are about as sad as I get.

7) What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Almost all of them, honestly. There's a point in happiness of endings where you really can't distinguish degrees. Probably the most--not saccharine, but distinctly Happy Ending-ish is either "Water like a stone" or "Darling, if you only knew," which to my eternal shame are both Glee fics. In terms of Witcher fics...it's still hard to pick! I think the kidfic trilogy ended very, very happily; I think "If you live through this with me" ended TOO happily.

8) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you've written?

I do not, and I don't read them, at least not since the days of the late 90s/early 2000s when I once read a really good Highlander/X-Files crossover (oh, and Martha's cosmic horror fic where Stargate and Angel and I think something else all cross over but it feels quite natural and right). I don't like fusions, either, most of the time.

9) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Never! In 20 years! I've been extremely lucky.

10) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

ahahahahahahahhaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

yes...yes you could say i write smut. on occasion. you know, when the urge comes on me. i write mostly kink or at least kink-adjacent fic, but i've done some vanilla scenes too, and i write m/m and m/f and (occasionally) f/f. fun fact, my only rimming scene to date was in a f/f/f threesome!

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

I think so? I can't remember, honestly, which sounds dreadful but like...I don't READ the translation, because I am sadly monolingual, but I get a burst of delight when someone asks to do it (or to make a podfic).

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have tried--me and a friend once got like 12k deep into a co-written Tiger and Bunny fic--but it doesn't really work out for me. I am a massive control freak when it comes to writing and absolutely miserable to work with. (Although I wasn't so bad back when we wrote the T&B fic, we just sort of never got around to finishing it. Which is sad, because it was GREAT.)

14) What's your all time favorite ship?

Max/Alec from Dark Angel. I shipped it when I only started watching DA for Jensen's episodes, I shipped it when I fell in love with Max, I shipped it when I frantically hand-wrote notes about the fic I wanted to write, I ship it right now as I'm typing, I will ship it in my grave. Also it's not a het ship bc neither of them are heterosexual, thank you very much.

15) What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I only post finished fics, but in terms of things I haven't posted, I still think my "For A Good Time Call" fem!jaskier/yennefer(/geralt) AU would have been truly incredible. If you haven't watched that movie go watch it immediately so you can share this beautiful idea with me.

16) What are your writing strengths?

Ohhh, this and the next one are hard, because I truly don't know. Well, besides "porn." I am genuinely good at porn, which is HILARIOUS considering how many more sex scenes I've written than participated in. But overall, I have so much angst and neurosis and tenuous self-worth tied up in writing, I'm a very bad judge of my own skills. Also, it depends on the fandom! In some fandoms I'm good at dialogue, in others not so much. In some fandoms I'm good at pastiching the tone of the source and in others...Not So Much.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

If I had to pick a weakness, though, I'd say concrete imagery/detail. Like, the things that characters are physically doing either out of emotional reaction or just, they're doing something in that scene. Dialogue is usually easier (not sure if it comes out better, but it's easier).

18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I used to be mildly annoyed at it but! Now! On AO3! You can put a footnote by the French or whatever, so the reader can jump down to read a translation and then jump right back up. I now feel that if you choose to include dialogue (or any words) in another language from the rest of the story, this is the only acceptable method.

19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

I remember vaguely in 1996 or so writing a couple pages of Kit whump for the Young Wizards books. I wrote some execrable nonsense in X-Files, but in my defense I had just turned 13. I don't THINK I wrote anything for Star Trek, which was my first fandom. Oh, and I attempted to write fic for Homicide, which I watched in 7th and 8th grade and lied about my age to get onto the good mailing lists (they were actually the bad, racist mailing lists, I would later realize, but again I was 13).

20) What's your favorite fic you've written?

Sorry to disappoint anyone who follows me for Witcher content, but it's either "The absolute absurdity of end-series items" (House of Leaves) or "A quite unlosable game" (Dark Angel). They are both Big Idea fics, and I feel like in both of them I got the Idea across brilliantly, and I'm truly proud of them and think they're the best things I've ever made. (In terms of Witcher fic, it's the kidfic trilogy for sure.)

I am not going to tag anyone because that always makes me mildly anxious, but if you read this and you want to do it you can say you were tagged by me! :D? :D?

#meme

14 notes · View notes

adozentothedawn · 3 years ago

Text

Picked up the tag from @cadash-nua because I just kinda felt like it.^^ I'll throw out a tag to @ampleappleamble, @rannadylin, @serenbach86, @dragonologist-phd, @shimmer-like-agirl, @orime-stories, @brightoncemore, @adraveins, @iamapotatobag. If you want of course.^^ Anyone else feel free pick it up, they're just the only ones in fandom I know have an Ao3 account. (edit: will sneak in @risualto as well, who I shamefully forgot, I’m sorry, friend.^^°)

How many works do you have on AO3.

21.

What’s your total AO3 words count?

97537. Man I really need to write a bit more to reach that 100k.👀

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

(A few have the same numbers, so it'll be a little more than 5)

Godlike, an Inuyasha one shot and the first fic I ever uploaded on Ao3: 88.

Do You Have to Pick up Penguins? (No, you don't), a short shitpost for the Pillars fandom in which Favaen confuses the fuck out of Vatnir: 13.

Vela, a one shot about our favourite baby dealing with her life from being almost murdered as a baby to losing her new home and finding her mother comatose: 11.

The Miracle of Verdant Vorlas, my take on the canon event in which Waidwen and Eothas perform their first miracle and really get the rebellion started: 11.

The the Weak Die, another Pillars shitpost about Favaen and Aloth torturing Edér with Aedyran takes on tea: 9.

Mo(u)rning, a one shot about Adaryc trying to deal with Eothas' return and the death of the Watcher, an Eothas priestess in her own right: 9.

What Wael Sees, a series of prompt one shots about different characters, ranging from my Watchers over Adaryc and the companions to Waidwen and the friends I made for him: 9.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, always! My answers range from "Thanks!^^" to mutiple paragraphs of background information the commenter didn't actually ask for.^^° But I do always answer, the longer my answer usually because I have more to say about it.

What’s the fic with the angstiest ending?

I have a few fics which will end really angsty, but I haven't really gotten anywhere with them yet. I guess the one I have that would qualify is from the ashes of the dawn which is about Eothas between the Godhammer and Deadfire. It's not completely angsty because we know the Watcerh survived it but for Eothas it's plenty angsty.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

That one I know even less how to answer because most of my fics have a happy ending. I guess I'll go with Gay, since it technically ends with Maneha happily going to hunt for booty.

Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve ever written?

Only in my head. Actually that's a lie, techincally I wrote the beginning of a Yugioh Hyrule Warrios crossover fic once, but that was long before my Ao3 days and was still in german. I still think the idea was hilarious and regret nothing except stopping. If anyone knows german and wants to read it hit me up and I'll go digging for the link.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Only from myself. Frankly I don' think the Inuyasha one is egrigeous enough to warrant any interest from haters and if you go around hating fics in tiny fandoms such as Pillars I don't think you'll get very much amusement out of it.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Not yet. Frankly I don't know enough about sex to feel comfortable writing it and I feel I would cringe myself out of existence for not being accurate. Also it's hard enough for me to write romance and sexual attraction. Doesn't mean that I'll never write smut, but not for a while.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. I don't write for big enough fandoms for people to be interested in stealing and I do hope Ao3 is more secure that Wattpad in scam bots. On the other hand though since I post on tumblr too my fics are definitely on some tumblr scam copy. So I guess in that sense yes.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but it would be dope! I am considering translating some of my baby fics from german if anyone wants to read them.^^

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No but again, I'd be absolutely down. Also I still have this idea of what if the Pillars gods were people at some point, which could absolutely be a fandom project if anyone wants to join in.^^

What’s your all-time favourite ship?

I don't really write ships. The only ships I've kinda written were Watcher Francesca/Aloth and Watcher Francesca/Maneha so I guess those.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I hope to finish all of my WIPS and refuse to ever call them a lost cause.

What are your writing strengths?

Perspective and character voices.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Writing surroundings. Seriously, if I don't work over my pieces afterwards there all standing in grey empty space.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I don't particularily like it, but I don't hate it. it just usually doesn't end well and I think doesn't really do anything for the reader.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Star Trek! It was a self insert fic about the Kobayashi Maru test and in the middle of writing it I started watching the new movies and then got confused in which version I want it to be set. But honestly it is still TOS.

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

I like all my fics, or at least something in all my fics. Over all I guess I have to say A Death in Your Name though. It was the first fic where I just threw all my inhibitions out the window and wrote what I wanted, and I think it turned out pretty well. It's about the past life of my Watcher Favaen, the Inquisitor, and high priestess of Eothas, Emblyn, who was also Iovara's sister, and the effects her actions had on Eothas later, and also about Iovara's and Eothas' relationship.

#asks and tags #long post #i guess^^°

6 notes · View notes

smallblueandloud · 3 years ago

Text

some leverage: redemption reactions

i finished leverage redemption today! and i don't have anyone to talk to about it so, here we have my reactions for all eight episodes, both positive and negative. please feel free to reblog/comment -- discussions are what i'm here for! (under a cut because spoilers and also this ended up being 2k. whoops!)

EPISODE 1: the too many rembrandts job

the "aww, this guy is trying to pull his first heist! how cute" job

what they chose to do with nate was... interesting. it might just be that i read too many of those cracky "here's how they should explain nate's absence" posts, but i was expecting something funny. the grief permeating this episode -- it makes SENSE, but it was still weird. leverage doesn't usually have sadness like this. pain, yes, rage, certainly, but sadness? not usually

the way sophie immediately spots the signs of a con and slips into a character? phenomenal. i'm here for EXPERTS BEING EXPERTS and this show does NOT disappoint

harry wilson is a really solid character! most impressively, he's not flynn, which is impressive enough that i'm making a whole bullet point about it. i was worried that noah wyle was kinda a one-trick pony, but it appears not! good for him tbh

i'm LIVING for the ot3 moments in this episode. "what happened?" "we happened" YESSSSS!!! i wish we'd had more domesticity, but i know they did what they could

"he gets it from his father" FUCK!!!!!

the discussion about redemption in this episode is FANTASTIC but personally i am still delirious with excitement about "my nana leads a multi-denominational household" so expect those thoughts in 3-5 business days

EPISODE 2: the panamanian monkey job

the "flash electropop concert" job

BREANNA INTRODUCTION! i love her so MUCH, y'all. we only got to see her dynamic with hardison in this one episode, but man, it manages to be one of her best dynamics anyway. i just! i love her! i love the way the team works with her!

"in our field, you're one of the best. but there, you're the only one." god we have ELIOT/HARDISON rights and i am NOT OKAY. just!! them!!!!!! being supportive!!!!!! they have learned how to be sweet with each other! they work together so much better (in part because we're seeing them from harry's outsider pov instead of nate's insider pov, but STILL)

midway through this episode, i thought "huh, leverage always focuses on specific people, when really the problem is systematic, and pretending it's anything different is just an excuse to not fight for change". and then at the end harry talks about how the system itself is broken! i love knowing that john rogers and i were reading the same tweets last summer. it's a good feeling to trust the people making a piece of media

who let noah wyle speak spanish. whoever it was, they need to rescind their permission

god, the parker/hardison in this episode. THE PARKER/HARDISON IN THIS EPISODE! they KILL me friends they KILL ME!

also just like, hardison in this episode in general. he made a star trek reference! he made a doctor who reference! he decides there are other people who need him more! the way they wrote around gina bellman's maternity leave in s2 was good but this was phenomenal.

also i'm here for ot3 crumbs so "is this like the time when eliot wanted us to say no" is going on my ot3-is-canon conspiracy board

this is a tiny detail but eliot taking out the drone with a goddamn ORANGE was so good. he's so good at his job!! they're all so good at their jobs!! i know i literally just talked about this but AAA

EPISODE 3: the rollin' on the river job

the "sometimes you just want to rob a vault wearing a floofy dress, and that's valid" job

i did... not. like. how the villain in this one was an immigrant whose exploitable weakness was a "desperation" to be included in the upper crust. and the fact that they beat him with a literal southern belle who explicitly beats him BECAUSE her family has been in the area for "hundreds of years"? it just feels Iffy.

also iffy about this episode was breanna's characterization. it felt inconsistent. she feels inconsistent across the whole season, but this episode in particular... she tells harry she's only with the team because she's desperate, that she doesn't believe in hope, and then at the end of the episode she tells parker she wants to be there to change the world. and like, even in the first place, she's not here out of desperation! SHE asked to join the team! like, i can see how it all kinda fits together, but it just feels... inconsistent. idk. i think these scripts all could've benefited from an extra round or two of editing.

anyway! i loved the way they tied hardison into these episodes, even though aldis hodge couldn't be there. he has binders! breanna doesn't want to read them! parker did! he put in big letters, "when in doubt, trust the person in the van". i'm just so !!! about how much i love him and how much he loves his team and how much his team loves him. FOUND FAMILY, BABY!

all inconsistencies in breanna's characterization aside, i really liked her speech at the end. i know how she feels! it's really nice to have someone on the team who's from -- not my world, really, but a lot closer than any of the others. it's a nice feeling! i love her a lot. i hope her writing gets more consistent

lol, parker ate eliot's carrot cake. i love the parker/eliot rights we get in this show, they're so domestic and it's wonderful.

EPISODE 4: the tower job

the "hardison made his partners learn klingon" job

watching this episode was what made me go "they're not going to make us sit through a harry/sophie romance... right? right?"

i'm still not sure they're gonna let us avoid it but it COULD work so... i've decided to just not worry about it for now

i liked the number of ways the con goes wrong! it was fun to watch them work on the fly like that. i think them not having a dedicated Mastermind(tm) is a good watsonian explanation for their plans being pretty haphazard in general, but it's good, they think well on their feet

nate was a chessmaster. he had the whole situation in his mind from the beginning, accounting for every possible outcome. parker and sophie are much more adaptive, and it's cool to see. they can rely on their respective skillsets a lot more than nate could

a really solid episode! probably one of the strongest ones in the season. i liked it a lot.

(ALSO as mentioned above the klingon lines were fantastic and not just because they were a star trek reference -- every time eliot and parker both mentioned hardison, together, it added a year to my lifespan)

EPISODE 5: the paranormal hacktivity job

the "sophie was worryingly prepared to fake her death" job

i know why they characterized the client as a skeptic, i really do, and i loved the format of this episode, but also. But Also. she should've been a love interest for breanna and I'm Right.

having a girl's episode was the CORRECT choice. they do crimes in their free time! they fleece newbie, cruel criminals! it's so good!

it would've been cool to have eliot around for the assassin guy, but it was also cool to see the others take him out without having eliot to rely on. it's like getting to see how they'd take out eliot, if they were ever on opposing sides.

PARKER CANONICALLY USES SCRIPTS IT'S THE BEST THING EVER

breanna bristling about letting the criminal into the theater's electric system was so good god i love her so much. she knows hardware! i bet she likes to work with her hands. i bet she stims. i bet she has adhd

actually, sidenote, but i LOVE these headquarters. they look so nice! the stage is so nice! i loved having an episode set in and around it, it was such a good choice.

EPISODE 6: the card game job

the "FINALLY AN EXPLICITLY QUEER LEVERAGE CHARACTER" job

QUEER BREANNA QUEER BREANNA QUEER BREANNA QUEER BR

UNFOLLOW ME NOW THIS IS GONNA BE THE ONLY THING I POST ABOUT FOR THE REST OF TIME

GOD, what a good way to reveal it. it's fully about her! i love queer romances, of course i do, but i don't think i've ever seen a character come out without a romance being their reason for doing so (however indirectly). i still think she should've gotten a date with the client from 1x05, but i really liked this too.

this episode just felt like a love letter to fandom, and i love that. i love how much it shone through. i'm used to writers specifically going out of their way to make fun of fans and laugh at them, so it was just. really nice to have someone stand up and go, no, this is important for a reason! people love this for a reason! it MEANS something!

very fun to watch eliot swordfight. very fun to watch sophie recite a sonnet in her classic fashion. very fun to watch parker work at being a good mentor. breanna was so excited about the card game! they're all so good!

oh, and i guess harry's here too.

EPISODE 7: the double-edged sword job

the "harry is addicted to mobile games, which is a mood" job

hot take alert! i think this is the weakest episode of the season by a LOT. it needed so much more editing. it felt so disjointed, so all over the place. the plot was haphazard but in a muffled way, where you had no idea why they were doing what they were doing. the climax was sudden and didn't make any sense. it was just weird.

i'm not the person to comment on this but it feels kind of lazy to cast an east asian guy to play a socially-awkward tech genius. just a thought.

oh, of course jonathan frakes directed this episode. sometimes his stuff is really good but other times (ahem, ds9 3x02) it's disjointed and all over the place. i'm not even surprised it was him.

idk if i have anything else to say about this. oh! some of the team moments were great -- mostly involving eliot. i loved the moment of him recognizing the headshot, i LOVED the ten seconds of everyone teasing him. he and parker talked about the wellbeing of their friend, the woman whose ex tracked her down!

separate bulletpoint to say how much i LOVED his conversation with breanna outside the house. he's so good at reassuring! he could go deeper there, talking about being better than your worst day, but he knew when not to push! it was so good.

"first off, this guy can't TOUCH hardison" deserves its own bulletpoint because like. y'all. Y'ALL.

EPISODE 8: the mastermind job

the "eliot is more than just a pretty face" job

oh man this post is so much longer than i thought it would be. okay just one more episode and then i'm done.

the callbacks to original leverage were SO well done and made me feel emotions without feeling overbearing.

i didn't like the central premise -- that nate would share so many details with a random insurance agent -- in the first place, but i did like how it allowed them to bring back nate without actually hiring timerty mcasshole.

i liked eliot's insistence that he's more than just the muscle! he is, and it's really good to know, textually, that the writers do too!

me, watching the resolution of the episode: ah, yeah, insurance fraud. a classic!

harry bonding with his guard had "they don't even have dental!" energy and i am SUCH a fan. i know it was all for the con but also give me harry, unable to stop advising people, even when they're actively holding him hostage

parker! on the phone with hardison!!!! ADORABLE

is it just me or was someone else expecting the accountant's name to be something significant? with the way they led up to it, i was waiting for a "sterling" or something else. my sensors were pinging for another tara reveal. i'm still convinced we're gonna get this guy dramatically revealed in the season finale.

a really nice episode! i had a lot of fun with it. and now i want to rewatch the rashamon job, but tbh i ALWAYS want to rewatch the rashamon job.

and that's a wrap! overall, a fun season, i enjoyed it a lot. not as solid as original leverage, but it's the very beginning, and it was put together during a global pandemic, so i'm cutting them some slack. also levar burton is gonna show up at some point. that's a big reason of why i'm cutting them so much slack.

my personal ranking of the episodes is 1x04, 1x06, 1x08, 1x01, 1x02, 1x03, and finally last (and least), 1x07.

what did you guys think of the new season? what was your favorite episode? do you agree with any of my opinions? disagree with any? let me know, please, i'd love to discuss!

#leverage #leverage redemption #leverage spoilers #redemption spoilers #leverage redemption spoilers #sb and l rambles #sb and l watches leverage #levred #this is so much longer than i thought it was gonna be #i shouldn't be surprised but ughhhh i'm so tired

10 notes · View notes

hydromessenger · 4 years ago

Text

A Different Place

A Genshin Impact AU verse - Starring OCs and canon characters. Please do not hesitate to leave a review on what you read~

Mondstadt was beautiful once. At least, that was what the old women said when they were telling their stories to anyone who would listen. Ella wasn’t so sure she believed them, though. Their stories sounded like the fairy tales her grandmother used to spin for her, to help her sleep.

It was a nice story to think about, though. That once upon a time Mondstadt had been covered in green, and the people were free to come and go as they pleased. And their beloved God, Barbatos, would walk the streets with his people, playing music and telling tales of his own.

At 19 years old, Ella had long since grown out of fairy tales. And the stories that she used to listen to with such delight, now only made her feel old and weary. She leaned back, bumping her head against the old stone behind her, her gaze locked on the pearly walls that separated Sector 13 from the rest of Mondstadt and released a sigh as the clear ringing of bells echoed through the streets.

A new day had begun in Mondstadt. Any minute now the men and women who worked the streets at night would leave their places of business and retire to their homes, and the merchants who were allowed would start opening their shops. And, like clockwork, within half an hour of the shops opening, the Knights would emerge from their lofty tower to make sure everyone was following the Grandmaster’s edicts.

“Ella!” She was pulled from her musings as a young boy ran over to her. “The Boss has a job for you.” He said, shoving a ball of paper into her hand, before he ran off, likely to deliver other messages from his boss.

She unballed the paper, already knowing what was on it. And she was right, pressed in the center of the paper was the anemo symbol in crisp black ink. She was being summoned.

Ella sighed once again, and shoved the paper into her pocket, before she pushed herself to her feet and started the long trek to Farrier’s shop, which was on the opposite side of the slums from where she liked to watch the sky. She was able to dodge the Knights with the ease of someone with a lot of practice. Though avoiding the Hawkers in their alley was a lot harder.

All of the people in Sector 13 were all a single bad day away from starving to death, Ella included. In fact, the only person who didn’t have to worry about food or the Knights was Farrier. It was an open secret that her Boss was the de facto leader of Sector 13. He was the wealthiest. The meanest. And the largest employer.

In fact, Ella had been his employee since the day that she received her Hydro vision when she was still a teenager. And oh, she hated him. From the top of his smug little head to the bottom of his designer shoes. And yet…

Ella stopped as she came to the largest building in the slums, taking a moment to steel herself for what she was about to see, and then she pushed open the doors.

Farrier’s shop was much more than just a shop. In fact, you couldn’t buy anything from Farrier at all. You could borrow Mora from him, if you felt like owing the impossible interest. And no one in the lowest sector could afford his interest. It didn’t stop the desperate and hungry from going to him for aid, of course.

Farrier got richer, while everyone else got poorer.

“Ah, Ella! I see my boy found you!” Farrier was a short man, built rather like a teapot. He reminded Ella of a rather large fly with his large eyes, and his constantly twitching fingers. He seemed fond of her though, which meant that Ella wasn’t like to starve.

“Yeah. Poor kid needs a raise, Boss.” Ella pointed out.

Farrier laughed, “Nonsense! The boy is here working off his parent’s debts. I don’t pay him in anything other than food.” He laughed even harder for a long while, before he sobered, “Ella, you’re my favorite person here in these slums, my girl!” He boomed, “You’re so competent, and you even have a vision, which makes you valuable!”

“You’ve mentioned that before,” Ella pointed out casually, “You said you had a job for me?”

“I do, I do.”He leaned back in his chair, “You know the old abandoned sector?”

“I do. It’s growing by the year, if no one does anything the 13th sector will all be just like that part.” She replied, folding her arms over her chest, “But I don’t have the ability to fix that boss.”

“No, no. That’s not really all that important in the grand scheme of things.” He said, “No. I need you to go into the Abandoned sector, to the old library, and bring back as many books as you can.”

“Uh. Okay?”

“They’re valuable, lass!”

“They’re also illegal, Farrier,” Ella pointed out, “Going into the Abandoned sector is very, very illegal. For everyone who isn’t a knight.”

“True, true. The grandmaster is kind of a jerk,” Farrier pointed out, as if he was unable to see the irony in his statement, “but, I still need you to do it.”

“Fine! Fine. I’ll do it.” Ella sighed and folded her arms, “I’ll need my goggles and my mask though.”

Farrier beamed, and it made Ella’s skin crawl, “Of course, of course! Your mask and goggles are where they have always been. Also, I recently purchased protective gloves from Sector 1, so you don’t have to worry about getting burnt if you have to touch anything.”

“Fab.” She replied as she turned and walked into the storage room on the other side of the room. Hanging on a hook next to the door was a blue bag labeled Ella, and inside were the protective equipment that she would need to stay healthy in the abandoned sector. She dug through the bag for a moment, and then stuck her head into the main room, “Farrier! The sewer key is missing!”

“Oh, yes. I had to have all of the keys destroyed. The Knights found that entrance. You’re going to be going in through the old church in the south of the slums.” Ella walked out of the storage room, and caught the key that he threw at her, “This will unlock the church, make sure you lock it back behind you.”

“Obviously,” She said, slinging the bag over her shoulder, “Is there anything else I should know?”

Farrier remained silent, a wide grin on his face, “Well. There is one thing.”

Ella waited, “Well?” She asked, after he didn’t say anything for a whole minute, “What is it?”

“Ah, right. The original team I sent to get the books...they never returned.”

“What.”

“I’m sure they just weren’t wearing their protective gear well!”

“What?”

“If you can find their supplies I’ll pay you a hefty bonus.”

“...fine.”

“Splendid! I’ll see you when you get back!” Farrier’s creepy smile was back, and Ella turned to leave so she wouldn’t have to see it anymore. “Oh! Watch out for Knights! Rumor has it that they’re poking around the abandoned zone!”

“You couldn’t-” Ella spun to yell at him, only to be, not so graciously, pushed out the door and had the door slam in her face. “-have mentioned that first?” She sighed and spun away from the building. Farrier was a dick, she wasn’t sure why she was surprised at how he had treated her.

She walked away from the Farrier House, and ducked into a small alley to pull out the map of Sector 13, “Hm...southside church. Abandoned…” She trailed her finger over the map, squinting at the small letters, “Oh, there it is. The Church of Barbatos.” It was actually quite a distance away from where she was currently. So she let out a sigh, shoved the map back in her bag, and started the long trek towards the old church.

While all of the Slums were bad, the southside was the worst. Merchants never traveled out this far, due to the proximity of the abandoned sector. The knights never patrolled so far into the slums either, meaning the crime rate was almost 100%.

The only power in the Southside Slums was Farrier.

And if that wasn’t a damning statement for this part of the slums, Ella wasn’t sure what was.

The only plus to coming to the Southside, was that her bag clearly labeled her as one of Farrier’s, which meant that the people who looked like they were going to risk trying to mug a vision user, decided to take their violence elsewhere.

However, the deeper into Southside she traversed, the fewer people she encountered. Until she was only a few streets away from the church, and Ella realized that she hadn’t seen a single person in several minutes.

Although, as she turned a corner and saw elemental corruption clinging to the street and walls, she understood a little better. Ella paused long enough to pull her mask on, as well as her goggles, and she pulled her hat down so that it covered her ears, before she continued.

Elemental corruption was strange. In some ways it was harmless, for example you could walk through a cloud of elemental energy and not be harmed at all, even if it did feel strange against your skin. If you tried to use your vision while in a cloud of elemental energy, your elemental power would be increased, but there was always the chance of it backfiring on you, especially with the more volatile elements, like anemo, pyro, and electro.

In other ways, the elemental energy was so dangerous. If someone were to walk through a cloud of elemental energy while not wearing protective gear they would suffer from lung infections, eye infections, and eardrum ruptures. And that was just the short term. Long term, the effects could be much worse.

If a lot of pyro elemental energy got into your lungs, it could, and would, cause a pyro swirl reaction inside your lungs. And, well, there are less painful ways to die.

Once Ella was sure that she was properly protected, she stepped through the clouds of elemental energy, grimacing at the feel of it prickling against her skin. It would be an electro day.

Fortunately, the church wasn’t far away by that point, and she was able to jog the few remaining streets to reach the old, and yet well kept, building. She used her key to unlock the front door, and carefully shut and locked the door behind her.

The church had long been surrendered to the elements, none of the old pews remained, some had been turned to ash, while others sprouted into brand new trees. Walls were crumbling and the roof was almost completely gone. And yet, at the front of the church, was a statue of Barbatos, seemingly untouched by the elements.

She carefully made her way to the front of the church, stepping over the missing pieces of floor, or trying to avoid the more worn looking pieces at least, and she stopped in front of the statue. Ella stood there for a short moment, sending a silent prayer to the missing god for her own safety, before she lightly touched the base of the statue.

She took a deep breath, and stepped around the statue, hopping over a broken piece of floor, and opened the door that would lead to the abandoned sector.

As soon as she stepped over the threshold, Ella felt several different elements brush against her exposed skin. She turned to look over the abandoned sector and her breath caught.

It was beautiful, but tragic. There were elemental reactions happening all over the place, houses were covered in ice, even as the land around the building burned. Electricity arced through the air, until it got caught up in an anemo reaction, sending the lightning in every direction.

People had once lived here, long ago. Ella couldn’t help but wonder if they escaped the elemental energy, or if they died without knowing what was happening.

She shook her head, putting those thoughts to the side, and started scanning the buildings. Libraries were normally large buildings, so logically, she was looking for a large building. And, if she was lucky, it might even still be standing.

Eventually, as she turned her gaze towards the west, she caught a hint of a large building that seemed to be covered in trees. Possibly the library, and trees were a heck of a lot safer than the fire tornados that were everywhere else. Decision made, Ella hopped down from the ledge that she had used for shelter, summoned her polearm and began to walk.

Elemental reactions were a thing here, yes. Fortunately for her she had her own element.

One hour later, Ella was irritatedly taking shelter under what used to be a cafe. A massive cryo and electro reaction forced her to seek shelter if she didn’t want to turn into a crisp. However, the time did allow her to take note of the fact that the building she was heading towards was, in fact, a library. And that there seemed to be a remarkable lack of elemental energy around it. Or the area around the building was a hot spot of dendro or geo elemental energy.

Annoyingly, she was only a short distance away from the building too.

It took 2 hours for the cryo-electro storm to pass, and Ella hurried in the direction of the library before another storm could start. All things considered, the storm she had to live through was better than most of the alternatives.

Amazingly, the library was still in one piece. Sure, she had to climb in through a broken window, due to the door being blocked by a massive tree, but other than that, it actually felt kind of safe.

She looked around the room, taking in the walls of books, and, for a moment, felt totally overwhelmed. How was she supposed to know which of these books would be worth the most to Farrier? She rubbed the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath to try and settle herself, and she grabbed a book off one of the shelves.

It was a book on the various nations of Teyvat, before the walls were erected. Valuable? Maybe. She tossed the book onto one of the remaining tables. And pulled another one off the shelf. A cookbook. Less valuable.

For over an hour, Ella skimmed through the books, looking for ones that might be valuable for her boss. And she was about to leave when a thin book, hand written rather than printed like the others, fell from inside a children’s novel.

“What’s this?” Ella asked the empty room, as she picked up the book and flipped to the first page.

I spoke to Morax today, he agrees with me. The situation is getting worse, not better and our actions don’t seem to have any effect on the creatures that the Abyss pulled from somewhere. They seem almost...immune to our elements.

Ella turned a couple of pages, making a note of the date at the top of each page. It appeared that this was a journal, or a diary of some sort.

The creatures got into Mondstadt today. I…

They killed everyone.

I’ve had enough. I’m going to go to the other archons and demand that something be done.

Ella stared at the last line she read. The things that she was reading, it implied that this book belonged to Barbatos, and that he was keeping a journal before the walls were built. But, who was this Abyss? And what were these creatures?

She flipped towards the last entry.

It’s done. The walls have been built. The creatures can no longer get to my people.

I created a cage for my people, in the hopes to keep them safe.

I am tired. Building the walls took a lot out of me, more than it should have.

I’m going to sleep. Maybe someone, someday, in the future will find this account, and if they do, I hope it helps.

May the wind guide your path.

Barbatos

Ella closed the book gently, and slipped it under her sweater. This was valuable. Valuable enough that she was not going to give it to Farrier, that’s for sure.

She turned to the pile of books she had sorted out earlier, ready to make her choice for what books to bring to Farrier, only to hear voices coming from the other side of the library.

“Why are we searching this place again?” A deep male voice asked.

“The grandmaster believes that some of the roaches from the slums might try to get here to earn some easy money,” A second voice, a female, replied, “Like the three we caught last week.”

The man snickered, “You really think we’re going to find someone else?”

Ella didn’t wait around to hear the woman’s response, she just grabbed her bag and ducked through a cracked door, ducking down behind the wall. That explained what happened to Farrier’s original expedition; she wondered if they were still alive.

The voices were closer now, “I have to wonder why the grandmaster doesn’t just let us purge the Slums. They make Mondstadt look bad,” The man said, his voice now distressingly close.

“We get some good people from the slums. Desperate people will do anything, after all.” The woman sounded further away, though she suddenly stopped moving, “There’s someone here.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Someone’s been going through the books.” She said sharply, “Spread out and find them. We’ll bring them before the grandmaster.”

Ella shifted further away from the door as the two knights began scouring the room for her. Her eyes darted around the room, looking either for an exit or a better hiding place, but the room she was in seemed to be one of the only rooms in the entire library that was largely undamaged.

The footsteps got louder, and she silently moved away from the door, though she froze when in her haste, she stepped on a loose tile. The door to the room she was hiding in flew open, and the knights peered into the room, their faces hidden from the protective gear they were wearing.

“Looks like you were right, we found a little rat.” The man said, and Ella could just hear the sneer in his voice. For a moment, she toyed with summoning her weapon again and just forcing them to let her leave, but the choice was taken away from her when the two adults both attacked her at the same time, ripping her mask and goggles off, replacing them with a much more industrial face protector, and then her arms were bound behind her back, and the male tossed her over his shoulder, like she was a sack of potatoes.

If it wasn’t for the fact that Ella was pretty sure that she was about to be executed, she would have taken a moment to marvel at how Sector 1 looked. All of the buildings were clean, there was no trash on the ground, and the people were all well dressed and clean.

At least, the part of Sector 1 she was able to see was like that. The Knights had been careful to bring her to the headquarters of the Knights of Favonius through alleys and hidden passageways.

She supposed she wasn’t too surprised when one of the passageways led right outside the clearly labeled Grandmaster’s office. And she wasn’t too shocked when the Knights forced her right in and pulled the mask off of her face.

Ella only had a moment to look up at the Grandmaster, an older man with salt and pepper hair and a stern face, and almost a foot taller than she was, before she was pushed to the ground. She tried to struggle to her knees, but a pair of rough hands kept her on the ground, “We found her in the old library, sir.” The woman said in a clear voice.

“Hm, I heard.” The Grandmaster’s voice was as rough as his countenance, “Pull her up, I want to see her face.” Ella let out a slightly pained grunt as she was forced to her knees, “Hm. One of Farrier’s I assume.” The man said, “I am Grandmaster Ferdinand, I lead both the Knights of Favonius as well as the Church of Favonius. Who are you?”

“My name is Ella Hesse.”

“Hesse. Oh yes, the Hydro user who was forbidden from joining the Knights and the Church. Seems like I was right in my judgement of you,”

“Yeah, imagine that. Someone with no options took the only one left. Go figure.” She spat out angrily, only to let out a cry of pain when the grandmaster’s boot slammed into her cheek, knocking her back to the floor.

The grandmaster watched her impassively, and then turned his back on her, “Get her to her feet and unbind her. I do not kill vision users.”

Ella was forcefully dragged to her feet, and her wrists unbound, though the bindings had been so tight that her wrists were bleeding and bruised. “But you kill other people?” She asked scathingly.

“I do what’s best for Mondstadt.”

“Best for Mondstadt? The elemental corruption is spreading, people are starving, and you’re up here in your ivory tower acting like you’re some kind of god!?”

The grandmaster turned and, with surprising swiftness for someone of his build, slammed the flat of his greatsword against Ella’s chest, knocking the wind out of her. She hit the ground hard, coughing and gasping for air.

The Grandmaster loomed over her, “I am the Ruler of Mondstadt. Barbatos abandoned us, and I will lead us to a brighter future.”

“You’re not the ruler of Mondstadt,” Ella gasped out, crying out in pain once again as the Grandmaster pressed his boot on her chest, applying an uncomfortable amount of pressure. “Mondstadt belongs to Barbatos.” She managed to gasp out.

The pressure lifted suddenly, “Your loyalty to a god no one has seen in decades is commendable, if misguided.” The grandmaster walked across the room, giving Ella the time to get to her feet, though the way she was clutching her chest implied that she was hurt far worse than she let on. “Tell me, what did you learn in the library?”

“I learned the recipe for chicken and mushroom skewers,” Ella replied.

“That’s it. You learned nothing about Abyss?”

“Never heard of it.”

“You’re lying.” The Grandmaster turned and regarded her with ice like eyes, “No matter. The outcome of this is the same no matter what you said. Take her bag, and then deposit her outside the walls of Mondstadt.” He flashed a cruel smile, “If she’s so sure that Barbatos is ruler of these lands, then she doesn’t deserve the safety of my city.”

“Yes sir,” The two knights, who had remained silent until that moment, said in unison, before they grabbed Ella and propelled her out of the room.

They said nothing as they took her bag, and they said nothing as they split up, the woman going to take her bag to the archives and the man bringing her to the gate.

It was only after the gate had opened, and Ella was about to be shoved out that the man spoke, “There are other vision users outside of the walls,” He said, “People who were exiled for speaking out against the Grandmaster. If you’re lucky they’ll find you.” He said quietly, “If you’re not...well, just hope that you’re lucky. Godsspeed.” He then shoved her past the gate, and it slammed shut behind her. For the first time in her life, Ella was outside of the city walls.

The first half an hour outside of the wall was strange, but freeing. But after that, things started to get more difficult for her. Her footsteps became more unsteady, and she started struggling to breathe.

45 minutes after she was exiled from Mondstadt, Ella collapsed to her knees, coughing hard, with blood coming from her mouth. The Grandmaster had broken her ribs, intentionally probably. Just as her vision started going dark she felt a warm breeze against her skin.

“Hold on,” A boy with green eyes leaned over her, a smile on his cheerful face, “Don’t worry, I’ll get you somewhere safe.”

And then Ella blacked out.

On the other side of Mondstadt, on the border between Mondstadt and Liyue, Diluc, an exile from Mondstadt, and Fay, a visitor from Sumeru, were finishing up their patrol for the evening. They were having a nice conversation, after having a peaceful patrol.

Though, just as they were about to make the turn that would lead them back to their safehouse, the wind suddenly picked up, blowing dirt and debris into their faces, and when the wind stopped, a young woman lay several feet away.

“Oh!” Fay shot forward, dropping to her knees trying to determine what was wrong with her, while Diluc quickly made sure that whoever, or whatever, brought her there hadn’t lingered.

“How is she?” He asked, once he was sure they were safe.

“Badly injured,” Fay replied seriously, “We must get her inside immediately.” She looked down at the girl, who’s eyes cracked open for a split second, “It’s okay, you’re going to be alright, I promise.” The girl’s eyes fluttered shut again, and Fay turned her attention towards Diluc, “We need to get her inside,”

“Yeah, I got it.” He carefully scooped the girl into his arms and allowed Fay to lead the way into the base.

#About ella #hazelandfriendsoc #my writings

8 notes · View notes

bexterbex · 5 years ago

Text

A Soul to Mend His Own | Ch. 43

Warning, PLEASE CHECK TAGS IF YOU SEE SOMETHING YOU DON’T WANT TO READ THEN DON’T READ.

Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Will tag as I go along, Will update tags, Slow Burn, Influenced by Star Trek and other Sci-Fi themes, References to We Happy Few, Tons of References and quotes to George Orwells 1984 see if you can find them all, The First Order is the new Big Brother, but who is really surprised, Blatant Nazi Symbolism, Interrogation Themes, Eventual Smut, Eventual Romance, Really just drawn out Slow Burn, Don’t repost without permission, Torture themes, Suggestive Themes, Execution themes, Disturbing Themes, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Verbal Abuse, Controlling Kylo Ren, Physical Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Kylo Ren is Not Nice, Kylo Ren Has Issues, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, Possessive Kylo Ren

A Kylo Ren x Modern! Reader in a soulmate au with some canon divergence. —————————————SLOWBURN————————————–

He is already the Supreme leader, searching the universe to find you, his Empress. Your name on his wrist has been the only constant in his life, while you have doubts about his existence and his acceptance of you. He isn’t in the database and why did the name Kylo Ren cover Ben Solo?

MASTERLIST

Chapter 43: A Decision is Made

He escorted you down to the conference room where the First Order High Command had gathered, or rather all present persons had gathered and any others appeared as hologram projections.

He sat you down in a chair at the middle of the table. Allegiant General Hux was to your right and General Parnadee to your left, Admiral Griss faced her and General Pryde faced Hux. The chair opposite of you was empty, you knew that it was to be Kylo’s chair that he never seemed to use. “Lady Ren and myself will be leaving Earth in two days. I am sure you are all wondering what will be done. The Finalizer will be stationed here until a proper base can be built,” said Kylo, his mask distorting his voice.

Heads around the room nodded in acknowledgment and agreement.

“I also know many of you are eager to hear who will be left in charge of the planet.” As he said this many of the generals and admirals had looks of excitement in their eyes. “I have made an agreement with Lady Ren, she is the one who will make the decision as to who will be left in charge. She will give us her decision now.”

You knew he knew that you had yet to make a decision on what you had only discussed hours ago. You only knew a few of the faces in the room, this was something he knew too. He wanted the upper hand in the relationship, all of the power and control.

You needed to play your hand right, to gain some semblance of power, of control. You acted quickly hoping your brain would make the right decision. You turned to your right, “Allegiant General Hux, I value your opinion on this matter. How well would you recommend General Parnadee?”

You saw Kylo’s head shift, questioning you, even though you knew he could see into your mind you were acting on impulse. Something you weren’t thinking about too much ahead of time. And it was throwing him for a loop.

“General Bellava Parnadee is a good candidate m’lady. She received exemplary marks when she was in the Academy. She also has been highly admired by subordinates and peers. After the fall of Hosnian Prime, she focused on the occupation of contested worlds and directed ground forces on Torost, Odynnia Gavo and the planet Kijimi. Her input is invaluable as she has an avid love of history, but instead of admiring the past she learns from it, builds from it. I believe she would be most excellent in guiding your home planet to be a model for the First Order and the rest of the galaxy,” said Hux.

You could see the woman in question sitting next to swell in pride at the compliments from the allegiant general and from the honor of being a candidate. You could also see Pryde’s jaw twitch at the allegiant general’s words. Especially the part about learning from history and not idolizing it.

You turned to her, “I am willing to offer you the position only if you agree to weekly debriefings with me, however that may need to work. And you will take my advice and input. Do you accept the position General Parnadee?”

“I would be honored to m’lady. I now recognize this as your home planet, it is one of the most valuable resources the First Order has and I will treat it with respect,” she responded.

Although you had your disagreement with her earlier, over the treatment of your people, you trusted Hux. You also knew you could stand up to her when it was needed. And honestly, you knew that an admiral was in charge of ships and a general was in charge of ground forces, mostly. So you had a very limited choice in who you could choose. And as much as you wanted to be as far away from the unpleasant gaze of General Pryde, you knew you could not leave him in charge of your home.

“Congratulations General Parnadee,” said Kylo. The room was still, you had no idea how he would react to this decision, and it seemed that no one else did either. You wondered if he could see that you still tried to hold some of the cards, some of the power. “We will be heading back to the Supremacy which will be docked outside Mars for a few more days, as we are finalizing permanent mining operations there. Once we are finished there we will be going on a mission that I have planned, those who need to know will know. But if done correctly we will be able to increase the size of our military ten-fold.”

There was a murmur of excitement throughout the room. A positive energy for once.

“That is all, Allegiant General I have some matters to discuss with you.” With that everyone filled out of the room.

Parnadee thanked you again. You could feel General Pryde’s eyes rake over you before he left, it sent the most unpleasant shivers down your spine. You remained in your seat knowing that you were only allowed to leave when Kylo allowed it.

“You will continue educating Lady Ren. But see to it that you find a way to keep a close watch on Pryde. I do not want him on board the Supremacy but I do not want him attempting anything,” you heard Kylo telling Hux.

“Yes, Supreme Leader. Did you think about my recommendation for Lady Ren?”

“I believe you are correct,” he then turned to you. “You will have two ladies-in-waiting joining us on board the Supremacy. One will be your choice, one will be mine. They will keep you company and keep you occupied when neither the general or I will be around. You will receive more when you become empress, but for now, the two will do. I expect you to make a decision by tomorrow morning.”

Two ladies-in-waiting? You needed to pick someone to trap in your cage with you. Could you be so cruel to someone who already had their own freedom? No one came to mind when you initially thought of it, maybe you would need to ask for help, but not from Kylo. You know this was just him throwing you another bone.

Kylo and the general continued discussing matters you had no interest in, you zoned out. You had no idea how long you were out of it before Kylo pulled you up and guided you back to your chambers. Chambers that were now guarded by two knights right outside the door. Your guarded cage.

You were there for dinner, which was quiet. Neither of you speak, or rather want to speak. You tried to keep any thoughts you had buried deep down, tried to keep your mind from wandering to things he wouldn’t approve of. After dinner, you both headed to the living room, where he pulled you down onto his lap, his heavy arms trapping you against him.

He groaned at the pressure of you on him. His lips found your neck as he turned on the big projector screen, the same one Hux had used during your tutoring session, but this time it was some weird First Order children’s show and not some boring etiquette video.

You weren’t at all interested in the show, but anytime your eyes shifted away for too long he snapped his fingers and pointed to the screen. But he was also distracting you with his lips and the fingers that kept exploring your sides. Eventually one of his hands came to rest on your heat once more, this time pushing your underwear aside and letting his fingers roam free. You were frozen but just as he tried to tease the tip of his finger into your entrance you cried out, “no!”

His fingers backed away but still tried to roam, so you caught his wrist in your hand, “no.”

He scoffed and brought his fingers to his lips, tasting the wetness that had seeped out of you, “mmm better than I could have imagined.” His other hand came up to squeeze your breast while the other one moved back down to squeeze your ass. “Why deny something that you want?” His voice dripped in sensuality, low and velvety.

A moan escaped your lips, again only a small part of your brain was screaming for him to stop, the rest of your body betraying you. Before you could answer one of his hands, grab yours and pull it behind you to feel his crotch, you could feel his hardness beneath you. “Do you feel what you do to me?”

“Yes,” you called out. Your heartbeat was in your ears. You couldn’t really even breathe. All he seemed to want to do was to set fire to your nerves. “I want to wait.”

“When? When will I fully have you?” he breathed into the crook of your neck, grinding your hand harder down onto himself.

That small bit of rational brain had a thought and it ran like wildfire. “When I become empress, on that first night.” Your breathing hitched. “A celebration, for both of us.”

He groaned in frustration as he bucked up into your hand, into your ass. He then bit down rather hard on your shoulder, “As you wish Kitten.” His hand then squeezed your breast hard once more before picking you up and carrying you up the stairs.

He set you down in front of the closet that held your sleep clothes. You grabbed what you needed to get ready and headed to the bathroom where Kylo trapped you in the doorway. “No misbehaving.” He then hooked his hand under your chin and came down with a crashing kiss before letting you go.

The door shut and you felt as if it was the first time you have had a chance to breathe all day. You quickly took a shower and got ready for bed. You noticed your neck was now littered with dark lovebites. You left the bathroom and your body was immediately pulled into his, his lips crashing onto yours. He sucked and bit on your bottom lip asking for entrance which you granted. He pulled you down on top of him on the bed.

His hands trailed down your back and squeezed your ass. This caused you to straddle him. He groaned into your mouth as he rolled his pelvis into yours. You pushed yourself up onto your elbows breaking the kiss. He looked up at you, “Does Kitten not want to play,” he teased.

“Kitten would like to sleep,” you referred to yourself in the third person and used his nickname for you. You crawled to the left side of the bed and lay on your side with your back to Kylo, who crawled up to spoon you.

As he started to grind into you once more he said into your hair, “Mmm I can’t wait to get my kitten to purr.” This was the last thing you heard before you drifted off to sleep.

Your dreams were filled with the kinder man you had first met. You dreamed of him saving you from a high tower off a cliffside with waves crashing at the bottom. He was still a knight, but this time classically dressed in armor. He rode a beautiful white steed and he seemed happy. He saved you after slaying an awful black dragon, that spit red fire and had yellow eyes. It was the largest dragon you had ever seen, a legend in your dream world. In the end, you rode off into the sunset with him to a beautiful castle filled with light. Every fiber of your being wished this dream, this fairytale would come true.

Sadly it looked like you were not going to get your prince charming as you were still trapped with the dragon, that hoarded your beauty and happiness like gold.

#kylo ren #kylo ren x reader #kylo ren imagine #kylo x reader #kylo x you #kylo ren smut #kylo smut #star wars #first order #star wars imagine #Star wars soulmate au #sw first order imagine #star wars first order #a soul to mend his own

141 notes · View notes

honestlyfrance · 5 years ago

Text

The Missing Letters Between Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes and Detective Samuel Wilson

square filled: Detectives AU

warning: innuendo; swearing; the usual gay debunking from historians (subtle); murder cases; car accident

summary:

In the late ending 19th century, Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes resigned from his duties as a military officer to follow Detective Samuel Wilson to the ends of the world, even going as far as accompanying the strange and wistful man in his cases. The letters collected by many biographers and museums are only the few correspondents between the two rumored lovers, running between the scrutinized years of 1889 towards the start of 1900, the timeline: The Sergeant running away from a German Spy group after the Detective uncovered a massive Russian Spy Ring decades earlier, calling fair game. Historians still can’t tell the full story that changed Europe, and neither do the letters.

a/n: I have obviously given up on writing, resorting to edits, but I still don’t know if this counts as an edit or a fic lmao anyway they both fit the requirements. Join me in the frustration of this AU and tell me what you think! Brackets mean commentary! Careful - this is pretty long!

@sambuckyevents

[ The few letters curated are in code. Historians speculate it’s to hide the two men’s letters, making it difficult for anyone to read them, but what raises questions were the simple code used in each one: Caesar Cipher, a cipher where each letter of the alphabet is substituted for a letter three positions further. Historians then speculate why had the two men used such a simple and easy code to cipher their letters, and to this day, they cannot offer a concrete answer. The only letter that differed in code was from James Barnes, wherein you have to use a special kind of glasses that merges the two different inks used, red and blue, to form a coherent word. The glasses used to read this letter was owned by Samuel Wilson, but his biographers still speculate on the other colors the glasses are capable to read. ]

17, 8196

[ date still being speculated ]

Dearest,

The only thing keeping me together was you: me wanting you so badly. I couldn’t wait to sleep in our bed, hearing you snore so softly, or watch you pace in the room, a pencil in your mouth, your murmuring dulling me to sleep. I will be awake so

Beloved, Barns

[ Pages missing ] [ Believed to be unfinished on purpose, but is merely speculation ]

[ To hide coherency between their letters, Samuel Wilson initiated using different papers, ashing pages, and using different inks. In his other letters, Samuel Wilson used several penmanship that barely look the same from the others; this is obvious in his letters to Sarah Wilson, his sister, and James Rhodes, his close friend. James Barnes, however, only wrote in the same handwriting, but he was ambidextrous, and his right and left handwriting were strikingly different, to which he used to his advantage. ]

[ The next letter is said to be Barnes’s last letter sent to Wilson before he finally settled down in his hometown. There were no records that show that Barnes really did settle down somewhere in Brooklyn, or in New York, for that matter, but what is sure is that he had met up with his sister, Rebecca Barnes, in Brooklyn during this time. The rumored letter written by Wilson to which Barnes is replying to was burnt along with the other donations to the Smithsonian Museum in the car accident of Wilson’s last descendants - luckily, no one got hurt.

This letter of Barnes’s was one of the few that were descriptive enough to set the scene, as seen with the reminiscing of the London Streets of where Barnes and Wilson lived in. Another detail in this letter was the infamous Scarlett Body Case, the gruesome murder of Elizabeth Scarlett, an African-American opera singer, to which Wilson was assigned to. The only ever existing information about this case is in Federal Custody among the F.B.I. who work hard on closing the case the famous detective failed to solve. The Scarlett Body Case is the last case Wilson was known to have before he disappeared. ]

Brooklyn, Dec 16, 1900

To Sam Wilson, down in Washington, D.C.

I have received your last letter with a warm heart, and all I could think about was how tragic your past years must've been. I wish I could've been right by your side, cheering you on as you trek every path that led you somewhere or to a dead end. Just as I read your hefty letter, I could feel myself submerge into the scene. I could feel the London streets and smell the thick air of smoke, feel the chilling winds of November frost as well as your lips tasting of nicotine. I breathe in the pages and could smell the strong scent of your cologne and faint blood. Have you been writing after every lead or case? I love that about you, but that doesn't mean you have to keep that awful habit. Please, at least wash your hands.

I see that you need some help on the Scarlett Body Case, yet, again, that road is past me. I don't feel the adrenaline of solving murders, jewelry thieving, or sudden disappearances, and I'm so sorry I can't give you what you want. As I sit here in my drawing room, a thought dwells upon the air, thick with dread: "Is this the only thing Sam wants from me?" and I always think, maybe it's right. Was that not the reason we left Versailles? Because we couldn't handle the loss? We've been battered and bruised, Sam, and I don't think I could take that grief to my deathbed anymore.

Time isn't kind for us, nor will it ever allow us to breathe freely. This haunts me to no end; I thought I could avoid it until your letter came to me. All the way from America, how are you doing there? You've already said so many times how your new profession is treating you, but have you felt that urgency? have you felt that adrenaline? have you tasted strawberries on another's lips yet? have you found something to exhaust your talents on? You're easy. You probably already have while you waited for this letter to come back to you.

And yes. I still do think about that night. The whipping London air we love haunts me every night in April and all I could think about is the way your hands wrap themselves around mine. I couldn’t dread you for long, and I haven’t felt so much longing until you. I know I said I don’t write much in letters, afraid that future historians might find out that I love you, adore you, cherish you, but I really don’t care anymore. I hope each day that in some other time out there, our letters will be displayed for the masses, so they, too, can know what true love is.

Yes, she is fine.

Yours, forever and always,

Sgt. James Buchanan Barnes

[ The one paged letter is said to be incomplete and may have more pages describing Barnes’s past life in England, but that is merely speculation. This letter is also under investigation by the F.B.I. to help understand better Howard Stark’s murder on December 16, 1900 to which the letter is dated; the investigators hoped that the letter would reveal any information on the aftermath of the case but the abrupt ending of the letter didn’t answer anything. ]

[ The famous line “Let your lover go, you said; I didn’t want to go” came from this letter of Barnes’s. This, in addition to the rest of the letters, were speculated to be love letters, but historians claim that there weren’t enough evidence to prove that this affair happened.

It’s in this letter where Barnes had helped Wilson with his cases after the aftermath of their separation, and it’s this letter where historians concluded that they still exchange letters. The case with the Sir Willobough character does not exist and still stump historians and biographers to this day. ]

Brooklyn, Jan 24, 1901

Dearest Sam Wilson

Have you tried asking Sir Willobough for the napkin? You’ve recalled that he wasn’t in both places, but his alibi may be strong, but so was he: the two streets are near his store, is it not? This is the only letter you may find help from me, for I still take my stand, I do not want to help. That life is past me. My friend, have you not realized? 1892 scarred me. It has scarred you. I don’t want to take part in any endeavors that may harm you. I love you too much to see you hurt like this.

The post office was quite clumsy this whole month, because I had only received your last two letters dated Dec 12, 1889 and Dec 30, 1889 just yesterday, and I don’t know what came over me, but I had sat myself down in the drawing room and had written all of this mess. Yes, I’ve written the first page last to apologize for the mess you shall see. I didn’t want to display myself so bare like that but it had to be done: I miss you badly, I must admit. I cannot dwell on the fact that I had to leave you. We had a steady life and income, the stars cannot touch us with our fame and wealth, but, as all legends do, we died, and hence, we are forgotten. I’ve been left wishing for you to live forever but I know technology isn’t as advanced as that. I just wish you to know, may it be my final breath: I always wonder if you had loved me too, because I really couldn’t know. If you did, we would’ve stayed, but, yet again my mind surprises me, love isn’t supposed to be entrapment, it’s supposed to be free. Let you[r] lover go, you said; I didn’t want to go, Sammy.

[ Page 2, 3, 4 missing ]

[ The fifth page is the only accompanying page of the complete letter that survived. It is where Barnes had described the night in which they had both met. The public, in addition to the historians, still debate over what the two men truly did in the library. ]

All I could think of was the day we met: I was in my uniform, had just told my superior officers to bugger off, had finally resigned from my post, and suddenly you appeared. I still remember the host of the party. His name was Howard Stark, an old and dying man, who gave out parties so extravagant, may there be stories about it. Every room was illuminated with golden lights that the stars were jealous of, and there was food from all over the world, something so delicious I had filled myself to the brim. Everyone who was everyone was there. My General’s aides-de-camps were there and I had told them to “fuck off” as I had put it gently, then right at the top of the grand staircase was an angel, yelling at the top of his lungs, ‘General Valhan, you are under arrest for arson and homicide!’ Everyone’s head turned to you and laughed, but the guards weren’t laughing, handcuffed my General and I laughed the loudest. It must’ve come as insulting and even after a decade I still apologize for it. I’m sorry. You should’ve seen his face! I have never seen such terror on a man’s face, and I’ve been to war.

I had caught you right at the moment, chased you up the stairs, and you saw me, ran away, and we played cat and mouse until we cornered each other in the library, locked the door, and had the best night of our lives. If anyone knew what we did there, we could’ve been killed for it, but, Bah! I love it. I love you. I still remember the coat you wore and how you threw it on the floor, how we wrestled each other on the floor before kissing so gently the angels cowered at the softness. I have never seen anyone so beautiful wearing only glasses, but then again, I hadn’t met you. And all was swell, all was sweet, we shared a cigar and I asked for your name. I still remember the fake names you threw at me: Jack Smith, Richard Wilkes, Patrick Stevens. Only when you gave me your business card was when you told me.

Another memorable moment was when I had chased your train and joined you to Versailles. Everyone was stunned. Everyone hated us. I loved that so much. I would ride that train again and again if you wanted to.

[ Another notable detail in the matter were the fake names Wilson gave Barnes, because those names were the names of his lesser known solved murder cases in which all victims died by strangulation and/or air-deprivation. There are a lot more Easter Eggs of Wilson’s many cases in the single page but the most talked about is the train express to Versailles, because it is here that Barnes and Wilson were being followed, ensuing the infamous manhunt for the two men by the unnamed Russian Spy Ring. ]

[ missing pages ]

#sbbingo1 #sambucky #sam wilson #bucky barnes #marvel #winterfalcon #france: works #france: the missing letters #france: writing

68 notes · View notes

zoryany · 5 years ago

Text

@kaitodetective1412 sent me 45 -- You may technically be an adult, but you’re still my child.

(an anon did as well and I do plan to answer both in different ways and I will tag kaito in the anon answer as well bc I feel like this isn’t what either of you wanted but it’s what you’re gonna get, for now)

Imperial Royal Skywalker Family AU Pt 1 || Pt 2

send me ficlet prompts – optionally include characters

Dessert passed in relative silence, the atmosphere in the dining room having grown decidedly tense. Luke had really been hoping he could have delayed Han meeting his father until after he’d spoken to his parents, but the Force seemed to be set on toying with him. At least Mother had been able to placate Father before he’d done anything rash, but Luke wasn’t sure that had been entirely preferable, either.

When they’d all finished, Luke moved to usher Han back to his suite, but his mother raised her hand before he had the chance to even rise from his chair. “Leia? Sweetheart, can you please escort Captain Solo to his rooms while your father and I talk to Luke?”

“Yes, Mother.” Leia looked as though she would rather swallow a bantha whole, but she knew better than to argue with their mother, especially when she was already in a dangerous enough mood. She was also probably hoping she’d get to be in on the whole conversation that was to come, which added to her disappointment. Not that it mattered, anyways, because one way or another, she would know exactly what was said, but her expression and presence in the Force soured significantly as she turned her gaze to Han. “Let’s go, Captain. I don’t have all night.”

Han threw a final, withering look over his shoulder as Leia led him from the room, leaving Luke alone with his mother at last. With a severe expression, she turned to face him, and Luke felt his stomach drop out from under him. Out of the eyes of company, it was entirely clear just how upset she really was. All of the guilt that had been eating at him for the past weeks rose back up in him all at once.

“Come, dear,” said his mother as she stood. “Let’s not keep your father waiting.”

Hanging his head, Luke followed his mother with heavy steps to his father’s study. Unlike the rooms of the Palace occupied largely by the Empress, Darth Vader’s spaces, both planetside and on his flagship, tended to be dim and spartan, possessing little in the way of embellishments. He claimed it as practicality -- and, on most occasions, Luke would agree with that -- but right about now, he was convinced that it was meant to make facing him all that more intimidating.

Luke had never been afraid of his father. He understood why people were, and why they should be, and he was all too aware of what someone as powerful as Darth Vader was capable of, but he’d never feared him. His father would never hurt him or Leia, especially not with Mother around to rein in his temper, but there was always a certain anxiety that overtook him whenever his father was angry. He hated the feeling, the sudden urge to cower in submission before a man he’d idolized all his life and who loved him deeply. Leia had always been better than Luke at standing strong in the face of his emotions, perhaps because she had never felt the same level of hero-worship towards him, but Luke was finding himself longing for some of her strength right about now.

His father had been pacing the length of the room when they’d arrived, but the moment they crossed the threshold, he stopped in his tracks and whirled around. The movement was so abrupt that most would assume that kind of speed impossible from a man as large as Vader, but he moved quick enough to send his cape billowing behind him. “Sit,” he commanded, pointing to a chair in the centre of the room.

As he complied, his mother walked to stand to the right of her husband, both parents folding their arms across their chests. His cheeks burned in shame as he avoided looking directly at them. How was it that they could so easily make him feel like he was five years old again?

“You know why you are here, son.” The modulated voice carried a tranquil rage, one that affected him far more than being shouted at ever would. “Explain.”

‘You can do this, Luke,’ he thought silently, sucking in a shuddering breath in an attempt to steady himself. ‘You’ve been practicing this speech in your head since you left.’

"I -- I can’t apologize enough for leaving without warning like that. I know I put you through needless worry, and I’m sure that nothing I can do will make up for that. I just... needed to get away.” Stars, it sounded even lamer saying it out loud than it did in his head. Neither parent looked pleased. He pressed on. “You know I’ve never really liked -- never really been comfortable with any of... well, our status.” Once again, he was jealous of Leia. She wouldn’t be stumbling over her words like this. “I’ve never liked being the Prince, never really liked making public appearances. Never been good at them, either. Leia’s always been better suited for it. And after twenty years of it, I was feeling... claustrophobic. I needed some freedom.”

“Freedom?” It had always been a touchy subject for his father, Luke knew, but he had to hope he could use that to his advantage. “As the Imperial Prince, you have been granted every want, every desire you could hope for. Your mother and I fought tirelessly, made endless sacrifices to create this life for you and your sister. There has never been more freedom in the galaxy, and you stand at the head of it all.”

Was his father being serious? “You... actually expect me to believe that being rich and powerful is the same as being free?” But then, of course his father did. “Maybe you just don’t realize this gilded cage you’ve put me in, Father. I can’t go anywhere beyond our private quarters without an excessive number of guards accompanying me. You and mother have to be aware of my location at every given moment. I’m not allowed to fly or talk to people or do anything without express permission! It’s suffocating! It’s -- ”

“For your safety,” his father growled, hands falling from his chest to form clenched fists at his sides. Next to him, his mother tensed slightly, pursing her lips, but she did nothing more than focus on watching him just a bit more closely. “Everything I have ever done has been to keep you and your mother and your sister safe. The life we live has come at a great cost, and I will not see you throw it all away out of some foolish rebellion. If something would have happened to you -- ”

“But it didn’t!” Luke cried, his voice pitching upward. Any fear or anxiety he’d been feeling had evaporated, and he was prepared to staunchly defend himself. He was not an idiot. He knew exactly how his parents would feel and how they would react to his departure. The decision he made was conscious and purposeful, and he had every intention of justifying it. “I can take care of myself, you know. All that training hasn’t been for nothing. I was careful. I took every precaution. And I’m twenty years old, now, I’m not a little kid anymore.”

While his mother’s face had relaxed a bit, his father did not appear to be convinced. “You may technically be an adult,” he said, slowly, “but you are still my child -- our child. I have torn down the galaxy once to protect you, and I would do it a thousand times over if it keeps you from harm.”

Letting out a noise of frustration, Luke leapt up from his seat. “But that’s just it! I know you have and I know that you were trying to do it again! Don’t think I didn’t notice the swath of destruction you left in your wake when you tried to track me down this time. It’s too much! I love you both so much, but I don’t want the galaxy to grind to a halt just because I ask for some time alone. I can’t stand all the attention, the pomp and circumstance that surrounds everything I do, the formality I’m forced to endure just to attend dinner! I just -- ” His voice broke, and he was embarrassed to find his eyes stinging as he looked imploringly at his parents. “All I wanted was a little bit of normalcy.”

Slumping back in his chair, Luke realized he may not have processed all of this quite as successfully as he’d initially thought. Running away, it turned out, had only served as a distraction from genuinely confronting what was really bothering him.

“Normalcy?” The vocoder’s tone was dull and flat, and his father seemed to have relaxed his stance, somewhat, almost in disbelief. “You wish to be ordinary? Like every other being in this galaxy?” Disbelief was evident, now. His father’s fists had uncurled, his shoulders slackened, and though he could not see his face, Luke got the impression of wide eyes and raised brows. “That... is unacceptable. You are the furthest thing from ordinary, son. You are above those lesser beings, and I would not see you receive anything less than you deserve. ”

"No,” Luke said, quietly but firmly, “I am not above them.” He’d spent countless hours in the Coruscant underground, on treks both known and unknown to his parents, and he’d spent several weeks touring the galaxy. He had interacted with their citizens on a regular basis, and he knew who they really were. They were people, beings with dreams and aspirations and ideals, and they were magnificent. “My abilities and my status don’t make me any better than anyone else. Aren’t we supposed to be ruling the galaxy for them?”

A stubborn set worked its way through his father’s frame, unyielding as ever. “We do. The galaxy has never fared better.” And he could not be certain if that was a truth or a lie, but his father certainly believed it. “But I cannot allow you to stoop to the level of those below your status. The future of our benevolent Empire rests upon you and your sister. You must maintain a particular image if you wish for your control over them to endure.”

“Are you not listening to me?” But Luke already knew the answer to that. Of course his father wasn’t listening to him. Anything that contradicted his very specific view of the universe rarely made it through. “I don’t want that power to rest on me! I’m not interested in having people grovel at my feet or flinch away from me in fear. I don’t want people to worship me or treat me like... like -- ”

“Royalty?” His father’s arms were folded across his chest again. “That is what you are.”

Luke was prepared to cut in, and his father looked like he had more to say, but before either of them could speak up again, his mother stepped up and placed a gentle hand on his father’s shoulder.

“Ani, wait.” Even after twenty years, Luke could still not believe just how quickly his father seemed to settle when his mother intervened. “I think I know what this is about.” His mother’s expression grew tender as she stepped towards him, crouching down before his chair and cupping his face in her hands. “Dearest,” she said with unparalleled tenderness, “was this because of your birthday?”

Reading the sympathy and understanding in his mother’s deep brown eyes, Luke found himself leaning into her touch. She was radiating compassion, searching for understanding, and Luke knew that this was the reason he’d always intended to return home when he’d left. His parents loved him. They cared for him. They wanted what was best for him, even if they didn’t know how to go about it. All he’d wanted was to do something on his own terms.

“Yes...”

Because his birthday had not been on his terms. It hadn’t been on Leia’s, either, but she could adapt to it much easier than her brother. He’d been overwhelmed, surrounded by sycophants who only wanted to know him because he was an heir, and his status meant that he could not enjoy even the smallest of pleasantries at a party that was meant to be for him and his twin. And then the scene during the speeches...

He’d never wanted to leave his family. Luke loved his mother, father and sister with his entire being. But their status had always weighed on him, and that night had been a breaking point.

“Oh, sweetheart...” His mother shifted her grip and pulled him close. Luke squeezed his eyes shut. Tears had been threatening to spring forth since he’d sat back down, and they ran freely down his cheeks when his mother’s arms enveloped him. “Why didn’t you say anything? We could have talked this out. You didn’t need to run away.”

At this point, his father had taken a single step forward, appearing somewhat hesitant but still refusing to relent. Luke chose to focus on his mother, and he found himself sinking in on himself even more. It felt nearly impossible to convey how he felt and what he wanted without hurting their feelings. His mother’s sympathetic gaze coupled with his father’s unyielding stance only served to elevate his guilt.

But there was this sneaking feeling within him that the conversation his mother suggested wouldn’t have gone well regardless.

“I didn’t think you would listen to me,” he said quietly. “You’re still not really listening to me. I had to do something drastic. It felt like the only option, at the time, and I still feel like it’s not enough. Han makes me happy in a way that all that spectacle just - doesn’t. So I just - I need you to understand why - and I mean actually understand. Because I didn’t want to run. And I don’t want to do it again. But I can’t keep going like this...”

For a long moment, his mother looked at him with large, sad eyes before finally withdrawing her hands and stepping away. “Alright,” she said, a quiet resignation working its way into her voice. “I... don’t think we’ll get much further tonight. Why don’t you go wash up for bed, and your father and I will discuss what you’ve told us.” She pressed her lips together and gave him a long, steady look. “We want what’s best for you, Luke. Please know this.”

And he did. The trouble was, their idea of what was best for him didn’t always match up to his own.

“Luke.” His father seemed uncharacteristically hesitant. “Please do not resort to this again.”

There was more his father wanted to say - more they all wanted to say - but Luke felt satisfied that they had, at the very least, made some manner of progress tonight.

“I won’t, Father. I promise.”

#imperial royal skywalker family au #luke skywalker #darth vader #padme naberrie #padme amidala #my writing #star wars fic #i THINK i'm happy with this #hope you folks enjoy!#any feedback is obviously appreciated #so let me know what you think!#and if you want more of this AU #either a continuation #or like other things that go down in it

61 notes · View notes