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riathedreamer · 4 years ago

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Zero is Null

A discussion of Zero’s love-hate-relationship with RvB and struggling independence; including a hotdog too big for the bun, tragic backstories, a single bow-chicka-bow-wow, and a cookie at the very end.

Welcome to what will be a lot of text. Basically, it will explore why Zero fails as an RvB (with emphasis on RvB) season. I will not be the first one to bring forth some of the points, and I promise to be fair and civil and fun. This isn’t supposed to be a piece of hate – in fact, I’m writing this because I love Red vs. Blue.

Okay, first of all, to increase your fun – take a guess on just how much of Zero is spent on fight scenes. You see, I’ve calculated the exact amount, and I will reveal it later, but for now, take a guess and remember the number. Maybe you are the winner!

Alright, time to share my thoughts. Wait! Since I suffer from anxiety and have this one annoying voice pretending to be all those critical statements my opinion could be met with, let’s give it an actual voice and address the points throughout this review.

“Why would I care about your opinion, Ria?” – I don’t know, you’re the one who clicked Read More.

“Your opinion doesn’t matter!” – Of course, it doesn’t! Geez. Do you think your opinion matters, though? Listen, we’re on Tumblr, the actual equivalent of screaming into the void. And it’s fun, too!

“If you don’t like it, don’t watch!” - *activates Uno Reverse Card* “You can’t talk about something you haven’t watched!”

“You’re just a Hater” – Actually, this is a point I’ll come back to. Like a cliffhanger. Also, at the end of this, there’ll be a cookie. But this will also include me talking about the stuff I like, because, surprise, Zero is not without talent!

“You just don’t like it because the Reds and Blues aren’t in it!” – Actually, that’s a good point, so instead, this review will start with a sole focus on Zero and discuss the problem that lies within that story. Then we can address why the lack of OG cast is understandable and problematic and weird.

But first! Backstory.

When the first 5 second teaser dropped back in spring (you know, when we were young and innocent and the world didn’t feel like an apocalyptic movie yet), I held onto that one image of what I thought (hoped) to be Grif and Simmons in the sunset, hopefully addressing Grif’s hateglue arc, but boy was I wrong because a) that’s not Simmons, that’s Sarge, and b) the image was from a PSA since the Reds are not in Zero.

Actual face-reveal of me below:

Admittedly, when I heard that the Reds and Blues were not going to be the main characters (or even show up), it felt like a gut punch. However, I actually found myself getting excited due to the creators’ hype. I want to praise them for this. It’s been a while since an RvB season was talked so much ABOUT before its release; it had advertisements, it had creators and voice-actors talking about it. Please. More of that in the future. Their passion rubbed off on me, and that deserves recognition. So it pains me that this was clearly a passion-project, and then when I gave it a try, I didn’t want to touch it again for weeks.

Here’s the thing. I cannot whole-heartedly say that Zero is bad. It’s not gonna melt your eyes. It’s not even so-bad-it’s-good. For me, it’s meh. It’s a Saturday-morning-cartoon aimed for a younger audience with a rushed plot and clichéd characters. The problem is that it calls itself RvB, and with that title comes something to live up to – but more importantly, something to continue.

My main issue is that Zero forces its story into existence by ignoring established content rather than adjusting to it. Let’s call this for the hotdog-too-big-for-the-bun syndrome solely for the sake of the bow-chicka-bow-wow that’s coming now. Bow-chicka-bow-wow. Many of the separate issues I will dive into all add to this hotdog-issue, so I will scream “Hotdog!” whenever this is the case so we can all keep track of my argument.

You can continue the story of Red vs. Blue without the Reds and Blues. While that would personally crush my heart, it can be done. There’s a story of Red vs. Blue that can be continued. The world can be expanded, the previous actions of the Reds and Blues can be explored from another angle.

So.

How does Zero do this? It doesn’t.

I just want to make it clear that new elements can definitely be added when it comes to worldbuilding. That’s literally the point of sequels. But Zero’s settings are presented with so little grace and with no connection to previously established worldbuilding. We get Alliance of Defense and GLASS thrown in our face as very big important organizations – yet we’ve never heard of them before. A big central plot point of RvB is the UNSC and Project Freelancers, and those were introduced naturally with the plot. We already have big established intergalactic organizations. What is AOD’s connection with those? We aren’t told. We are just told they exist and expected to accept it, no questions asked. If this was a whole new world and story – fine. But when you need to build on an already established worldbuilding, you need more grace than this. Chorus was a whole new setting, but it was explained, and it was connected to the previous plot. Same with Iris. Same with Desert Gulch. In Zero, it feels lazy. It feels forced. These organizations are just there because the story is built around them (HOTDOG).

This vagueness when it comes to wordbuilding is also reflected in the settings - we have a desert, a training base, a lab, temples, Tucker’s workplace, and we do not know if all those are set place on the same planet. If that is the case, what is this planet’s relationship with Chorus? Is it Earth? And most importantly, what is the deal with the temples? Why are they connected to Tucker’s sword if it isn’t the same planet. Are they made by the same aliens? Are people okay with this? Why haven’t these temples been explored before? Chorus makes sure to establish this, while Zero doesn’t, adding to a growing amount of confusion.

Okay, so no connection with previous worldbuilding. What about characters? I mean, we got Wash and Carolina and Tucker! So we have RvB characters, it gotta be RvB! Technically – yeah. But it feels dirty. These three characters are not here to be characters. They are here to be props to the new cast. They are not given any development. Their presence isn’t even that important, and if this was a whole new show, they could easily have been replaced with an unknown face. Worst of all, they feel miswritten.

Carolina and Wash are working at a new military organization? Leaving the Reds and Blues behind? To help people? First of all, fucking bad idea, Carolina, the last time you left the Reds and Blues alone, they changed the timeline. But most importantly – Carolina and Wash just joined this new super elite military organization? After being mistreated and manipulated by such an organization in the past?

Carolina is there to introduce the characters. That’s it. We are force-fed their personality by having her literally read out loud their personality. There is no gentle introduction to the new cast. We are not allowed to get to know them naturally. Why show when you can tell, huh? That’s Carolina’s role. That’s why she is there. To introduce the cast and explain their story. That’s it. (HOTDOG).

How about Wash? He is there to get beat up and be a damsel in distress so that the new cast has a reason to explore the plot. Oh, and that brain damage that was the consequence of previous seasons – gone now. The guy who literally has trauma from having an AI explode inside his head is fine with having a computer inserted into it instead. Because that’s needed. To explore his brain damage wouldn’t work now when his role is to be a prop to lure the new cast for one episode and then be put onto the bench for the rest of the runtime (HOTDOG).

And Tucker – he is there to die for a second and have his sword taken from him. That’s literally it. And for the few moments he is there, he feels like old super flirty Tucker, which erases the character development he went through in previous seasons. Okay, so Tucker dies, and then not dies, and then he is put on the bench with Wash where they can sit and talk or whatever (‘cause holy shit, the new cast is not allowed to that), because he isn’t important. The sword is. Tucker is just a prop, even more than his sword is (HOTDOG).

Damn. Wash gets beat up. Tucker gets beat up. Dies. Gets his sword taken away. Almost seems like a Red’s wet dream. Sorry not sorry, Blues, you were done dirty.

So there are miswritten old characters. Even worse is the retconning. The plot needs a “normal” Wash, so, bam, magic computer solution. Never mind Wash’s trauma and character traits. Never mind the logic of the new worldbuilding which also includes a character suffering for years to heal an illness. But the brain damage that was such a big consequence that it became the main part of the plot of the last two seasons – gone. I mean, a gunshot to the head can be healed by CPR. That’s canon. But no one gave Wash CPR so it’s a big thing, okay. It was canonically a big thing, and Zero erased that. This is not me saying that a Cerebral Enhancer couldn’t work in the RvB universe. Imagine it being done right. Wash struggling with the choice of getting used to his disability or accepting the possibility of help - at the cost of reliving his trauma. The struggle between what to choose - what should he choose when he wants to help as many as possible, the sacrifices he thinks he has to make, the way it could have been used as a part of his character growth. But in Zero, the enhancer isn’t a part of Wash’s character. It’s there so the story can work without having to deal with the previous plot’s consequence (HOTDOG).

Same with the sword thing. They sorta explain it by having Tucker flatline, but it’s weak. Honestly, I find it sorta offensive. What about Locus’ sword as well? It’s twisting previous lore to make the new plot work (HOTDOG). (Also, are we not gonna talk about the ultimate power being Spencer Porkensenson’s helmet? Have the writers forgotten Spencer Porkensenson? Have we as a community forgotten Spencer Porkensenson?)

If you have Red vs. Blue in your title, you cannot ignore what you inherit from it. You need to respect the worldbuilding, the established characters, and the previous plot. Zero does not do this.

Let’s talk about the Triplets. No, really, let’s do it. I don’t think I’ve ever talked about them before, because season 14 was a mixed bag for me (that I have now learned to appreciate. Thank you, Zero.) because I have heart at the size of the Grinch and can only love a few characters at a time, and that did not include the Triplets. Can’t even remember their names. Well, I can, but I can’t for the love of me remember which state is which, and my tongue is twisted every time I try to say Ohio, Iowa, and Idaho, and I know it’s on purpose. I know it is. And it got me good. That being said, the fandom actually embraced them really, really well! Seriously, I’ve seen more content for the Triplets than for Zero as a whole.

Why talk about the Triplets? (Was Iowa the lesbian? Or was it Ohio? Fuck.) Because like Zero, they introduced new characters with a story of their own. The Reds and Blues didn’t play a role. But here’s what I feel like the Triplets got right. They didn’t change the settings to force their narrative. They used stuff already established (Project Freelancer), added their own story as a continuation of that. They even included old characters in the beginning (Wash and some other Freelancers) but it felt natural and it didn’t feel like it happened at the expense of the old characters. Wash’s writing felt natural, and his presence wasn’t needed to tell these new character’s stories. He wasn’t a prop to them. He was there to establish the setting and to establish the relationship with these new characters, and then he and the other familiar faces (helmets??) left, and we as the viewers were left with these new characters. And the new characters told their own story by themselves. It felt like, hey, here’s something you know – remember Mother of Invention, and remember Wash’ lower rank, but now, try to imagine being even lower rank than him, aren’t you curious about those fates? Now let’s hear their story! It was new, it was something else, but it didn’t wreck what came before it, and it stayed true to the classic vibes of RvB.

As I said before, the hotdog-issue is my biggest problem with Zero. It infuriates me. I will return to this. But there are more issues, even if we try to look past the title-related problems.

If we try to imagine Zero as its own story and universe (as it should be, in my opinion), it still earns the meh review from me.

These isolated issues include awkwardness, the writing, lack of self-awareness, and pacing. First of all, holy shit, this is a tell, don’t show. Nothing is subtle, nothing is allowed to develop. It’s like the show thinks you are six years old with an attention span of a goldfish. You are not just led by the hand – they have literally pulled off your arm by the end of the show. We are force-fed every bit of information, every bit of personality from these new characters.

The voice-acting is a mixed bag for me. Sometimes it’s pretty good, sometimes it’s not. Some of the problems can definitely be blamed on the dialogue that you can only do so much with. It’s not good. I can’t remember any good jokes (the one joke I really appreciate was the cast on armor, and that was freaking visual humor. That was so RvB. Kudos to that. It was fun. More of that, please.), and RvB is known for having memorably good lines. This is a show built on good, clever, funny dialogue. Zero does not deliver. You have to sit through clichéd lines – “You’re not my dad”, “I trusted you”, “Come with me”, “It can’t be!”, “She’s way too powerful”, and “We have to do this together” – performed unironically. I cringed more than I laughed. Worst thing is that Zero could be a good parody. Sometimes, it feels like it is. One-dimensional characters, a villain wanting ‘the ultimate power’, very overpowered characters, bad one-liners, etc. But Zero takes itself seriously, and I was one of the people rooting for Jax to show up at the end and yell “Cut”. That would have been a funny-as-fuck twist. A spin-off parody. If I can’t have “Sarge the Movie”, I would have taken that and loved it. I would have forgiven everything. “We put so much info into finding that power, but we had no idea what it was” is really a line in the finale, and I cannot believe this is real in a show that somehow still tries to present itself as serious. What a plot.

We have to talk about pacing. God, first of all it should be stated that RvB is a mess when it comes to pacing. I honestly get what they were going for. Sometimes, RvB has come across as a bit boring when you get three episodes stretched over three weeks without much going on. I know season 11 did not have the warmest welcome because it was seen as boring until the finale. But when you see season 11 as a whole, as a movie, as a part of a trilogy, it works so well. Zero is more focused on being episodic. They want something to happen all the time so we will stay tuned. The thing that will happen – a fight. Oh god. The fight scenes.

I have done the math. I have run the numbers. I deserve a freaking cookie for this. Are you ready?

If you put all the episodes together, you have a runtime of 106 minutes. HOWEVER, with the introduction of credits in every episode, you gotta account for this. Removing the credits, this gives us 94 minutes of actual runtime. Out of that, 45 minutes are dedicated to fight scenes. That means 48% of the show is fight scenes.

If I wanted that many fight scenes, I’d watch Death Battle. Except the actual RvB Death Battle episode has a runtime of 20 minutes, and out of that, 5 minutes is dedicated to the actual battle. For the people who hate math – that’s 25% of the actual runtime.

RvB Zero has more fight scenes than a show called Death Battle. Take that in.

The pace suffers from this. Where’s the time to explore the characters? Where’s the time for good dialogue? All I can think of is this:

I get that RvB is a show that’s literally making fun of itself by acknowledging all their characters do is stand around and talk. I get that you want characters to do more than that. But for the love of Church, would it kill the new characters to stand around and talk? For just a minute? Stop fighting, I am begging you, stop fighting! Am I a pacifist now? Am I purple? Have I joined Doc’s team? What has Zero done to me?!

The good thing though is that fight scenes are very good. They’re entertaining. However, they seem to deconstruct themselves when we need to get a fight scene in every episode. Usually, the few fight scenes in an RvB season were in some of the most climatic episodes. In Zero, I can hardly keep up with the pace because they won’t stop moving. Fight scenes aren’t plot. They aren’t character development. You need more than just fight scenes. They entertain, but there’s a limit to that.

Noël Wiggins, the co-writer, stated the inspiration was a Saturday-morning cartoon. They nailed that vibe. If that was their goal, hurray, they have accomplished something! Because of the poor plot and constant fight scenes, it feels like you could just switch on the TV and drop in at any moment and let yourself be entertained by the cool and colorful soldiers punching and kicking each other. I will admit that the fight scenes entertained me. But they don’t make it a good season.

If I were the six-year-old with the attention span of a goldfish that the show believes I am, I honestly would enjoy it. The stiff dialogue and the constant tell-don’t-show makes you feel like an audience that’s not supposed to do anything else but admire the flashy fight scenes. I miss the cleverness of RvB. I miss the characters I get to connect with as I see them grow.

I miss the tone of RvB. Because this isn’t RvB to me.

It’s not that RvB hasn’t changed its tone before. Holy shit, I sorta do want to experience the absolute shock the RvB fandom went through when s6 aired and they were given new characters and serious plot. I would have loved to experience that, but I was too busy being ten years old. The Freelancers seasons also introduced a new tone and more fight scenes with very talented fighters compared to the Blood Gulch gang, but a balance was kept by having half of the season still revolving around the Reds and Blues. But Zero – Zero is so much change. And it’s on purpose. At least this has been made very clear from the beginning.

They constantly seem to appeal to new fans, rather than be directed towards older fans of the show. If you want an entirely new audience with a season with a new cast, new worldbuilding, and new tone, I’m confused as to why they don’t just make a new show. The hotdog-problem begs for this solution. This story and environment and characters feel so out of touch with the original RvB, that with a few rewrites and lack of Halo-armor, it could just be a new show. Problem solved.

If not this, then present it as a spin-off. In all ways, it feels like a spin-off (again, see everything marked HOTDOG). But the creators refuse to do this, and I don’t understand why. I could forgive many of these issues, had they officially separated themselves from canon.

Ah, what’s the idiom? You can’t both swallow and blow? (You can hear the Bow-chicka-bow-wow in the distance). Something about eating cake and having it. Forgive me, English isn’t my native language. POINT IS why are you calling yourself RvB while actively fighting against the core essence of RvB? In my humble opinion, you can’t be both. Marketing it as a spin-off would have granted it some defense when changing, well, literally everything, and I just, would someone please properly describe why it isn’t a spin-off? Isn’t this season marked by its association with the plot of RvB rather than a continuation of it? Zero presenting itself as not a spinoff feels like a toddler clinging to the hem of its mother’s dress while forcefully running away from her, ripping the dress in the process.

When they do connect with the original RvB, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. When they let Carolina, Wash, and Tucker appear for a moment, it feels like luring viewers in with the RvB title. Look at me. Look at me! I’m not saying this is the case. I say that it gives me the annoying vibes of being lured, rather than letting the characters be a part of the show for their own development, rather than having RvB in the title to continue its story. I should not be getting these vibes at all. But I am.

If you want to use RvB in the title, something from the core of RvB needs to be embraced. Things can be changed. They should. Something new should be brought in. But there’s a limit to how much you can change and replace and twist until it would have been better with an original show. As a season of RvB, it should tell the story of Red vs. Blue.

From my perspective, Zero fails to do so.

It pains me that the old cast has been replaced, but as stated earlier, a season could have worked without them. However, I do not like the take that one should be excited about all the new characters. That it isn’t a big thing that the OG cast got replaced. That we should just deal with it. Just, try to imagine another show suddenly replacing the main characters with characters we’ve never met before. Imagine RWBY suddenly only focusing on a new team of huntresses with the previous main characters reduced to an Easter Egg presence, or Camp Camp suddenly being about a new team of campers, no warning given. Can you imagine the outcry? So maybe let’s agree that a replacement of the main cast is a big thing and should be addressed and it’s valid to be upset about this change.

Could Zero have worked? It’s hard to answer this. How can I accept something as RvB if the season actively pushes away the core of RvB aside for an isolated story that could have been told in any other media? As a spinoff, I could have ignored it. To enjoy Zero, I have to fully separate it from RvB in my mind, and then it’s alright. S’not good. But it’s not bad. It’s entertaining enough. I really ended up liking Raymond and Tiny, and there were a few good jokes, and the fight scenes were admirable (but too much) and I love the creators’ passion. But it’s not RvB. I also wish that the new characters had been attached to previous worldbuilding, for example soldiers on Chorus or agents from Project Freelancer. That way we could build on familiar lore which would have decreased the confusion and added a much needed connection with the previous seasons of RvB.

God, the anxious voice is back (by the way, it sounds like Tutter from “Bear in the Blue House”).

“You’re racist” – I hope not. Literally, I do not want to be. Tell me if I’ve ever crossed some lines, because I swear, that is not my intention, I will apologize and most of all, change and do better. I included this because I’ve seen this take thrown around in the big ugly mess that is the fandom clashes regarding Zero. And racism is problem within RT community (this includes AH and RvB, sorry, I just use RT as an umbrella term for the latter), and I’m not saying it hasn’t been a problem with this season. Writers should never be harassed, and never-fucking-ever because of their skin color, and voice actors shouldn’t be treated like they are responsible for the choices of the show. But I was legit nervous to post this review, and I hope it’s been factual without feeling like personal attacks on the creators because that has never been my intention. I was delighted to hear about the diversity behind this project, and Torrian’s passion legit blew me away because it’s been a while since I’ve seen that for an RvB project. I’d hoped for it to be good, and when I feel disappointed, it’s for the reasons stated in this analysis. That said, Zero is made by a diverse cast and it’s made with love, and both of those things are so, so great, but it does not mean that Zero cannot be criticized. It can, and it should. It’s a product, just like all the other seasons, and fans are allowed to discuss it – both what they loved, and both what they found troublesome. And to repeat previous points, and be respectful, always, fuck racists, and never-fucking-ever harass the staff behind a season, what the fuck is wrong with you if you do this.

“Don’t you get it, it’s different because it’s trying something new!” – Hey, remember the philosophical question: if you replace all the parts of a ship one-by-one, is it still the same ship when you’re done? If it doesn’t include the Reds and Blues, if it ignores previous plot, if the old characters feel miswritten, if it values animation over dialogue, if it values fight scenes over comedy, if it wants to be Fast and Furious instead of Red vs. Blue – is it still Red vs. Blue? Because it doesn’t feel like it to me.

“It's been 17 seasons, it’s time to let the Reds and Blues go so someone else can shine!” – I simply do not understand us having been with the Reds and Blues for 17 seasons should be an argument to let them go, rather than be an argument as to why their absence hurt like hell.

“The Reds and Blues ran out of things to do!” – Did- did they, though? I mean, if we were discussing pretty much any other show, I’d probably agree that they were running out of content. But for the Reds and Blues… I think the PSAs nailed it this year! I’m not kidding, I had more fun watching the Reds and Blues discuss how to do laundry than watching Zero. You could literally give me an hour of the Reds and Blues trying to bake a cake or clear a gutter or simply settling down with an ordinary life, and I would trust them to make it worth the watch.

“The flaws were due to the fact it’s only 8 episodes long!” – Look, I can only judge a product the way it’s presented to me. I cannot come up with excuses for it. If they had 8 episodes to work with, they need to come up with a plot that works with this runtime. Seriously, this excuse cannot work when 48% of the season is spent on fight scenes. They could have used more runtime, sure, but the show needs to be able to pace itself and be planned accordingly.

“The OG cast couldn’t be a part of this year, hence Zero!” – That might be true. But. Would one year without RvB kill it? Is Zero necessary? Again, I just can’t judge excuses for the show. But trouble with the cast has been an issue before. Season 15 solves Geoff’s sabbatical by actually making Grif’s absence a part of the plot. Zero’s lack of Reds and Blues just feels like this excuse to tell a story that needn’t be a part of RvB.

Am I a hater? I guess? I greatly dislike Zero for the critique stated above. I do, however, not harass the creators and no one should ever do that. However, I have to admit that I feel there’s been this weird rejection of any critique of Zero where everything’s been brushed off as haters gonna hate, including the critique stated above. And I think that’s a problem because critique, as hard as it can be to hear (and I know this. I’m an author of original works. Weird flex, I know), is valid and necessary and shouldn’t just be shrugged away. As always, both sides of the fandom should always be respectful, but my own opinion is that addressing the flaws of Zero should not be controversial.

Does this super long rant/critique/whatever mean you cannot enjoy Zero? Gods no! I almost envy you if you enjoy this season, but holy shit, feel free to love it and tell the creators that you love it! Me pointing out the issues I have with the season shouldn’t be stopping you. I loved (and still love) s15 when it came out, and it was majorly rejected by the fandom. There were many, many critical posts, people were going on about how RvB should have ended with s13, and it evolved into the writer receiving death threats (me, once again: never ever harass the creators, assholes). But I didn’t tell people to stop being negative. I actually agreed with many of the flaws that were pointed out, and I enjoyed the season despite this, because that is possible. We, as RvB fans, should agree that RvB, is... I mean, it’s not the greatest, most flawless of shows, but we love it nonetheless. So go ahead and love Zero. This is not a stop sign. This is my opinion that you chose to read.

Wait, I promised you a cookie, didn’t I? Well, you’re not getting one. Why? Because I’m a Red and this is my chance to piss off a Blue. As Caboose wisely said: “Well, at least I don't go around... knocking on people's non-doors... and promising them cookies... and then NOT. GIVING. THEM. COOKIES!”

Blue Team sucks.

End speech.

#rvb zero #rvb #rvb zero critical #rvb critical #rvb0 #my rvb stuff #pls dont hate me for this #this is my honest opinion that people apparantly wanted to hear #as a standalone story zero isnt totally bad #as an rvb season it is

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avaritia-apotheosis · 3 years ago

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Phantom Children Ch. 6

Hi guys! I'm back <3 (also, I'm currently looking for alpha/beta readers for Phantom Children, so if you're interested, feel free to shoot me a message!)

In Which: Danny Attempts to get Answers, Bruce Learns, and Dick Finally Learns What's Inside the Door that Doesn't Exist

AO3 | Prologue | 5 | [ 6 ] | 7

DANNY IS KNOCKED DOWN three, four, eight times on the ice. Each time made his back ache, his bones bruised and tired, and his mind burning with embarrassment and a drive to lash out. But each time he gets back up. Each time he lasts a little bit longer against Talia.

The ice still shifts, cracks and rumbles with every wrong move. Danny learned to roll with it. Move on light feet but attack with a firm stance, gauge which parts of the ice are stable and which should be avoided. Multi-tasking has never been Danny’s strong suit, but he’s good at learning and learning quickly.

Talia corrected his form as much as she beat him down. Exploited every one of his openings until he learned to defend them and praised him whenever he managed to pull one over her. The League’s martial arts was the holy amalgamation between almost every single fighting style there is, mashed and refined to perfection to become almost unpredictable to the untrained. A vast improvement to Danny’s previous ‘fuck around and see what works’ brawling and had the added benefit of meshing together with his spontaneity.

“You are doing well, Daniel,” Talia said as she sheathed her sword, hand resting just above her hip. “You have improved greatly in such a short time, as I have expected.”

It takes every ounce of Danny’s superhuman energy to not collapse to his knees, his every breath a ragged shudder as he tries to get his breathing under control. “Still can’t beat you, though.”

“Very few can boast that feat.”

“I’m not exactly sure if that’s supposed to make me feel any better or not. Do I get my prize at least?”

Tahlia tossed her braid over one shoulder with a laugh. “Come, then, let us rest in the caves. The sun is to set soon and we must make camp before we freeze to death.”

“Hypothermia is so last season. I’m way too cool for that.”

He didn’t know whether to be disappointed that Tahlia didn’t react to his pun. It was pretty clever, in his opinion.

('Puns are the lowest form of comedy,' said mind-Jazz.

Says the one who named the Box Ghost the ‘Crate Creep.’

'That’s alliteration, not a pun.')

It was kind of pathetic that even his mind-version of Jazz was smarter than him.

“What would you like to know first?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Sarcasm dripped from Danny’s voice. He sheathed his sword and let it hang loose at his side. “Maybe how old this mysterious brother of mine is?” Ancients, his life was weird enough already, it wasn’t supposed to sound like the B-plot to a bad soap opera.

“Damian is younger than you by a little over four years. He will turn eleven this year.”

“Huh. Never been an older brother before.”

“Perhaps you might have been, if circumstances had been different.”

Cryptic. Great. Danny stepped over a particularly large crack in the ice and scampered over to solid ground. “You gotta give me more than that. What’s he like?”

“Prideful,” she said. “But skilled enough to warrant it. He was raised like a prince—as how you should have been.”

“And he lives with…our dad?”

“Yes. In America.” The cave was deep enough to shield them from the worst of the eventual mountain winds. Tahlia had already started building a campfire with equipment from her knapsack, embers eating away and growing into a steady flame. He sat down, legs crossed, beside the fire, hands tucked beneath his armpits.

He bit his lip, a question forming in his mind. “Do…do we have the same dad?”

Tahlia looked up at him. “Of course. Only your father has had the privilege of being called my beloved, and only he is worthy enough to have sired my children.”

Once night fell, it fell quickly. Blanketing as far as Danny could see from the mouth of the cave in a thick darkness. Snow fell from the skies in thick tufts and covered their footsteps.

“Does he—do they know about me?”

“No, they do not.”

“And you probably aren’t going to tell them anything about me, if you could help it.”

“That is very perceptive of you, habeebi.”

“You won’t tell me anything more about them, will you?”

“In due time, I will.”

Danny blew part of his fringe away from his face. Figures.

Despite the ever-present niggling at the back of his mind, Bruce had yet to see what was in the flash drive. The weeks since his strange meeting with Vlad Masters suddenly exploded with criminal activity with the recent breakout in Arkham and the brewings of another gang war in the shadows of Gotham’s paved streets. It was all hands-on deck. And Bruce, whether as Batman or Wayne, had always prioritized Gotham and its citizens over anything else.

The flash drive remained on his person despite the crisis, tucked away in one of the sturdier compartments of his utility belt to prevent the data inside from becoming damaged. Sometimes he found his hands gravitating towards it, fingers brushing against the button that would release the mystery from its confines before he realized what he was doing and steeled himself. Hands fisted to his side and attention forcibly directed elsewhere.

Eventually, the rogues were placed back into Arkham, and Gotham let out a shuddered breath of relief as it remained standing for another day.

Most of the family were out on a light patrol, cleaning up the remains of the breakout and helping where they can. Jason and Dick bickering over the comms whilst Barbara laughed in her clocktower.

(“It’s not that bad.”

"‘It’s not that bad’—shut the fuck up.” Jason spat. Bruce could hear him revving his bike. “You’re a fucking idiot, you know that? Certified Grade A idiot. B’s gonna kill you.”

He could hear Dick roll his eyes. “Sure, pile it all on, Jaybird. Blame the victim.”

"It was your fault.”

“It’s not my fault I didn’t see it there!”

"You tripped and got a concussion. From a stick. A. Stick.”

“Can we please just leave that out of the report?” Dick groaned. Barbara laughed. “Oh god.”

“Richard motherfucking John Grayson. I swear if you vomit on me then—”

“I’m not gonna vomit on you! You just turned the corner a little too fast. It’s nice to see you care though.”

"Fuck no, I just don’t wanna smell like regurgitated cereal.”)

Damian was benched from a patrol. Their last conflict with Poison Ivy ended with Damian sticking a bad landing and twisting his ankle. He dealt with it with as much grace as can be expected. Meaning that he spent the last few days sulking as he caught up on his missed schoolwork and shooting daggers at everyone else who came back from patrol.

Bruce flicked the flash drive open and plugged it into the computer. The flash drive contained only a single folder dated six months ago.

He clicked it, and a news headline popped up.

LOCAL TEEN DIES AFTER DRIVING OFF CLIFF

Beneath it, a picture. Blue eyes. Black hair. A familiar face.

Blood pounded in Bruce’s ears. He could hear nothing except a sharp gasp from Damian behind him.

When Dick and Jason arrived at the batcave, it was to an eerie silence. Not that it was usually loud, only that Bruce spent most of his free time down in the cave and Dick had come to expect hearing some signs of him around. Typing on keys, the clicking of a mouse, the heavy thuds of a fist meeting a punching bag or a training dummy, etcetera, etcetera. Or maybe even Alfred cleaning up around the cave, feeding the bats, or restocking their med bay.

(Dick, it turned out, didn’t have a concussion. Probably. Not a severe one anyway. What mattered most was that he managed to convince Jason to have dinner at the Manor. Alfred was making a tarte tatin for dessert tonight and those were absolutely to die for. )

One of Tim’s cases took him to the other side of Gotham. The only person in the cave was Damian, who was staring agape at the batcomputer.

“Why the hell is the demon spawn looking at old pictures of Bruce? We get it. They look alike.

“Uh, Dami? What’s up?”

Damian snapped his mouth shut. “I believe it might be best if you asked father that, Grayson.” Despite his clipped tone, there seemed to be little anger in his voice. His proud shoulders were hunched over on the chair, eyes trained on his lap.

He looked so small.

Damian clucked his tongue. “He’s upstairs, if you need him. So is Pennyworth.”

Dick shot a glance at Jason who raised his hands in mock surrender. “You’re up golden boy. Whatever the fuck the old man’s problem is this time, I’m not dealing with it.”

Dick sighed. “Fine.”

There was a door in Wayne Manor that didn’t exist.

When Dick was a child and recently adopted by Bruce Wayne, one of the first things he did was explore the manor. It’s the prerogative of every child that somehow found themselves in a large mansion—even more so given the castle-like exteriors of Wayne Manor. All castles have secret passages, and if the Batcave lay in the subterranean depths below, then surely the manor proper must have its own secrets.

Dick would tumble and cartwheel along the hallways, opening any and every single door he came across. A lot of them were just empty bedrooms or unused parlors and sitting rooms; the furniture covered by white sheets to keep the dust away. Alfred was probably magic, but even he can’t keep the entirety of the manor dust free.

The majority of the unused rooms were unlocked.

Except for one.

It was a room in the west wing, on the second floor. A couple doors down from where Bruce’s and Dick’s were. Why it was locked, Dick never found out. But he was curious since it was the only room on that floor that remained shut.

When he asked Alfred about it, the old butler only said that it was an unused storage room they preferred to keep locked just in case. When he asked Bruce about it, he’d be quick to change the subject. Usually something Batman related. Which, well, always worked, because it was Batman related. And Dick, young and spry and itching to fly under Batman’s wings, would quickly forget about that curious little mystery in favor of punching bad guys in the face and flipping over rooftops.

At some point that locked door quietly disappeared, leaving a blank expanse of wallpaper and a decorative vase where it once stood. It was never brought up again. And Dick slowly forgot that it was ever there in the first place.

Until now.

The wooden table and vase were shoved off to the side. Wallpaper sliced away to reveal the lines of a doorway. The door, covered in its faint damask wallpaper, was kicked open, the wood around the bolt splintered and cracked. He could hear voices—Alfred’s and Bruce’s—speaking softly on the other side.

He pressed his back against the wall and kept his breathing quiet.

“Three times, Alfred.” Bruce’s voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. “Three times she’s done this to me.”

“Master Bruce…”

“I don’t—I don’t understand why—” Bruce choked, swallowing a shuddered breath. “Damian, I can understand. Jason, I can too. But…This? I—” Bruce suddenly quieted. Dick knew the jig was up.

He unlatched himself from the wall and slowly slid through the once-hidden-door, a hand kept on the frame. “Um. Hi, Bruce? Alfred?” The words fell flat, stilted. Dick winced as he said them. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but, uh…” He trailed off the second he registered what was in the room.

It was large, as so many rooms in the manor were. The room was covered in peeling green wallpaper with faded pictures of baby deer and owls and other woodland creatures prancing about. There was a dresser on one wall. A shelf filled with little picture books and stuffed animals on the other. A brown teddy bear had fallen on its face on one of the shelves.

In the middle—where Bruce was hunched over—was a crib. The wood streaked and aged with time, the beddings within pristine and untouched, if not dusty. Hanging overhead was a mobile with little animals dangling on a string.

“Worry not Master Dick. It is good that you are here since it will inevitably involve the rest of the family at some point.”

Dick nodded absentmindedly, trying to lock eyes with his guardian. “B? What’s—what’s going on?” Dick took one step deeper into the room. “The pictures in the cave. I thought they were you since they were too old to be Damian—” Bruce’s hands on the crib’s railing flinched.

Dick’s breath hitched.

“They’re…not your photos, are they.”

Bruce took a deep breath in, the lines of his shoulders tense. “No. They’re not.”

In their line of work, the answer could have been anything. Clones, magical doppelgangers, alternate universe counterparts, hell, even just someone’s genetic code being coincidentally similar to another person. But…this room, this nursery, pointed towards only one conclusion.

“Who is he, Bruce?”

Bruce angled his head towards Dick, unshed tears glimmering in his eyes. “He’s my son, Dick.

“He’s my son.”

#danny phantom #batman #danny phantom x batman crossover #dp fic #phantom children.txt

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fuckallthegood0nesweretaken · 3 years ago

Text

New World CH. Fifteen

Title: Woodbury

Words: 2119

Warnings: Strong language, assault

Previous Chapter - Next Chapter

New World Masterlist

Daryl Dixon Masterlist

The Walking Dead Masterlist

Masterlist

~~~~~~~

It was supposed to be an easy run. In and out. Get the stuff the baby, and you, needed along with whatever else you could find and get back to the prison. But no. Some jackass had to make things hard.

Glenn had gotten inside the store first and right when you were about to join him, you heard something. Looking around, you saw nothing and turned back to Glenn.

“Hey, Glenn, grab that toy,” you said.

“Which one?”

“The duck. And any other ones you can find. If these kids are going to be growing up in a prison they could use some toys.” Glenn laughed but did as you asked. After he grabbed some formula and some other stuff, he came back outside.

“We just hit the powdered formula jackpot.”

“Good. What else did you find?”

“Some batteries, beans, cocktail wieners, and a lot of mustards.”

“Great, more beans,” you muttered. “Seems like that’s all that left.”

“What’s wrong with beans?” Glenn asked you.

“They sound gross right now. Did when I was preg—.” You stopped yourself but the damage had already been done.

“Holy shit, you’re pregnant?” Glenn said. You nodded and he gave you a giant hug. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“I know.” You closed your eyes and felt him kiss your forehead softly.

“Come on. We should get back. Thankfully it’s a straight shot back to the prison from here,” he said.

“Hopefully we’ll make it back in time for dinner. And you can get back to Maggie.” Your voice was teasing and you giggled at how red Glenn’s face was turning.

“And you can get back to your baby daddy.”

“He doesn’t know, Glenn,” you said.

“What? Why not?”

“I found out yesterday. A few hours before—“ You swallowed then sighed. “The quiet’s nice. You can hear the walkers everywhere back home.”

“And where is it y’all call home?” A voice rang out. Turning sharply, you saw a man pointing a gun at you. You dropped the basket full of formula to the ground and quickly drew your weapon.

“Merle?” Glenn said. You shot him a glance before turning your eyes back to the stranger. So this was the infamous Merle? Huh, you thought he’d be taller.

“Wo-ow!” He said with a laugh. Merle put his gun down and his hands up before walking towards you.

“Back the hell up,” you said, raising your gun higher.

“Okay, okay. Jesus, honey.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“You made it,” Glenn said.

“Is my brother alive? Can ya tell me that?”

“Yeah. He’s alive.” Merle seemed relieved that his brother was alive and he reached a hand towards Glenn slightly.

“Hey, ya take me ta him and I’ll call it even for everythin’ that happened on that roof,” Merle said. “No hard feelin’s whatsoever.”

Glenn said nothing and his eyes flickered over to the man’s hand. Or lack of one. A long blade was strapped to his arm and it looked deadly.

“Ya like it? I found myself a medical supply warehouse. Fixed it up myself.”

“We’ll tell Daryl you’re here and he’ll come out to meet you,” Glenn said.

You knew that Merle had some problems with the group from before and that alone didn’t want to bring him back. Merle didn’t like that idea and got defensive.

“Just hold on a second.” He started walking closer and Glenn held his hand out.

“Stop walking,” he said. Merle did and you shifted nervously.

“Tha fact that we found each other is a god damn miracle. Ya can trust me, come on now.”

The way he said that was enough for you to not trust him and you eyed him warily.

“You trust us. Stay here. We’ll bring Daryl to you.”

“No!” Merle pulled out a gun from his waistband and shot the rear window of your car out.

Ducking, you spun around and fell to the floor. You weren’t quick enough and you felt a piece of glass cut your cheek. Then, a body crashed into yours and you found yourself being held by Merle. His knife arm was around your neck and his gun was pointed at your head. When Glenn came around the car and saw you, you could see the fury in his eyes.

“Hold up, buddy. Hold up,” Merle said.

“Let go of her. Right now!”

“Put that gun in tha car. Put it in tha car, son!”

Glenn did as he was told, eyes never leaving you. Taking a deep breath, you gave Glenn a smile. Then you rammed the back of your head into Merle’s face. Scrambling to get free while he was disorientated, you almost got out of his grip but he collected himself before you could. Merle hit you with the butt of his pistol and you saw black spots swim before your eyes. Blinking them away, you felt Merle’s grip on you tighten.

“I wish ya didn’t do that, sweetheart,” Merle spat. Looking at Glenn he said, “We’re goin’ for a little drive.”

“We’re not going back to our camp.”

“No, we’re not. Now get in tha car Glenn. You’re drivin’.” Glenn looked like he wanted to protest more, but Merle dug the barrel of his gun deeper into your temple. You whimpered, still a bit out of it.

“Move!”

“Okay. I’m going.” Glenn got into the driver’s seat and you were shoved into the passengers. Merle got in behind you and continued holding the gun to your head.

The drive was completely silent and you were pretty sure that you had passed out for a couple minutes. Then you got to the place Merle was taking you. It looked like a town. There were walls made up of vehicles and metal and there were armored guards everywhere too. But you only saw a glimpse of it before Merle instructed Glenn to turn right. He led you to the back of a building before telling Glenn to cut the engine.

“Ya stay right where ya are, Glenn,” Merle said. “I’ll help out sweetheart here.”

He climbed out of the car and opened your door before grabbing you and hauling you out.

“C’mon now. Let’s getcha inside.”

With his gun still pointed at your head, Glenn had no choice but to do what he was told. When you got inside, Merle shoved you into the first room and locked the door. You heard him take Glenn into the room right next door and after a minute, he came back to you. You didn’t fight it as he made you sit down in a chair and tied your hands behind your back. He left shortly after and you heard the lock click in place.

---

Sam and Dean

Dean was outside with Beth when Rick and Carl saw a woman standing there. He stood by Beth, watching with worried eyes as they brought her into the prison. Carl got a towel while Beth got water. Dean was holding the baby, keeping her calm.

“Rick?” Daryl said. “Who the hell’s this?”

“You wanna tell us your name?” Rick asked the woman. She didn’t answer and Rick repeated the question. When she still said nothing, Daryl spoke again.

“Y’all come in here,” he said.

“Everything alright?”

“You’re gonna wanna see this.”

Rick gave the go ahead so Dean followed Beth in to the cell block, Hershel and Carl behind them. Rick talked to the woman for a few seconds before following, the woman’s sword in hand. Daryl locked the door and led everyone to one of the cells. In the cell sat an exhausted looking Carol. Sophia was right next to her, hugging her mother tightly. Sam and Maggie were sitting with her and when Carol saw everyone, she stood up shakily and went to hug Rick.

“Thank god,” Rick said, holding Carol close. Dean couldn’t keep the smile off of his face.

“How?” Hershel asked.

“Solitary,” Carol said with a small laugh.

“Poor thing must’ve fought her way inta a cell. Passed out from dehydration.”

Carol let go of Hershel and saw Dean next. He was still holding onto his sister and when Carol saw the baby, she turned to Rick with a smile on her face. Rick’s face fell and Carol immediately started to comfort him.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. She turned to Carl and put her hand on his cheek before taking the baby from Dean’s arms. Dean watched the interactions with a sad smile on his face, his hand on Carl’s shoulder.

After Carol was all settled, Rick walked back into the common area. Dean, Sam, Hershel, and Daryl with him.

“We can stitch up that wound for you. Give you some food and water then send you on your way. But you have to tell us how you found us and why you were carrying formula,” Rick said.

“The supplies were dropped by a young Asian man and a pretty girl,” the woman said. Dean stood up straighter and looked at Sam, a worried look on his face.

“What happened?” Rick asked.

“Were they attacked?” Sam asked.

“They were taken.”

“Taken? What the fuck do you mean, taken?” Dean said, hands clenching in anger.

“Taken? Taken by who?”

“Taken by the same douchebag that shot me.”

“These are our people. Our family. You’re gonna tell us what happened now!” Rick went and put pressure on her wound. The woman hissed in pain and swatted his hand away.

“You’d best start talkin’,” Daryl said, crossbow raised. “Or ya problems are gonna be bigger than a gunshot wound.”

“Find ‘em yourself,” she said, eyes narrowed. Rick told Daryl to put the crossbow down and put himself in between the two of them.

“There was a reason you came here,” Rick said. The woman looked at the floor before looking at Rick.

“There’s a town. It’s called Woodbury and has around seventy-five survivors. I think they were taken there,” she said.

“A whole town?”

“It’s run by a guy who calls himself the Governor.”

“He got muscle?” Daryl asked.

“Paramilitary wannabes. There’s armed sentries on every wall.”

“You know a way in?” Sam asked.

“The place is secure from walkers but we should be able to slip our way through.”

“How’d you know how to get here?”

“The girl said something about a prison. Mentioned it was a straight-shot in this direction.”

Rick was silent for a second before pointing to Hershel. “This is Hershel. He’s gonna be the one stitching you up. And they’re Sam and Dean. They’re the brothers of the girl who was taken.”

With that, Rick walked away. Daryl followed immediately but it took a second for Sam and Dean to follow. They both gave the woman a hard look before walking back into the cell block.

---

“How do we know we can trust her?” Oscar asked.

“Does it matter? This is Glenn and [y/n] we’re talking about. Why are we even debating?” Beth said.

“We ain’t. I’ll go after ‘em,” Daryl said.

“You can’t go alone. This place sounds secure,” Rick said, tapping his foot.

“I’ll go,” Beth said. Axel and Oscar said the same and Rick shook his head.

“Dean, Daryl, the woman, and I will go.”

“I’m going too,” Sam said. “Like hell you’re gonna stop me from going to get my sister.”

“You need to stay here just in case they manage to escape before we get there. And Adeline is going to need you,” Rick said to Sam. Sam wanted to argue, but he knew that Rick’s point was a valid one.

“Fine. But if you guys don’t come back within twenty-four hours, I’m going out there to get you.”

“Deal.”

With that, the meeting dispersed. Daryl packed a bag full of the flash bangs and tear gas. Dean walked out to the Impala with Sam and gathered a few shotguns and about half of the non-salt ammo along with a few knives.

“She’s gonna be fine, Sammy. She’s tough and can handle herself,” Dean said. Sam gave a grunt as a response and hauled the duffle over his shoulder before bringing it to the car they were taking.

Before they left, Dean walked over to Carol and Maggie, kissing their cheeks, kissing the baby and both toddlers foreheads after.

“Keep an eye on her. She’s a handful,” Dean said.

“I think I got it covered. Now you go on and get them back safe and sound, okay?” Carol said. She rubbed Adeline’s back, the toddler clinging to Sam.

“Bring [y/n] back,” Sophia said softly.

“I will, sweetheart.” Dean gave them a smile and walked over to the car. He got in the backseat next to Daryl. It was time to get his sister back.

#New World #daryl dixon x reader #reader insert #x reader #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl x reader #twd x reader #spn x reader #twd #spn

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inkandpen22 · 4 years ago

Text

Somewhere (9/?)

Pairing: Sirius Black x Female!Reader

Warnings: swearing

Word Count: 1.6k

Part Summary: Almost a year has passed since Sirius and Y/N have seen one another. Things get interesting when Y/N runs into an old friend.

Masterlist

1 year and 5 months later...

As I walk down the sidewalk, I blast the new Elton John album on my Walkman. I just finished with classes for the day and am heading back to my apartment. Staying in London was the best decision I ever made. I've found myself while living independently in the city. I, of course, still talk to my brother and Lauren, except now I have more freedom. I have my own friends, a casual thing going with a guy, I'm doing well in school. I'm really thriving.

I move to cross the street as I bop my head to some Elton. Then, I suddenly feel someone yank on my arm to pull me back to the sidewalk.

"Hey!" A voice echoes over my music.

I stumble back onto the platform with a huff. "What the actual hell?!" I snap as I yank down my headphones.

"You nearly got hit by a car, you should be thanking me!" A male voice argues behind me.

"Gee, thanks for nearly dislocating my arm!" I sass as I whip my head around to meet my "savior."

When my eyes land on the familiar pair of glasses my heart sinks. The eyes behind them grow wide with amazement.

“Y/N?” James mumbles my name in breathless astonishment.

“James?” I stutter, sounding a tad too shocked. I hope he doesn't notice.

“W...Wow!" He grins ear to ear and takes in my appearance. "I... how have you been?!”

For a time, I forgot we even lived on the same planet. The time in my life when he was a part of it feels so long ago, almost two years now.

“I’m... uh... I'm well," I laugh nervously. "How are you? How’s Lily?”

“She’s good! I’m good!” He gushes like a giddy schoolboy.

I'm glad they're well. They cross my mind from time to time and I still worry for them. Even in the human world, it's clear that things aren't right. Most don't know it, but I know that the strange occurrences lately must be because of Voldemort. If I can see some of the damage leaking over into the human world, I can't imagine what his world must be like now.

“Oh my goodness, you must’ve had the baby!" I recall suddenly. "How is the little thing?”

“He’s incredible! Yeah, we named him Harry," James tells me, enthused.

“That’s a lovely name!” I compliment.

“Harry James Potter,” he describes further.

I giggle, James would name his child after himself. “Of course you did," I tease.

“I wanted it to be Harry Sirius but Lily refused," he playfully rolls his eyes, but then his features shift with worry. “I’m sorry I didn't mean to-“

Oh... Sirius.

“Oh don’t be silly, it’s fine!" I assure him. "You can mention Sirius.”

It would be impossible to ask James to not mention his best friend with me around. He adores Sirius. James nods briefly and rocks on his heels anxiously. There's a prolonged pause between us before he speaks again.

“He was a mess after you left," he tells me, melancholy.

“And now?” I inquire, my curiosity getting the best of me.

“He’s... settled. Well, as settled as Sirius can be," he chuckles lightly.

“I didn’t want to leave," I tell James honestly. "He pushed and gave way. Is he-“

“No, no he’s not seeing anyone," he guesses my question correctly. He could hide that smug smirk though.

"You should come by to the house sometime," James offers. "To see Harry! You know, we still call you his godmother."

His words leave me stunned. After all this time, they still consider me Harry's godmother? After everything last year?

"You're kidding," I mutter.

The boy shakes his head as he releases a hint of a snicker. "Just because you and Sirius didn't work out doesn't mean Lily and I stopped considering you a friend. Well, it was more Lily," he winks jokingly.

I giggle, after all this time, James and I still have this frienemies trend going. It was kind of him though to still consider me Harry's godmother.

"I'd love to," I accept his offer.

Perhaps it would do me some good to see Lily and Harry. James is right, even though Sirius and I didn't work out I still consider the Potters my friends.

"I'll send you a letter tomorrow with the address. Lily will be ecstatic!" He suggests, leaning in for a quick hug. "I hate to hurry off, but I have to return home before Harry wakes from his nap."

I give James a genuine hug and after a few extra seconds, I comprehend that our hug is a bit longer than usual. I suppose he has missed him as much as I missed them. When we part, he gives the outside of my arms a light squeezes and expresses a weak smile.

"I'm so glad we ran into each other, Y/N," he tells me.

"Me too, James," I smile.

_____________________________

I arrive at the address James gave me at seven sharp. The brown, cottage-like home, is very Lily and James. The neighborhood is perfect for a young boy to grow up in. The streets are dimly lit as I step out of my car. Approaching the front door, the brisk night air of fall sends a chill down my spine. I give the door a knock and almost immediately James opens the door.

"Who is it?" Lily calls from within the house.

"Ms. Bagshot!" James lies and pulls me inside. "She doesn't know you're coming," he whispers to me giddily.

"Is it alright that I'm here?" I double-check. I don't want to startle poor Lily.

"Oh of course! She'll be so happy when she sees you," he assures me. "You can join her in the kitchen! She's with Harry and finishing up dinner." He takes my coat and hangs it on the hook behind me.

I move down the hall with James, but before we can make it to the kitchen someone else knocks at the door. Based on James's bewildered expression, he wasn't excepting anyone else. My heart sinks, this can't be good.

"Is that old Bathilda again?" Lily calls from the kitchen and I hear a little Harry giggle through the door.

James looks at me and quietly lifts his finger in front of his lips. I nod in agreement as he slowly moves toward the door and pulls his wand from his back pocket.

"Yes, probably Darling!" He shouts to Lily so she doesn't worry.

I linger down the hall by the kitchen, too afraid to move an inch. James glances back at me once he has his hand around the doorknob again. He releases a deep, anxious, sigh and builds up the courage to open it. Right, when he does, the swinging door to the kitchen opens and Lily reveals herself.

"What is taking so long out here?" She questions James, not noticing me beside her right away.

When she does notice me, she jumps up and down with joy. The wind gets knocked out of me briefly as Lily yanks me into a tight embrace. "Oh my goodness! Y/N, what are you doing here?! This is such a lovely surprise! I can't even-"

A commotion from the front door causes steals Lily and my's attention away from each other. James's laughter and banter with someone else fill the air. When I glance toward the door, my heart really sinks, along with my jaw to the floor. My eyes meet an all too familiar black pair.

I gasp, "Holy-"

"Fuck," Sirius curses.

I always wondered what this moment would be like, what it would be like to see Sirius again. I had hoped one day I would see him again, to see how he's doing. I never imagined it would be tonight. I imagined it years down the road, when we're old, grown, and have lived separate lives.

James switches his gazes between Sirius and me like he's watching a tennis match. Then, he addresses his wife. "What did-"

"I invited Sirius over for dinner!" She explains.

"I invited Y/N!" James points out a matter-of-factly.

"Well, you didn't tell me you invited Y/N!" Lily defends.

"You didn't tell me you invited Sirius!" James argues.

"He's here every other day! I didn't think it mattered!" Lily mentions a fair point.

Unfazed, Sirius and I approach one another, meeting halfway in the middle of the entry hall.

"Hi," I mutter.

"Hi," he whispers.

"How have-" We say in unison, causing both of us to laugh.

"No, you first!" We speak together again.

"No, I insist-" We do it a third time.

After almost two years we still manage to think so in sync. Sirius and I chuckle lightly together, shaking our heads at the silly moment.

"I've been decent..." I answer after a moment's pause.

"Me too..." Sirius nods. "You look great," he compliments with a nervous nod.

"You too," I return the compliment anxiously.

"Still in school?" He questions.

So, we're doing small talk now?

"Yeah, but I got my own place," I describe civilly.

"Wow," Sirius raises his brows. "That's... that's really great!"

"Yeah, I like it a lot!" I mirror his enthusiasm.

"Still studying business?" He inquires.

"No actually, I switched to international affairs so I work in the magical-human relations department like my brother," I explain, finding it easy to talk to him still. "I hope to improve the system. I think Parliament should do more to help the Ministry of Magic with the war."

"I always knew you'd do great things," he charms, offering me one of his perfect smirks.

James appears beside us out of my peripheral vision. "Hi, could we possibly get started on dinner?"

"Come on, Honey. Let's give them a moment to catch up," Lily smirks as she locks arms with her husband and starts ushering him away into the kitchen.

"Shall we?" Sirius gestures to the empty family room behind me.

"I'd love to," I smile.

Sirius grins as he presses his palm to my lower back and leads me into the family room to catch up.

_____________________

Masterlist

Tags: @princess-jules47

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aliynavenus · 4 years ago

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‘A Little Adjustment’ a damirae fanfic

Prologue

next chapter is out click here to read

“Aw man how much longer till lunch I’m starving.” Jon groaned impatiently, leaning against his chair, acting as if the hunger was going to end him right then and there.

“Relax. We only have half an hour.” Damian didn’t even lift his head away from the textbook he was reading, the study of hidden techniques of the katana, Of course, the academy would never actually have this in their library so he had to take a part in bringing his own interests from home. Even though he knows every little thing there is to know about his sword, it was the only thing that interested him while passing time during his study hall.

“Hey look, that transfer is in our class.” Jon leaned in across the table nudging his head to where a young girl sat on the couch displayed across from them, “I heard her name is Rachel. Some people have been talking about her already. They say she gives off like a bad vibe or a scary one, something like that. I mean she does look rather anti-social” he paused, thinking. “Just like you! You should talk to her.”

Damian didn’t even bother to look up, “You know I have no desire for women.” It was like a reflex when he said it though it was true. Never in his life did he care for women like that, even after all those damn setups his brothers have put him through, yet he always left the girl either crying or shut the door right in their face when they arrived at the manor.

“You’re no fun. Tons of girls swoon if you even speak to them.” Jon glared at him trying to get Damian to understand yet he got nothing but his eyes wandering at the damn book, “You’re hopeless, I can’t wait to meet the girl who actually makes you feel emotions,” pause, “I’ll be back I have to use the bathroom.”

Tsk. It felt like everyone around him was wondering if he had any sensibility. His brothers, Jon, even his own father, were all meddling into his life wanting him to be more “sociable.” Like that would ever happen. He wasn't trained to have empathy, he was trained to assassinate anyone that meant necessary feeling no guilt out of it. He was supposed to be the next heir to the league. Yet that all went away when he turned 14 and came here. Even though it’s been 2 years since then he really hasn’t made that much improvement in the realm of “socializing” as his father would say.

What was the point of it anyway? Everyone at the damn academy were all prids who cared only about their wealth and status having no sense of what actually goes on behind their boring life. They were all the same. Not once has he ever felt like anyone could compare to him. No one could understand the insufferable anguish of destiny to become merely just a weapon to then having to adjust to living ‘normally’, to know that the person he once admired was a demon himself. It all vanished, so what was even the point to get to know someone if they didn't understand.

Damian lifted his head finally releasing his sight from the textbook. He groaned, craning his neck to stretch it. His version began drifting to the scenery of the library until something caught his eye or someone, someone who he’s never seen before.

A girl with dark raven hair with pale skin seated on the cushion brown sofa, alone. Oh, this must’ve been the girl Jon was talking about. Her face was stuck to a book. ‘The Truth of the Realm of the Underworld’

He felt taken aback at that, no average girl around here would ever touch a book like that. It almost intrigued him. He tilted his head slightly trying not to be noticeable that he was looking for the features of her face. Finally she lowered the book.

And that’s when he saw her.

She looked so fascinating and mysterious all at once. Her features were delicate and soft, it was if he could see hidden secrets behind her face, behind those violet eyes if anything. Those eyes, those damn perfect eyes. They were something he’s never seen before. Even at a distance he could see her iris were full of infinite specks like gems. This was the girl people said they feel bad energy from, how in the hell can that even be. She didn’t look scary or anything, she looked pure.

His chest tightened as he stared at her. What has gotten into him? It was as if he could hear his heartbeat quicken pounding against his ears. A lock then fell out of her hair framing her face, simply tucking it behind her ear, he felt his jaw tighten. Fuck she looks cute. Damian never noticed the uniform on the girls in the academy but the way they fit on her, it was mesmerizing.

It hugged her perfectly. The clean white button up blouse with a neat red tie around her neck. The short plaid skirt--extremely short, laid perfectly at her thighs. Her skin even looked velvety like a smooth canvas with no imprints. She was so beautiful.

He then felt his throat being choked by the damn tie. Like that helped his body relax. He never felt more desirous to talk to someone, to know every little thing about them, to touch them. She was something that looked restricted, too good to even lay a finger on, especially with his guilty hands. He needed to know more about her, to understand her, so much that it made him eagered.

“Everyone! Please evacuate to the main room! I just got word that the city is under attack!” The librarian spoke loudly, alarming everyone to quickly rush towards the exit in panic.

Rumbling was heard from outside the room, making the floor vibrate within their feet. Sirens of ambulances were blaring outside echoing through the glass windows. Damian needed to get away from these people so he could change. Damn it why did there have to be so many snobs in this damn study. Pushing past everyone to leave the crowd to run to the empty hall to find his locker for his uniform. “Damian! Here!” Jon shouted who was already disguised, throwing Damian’s duffle bag that he kept his uniform in, “Hurry. Bane is throwing grenades everywhere outside the school and having his minions raid the bank.”

“Thanks Jon. Everyone should be in the main room, make sure they're safe. Don’t let anyone leave the building! Contact Wally and Donna while you’re at it” Damian hollered rushing towards an empty classroom to change.

“You got it, boss!”

Changing quickly Damian launched the grappling hook gun to extend out the nearest window to swiftly take him outside to see Bane’s minions robbing the bank across the street from the academy, like that was such a coincidence. Landing perfectly on the ground annihilating himself to his enemies as if they were no more than punching bags. “Your combat could use an increase in reaction.” flipping another minion onto an agonizing pile of them.

“Robin! Someone is stuck under rubble on the corner, they need help!” Wonder girl yelled in the air with a woman in her arms retrieving her to safety

Damian nodded, running towards the place Donna was referring to. There was someone, someone from the academy. It was Rachel.

What the hell was she doing out of the academy it was a lockdown. He didn’t expect their first meeting to be introduced to her as Robin but hell with it, he needed to get her to safety.

Rachel’s ankle was stuck under a piece of construction, from one of the grenades that wrecked the concrete. Placing his hand at the small of her back for comfort, “We’ll get you out, stay calm” and she was. He found it rather strange at first normally people would panic and cling to him wanting to get out in harm's way but she was perfectly fine when he rushed to her. Does she normally get trapped under rumble?

“Robin, watch out!” looking above to see enormous pieces of construction falling right to their direction, instantly taking a hold of her head bringing it close to the crook of his neck, shielding her body with his, waiting for the rumble to crash into them. But it didn’t. When he opened his eyes Raven’s hand were up in the air, dark magic appearing out of it connecting to a force field surrounding them in a bubble protecting them.

His eyes widen, holy shit. No wonder, she didn’t just seem different to him before, it was because she was. She was a sorcerer.Sure he’s seen tons of shocking things in his life that never appealed to him but this one, it was a whole different story. It was unreal.

Rachel sighed hopeless when she used her powers to lift up the construction under her to release her ankle. “I guess the cat’s out of the bag.” she chuckled dryly against his shoulder, at her charade was now over.

Damian pulled her head gently away from his shoulder, “Is your ankle injur-Argh!” A sudden hit from a baton was swung against the side of his head. One of those damn criminals managed to get a hit on him by surprise. Damian gritted his teeth ignoring the blood rushing down his head turning to the enemy to torture him. Although that didn’t even need to happen when he saw the masked man being lifted from the ground and flung to the other side of the street.

“Are you okay?” her worried voice came behind him leaning her body up towards him to touch the damage of his head. It was the first time he’s ever heard her speak, her voice was soft yet filed with emotion when she saw his wound. He felt the touch of her fingers gently being dozed in his blood against his skin. Even though he had farther worse injuries than this it felt like her touch burned him, yearning for her.

He felt his throat dry up, “Yea, it doesn’t hurt.” she looked at him with worry “I’ll be fine.” he assured her. “Isn’t your ankle hurting.”

“I didn’t want people to see I had powers, it didn’t hurt me. But I can heal you. Let me heal you please it won’t take long.” concern was filled in her expression. He felt his stomach twist with her touches on his arm and head. It was almost like he surrendered in her grasp.

“Okay. Do it fast.”

She nodded rolling up her sleeves, placing both her palms on the side of his head. Amethyst. That was the color of her eyes up close. They were big and gazing and full of mystery that he wanted to seek. Seeing her face up close, she was naturally beautiful. He felt his chest tighten once again but this time he felt like his whole body felt tense having her in his reach. Shortly he felt the slow stings takeover the wound, yet it wasn’t painful. It felt bitter but a pleasurable sensation overriding his damaged flesh. It was warm and contagious feeling her powers run through his veins. Sensing his bloody wound reattaching onto clean skin, admittedly it felt enjoyable knowing this came from Rachel. He let out a soft breath from his lips as he felt the tenderness disappear, damn it felt good.

Then something unexpected happened, writing in a form he never recognized appeared on her arm in glowing red ink. What the hell? Is that normal? Something told him it wasn’t seeing her face expression change. It didn’t look like she knew that was going to happen either. He watched as it soon faded away leaving not a mark on her skin.

“What was tha--”

“Robin! We need your help here!” Donna and Wally called out to him who were tangled up in forcing Bane to the ground but having trouble in doing so.

“Right” he nodded, lifting her to her feet “Get back to the academy, it's safer there.” Running towards his teammates he could hear Rachel whisper something, it was distant.

“This can’t be good.”

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

After a successful mission of taking Bane back to the Asylum and returning the money he had stolen, Damian headed straight to the batcave, still in his Robin uniform, seating himself in front of the main frame.

“What are you looking for?” His father’s voice came from behind him.

To be fair he wasn’t even sure. Right after the mission he came here to do some research on the writing that appeared on Rachel’s arm and her background. He knew his father had to have some relative information about her considering he has information on everyone who are of the abnormal, even his acquaintances. “Just doing some research. Must you monitor everything I do.”

“No but it is my job to keep you on track to fully live your life and your life as Robin separate.”

There his father went on again always speaking of terms of wanting him to socialize more. ‘To fully live it’ whatever that meant. “I am living.”

“Not both. You're living more as Robin than Damian. You haven’t made any new friends except Jon. You only speak to Donna and Wally when you have missions. When are you going to start acting like a teenager your age.” his father’s words were like a blade to his skin. He hated when he acted like this it was an unavoidable irritation.

“I wasn’t trained to make friends, Father. I was trained for the good of humanity.” Damian bit back defensively, turning himself to his eye father to come to full view of him dressed in his business attire.

“You aren’t even a part of it.” Bruce sighed walking towards the main screen tapping keys in “I have a new mission for you, Damian. Think of it as an experiment and experience for you”

“What’s the mission?”

“You’re nemesis, Slade was spotted in Tokyo. Something tells me he’s going to stay there for awhile. There have been also, new leads in a new chemical serum that could be developed into making metas stronger. It’s a drug for them, yet I can’t calculate where the origin is. Which is why I’m sending you.”

Damian felt like something was off about his mission, he knew there was another purpose to this, “What’s the catch Father? Why can’t you simply do it?”

“I chose this for you. I want to send you there to deal with understanding people your age and socializing with them. You’ll be finishing your junior year there and come back before your senior year starts. Everything is already purchased. So we both get what we want. You get to track down Slade as well as any incoming missions sent to you and also, you get to take part in a society meeting people who aren’t abnormal.”

Damian had to say it was a request he couldn’t resist, if it involved Slade. It was like a cat and mouse game that he enjoyed ever since leaving his deceased grandfather’s side. It sounded well but something left him reluctant. He was going to be gone for a year, sure that meant leaving Jon too, it also meant Jon was going to lead Wally and Donna in crisis. Yet the only images that struck his head were her. Rachel. If he left that meant he could no longer seek wanting to see what more she was. Here he was getting the opportunity he’s always wanted, hunting Slade and leaving the meddling voices of his Father and brothers behind yet he felt hesitant. He almost felt pathetic.

“I accept, Father.” Damian leveled his eyes to meet him out of respect. Bruce nodded, “You’re flight leaves tomorrow night. I’ll leave you to it.” he said, walking to the exit of the cave leaving Damian to spin back to the screen dialing as information about Rachel. If he had 22 hours before he left, he might as well gather information on Rachel about her origins so he could inform Jon that a new sorcerer was walking around the academy.

Typing in her name instantly took him to another page that blared at him. Of course he was right, his father did have at least some relative information about her. One of the few benefits about him.

‘Rachel Roth also known as Raven’ so Raven was her real name, it was fitting. He continued on reading everything there was to know, ‘Daughter of Trigon. Left her home Azarath and was spotted a month ago in the city.’ It was quite surprising, he didn’t know Trigon had a daughter.

At least they had something in common, both being raised by demons only to be brought into another way of living. He’d never expect to feel so familiar to someone just by reading pieces of information about her. It felt almost pleasant yet unusual feeling that way. Unfortunately not much was gathered about her considering it’s all new and untraced.

He stretched against the leather chair acknowledging that this research shall be put on pause for the night. Entering the changing room in the cave to peel his uniform off to change into joggers, leaving himself shirtless. He paused to think about her. Should a woman be this much on his mind?. He almost felt disappointed that he wasn’t going to admire her for a year. It pained him. It was like his mind was being ambushed by images of her, her eyes, her touch. It was all too damn good. That he craved it.

A sharp tingly started to form against his foreman. It was writing the same writing that appeared on Raven after she healed him. Why did it appear now? Why did it appear on him? Was this like a mark that was supposed to be left on the body after being healed by her. It was strange but no distress came from him, just comfort. The same kind of comfort that he felt when he was in her grasp. Within a second it vanished, leaving no trace of it left. His body felt no different, it didn’t feel like a threat. Maybe it was just a form of writing after being healed. Like a brandment. For some reason he kind of likes the idea of being marked by her. It made him feel connected to her, he liked it.

But he couldn’t. He was going away for a whole school year. He was going to forget her, these feelings whatever they were, had to be gone And he knew for sure they were, he was Damian fuckin Wayne Al Gual. He could do anything, anything but gain feelings for a girl.

And oh was he so wrong.

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So if you made it to here. This is a multi chapter fanfic and the summary is basically these.

After attending a full year at an off the coast boarding school as well as being involved in an undercover mission, Damian is back to the city for his senior year, after completing his missions. Going back to his subtle ways of living with his father. Attending night patrol around the city. Things of course wouldn’t be any different. Until his best friend, Jon all of a sudden has a new familiar looking step sister -- Raven aka Rachel Roth Kent. The one girl who caught his eye back in the Academy before his departure. Although now having Raven part of the Kent family who also unknowingly knows that her new adoptive family are a bunch of heroes living under her nose. Right nothing much has changed. Just adjustments for the demonbirds

there will be lots of fluff. lots of angst. and smut lol.

#damirae #demonbirds #damian x raven #raven x damian #damian and raven #raven and damian #damian wayne #rachel roth #rachel roth kent #dc fanfiction #justice league dark: apokolips war #teen titans #its finally hereeeee #i did a thing #ahhhhhh another 3 am thing #my babiessss #a little adjustment fanfic

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endydancer1 · 4 years ago

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We used to be strangers | Part 6

Pairing: Tom Holland x Y/N Lincoln

Summary: Tom has just finished his latest movie and his heading back home to London. While he is passing the high building, suddenly something happens what changes his life completely. What is the shadow up there?

WARNING: Mentions of injuries, blood, depression, thinking of suicide.

..................................................................................

"Tom, get the fuck out of the bathroom! You are having a shower for almost an hour! There are 3 other boys living in this house if you haven't noticed yet!" Haz was forcefully knocking on the bathroom door. He had been standing there for good 20 minutes. Tom had went to the shower at 10 am and it was almost 11! Finally the lock clicked and the door opened showing naked Tom wearing only a towel around his waist.

TOM'S POV:

"Holy Odin, thank you. What did take you so long?! Don't tell me you were actually showering 60 minutes!" Haz looked at me a bit annoyed.

"I was. I am sorry. I needed to shave and clean myself properly." I glanced innocently at him.

"Oh so you had to shave. Why? Are you going on a date? You normally don't spend that much time in a shower even if you are shaving. So what's up?"

"No, I don't have a date. I just.. Want to look nice, you know? I am coming to hospital to see Y/N."

"Oh, I see now. So you are finally falling for someone new. And while she is in hospital she can't run away from you when you would want to play with her, right?" Haz teased.

I just rolled my eyes and pushed him out of my way.

"Yeah, that's my dark plan. But it's a secret, don't tell anyone or I will be forced to play with you too." I smirked and walked into my room.

"You need someone to play with you already cuz you are unbearable." I heard Haz laughing before I closed the door behind me.

"Well, what should I wear?" I was standing on one place for good 3 minutes directly looking into my closet. - What am I doing? I have never been thinking that much about what should I wear on the regular day. I don't even shower that long. Was it really an hour?- I looked at my phone. - It was! Oh God. I wasn't that nervous and didn't care that much about my look even when I went on a first date with Anna. And another thing is I don't even have a date today! It's just.. Casual visit of someone I saved, right?- I just sighed and took step closer to my closet.

"Hmm, what about this? Jeans with denin jacket. It's a bit casual, but hey, I won't spoil anything with that." I dried my hair, dressed myself and walked out of my room. There was no one except me and Haz in the house.

"Harrison? Are you ready? Can we go?" I shouted waiting in front of his room.

"I am waiting for you in the living room you div!"

"Sorry! I thought you were still in your room!" I came down to living room.

"Well not everyone is as slow as you." He stood up and took his car keys. "Let's go!"

After lunch we went to the shopping centre, because I needed to buy something for Y/N.

"Uhm, Haz? What should I buy for Y/N? I promised her to watch movies with her, but I don't know which she would want to watch."

"Well, you probably should have asked her."

"You are not helping mate!"

"I am sorry, I am sorry, I am just messing with you,haha. Well, from what you have already said about her, she doesn't know you are an actor. So probably you can show her one of your movies."

"I don't think it would be a good idea. I don't want to look like a selfish prick. And.. What if she is that kind of girl who would want me only because of my money and fame?" I glanced at my feets and played with my fingers nervously.

"Tom, I understand, but you said she sent you a heart emoji and it's a good sign!" Haz poked my arm gently and a laugh a bit.

"Yeah, but she probably saw my Instagram profile and she probably knows I am famous by now."

"Well..it's also possible, but maybe she doesn't know yet. You know what then? Take one or two Marvel movies. Iron Man or Thor, or Avengers, to see if she like these kind of movies, take some romantic comedies, you know, because girls like them, right? Take your favourite movie and maybe.. Oh yeah, try any of your movies where you were young. If she notices it, you know? The Impossible or In the heart of the sea? "

" That can actually works. Thank you Haz, what would I do without you." I smiled at him. "And we should borrow it from movie rental, because I doubt they have Netflix in the hospital." I chuckled. We borrowed 5 movies.

"Mate look at this hoodie! I need it! Haz, I need it!"

"Oh God Tom, you have tons of Spiderman hoodies! You really don't need another one..."

"But look at it!"

"It's just saying Mr. Stark I don't feel so good! Tom, this meme is over."

"Well not for me. I am gettin' it and you can't do anything about it!"

"God, fine! Buy it, but hurry up if you want me to take you to hospital." Haz rolled his eyes and waited for me outside the shop.

"I've got it! Yay!" I rushed out of the shop full of joy from my new purchase.

"You are such a kid Tom, you know? How old are? 5?" He laughed at me. "Let's go. You should buy some snacks."

"Why? I am the snack, she can eat me" I joked.

"Or you can eat her, huh?"

"Harrison! But yeah.. Maybe I will!"

"One day.." Haz sticked his tongue out.

We teased each other the whole ride to the hospital. Harrison told me to call him when I wanted him to pick me up. We said our goodbye and I went into the building.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Brown. How are you? I know I am here a bit early, but I here to visit Y/N." I smiled at young lady at the reception. Her face had already dropped while I spoke. Sad smile appeared on her face.

"I am sorry, Mr. Holland. You should go home and rather forget about her."

"W-what? Why? What happened? Is she okay?"

"I shouldn't be telling you this, but she probably won't survive much longer."

"What? You have to be joking? I was talking to her yesterday. She was fine. What happened? If it has something to with that Melendez guy I am sorry. But ple, don't joke about her dying, I.."

"I am not joking, Mr. Holland. I would have never joked about such a thing. She is my best friend. And she is dying. So please,don't make it even harder for me."

"C-can I.. Can I at least see her? One last time?"

"I am sorry, you can't. She is on fluid resuscitation right now."

I could feel my eyes started watering. I felt familiar anxiety and my heart almost stopped working. My palms started sweating, I felt dizzy. I had to sit down for a moment.

"Do you need water, Mr. Holland?"

I wasn't able to speak. My voice was caught deep in my throat. My eyes were blankly staring at the wall in front of me. I didn't even notice when she left to grab me some water.

"Here, drink it." She handed me cup of water and crunched in front of me. "Listen, I know how you feel. Y/N is amazing person, you don't know her for a long time, but I am sure you could see that. She doesn't deserve to die like this and this soon, but it's what it is. We have to deal with it. She wouldn't want you to cry over her death. She would want you to continue your life with joy. Let's honour every moment we could spend with her and if the worst comes, we should let her die in peace. " She gently rubbed the back of my hand. I looked at her with puffy red eyes.

" I don't want her to die. " I said with raspy voice.

" I know. Me neither, but she was diagnosed with severe damages to her body, her condition is really miserable and there is only a small chance of her to survive this even with the best doctors and facilities."

I growled and put my head into my hands. I didn't even try to keep my sobbs quiet. Mrs. Brown hugged me tightly.

" Psst. It will be okay. I feel the same. You are not alone. But you should go home now. Spend some time with your family and friends. It's okay to cry, but don't let it affect you in other ways. Do you have someone to pick you up?"

"What's her diagnose? What happened? Can you at least tell me so I know when she.. When she dies what causes it?"

"She suffers a septic shock. It's severe condition when 50% of patients dies, because of multiple organs failure."

"But.. She was okay yesterday. How could it happened?"

"Septic shock is caused by sepsis which does not respond the treatment. Your blood pressure drops to a dangerously low level after sepsis."

"Oh my God." I gulped and felt dizzy again. My skin was pale.

"Mr. Holland, look at me. Do you have someone to take you home? Can you give me your phone so I can call you someone?"

I can't remember properly how I managed to unlock my phone and handed it to her. Her voice was muffled and my head hurt. I didn't know how much time passed, but suddenly Harrison appeared in front of me.

" Hey, mate. I am here, I am here. Can you stand up? I am taking you home." He helped me to stand up and led me in the car. He managed to sat me on the front seat.

"Wait for me I need to speak to the nurse. Can you do that?"

I nodded absently. He walked back to the nurse I was talking to, Mrs. Brown. She explained what happened and what he should do with me. After a minute or two, Haz took me home. I cant tell you how long the ride was, because only thing I could think about was Y/N. She was dying. Dying and I couldn't help her. I only spoke to her for a few hours, but I had already felt the bond between us. I couldn't lose her. I didn't want to be sad, broken. Not again. Not after Anna. I prayed in my head. I prayed so hard. - Please God, I have already lost the love of my life. Please, I don't want to see another person die. I have just started to have feelings for another woman, after years of being alone and crying over my sweet angel, I found another one, or at least I think I found. And you want to take her from me too? -

"Tom, Tom, please look at me. Don't cry mate, I know it's hard. I am here. Please look at me." Haz was looking at me, obviously worried. Somehow he managed to lay me down on my bed.

"Tom, do you need something? A water or something to eat?" he sat next to me on bed. I stayed quiet, not really listening what he was saying. He just sighed.

"I will give you some space. You should sleep a bit. I will be downstairs if you need something." He stood up and walked to the door.

"Stay.. Please.. I need you."

A/N: Let me know what you think about this story so far. Sorry for my English, it's not my first language and I am new with this. So I would be happy and thankful about the feedback. Have a nice day! 😊

#tom holland #tom holland x reader #tom holland spiderman #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland imagine #tomhollandfans #hollanders #haz osterfield #harrison osterfield #holland family #marvel #spiderman far from home #spiderman homecoming #spiderman #imagine #fanfiction #fanfic #tom holland x y/n #we used to be strangers

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radramblog · 4 years ago

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Every Boros Commander, Part 2

Where we last left off, I was shitting on Adriana, Captain of the Guard, who gives ACAB a pretty different meaning. Fortunately, most of the pickings this time aren’t quite as dire.

Depala, Pilot Exemplar (3rd most played as of writing)

Holy shit, a Boros commander with card advantage? It’s niche, but it was a first. Being limited to Dwarves and Vehicles does leave her with a problem a lot of commanders and tribes tend to have, which is being just a smidge under critical mass- but with the upcoming Kaldheim appearing to support Dwarves, and vehicles appearing to be a deciduous mechanic, I feel like it won’t be long before Depala is as powerful as her placement suggests. She is niche and mana-hungry, but basically the only Vehicle commander (and definitely the only Dwarf commander at the moment), so I suspect she’s here to stay for a while.

Tiana, Ship’s Caretaker (15th most played as of writing)

Tiana is possibly my favourite character lorewise in all of magic, frankly. She’s cool and cute and a massive dork and also someone who found her purpose in life, and frankly I love that for her.

She’s also a really interesting commander to build around, seeing as she has a unique brand of card advantage that leads to the addition of old and weird cards, which I’m always a fan of. I should really get around to building a Tiana deck, to be honest, though I already have 10 commander decks with an 11th in progress, sooooo…

Firesong and Sunspeaker (4th most played as of writing)

I’m surprised to see F&S this high, but the first unique Buy-a-Box card did expand into an archetype previously unseen in the combination in the form of Boros Spellslinger (Dalakos would later return the favour as an Izzet Equipment commander). Previously, you had to go into Pauper EDH and play fellow Minotaur Blaze Commando for this kinda deck. Like Depala, F&S are heavily played despite being niche, though the also have the benefit of being a RW minotaur commander, if you want to play White instead of Black in that deck for…some reason? The siren moo of Boros Reckoner speaks to us all, I suppose.

Sylvia Brightspear and Khorvath Brightflame (17th most played as of writing)

The only partner pair I’m discussing today on account of their monogamy. Knights and Dragons make a weird combination, seeing as there are basically no other cards that help them work together rather than apart. You could almost run them as a goodstuff deck if you wanted, seeing as many of Boros’s best creatures are Knights or Dragons, but largely I think sticking to one or the other is probably for the best. With that in mind, the pair are actually the only real commanders for either tribe within Boros- the only other Dragon is something we’ll get to, and the only knight is…Adriana…so…. The buffs given by either pair are excellent, and not something that either tribe gets easy access to typically, so I can see the appeal of them in that slot. At that point, the extra commander is just a bonus.

Aurelia, Exemplar of Justice (21st most played as of writing)

Oh, another Aurelia, and she’s worse this time. In seriousness, her ability looks like its likely to be targeting herself most of the time, and Mentor just doesn’t do enough in this format. She has enough keywords and power to Voltron, but I’m not expecting much interesting from her outside of that.

Tajic, Legion’s Edge (18th most played as of writing)

Tajic has 4 separate lines of text for some reason, and only one (ok fine two haste is nice) actually matters. Having a damage prevention effect is nice in the zone, but it doesn’t apply to himself, so if you’re planning on turning mass damage one-sided you’re going to need to protect him still. And like, what else does he do? He’s not a good aggro commander at all, his last ability is a joke, why are people playing this card? If I was in a mass damage deck I’d just play Gisela, at least she does something on the off chance she survives. Probably no-one is gonna go out of the way to kill Tajic, at least. Beats out Aurelia for biggest downgrade, imo, even if Aurelia fell from higher.

Feather, the Redeemed (Number 1 most played at time of writing)

Feather is the most popular Boros commander, by over triple the next most popular. It’s not hard to see why: she’s a cheap commander that turns any targeted cantrip into a draw engine, she synergises with so many random powerful cards that you can build her a fair few different ways, and she’s a cool story character getting a card 12ish years after her appearance in the Ravnica novels. She does so much and is so interesting that it’s completely understandable that she’s as huge as she is. I’m still never going to build her though, even with my funky Japanese copies, if only because I’m too much of a hipster.

Gerrard, Weatherlight Hero (13th most played as of writing)

Kinda funny that Gerrard’s little text that made him work in the command zone until recent rules changes is now a strict downside. Gerrard has his niche, with a Second Sunrise in the zone unsurprisingly supporting Eggs decks rather nicely, and synergising with a lot of just random bullshit. I’d probably never build him, and it seems pretty easy to make it degenerate, but I’m glad he’s here and he’s certainly better than the first iteration of the character.

Haktos, the Unscarred (12th most played as of writing)

I’m kinda surprised to see Achilles this high, considering how recent he is. He reminds me a lot of Progenitus, oddly enough, as a commander that would be good at Voltron but can’t get buffed easily by traditional means. I think adding equipment on the off-chance that it fits his heel is a complete mistake, but things like Silverblade Paladin and Exalted cards do exist, so fair play. He’s pretty hard to kill unless you’re boardwiping, and even then damage-based ones probably miss, so I can see the value in that. But that mana cost hurts to look at- hitting 2 mana of 2 different colours on turn 4 was a pain back when I played Trostani, and that was a green deck.

Stet, Draconic Proofreader (No data available)

Okay look, I tried so hard to find a way to abuse this dork’s ability but there’s just no good way to do it. Stet sucks hard enough that even if you are playing with Silver-Bordered cards legal I just don’t know why you’d ever run it. His art is pretty funny, I’ll give it that. We got Alexander bloody Clamilton and Surgeon Commander in the same cycle, keep in mind.

Winota, Joiner of Forces (2nd most played as of writing)

Having menaced standard, Winota is still pretty decent as a commander, even without access to her 7-mana blue payload. There actually aren’t that many beefy humans to cheat out in general, but considering how easy it is to enable her ability and the fact that she digs *6 cards deep* on trigger, I think you just kinda end up swarming the board distressingly easy with her deck. It’s shocking to see a card from 2020 in the top 5 like this, considering how the year has gone for the format in general, but like. 6 cards.

Zirda, the Dawnwaker (8th most played as of writing)

Look it combos with Basalt/Grim monolith in the command zone isn’t that neat. Zirda is pretty open-ended, but not especially powerful outside of the aforementioned combo. I find them much more appealing in the Companion slot, frankly. With that said, I do like that Boros is the colour pair getting access to Training Grounds in the zone, seeing as it works well with its other themes (Equipment mostly) and opens new archetypes (Cycling, etc.) up as possibilities.

Akiri, Fearless Voyager (7th most played as of writing)

Haha, Brion has more decks than Akiri. That’s probably since it only released a few months ago. Of course, I’m not including the other Akiri, so this is the first time we’ve seen her on the list. But apart from that, Akiri was somehow the first of these commanders to actually say “draw” on it. Her synergies with Living Weapon (and the recent equipment cards that do the same) are pretty sick, though her second ability will end up costing a lot of mana over time if you have to use it. I think its hilarious how much more value this gives you than Adriana for doing the thing Adriana wants you to do, at 2 less mana.

Also, she’s probably the best general for Kor tribal? I guess you could go Akiri/Black partner so you can play Orah in the deck. Someone build this! Kor like equipment, Akiri likes equipment, lets go.

It’s only just occurred to me that Akiri gives you more for attacking other players than Adriana does. Fuckin hell, man.

Bell Borca, Spectral Sergeant (25th most played as of writing)

Bell finally getting a card 15 years after his fictional death was a welcome treat, but the exile-related ability is frankly awkward and abusing it to 1 or 2 hit commander damage is pretty difficult. Still, having impulse draw in the zone makes him probably just the best generic #goodstuff commander. I’m surprised he’s as low as he is, but he only released a month ago (at time of writing) and we got an absolute stack of legends (including 2 other Boros ones and the partners) in the same set.

Reyav, Master Smith (28th most played as of writing)

Reyav is neat since he combines 2 of Boros’s more traditional archetypes, being Aggro and Voltron, into one damage doubling dwarf. I suspect his lack of play is again due to the other legends in the same set and that it only dropped a month ago, because there’s no way he deserves to be below Munda. Also, he’s 2 mana! The only other 2CMC Boros Legend is partner Akiri! How did that happen? I think he deserves better. You can suit him up and get dunking real quick.

Wyleth, Soul of Steel (16th most played as of writing)

Our final general is Boros’s second ever Precon commander, and the only one with flavour text. He’s got the space for it, considering how much work that second line is doing. I appreciate that Wyleth, despite being superficially similar to Akiri, plays pretty differently, as he prefers Voltron while she prefers spreading equipment out. I assume Wyleth would be a lot higher if the precon itself was included, but there’s no way of knowing how many people are playing just the base deck, so who knows.

A CHALLENGER APPROACHES!!!

Koll, the Forgemaster (no data available) This bloke got spoiled between me writing most of this and going to publish it. I can see a few easy combos with his first ability, especially seeing as Grafted Wargear is a card. Playing fairly though, his first ability feels kinda slow, and not being able to protect himself is a huge drag. The second ability feels kinda stapled on, as its a way of giving you a bonus since the first one doesn’t do shit for tokens. But like, just don’t equip them, lmao. Awkward, but has potential.

And that’s the lot of them! Uhhhh yeah that’s all I’ve got, stan Tiana kthnxbai

#ramble #mtg #edh #commander #boros #Tiana best girl

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bellero · 5 years ago

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The Parker Twins - Part 3.

Summary: This is just a reimagined version of Homecoming but Peter has a twin sister.

Warnings: The occasional swear, arguing, mentions of dead parents.

Authors note: I haven’t updated this in forever, however I want to get back on track with my writing. Also, I decided to miss out the trip to Washington so it gets straight to the angst! Also remember to leave feedback!!

The Parker Twins Masterlist

—————-

May had allowed you to stay home from school after learning about what had happened at the party. You had spent the majority of the day moping around alone, Peter was in school and May was at work, you were bored. Tony had managed to get every trace of the video removed, of course that didn’t fully undo the damages as the entire school was present and saw you punch Flash in the face but still, it was something.

You were currently in bed, facing the wall with your duvet up to your neck and earphones in your ears, music at full volume. The feeling of dread was still prominent throughout your body, you knew you’d have to go back to school, you knew you were going to have to face up with what you did. I mean sure, Flash deserved it because he was being a total dick but that didn’t stop the pounding voice in the back of your head yelling at you for reacting so irrationally.

You let out a groan when you heard a knock on the door, you ignored it and threw the blankets over your head letting out a small sigh when the knocking stopped. You turned up your music all the way, blocking out any noise from the outside world. You were about to fall asleep when somebody ripped the blanket away from your body. You shot up and glared at the figure in front of you, “what do you want?” you grumbled as you took out your earphones.

Tony leant against your desk with his arms crossed, “a little birdie told me you didn’t go to school today… I was just wondering why” you frowned with a furrowed brow, “I punched a guy in the face, Tony, in front of the entire school. I’d rather not show my face in that hellhole again, thank you very much.” You reached down and grabbed your blanket, “now, if you don’t mind, I was going to take a nap. You may show yourself out” You said gesturing towards your door, you led back down and pulled the blanket over your face. You heard Tony let out a sigh, “fine, I guess I’ll need to find somebody else to test out my new lab equipment”.

You quickly climbed out of bed and onto your feet, “test out what now?” you asked, pushing hair out of your face. Tony smirked, “we’re moving the headquarters upstate, I got a bunch of new lab equipment. Thought it’d be boring to test it out myself” you nodded your head.

“Yeah, I already know about the move upstate. Hello, I hack you for a living. But- why did you come here?” You asked, Tony rolled his eyes at your hacking comment “Peter left Happy a voicemail saying how you were moping about, thought you’d rather do something useful with your time other than lay in bed listening to, whatever that crap was”.

You furrowed your eyebrows at his comment about your music taste, “gimme 10 minutes” you said, pushing him out of your room.

You stepped out of your room but stopped at Tony who was looking at the photos on the wall, “that’s my uncle Ben… He died a few weeks after Peter got his powers” you said as you walked over to stand next to him. He pointed at the one next to it “those your parents?” he asked, you nodded your head “I don’t really remember them, same with Peter. Most of our memories have come from photos and home videos… It’s weird, they’re my parents. I should be able to remember them but I just… don’t. Peter remembers way more than me, I don’t get it” you shrugged, you walked towards the fridge and started writing on the magnetic notepad attached to it.

Gone out with Mr. Stark. Be back soon. Love, y/n.

You grabbed a jacket, “what’d you mean you can’t remember your parents?” Tony asked, you shrugged your shoulders, “I dunno. The only memories I’ve ever had of them have been from photos and stuff. Peter remembers them, he can’t remember much but he remembers them” you explained as you walked out of your apartment, Tony stood around as you locked the door.

You and Tony walked side by side as you exited the building, you let out a whistle “nice car” you said as you ran you hand along the bumper, you opened the door and sat down. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for a car person” Tony remarked as he turned the engine on, “seatbelt” he said which made you roll your eyes. “I’m not a car person, I just know a good car when I see one” you muttered whilst clipping in your seatbelt.

“How’s Peter handling the whole Spider-Man thing?” Tony asked quickly glancing over at you as he drove, “I mean… he’s handling like you’d expect a teenager to handle it. Although he has quit band practice, and he almost quit the Decathalon. I don’t know, I think he feels like he HAS to protect people, I mean he’s still a kid… he shouldn’t be throwing away his life to be in some dumb suit” you finished with a huff. Tony pondered over what you had said, he slowly nodded his head “I get it… I was like that when I first became Iron Man, I was obsessed with the suits. It made me feel complete, y’know?” you nodded your head, “also, I designed that suit so stop insulting it” you grinned and shook your head.

————

You were stood outside of the Avengers HQ with Tony stood next to you, “so, what’d you think?” he asked looking over at you, he started walking towards the entrance, you quickly followed. You looked around, “I mean… it’s a bit… loud? I thought top secret military bases were supposed to be inconspicuous… This is a huge white building with Jets in the front yard” you observed whilst putting your hands in your pockets, “okay. One, this isn’t a military base, it’s a headquarters- don’t roll your eyes at me, and two, I chose the design so shut up” he said causing you to let out a snort.

You walked into the building, you stopped for a second and slowly spun around taking everything in, “holy shit. This place is huge!” Tony looked smug, “but seriously, your design sucks” he flicked the back of your head, “ouch! You don’t have to be a dick about it, jeez” you muttered whilst rubbing your head, “let’s go show you that lab” he said, changing the conversation. He placed his hands on your shoulders and started to steer you in the direction of the elevators.

You waved at Happy who was exiting one of the elevators, “is everything set up?” Tony asked, Happy nodded his head “yeah, there’s still some stuff at the tower but they’ll be going out with the plane” he explained whilst ignoring your little wave. They exchanged a few more words before you and Tony stepped into the elevator, “bye Happy!” you yelled just before the doors closed, “so, is his name really Happy, or is that just a nickname because obviously it doesn’t match his personality…” you trailed off causing Tony to laugh a little, he shook his head before stepping out of the now opened elevator doors, you followed. He spoke as he walked “his real name is Harold, but I wouldn’t advise calling him that” you nodded your head and followed him through a sliding door.

You froze in your spot and gaped at the room you were currently stood in, “you’re going to catch flies” Tony muttered before walking over to a table. You slowly walked around the room, running your hand over different machines and work tops, you stopped and pointed towards a robot with a dunce cap on its head “why did you put a dunce cap on a robot?” you asked, Tony looked over at you “oh, that’s Dum.E. He tipped coffee on the worktop and caused some water damage” you frowned at his comment, you took the cap off and patted the robot on the head. You walked over and stood next to Tony, placing the small cap on the table next to you. He pressed a button on the side of the table making a hologram appear in front of you, you let out a small laugh “that’s awesome” you held out your right hand and made the hologram of your brothers suit spin. Tony waved his hand again “I wanna figure out some upgrades for your brother’s suit-” he began before you quickly interrupted him which caused him to look at you in surprise “yeah sounds cool, but, how about instead of working on my brothers already perfect suit we make me my own suit…” you trailed off, he cocked his head “yeah. We can make it white and gold… it’ll be great! Plus, it’ll give you the chance to really challenge some of this newer equipment” you turned to him, he pondered it for a moment before bringing up a clean slate on the hologram, “okay, kid. You’re in control” he said, you bounced on your feet for a moment, “I was thinking of making it like yours… Y’know with thrusters since I can’t exactly swing from buildings. Obviously, I don’t have the room to hide a giant suit so I’ve been playing around with the idea of nanotech… I could hide it in a small bracelet or something, I don’t know” you quickly shied away when you realised you were rambling. Tony nodded his head “you’ve put a lot of thought into this, haven’t you?” you shrugged your shoulders, nodding your head ever so slightly “I mean… I guess? I see what Peter does, helping people… I want to do that; I want to help others… I mean, I’m pretty useless in every other department” Tony frowned at that, “so why not put what I’m good at into use” you shrugged your shoulders.

Tony was about to respond when your phone pinged, you looked and saw a text from Aunt May, you let out a groan “Peter hasn’t come back from school, May’s freaking out because he isn’t answering his phone” you quickly replied and pocketed your phone, “could you drop me back?” Tony nodded his head.

As he drove you back Ned rang you, “he’s done what?! Okay, thanks for telling me. I’ll see you at school. Bye” you hung up the phone and let out a groan of frustration, Tony glanced at you “everything okay?” he asked, you sighed and shook your head,

“Peter found this weird glowing thing from these criminal guys who are using them to make weapons, he put a tracker on one of them and found out that there’s a buy going down on some ferry so he’s gone to stop it” Tony tensed up slightly and pulled up outside your house, “thanks for today. I really needed an excuse to leave my bed” you said whilst climbing out of the car, “bye!” you waved before stepping into the apartment building.

————

It had been a few hours; Peter still wasn’t home. You and May had seen on the news about being split in half, you knew Peter was part of it. You were sat down as May was pacing the room. Your head shot up when the door opened, you furrowed your eyebrows at your brothers’ state, he was wearing hello kitty pyjama trousers and an oversized ‘I survived my trip to NYC t-shirt “hey” he whispered at May, she inhaled deeply and walked over to him,

“I’ve been calling you all day. You didn’t answer your phone. You can’t do that. Then this ferry thing happens. I’ve called five police stations” she spoke, she was clearly still panicking, “five, I’ve called five of your friends”

“May, I’m okay. Honestly. Just relax, I’m fine” Peter spoke quietly trying to soothe her.

May turned to face Peter, “cut the bullshit. I know you left detention. I know you left the hotel room in Washington. I know you sneak out of this house every night. That’s not fine.” She took a breath “Peter, you have to tell me what’s going on. Just lay it out. It’s just us” she said motioning between you and her. Peter’s eyes suddenly welled up with tears “I lost the Stark internship” he said quickly glancing at you, you stood up “what? What happened?” you asked walking over to him, he collapsed onto the sofa as tears started streaming down his face, he shrugged of the hand you placed on his shoulder which caused you to step back a bit. May shot you a sympathetic look, assuming he was too emotional to want comfort.

Peter let out a sigh “I just thought I could work really hard. I screwed it up” May started stroking his back “it’s okay” she repeated softly,

“I’m sorry I made you worry” Peter said with a sigh, May shook her head

“You know I’m not trying to ruin your life… Just- I used to sneak out too” she sniffed Peter’s hair, “and take a shower. You smell like garbage” she said making Peter laugh slightly, he shook his head at her comment “I know” he stood up and walked towards the bathroom, not giving you another glance.

You turned to May “do you think he’s mad at me?” you asked wringing your hands together, she cocked her head to the side “why would he be mad? This isn’t your fault” she said, you nodded your head.

“Anyway, how was it hanging out with Tony?” she asked, you smiled and nodded your head “yeah it was really fun, he let me test out a bunch of new equipment” May smiled at your excitement, “that’s great. I’m going to head out and grab some Pizza, will you talk to Peter for me? I know he’s holding back about something and I know he’ll tell you” you nodded, she placed a kiss on her forehead “be back soon” she said and walked out the door.

You walked over to Peter’s bedroom and knocked on the door “hey, can I talk to you?” you asked, you didn’t hear anybody respond so you slowly opened the door and frowned at your brother who was lying in bed, “I’m sorry you lost the internship… I know how much it meant to you” you said whilst leaning against the door frame, “if it helps May’s gone to get some pizza”. You sighed when he didn’t reply.

“He took the suit… Mr. Stark took the suit” he swung his feet over the side of the bed and stood up, “he also said that you told him I quit band. Why would you do that?” he asked, you narrowed your eyes “he asked how you were coping with being Spiderman, I said you quit band. So what?” you asked crossing your arms, still confused by his irritation towards you. He let out a groan of frustration “you were with him all day today?” he asked, you nodded your head “I know you told him where I was, this happened because of you” he spat, you quickly sat up straight and stared at him, “excuse me? What happened was not my fault. You’re the one who thought it would be a good idea to chase after those men despite me, Ned and Tony saying that it was a bad idea” he went to speak but you interrupted “and you know what? I’m glad Tony stopped you. You could’ve hurt those people, Peter. You could have died” you sucked in a shuddering breath “I’m sorry you lost the internship. I really am, but I’m not getting the blame for your screw ups” you turned and slammed the door before storming off to your room.

——————

The Parker Twins Tags-

@winchesters-favorite-girl @mersuperwholocked-lowlife @platonic-plots@daughters-and-winsisters @just4muggles @humanexile @family-business-one-shots @rosegoldquintis @sassy-specter @unicorn-sparkles123 @saturn-aka-six @octo-cow52 @thegirlwholikestomanythings@zeusmyster @6gotosleep9 @miyaint @grimzszs @sara29392 @deansdeliciouspies @emwinchester1 @lizlil @antiscocialfanwarrior@anothershorthuman @mellilla-rose @paintballkid711 @ixchel-9275@ficnalunaus @steve-rogcrs @floral-marauders @havlindzk@bellamyblakemorley @slothalicious-bae @ellaorelizabeth @klanceiscannon14@sydm15 @thetruthisiamironwoman @i-meant-trash-panda @hazthotsterfield@i-only-signed-up-for-fanfiction @booksandmischief @twobitss@sheerioasteroidpanda @supernatural-demigod @jiminslonglostjams @chloe-geoghegan1 @dovexparker @wiseeggspickleslime @tywys @griff1ndor @bisexual-disappointment

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radreactions · 5 years ago

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Mandalorian Kellogg

Courtesy of our one and only Master of The Force - @saintlyguy!!

Kellogg as the Main Character Instead of the Sole Survivor (inspired by The Mandalorian)

Sent to retrieve an asset for the Institute from Vault 111, Kellogg discovers that the package that’s been under ice for almost 200 years is really just a baby still fussing in the arms of his already dead parent. Rediscovering his paternal instincts and discovering a chance of redemption, Kellogg dispatches the scientists with him and decides to protect the boy and raise him as his own. On his journey to escape the Institute and find a new home for him and his new son, he stumbles upon a unique cast. Are these people potential allies, or just obstacles to his new found family? Ada: Years of experience and overall distrust of any sentient machine due to his experience with 2nd gen synths have led to a preference Kellogg wishes to satisfy in any situation: NO DROIDS. Be it a synth or Protectron (after a certain unpleasant experience with one back in the Mojave), Kellogg prefers to work with those who haven’t been programmed to think the way they do. But with enough whining and teary eyes from his adopted son, Kellogg came in charging to save a lone automatron that looks like a mess of parts. “First that Mr. Handy in Sanctuary, now this.” Ada had no one left and sought to avenge her family. Above all she wished to not be alone. All 3 desires are satisfied with this grizzled man and his son- “No droids. Get lost. No need to thank me. Didn’t want to help in the first place” But he did. Surely that must mean this man must have some shred of compassion. That would be enough to go on at the moment since Ada has nothing. She’d follow this man until he’d take her with him. “I could be of much assistance to you and your son. I’ll protect the two of you. I’m well equiped for scavenging and building. I can even create a nursing subroutine and care for your son.” “ALRIGHT! I’ll take care of this Mechanist for you. Just stop talking. Take point.” “Wonderful. Now that we’re on our way, I’d like to tell you all that I can do for you-“ You ever hear a robot get their head ripped off without a sound? No. That’s because you gotta be Kellogg to pull something like that. “Finally” the exasperated merc exhales as he looks down on his napping son. “Finally he’s asleep.” Cait: “Get outta here you junkie! Don’t show your face ‘round here til you get that psycho out of your system!” Tossed out of the Combat Zone, Cait never thought that putting on a good show and gouging out a raider’s eyes would get her tossed out. “Your loss Tommy! I’ll just put these guns to work somewhere they’ll be appreciated!” Tommy sadly sighs at how Cait doesn’t realize she’s beating herself to death. Eventually Cait made herself a name as yet another Commonwealth merc, one that even the Gunners stay clear of in fear of getting their head smashed in. Cait would take the most dangerous jobs not just for the hazard pay, but to have an excuse to need psycho. She’d go after a raider boss with nothing but a bat and rage fueled by the poison. She can be found in Goodneighbor at the Third Rail where she’s claimed the counter for herself. She’d drink from the top shelf in between jobs with her own space. Until the infamous Kellogg took a seat at the other end. “Oy cunt! This here’s my bar! Piss off!” First that wannabe shakedown, now this. “Don’t see your name on it. I’ll finish my Nuka-Cola and be on my way. You won’t even notice.” “Oh but everyone else will notice the stain that balding head will leave on the counter!” A brawl breaks out. Well I wouldn’t call it a brawl. More like Kellogg just tiring Cait out by just dodging all while having something bundled beneathe his jacket. Almost out of breath, Cait pulled out a psycho she didn’t think she needed. Knowing how much damage a psycho user can inflict, he puts her into a vice and forces it out of her hand. “That stuff could kill you.” Cait was just about to explode as a small hand reached out from Kellogg’s jacket and touched her on the nose. Now you don’t boop Cait on the nose without losing that hand. Unless you were a swaddled baby with big puppy eyes. For the first time in her life, Cait felt...soft. Her rage subsided and she eased up, causing Kellogg to finally release her. Cait felt at ease. Actually more than that. She felt...at peace. She felt better than she ever did in her life. “Holy Shite!” Cait was amazed to see that her arms were no longer veiny or pale, she could see and hear clearly, and she wasn’t as angry! She yanked the psycho from her pockets and threw them in the trash. She doesn’t know what happened, but she’s now healed and free from the psycho. “That kid... Could they have...?” Cait looked back at Kellogg to see him fussing over the kid now knocked out. Codsworth: The butler’s sensors had picked up a familiar lifeform coming from Vault 111. “It couldn’t be.” Then he heard a familiar coo from the end of the street. “It could be?” Anticipation was replaced by fear upon seeing young Shaun in the arms of a rather unpleasant looking stranger. Whoever he is, he has clearly abducted young Shaun and it’s up to Codsworth to save him and deliver him back to his masters. “You! I don’t know who you are! But you will unhand the lad or I will contact the authorities!” Oh blimey, there aren’t any authorities left. This may boil down to fisticuffs, but Codsworth will save Shaun no matter the cost! “That’s not gonna happen Mr. Handy. Now why don’t you go clean something. I gotta get this kid to a safe-“ TALLY HO! Codsworth charges Kellogg with his saw aimed at his head and his claw ready to catch Shaun. Soon Codsworth will have one piece of the family he lost when the bombs dropped. Then he’ll go find his masters and reunite them all. Finally he’ll have the life he had lost serving- SKKRRRRRRR Kellogg let go of the robot’s saw after it had cut clean through its armor and he was sure to have destroyed its cpu. “Ma-Ma-Master Sh-Shaun! Wo-Wo-Would you li-like to see Mu-Mu-Mummy and Da-Da-Da-“ As the Mr.Handy’s voice died out, the child reached out to its lifeless hull. Kellogg had connected the dots. This wasn’t just some malfunctioning Mr. Handy, it somehow knew the kid. All sorts of feelings swelled in Kellogg. Finally he looked down at the child. “So. Your name’s Shaun.” Curie: What’s the perfect place to ride out a radiation storm? The very same vaults that protected its inhabitants from nuclear annihilation. The sky turned green and thundered like never before. The closest place was Vault 81. Although it wasn’t too keen on allowing outsiders in, Kellogg needed to get Shaun out of the storm immediately and he knew he had plenty of worthwhile Institute tools he could trade for shelter. After bargaining his into the Vault, Kellogg was able to finally get a warm meal and rest for himself and his adopted son. That is until this Ms. Nanny came bubbling and insisting on seeing to Shaun. “S’il vous plait monsieur! I only wish to give your little one an examination and any treatment he may need! Free of charge. Just let me-“ “NO!” Silence in the cafeteria except for the humming from Curie’s thruster. “If I need a doctor, I’ll go to the real one. Just let us eat our meal so we can go rest.” Curie complied, hiding her disappointment and hurt. She only wants to help... She’s ashamed to admit, but she had hoped to get in the good graces of the man and convince him to allow her to venture out with him and his son (whom she greatly adored and worried about). Curie wanted more out of her life than being Vautl 81’s Ms. Nanny, she wanted to leave her mark on science! She knew she couldn’t do that in 81’s confines. She also knew she wouldn’t be acheiving her goal anytime soon. Danse: “Brotherhood, better sneak around.” Kellogg maneuvered through College Square as to avoid the ferals only to run into a Brotherhood of Steel outpost and they’re not the biggest fan of the Institute. Kellogg’s pretty sure that saying he betrayed them won’t give him a free pass but a trip to a holding cell and Shaun being taken from him. He couldn’t risk that. While slithering on by, Kellogg halted at the sound of ferals screeching then running towards his direction. Kellogg almost drew his revolver but saw a small squad of Brotherhood soldiers come out to deal with the ferals. “Good a distraction.” Kellogg was almost home free until Shaun pointed back at the Brotherhood with the same damn puppy eyes Kellogg has yet to find the strength to refuse. The ghouls nearly overan the soldiers until a civilian charged in and singlehandedly dispatched then despite their overwhelming numbers. “We need him for the Brotherhood” Paladin Danse thought. Before Danse could thank him, Kellogg hushed him with a finger. “Your welcome. No thanks needed. And no I won’t be staying for long. Also I don’t want to work with a machine.” That last part confused Danse. Maybe he doesn’t like tech, which wouldn’t sit well with being a Brotherhood soldier. Danse then saw a tiny body appear over the civilian’s shoulder which waved back at him. Deacon: Oh crap oh crap oh crap. “I’m in the same room with Kellogg. Worse, he’s got a kid! Where did he get them from? Did he kidnap them?” Whatever the case, Deacon needed to conduct some espionage. “So... you come here often?” “Hmm.” Not much of an answer. “Oh my stars! Your kid is so cute! Mind if I held him.” “Hmm” aggressively as Kellogg turned away. Uh oh, I’m losing him! Better think of something quick! “So I’m guessing a busy man such as yourself needs all the help he can get when raising the little one.” “Hmmm” “Well you’re in luck! I am the Commonwealth’s best, if not the only nanny! I’ll watch him while you go do...stuff! I’m a great cook! My bloatfly jerky is hard to pass up! I’m great with kids and I can entertain your kid for hours. Does your kid like songs? How’s this? Ahem.” “Toss a coin to your-“ Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! “Oh great! Your awful singing upset him!” Dogmeat: A faint scent passed Dogmeat’s nose, waking him from his nap at Red Rocket. Standing at attention, Dogmeat spotted a human carrying a small human. Tail wagging, Dogmeat wanted to run up to see the small human. He wanted to follow to see them all the time. He wanted to PROTECT. But that big human may be dangerous. MORE REASON TO PROTECT TINY HUMAN. So Dogmeat followed at a distance and helped where he could. A pack of hounds too close? They’re gone before the humans get a wiff of them. A yaoi gui looking for a meal? Dogmeat stands his ground and gives the humans time to get far. Dogmeat was a good boy. And good boys get rewarded! One night when the humans rested, Dogmeat was invited to join them by the fire with a hunk of meat thrown in front of him. Kellogg dropped a few more hunks to get Dogmeat to come close. After enjoying his meal and a bowl of water, Dogmeat was finally able to see the tiny human up close. Gage: How could one guy get through the gauntlet with a baby strapped to his chest? And how could he defeat the Overboss without the water gun? BY CRUSHING HIM WITH HIS MIND! That last part seems unreal but it’s the truth! Colter was crushed within his power armor when the bald guy went to fight him! Every raider ran out of there except for Gage, who was still in shock. He didn’t notice the man approach until he was asked “What’s the fastest way back to the Commonwealth?” “R-right this way sir.” Now Gage didn’t like being subservient to those he disliked, but he wasn’t looking to die today. Gage had brought him back to the train, sending the man on his way. Just as the train pulled away, through the window, Gage saw the man’s baby peek out and reach out to him. Gage was confused and was further puzzled when he saw that his pants had fallen out of nowhere. Wait. “Did my pants just- Because of that kid- What the hell is going on?!” Hancock: RIP to the bastard Finn, who thought he could shakedown the guy who looks like he could kill with a stare AND carrying a baby. Now Hancock enjoys seeing bullies get their just desserts, but he wasn’t so sure seeing someone’s jaw get ripped off and shoved down their throat. Sure Hancock has killed his own fair share, but never that brutal. And the guy who just did that is taking care of a BABY. “Now hang on a second. I’m all for not seeing Finn again, but I can’t just let a guy who can do all that carry a baby. Goodneighbor is my town, so everything that walks in is my business. Including you two. Now tell me why I should let you hold on to the little tyke-“ Kellogg retorted without halting “Unless you wanna taste what’s left of your jaw just like him. Leave us alone.” Hancock can’t stand a brushoff threat like that, but he can’t do anything with a baby in the crossfire. So he let the guy go for now, gesturing to Fahrenheit to do surveillance on him. Longfellow:

Kellogg’s journey to find a safe home will take him all over the Commonwealth and to Far Harbor. After hearing of a rumored synth refuge exiting there, Kellogg thought that Maine may be perfect for him and Shaun if the Institute hasn’t found it. Upon arrival, Kellogg realizes that the fog brings all sorts of monsters and that he’d need some of those defogger contraptions if he’s to settle on the island. Asking around the bar, an old man in a trench coat speaks up. “You’re gonna want to get them defoggers from Arcadia, the synth refuge up over yonder.” Kellogg didn’t want to have to interact with the synths, especially since he’s ex Institute. “Are you serious.” With a nod and arming of his rifle, the old man confirms. “I have spoken.” MacCready: Waiting for business in the Third Rail seems like a safe move until Cait gets into a fight. Just like any other fight, Mac was gonna sit this one out. Expecting to hear a loud climatic crack on the bar, Mac was caught of guard to hear Cait happily laugh. Peeking out he sees Cait looking better than she ever did. He then looked over to the man she’d tussled with. He was fawning over a baby?! Mac’s daddy instinct kicked in and he was gonna help the fellow parent. Mac knew something was up with the kid. A sleeping kid doesn’t look like that. As the man tried shaking the kid awake, Mac put a hand on his shoulder only for it to be squeezed and twisted. “Owowowowowow. Hey I just wanna help your kid! I’m a parent too! Just let me help!” “Don’t need it.” “Are you sure about that?” The kid was barely moving but still breathing. It was clear that he needed something more. “I’m gonna buy some meds for him, then a room for the two of you.” Kellogg let go, allowing the help of fellow parent. Mac delivered. Fruit gummy meds for the kid and the cleanest room in Hotel Rexford. Not a single word of thanks. But a hefty sack of caps. Which Mac denied. “This one’s on the house.” Maxson: The Brotherhood’s arrival in the Commonwealth is preceded by reports of Institute teams becoming a more regular occurrence. It’s as if they’re looking for something. Or someone. Scribe Haylen of Paladin Danse’s team mentions that this began shortly after an encounter with a skilled civilian carrying a baby, probably nothing but they’re still worth looking into. Whatever or whoever they’re looking for, Maxson declares that the Brotherhood must find it first. Of course, Maxson wishes to put his best man in charge: Paladin Danse. However, Danse refuses only stating that “I’m not the right person for this job. Please consider Captain Kells to lead the search. Maxson reluctantly agrees but is confused at Danse’s answer. Once again he states that “I’m not the right person” and excuses himself. “I may not even be a person” Danse thinks to himself. Nick: Called out on a case for his old friends the Nakanos, Nick boards a boat to Far Harbor in search of their missing daughter who believes she’s a synth and is escaping to a supposed synth refuge in Maine. “Holy smokes. For a refuge to be out all the way there untouched. Wow.” “Perfect.” Nick sighed as he heard a deep voice and gun click behind his head. He already knew who it was. “Didn’t think I’d run into you out here. Kellogg.” “I see my reputation precedes me. I’m flattered. Now step away from the controls.” Nick does as he’s asked then spits that the most dangerous man in the Commonwealth has a baby strapped to his chest. He has to get the baby away from Kellogg, he doesn’t know how but he has to. Hours pass as Kellogg stands at the control, gun still aimed at Nick, and trying to comfort a fussy Shaun. “I know you got a gun pointed at me, but I’m still decent enough to be willing to take that kid off your chest and give you a break. What say you?” Before Kellogg could refuse, the boat is roughly shaken and makes both lose their balance. In this small window of opportunity, Nick lunges at Kellogg in hopes of getting the kids from him. Nakano’s boat arrives in Far Harbor and is greeted by a welcome party. “Come out where we can see you!” Kellogg emerges from the controls, gently bouncing Shaun in his arms. “Anyone else on board?” “No. Just me and my son.” Piper: Through the town of Diamond City rode a stranger one fine day. Hardly spoke to folks around him. Didn’t have too much to say. No one dared to ask his business. No one dared make a slip. For the stranger there among them had a BABY! Piper has a weakness for babies, whether it be their tiny hands or feet, their coos, or giggles. She just wants to look at the cutie hung from the grizzled man’s chest. Why did this little cinnamon roll have to be with this sort of guy? Why couldn’t he been with some masked stranger in shiny armor? Or hanging in the arms of a well learned woman? “Why do we always get the scary ones?” Suddenly, she felt her hat slightly rise from her head and fall forward. But before reaching the ground, her hat began discreetly floating towards the scary dude. Piper looked up to see a small head and hand over the man’s shoulder. The cutie was reaching out towards...her hat? ............... GASP “Magic baby hands!” Preston: It would take a miracle to deliver him and his friends from Concord. It would take some angel to come from above to save them. But no, they got Kellogg. An unexpected but welcome assistance. “I’m only here because of my kid.” Preston never thought that he’d be saved on the whim of a kid, but here he is on the museum’s rooftop providing cover for Kellogg as he eliminates the raiders. And Mama Murphy and the baby are on the roof watching- MAMA MURPHY AND THE BABY ARE ON THE ROOF WATCHING “Mama! Take the kid and go back inside! It’s too dangerous!” “Aww, don’t be a sourpuss Preston. The little man just wants a front seat.” A front seat to a deathclaw emerging from the sewers and knocking Kellogg a couple of meters back. “Oh crap!” Preston thought as he began to crank his musket in hopes of nailing the deathclaw in a single shot. Just as he thought Kellogg was gonna be deathclaw chow, the big lizard was lifted into the air! As the deathclaw thrashed in the air, Preston felt his jaw drop. “Nice one kid.” Mama Murphy complimented. To which Preston turned his head, seeing the kid’s arm outstretched. “Holy crap the kid is lifting the deathclaw with his mind.” Strong: Nothing gets Strong excited more than a good fight. His favorite by far is when him, human, and tiny human fought Sean. Human had been knocked out with tiny human trying to wake him up. Strong stood between them and Swan to protect them. Just before Swan had brought his anchor down, it was knocked out of his hand. Confused, Strong needed a moment. A moment short lived when he was lifted into the air up to Swan’s head. Looking down, he saw that the tiny humans was doing it! Feeling pride in his tiny brother, Strong knocked Swan’s head clean off. After that fight, Strong would always ask “Tiny Human! Do the magic hand thing!” X6-88: “Kellogg has gone AWOL and intends to keep the asset from us. Eliminate Kellogg and return the asset to us alive X6.” The courser had been given his most important assignment as well as his own long awaited desire: to kill Kellogg. Ever since he had heard of Kellogg’s skills, X6 had wanted to put him to the test and even beat him. Delivering the child is just a bonus. Cornering the two at Greentech, X6 was about to get his wish. “I’ve been waiting to go toe to toe with you, Mr. Kellogg.” “Sure. Fight me. That’s actually easier than the second part of the mission.” “Oh please I’m pretty sure I can handle a baby.” A small head peeks through Kellogg’s jacket and lets out a coo. *Software Instability Detected* “Oh! YOU’RE RIGHT! GET THAT OUTTA HERE!” How could X6 give a baby with such soft cheeks to the Institute?

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brokasteltranslations · 5 years ago

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Fate/Requiem: Chapter 7

“What does death mean?”

No sooner had those ominous words left the boy's mouth than I was running full-tilt. I heard voices behind me, calling me back, but I was already long gone.

I had been blind. Foolish. More than happy to think that completing my 'work', as my 'master' requested, made me the sole defender of this city. Chitose had build a castle on sand, and with every flaw I had uncovered, I had rejoiced to find more evidence of my grandmother's clumsiness and lack of forethought.

All that time, Ms. Fujimura was fighting her own battles. Battles I couldn't even understand, let alone win. Without rest or reprieve, until they tore her apart.

The Colosseum's outer walls cast a long shadow in the setting sun. In the twilight, I could see the seawater that had once filled the battlefield had somehow drenched the highest spectator seats; far, far higher than it should ever have been able to reach, even accounting for the impact of Noble Phantasms. The water rushing down the aisles guided my way as I followed the current back to its source in the upper levels.

The seats up here were almost submerged in water. The bodies of spectators who had failed to escape floated among them, like dead leaves in a gutter.

What did he say he saw? A black dog? Could that actually have been real?

The role of the Reaper was to kill Servants. To hunt down outsiders ill-suited to this city and expel them - or, if necessary, end their lives.

In truth, removing those Servants who had become too troublesome was the easiest part of my job.

My master had always been thinking about how they could be accepted.

Forgive them. Accept them. Turn none away, but embrace them as you would a dear friend. Those had been her words, always.

I followed the ramp that ran above the interior seats to the very highest level - and there she lay, face-up, in the middle of an unnatural puddle halfway up the slope.

“Ms. Fujimura!”

I ran to her and cradled her sodden body in my arms. She coughed up water with visible difficulty, as though until this very moment she had been drowning.

“Is that you... Erice?”

I quickly checked her for injuries, and gulped.

“It seems... I've managed to last longer than I predicted before ceasing operations. My accuracy must be failing me...”

She was wet with more than just water. Her clothes were hardly even torn, but beneath them her body was peppered with holes about the diameter of a fingertip. Warm liquid oozed from them; the distinctive transparent vital fluids of a humanoid interface.

I trawled the murkiest recesses of my brain, trying to recall how a damaged AI could be salvaged. Perform a backup as quickly as possible. Induce a comatose state to stall any data loss. Extract her optical core and install it in a second terminal. I could still make it, if I was quick.

But one thing was for certain: An AI directly connected to the Holy Grail could not be killed by any physical means. For one thing, it was not alive to begin with. Any appearance of life was nothing more than an emergent state.

No tears, Erice. Not now. You can cry as much as you like after you're done.

I tried to lift her to my chest and carry her to the lower floors, but was met with a strange, slippery resistance. Only then did I notice the strange fabric draped over her. It was sheer cloth, like linen, about large enough to cover her body and dyed red. The colour grew deeper in hue where it had been soaked, drawing even closer to the crimson of blood.

“You ought to let her go.”

A voice broke the silence, devoid of presence.

“Real truth, unchanging truth, is found only in death.”

I was wrong. It had presence. It was simply so close that I hadn't noticed it.

They had been standing there all this time, filling the dusk of the arena with an aura no less overpowering than Nzambi's. It was austere, noble, almost divine.

“Porca miseria...”

“Quiet... you cur.” Ms. Fujimura's voice might have grown weak, but it had lost none of its sting. “They infiltrated the city... though the seawater. Even though... the pipes were consecrated. A failure... on our part...”

----

“We have given humanity sufficient warning. Soon we will leave this citadel.”

The voice emanated from the hound resting on its haunches at the top of the ramp. Its coat was midnight black, deeper even than the surrounding darkness, and with its long ears and oriental air it exuded a graceful beauty. A cherubic young girl stood by its side, clad in exotic garb.

“However, before we depart... A moment with the one she fought so hard to keep us from.”

“Erice... You can't stay here. You have to...”

Ms. Fujimura urged me to flee, but I couldn't move. This voice stirred some deep memory in me, and its queer familiarity had me paralysed.

“Day shall strike down night...

As womanhood is wrought by man's hands, and manhood wrought by woman's.

The throne is warped, and the grail overflows with the mud of deceit.

The hour has come to remake the day, for soon the sun will set.”

A flurry of thick, square stakes rent the silence to pierce them both through with a series of thuds. Chitose stood behind us, Command Seals shining on the backs of both hands.

However, the binding properties of her Sacri Clavi failed to hold them, for they were not really here. Ripples spread across the surface of their bodies, and a moment later both girl and beast collapsed into shapeless water. They had never been more than puppets.

Only a deep, quiet voice remained. “You stand with us, Erice. We will return for you.”

The sinister invaders vanished, leaving me alone. In spite of Ms. Fujimura's dire condition, Chitose remained where she was.

“Eri... ce...”

Ms. Fujimura implored me to listen to her final message. I listened faithfully to her words, occasionally interrupted by frothy coughing, and held them desperately to my chest... but there was no stopping what was coming.

“Ms. Fujimura... Caren... Please, don't die...” I called her name as I held her in my arms. Her body was surprisingly light; it had already shed much of its weight.

“This... is not death, Erice. An AI has lost one of its terminals. Nothing... more or less.”

“How do you expect me to accept that?”

She smiled weakly up at my face, ugly from crying.

“Thank you, Erice...” She lifted one trembling hand to touch my forelock, and brushed my forehead as she'd done so many times.

“Ms. Fujimura, you know... I had... A mother, and, well... She died horribly, awfully... So at least, this time, I wanted...”

She never heard the end. Her fingers traced my cheek as they quietly fell to the sodden ground.

“Reporting in.”

A holographic screen appeared in the air next to Chitose, accompanied by an incoming voice. A thaumaturgical means of communication, relayed through a telescopic Mystic Code. The screen showed a member of the Caren Series, dressed in an arrow-patterned hakama.

“Destruction of Caren Fujimura's spiritron kernel confirmed. Protocol dictates administration of Mosaic City and control of the Caren Series will be assumed by Caren Himuro. Authority over Akihabara Ward will be distributed equally between all members of the Caren Series on an interim basis.”

She paused.

“Sounds fun, don't you think? Waiting for your go, Chitose!”

Chitose knelt down and removed Ms. Fujimura's fractured glasses, before placing a hand over her face and gently closing her lifeless eyes.

“Permission granted.”

#Fate/Requiem #fate #translation #light novel

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dailyaudiobible · 4 years ago

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02/11/2021 DAB Transcript

Exodus 32:1-33:23, Matthew 26:69-27:14, Psalms 33:1-11, Proverbs 8:33-36

Today is the 11th day of February welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is an honor and a privilege, it is a joy to come in out of the cold and come around the Global Campfire together with you and just let it go, let any…any of the things that are pulling us in all kinds of negative directions just let them go for a minute and let this be an oasis for God's word, for the Scriptures to be read and for us to bring them into our minds and hearts. I will say it probably 100 times before this year’s over. I mean we don't have to drag the anxiety in here. This is a safe place. We’re here together. We’re here together for one reason. We don’t have to guard ourselves. We’re here together for one reason, to hear the Scriptures. We can go back into the anxiety when we’re done, We can even amp it up. We can leave here as if it doesn't matter and go right back and pick all that up or maybe we can catch our breath in here and maybe we can go back out into the world with a renewed perspective and that happens more than it doesn’t. And, so, let’s just let go, whatever’s going on. We just have a few minutes. We can take a break. If we want all that anxiousness, if we want all that depression, we can go pick it back up. But we can let go while we’re in here and see what God does through His…His word today. So, we’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week going back to the book of Exodus and God has been meeting with Moses on the top of Mount Sinai. He has been laying out the expectations and weaving together the tapestry of a culture that will be formed out of these former slaves who…who are Hebrew people. He’s reforming them and the people have been all around the mountain freaking out. Moses has been gone a long time up in the clouds, the…the glory of the Lord upon the mountain. And, so, they don't know what's going on. And we’re gonna see…we’re gonna some things today that shouldn't have happened and we’re going to see ourself in those things. Exodus chapters 32 and 33 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in the book of Exodus, the story of the golden calf, that's a pretty famous story. And so…well…chances are we've encountered it in one way or another before. This happens because Moses has been gone too long in the presence of God hearing from the Lord what he, you know, how to lead the people and what the expectations are, all the stuff that we’ve been reading for the last several days. Meanwhile this…this whole thing takes 40 days, and the people are down around the mountain going, “whatever happened Moses?” And “where do we go from here because we don't know what happened to him?” And, so, they decide to make a god, the gods for themselves to lead them forward and leave Moses behind. And, so, they commission Aaron. And we know this will story. Then God tells Moses to go down and Moses goes down and he throws down the tablets and they shatter, and this visually represents the breaking, like almost the instantaneous breaking of the covenant, the breaking of the law of the expectations of God. And he confronts the people about their idol worship. He confronts his brother Aaron about their idol worship. Aaron does all this whole back side-stepping blurring of the whole situation that we’ve probably seen so many times in our lives or even done so many times in our lives. Aaron is directly confronted about what he has participated in and he’s like, “what? How? You know. What? You know how these people are. You know how they are. And I don't really know what I did wrong. I just told them give me all your jewelry and I threw it over here in the fire and out came this idol and so we worshiped it”, which of course…I mean…it’s like, “dude couldn’t you’ve…you don't think very quickly on your feet do you? Like we can all see through this.” And Moses is just exasperated. He has been in the presence of God receiving this revelation about this people and formation. And, so, it's like quite a contrast to come down off the mountain and see what's going on. So, he grinds up the…the golden calf and everybody has to drink the water that it's poured into and then Moses goes back up onto the mountain and it gets really interesting because Moses is back up on the mountain kinda changed. Like he knows how ornery and rebellious these people are. He's one of them. He knows, but it’s like things just went to a new level. God has done so many miraculous things to rescue and protect this people. And they are around this mountain that God is descended upon and spoken. Like they’ve heard the voice of God at this mountain. It terrified them to the point that they asked Moses to be the spokesman for God and not God be the spokesman for God. So, they know God is upon this mountain and they know Moses is upon this mountain. So, Moses is back up on the mountain and God is like, “I'm not gonna go with you. It’s time…you need to lead to people but I'm not going to go so I don't destroy the people.” This is like a whole change in complexion for Moses where he's realizing deeply the gravity of the situation. He's realizing for himself no matter how good of a leader he might be and no matter how revered he may be, he's got almost 0% chance of success. Like if God doesn't go this is not gonna work knows it. So, he's pleading and asking like, “if you don't want to go then just take me out of the story altogether because there's no way.” And Moses says something really really riveting that we should be saying and meditating upon. He says, “you said” so, he's speaking to God, “you said I know you by name.” In other words, Moses is saying, “you told me you knew who I was. And you also told me that you found favor with me. So, if indeed I have found favor with you” and I'm quoting here, “please teach me your ways and I will know you so that I might find favor with you.” God's response to that is “my presence will go with you and I will give you rest.” May we remember that as we go out into the chaos of the day. Like if we’re gonna pick all that stuff up we were just talking about at the beginning, may we remember Moses and his leadership here. We don't have a grandstander, we don't have an arrogant person, we don't have a power-hungry person here and Moses. We’re seeing a leadership style here in the Scriptures as we see the posture of Moses. And Moses is a human being and has done all kinds of things including asking God to send somebody else, but here we are. We've gone through all that, and now Moses reaches this point where he realizes very clearly, there really is no other way to lead or navigate life without an acute awareness of the utter dependence that we have on God. And when we acknowledge that then we are surrendering our own power and control into the hands of the Almighty knowing that there is no other way. And God responds, “my presence will go with you and I will give you rest.” May we remember that today.

Prayer:

Holy Spirit come into that. When we surrender it feels counterintuitive because it feels like we have to put our hope and trust outside of what we can control or speculate or see it forces us into this other realm called faith, that we believe in what we can’t see or prove, that we believe in Your power, that You are mighty to save and we are not. We need to know this. We need to live this. It could rescue us from so much damage. So, come Holy Spirit and help us learn to surrender. Help of us learn to acknowledge You in all things as we are seeing built into this culture may we find all of the things that will continually remind us of Your goodness and make them a part of our practice as we are continually reminded of who we are, Your children, and who You are, the most-high God and where we are going -wherever You go where all things are made new. Come Holy Spirit we pray in Jesus name, we ask. Amen.

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And that's it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi, everyone it's Christy and this is Tim from Kentucky. We wanted to call and let you know that we are keeping each of you in our prayers as we hear your prayer requests and I just want to say as special hello to Abigail and Desiree in Golden. I just want you to know that we have been listening and praying along with you and your names are just etched on my heart lately, just such young people with so much faithfulness to call in and we thank you so very much and will be praying for each of you. Also, I just want to let Tiffany know that we will be praying for you and Tom and also for Emily. Just all of your calls were so heartfelt. And we want you to know that your family, your DAB family is lifting you up in prayer. Also, Kingdom Seeker Daniel, brother we are praying for you. You and your wife are so very special and just praying for your children and we too are battling some issues with my husband's children. So, we understand, and we are praying for you. Also, if you would please keep Chris Thurston’s family in your prayers Pam Carlyle’s family in your prayers, Gene and also Dottie one of the ladies from our church. We…we've had to say goodbye to four of those in the past month. And, so, if you would, we'd ask you to pray for them and I just thank you for that. They’re now home with Jesus. I just wanted to ask for your prayers. Alright everyone. We love you so much and we pray each of you are having a most blessed and lovely day.

Hi, everyone it's Desiree. I called in January regarding about my mother with the drug addiction. I want to thank all…all of you guys who have been praying for my mother. She is still the same. I’ve been getting…I've been listening to all the prayers that you guys have done they melt my heart. And I want to say thank you to all of you guys, even though you may not call, thank you though for keeping Her and I in your hearts Lord. I'm thanking the Lord for all that. So, after I submitted my video, I just want to say she…after some of your prayers that you've done, she called after 8 months of not knowing what was going on with her. So, that was a big crazy time for us. And with all that's been going on though I want to say that you guys hit it right on the nail. I mean, my life has been so much better living here with my aunt and uncle. My grades are good. I'm an A, B student A+ B+ student. I still have problems with school you know that teenage little attitude. So…so, I just…I'm getting to know God so much more than I've known before. And I just want to say that’s thanks to my parents…well…my adopted parents but it's all because of them and mostly because of God. So, I just want to say thank you to all of you guys that have been praying for us and I love you guys and I'll be listening to you guys and I just want to say I'm praying for you guys as well, who have been having problems. So…

Hi, this message is for Tyler from the February 8th podcast of the Daily Audio Bible. My name is Jessica from __ California and I just wanted to say a prayer for you. You said that you've been praying because you have a pitiful spirit. And I just wanted to let you know or share that God's been working with me lately. Those are thoughts from the enemy and every time I think about, you know, I need to lose weight or condemn myself for eating something or not exercising enough, God's been just having me repeat this over and over again when one of those thoughts comes in my head. He has me say, “thank you God for just the way I am. Thank you God for just the way I am.” And I know it sounds kinda silly but actually it's only been less than a week and these thoughts are coming less and less into my mind. So, you know, I know it's hard to love ourselves sometimes and the enemy really can get ahold of us but just know that Jesus loves you so much and you're not a beautiful spirit. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. And I know people have told me that before and I'm like, “sure, sure. Easy for you to say.” But really, just believe it and just like right now actually have…I have a sheet covering my mirror, so I don't look at myself, I don't judge myself every day. I know it kind of sounds weird, but he really just has me trusting him and saying, “thank you God for just the way I am. Thank you God for just the way I am.” So, I encourage you Tyler that God loves you just the way you are, and you should be thankful for it. In Jesus’ name I pray.

This is Dave from the United States calling. This prayer call is for Haneron from New Zealand. Once I heard your call it stopped me in my tracks. You've been through some tough times. You've had the strength to call in and ask for prayer. And in detail you asked for a covering. I will be covering. This family, Daily Audio Bible will be your covering and the Holy Spirit will be your covering. I pray that you continue to call in anytime that you need strength from your covering. We will be here. And anytime give this family a call. Someone on this planet will be praying for you. I'm going to commit to a day to pray and fast for you and your family and the Holy Spirit be there for you. Thank you so much for calling and giving me the opportunity to ask our savior to pray and cover you and keep you…keep you covered as your request is.

Hi DAB family this is triple T calling to encourage those of you today who are longing for a spouse, longing for a child, longing for friendships just to be surrounded by love in a like tangible way. I know leading up to Valentine's Day and that time frame is always quite difficult on people. I have many people in my life who are struggling and just want to encourage you guys, just press into the Lord and to seek Him and just to keep going after Him and letting him be or strength, your love, you're all in all. In psalms 34 17 and 18 it says the righteous cry out and the Lord hears them. He delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. So, Lord we just come to You right now. God, I thank You for these men and women across the globe. God You see their hearts, You hear the cry of their hearts Lord longing for a spouse, longing for a child, longing for a friend that they can walk through life with. God we just pray that You would open the doors of opportunity, Lord that You would give men wives and give women husbands Lord Jesus and give them together children Lord Jesus, that You would bring friendships that are unified Lord and strong and growing and encouraging and accountable Lord and just pressing into You God. Through all these things and their waiting in Your time and God we know Your timing is perfect. May You give them the strength to continue, may they press into You even more. Lord Jesus may You be their everything. All that they are, all that they have Lord may they press into You. We love You, we glorify Your name Jesus, for in Your name we pray all these things. Blessings and love. Bye.

Good morning DAB family this is Doctor John in Illinois good this morning I was listening to the prayers and I hear Greg from Washington. Brother it’s hard to hear all your troubles in your families but I guess what I hear…what I hear most of all is your love for your family and your concern. Again, your honestness and your contriteness is what I hear more than anything. And I want to read to you, this is psalms 57:15. For thus says the one who is high lifted up who inhabits eternity whose name is holy, I dwell in a high and holy place had also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. Just know brother that He hears here. The word says there's nothing outside His hand. There's nothing He doesn't see or touch or hear. And Father I pray for my brother right now for Greg and for all these Lord that petition you for their families. Lord would you woo their hearts. Just know brother that there's a lot of people, a lot of brothers and sisters in this group, in this family, this wonderful family that are praying and believing for you that God will make a way for you. So, I pray, God bless you. Keep your head up and trust in God. Wait on the Lord and be of good courage for He strengthens your heart.

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bat-besties · 5 years ago

Text

Sweet Dreams are Made of This

(Who am I to disagree?)

Deceit/Remy - cuddling for warmth - Space (but not the personal kind)

3k words.

Edited by the wonderful @mariniacipher.

In an isolated expanse of space many light-years away, all is silent and cold. A mere buzzing, as if of gnats, is suggested more than actually heard in the freezing vacuum.

Three ships are flying very quickly through a comet formation. Two are quiet, not even humming with machinery, deathly and still. They hunt the third with deadly precision. And in the third-

"Right! More right! Go-"

"Can you give me an actual direction- nearer the T-16 system or that-"

"Gurl, we ain't taking the Polar Express to the North Pole-"

"Ssssshut up!"

"Near that rock, near the rock-"

"They're all bloody rocks!"

A human in sunglasses swung his seat around to fire at the ships chasing. He replied in fluent Common, though he kept the cadence of an American teenager to it. "In and out, they said. Like, this wasn't easy. I broke a nail picking the locks-"

"Oh, because human nails never grow back." What we would describe as a humanoid snake sat in the pilot's seat; he would describe the human as a mammal-like Serpentis who’d lost his scales.

"Every time we work together something goes wrong-"

"But you just keep coming back for more, don't you, darling?"

"Calm down, babe, I'll get us out of this one again."

"Just like in Andromeda?"

"Shut up about Andromeda already! We-"

Something shook the ship. They quietened for a moment before the human spoke up again. "If my precious Britney Spears has been damaged-"

"Ssssssss," the Serpentis hissed.

"Fuck you too!" the human replied in English.

The Serpentis flipped a switch. "I'm taking it into warp-drive. Keep them off our tail."

"Get off my tail-" the human grumbled before shooting several lasers in rapid succession behind them.

"What? What does that even mean?"

The human had already lost interest, absorbing himself in shooting and flipping from Common to some human tongue. "Fuck you, robot! Fuck the federation! Fucking-"

The Serpentis focused on flying as the human picked off their enemies, shooting them into safety.

Remy sighed, rubbing his eyes under his sunglasses. "Thank fuck that's over. I'm going to rest for a bit, don't fuck everything up while I'm gone."

"Since you asked so delightfully." Dee yawned, revealing gleaming white fangs. "I'm taking us closer to a star, get some light..."

"No way."

"What?"

"Do you think after stealing a gem that big going into civilised areas is a good ideal? Do you? Do you really?"

"Get your fangs out of the wood-block and relax."

Remy responded as he usually did to space idioms, insults, or words he wasn't too sure of: "‘Fuck you’, Dee."

"I'm merely observing that you should calm down," Dee said tersely. "Especially since your reckless behaviour was what triggered the guards-"

"You're attacking me for a little mistake like-"

"You always do sssstupid-"

"Don't hiss at me-"

"At least I ssspeak Common without human slang-"

Remy's expression closed off. "Fuck. You." He spoke in a monotone, his usual phrase delivered with the hardness it originated with.

"Is that all you can say?" Dee spoke calmly but his hands were still slightly shaking with adrenaline, so he tightened them on the wheel.

A passive-aggressive smile crossed Remy's face. "I can say what I like on my ship, can't I? And whose ship is this?"

"We almost got caught back there. You're reckless, your ship is a pile of junk, and I wouldn't work with you if I didn't have to. Get to sleep, and don't tell me where to fly your ship if I'm in the pilot's seat. We'll wait for 300, then I'll start taking us down to trade. As soon as we sell that gem I'm out of here."

Remy turned his back, standing in the doorway with one hand rested against his ship. "Have fun hitchhiking with your face plastered all over the Fed’s channels."

Dee didn't deign that with a response.

After a moment, he heard Remy leave. His tongue flickered between his teeth in irritation as he got up to adjust the thermostat. Not having the controls on the wheel, as they would be on any Serpentis ship, was yet another design flaw with Britney Spears.

He turned it all the way up, much hotter than Remy liked (honestly, he was like a grandpa with his fuel use for warmth) and got back to his seat.

About ten minutes later, he began to feel himself become drowsy, so he dragged himself back up to go and check on the main heater. Worry curled at the back of his mind, the memory of the crash- but he was sure it was nothing.

It was not, in fact, nothing. The whole system was fritzed. Dee held the back of his hand to the cylinder, but he only felt fading warmth, like a rock left in the sun. "Szzzzzzzzkssssss*."

(*this is not translated for the sake of politeness)

He could’ve probably dealt with a standard issue ship, but Britney Spears wasn't standard issue, it was a glorified bucket. He considered asking Remy for help, running over the cadences of 'your piece of shit ship is broken', but decided he could most likely deal with it himself.

He was just really, really tired. He wouldn't give Remy the satisfaction of seeing him so out of it. He went down to the engine room to see if he could soak up some heat there.

Stumbling down the steps, the residual heat from the engines washing over him hardly helped. Trust Remy to only insulate his engines, prioritising speed of getaway over any type of comfort.

Dee slumped down to sit leaning his back against the silvery foam, head lolling back behind him to hit it too. Just...a few moments and he'd get up and get the useless human. Just a few moments.

Remy woke up from his sleep because of the cold. He screwed up his face and scrunched up his body under his blanket, turning over. Tucking the thin fleece under his feet, he began to drift again despite a slight shiver, grateful for the warmth provided by the material.

Wait, that was- and he wasn't that happy about it- one of the thinnest blankets on the ship, the thinnest, in fact. He had it because the Serpentis liked the ship warm-

His eyes snapped open. This was much, much too cold for Dee.

He kicked the blanket off and pulled his leather jacket back on, puffing out some air from his mouth experimentally. He could only just about discern it, so it wasn't as bad as it could be. Dee wouldn’t let the temperature drop this low- Remy’s mind jumped to the worst case scenario- intruders of some sort. It was unlikely, but he hadn’t gotten this far by knowing when to rein in his recklessness- no, ma’am!

He reached for his laser-shooter and toed his shoes off so he could move quietly through the ship. Padding through to the engine room, he found the pilot seat empty- and the thermostat turned fully up. "Use up my fuel why don't you-" he complained under his breath.

Then to the heater: broken. Crap.

The generators were up, and the engine was still running, but he'd have to check the back of the ship. Worr- curiosity about Dee was also beginning to build.

Holding his laser-shooter out in front of him, he headed down to the engine room.

Dee was slumped by the insulation. His eyes were open, but sightless.

Remy felt a lot of things, but he focused on that, sliding the sunglasses off his own head and gently sliding them over Dee's. "Don't like that. Eyelids, please."

He tilted his head and looked at Dee's chest slowly rising and falling in sleep. The sunglasses made it look worse, somehow, as if this was something Remy had done to make fun of him. As if this was all his fault.

Remy shrugged his leather jacket off with a shiver, tucking it over Dee's body. "Probably the coolest he's ever looked in his life-" His undercurrent of humour didn't even convince himself, but speaking meant one thought at one time and some kind of plan instead of the silence from the other thief.

"Crap, blanket, should I run and- don't want to leave him- he's not going to move, let's get the-"

His feet pounded up the stairs. He pulled the thickest blanket from the drawer under his bunk, a thick Saeranian quilt from a museum somewhere on Nemos, and ran back down to cocoon Dee in it.

Remy went back a few paces. He sat on his haunches, watching Dee. He had never liked waiting.

"Wake up. Come on. That quilt it’s, like...a queen wove it for her husband, or something. That has queen hands on it. You're not a king, you're a reprobate... It's really expensive- maybe you could sell it when we touch down?- I want to get new supplies- maybe some new Nemorian music. If they're not still, like, pissed about me stealing the quilt, but they stole it first- embarrassing, tbh. Do you think if I return it to Saeran, I'll get, like, a medal? Nah, the Fed reaches there too, but...maybe I'll find some human music. It's not so far from the Milky Way. A few months..." He popped to his feet, beginning to pace. "Ok, sleeping beauty, I'm not kissing you, so you better start waking up. Or I'm going to start singing."

When he did, his voice wobbled.

"Maybe I could put some insulation around you-" Remy paused. "Crap, crap, holy fuck! The insulation keeps in the warm, he ain't making the warm!"

He ran his hand through his hair, looking around the room. As if there was something a handy heat source there. Well, he wasn't warm, he was fucking freezing in his T-shirt. But, Remy guessed, since he wasn't unconscious yet...

Gingerly, he slid the sunglasses off Dee. He bit his lip, considering the options- "I'm taking my shirt off," which he did, "you lucky bitch. And my jacket. You keep your shirt, or whatever."

"I don't want to be clingy-" he began to untuck the quilt from the other thief, then sat down by Dee. "But I'm going to-" He scooted up, scrunching his nose up at the feeling of cold scales against his skin, then tucked the quilt back around them.

"And, uh-" he tucked an arm around Dee, pulling the Serpentis in front of his chest. "I should take your shirt off, but the 'dinner first' rule doesn't apply when the last dinner you bought me was too spicy for humans."

Entangling their legs for maximum skin-to-skin contact, Remy tucked his chin over the quilt, rested his head on Dee's shoulder, and focused on being as warm as possible.

Dee woke up to a fragile warmth, like a hesitant sunrise over the deep cold of the desert night. His heartbeat was slow, but consistent. The numbness receded from his fingers. Sleepy, but awake; vulnerable, but safe.

Then he realised that his vision was dimmed. And that something was over his face. "Wha'ssss happening?"

"Uh," a quiet voice came from under his chin. "So, don't freak, but you were like, dying. And I had to make sure you didn't fucking die. So, here we are."

Dee tried to move his toes a little, before realising there was a weight over his legs, and an arm on his chest- and something warm behind him- What-

He pulled the sunglasses off to see a very shirtless, very close Remy cuddled against his chest. There was also a blanket. "Are you..." he said with as much dignity as he could in his semi-somnolent state, "cuddling me?"

Remy gave an awkward, obviously fake laugh. "And what about it?"

Dee was too tired to think through that. He tucked the sunglasses back onto Remy's head. "Not...sssstill mad?"

"Babe, I'm not mad enough to kill you. Like, if I wanted to kill you, I'd shoot you and dump you out the airlock, not leave you here to pollute Britney." Remy shrugged, and the sensation of his muscles shifting next to Dee's skin sent a shiver down his spine. "Even if you did insult her."

"It's a ship," Dee said, subdued still, "Not a person."

"She's a she-" Remy bit back the ‘fuck you’ on his tongue. "Bitch."

Dee hissed a little laugh, like steam leaking out of an engine.

"Are you feeling warm enough now?" Remy asked. "Because we have repairs to do."

Dee shook his head, tucking his head against Remy's chest. "Sleepy. Tired. I forgot the Common word for a moment."

Remy's laugh shook through his chest. "Don't try and hide it. Man, I'm never going to let you live this down."

Dee tensed up slightly. "What, taking my shirt off and getting cuddly with an unconscious bounty hunter, wrapped in a priceless quilt I'm too dumb to know the worth of? Or flying a bucket so bad she doesn't have backup heaters?"

"I'd say you look cuter when you’re asleep, but you do look like a corpse. I wish I had a photo-"

"What, because I don't have those creepy skin-curtains?"

Remy lifted up his sunglasses to wink. "These?"

Dee recoiled. "Simply delightful. Flawless design feature. Never flap just the one of those in my presence again."

"How else would I flirt?"

Dee fixed a look of disdain on Remy. "That's how humans flirt? That's disgusting."

Remy winked again. "Hey, good-looking," he said in English. As he slid his sunglasses back on, he wolf-whistled for good measure.

"Yikes. Is that a mating call?"

"Basically. More like 'Ooo, you're hot'."

Dee wiggled his neck up to look at him scathingly. "But I am cold."

"Attractive! Sorry, hot is a word for attractive in my human language."

"Please stop flirting with me."

"You're so cute and sleepy," Remy said in English.

"’You’ is half of 'fuck you'," Dee said. "And you once said ‘cute’ at... some pretty bags?"

"Look at 'you', all smart and shit. 'Nerd'- that means nerd."

"Szzzzzkssss."

"Szzzzkzzzz."

"That's north, try again. Szzzksssss. It's a swear."

"Szzz-k-shhh."

"Close enough."

Remy grinned. "I'm so fucking smart."

"With an intellect like that, you must have picked up Common in no time?"

Remy laughed, but Dee didn't feel his chest rumble like before.

"Where did you learn it? I heard the human schools tend to be pretty shitty."

"I practiced."

Dee paused, shifting closer to Remy. "Where do you come from?"

"Why are you a thief?"

Dee laughed. "I want to take things."

"I wanted to leave where I was."

"Why's your ship called Britney Spears?" Dee asked quietly. “Do you know her?”

Remy laughed. "Know her? I'm her best friend. We're so tight, Britney and me."

"I feel like you're being sarcastic."

"She's a singer, babe, a famous singer."

"Ah."

They lapsed into silence, breathing slowly syncing as it condensed in the air before them. Remy blew his out like cigarette smoke, but Dee's wasn't warm enough to yet. Then Dee shifted. "I'm still not awake enough- I might need to sleep like this, if the autopilot will last long enough."

Remy checked a watch on his wrist. "Okay. An hour or so, then I'll start the repairs."

Dee cuddled back into Remy. He felt he should have said something, but wasn't sure what was left to say. The human's eyes closed.

As he drifted off, he realised there wasn't much to say about the episode at all, and it would be another silent beat between them, an invisible complication in their already complex relationship.

Dee pressed himself to Remy's chest, and heard his heart speed up, and wondered where he was dreaming of running to.

#desleep #remy sanders #deceit sanders #sanders sides #ts fic #cuddling for warmth #sci fi AU #sweet dreams are made of this #space

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gabeswritingthingy · 4 years ago

Text

A Slice of Life in Space (Sample Work, Short Story)

Log Entry – 07.05.2050

Everyone on Earth saw it with their own eyes. Yesterday’s events will not be forgotten for a long time. For my part, I saw it while I was preparing pasta for my dinner. At 8:00 pm last night, the moon exploded. The blast was so strong the shockwaves could be felt here on the planet, which resulted in a short 2.5 magnitude earthquake. Thankfully, little to no damage was caused. It also didn’t produce any casualties, either - at least if you don’t consider my carbonara a casualty, because one of the moon chunks fell on the damned thing just as I was about to eat it. Instead, I carefully put on my gloves and placed it in an airtight container immediately. I called my boss and told him about the incident, all worried. She assured me that they have prepared for such an eventuality and have begun The Lunar Restoration Program as we spoke. Since the advancement of technology has come so far, the astronauts at the United Global Space Station had no trouble replacing the damaged 75% of the moon almost instantaneously by getting a clean sample of a moon rock, cloning it, then reattaching it to the rest of the moon on a molecular level. The actual problem, my boss said, is figuring out what caused the moon to explode in the first place.

I also asked her if moon dust is safe for the human body to consume in the hopes that I can still eat my pasta, and she threatened me with bodily harm if I even thought of attempting to do what I wanted to do. I just hung up and went to bed, knowing the next day is gonna be busy.

As part of The Lunar Restoration Program, Stargazer Laboratories has now been tasked by the Global Alliance to find out the cause of the moon’s destruction. My boss, Dr. Valentina Petrova, will be the one leading this operation. I am quite excited to put my efforts toward solving this mystery because we may finally find evidence of intelligent life outside the universe; or maybe this is all a big conspiracy and an UGSS astronaut blew up the moon for their own self-interest. Whatever it is, it’s very exciting stuff.

My name is Dr. Leonard Anderson, and these personal log entries aim to narrate and catalogue what will happen as this operation is going on. Although I do want to emphasize that this is still kinda like my own personal journal, in case this mission blows up in our faces – figuratively or otherwise – and the journalist, historian, or whoever finds this is baffled by the loose language and unnecessary details that will be seen here. So yeah, that’s it. Can’t wait for tomorrow.

[end of audio log]

Log Entry – 07.06.2050

Crazy stuff, you guys. The astronauts finally flew in all the chunks that came off the moon for analysis. I also gave them my pasta-stained space rock, as it is still apparently valuable. We also interviewed the astronauts working on the space station that day. They told us that they found no traces of radiation after the explosion, so the use of nuclear weapons is out of the picture. They also found no radio signals or transmissions presenting threatening messages coming from outer space or planet Earth minutes before the event, so there is no evidence of human or alien intervention. Not yet, anyway.

The actual analysis of the moon rocks had revealed little, but what we did find out was interesting nonetheless. We found small traces of purple slime in the craters and small crevices, including the ones in my rock pasta. Finding the damn things took all day because there were a lot of chunks we had to go through and we only found a few traces of it. As of today, we have no idea if it was synthesized in the moon naturally, or someone put it there. We called it a day after that. Chemical analysis will be done tomorrow.

After a long, boring day of getting purple goo out of moon rocks, I finally went to see the Hamilton premiere on Mars with Paolo, Sigrid, and Jane. I don’t know them very well yet since they’re new additions to the team, but they seem cool from the first few hours I hung out with them, so I invited them to go with me. It’s amazing that Hamilton is still getting staged after 35 years, but it’s not very surprising, is it? Holy crap, I’m still getting chills when I watch it. What is amazing, however, is that we were able to see it on Mars at all. The planet was only colonized 10 years ago, and terraforming only started two years after that. We’re only half-way finished with the terraforming, but a fully-functioning atmosphere has already been built, and a few thousand people are already living there, which is incredible. The musical is still awesome whatever planet you stage it on, though. The production turned off the artificial gravity and took advantage of that to its fullest when it came to the choreography. It’s even more amazing than when I saw it back when I was a teenager.

What’s even more amazing, however, is the fact that our boss was also there. Seriously. Because we didn’t think that Dr. Petrova, the scary, muscular Russian lady who looks like she bench-presses bears as a hobby, is a fan of musical theater. We almost snuck out undetected, but she saw us. She invited us to have dinner with her, and we were honestly too scared to refuse.

But now, I am fascinated by her. My boss turns out to be a very chill lady. She has a deep, scary laugh, but that’s the only thing kinda scary about her, along with the muscles and the brooding attitude. So yeah, I guess we only found her scary because she’s our boss, and we never really thought of building a relationship with her outside of work. After that, we sang some zero-g karaoke and had a few drinks. Paolo, the little weakling that he is, vomited after two bottles. Puke is very gross when you look at it floating around. We flew him home after that and went our separate ways. This day did a lot of good easing my anxiety about this moon thing. But man, I am very tired.

[end of audio log]

Log Entry – 07.07.2050

Fucking hell, my head hurts. Wait. Why am I recording this right now? It’s only 3 am. What? Oh, damn, I’m still drunk. [snoring]

Holy crap, was this thing turned on all night? Alright. I am now fully awake and sober. I’ll record today’s events after work, as I always do.

[end of audio log]

We finally did chemical analysis on the purple slime. It has some properties that aren’t found on anything else on the planet, but it strangely bears some resemblance to nitroglycerin. Although because of its baffling chemical traits, it does not ignite when lit on fire. Something else probably detonated the slime, although we’re still not sure what it is.

The analysis almost didn’t happen, though. The samples went missing when work started in the morning. We were all frantic trying to find them. Then we found Paolo, bless his hungover ass, standing over the samples with a knife, a jar of peanut butter, and some bread. Dr. Petrova yelled at him, “THAT’S NOT GRAPE JELLY YOU DUMBFUCK!” and some Russian expletives I couldn’t understand. He jumped in surprise and fell on his ass, but otherwise he’s fine. He was sent home for the day because of his hangover. He didn’t eat the samples by accident, fortunately. I think the boss also didn’t punish him or anything, which is fair.

After that clusterfuck of a morning, work went smoothly. The analysis was done, and we found out what we found out. Work ended after that, because all of us were at a loss at what to do. It really seems like it’s an alien object, but we still can’t be sure. For now, we just put it inside the observation chamber. I immediately went home after because I didn’t really feel like hanging out. Solving a mystery’s just too exhausting sometimes, ya know?

[end of audio log]

Log Entry – 08.08.2050

I stopped recording for several days after my last audio log because work had been long and busy. I only started again now because the experiments finally yielded results. Well, kind of.

Fucking scorch marks EVERYWHERE, y’all. After almost a month of nothing, the goo exploded again. I had to wake up at 6 am today because of that. My boss called me, absolutely frantic. I just thought that if SHE is panicking, then we are ALL panicking. I showered, got dressed, and ate breakfast in the span of ten minutes and immediately went to the lab like it’s the 2010’s and I had to go there by car because warp gates didn’t exist yet. THAT is how urgent the situation is.

What happened was that the alarms went off because the observation chamber blew up. All my friends and the boss were already there. We looked inside, and the samples got out of their glass cases, but not the room itself. Large-ass scorch marks were seen everywhere. Good thing the entire room is made out of titanium alloys.

Another look-around revealed that most of the room is now covered with purple goo, which means they somehow multiplied. It doesn’t complicate things at all. The security cameras also showed that nobody broke into the lab. An inventory of the items revealed that no equipment was stolen or messed with. Knowing that the observation chamber was still airtight, locked under heavy security, and nothing in it was actually broken, the only conclusion we came to is that the slime slipped through their cases, somehow ignited, then multiplied.

After cleaning up, we put all the slime in titanium-alloy boxes instead of glass ones. We cannot observe it properly that way, but we can’t take any chances, either. Letting it have even the slightest means of escape is dangerous. The only thing we can do for now is to continue analyzing while containing the rest.

We also managed to recover footage from the damaged security cameras inside the observation chamber. What we saw is kinda confusing, and we still don’t know what ignited the slime in the first place. It turns out that it kept exploding inside the glass case and somehow got bigger ang bigger until it got all over the chamber. The source of the explosion is still a mystery. More analysis will be done tomorrow. Hopefully some progress will be made.

Our boss wanted to hang out with us again, and we did not hesitate to say yes. There’s a meteor shower that’s gonna pass through the solar system today, and we can see it up close on Mars. We went there after work, and it was beautiful. The zero-gravity environment and protective force field around the planet allowed us to observe the meteors up close. None of y’all have lived at all if you haven’t seen comets changing colors and streaking through the darkness of space so close you can almost touch them. I haven’t seen such beauty since the first spacecrafts that landed on Mars was televised. Three of us saw Sigrid holding on to Paolo’s arm while they looked up, all mesmerized. Is she in love with him, or, knowing how much of a klutz he is, trying to stop him from careening over the observation deck by accident? We didn’t know. We just let them be.

After that, I realized I forgot my laptop in the lab. My boss said she’d go with me since she wanted to do some last-minute security sweeps and make sure the observation chamber wouldn’t explode again. All my friends went home and I went with my boss. She said she wanted to go there by spacecraft instead of warp gate because she wanted to take in the sights when we travel between Mars and Earth. Being that I have no plans and it’ll only take about an hour and a half anyway, I said sure, why not? She took her craft out of her bag, unshrunk it, and we set course for Earth.

There were some sights worth seeing, alright. Ever since humanity became capable of space travel 30 years ago, we developed a newfound appreciation for it. New quasars recently started to form between the empty spaces of Earth and Mars and I am ecstatic I live in a time I get to see them up close. Those beautiful gas clouds would eventually turn to stars and I cannot wait to see them.

I pondered a bit during that car ride. All this wouldn’t have happened if the planet didn’t get its shit together. 10 years before space exploration became a thing, Earth was on the brink of collapse. Thankfully, every country decided they had enough and actually worked together to finally put a stop to global warming. My parents said that to this day, they still can’t believe the sheer scale of unity that happened back then. From what I have read in history, I couldn’t believe it either. Holy crap, we can actually work together. All of those countries eventually became unified as the Global Alliance, one big-ass country with a big-ass, but more efficient government. All this happened a decade before I was born. I wish I could’ve seen it.

We finally got to the lab, and we did all the things we had to do. But my boss asked me if I can stay with her for a few minutes and have a couple of drinks. Turns out she has a secret stash stored in her office. It’s not late yet, so I said yes. I also wanted to know her better because she honestly seems cool.

We got to talking. I told her about myself; how I grew up in Washington, D.C., nearby what used to be NASA headquarters because my parents both worked there; how I saw the prototype for future spaceships being built; how all that inspired me to work in astronomy and join Stargazer Laboratories, all of it. To my surprise, she pressed further and asked me to tell her stuff about myself that has nothing to do with work or outer space or whatever. I mean… I guess she wants to be friends, too. Okay, sure.

Sorry to disappoint you, I told her, but there really is nothing else to tell. I can sing and play guitar a little bit, but I haven’t done those things in a long time because of work. They’re more of a hobby, really. She cut me off and told me that she actually kinda sings too, which just didn’t surprise me anymore considering she just seems like the type. I dunno, by this time I’ve just learned to throw away my initial impression of her that I got because she is clearly very different from the idea I had in my head. At this point, it’s getting very late, but we both didn’t care, so I just went ahead and asked her stuff about herself. She said she was born and raised in Russia, no surprise there. She also told me how her parents both worked in what used to be Roskosmos, the Russian space agency; how this also served as a catalyst for her to work in astronomy; and how she is also the eldest child, with four younger siblings. Now I know why she can lead a team so well. I thought this entire thing might be awkward at first, but man I am glad this happened. She gave me permission to call her Val outside of work, so I guess we cool now. We finally went home after a few hours. I should stop now. I still have work tomorrow.

[end of audio log]

Log Entry – 08.09.2050

As I predicted, I woke up super late this morning; 20 minutes before work started, in fact. It’s times like these I am very grateful for the existence of warp gates. I managed to prepare my tired ass in 10 minutes and get to work. I thought that would be the worst thing that’ll happen today. I still wish that I was right.

I got to work without incident. We conducted more chemical analysis on the definitely alien goo. Yeah, the others say there isn’t enough evidence, but I’m calling it right now; it definitely is. While in the middle of analysis, the power suddenly went out for a few seconds before turning on again. We checked the wiring and the generators after that happened; there was nothing wrong with them. Out of suspicion, I placed an EMP detector in the middle of the room and confirmed that there was an electromagnetic pulse that burst out in that spot — the exact spot where the purple slime was. We immediately contained it in the titanium-alloy box, and then I passed out.

I woke up in an ambulance, but thank heavens I was well enough not to go to the hospital. From what Val and the others told me, the slime exploded again the second we contained it. It was strong enough to break it open, which just gave me a lot of anxiety. Fortunately, it absorbed some of the impact and we were all just knocked out. Some of us have a few bruises — I have one on my left side right now — but aside from that, none of us were badly injured. We didn’t break any bones or anything like that. Aside from broken glass, shattered microscopes, and other things, none of our equipment was badly damaged. The construction crew said everything can be fixed by tomorrow, so most of us just went home early.

Jane went home because she can’t walk very well, but I saw Sigrid and Paolo going somewhere together. I am very sure they didn’t go home; not very surprising from what we’ve seen a few days ago. I also planned on going home, but Val asked me to hang out with her for some reason if I was feeling well. I said yes, since I can still walk fine and all.

She insisted on driving me there instead of just using a warp gate. I saw extreme excitement in her eyes, so I said yes out of curiosity. She said the trip would take about two hours, so I took a nap. I woke up and, to my surprise, we’re nearing Mars. I thought we were going to your house, I asked her. She said yes. Silence hung in there for a bit, then I realized. I mean, while I am kinda surprised that she lives on Mars, it still wasn’t that surprising. She seemed like the sort of person who would do it. But it turns out the surprise does not and there.

I got to her house, and my jaw dropped all the way to the floor of her spacecraft. It looked real fucking amazing. It was a behemoth of a structure. The middle looks like two giant gears. Surrounding it was what basically looked like a bunch of giant spears jutting out of the ground. The most insane part, however, was that the entire thing was made of glass. All of it. Made of glass. Oddly enough, it looked familiar, too; then it hit me. It looks exactly like the glass structure thingy Doctor Manhattan made in Watchmen! I said this to Val, and she looked quite surprised. She said that she planned it on purpose, and I was the very first to notice. Guess that’s another thing we have in common.

The landing bay was in the middle, so that’s where we went. The interior of her house — if you can call this thing a house — looks surprisingly normal. Well, normal for the head scientist of the world’s best space station, at least. It’s still big and all, but it doesn’t give off the scientist vibe. She took me to her living room surrounded top-to-bottom with bookshelves and a large-ass flatscreen TV. She served coffee, and we got to talking.

I saw her own copy of Watchmen and I lost my shit. It was a physical copy! The edges were a bit frayed, which showed that it was a well-read copy. She doesn’t keep it in a glass case because it’s a collector’s item or any of that bullshit, which is dope. Classics are meant to be read, not kept in a shelf to preserve it in “mint condition.” Physical copies of any books are rare these days — not that I’m complaining, since the almost non-existent use of paper did loads of good for the environment — but it’s still nice to see an actual book and not just a holographic facsimile. I saw her suddenly smiling at me like a maniac. “Nice to see you finally nerd out around me,” she said. “It’s nice that I can fully relax around you now,” I told her. She told me not to relax yet because she has a surprise.

She went into another room and gave me this huge box with wrapping paper. I stared at her like an idiot for a few seconds. She asked what was up, and then it occurred to me to look at the date. I felt like a moron in that moment and I told her why; I straight-up forgot it was my birthday today. Holy crap, I’m 30 years old already. She laughed at that. She laughed real hard. I mean, work’s just overwhelming and we might be dealing with eldritch alien horrors beyond our understanding, so it’s not surprising I forgot. After her fit, she finally handed me my gift. I opened it and my day got a whole lot better.

It was a Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure special edition boxed-set. All of the anime adaptations were in it, parts 1 until 10. It’s surprising Jojo even ended at all, but I guess even Araki had to retire at some point. Guess he’s not a vampire after all. But how did she even know I’m a fan? To answer that question, she told me how much I talked non-stop about Jojo back when we got drunk at that karaoke bar on Mars. She got it on video, even; although it was blurry as hell because she was also drunk. Damn, it turns out I talk a lot when I’m hammered. The party got started after that. She suggested we watch it together on her big-ass TV since she also hasn’t watched it in a long time, so we did. Holy crap, the animation looks better on a TV that large. Another fact about Val: she cooks a mean pasta.

After binging season 1, she told me to close my eyes for a bit. Guess the surprises weren’t over yet. I opened them after a few seconds, and my face suddenly got covered in chocolate icing. Turns out she secretly invited Jane and the others while I was distracted. We celebrated some more; we bungee-jumped off her balcony; we ate more food; we jammed to some songs, with me and Val singing some songs while I played guitar. We blended well when we sang some show tunes. It felt good to sing after a long time. I didn’t know that I missed it this much. I can definitely say this is the best birthday ever. Work begins again tomorrow. But for now, I rest. Can’t wait to binge Jojo again after all this.

[end of audio log]

Log Entry – 08.10.2050

For the first time in a long while, we finally had a breakthrough! We had to finagle the experiment a bit to get there, too. We already tested for temperature and got no results; putting the goo through varying degrees of temperature does not do anything to it. Lighting it on fire doesn’t yield any results, either. Because of that, we thought that maybe it’s being ignited like an actual bomb by an outside force and not through natural means. The idea we came up with is to simply put a small radio transmitter inside the damn thing. Yup. That’s it. It seems too simple to work, but it surprisingly did.

The transmitter lit up five hours after we put it in. Holy crap, we were right! The goo is somehow receiving radio signals from somewhere we cannot locate. A few seconds later, it exploded inside the two layers of the titanium-alloy box we put it in, so we know that radio signals can pass through the box somehow. I’m quite relieved and excited by this because it means two things: we’re just dealing with a criminal with sophisticated equipment and not extraterrestrial forces or whatever, and the solution to this won’t be too difficult. We just have to track the signal with better equipment, track down the criminal, arrest him and finally get some answers. After that, we put the goo back in the observation chamber with some signal jammers to ensure that it won’t ignite again.

I prepared to go home, since Jane and Sigrid are both sick so after-work hangout seemed impossible. But Val pulled me into her office. Paolo was also there, and apparently, he needs our help. He said that he and Sigrid finally became a thing a couple of days back, after almost a month of dating. Props to them. He said he hasn’t told her about it yet because it’s supposed to be a surprise; he plans on taking her to the restaurant peak of Olympus Mons tomorrow for dinner as their first actual date, and he needs us to take her there. Being the good friends that we are, we immediately said yes. He was so ecstatic he ran out the building skipping and yelling in glee. I was about to leave as well, but Val held me back. Okay, I guess she wants to talk a bit more.

She looked flustered as hell for some reason. I can tell she was blushing under the moonlight coming from her window. She kinda looked cute, actually. She said that it’s already been a month since we became friends, which was true. She also said despite it only being a month, a lot already happened and we were kinda close already and stuff, which was also true. I told her that yes, I also do think we grew closer in that time and that I think she’s really cool, especially after she threw me that surprise party. This was also the point that I asked her where she was going with this, and I am quite aware that I should’ve seen it coming. She told me she liked me for already quite a while now. It all started when I nerded out over her copy of Watchmen, she said, and that she’s been hinting at that the past few times we were hanging out. What I’m about to say next would be an approximation of the play-by-play of my thoughts during that moment and how I reacted: “She was hinting at it? How did I not notice? Am I that oblivious? More importantly though, do I like her back? I mean, she is cool. She lives on Mars on a giant glass mansion. She’s an anime fan, a singer, we click together. She’s a bit loud sometimes. She’s also assertive as a boss and a very chill person outside of work and I am definitely into that. She’s a very good leader and also a great friend and person so what do I really think--?”

That entire thought process went through my brain like lightning. My feelings for her immediately crashed down on me like a waterfall. It was insane. The reason my thoughts just stopped there was because I immediately kissed her suddenly, inside her dark office lit only by moonlight. I imagine she saw me blush after I pulled away. I profusely apologized after that and was almost out the door when I was cut off, this time by her kissing me back. Silence hung in the air for a minute after that.

So, she asked me back. “When did you start liking me?” I thought back, and I said it was probably the first time we drank in her office. We planned an actual date tomorrow, and we finally left the lab. I guess that’s that. I am quite surprised, although I know I shouldn’t have been. I went home feeling a bit giddy and at peace. I am gonna sleep well tonight.

[end of audio log]

Log Entry – 08.11.2050

[crying]

It’s been quite a long day. I… I’m not well. I’ll have to start from the beginning.

Work began normally, at first. When this day started, I’m happier than I’ve ever been. I had a date after work and I was also gonna help my friends with theirs; I had things to look forward to. But that all changed, just like that. God, I can’t do this.

It all began when Val informed us that Jane had been missing since yesterday. She received a call from the police just this morning; apparently, it seems like someone broke into her house. Signs of a struggle can be found everywhere, and she’s nowhere to be found. So yeah, one can say it was a rough start. We went to work, hoping she eventually gets found.

The uh, the thing happened when we were supposed to start analysis again. Paolo and Sigrid went into the observation chamber to get the sample. The rest of us were setting up equipment when we heard the sound of metal tearing apart. We ran there as fast as we could; I wish I hadn’t got there first.

We were shocked to see Jane there, except by that point, she wasn’t even Jane anymore. Her red hair has been cut short; patches of bald spots could be found everywhere. There were cracks all over her face and body, all glowing purple. Her eyes were also glowing purple and [choking sounds] she was swinging a kitchen knife around. We tried to go in, but she ripped off one of the empty glass cases from the floor and threw it at us with ease. She screamed in a garbled voice that wasn’t hers and lunged at Sigrid with the knife. Paolo pushed her out of the way and he got wounded instead. Sigrid screamed in shock, but she suddenly got cut off when the creature held her on the neck and threw her at the wall head-first, instantly breaking her neck. I can still hear her screaming until now; the moment that scream suddenly got cut off for the last time is still fresh in my mind.

Before any more damage can be done, the creature suddenly collapsed. With all the commotion, we didn’t hear the alarm sounding and the police getting here. They said they used a small taser to take it down; when we investigated, we saw a small, circular thing around its neck. It was the size of a button and probably where the electric shock came from. We immediately worked with the police to restrain the creature, being that we had all the equipment we need. We contained it in a large titanium box, the ones used to transport dangerous criminals. The creature was also restricted in there by titanium straps around her forehead, waist, arms, wrists, legs, and ankles. As a final measure, the box also has electricity running through the outside so that it gets shocked when it breaks the restraints and tries to force its way out. The creature will be interrogated by all of us tomorrow. First, we took care of my friends and gave them a proper burial. After work, I just climbed up onto the roof of the building because the moon looked beautiful and I needed to be alone. Turns out Val had the same idea. We just sat there, alone, not saying anything. Eventually, we just cried with each other for God knows how long until our tear ducts simply dried out. Knowing I can’t bear to be alone right now, I invited her to sleep at my house. She agreed, and we went home.

She’s asleep right now, as I’m recording this. That’s where my life is at, I guess. We’re one step closer to solving this mystery, but my friends have died. That’s simply not fair. [choked sobs] God, I’m gonna miss them so much. We’ve been through a lot now, even though we’ve known each other for only a few months. I hope the creature that took my friend’s body gives us what we need tomorrow. I hope it pays dearly for what it did. [crying]

[end of audio log]

Log Entry – 08.12.2050

Just came back from the interrogation today. I won’t record much. I feel a bit sick to my stomach from what I’ve just heard, and I don’t think it’ll go away soon. I’ll just listen to the audio log of the interrogation the ICD was kind enough to share with us.

[end of audio log]

Interplanetary Crimes Division

Interrogation Audio Log #48783

This is Detective Charles Chapman speaking for the Interplanetary Crimes Division offices located in Tromsø, Norway. Just yesterday, one of the scientists at Stargazer Laboratories had brutally murdered two other scientists there and had also caused significant damage to some equipment. Considering that the perpetrator seemingly has inhuman strength, glowing skin, and other physiological anomalies that cannot be found in other human beings, the possibility that the perpetrator is no longer human but merely an empty shell being used is being considered as a possibility. The creature is now properly restrained inside a titanium box with titanium straps. The cage is also lined with electricity and is inside a forcefield. The interrogation will be conducted with me outside the forcefield; communication will only be done through wireless communicators.

Detective Chapman: Who are you?

The Creature: [silence]

DC: Do you have a name?

H: I am called Helvig, but my people have given me the moniker of The Oncoming Storm, for all the planets I have brought destruction upon.

DC: If I recall correctly, your friends told me that your name is Jane.

Helvig: The one you call Jane is no more. What you see before you is nothing more than her empty body, hollowed out when I took possession of it.

DC: OKAY. I’m glad we cleared that up. I guess the next thing I have to ask is, how did you manage to infiltrate this planet?

H: I came here when I destroyed your moon using what you call the purple slime as my weapon. I hitched a ride inside one of the resulting debris then took possession of this biped’s weak body. Do you know how hard it is to control human brains? It took me almost a month to assert total dominance.

DC: Really? Well, if that’s the case, how come you’ve been able to manipulate your weapon before that?

H: I have been able to assert a tiny bit of control before, although this biped didn’t know it at the time. I’m just damned unlucky that the times I gained little authority over this body and attempted to kill you all didn’t amount to anything.

DC: I guess that answers that. So why are you here? Why this planet in particular?

H: Why do you think I am called The Oncoming Storm? I am here to bring destruction, nothing more.

DC: Now, why would you do that? Were you ordered to do so by your people?

H: My people are no more. My planet was destroyed when two stars near the place your people call the Kuiper Belt collided; the resulting supernova destroyed my home, and the blast was so strong it propelled my ship all the way to your moon. Had I not found this body to possess, I might have died. But I am here, and this planet shall be destroyed in the memory of my people.

DC: If I may ask again, why? What could the destruction of this planet possibly do for you?

H: Nothing! It will do nothing for me! My people are gone, and my planet is no more. Keeping up our tradition of destruction will be the only way of preserving their memory. After your planet, other ones that bear life will also fall by my hand.

DC: Well, thank you for answering my questions without any fuss. You are the politest criminal I have ever talked to; you know that?

H: Thank you, Charles.

DC: In return, I will extend the same courtesy; do not attempt to destroy this planet. Humanity has advanced beyond your imagination, and there are a lot of us. You will not succeed.

H: [laughter] None of you can stop me! The only reason I gave you information freely is because I know none of you will be able to do anything; you weaklings only managed to restrain me because my powers have not settled into this weak body yet! Give it a bit more time, and I will burn this place to the ground. After this, your planet comes next! [laughter]

I decided to end it there, because I’ve gotten all that I need. Orders from the top brass indicate that the next course of action to be taken would be a joint effort with Stargazer Laboratories to find ways to defeat this creature and save the planet.

[end of audio log]

Log Entry – 08.13.2050

I guess I was wrong. We are dealing with aliens. If not for what’s happened, I would be very happy right now. But not even getting a definitive answer to the question of “are we alone in the universe?” would excite me; especially because one of the answers to that question just killed three of my friends and is now controlling one of their dead bodies like a puppet. Work has been postponed due to the damages our lab has taken, so I honestly don’t know why I’m making the effort to record right now; it’s not like something’s gonna happen today, anyway. Maybe I just need to distract myself from the quiet.

I tried to distract myself by other means, of course. I attempted to binge that Jojo box set I have, but it didn’t work; memories of my surprise birthday party just resurfaced. It’s just too painful. [sobbing]

I… I can’t. I just… I just, can’t. It’s not fair! [crashing sounds] [crying] It’s not fa- [static]

[end of audio log]

There you go. So I, uh… I may have gone berserk earlier, but I’m doing kinda better now. I broke my audio log recorder, but I think I’ve fixed it. Before I stop though, something did happen today that’s worth recording, so… I’m glad for that.

After crying for I don’t actually know how long, somebody rang my doorbell. I looked through my security cameras and found Val standing in my doorway; which honestly came as a surprise, until it occurred to me that she probably wants to check how I’m doing. It stung a bit, knowing that I was too sad and didn’t even think about doing the same for her. I hastily prepared myself and went downstairs.

She looked kinda disheveled and sad, like she’s on a great rush to get here; she had that sad look on her eyes, too. But that’s hardly a surprise, is it? What was a surprise, however, was how beautiful she looked despite all of that. It just so happens that my house has an awe-inspiring view of the hills, and the sunset just happened to hit her as she stood by my door. My day got marginally better after that.

I let her in, and we talked. I asked her if she was okay, and she told me she’s holding up as well as I am, after a cursory look around the mess I made just before she showed up. My recorder was broken in some parts; furniture was everywhere; my glass table was in pieces, all that stuff. We sat in quiet for a while. She eventually told me if I wanted to have the date that we had to postpone two days ago. It took me about two full minutes to think about it, but I said yes; it looked like we both needed it.

We warped to the grassy, quiet park on Olympus Mons; I’m still amazed at how far humanity has gone in terraforming. She prepared a picnic and everything. I cooked some pasta, because of course I did I’m good at it, and I needed a win today. The whole thing wasn’t very eventful, but it was exactly what we needed. We talked, like we always talked. We looked down from the mountain we were on top of, and the view was exhilarating. We looked up, and stared in awe of the stars above us. We reminisced, and remembered the moments we had with them; how Paolo got drunk and vomited in zero gravity; how Sigrid bungee-jumped from the top of Val’s roof and the anti-climactic result of it as we remembered that the artificial gravity was turned off; how Jane accidentally got a face full of cake when I threw it at her; all these memories and others, we remembered last night under the stars on top of the tallest mountain on Mars. It stings, remembering them; but it’s also comforting, somehow.

The nature of our friendship was contemplated as well. If Earth didn’t get its shit together all those years ago, the Global Alliance wouldn’t exist today; all the space travel and huge technological leaps wouldn’t have happened, and travel between countries would still be a pain. We were lucky that we were all brought together in one place. Thinking about the unlikeliness of our friendship just made both of us sadder, considering what happened. We eventually got up and left the mountain.

One last thing we wanted to do before going home was to visit the places where they’re now buried. We already conducted a funeral for them after the creature got arrested and sent them back to their families, but we wanted to see them again, so we can properly say goodbye this time.

First, we warped our way to Brazil to visit Paolo. His family was there, watching over him. We quietly mourned with them for a few minutes, although it felt longer than that. We eventually gave our condolences and left. Our next stop was Sweden, where Sigrid is. No one was watching over her grave, but we did see a few freshly-lit candles around it. The cold winds were swirling all around us, but we hardly noticed them at all. We had no idea how long we stayed, but the cold did get to us eventually, and we left. Our last stop for the night was in Canada, Jane’s home. This visit just made us sadder because we know that her grave is empty; her family will never have a body to bury. No one else was there, which wasn’t strange, considering it’s almost midnight, but we weren’t alone for long when two young women came there; they were her two younger sisters, it turns out. They brought warm tea, and they were kind enough to share it with us. We talked, reminisced about the memories we have with her, and we mourned. Before leaving, Val and I promised them that while we cannot bring their sister back, we can put her to rest by putting the creature down permanently.

I brought her back to Mars. We said our goodbyes, kissed for God knows how long because we didn’t count, and we went home. I… I miss them. I miss them so damn much. [crying]

[end of audio log]

Stargazer Laboratories

Log Entry – 08.15.2050

[crying]

I’ll admit. Considering what I’m about to do, I am scared. I fear that I may not come back from this, but strangely, I am also at peace. This insane, dangerous plan has a high chance of success, and I am more than willing to do it. But first, let’s go back to the beginning.

Yesterday, I got a call from the ICD at 6 am telling me that the prisoner has escaped. Apparently, it got out of its restraints and simply destroyed both the cage and the forcefield using brute strength alone. The thing that is defiling my friend’s body got stronger, just like it said it would. It killed almost all of the police officers before everyone got out and put the building on lockdown. The entire building was then launched through the sky via rockets attached to the foundation as a last resort security measure; it is now floating just a little bit above the atmosphere, surrounded by a bigger forcefield. The creature will be kept in there, but not for long. I immediately prepared and went to the lab with the others; I imagine they got the same call.

We immediately started to formulate a plan to defeat the creature. According to the police, the forcefield will only last until about 4 am today until it runs out of power. There’s also the trouble of the creature getting even stronger than it is now, so we had to account for that, too. The only consolation we have is that it can only use its psychic powers to activate the slime and nothing else; it has to be near it, too. One of the police officers suggested that we simply just have the rockets push the building farther into space, but that was shot down; the rockets simply weren’t built for that, so it doesn’t have enough fuel. We also thought of just straight-up making the building explode, but Detective Chapman shot this idea down, too. Turns out he already fired a couple rockets at the creature and it simply kept walking, unscathed. Our last idea was to warp the entire building to the other end of the universe, but we realized it was also futile; warp gates were made with humans in mind. Creating one as big as a building has never been done before; it might collapse in on itself and implode, or create a black hole that will destroy the Earth. We came to the conclusion that there is only one way to solve this once and for all; one of us has to go up there and destroy the creature ourselves.

A drone was sent to fly near the building and investigate. The entire structure was reduced to rubble. The creature was jumping around, throwing large chunks of debris at the forcefield in an attempt to destroy it. That gave us the drive to really solve this as soon as possible. I remembered what the creature told us back then; how it got to Earth because a supernova propelled its ship here while it’s trying to escape. Then I had a crazy idea.

I told them that the energy of two collapsing stars was the only thing we know of that almost destroyed the creature; I remembered how it told us it was on the verge of death and only survived because it found a host. Then I told them my idea; find three stars that’s the nearest to Mars, put an artificial gravity drive between them, wait for them to move towards each other, then siphon off the energy from the resulting supernova into the engine of a laser cannon. This is the easy part. The next step is that said laser cannon with the energy of three collapsed stars now have to be attached to a spacecraft and fired directly at the creature. The resulting recoil may destroy said ship; or it won’t. This is something no one has actually done before, so none of us are quite sure how this will happen. None of us can come up with a new plan, so this is what we have to go with.

We found three stars near each other just beyond the outskirts of Mars. Siphoning off large amounts of energy in a supernova was terrifying, but not actually that difficult. I, and two other scientists, finished the job in just a couple of hours. Val and I worked together to design a laser cannon strong enough to handle the energy of three stars. The next thing we have to do now is to decide who’s gonna fly up there and do the job. The ICD can’t do it; only two of them are left. One has no combat experience, and the other is Detective Chapman, who’s simply too old for the job. We can’t ask for help from the military, or the other offices of the ICD, either. All of the warp gates in the lab had been damaged, and the personal warp gates we’re carrying had also been messed up due to the star radiation we had to work with. We’re all alone in this.

I looked around the room and realized that the only person who can do this is me. I told this to the others, and Val vehemently opposed it, as I expected. After a shouting match, I told her we just have to talk it out in private. It didn’t really work; we just shouted at each other louder since no one was around to hear us. We finally ran out of energy and just sat down.

So… yeah. After calming down enough to talk, she asked me why I thought I’m the only one who can do it. I told her it’s because I built both the cannon and the modified ship with her, so I’m the only one who can use them. I also want to be the one to personally put the creature down. She got angry at me, told me that she’ll be the one to do it instead, since she knows the machines as well as I do. I tried to talk back, but she was still so angry and started speaking Russian, like she always does when she’s mad. I did something I didn’t expect to do; I laughed. It was real, too. I haven’t had one like it in what feels like a long time. She started laughing, too. We just did that until we ran out of breath again.

I explained to her that this was exactly what she did when I asked her if I can eat my rock pasta; it was also what she did when Paolo almost ate the purple goo. I told her that I love this about her; how passionate and caring she is for the ones that she loves; how I do not want her passion to be snuffed out of this world too early; and how I am sure I am the only one who can do this because she can still lead Stargazer Labs further into the future. I told her how I wanted her to see Earth and the rest of humanity go further into the reaches of space. Finally, I told her the simplest and most important reason why it has to be me; I told her I love her. I love her very much and I cannot bear to see her die and that is why I have to do this. After that, we just broke down together. The tears just kept flowing. She told me she loves me, too. She told me she can’t bear to see me go, either, but I told her she has to go on. I told her again how the lab needs her, and after this, probably the world. We just kept quiet, savoring each other’s company for what might be the last time. We eventually slept for two hours, in each other’s arms. We got up and made the last preparations. We had another short meeting on how things would be done. I simply have to fly up there and aim directly at the creature. Sounds too easy, but we all know it isn’t. After saying goodbye to them, I excused myself for a bit and ended up here.

It is now 3 am, August 15, 2050. I will do what I need to do half an hour from now. From what we’ve seen of the drone footage, the forcefield will last until 4 am, as predicted. I wish I was recording this at home, using my own recorder, but I have no way to get there, so here I am, using the only functional one in the lab. I’m gonna end it here, so suffice it to say the next words I’ll be saying may be my last.

Val, I love you. I know you’re my boss, but I’m glad we did away with the professional awkwardness that might have arisen and just found the time to relax with each other. I am so happy that we met outside of work during that Hamilton premiere on Mars. I thought that I have what I wanted out of life, working in a space station; I am happy you were the one who proved me wrong. [crying] I love you, Val. If these are the last things I will ever say, then I want them to be these words. I love you, and I always will.

[end of audio log]

Log Entry – 10.15.2050

It’s been two months, Leo. Two months. Two long, agonizing months since you passed. [crying]

It’s still clear as day, what happened. I remembered the kiss we shared before you took off. I remembered seeing the blast from the cannon finally incinerate the creature after a minute. I remember how we cheered when we saw you succeed, then suddenly get silenced when your engine blew up. I remember being horrified seeing you fall back down to Earth, then zooming in on the cockpit and seeing you smile one last time before the drone was destroyed by the blast.

The charred remains of the ship landed just outside the lab. Although burned, you somehow managed to stay in one piece. After that, we did what we were supposed to do. We cleaned up the lab and the ship, and we had your funeral a few days later. I was the one who gave your eulogy, you know that? I hope you heard it, and I hope you liked it if you did.

This is the first time in a while I came back to Olympus Mons. I finally had the courage to go after hearing the message you left for me. Your parents let me have a copy of the other audio logs you did. I’ll admit, I haven’t been doing well in a while, but hearing your voice again really helped me.

I think it’s finally time. You said you wanted me to see space travel advance further, right? I already have an idea. Since we now know that life exists outside of Earth, I thought of how maybe we can come up with ways to reach them. I know the last species we interacted with almost destroyed us, but I know there’s more of them out there. Perhaps they are kinder. Perhaps they’re willing to break bread with us. I was thinking of calling it “The Cosmic Unity” project but it sounds too tacky, doesn’t it? I just hope I already have a proposal I can pass to the Global Alliance in a year or so. All of this is for you, Leo. All of it. It’s for the sake of the planet’s progress, too, but it is for you I do this, most of all. [sobbing]

I love you, Leo. I love you more in every day that passes.

[end of audio log]

#short story #writing

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365days365movies · 4 years ago

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January 27, 2021: The Raid: Redemption (2011)

So, uh...I’ve switched things up a touch. Originally, I was going to do Lindy West’s suggestion today, but...no. No, I need something good to pick me up from yesterday’s disappointment. So, we move from the United States to a country with far, FAR less movies: Indonesia.

The country of over 17,000 islands hasn’t exactly made a lot of films, but their film industry does exist. I might look more into these films someday, but the one film that EVERYBODY recommends is Gareth Evans’ The Raid: Redemption. And no, Gareth isn’t an INdonesian name; it’s a Welsh name for a Welsh director best known for his Indonesian films. Interesting, innit?

See, Evans was hired to direct a film about the Indonesian martial art type, pencak silat. One of the specialists he filmed was Iko Uwais, who was a deliveryman at the time. Together, the two made the movie Merantau in 2009, and it was a big success in Indonesia. So, the two reunited for another film.

And hopefully, that film will leave me more satisfied than The Expendables did. Shall we? SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

The day begins as a policeman, Rama (Iko Uwais), prays, spars aggressively with a training bag, and says goodbye to his pregnant wife (Fikha Effendi). His father (Henky Solaiman) is also there, and he promises to “get him back.” Don’t know who “him” is, so I’m intrigued.

In a truck, 20 SWAT agents, Rama included, are being briefed on an upcoming raid of a building that would appear to be a crime hotel run by drug lord Tama (Ray Sahetapy). While raids have been attempted before, none have been particularly successful. This time, however, they pledge to take down as many people as humanly possible, and clean up the city of Jakarta as a result.

The agents, led by Jaka (Joe Taslim) and Wayhu (Pierre Gruno), stand below the massive concrete apartment building, and creep their way into it. They split into two groups: one takes out a guard, and goes in through one entrance. The other encounters Gofar (Iang Darmawan), an innocent tenant with a sick wife upstairs. Hothead Bowo grabs and threatens him, before being told off by Rama.

Rama promises to get the man to his wife and apartment safely, and the group goes in. The raid’s begun as they begin arrests of everybody in the building, floor-by-floor. They make it to the sixth floor, where they encounter a child in a hallway. They fail to calm the child down, and he runs to warn a friend...and is then shot in the neck by Wahyu. This movie just killed a kid, guys. Holy shit.

The second kid raises a building-wide alarm, and now EVERYBODY knows that the police are here, including Tama and his two lieutenants, Andi (Donny Alamsyah) and Mad Dog (Yahan Ruihan). And now, all hell breaks loose.

Tama’s reinforcements arrive, and take out the officers RUTHLESSLY. One guy single-handedly takes back the fifth floor, and the SWAT truck is shot up as well. Snipers take out officers on the outside and in windows. And as our remaining officers start to realize this, Tama makes an announcement over the comms, announcing both the SWAT team’s position and free rent in the apartment building for those who take them out. Yeah, they’re FUCKED.

What’s even worse is that nobody knows that this team is there, according to Wahyu, which means that there are no reinforcements coming. Also affirms my suspicions that Wahyu is a SHITTY cop, holy shit. And as I’m thinking that, with all of the men in a dark stairwell…

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HOLY FUCK!!! Tama’s men above, SWAT below, trading gunfire and picking each other off like a close-up trench war! The only light during the fight is from their muzzle fire! This is...amazing, oh my God.

Tama and his guys are watching from cameras all the while, and Tama seems to know Wahyu, and how shitty a cop he is. He gives the order: wipe them out, and destroy any evidence they were here. Nobody will know. Nice one, Wahyu; nice one. The SWAT team narrowly escapes into a room, only to be greeted by gunfire from the outside. Trapped again, Rama comes up with a solution: get to the floor below by chopping through the floor with an axe! FUCK YES.

And the action doesn’t stop there! They get ambushed in that room, and use the axe to defend themselves, as well as fighting and guns. At one point, the criminals come in through the floor above, and a guy catches one in mid-fall, and THROWS HIM THROUGH A WINDOW WHAT

And then, AND FUCKING THEN, they put a tank of compressed flammable gas in an empty fridge, shove it against the door, throw a FUCKING GRENADE IN THERE, AND BLOW THE FRIDGE THROUGH THE GUYS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR

WHOOOOOOOO I’M BACK BABY THIS FUCKIN’ RULES

Tama, frustrated at the damage and loss of his men, sends Andi and Mad Dog to take care of the situation. Meanwhile, a scarce handful of officers are left, including Rama, Bowo, Jaka, Wayhu, Dagu (Eka Rahmadia) (whom I haven’t yet had cause to mention), and about three more officers have survived.

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Rama and Bowo make their way to the 7th floor, where Rama hopes to leave the badly injured Bowo with the tenant from earlier. Rama fights off, just...SO many gang members, allegedly pulling no punches (allegedly because he totally does, if you look at the fights), and eventually makes it to Gofar’s door. Despite his sick wife and reluctance to help, he agrees to take them in. Tama’s men barge in, looking for the men, who are hiding within a hidden wall compartment. And that’s when…

HOLY SHIT THAT WAS FUCKIN’ RAD AS HELL

But Andi, another of Tama’s men, is headed down to take care of this mess. On the elevator down, he TAKES OUT TWO OF HIS COLLEAGUES, WHAT?!? OK, some questions to resolve here, but I’m sure we’ll get to it. Rama leaves to find the others, and immediately gets into another fight. He throws a man down a staircase at one point.

Ow. OW. Just when he’s cornered by sword-boy and more goons, we get yet another Rama hallway fight, this one much more authentic-feeling, damn! And it ends with Rama tackling a dude out of a window, FALLING WITH HIM ONTO A FIRE ESCAPE, AND DIVING INTO ANOTHER APARTMENT LIKE A GODDAMN CHAMPION

And unlike other stereotypical action protagonists, he’s not exactly OK after all this. He stumbles about, hallucinates a little for good measure, and almost passes out until found by...someone he knows. The “him” from earlier perhaps? Iiiiiiinteresting.

Back to the other SWAT agents, finally! Holed up in an apartment, Wayhu writes off Rama and Bowo as dead. Jaka ain’t exactly happy about this comment, or with Wayhu. We now find out that this mission isn’t sanctioned by the police, hence no reinforcements. Additionally, Wayhu may not be on the up-and-up, as it’s implied that he may be a corrupt cop. Jaka, tired of his bullshit, gathers the men to go find their colleagues.

Not that that lasts very long, because Mad Dog ambushes them literally as soon as they open the door. Holding Jaka at gunpoint, he guides him back into the apartment, where the two fight. Oh, and this one’s GOOD. It’s REAL good, holy shit.

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Cool as it is, though, it represents the end for Jaka, and Mad Dog snaps his neck, and he’s gone. Damn. HELL of a fight, though. Mad Dog’s doing well, but how about Andi?

Well, Andi’s the guy who took Rama, and yes, he’s the “him” that Rama mentioned to their father. That’s right, THEIR father, because Andi’s his brother. They bond and catch up, and while they do clearly love each other, they’re also estranged, due to their differing paths in life. But Rama signed up for this mission SPECIFICALLY to get Andi back home, to their father. Andi refuses, and tells Rama to leave before he gets killed. Rama also refuses, not wanting to abandon his colleagues to the gang. And so, they part ways.

We’re down to four now: Rama, Wayhu, Bowo, and Dagu. Rama proposes going for Tama, the location of whom the corrupt Wayhu already knows. Just like how Tama knows that Andi is a traitor, having saved Rama. Tama stabs Andi in the hand, and questions him on who Rama is, and the nature of their relationship. I’m sure it’ll end well for Andi.

Our three remaining non-injured cops take out a drug lab in the building, where we get some more good fight choreography, and the reason that Dagu is here: he’s a pretty goddamn good fighter. And I know I’m breaking records for the number of videos in this one, but their fights are...just stellar.

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Afterwords, Rama finds his brother being used as a human punching bag by Mad Dog. See here’s the thing about Mad Dog; he’s a brawler at heart. While he might use guns to kill or threaten people if he has to, he prefers to use his hands and feet. And now...it’s two on one. This gon’ be güd.

Wayhu and Dagu, meanwhile, corner Tama in his office. Whew, finally, good guys prevail.

AWWWWWWW, DAGU! We hardly knew ye! Literally, I’m not sure you did literally anything the whole movie, except for fight that one time, like 6 minutes ago. Wayhu holds up Tama at gunpoint, ordering him to get them out of there safely.

The fight between Mad Dog and the brothers is still happening, by the way, and it’s still awesome...despite the terrible sound editing during these fights. Yeah, I’ll get there in the Epilogue. This fight, though, is crazy. It’s incredibly difficult to track who exactly has the upper hand throughout, but eventually, Mad Dog reveals that it’s him. He locks Rama in the same stranglehold that killed Jaka...and then...I’m putting this fight in video right here, because the ending is amazing. THE WHOLE FIGHT IS AMAZING

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After that’s all said and done, the brothers escape, and encounter Wayhu and Tama. Wayhu fires upon the brothers, fully turned traitor at this point. Tama tells Wayhu that there isn’t much hope for him anyway, especially as the person who ordered Wayhu to take the hit already told Tama that the raid was going to happen. No, this was never about Tama; Wayhu was the target all along, as they sent him there to die.

Not that it matters, as he kills Tama regardless. Realizing that he doesn’t have much better luck outside of the building at this point, he tries to do the same to himself, only to finally be out of bullets. WHOOF.

It’s over. With Andi’s help, they get evidence against Tama and all of the corrupt cops that he dealt with, retrieve Bowo, and leave the building. Andi stays behind, once again stating that this is where he belongs. The brothers part ways once again.

And THAT...was The Raid: Redemption. GOD. DIGGITY. DAMN. EPILOGUE.

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