#and yes it would be perfectly fine for him to correct himself within one episode

[itsjustpoopeh]

my hot take is that i think Isaac should have a homophobia issue actually. he should have a bias that he has to think about and overcome. i don’t want the narrative to be “it’s silly for queer people to be hesitant or afraid of coming out to their friends” because that’s condescending and inaccurate. sometimes you lose friends for it! i don’t want that to happen, but the likelihood of a straight man who’s been in professional male athletics for years having some homophobic tendencies he needs to address is very high! just like some of them had to address their misogynistic tendencies in the latest episode! it is not bad writing for that to be shown!

[theworldinclines]

Title: someone here loves you Pairing: Mork and Pi, Mork and Mueang Nan Summary: Pre-series into episode 1 character speculation Ao3 link

     Mork likes to think that he’s got a skill in reading people. His talents prove handy in pretty much any situation Mork could find himself in, and after years of relationships avoided that Mork could tell would’ve ended on an unfortunate note (romantic or otherwise), he fancies his skills sharper than most others’. Thanks to him, his younger sister had turned down the date of a boy in her class who’d later ended up trying to steal goods from a local shop; and he’d successfully coached one of his old high school friends on how to end a friendship that he wasn’t happy in. So yes, Mork’s fairly confident.

     On the other side of that, whether it be metaphorical or literal, Mork doesn’t like to be under a spotlight. He prefers to be the guy on the sidelines cheering on his friend rather than having to be the poor sucker bombarded by obsessive fans. Mork, in his time as Mueang Nan’s closest friend, has come to see that this isn’t an exaggeration. Mork rarely uploads content on social media, Mueang Nan posts at least one update per day. Mork’s account is private and although he has a lot of followers, he hasn’t reciprocated in kind. Mueang Nan is public and his posts always receive at least 200 comments from strangers, while Mork will get 50 from people he’s spoken to in person.

     He doesn’t fault Mueang Nan at all; he grew up in a remote northern village where he hadn’t had a mobile, barely a television, so for Mueang Nan to enjoy social media to the extent he does is totally fair. Even if he hadn’t grown up the way he did, Mork wouldn’t fault Mueang Nan for something as small as liking Instagram or Facebook.

     It doesn’t matter, at the end of the day, because his well-honed talent has already told Mork that Mueang Nan is a genuinely good guy. Out of anyone, Ai’Nan actually deserves to be as well-liked as he is, and on Mork’s end he’s content to live on the blurred edges of relative obscurity than be made daily the center of a stampede. He’ll leave Mueang Nan to pseudo-celebrity life and remain virtually invisible by his side. That’s ideal, really.

     But a boy nudges his glasses further up his nose, tugging red-bitten lips between his bracketed teeth in a bout of nerves, and within a moment, the fellow first-year knows that if no one else ever knew who Mork was here or anywhere, he’d want this boy to know.

     It’s orientation, as cliché as that may be, where Mork first sees Pi. As a fellow first year, Mork hasn’t met Mueang Nan or really anyone that he’d feel inclined to befriend, and so catching sight of Pi in the crowd of anxious freshers lands a hit square into Mork’s chest. He can’t see his name-tag, blocked in as he is by other students, but to see him here in the sciences is proof enough that they’ll at least share one or two classes.

     And Mork is so happy to be correct. The dentistry student’s name is Pattawee, commonly Pi, and he’s nothing like any crush Mork’s ever had before. He often spots Pi in conversation with another boy, occasions which generally end in elbows thrown into each other’s chests or Pi dragged down into a headlock. Pi’s raucous laughter imprints upon Mork’s thoughts to prompt unbidden smiles from him, and Mork can’t even find it in himself to be embarrassed. The boys are obviously nothing more than friends, so Mork wants to hold onto the hope that Pi is single. He keeps a consistent eye on him both in class and out, and never has he seen Pi spend time with anyone else on campus. Whether or not Mork will ever stop being a loser and talk to him before he is taken by someone else remains to be seen.

     Well, they have spoken, per se, though not at any great length. Pi favours the back row in lectures, Mork always sits nearer to the front; and half the time, Pi packs his bag in record speed and is darting from the room before Mork has even closed his notebook. All this adds up to the unfortunate fact that opportunities for Mork to ‘coincidentally’ run into Pi are pretty much nill. The one time he’d managed to run into Pi had been unfortunately literal.

     Mork had been glancing at his phone for the time and it was enough of a distraction that he’d stepped out into the hallway and directly onto Pi’s ankles. To Mork’s credit, Pi had paused in front of the door to adjust a stubborn zipper on his backpack and directly blocked Mork’s path (a miracle if Mork’s ever seen one). Rather than the usual meet-cute a romantic might expect, Pi had spun on Mork with an affronted air and hissed, “You can’t see me here?”

     “You’re in the middle of the doorway!” Mork had pointed out, his mouth moving faster than his brain. Pi snorted and spun away with a glare as though Mork was the problem here, and there ended Mork’s first and thus far last conversation with his crush. That was four months ago in February.

     By the week following Valentine’s Day, Mork begins to suspect that Pi is plotting his murder, as everywhere Mork goes, Pi appears as well. Only at the beginning of this month, Pi’s behaviour would’ve thrilled Mork. But now he recognises Pi’s comments on Mueang Nan’s Instagram, and he can see that Pi’s giddy attention slides right past Mork to Mueang Nan. If he deigns Mork with a look, it’s one of disdain and annoyance, at best. Mork doesn’t have to be a genius people-reader to know that his crush… is crushing on his closest friend.

     Mueang Nan doesn’t know, of course. He assumes everyone is just incredibly friendly, so any special treatment he receives tends to go over his head. Pi’s also never spoken to Mueang Nan in real life, likely similar to Mork’s own inability due to general nerves. It’s sort of surprising to Mork, considering Pi doesn’t come across as someone afraid of anything or wont to give in to anyone’s demands. But for as much as he trails after Mueang Nan (and by extension, Mork), Pi hasn’t yet said a word, and neither has Mork about his true feelings.

     Hands shoved in his pockets, Mork is just entering the building for a morning class when he hears murmuring from a nearby hallway. He pauses in his steps to look and —

     “It doesn’t sound sincere,” Pi complains to himself. “Nan, I know you like choux cream desserts…” The dentistry student is stood there with a box in his hands and talking to the wall. Mork would say that’s the strangest thing he’s seen Pi do, but that’d be a lie.

     Their last spoken interaction hadn’t been the greatest and, since then, Pi’s only ever shot daggers via sneer Mork’s way, his certainty that Mork wants to ‘steal’ Mueang Nan of no help on that end. Maybe choosing to sit back silently isn’t helping either. If Pi already dislikes him so vehemently, what’s a little teasing going to hurt?

     “I know you like them,” he says near Pi’s ear, “so I stole some for you.”

     Mork comes to find within moments that it can go very badly, actually. He ends up alone in the hallway, his handkerchief covered in clotted dessert cream, and asking why luck has screwed him once again. (Probably his attempt at a joke is what screwed him, but he’s going to ignore that for now.)

     Pi is insistent that Mork is out to get him, so convinced as he is that Mork’s goal in life is to destroy Pi’s, but Mork knows he can’t let this go. Pi is already thoroughly blinded himself against Mork to the extent that there’s really no way Mork could tell him the truth and be taken with sincerity. Anything he says is seen as a dig, so how can Mork help if Pi doesn’t trust him? He isn’t about to out his best friend, but Mueang Nan isn’t interested in dating or anything of the sort. He’s always kind to Pi because that’s who he is, and he’s never one to decline a new friend, but… this won’t have the happy ending Pi has been hoping for.

     If Pi continues down this road, Mork knows he’s only going to be hurt and disappointed until the day he’s honest with Mueang Nan and met with the truth of why. And if Pi’s going to be hurt, which Mork would never want, maybe he can put in some effort to… redirect his affection? It’s sort of self-serving, but Mork will say instead that he’s baking two pies with one oven: make Pi like him and thereby willingly move on from Mueang Nan, never having to be hurt at all.

     He recalls Pi’s doe-eyed gaze behind his glasses that morning and thinks that maybe there’s a chance. Once he really knows Mork, maybe he’ll be swayed. Maybe.

     Mork has to give thanks to Mueang Nan’s obsession with posting status updates because tonight’s brings about another miracle: Pi comes to the club. Mork knows he’s there for Mueang Nan, but if he intercepts him on the way in, who’s going to call him on that?

     He hangs back for a moment as the bouncer gives Pi a quirked, disinterested eyebrow. He can’t blame him entirely when Pi’s wearing his shirt tucked in with worn-out sneakers, but as always, Mork finds Pi’s authentic personality charming. He throws an arm over Pi and revels in the feeling of his classmate brushing his waist, again when he pivots Pi away from an oncoming tray of drinks. And there again are Pi’s wide eyes on him, making Mork almost forget that they’re in a hallway that smells mostly of stale smoke and strangers.

     He takes pictures of Mueang Nan and Pi to be helpful and show the latter that he is in support of, not against, Pi’s crush, because that’s the truth even if it isn’t the whole truth. He stands beside Pi at the table; one, because he wants to and two, as further proof that he isn’t the one here with a crush on Mueang Nan. Mork thinks that it’s going perfectly fine until Pi shoots him a look full to the brim with something too close to dejected for Mork’s liking before fleeing the scene.

     He finds Pi in a pile of garbage beside the dumpster, and his heart jumps where it hides behind his ribs. How the hell had this happened in the two minutes Pi had been away from them? But when Mork tries to express his sincere sympathy, Pi just snaps, “You convinced Mueang Nan to take pictures with me because you want people to look down on me!” and Mork’s at a loss. That can’t be possible. Who in the world could look down on someone as unapologetically obstinate as Pi?

     “People look down on you? Who?” Mork asks, sure that if he had names he’d clear up this misunderstanding. If ‘clearing up’ entails his beating them into the concrete and/or possibly suing for slander, that’s his prerogative.

     But Pi just shoves him off and leaves in a cloud of anger, on his face the very hurt that Mork had planned to avoid. Instagram proves Pi’s point to a devastating degree. Pi is seen as pathetic, like he said. Pi. Loud, courageous Pi… who acts out to avoid being confronted as the timid loser everyone sees him as.

     Later that night, his washed handkerchief hanging between his fingers, it occurs to Mork that he might not be as good at reading people as he thought.

     “I’m sorry, Pi.”

[kylorengarbagedump]

Impulsive and Idiotic (NSFW)

Read on AO3.

Summary: In your memory, there was a massive, crater-sized hole in Hux's chest, smoke billowing out of it in pillars. But you knew that couldn’t be true--after all, in this same memory, you, a complete stranger to him, rushed and crumbled at his side, and pressed your hand to the wound, seeking out life in his eyes.

Words: 3800

Warnings: Face-fucking

Characters: Armitage Hux x Reader

A/N: I had promised my very good friend @tonictransistor a fix-it fic if Hux ended up possibly biting the bullet in Episode IX. So, Tora, here you go. This is the scene that ended up on the cutting room floor, along with all of the other good parts of the movie, probably (hyuck hyuck hyuck).

I love you so much. I hope this eases your pain, a bit. And I hope any other Hux lovers enjoyed it, as well. <3

“I found the mole.”

You weren’t sure if you heard the blaster go off before or after those words. Adrenaline had fueled you so completely you couldn’t even reconstruct the minutes prior to the shot--who was there, what they had been saying to you. All you can recall is watching, stone-still, as General Hux was blown back, collapsing in a limp, sparking heap only feet away from you. In your memory, there was a massive, crater-sized hole in his chest, smoke billowing out of it in pillars. But you knew that couldn’t be true--after all, in this same memory, you, a complete stranger to him, rushed and crumbled at his side, and pressed your hand to the wound, seeking out life in his eyes.

“Sir!” You cupped his cheek, forcing his line of sight in your direction. “Sir, are you okay?” 

The General groaned, hissing through clenched teeth and struggling to focus on who had come to his aid. “What are you doing?” His voice was decibels above a whisper. “Get me out of here, already!”

Heat searing your face, you nodded. “Yes, sir, General.” 

The control room had already resumed operations, the rest of the officers seemingly content to continue with duties while a body of a General lay on the ground. Allegiant General Pryde had discarded thoughts of Hux seconds after shooting him--you could no longer even find him in the room. Glancing around, you seemed to be the only person on the Steadfast remotely concerned. You held your breath, forcing your hands under Hux’s shoulders, hoping to guide him to his feet, but he growled.

“No,” he said. “Not like that. Drag me. Let them think I’m dead.”

You balked. “Uh, General--”

“Drag me.”

“Yes--uh, yes, sir.”

At that, Hux went limp. You grasped his wrists, bending at the knees to make your job a little simpler, and pulled. He winced--the blaster shot hadn’t killed him, but it didn’t look comfortable, either. To your surprise, he was lighter than you anticipated, but still functioned as Lighter-Than-Anticipated dead weight. After a few seconds of pulling, your grip slipped, and you squealed, tumbling onto your ass. 

“General, please…”

Hux’s face twinged. Panicking, you scrambled to your feet, snatching his wrists again--this time, his hands grabbed your wrists, too. You weren’t sure how much blood needed to flood your face for it to change color, but at this point, you had about half of your supply there. 

Steeling yourself, you pulled again, throwing most of the work to your legs, and Hux glided across the glossy floor--within seconds, you’d both crossed through the blast doors, into the emptier hallway, where you continued to drag him.

“We’ll be at the medbay in a few moments, General,” you whispered. “It’s only--”

“Don’t be stupid,” he said. “We’re not going to the medbay.”

You swallowed. “We’re not?”

“No.” His voice was tight. “Get to an emergency pod.”

“Oh,” you said. “We’re escaping now, sir?”

“Pryde... doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Hux replied. “I’m not going to--argh--stick around and watch him fail at my own expense.” 

“Right.” You didn’t want to make him talk any longer than necessary. But there was one last thing. “So, uh, where are the emergency, like, escape ships, again?”

Hux’s neck twisted when he tried to meet your gaze from the ground. “You don’t know where the escape vessels are?”

Forcing a smile, you shook your head. “No?”

He looked toward the ceiling with a sigh. “Of course, my only ally is an imbecile.”

You blinked. Was he serious? “Oh, I’m sorry, General,” you said. “Next time, maybe you can just drag yourself out of being shot point-blank.”

“I’m perfectly capable of it.”

“You’re perfectly capable of dragging yourself?” you replied, continuing to drag him in a random direction. “You sure seemed like it.”

“Let me go.” Hux jerked away, but you clutched hard to his arms. “Let me go!”

Gritting your teeth, you released him. “Fine!” This wasn’t going as you anticipated. You knew Hux to be prickly, but this was beyond stubborn. 

Hux huffed, rolling over and seething as he balanced himself on his hands and knees. The bandage on his leg continued to darken with his blood, and his torso seemed as if it had been seared, blackened. He must have been in incredible pain. Yet you wouldn’t know it--he steadied himself in silence, wobbling while he brought himself to two feet. 

You watched, mouth agape, unable to avoid staring at his red hair falling, tousled, across his forehead, the flushing of his cheeks that so resembled what you’d imagined many times prior to this moment. His lips, full and soft, were parted in a mixture of effort and frustration, his eyes wild with determination. Those eyes met your own, immobilizing you, and he smirked.

“I didn’t request your help, offi--” Hux stumbled before he finished his sentence, cursing himself as his knees hit the floor.

You sighed. “Come on, General,” you said. “I’ll get you there.”

“I’m fine.”

“Oh, yeah, obviously,” you sneered. And then, softer: “Please, sir.”

Hux leered at you, grappling with the smooth steel walls, bringing himself to stand again, and you were at his side, his arm draped over your shoulder. This closeness churned your stomach with some form of insect. Butterflies seemed inappropriate. You balanced him, curling an arm around his waist. He stepped, and you followed. To his credit, he was mostly correct--for the extent of his injuries, he was depending very little on your support. 

“Escape vessels are located on every floor, near the turbolifts,” he said. “We’ll use my code to access them.”

You nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Do you know how to fly a ship?”

A pause. “Uh…”

“Do you know anything about your job, officer?”

“Of course I do,” you replied, frowning. “But I only started on the Steadfast a few…” You paused. As anxiously as you wanted his approval, for as long as you’d been pining for it, you weren’t willing to get it by justifying yourself. “Is part of your job description getting shot, General? If so, you’re really exceeding expectations today.”

Hux tensed against you, but said nothing. “The vessels are mostly auto-pilot.”

“Yes, sir,” you said. “Just tell me where to set it for when we get there.”

The both of you hobbled together, Hux’s labored breathing filling the halls. You glanced at his torso. His black uniform hid the severity of his wound--but the gleaming of the fabric under the ship’s lights told you all you needed to know. It was wet. A terrified breath shivered in your chest. For the few weeks you’d been on the Steadfast, you’d grown… attached to the General. A crush seemed too childish to describe it, but the reality of your distant admiration seemed to leave it as the only appropriate term. It wasn’t just his beauty--though, of course, that had been a factor. It was his cunning, his wit. His sense of humor was dry and sharp, his expertise undermined by Pryde and Ren. 

You couldn’t believe you were so close to him, now, that you were the one escorting him to escape. Of course, you trusted his judgement--but the level of damage he’d sustained concerned you. It would be awful to have to watch him die.

The next corner you turned, you were greeted by a massive, locked door with an emergency warning plastered over it. How had you missed these? Hux grunted, flinging himself off of you and against the wall, gasping for air as he typed away at the security pad. You winced, reaching for him, but he swatted you away. He finished, and the lights in the hall flickered red, turbolifts on either side of you stalling as their alarms cut through the air.

“Uh, General?” 

Hux growled. “They killed my access.”

“What?”

“Don’t make me repeat everything I say.”

“What are we going to do, though, sir?” You peeked around the corners--two lines of troopers were marching toward the origin of the alarm. “Sir?”

“What?” he snarled, shooting you a glare. 

“Troopers are coming.”

Hux turned back toward the pad, typing in something else. “You must enjoy pointing out the obvious.”

“Oh, is that obvious?” you replied. “Incredible eyesight you have, General.”

“Of course it’s obvious, you fool.” He finished another code--nothing happened. “Troopers are trained to respond to any unsanctioned use of an emergency pod.”

“I have a feeling you weren’t expecting this to be unsanctioned.”

A muscle in his jaw tensed. “Every one of my codes is decommissioned.” Gaze narrowing, he slammed his fist against the wall. “I’ll just use Ren’s.”

Your eyes widened. “The Supreme Leader’s?” you asked. “You know his codes?”

“Of course I do,” Hux replied coolly, typing them in. “What kind of mole would I be if I didn’t?”

Concern nagged the back of your head. “Aren’t you worried about when he finds out you used his codes to escape?”

He snorted. “He’s as likely as the rest of us to end up dead before the end of this cycle.” With that, he hit enter, and the alarms stopped. 

The door whined when it opened, revealing the interior to a tiny, cube-shaped pod with multiple seating options. You glimpsed around the corner again--the troopers were closing in--seeing your face, they started running. One of them shouted out to you, ordering you to stop. Grimacing, you grabbed Hux’s shoulder, ignoring his protests, and pulled him into the ship. You both toppled on one of the rows of seating, and you clambered to the control panel, regarding it with complete resignation.

“Hit the button.” Hux crawled toward you, hampered by the wound in his chest.

“What button, sir?” There were a dozen buttons in front of you.

“Stop!” 

You turned around--the troopers had you in their sights, their blasters raised. 

“The button!” he said, pointing to a huge red button in the center of the console.

“Don’t move!” a trooper shouted.

You looked at Hux and dove, slamming your palm on the button--the doors flew shut, and you were thrown as the ship jettisoned forward, peeling away from the Steadfast using the two massive thrusters at its sides. The Star Destroyer became miniscule within a blink, and then the thrusters fell off, leaving smaller ion drives in control. The pod’s systems beeped, lights on the console awakening, and a prompt on the dash requested to know a destination.

“Where are we going, sir?” You glanced at Hux, who had deflated into his seat, face pale. Heart skipping, you leapt to his side, nudging him gently. His eyes, tired, met your own. “General?”

“I’m fine, officer.” His jaw was firm. “Just set a course for Arkanis.”

“Where’s that?”

He groaned. “Must you constantly remind me of how ignorant you are?”

You were growing weary of his snark. “I don’t have to put in anything on that prompt, you know.” 

“Discipline must be lacking in your unit,” he replied with a frown.

“If it is, it can only be the fault of those above me.”

Flouncing, you moved to the console and answered the prompt. The ship accepted it, and the engines whirred in response, controls moving independently. A long, quiet breath leaked from your nose, tension leaving with it. There was a desire to sit, but you resisted it, still too nervous to make yourself vulnerable. Why did you keep bickering with him? Fear nagged that you were driving him away; the silence in the ship worming its way into your mind. You were alone with General Hux, now--and you could swore you felt his stare sticking to you.

“Tell me your name.” 

Blushing, you spun, meeting his gaze. “Uh…” His curiosity seemed sincere. So you gave it to him.

He repeated it--somehow, it sounded superior on his tongue. “You’ve been serving the First Order for how long?”

“A few years, now, General.”

“Hm.” He paused, attention dipping to the floor and then back to you. “You may call me Armitage.”

You nodded. “Yes, sir, uh, Armitage.” Pinching your lips between your teeth, you shrugged, sitting an arm’s length from him on the bench, trying to ignore his wound. “Do you want me to look for medical supplies, or…” 

He rolled his eyes. “No.” A sharp breath left him, and he winced. “This requires more than a few pitiful salves.”

“You want to be in pain?” 

Armitage’s expression was as hard as iron, and even colder. “There are worse trials than physical pain.”

The intensity of his gaze sent goosebumps racing over your skin. You swallowed, sitting back. “Well,” you said. “I’m glad that I, uh, could help you.”

“Your reaction was impulsive and idiotic.” He held your stare for a moment, then dropped it. “But I suppose that without you, I’d be in danger of being blown up along with everyone else on that ship.”

You tried to suppress your smile. “You really think everyone’s about to get blown up?”

He sneered. “I don’t think,” he replied, “I know. Ren is a reckless fool. Pryde is too arrogant to see past his own brown nose.” Armitage settled into his seat. “Even if there was, by any measurable degree, a victory, neither of them are prepared to wield any level of power. Ren would self-destruct, and Pryde would split his own skull trying to stop it.”

A surge of attraction pulsed through you. You’d spent hours fantasizing about exactly this--sitting near Hux, hearing him speak, being entrusted with his thoughts. Yes, you’d had some verbal spats--but some part of you suspected that he liked it. A blessing. You liked it, too.

Face burning, you scooted nearer, and he hesitated, regarding you with suspicion. His eyes flickered over your frame, and after a moment, he softened. You inched toward him again, now close enough to touch his face.

“You know,” you said, looking between him and your hands, “I always thought it was ridiculous they installed Pryde as Allegiant General when they have you.”

Armitage’s lip twitched, almost imperceptibly. “It was because Ren didn’t trust me.” His gaze shifted to the wall. “But, like almost everything else he’s done since he became Supreme Leader, it’s hollow. Pryde is no less power-hungry than Ren is himself.”

You cocked your head. “How did he become Supreme Leader, anyway?”

“A coup,” he replied. He made it seem so simple--but you still couldn’t understand. Noticing your confusion, he continued. “Ren killed Leader Snoke while I was out cold. I had no say in the matter.”

“He… killed him?”

“Yes, though he fancies himself a good liar.” Armitage smirked. “Leader Snoke was just as flawed.” He finished his thought with a slight shrug. “None of those cretins have any clue how to run an effective government. The First Order would’ve tumbled into flames with any of them at the helm regardless.”

Discussing his criticisms of the Order was bringing life into his face--and you relished it. “You should’ve been Supreme Leader.”

At this, he froze. He locked you in his stare, jaw stern, brow drawn. You were paralyzed, chest tightening, mind fluttering with panic. What had you said that was so wrong? Averting his eyes, you made to distance yourself, but his hand shot out, seizing your wrist. 

He swallowed. “Say it again.”

Mouth dry, you blinked. “You… should’ve been Supreme Leader?”

A shiver rippled over his body. His lips trembled. “Say it. Again.”

“You should’ve… been Supreme Leader.”

Armitage tugged you closer, scrutinizing you, ferreting out evidence of deception. “You truly believe that.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Supreme Leader should’ve been mine.”

“Yes, yes, sir.”

He brought his mouth inches from yours, examining every detail of your expression. His breath tickled warmth over your skin, his grip on your wrist crushing. “Perhaps you’re not as ignorant as I presumed,” he murmured.

“It’s about time I heard you say that,” you replied.

“Would’ve been easier to determine if you hadn’t spent all your time floundering around.”

“Says the man with multiple blaster wounds in his body.”

Armitage drew even closer. A slight shift, and your lips would meet. Your throat was thick, heart thrumming loud in your ears. If you remembered to breathe, it would have been a miracle; your full attention had focused on the angles of his face, the turbulent green of his eyes, the coppery lock of hair still crested over his forehead. Palms sweating, you went to speak--and were silenced, hungrily, by his mouth. 

A whimper escaped you, and you melted into his grip, returning the kiss with a desperation that almost embarrassed you. His teeth scraped your lower lip, his tongue fighting its way into your mouth as you moaned. Armitage was furious, voracious, consuming you like a sunburst--hot and sudden and fast. His hand moved from your wrist to your face, weaving through your hair only to tug it like reins. You squeaked in pain--and he did it again, now eliciting a wail. This would’ve, in theory, broken the kiss, but his ferocity consumed you, swallowing your cries like a storm. He nipped your lower lip again and released you with a gasp.

“Tell me you need me.”

Nodding, you replied, “I need you, Gene--”

“No,” he said. “Call me Supreme Leader.”

Heat crashed over you. “I need you,” you whispered, “Supreme Leader.”

Growling, he kissed you again, attempting to push you back--but he flinched and retreated, grasping at the wound on his chest. It was only then that you were able to see how ruddy his cheeks had become, how flush with desire he appeared--and you saw, too, the tent between his legs, the evidence of his need for you.

Armitage grunted, drawing in a long breath through his nose as he waited for the quakes of pain to subside. He looked between his hidden erection and you, pausing, before tearing at his pants, pulling free his thick, throbbing cock. It was bigger than you expected--and far prettier than you had imagined. It curved like a scimitar toward his abdomen, the head pink with blood and shiny with cum. You swallowed again, mouth watering while you pictured running your tongue along the shaft. 

Shoulders swelling with anticipation, he fisted his member, soft pants escaping his chest while he jerked himself. His eyes, glittering flames of emerald, watched you burn for it. “I can tell from looking at you that you want to suck me off,” he said. “Don’t you?”

You squeezed your thighs together, putting pressure on your aching clit. And yet, you couldn’t resist. “I don’t know,” you replied. “Are you sure you trust me with such a complicated task?”

“Don’t be a tease,” he growled.

Holding your breath, you dipped low, careful to avoid any of his wounds as you hovered over his length. “I’m not sure,” you said, and brushed your lips across the tip. “Is this how you do it, Supreme Leader?”

“Stupid girl--” Armitage hissed, clawing at your scalp. He held you still, trying to fuck up into your mouth, but his very first thrust had him keen in pain.

Snickering, you were somehow elated. “I’m just too stupid to figure out how to suck your dick, sir.” You dragged your tongue up the underside of his member, grazing your lips on the head, cleaning the drop of pre-cum that had beaded there. “Am I doing it right?”

“Brat.” He curled his fingers in your hair, driving your head down. “Be good and suck your Supreme Leader’s cock.”

With a smirk, you relented, dropping your jaw and sliding his cock into your mouth until the head hit the back of your throat. Humming against him, you wrapped your lips around the shaft and groaned, his flesh hot silk on your tongue. You felt his heartbeat thump at the base of his length, like a drum tracking his desire to cum. He controlled your movements, bobbing your head up and down, pushing you deep onto his dick and pulling you up for air. 

You focused on your breath--you wanted him to whimper, wanted for him to shudder with pleasure, wanted for him to know how long you’d dreamed of this. Twisting your neck, you fought to seek his eyes, but the angle and his grip on your hair made it impossible. Instead, you moaned--loud and lewd, slobbering globs of spit with each squelching thrust, gagging for effect, matching and exceeding the speed of his hands. Armitage tried, in vain, to slow you, but you were driven by lust, fingers wiggling between your legs to tease your clit, groaning again when your nerves lit up like lightning.

“F-fuck--” he sputtered, “slow down.” When you failed to obey, he ripped you off of his dick, and you heaved in a breath, forced to meet his gaze. “Slow. Down.”

“What is it, Supreme Leader?” You grinned, drawing your tongue over your lip. “You can’t handle me?”

Baring his teeth, Armitage said nothing, instead choosing to shove you onto your knees. His hands squeezed you steady, and he sucked in a breath before standing, a quick sob of pain escaping his chest before he rammed his cock deep into your mouth. He grunted, fucking your face, lip curling in a twist of fury and greed, watching your eyes fill with tears as drool dribbled down your chin. You retched, sniveling while you endured his onslaught, fighting to relax your throat so that you didn’t actually vomit.

“That’s right...” His voice was ragged, tattered with pleasure and pain. “Fuck… fuck--”

You slicked your fingers over your clit again, and hummed in delight, fluttering your lashes-- and somehow, this was enough. Armitage gasped, driving into you, dick twitching and pulsing on your tongue as he spilled hot cum down your throat, his legs quaking with the effort. You swallowed, waiting for him to release you--and he finally crumpled, falling into his seat, lungs gulping down air. Sweat beaded his brow, his hair mussed now beyond repair, but on his face, there was a wash of relief. Of freedom.

Wiping your mouth, you snuck a seat next to him, watching as his mind returned to the reality you both occupied. Sighing, a smirk crept onto your face. “I’d say you’re having a decent day for someone who’s been shot twice.”

Armitage glanced askance at you, but you kept your grin, too pleased with your own joke. After a moment, his facade cracked, and the hint of a smile flashed over his face. He caught himself and cleared his throat, pushing fingers through his hair.

“Well,” he said, “you’re likely not an imbecile.”

“Really!” you replied, laughing. “I’ve redeemed myself.”

His face relaxed, and he nodded. 

“You have,” he said. “You have.”

[blaster-aichi]

Cardfight!! Vanguard Extra Story IF 15 things

belated edition because brain went on a marathon

The opening scene with Aichi appears to insinuate one of two things: either the Sanctuary Knights need Kai-kun to help stabilize his condition or, as part of a theory below, maintaining the IF World is putting a strain on Aichi that’s becoming more than he can handle with time. The latter would solve why the team suddenly intended to have him visit Sanctuary considering the lengths Aichi’s gone to to keep them apart, but just how he could fulfil the role, haven’t been able to think up anything.

Ibuki switching to Aichi’s first name being a permanent thing now. Yes. (It’s a nice idea if they’re going to play on the both switching places from high school arc)

Had theorized Kai-kun was in an otherworldly/pocket dimension location with the colouring of the scenes in the preview but Takuto summoning him begs the question of how much he has as Prisoner; why not summon Emi and the others into the castle? Or Rekka and Ren, as a means of reintroducing them to the story now that their objective overlaps with that of Suiko’s group? Also Takuto being soft mint Takuto, you little shit, don’t just dangle a life like that over a kid’s head when you know it’s more “real” than the dream he’s living in.

Someone actually drag Aichi home, he’s way too dangerous. He’s pointing swords at anyone and everyone. It speaks for how deep the distortion in him is seeping, with the pacifist we’ve seen him be over the years, to raise a sword at even Kai-kun, to attack Ibuki(’s cards, but somehow not his fingers) with it — and tossing Ibuki into the void — one can only imagine how badly he’s going to react to how far off the rails he went if he has a PsyAichi-esque realization.

Kai-kun confirmed to never hold a girl’s hand before.

How dare Bushi make the Kai Parents the softest, chillest parents when we’ve been privy to what their real selves are like. (Papa Kai mixing up Shuka and Emi slays. Sir, do you mix up your employees too?)

SHIZUKA  — seeing her anything other than bubbly is painful, particularly when it’s used to contrast the happiness of the Kai family; it serves to hammer home how only one of Kai and AichiEmi is allowed to have a family remain in tact and their happiness preserved, driving home how the other serves to be a sacrifice.

“I’m not the kind of guy who still plays Vanguard in high school!” a) did he just roast his real self (and 90% of the cast)? b) side-eyes the preview, ahaha.wav

IF then: presents itself as the most light-hearted season to date IF now: threatens murder at every turn and has the two boys who’ve been protagonists in the past both run away from home in a single season

The episode all but said in as many words that the price of Aichi’s creating/altering IF World to ensure Kai-kun’s happiness was his own presence so as not to trigger any awakening to Kai-kun’s Outside World memories, sacrificing his own happiness to be around his friends in order to allow his best friend a content, fulfilling life. But in recognizing that, and willingly giving up the illusion for the sake of someone else demonstrates just how good a kid Kai-kun is, no matter the world, no matter how cold and distant he’d portray himself in the card-centric seasons.       — Season 1 (of 2011, so different continuity but go with it) initially painted Kai-kun as a more selfish individual in order to mask the complexities of his predicament, his goal appeared to be about power in order to topple a rival, but it was demonstrable that his motivations weren’t so cut and dry: it was about getting Ren back from a state that warped him, the fear that the same was happening to Aichi before his eyes and he was scared due to his inability to prevent it. And Link Joker followed the same line of thinking: his giving into Reverse was never about power, but his fear of falling behind and not being able to keep up — bearing in mind, he had done so thus far without the involvement of any power like Ren and Aichi had experienced — his motivations had always been driven by helplessness, fear and any inability to face them head-on, finding it easier to handle if he ran away — which was a big part of why it bothered me that people would nail him as being completely selfish and stupid when giving into temptation and accepting Reverse’s power. IF’s iteration of him gets to demonstrate what would happen if he was able to communicate himself properly and follow through with what he believes, in similar vein to Legion Mate, but without the shackles of guilt and atonement; he’s experienced a happy life, and wishes not to deprive someone else of the same, but without the pride of his usual self, he doesn’t run himself into the ground overthinking, but takes action based on the emotions he freely allows himself to feel and express.

Eager to see the extent of Kai-kun’s power; Kourin stated he’s in an incomplete form, but he’s able to perform the same as Emi without the need for Shuka’s involvement and even Ride units the same way had hoped Emi was going to prior to the season’s airing. Which poses the question of how is he able to and why Aichi would allow it within a world that he tampered with to erase the relationship, unless it’s a facet beyond his reality warping ability.

Kamui’s appearance in the preview brought a thought to mind: although they’re in different branches of the school ordinarily, there’s been no evidence that Kai-kun attends Hitsue within IF, and that, in fact, with his family’s wealth, it’s possible he could even attend Miyaji instead. The line of thinking is wholly dependent on how Kai-kun reacts to Kamui and/or his uniform come epi 16, but it would be a nice nod to the dividing up of the Kai/Miwa/Ibuki trio to have them each in different schools in a similar manner to their initial divided stances in the season’s plot.

Also IF 16? Did someone order extra-cute?

A couple of theories to add to the pile (partially yanked from discord logs)

Aichi:

Something corrupted him and started fucking with his head to implant the insinuation that Kai-kun's life would have been better had he never pursued Vanguard as a hobby and the two of them never met. It could be that Ibuki Deleting Kai-kun and the subsequent struggle he had was the means for this line of thinking to worm its way in.      — In the same vein as VoidAichi, said corruption gave him the ability to warp reality, allowing for a completely happy and harmless life for Kai-kun, though it distorted things around him as a result, hence binding his page in the Akashic Records; that's a defence tactic Aichi took to prevent the change from being recognized by the Tatsunagis and an effort to correct what was clearly altered from their understanding For the sake of not risking himself being a trigger that would bring to the surface any memories of his real life, Aichi ran away from home and holed up in Sanctuary, removing any chance of Kai-kun being enlightened to the truth and allowing his perfectly happy life to continue without a hitch, and by having him get bored of Vanguard, there is no tie between them But the corruption is poisoning him and/or the strain of upholding such a world is taking its toll on Aichi, hence the beginning of the episode, and they already spelled out he himself isn't happy, it kills him to not see the person he wants to most, but sacrifices his happiness for Kai-kun's. Why he wanted Kai-kun brought to Sanctuary, idk, maybe as a brief respite, to serve as a reminder of why he's doing this, and keep his eroding spirit strong      — The corruption is what's turned him into a violent monster who's fine with hurting or pointing a sword at whoever gets in his way. VoidAichi was passive and sealed because he was a threat to his friends' peace, trapped in a position where he was a ticking timebomb, but IF Aichi is proactive and cut himself off because he's a threat to Kai-kun's happiness and can do something about it.

Also it's made pretty obvious that Aichi's tampered with Kourin, Naoki and Shingo's (and probably Miwa's) memories, which is why they're so fixated on his will and their dedication which feels kind of cult-ish, because of Naoki's glimpse of the real history after he lost the fight In his own, even more twisted way than Legion Mate, Aichi thinks he's doing the right thing, and the interference with that dreamworld isn't something he has the patience for due to the corruption, which is why he freaks out whenever Vanguard is brought up or someone opposes him

Ibuki:

The theory is Ibuki's been cast into an illusion where he relives his childhood, or maybe an ideal childhood is given to him in the same vein as IF Kai-kun to lessen his will to fight, whether to enforce just what he's up against and the hurt he could face again or to give him a glimpse of what he could be blessed with if he stops interfering with Aichi's world Shuka seeking out Emi gets a little more strength to it as well, as the only person in the world who would recognize that anything is wrong with the atmosphere at home the way it is after Aichi ran away, and no-one else knowing him because of his isolated childhood, so she's the only anchor to drag him back down.

Courtney also came up with the suggestion that Ibuki might instead be forced to loop through his torment at the Deletors’ hands, living through cycles of his attempt to erase Vanguard, to twist the knife but also try to remind him of why Vanguard is a terrible thing.

Kai family:

“I’ll see you again someday”.

The use of this line as Kai-kun’s parting words to his parents is striking: as given Shuka’s warning, the likelihood of him actually achieving this is minimal, unless for a few scenarios:     — he returns home to be with them as IF World is erased and the timeline corrected, allowing them one last time together     — post-IF, the real Kai-kun seeks out his parents. In doing so, he’s able to demonstrate to them what he was able to grow up into despite their abandonment, even if for that purpose and then to part ways with them. For the real Kai-kun, such a meeting would serve as closure and for the IF version within him, it would be one last show of love and gratitude for the life they gave him. (the latter part could apply to the real Kai-kun, appreciating the childhood he was given until they left.)     — Also the irony that they absconded for selfish purposes, shirking all responsibiliy of their child, left to fend for himself against the ire of his relatives, but when he runs away from home, it's to protect them. What a good boy.

[dolcetters]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; mun & muse - meme.

TAGGED BY: @hyaciiintho​ ( ;-; AAA THANK!!! )

TAGGING (don’t feel obligated to do it!): @forsakenflora , @avadite , @yinseal , @inseparabilum , @reigningsniper , @tsume-awase​ , @canisfuria​ & YOU if you wanna!

FILL OUT & REPOST ♥ this meme definitely favors canons more, but i hope oc’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. multi-muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

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

MY MUSE IS:   CANON / OC / AU / CANON-DIVERGENT / FANDOMLESS

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES  / NO / IDK (he’s fetishized a lot; thanks, i hate it)

Is your character considered strong in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK (i’d lean more toward no)

Are they underrated?  YES / NO

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO / MAYBE (stares into the abyss)

Were they relevant for the main character?  YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO / MAYBE

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL (true neutral, my boy)

HOW STRICTLY DO YOU FOLLOW CANON? ♠ || i have an ongoing joke that “canon is a slab of meat that we slow-roast at 475 degrees and carve for the juicy bits” but at the same time it’s not a joke at all, i’m being perfectly serious. i’m definitely a lot less strict than when i started for writing canon characters way back yonder, but i also DO like to keep within an array of canon boundaries because i’m not writing for an OC in this instance, i’m writing for an established character. ...it also doesn’t help that my character’s handled differently in the 4 types of media he shows up in but. i grew up reading DC comics and writing for beast boy, so i’m kind of used to “multiple takes existing for singular character”. 

that being said, my take on dol is clearly canon divergent (since... he’s alive and my default verse takes place after the nest raid) but it pulls primarily from brotherhood/manga with a couple dashes of 2k3 series (since that’s the only media that gives us a length of time that he was in the labs). but given that i follow along with just about every scrap of information provided in the manga on this clown, i’d say i follow canon fairly strictly... but there ain’t a lot to go off of, so my reins are pretty loose no matter how you look at it. my city now.

SELL YOUR MUSE! AKA TRY TO LIST EVERYTHING, WHICH MAKES YOUR MUSE INTERESTING IN YOUR OPINION TO MAKE THEM SPICY FOR YOUR MUTUALS.   ♠ || (*￣3￣)╭ well, hello, there. aware of dog? yes. this is he: dolcetto mcgrouchyboots, and he is not happy to be here at all. he is traumatized, sassy, wants to throw hands with teenagers, has no sense of self worth, and will absolutely use himself as a meat shield in order to protect any and everyone he cares about. he is spliced with: dog. his favorite weapon: sword. if you listen carefully, you might hear dog-song rising on the east wind as he approaches (don’t tell him axel taped a cassette player to his back). he comes from a found family of complete and utter morons with a lot of damage, they live in a partially underground bar, work as information brokers, and are all DEFINITELY fully functioning adult people. they say gay and trans rights. if you like angry boys with a sense of humor semi-on-par with griffin mcelroy, this is the boy for YOU!!! 

NOW THE OPPOSITE, LIST EVERYTHING WHY YOUR MUSE COULD NOT BE SO INTERESTING (EVEN IF YOU MAY NOT AGREE, WHAT DOES THE FANDOM PERHAPS THINK?).   ♠ ||  he’s only featured in a handful of episodes/chapters across all media, doesn’t have a significant amount of dialogue, and we only ever see him lose to the protagonist(s) despite that he seems more than capable of fighting anyone else. easy to brush off as a “aw he died and that’s sad but we didn’t really know him, moving on”. from what i’ve seen in my years, people are more interested in him being a cog in the machine of “greed is sad” and less interested in... HIM. which is fair, i guess, but hhhhhh

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO RP YOUR MUSE?   ♠ || i don’t know if i can pin-point any ONE thing, but i’ve always been drawn to characters with some sort of connection or bond with animals (example, once again, being beast boy from teen titans). i also have an IMMENSE weakness for the found-family dynamic. so when the devil’s nest appeared during my first watch through of brotherhood, i was pretty much... hooked. immediately. and devastated. immediately. as for what drew me to writing dol, specifically... probably his loyalty, his drive, the fact that he WOULDN’T FUCKING STAY DOWN no matter how many times someone knocked him flat on his face. i vibe with that. grew up very much in the mentality of “fall down 7 times, get up 8″. also, he had a sword... which always beats guns on coolness factor. and i loved his fire. ...and that he was a complete fucking idiot who’s really bad at kidnapping i mean HOLY SHIT THAT’S HOW YOU TRIED TO GET HIM TO COME WITH YOU, DOLCETTO, ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING--

WHAT KEEPS YOUR INSPIRATION GOING? ♠ ||  dol has always been a great source of ...venting for me? <xD ever since i started writing him, i’ve always found his muse--specifically--to be extremely cathartic and comforting. i dunno if it’s because he lets the more... jaded side of me come out, even when we’re both trying to be optimistic? 

because i’ve been in 2 emotionally abusive friendships. i definitely have some left over hurt, pent up anger that hasn’t been given closure, a hell of a lot of underlying bitterness that i never got the opportunity to confront those people, BUT i still try to be. y’know. welcoming, friendly, supportive, despite a voice in the back of my head being paranoid?? i think dol continues to give me outlets to expressing that. somehow. not that i use him as an excuse to do it, more so i have more opportunities to do it when i’m writing him as opposed to writing someone like beast boy, who’s usually more on board with keeping the peace than picking a fight. i’ve also invested SO MUCH TIME and ENERGY into his background and headcanons and things that i kind of can’t quit him now, nor do i want to.

... and aside from that i just want him to have a happy ending god, fucking damnit. 

SOME MORE PERSONAL QUESTIONS FOR THE MUN.

give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO ( or i certainly hope so )

Do you frequently write headcanons? YES / NO

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES  / NO

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day?  YES / NO

Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO ( definitely have moments but eh! ) 

Are you a sensitive person?  YES  / NO ( kind of... varies. i’d say i’m more hyper aware)

DO YOU ACCEPT CRITICISM WELL ABOUT YOUR PORTRAYAL?   ♠ || i definitely like to think i do when it comes to pre-established things in canon. but when it comes to what i’ve built on my own over my years of writing for dol (and the nest members as a whole), it’s kind of my sandbox and i’d appreciate you not stomp around in it. 

unless i need to be learned a thing, like... one of the nest members, vi, is a trans-woman. i’m a cis-woman and i try to do as much research as i can and educate myself, but if i ever fuck something up please tell me, i’m doing my best but i’m more than willing to listen. i want to grow.

DO YOU LIKE QUESTIONS, WHICH HELP YOU EXPLORE YOUR CHARACTER?   ♠ || pretty sure everyone does! >xD but yeah! i FUCKING love it. especially since i’m writing for a minor character. =//o//= it shows people are interested in him despite his overall lack of content.

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES TO A HEADCANON OF YOURS, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY?   ♠ || i’d definitely be curious as to why but i doubt i’d be offended or take ... any personal harm from it--y’know? it’d be more of a “let me hear your perspective and maybe it’ll expand my own understanding, or i might not agree after the explanation and that’s cool”! 

an exception would be for an obviously shitty one that’s shitty for no reason, like... acTUALlY, he’s TOtaLLY hom///o///pho//bic, to which i’d be like “bitch, no, get away from me; no one in this bar is straight, die mad”.

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES WITH YOUR PORTRAYAL, HOW WOULD YOU TAKE IT?   ♠ || again, it’s cool! there’s not a lot of canon material so you can take his portrayal a variety of places. if we don’t jive, it’s pretty whatever. 

my one exception to this is probably people who, in the past, have told me i write him being “too mean”. which will never cease to confuse me. because even after al straight told dolcetto he was 14, dol was still like “I REALLY WANNA SMACK HIM but i’d just hurt my hand so you’re off the hook”, he’s angry like 85% of his dialogue in the manga... i’m just confused. where are you seeing the “uwu pupper~” persona. you can write it, that’s fine, i don’t care, just don’t get irritable when i don’t write him like a cute puppy. because here he is. suggesting we just kill izumi because she’s being troublesome. yeet. ...he’s an asshole.

IF SOMEONE REALLY HATES YOUR CHARACTER, HOW DO YOU TAKE IT?   ♠ || whatever, just don’t be a dick or speak badly about me or him in my presence because, flawed as he is and while i won’t make excuses for him, i’ll stand up for him. go somewhere else, my dude. i, personally, don’t have the energy for your negativity. nor do i have the patience.

ARE YOU OKAY WITH PEOPLE POINTING OUT YOUR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS?   ♠ ||  i’m more okay with people correcting my spelling (gently). because of the way i taught myself to read, i’d be FUCKED if auto-correct or spell-check didn’t exist. i also google correct spellings constantly. so spelling, yeah, i already know that i’m terrible at it so feel free to correct type-os or spelling mishaps, it ain’t no thang. 

grammar i’m a bit... pickier about. because sometimes i’ll purposely do a “grammatical error” because the punctuation or otherwise further drives the pacing or mood i’m trying to give my writing. i may not know ALL the rules but i break them from time to time... FOR THE ART.

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE EASY GOING AS A MUN?   ♠ || i wanna say i am?? while i definitely do want to seriously explore and flesh out and grow dol as a muse and character, i’m “not above” goofing around, poking fun at him, or just being plain silly on the dash. RPing is escapism for me and i strive to keep my blog a peaceful safe haven on the dashboard, both for myself and my followers. 

i try to communicate to the best of my ability and despite my anxieties, and while i may not be able to follow or RP with EVERYONE (for obvious reasons) i’m open to interacting with ... pretty much anyone who throws me a bone. i’ll speak up if i’m not down for a plot or interested in a certain relationship or interaction, but i’m certainly not going to be rude or dismissive about it. i know what that feels like. i’d say yeah, though! i think i’m pretty chill. e-e you tell me.

[eau-duresistance]

An In-Depth Look at Bakugou Katsuki, by an english major

In the Boku no Hero Academia (or BNHA) fandom, Bakugou Katsuki is the subject of much discourse, which is to be expected considering his personality. It has been generally  established that Bakugou does not have a traditional tragic backstory, so he does not have the usual excuse attractive male antagonist may have. So why does everyone seem to like him? I believe it is because he does  have a tragic backstory – but not in the traditional sense, the way he is written makes him an interesting and compelling character, and the author wants you to like him. In this essay, I will explain the phenomenon of liking Bakugou Katsuki, and why you shouldn’t feel bad for doing so.

One of the very first things that need to be established is that Bakugou Katsuki is – at heart – a good person. His express wishes and determinism towards becoming a hero are a large part of his personality, even before he went to U.A High. This is seen in episode 1, when Bakugou and his two friends are kicking around an alley, and one suggest going to a bar (or to smoke, translations differ), to which Bakugou says “If I got caught doing that, I’ll never be accepted into U.A!” (S1E1).  The fact that he is good at the core is also seen when he is kidnapped by the villains and refuses to even properly listen to them, refusing to lie even if it might mean saving himself. This only adds to the “likableness” of his character, but I’ll return to that later.

Early on in the series, we are given Bakugou’s backstory; why he is the way he is, why he treats Midoriya so badly, and why he seems to be obsessed with being the best. In this panel, taken from chapter 9, Midoriya explains that Bakugou was not a good or bad person before he got his quirk, as seen here: 

He was simply an overconfident kid, a normal kid. It wasn’t until he developed his quirk that he started to establish his personality, and here is a mangacap that I feel is crucial to his development:

This is a very important moment in Bakugou’s life. Now, according to childhood psychologist, Dr. Piaget, children are constantly building schemas. A schema, essentially, is an explanation for something. Example: a child has a pet dog, knows fluffy animal with four legs is a dog. Later sees a cow, assumes it is a dog, and is corrected by parent, thus building upon their schema. In this moment, Bakugou is building a schema for how he thinks the world works, based on his knowledge and environment, and also on quirks. It is very heavily implied here that Bakugou has created the idea that “quirks = worth”, which is not unlikely for a 4 year old kid. Basically, in his mind, having a strong and useful quirk makes you a strong and useful person. As he has a ridiculously good quirk even at a young age. And this schema keeps getting proven by the society around them (praise and near worship of heroes), and the adults around him. I thoroughly believe that the teachers failed terribly at their jobs. They should have recognized this development early on and did something to stop it, Bakugou even commenting on this in chapter 165 when he calls out the kids’ leader and related him to himself. And so, Bakugou’s schema was never interrupted so he never learned anything different other than quirk = worth, which lead to his treatment of quirkless Midoriya. He saw Midoriya as a lesser being, and everyone else did too, event he teachers by praising kids with quirks and pitying Midoriya. So in this scene:

the other “useful” children didn’t help him, because they immediately assumed that Bakugou was fine. Meanwhile, Midoriya fears the worst and immediately rushes in to help him. This solidifies Midoriya’s empathetic personality suited for a hero, but also suddenly interrupts Bakugou’s schema. The “useless” member of their group is the one literally looking down at Bakugou, offering help that is ultimately unneeded. What Bakugou sees here is someone who is supposed to be lesser than him, putting themselves in a position of power. In his toddler brain, this messes up Bakugou’s otherwise flawless idea of the world, making Midoriya the only uncertainty. This leads to his hatred of Midoriya, peaking when he is kidnapped by the slime monster in episode 1, where not even the heroes would help him, and Midoriya repeats the same instance of looking down on Bakugou from a position of power. Thus, it is explained very early on why Bakugou hates Midoriya, and why he acts the way he does. It also explains why he mellows out relatively quickly when he arrives at UA. By the Sports Festival arc, he interacts with his classmates and doesn’t openly insult them. He calls them names, yes, but doesn’t insult his entire class the way he did when he was in junior high.

This is the way he was written, and it makes him an interesting and compelling character. The way that he has changed is incredible and also very well-written. He is also given a very good foil in Kirishima and all shipping aside, they make a very good literary pair. Kirishima has a relatively useless quirk but was able to overcome his self confidence issues and turn it into something amazing. Meanwhile Bakugou has an amazing quirk but many self confidence issues surrounding his social standings, and by overcoming this he becomes a better hero. As stated in the series, Kirishima is also the only person that Bakugou has an equal relationship with, as he instated himself as nothing more and nothing less when meeting Bakugou and continuing that relationship as they interacted, becoming the pair that they are known as today.

One last thing to consider regarding Bakugou’s character is the author’s intents. Horikoshi wants us to like Bakugou. That’s why his backstory is revealed so early on, why he as a close relationship with Kirishima, gives him fun and entertaining dialogue, foibles that are relatable, and a very badass quirk. These are all things that are attractive in a character, and we haven’t looked at design yet. For Bakugou, it’s obvious we’re supposed to like him:

Everything about this design is likeable and attractive to viewers (not in a romantic or sexual way, but in a way that makes you root for this character). His colour scheme is simple and eye-pleasing, his costume is extra but not unnecessarily so, it’s fairly badass, and can also be relatively easily recreated in cosplay (minus the gauntlets), which is something very important when designing a character for something you intend to be popular. Also, Katsuki is physically attractive and narratively speaking, physically attractive people are people the audience is supposed to like, and the opposite is true as well.

We are not meant to like his character. He’s goofy-looking, his costume is a bright and contrasting colour scheme as well as being klunky and awkward. And to top it all off: he’s wearing a diaper as part of his hero costume. The narrative doesn’t like Mineta either, having him do ridiculous things and ultimately embarrassing himself, as well as the whole class (including Aizawa) having a low opinion of him. He even has a lisp in the anime, which makes him annoying to listen to. So in contrast, it makes sense why Mineta is so rarely mentioned in popularity polls while Bakugou continuously comes in the top 3 in both English and Japanese.

Therefore, Bakugou is a perfectly likeable character that is written exceptionally well, aided by his development and design. Horikoshi does an amazing job writing the complex psyche that is Bakugou and it is proven considering how Bakugou is one of the most cosplayed and drawn characters, and his relationship with Kirishima is one of (if not the singular) most popular ships within the fandom. We are perfectly correct in liking Bakugou because that is what the author wants. However, if one does not like Bakugou for whatever reason, that’s alright too. Literature is open to many interpretations. But it cannot be ignored that Bakugou is incredibly important to the narrative, acting as a foible for the main character and also being the only student to know about Midoriya’s relationship with All Might. I believe he will play a huge role that may not be expected, as he is one of the main characters and also the most popular.

[amm-loover]

SUPER LONG KO/TKO CHARACTER ANALYSIS POST THAT NOBODY ASKED FOR (part 1)

Hey guys so can we talk about KO/TKO for a bit?

So remember when TKO first showed up in the appropriately titled episode TKO.

So  in this episode, TKO is revealed to have always been a part of KO. He was just little blob of negative energy and even then he was in a cage.

Weather KO realizes it or not, he has been forcing his negative emotions deep down inside him for what we can assume is his whole life. 

The fact the when KO was finally pushed to his breaking point by Shadowy Figure to the point where it manifested his negativity into an entirely separate being able to take control of the body speaks volumes to me.

But if we take a closer look at things, That means KO has been angry all this time and hasn’t had a healthy outlet for his frustration, all this time. Meaning, TKO hasn’t had a healthy outlet all this time, not to mention he was trapped in a cage like an animal on top of it all.

When TKO challenges Rad and Enid to a power battle, he states “I told you, it’s T.K.O.. And I’m a whole different animal now.“

Honestly, i think that line says more than what it sounds like. TKO has been trapped in that cage, like an animal, for so long, that he considers himself to be an animal, even when he is free, he still identifies as an animal, just an animal that is no longer caged. 

Now before we talk about all the violent things TKO has done, let’s talk about the non violent things he has done. 

In his debut episode, TKO finally came to be and is told to go show his friends his new power. 

When he gets to the scene Enid and Rad are obviously in deep trouble. 

TKO swoops in and saves the day, absolutely obliterating the huge Darrell. 

Even if it was for the selfish purpose of showing off, I don’t think that’s all it was. 

One of the things that caused TKO to even come out of KO’s mind was Rad, Enid, and Mr.Gar’s words. 

“Power isn’t everything, at least you’re cute”

“Good hustle kid” 

“You’ll catch up to us someday...or not”

Now with as angry as TKO gets later in the episode from simply being called cute by Enid again, why wasn’t he angry enough to attack them right there?

No seriouly. TKO was very mad and was told to go show his friends how powerful he’s always been. Not show them your power by saving them from Darrell. 

Honestly if TKO is really so hostile and careless as he is shown to be later within the same episode, why didn’t he just attack Rad and Enid right there?

After he defeats Darrell and ushers his new name, TKO goes home. With his mom. Yet another person who triggered him to even manifest in the first place. 

In KO/TKO’s words “Mom said hard work will make me strong, but it hasn’t!” 

Meaning he is also mad at her for “wasting his time” Just as he is mad at Shadowy Figure for sort of doing the same thing, saying “You said getting mad at my friends would work, but it hasn’t!” 

Like, KO/TKO was willing to believe in his mother’s advice, after all he went along with it for a while, but he became so impatient with his mother’s way of training that he was willing to get mad at his friends, which he clearly didn’t want to do in the freaking first place.

Now back to Carol, If TKO was ready to beat up his own mother at the plaza in the episode’s nearing climax, what the frick was keeping him so chill? 

Like FOR A FULL DAY!? 

TKO, an actual manifestation of negativity and anger decided against fighting his friends and mother so he could go home with his mom, presumably eat dinner with her, record a video on KO’s video channel (as shown in the episode KO’s Video Channel) go to sleep, and wake up the next morning and then the meanest thing he does then is take her eyeliner without asking. (and then he yelled at her when she was in the background of his video so i guess that’s pretty mean too)

And when Carol asks about it, TKO just calmly says “I don’t feel like talking right now” and casually turns up his metal music. And the Carol turns it down. Now you’d think TKO would get mad at that little action. Like “Ugh! MOM! I want to listen to my music louder!” But no, he just lets her turn it down and continues to look out the window while she drives him to work. 

AND THAT’S ANOTHER THING!!! WHY THE HECK IS TKO EVEN BOTHERING TO GO TO WORK AT ALL?!

Like based on the personality we have been shown so far, why wouldn’t TKO wanna stay at home and be his edgy self, maybe re-record his video diary in privacy or do his nails and make-up and dress in black and listen to his music loud and break a few things. Why is he going to work? 

And why is he like, for real doing the work? Albeit, haphazardly but doing it nonetheless. 

And honestly, it super clear that TKO not only doesn’t want to be bothered but also doesn't really wanna bother others anyway. He ultimately just wants some space. Like any edgy child/teen.

I mean, he’s not even really mean to Enid and Rad. Maybe a little rude, but not really mean. He manages to hold a conversation with Enid, correcting her on his name, answering her question, and yeah he insults her by calling her a “wage slave” but he probably felt insulted since she called his answer to a question she asked “dramatic”. TKO was probably thinking: “You insult my world view, fine, I insult who you are.”

And yeah he ignores Rad, who is obviously trying to impress him, but TKO wasn’t impressed. If you think about it, TKO could have made fun of him or something but he didn’t he chose to ignore.

And like I said, TKO clearly had no intentions of doing anything particularly bad that day. It looks like he just wants to get through the day. That’s probably why he came to work, he just wants an excuse to fight another robot. Might as well occupy himself while he waits i guess.

I mean look at him. He is 100% chill and clearly wants to be left alone.

And then Rad and Enid come in and ruin his whole little mojo.

Now I know Enid and Rad are just trying to be good friends, they think KO is in some sort of Funk™ and they wanna cheer him up. And they do a sort of good job at trying, but during this, TKO is clearly struggling to get out of Rad’s arms. (honestly in my opinion, they should've took that as a hint and really leave him alone)

But that’s yet another thing! TKO, you know how strong you are. You DESTROYED the giant bomb Darrell bot in a single slash! And he was made of metal! Surely you know you are perfectly capable of getting out of Rad’s fleshy grip.

He does know. He is 1000% aware that he can get out of that grip. But he also knows that if he does, it will probably hurt Rad.

Remember, when he was talking about his metaphorical pizza worldview thing? He said “so called friends”

Guys, TKO identifies Rad and Enid as his friends, even if they laugh at him.

KO really doesn’t wanna do anything, the upcoming outburst that he is about to have wasn’t his intention.

Eventually he even stops struggling when Enid begins to shove nachos in his face. Almost as if he’s just gonna let them be annoying. But then Enid had to go and call him....

“Cute stuff...”

Alright, so we all know what happens from this point. Enid’s final “cute” is the final straw for TKO’s temper. He finally breaks free from Rad’s grip (without a single frame of struggle.) and challenges his friends to a power battle.

As the power battle continues, TKO becomes more and more aggressive and almost like he’s a predator after his prey. And notice how Enid is his target. Both times when Rad steps in to help Enid fight, TKO gets rid of him really quickly and begins focusing on Enid again. 

When Enid tells on him to Carol, notice he doesn’t attack right away, he just scoffs/growls like an angsty child/teen.

He doesn’t even really target Carol of anyone, he just starts being destructive on things.

Then Gar show’s up and says “I love your mom”, which manages to catch TKO off guard. 

He is genuinely confused and he almost seemed ready to hear Mr.Gar out on the sudden topic but when Gar goes and changes the subject and starts spouting compliments at him. 

Now while his compliments arent really lies? You can hear in Gar’s voice that he doesn’t fully mean what he is saying and he is clearly only saying to try an calm him down. 

And we all know when people are really angry, that last thing you want to tell them is to calm down.

So then TKO just snaps, he’s had absolutely enough!

There’s a blind rush going through him right now, he’s never had the chance to let out all this pent up rage. It feels great! All his life he’s been caged and now he’s out. Who care’s if someone gets hurt! letting out these years of rage, proving once and for all that I am strong, stronger than everyone! It feels great! 

Who’s next!

“any last words”

Then the episode ends with TKO getting put back in the cage after KO save his mom. Not the best idea..

Now, im not trying to say TKO is justified for trying to punch his his own mother, he obviously never wanted to. I’m just saying he had a lot of pent up rage and frustration and he was just a ticking time bomb of destructive emotion that was waiting to explode, waiting for someone to push that last button. 

AKA: Enid’s “cute stuff” comment and Mr. Gar’s somewhat “empty praise”

This whole thing, in my opinion, was just the result of KO holing in his anger and frustration for all those years. If you do that, you are bound to become a toxic version of yourself sooner or later. And sooner or later that means you will hurt those you hold dear to you. 

This also lets us know a little something about TKO. 

He’s a person. Yes, he is a manifestation of rage, but he has interests outside of that. He enjoys his music and dark make up and he likes making video diaries just as much as the original KO. TKO is a person and deserves to be treated like one, after all he’s been through. Yeesh...

Now let’s move on to TKO’s second major appearance: 

COMING SOON IN  A PART 2 POST (honestly i can’t put all my thoughts in one post)

[aion-rsa]

Vikings Season 6 Episode 15 Review: All At Sea

https://ift.tt/3rNIelB

This Vikings review contains spoilers.

Vikings Season 6 Episode 15

“I have other ambitions, unfinished business.”

Vikings continues to deftly interweave the multiple story threads that have long been a staple of the series, and whether these connections are driven by characters, action, or visuals, they provide a deeper layer of meaning within this elaborate saga. From the images of Katia and Gunnhild wearing all white to the emotionally disturbed actions of Kjetill Flatnose and Prince Oleg, “All At Sea” maintains these exquisitely subtle narrative touches as one set of conflicts are put to rest and new ones begin to brew.

The natural inclination may be to overlook the significance of Ivar’s time in Kiev since the only tangible result lies in Prince Igor’s escape from his uncle Oleg. Ivar aspires to greatness and seeks to once again rule Kattegat, but he clearly needs to change his approach if he’s to win the hearts and minds of his fellow vikings. Meeting Katia in Rus forces him to re-evaluate his relationship with Freyis, and while Igor’s assessment that Ivar sees himself in the young prince, the son of Ragnar Lothbrok undergoes an emotional epiphany that appears to change his total outlook. Yes, he prods Igor to kill his uncle, but when we examine the alternative, there really is little choice. The boy becomes a man in that instant, and the people love him for it.

Despite the importance of Ivar’s transformation, this chapter belongs to Oleg and the impact the Easter celebration appears to have on the prince’s mental health. On the one hand, it does seem as if his descent into madness happens rather quickly, but his first wife’s betrayal and natural suspicions of Ivar and Hvitserk lead him down a path from which he seems unable to escape. The irony of his devout Christian faith set against the sadistic methods he employs momentarily gives pause, but when it’s clear he’s devolved into thinking he is the son of God, a sense of relief begins to filter into the scene. It’s still difficult to feel empathy for him even when he quotes Jesus’ words on the cross just before Igor sends an arrow into his chest. 

Nevertheless, the real bombshell that drops in Kiev is the revelation that Katia is pregnant with Ivar’s child. While this can certainly be viewed as a bit of a narrative cheat, it does force Ivar to make a decision he’s not sure he’d ever have to make. With all the subterfuge surrounding many of the characters, Katia’s motives along the way turn out to be relatively pure and provide a sense of relief that are embodied in her frank assessment of her relationship with Ivar. “I will only disappoint you when you realize [I am not Freydis].” Has Ivar fallen in love with her because it gives him a chance to correct his earlier mistakes with Freydis, or does this turn out to be a case of star crossed lovers fated to remain apart? In truth, they give each other what they need at the moment and are probably wise to go their separate ways now that each has been freed.

Read more

TV

Vikings Season 6 Episode 14 Review: Lost Souls

By Dave Vitagliano

TV

Why Vikings Is Ending

By Michael Ahr

Amidst all the often duplicitous machinations of the adults, it’s easy to miss the fine work from Oran Glynn O’Donovan (Prince Igor) as he’s grown up before our eyes. Igor’s learned a lot in a short period of time, and when he watches Ivar and Hvitserk ride out of Kiev, the young prince no longer hides his emotions. Tellingly, Hvitserk tells his brother that he too notices a change, and we’ll know soon enough what that actually means.

Set against Oleg’s deterioration are the watershed events taking place on the newly settled Greenland. The episode’s opening scene in which Kjetill and his family erect a fence around their piece of land perfectly sets up the confrontation that ultimately gives him what he wants – to be king of Greenland. As if Ubbe doesn’t have enough to deal with after the death of his child, Kjetill goes rogue and purposely isolates himself from the rest of the community. Season 6B has been relatively light on battle sequences, and though the attack on Kjetill’s family is short lived, the rage emanating from the starving settlers dominates the scene. Not that we ever doubted Torvi’s battle readiness, but when she fights one-handed while clutching her infant in the other, her desperation speaks loudly for the entire community.

It wasn’t clear how Ubbe would re-enter the situation in Kattegat, but his quick decision to flee the island without a plan also reinforces the fact that peaceful coexistence with Kjetill no longer remains a viable option. Like Oleg, Kjetill loses touch with the reality of the situation, but here, unlike the prince, Flatnose’s murderous nature re-emerges. Standing atop the beached whale screaming at the retreating Ubbe, Kjetill makes clear his group is in for a rocky road. “I am king of Greenland. Rejoice.” While rejoicing may have to wait for this group, Othere’s insistence that God will provide comes to pass, and though Torvi and Ubbe once passed themselves off as Christians, which deity is responsible for the rain that provides drinking water doesn’t really matter at this point.

And while the events in Kattegat appear relatively mundane compared to those in Greenland and Kiev, the impact there is just as momentous. Who would have thought Harald Finehair would end up being a good guy, but his decision to take both Ingrid and Gunnhild goes beyond mere egocentric behavior and should restore a sense of stability to the town as it moves forward. The revelation that in his prior incarnation as a slave trader, Erik once sold Ingrid comes at an opportune time as his influence with Harald is on the rise. And while her marriage to Harald is purely political, she seems willing to work with him even though her child’s parentage remains in flux. Should Erik somehow get squeezed out of Harald’s inner circle, sparks will undoubtedly fly.

However, it’s Gunnhild’s decision to “join Bjorn in Valhalla” that fuels the most controversial aspect of the episode. Though she doesn’t kill herself with a dagger as she seemed to presage in the previous episode, the choice to carry out this act during the wedding ceremony raises other questions. Does she intend to disrupt and sabotage Harald’s reign in Kattegat? That seems out of character for the beloved shieldmaiden, and the tears falling softly on Harald’s cheek as she swims to her death add a touch of sensitivity to the scene and affirm the love he holds for the woman who would have truly been queen of Kattegat.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Vikings reaches the halfway point of Season 6B, and “All At Sea” teases not only Ivar’s determination to regain power in Kattegat but Ubbe’s to make a mark for himself outside of the family dominion. Will fate bring the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok together one final time? Only the gods know. 

The post Vikings Season 6 Episode 15 Review: All At Sea appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[mrsbenedictbridgerton]

Don’t Buy Me No Flowers

@cocoa-and-rum suggested a florist AU. So, I did.

FF.NET / AO3

Face tensed in concentration, Killian focused on the lilies out before him. The pinks and creams blended together in pleasing harmony, but there was something missing. Texture. Movement. As he reached for his pruning shears he stifled a wry groan. If only his old work mates could see him now. Lieutenant Killian Jones, outstanding officer in her majesty's navy, capable, strong ( masculine )... a florist. Almost, anyway. Once his community college certification was complete.

From the front of the store he heard a soft groan followed by a loud whisper of, “Snickerdoodles!”

Killian smirked. His sister-in-law’s inability to swear never failed to tickle him. Dropping the shears, he headed for the curtain that separated the two parts of the store.

“Alright Else?”

As he stepped into the main part of the business, the blonde was staring intently at a sales note.

“Yes…” she replied, the crease between her brows growing deeper. Then she sighed. “Actually no.”

She turned and placed a hand on the large bump that was barely concealed by her crisp, cream apron. “I took this order earlier and I thought it was for delivery tomorrow, but no, silly Elsa, it’s due for today.”

Killian glanced at the clock above the door that led out onto Main Street. It was almost 5.

“A small mistake, love. You’ve been growing a baby, anyone can forgive you being a little absentminded.”

She gave him a wry smile. “Maybe in some cases, but he specified that they must be delivered by seven pm. And he’s not the kind of person who I’d like to get on the wrong side of.”

“Oh?”

She sighed. “It’s that guy Walsh - who owns the furniture store on Ocean Drive?” Killian nodded his understanding. “Well he always seems nice enough, but that smile of his. It doesn’t reach his eyes. I don’t trust him.”

Killian knew better than to argue against his sister-in-law’s almost supernatural powers of perception when it came to others. “Alright then. Give me the order and I’ll get it ready, we can get leroy into deliver it-”

“He’s already on his way to his brother’s for the weekend. I let him off early. You know how close they are.”

With a shake of his head, Killian was already reaching for the paper in her hand. “Fine, I’ll deliver it. Not like I have any better plans for my Friday night.”

“You really don’t mind?” she asked, her hands concentrating on cradling her bump as he was already turning back to the workroom.

“You concentrate on growing my nephew and I’ll keep your business afloat.”

There was a smile in his tone as he slid back beneath the curtain, her barely audible mutter of ‘Don’t be so cocky,” turning it into a full blown grin.

/

One dozen white roses. Perfectly pruned, wrapped in sheer silver paper and tied with a white bow, as per the very particular instructions given on the order. As he retrieved the flowers from the passenger seat of his car, he checked that the small card he’d written out earlier was still attached. It was there, encased in an ecru envelope, as austere as the rest of the arrangement.

He swung the door closed, his left hand cramping  as his fingers flexed against the handle. The muscles went into spasm, clenching and stretching as waited for the attack to finish. After a few seconds, the pain passed and his hand returned to its usual state of limited movement and feeling. He was used to it by now, almost 18 months since the accident that had almost cost him his hand and certainly cost him his career at sea.

Human error, they had said. No one’s fault, was the verdict, following the series of event that crushed his hand. After six months it was clear that he would never regain full use of the appendage. He was never going to be happy behind a desk so he’d taken an honourable discharge and ventured on an extended trip to stay with his brother and his new wife. And here he was still, so many months later.

He shook away thoughts of the turbulent period behind him and checked he had the correct address. Emma Swan- Apt. 5a, 100 Oak Ave . He tucked the details back into his pocket and let him imagine who this Emma Swan might be- a game he liked to play on the odd occasions that he took care of a delivery. Would she be an ice queen as the flowers suggested she might be? All neutral tones and groomed to within an inch of her life? Well, she was dating that creepy furniture store owner. Was- past tense, it seemed. The card had only two words. ‘Forgive me’. Short, not exactly open to interpretation. But also… cold? No pleas, no passion.

Stifling a snort, he made his way into the small apartment building, finding the correct door and pressing the doorbell as he impatiently shifted from foot to foot. Impatient to… well, nothing. He had a long standing Friday date with netflix and a bottle of rum. Regardless, it seemed like an age before the patter of footsteps reached his ears. He tensed, ready to thrust the bouquet into the thorny hands of Ms. Swan and make a quick escape.

He was mentally loading up the next episode of The Greatest Catch when the door suddenly wrenched open and a whirl of blonde hair and pent up energy screeched, “WHAT?”

Taken aback for a moment, Killian let his mouth open slightly as he took in the sight: red dress, stiletto heels, tumbling curls.

“I, um-”

He held out the bouquet of flowers, not quite sure what to say to the woman before him with fiery green eyes and a scowl etched on her full lips. She stared at the roses, giving him a moment to compose himself and evaluate the situation. Time to take in just how perfectly the dress was molded to her body. And even more so, just how utterly gorgeous she was from head to toe. Clearly she wasn’t wasting any time on that loser.

“Looks like you moved on then,” he grinned, keeping the expression on his face as she took the flowers from his grip. She looked up at him, her expression blank. “Date?” he added, gesturing to her attire.

She narrowed her eyes as she pulled out the card. “It’s for a job,” she snapped. And then he was faced with a whole other load of questions. “I’m not a hooker,” she clarified, her tone just a little exasperated.

He wasn’t exactly going to suggest that but it did eliminate one possibility. “So what-”

He wasn’t able to finish his question, as the next this he knew the carefully constructed arrangement was slapped against the floor and stomped on with one glossy stiletto. “That asshole!” she screamed, scrunching the delicate petals into the tile that lined the hallway. “Jerk!” she added, before tearing up the card with a quite amazing amount of anger.

Killian stared. All at once he was scared… and just a little turned on. Far from being an ice queen, Ms. Swan was more like some kind of fiery siren, all passion and fire. Enough that could even let him overlook her bad taste in mediocre furniture purveyors. For a moment both were silent. She seethed, her chest rising and falling in a distracting motion that drew his eyes to her… assets. He was intrigued, more so than he had been by any woman in, well, quite some time. He also had a strong sense of self-preservation and knew that now was not the time to make his appreciation of her virtues apparent. So he tried to offer a conciliatory smile, enough to step away, enough to let him leave and then later make a few discrete enquiries among those he knew in the small town- surely someone knew more about this woman. No, woman was inadequate. This… force of nature.

Slowly, he turned away.

“Hey,” she snapped, causing him to glance back and catch her eye, “If that asshole tries to send me any more ‘peace offerings’, don’t waste your time coming out here.” She glanced at the mangled roses. “Seems a waste,” she finished, before storming back into the apartment- giving him an all too perfect view of her shapely legs and tightly clad derriere.

When the door finally slammed shut, he looked up and grimaced. “I’m in trouble,” he muttered, before sloping back to his car, ready to bury himself in rum and thoughts of Ms. Swan.

[michellemjjoneses]

Operation Stardust

Words: 3,664

Rate: G

Summary: Jyn is sent to a solo mission to find Han Solo, while Cassian prepare himself and the entire Rebellion for an operation called Operation Stardust.

Well, this is the first time I made a really serious and long fanfic. I was inspired from Phineas and Ferb episode called Phineas’ Birthday Clip-O-Rama where Phineas went through the city while his friends were preparing a surprise party for him (and yes Frozen Fever too) (And for a warming up before my chapter-by-chapter fanfic and some aus)

I made it in order to celebrate my birthday (which is yes, today, April 26). I always imagine if Jyn had birthday, what would our captain do? Throw a surprise party of course.

Well enjoy my fic!

A03

Another morning in Yavin IV. But things are not going well in Temple Of Massassi after Princess Organa takes place to give some missions to everyone. Jyn isn’t an exception. 

“Maybe I should drop you on a mission on Tatooine,” Leia says while check her datapad. “You need to find an informant named Sef Trevor.”

“Find an informant? But, that’s an intelligence duty, ma'am,“ Jyn corrects.

“Correct, Sergeant,” Leia says. “But I need you to take Captain Andor’s place since he got sick.”

Jyn purses her lips together. After he came back from Coruscant with some new recruits, Cassian got sick. Just a fever, actually. But it makes Jyn worries to him, of course. She took care of him, every time. She even asked him to go to medbay. But, he rejected it.

“Don’t worry, Sergeant,” Leia says again. “He’ll be fine here. You just need to find Sef Trevor and he will lead you to another informant. Your mission is to get Solo and bring him here. Understood?”

“Understood,” Jyn answers. She stands and walks away from the War Room to the U-Wing. She doesn’t suspect anything from The Princess. 

Leia smiles even wider. She never knew that she would be trick a sergeant. She then turns her head. “You can come out, Captain.”

Cassian sighs of relief. He was hiding behind the wall when Leia talked to Jyn. With Jyn gone for a ‘fake mission’, he has enough time for his operation.

“You think she’ll be fine?” Cassian asks. 

“Of course,” Leia answers. “Solo is in Correllia. You don’t need to worry about her. Beside, there something you need to do for her, right?”

He smiles. He takes his comlink and turn it on. “Operation Stardust, begin!”

Tatooine, one of the hottest planet in the galaxy. Jyn doesn’t like Tatooine. It’s fill with sands and it reminds her to her time in Scarif. Sands, sands everywhere, she thinks. 

She landed on Mos Eisley and she walks in the most dangerous place in Tatooine. Filled with many criminals. Last time she visited this place when she was eighteen. She was Tanith Pontha back then. And now, she visits this place again and as Tanith Pontha again.

From what she knows about Sef Trevor, he’s a guy who smuggles some blasters to the Outer Rim. That’s what she found in his profile. She walks to the cantina and open its door.

Music plays and smokes spread across the cantina. She tries to hold her cough but she can’t. She closes her mouth with her scarf. “This place is even worse than Wobani,” she mumbles with mouth close.

“Tanith!”

She turns her head and finds a dark-haired woman in her age. Beside her, there’s a dark skin guy. His face is similar in his profile.

Sef Trevor.

“Hi, Klara,” she says. “It’s been a long time.”

Klara chuckles. “Of course. Now, look at you. You’re change too much. How’s life?”

Jyn lifts her shoulder. “Still usual.”

“Oh, still smuggling, huh?” Klara asks. She takes another sip from her glass. “I heard from someone that you need to talk to my boyfriend?”

“Yes,” Jyn answers. “About business.”

“Business, huh?” Finally Sef speaks. “Klara, you should go.”

“Alright, Dear,” Klara answers. “I’ll have to go. See ya, Tanith.”

Jyn just nods. And now, it’s time to get some information about Han Solo from this guy.

“So, do you know a smuggler named Han Solo?” Jyn asks.

“Solo? That guy?” Sef quirks. “Ah, my nemesis. He’s in debt with Jabba. But, I don’t care about his debts.”

“When was the last time you saw him?” Jyn asks again.

“Well, where’s that guy?” There’s a pause within a minute. “Ah, he’s in Naboo. My friend said that he’s shipping to Naboo.”

“Naboo?” Jyn once went to Naboo. She lived with Sabé.  Maybe, I can get some information about Solo from Sabé.

“Thank you, Sef,” Jyn says. She then stands and walks away from cantina.

Back in Yavin IV, all of the Rebellions, new recruits or not, are working together to prepare the Operation Stardust. 

The truth is, Cassian never did this before. He planned this two weeks before Jyn’s birthday. And unexpectedly, The Princess approved his plans, despite Draven’s rejections. After all, Jyn deserves more after what she did for the Rebellion. 

A surprise party. For Jyn Erso.

And now, Cassian can orders the entire people in the Rebellion for a surprise party. Most new recruits know about her and they can’t wait for it. They decorate the First Base with lamp bulbs and balloons, arrange tables for food and put ‘Happy Birthday, Sergeant Erso’ banner. For pilots, they arrange presents from people and park their X-Wings and help the new recruits put the lamp bulbs and balloons around their X-Wings. For data analysts, they help the Captain for log datas for the party.

And for Rogue One crew, Cassian gives them a job. It’s supposed to be an easy job. Make a birthday cake.

“But we never bake a cake, Cassian,” Kaytoo protests. “There is 90 percent chances that the cake…”

“Not now, K!” Cassian cuts Kaytoo’s protests. “We’ll make this cake perfectly. Beside, some cooks are here to help us. And the party will run perfectly What could possibly gone wrong?”

“Jyn won’t like the cake?” Bodhi says.

“Jyn won’t like the party?” Luke adds.

“Jyn will finds out that The Princess tricks her for you?” Chirrut adds.

“The cake’s taste will gone bad?” Baze adds. 

“And Jyn will finds out that you lied to her,” Kaytoo says. 

Cassian levels his glare to his team. Everyone shut their mouth instantly. 

“Go back to work!” He orders. They nod and walk to their station. Bodhi and Luke prepare the frosting while Chirrut and Baze mix the batter of the cake. 

He sighs again. His eyes catch a glimpse of a party. He imagines Jyn walks in and finds out about the party. Her body hugs his. 

Cassian’s smile rises again. He can’t wait for Jyn to come home.

Jyn takes a deep breaths and let them go. It’s been a long time she never breathe the freshest air in the galaxy. Naboo looks so peaceful despite there’s a war up there. She considers to live in here after the war’s over.

“Jyn, is that you?”

Jyn turns around and find her. Sabé still same. But she taller than the last time she saw her. 

“Hi, Sabé,” Jyn greets her. “It’s been a long time.”

“Yeah, it is,” Sabé says. “You know, I’ve been serving The Queen again so I’m sorry if I can’t keep in touch with you.”

“It’s okay, Sabé,” Jyn answers. “I’ve been joining the Rebellion so I’ve been busy too. Maybe, you wanna visit Yavin IV?”

Sabé nods. “Of course. The Queen requested me as the representative from Naboo to the Alliance. I’ll be going to Yavin IV tomorrow.”

“Really?” Jyn asks with excited tone. “That’s amazing! I can’t wait for you!”

Sabé chuckles. “Me too. So, Jyn, what brings you to Naboo?”

“Well, my informant said that Solo is here,” Jyn states. “Did you see him?”

Sabé shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Jyn. I didn’t see him. But my friend said that he was out from here. His destination was Corellia.”

“Corellia?” Jyn asks again.

“Yes, Corellia,” Sabé confirms. “Anyway, I must pack my things for tomorrow. See you later.”

“See you,” Jyn answers. “May the Force be with you, Sabé.”

“May the Force be with you too, Jyn,” Sabé replies and turn around as she walks to the city.

Jyn sighs. Corellia. This is better your last destination, Solo.

It’s 0300 in afternoon in Yavin IV. Preparation almost done. Presents with various colours are well-arranged. Decorations are ready. Light bulbs were tested and they’re work. Special hangar are prepared carefully for the Millennium Falcon to land in front of the party.

But the problem is the cake. Rogue One crew must change the cake many times because of its taste. Leia becomes the tester of the cake’s sample. And of course she said that every samples of the cake aren’t delicious. She even offers herself to help them.

“We tried seven different cake sample and none of them are delicious!” Cassian shouts. 

“Cassian, calm down,” Bodhi tries to calm him down. “It’s not like Jyn won’t like it. Beside, she will understands. Plus, this sample is already delicious.”

“You don’t understand, Bodhi!” He shouts, again. “It’s 0300 and we must finish this cake before sunset! And we’re not even arrange the cake!”

He needs Jyn this time. He knows that Jyn could handle this situation. She probably would calm him down right now.

“Cassian, your heartbeat is increasing,” Kaytoo chirps. “I suggest that you-”

“Thank you, K,” Cassian answers. “We must finish this cake for once and for all.”

Jyn lands the U-Wing carefully in the hangar. She then come out from it and use the scarf to cover her head. She walks to the outside of the hangar. Minutes later, she hears a machine humming. She turns around and finds out that her- Cassian’s U-Wing, is flying.

“Hey! Come back!” Jyn runs to chase the U-Wing. But it’s too late. The U-Wing is already flew.

What would Cassian says after he knows this? He probably angry to her. Jyn doesn’t wanna to fight against him again. She knows Cassian loves his U-Wing after The Princess gave another one to replaced the one which was destroyed in Eadu.

And now, she’s trapped here. Alone. Her credits are not enough to pay for a pilot to get out from here. If she couldn’t get out and come back home, what would happen in Yavin IV? Cassian probably panic and aboard another ship to get her out.

But she can’t relies on Cassian. She must get out from here with little credits. Maybe if she can finds her old friend…

“Hey, Hallik!”

Jyn turns around. She finds Han Solo leaned on the wall meanwhile his Wookie friend, Chewbacca, roars to call her. She sprints towards them. 

“You always disappeared, Solo,” Jyn says.

He lifts his shoulders. “Sorry, Sergeant. The Princess’ order. I heard you lost your U-Wing?”

“That’s not my U-Wing, but Cassian’s!” she corrects. “Kriff, he will be mad at me.”

Han chuckles. “Alright, Erso. I’ll pick your up from here. I’m also wanna go back to Yavin IV because we’re done some catch up here.”

Jyn sighs of relief. Finally she can go home and sleep in her bunk.

“Alright then,” she says.

“Then, let’s get out from here,” Han says and leads her to the Millennium Falcon.

After twenty times trial, Cassian swears to himself that this will be the last sample. Otherwise, they must go to Coruscant to order some birthday cake which will takes time

Ting!

“The cake’s ready!” Cassian says. He runs to the oven, but Baze prevents him.

“This is not your job, Captain,” he says. “This is mine.”

He puts gloves on his hands and opens the oven. The smell from the cake spreads across the kitchen. Baze puts the cake on the table very carefully.

“Alright, let’s give it a try,” Cassian says.”For the last time.” Without The Princess, he must tries it. He tells himself that he represents Jyn too. He cuts the cake into a slice and put it on a small plate. Bodhi, Luke, Chirrut and Baze looks at him with anxious expression when Cassian takes a bite.

Chirrut prays, hopes that the cake will be delicious. Bodhi closes his face, afraid that Cassian will be angry, again. Luke and Baze are hiding under the table.

“It’s good,” he comments. 

Bodhi, Luke, Chirrut and Baze are blinking with we’re-not-believe-it faces.

“It’s good,” he says again. “It’s good, guys! Let’s bake this again! And makes sure that this will be the last sample.”

The four nod and bake the cake again. Several hours later, three cakes are out from oven. Bodhi, Luke and Baze are now coloring the cake with food dye. The cake will be in colour of dark blue like night sky. Chirrut spreads some glitters which can be eaten on the cake so the cake will be just like night sky fill with stardust.

“We’re done, Captain!” Luke reports. 

Cassian gasps when he sees the cake. It’s beautiful. Jyn will love it.

After done with decorating, Kaytoo helps Cassian to arrange the cake. Cassian puts gloves on his hands and put the medium cake to the big one.

“Take it easy, Cassian,” Kaytoo says. “Take it easy.“ 

He bites his lips when he puts the smallest cake on the medium one. He worries that the cake will be destroyed. 

“Be careful, Cassian, be careful,” Kaytoo says again. “Be careful, Cassian, be care-”

“Shut up, Kay!” Cassian shouts. “I can’t concentrate if you say that!”

Kaytoo then shuts up. Cassian sighs again and finally he puts the last part of the cake without hesitation.

After that, Bodhi and Luke are frosting the cake with white icing. Luke writes ‘Happy Birthday, Jyn Erso’ on top of the cake.

“We’re done, Captain!” Luke shouts.

“We made it,” he says. He turns to his friends. They’re smiling of course after look at their handiwork.

“Captain!”

Melshi rushes to the kitchen. “Captain, we’ve got transmission from Solo!”

Without hesitation, Cassian lets his apron go and then runs to the War Room.

In the War Room, they already receive some transmission from Han. And now, they’re waiting for Captain Andor

“Stardust will be back to the base,” Draven reads the transmission. “Should we reply it, Princess?”

Leia just sits and purses her lips. The cake isn’t ready yet. She needs to wait for Captain Andor. Unfortunately, Captain Andor needs to calm his temper, that was what his KX droid said. Maybe I can order Solo to bring Jyn to other planet. 

Leia opens her mouth. “Tell Solo…”

“That the Operation is done.”

She turns around and finds that Captain Andor is here. And his clothes are dirty. Not because of mud or blood like always, but because of the batter of the cake. 

Leia smiles and nods to General Draven. “Tell him that the Operation is done.”

General Draven nods and types the transmission. 

“And now, it’s time, Captain,” Leia says as she stands again. “You better change your clothes. Are you ready?“ 

He nods. "I’m ready.”

Stardust. Wake up, darling.

Jyn shrugged her blanket again. She doesn’t like to be awaken. She wanted to be awake by herself. 

Stardust. Wake up, Dear. It’s morning already.

She gave up and opened her eyes. She looked over to find out who called her. Papa and Mama were in front of her. They smiled so brightly.

“Happy birthday, Stardust.”

Mama brought a chocolate birthday cake while Papa brought many presents. Jyn smiled and scream with excited attitude. 

“Make a wish, Dear,” Mama said.

Jyn closed her eyes. I wish we will always together. She opened her eyes and blew out four candles. Her parents clapped their hands. 

Jyn opened her first present. A doll with white fur and red face. She then hugged her parents so tightly.

“Thank you, Mama, Papa,” she said. “I love you.”

“We love you too, Stardust,” her parents replied.

Jyn awakes from her sleep. It was just a memory. Just a dream. She cries silently. Her parents are not here to celebrate her birthday. Her wish won’t never come true. 

“Alright, we’re almost there.” She hears Han talks to Chewie. Jyn stands from the bunk as she wipes her tears away.

“Don’t worry, Erso,” Han says. “We’re almost there. You better sit down.”

Jyn sits down on the chair behind Han’s chair. She sees Han is trying to contact The Alliance. 

“Chewie, try to contact Yavin IV,” Han orders his Wookie. “We’re gonna landing.”

Chewbacca roars softly. 

“What?” Han asks. “We can’t contact The Alliance?”

“What happened?” Jyn asks.

“Something wrong with Yavin IV,” Han answers. “But, don’t worry. They already sent us some coordinate so we can landing safely.”

Jyn bites her lips. No, not again. Please be safe. She prays for The Alliance. She can’t loses her second family, her home.

When they come out from hyperspace, Jyn sees the base is dark. No lights shine the First Base like usual. 

“Alright, Chewie,” Han calls his friend. “We’re landing slowly.”

Millennium Falcon already reach out the atmosphere of the planet. And it lands safely and slowly. 

“The Base never been so quiet,” Jyn mumbles.

“We’re better get out from here and ask The Princess,” Han advices.

Jyn nods. Han opens the door and let Jyn out first. The Base is so dark and quiet. 

“Hello?” Jyn calls. “Is anybody here?”

Suddenly, lights shine the Base along with the bulbs that around the X-Wings. Jyn shuts her eyes because of the lights. She then opens her eyes again.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SERGEANT ERSO!” Everyone scream so loudly.

She looks at a dozen, not, the entire Rebellion. And then, she looks at Cassian. He is standing in front of them. He smiles to her. That same smile he used when he believed her to steal the Death Star plans.

“Happy birthday, Jyn,” Cassian says.

Tears running on Jyn’s cheek. She chuckles between her tears. She looks to the people of the Rebellion. She never celebrate her birthday again. She runs to Cassian and hug him tightly.

“Thank you,” she says between her sobs. “Thank you.”

Everyone are clapping their hands. Cassian sees Han and nods to him as a thank you for bring his stardust home. Han nods too to say ‘you’re welcome’.

“What about make a wish first?” he offers. A triple-level cake with dark blue color and glitters that shine like stardust comes. 

“Wow,” Jyn sees the cake and admires it. “I love it.”

“The cake was Cassian’s idea,” Kaytoo explains. “He was inspired from stardust. We tried twenty times-.”

“Shut up, Kay!” Cassian shouts again. Jyn laughs when she sees Cassian tries to shut Kaytoo up.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Bodhi asks. 

“Alright, alright. I’ll blow the candles,” Jyn answers. She shuts her eyes. She never makes a single wish in her birthday. But today is an exception. She’s not alone anymore. She is surrounded by the people who love her.

I wish we will always together. 

She opens her eyes and blows up the candles. Everyone cheer and clap their hands. 

“Jyn, you won’t celebrate your birthday with that outfit, right?” Leia asks. “I can lend you one of my dress if you want to.”

Jyn nods. She follows Leia to her quarters and changes her clothes into a beautiful blue dress. Her hair is styled in a classic bun. After that, they come out from Leia’s room and go to the party again. Everyone are surprised when they look at Jyn. Kaytoo reminds Cassian to breathe. 

“And now, it’s time for the dance!” Luke shouts with excitement. 

Some Pathfinders member already on their place and play their music instruments. Everyone find their partner and dance together. Han with Leia, Chewbacca with some new recruits, Luke with Bodhi while Baze and Chirrut just sit and enjoy the view.

And of course. Jyn is dancing with Cassian. She never sees him happily like this. Or perhaps she never been this happy. And then, she remembers his U-Wing. 

“Cassian,” she calls. “Your U-Wing, I lost…”

“No, you didn’t, Jyn,” he answers. “You didn’t lose it. Shara piloted it when you came out from it. She was with Solo and waited for you to come. When you came out, she sneaked into the U-Wing and flew it back here.”

Jyn turns to see Shara along with her husband, Kes. She smiles and waves her hand. Jyn smiles to her and she forgives her. After all, Shara is her friend. 

“So, this was all your plan, Captain?” Jyn asks. “I suggest, maybe your next birthday, I’ll be do the same.”

“Really? You’ll do that for me?” Cassian asks.

Jyn nods. “But I won’t pretend that I’m sick. You know, I was worried when you got sick! Turns out, you pretended! I was worried sick of you!”

“Alright, I’m sorry, Jyn,” Cassian admits. “I’m sorry that I make you worries.”

“Promise me you’re not gonna pretending again in front of me?” She offers.

“I promise,” he answers.

Silent comes again. Cassian twirls Jyn around before she faces him again. “How do you know that today is my birthday?” Jyn asks.

“Well, I checked your data,” Cassian answers. “Two weeks ago, I found your data and I planned all of these. I asked my plans to The Council. Unexpectedly, The Princess agreed with my ideas despite General Draven’s rejections. Even Senator Mothma agreed with it. We planned these for two weeks. When you’re gone with Pathfinders, I got help from the entire Rebellion. When the day has come, all of us must work together to prepare all of these. Including the ‘fake mission’.”

“So that’s why The Princess sent me to find Solo,” Jyn remembers when The Princess asked her to find Solo through Trevor.

“And the cake, yes that was my idea,” Cassian admits. “You’re a stardust, Jyn. So maybe I wanted to make a cake that represents you.”

“Says the Captain who tried to make the most perfect cake in twenty times trial,” Jyn corrects. “Cassian, seriously, how much flour that you spent for a cake?”

He chuckles. “Well, I don’t know. But you love the cake, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I love the cake,” Jyn answers. “It’s delicious, by the way. Did you bake it by yourself?”

“No, of course,” Cassian answers. “I got help from Bodhi, Chirrut, Baze, Kaytoo and that farm boy.”

“He’s not a farm boy anymore, Cassian,” Jyn corrects. “He’s Luke Skywalker.”

“Alright, then. Luke Skywalker,” he says. Jyn laughs again. 

The music turns slowly. Jyn hugs Cassian again. And he hugs her, too.

“Thank you,” Jyn whispers. “For all of this.”

He kisses her forhead. “You’re welcome, Jyn.”

[victorlincolnpine]

The Tale of Roy and Samantha: Episode One

Introduction:

Greetings, Reader, I am here today and for quite a few days hence to tell you the Tale of Roy and Samantha,

Our story takes place on Mobius; though not the Mobius you and I know today, instead, this is a Mobius of an alternate series of events. With some things very similar to the one we know and some things very much so different, but here, as it is there, the tyranny of Eggman and the courage of Sonic and his allies both play a major role in how this story unfolds.

Chapter One:

The sun sat like a red blot on the horizon. With plenty of space in which to play in the Mobian sky, the clouds formed broad plains of tall, precarious towers that glowed pink and gold like frozen blooms of fire over the sleepy village of Knothole. The final and only bastion of freedom before the all-consuming might of Robotnik.

With feet crunching over a once lush field of green, Reggie, a young tan colored fox breathed heavily. His breath fogged up in the chilling air as he trudged through a thick layer of snowfall which was silhouetted by the angry red light of the rising sun. Eventually, he stood before the front door of his parent's home.

"Roy," he said, banging on the knocker. "Let me in!"

A loud grown followed and Reggie heard the dragging of feet and grumbling. The door opened "Five a.m.," Roy grumbled as he rubbed his bleary eyes, talking to himself as much as to his sibling "And it was a very good dream too…"

Reggie merely pulled his well-worn baseball cap over his eyes and laughed.

"Reggie, take that stupid thing off your face and shut up." Roy's eyes burned. He rubbed them once more and struggled to concentrate on what he was going to say next "Did you even attend training yesterday or call in sick as usual?"

"Yeah, yeah. I did. Don't blow a gasket," Reggie propped an elbow against the sun-cracked door frame and pulled his cap off "So, you promised to show me your newest invention." Reggie stated matter-of-factly.

"That wasn't what I agreed to, what I remember is you saying that I`ll show you and then assuming that I would without letting me say anything." Roy corrected his brother.

"But you're going to show me anyway, right?" Reggie asked.

How did I get roped into this? Roy thought before, with much reluctance, he finally muttered, "Fine."

"What am I looking for exactly?" Reggie asked curiously.

Roy's workshop was dim and musty. Dust motes swam in beams of sunlight angling through a few gaps in the rough wooden walls. This was usually a place where Roy could unwind as he tinkered, but as he had visitors it was now a source of frustration. Roy bent down and put his hands on his knees so she could look his younger sibling in the eye. "We're in Mom's workshop. I don't know what you're expecting, but I'm an inventor, not a magician."

Looking past his elder sibling, Reggie pointed at the equipment chest that was in Roy`s room, which was adjacent to the workshop room. "Ooh yes! Now I can use that rifle you built!" Reggie shouted with glee as he started for it.

"Hold up, no, you`re not touching that, not after that incident with my machine-assist boots." Roy stated as he stepped into his brother`s path.

"Hey, that happened when I was ten, I`m twelve now." Reggie protested as he made for the chest again.

"Not happening, little brother," Roy stated, skillfully acting as a goalie between his brother and his room.

Reggie groaned. "You've gotten worse than Mom."

"Tch, fine.” Roy muttered under his breath, "Look, I'll compromise by letting you be the guinea pig for my shield emitter, I built it yesterday and I haven`t had a chance to test it yet."

"Awesome! Your newest stuff is always the coolest!" Roy said with glee, though he kept his voice down this time to avoid waking up their slumbering parents.

"Come on, I have a hill that is the perfect testing ground, it`s just behind the Freedom Fighter barracks." Roy said as he put on his gloves and shoes, motioning for Reggie to follow,

"Awesome!" Reggie said as he followed Roy out of the workshop

"Hold on, you gotta` get your coat on," Reggie mentioned when they reached the foyer of their home.

"Oh, yeah, it's cold out. The weather has been so unpredictable these days … thanks." Roy said as he went to retrieve his coat. Upon donning his winter coat, packs and after he got his equipment on, Roy gave the go ahead and Reggie cracked opened the front door.

On the other side, they saw a blanket of snow covering the peaceful and familiar village of Knothole, the gleam of the sunrise on the white snow a pleasant sight to behold as the two foxes went on their way. Reggie was pent up with excitement as they neared the Freedom Fighter`s barracks.

"Here we are," Roy declared when they reached the hill.

"So, how are we going to test your shield? There`s nowhere flat enough for it to work" Reggie asked, looking at the very large hill that was completely covered in snow,

"Oh, I think you'll like this " Roy said as he brought his new shield emitter out of his pack, a round silver item with a large silver button in the center, the emitter itself was attached to a leather belt as its buckle,"but first we need to climb to the top."

Fueled by excitement, Reggie ascended the hill in record time, reaching the summit before Roy had made it even halfway. When he got to the top, Roy feigned breathlessness "Dude, you might be as fast as Sonic." He said, causing Reggie to blush.

Roy scanned his surroundings, and when he was certain there were no obstacles to the bottom of the hill he turned to his brother "Now, I've set the emitter so that it activates right before collision with another object " Roy elaborated as he attached it to Reggie`s waist "So, don't freak out alright?"

"Why would I freak -" Reggie asked before he received a mighty shove and with arms flailing fell off the side of the hill, but right before Reggie made contact with the hillside, the shield emitter began to glow a pale blue-white and a barely visible, hollow sphere developed around him, causing Reggie to roll down the hill at a considerable pace, landing at the bottom in record time,

Roy heard neither hide nor hair of his brother and after a few moments of dreadful silence later, Roy panicked and made his way down the hill, fearing the worst. When he reached the foot of the hill, Roy saw a perfectly round ball of snow at the bottom, but no sign of Reggie.

What have I done? Roy thought, he wanted to get Reggie out of the snow before it suffocated him, but he was too afraid of what he might see if he cleared the snow off,

Then a voice came from the ball of snow, "Dude; that was so cool!"

Roy hurriedly cleared a window of snow from the sphere and saw Reggie suspended in the center, the shield emitter glowing brightly, "Why didn`t you say you were okay?!" Roy as he cleared more snow off of the sphere, he felt both annoyed and relieved.

"I wanted to freak you out," Reggie admitted.

"That`s wasn't funny at all!" Roy grumbled.

"How do you turn this thing off, anyway?" Reggie asked, still floating there in the center of the shield.

"I don`t know, I think that you being stuck there is so funny that it totally slipped my mind," Roy replied sarcastically.

"Hey, you can`t just leave me here!" Reggie whined,

"I don`t know, I could…" Roy said teasingly, pretending to start walking away,

"Hey, I`m gonna` tell Mom!" Reggie said as he started to flail around in the shield bubble,

"Look, I`m just messing with you" Roy assuaged, "press the button in the center of the shield emitter to turn it off." He explained. Reggie complied, and when he pressed the button the shield suddenly vanished, leaving him to land face-first in the snow with a thud.

"Owie, you did that on purpose!" Reggie complained as he brushed the snow off of his face and coat.

"Ok, I didn`t plan that, but that was really funny," Roy replied laughingly.

"No, it wasn`t," Reggie complained.

"Oh, yes it was." Roy teased,

The argument continued in that vein for some time, filling the air with a plethora of “yes it was`es” and “no it wasn`ts” until they both had calmed down.

"Let`s do that again!" Reggie said, promptly climbing the hill once more.

"Hey, wait up!" Roy shouted as he went up the hill as well.

For another hour or two, they both took turns wearing the shield emitter and pushing each other down the hill and have a great time doing it, but all this ended when Reggie accidentally crashed through the Freedom Fighter`s barracks, waking all those inside and causing the alarm to go off.

Within moments, the two were surrounded by every soldier in the barracks, each one in full combat gear, ready to fight off the invasion that they were absolutely sure was commencing.

When they saw that it was just Roy and Reggie, their readiness to defend Knothole turned to anger towards the both of them.

"What in the Master Emerald`s name are you doing here?!" Spoke a large Mobian Crow who appeared to be the commander of the Knothole army he marched his way over to the two of them.

"I am so sorry, Jeff, we were just playing and it got out of hand, it won`t happen again." Roy apologized.

"I`ve had just about enough of your nonsense and false apologies, Roy, running around with your roboticized boots and gloves…" Jeff snapped at Roy, cutting him off mid-sentence, "…and now you`ve taken to attacking Freedom Fighter property; you know, you`re looking more and more like one of Robotnik's cronies every day!"

At Jeff`s scolding, Roy became both enraged, hurt and more than a bit surprised at the suddenness of it all; it was as if the crow had rehearsed this, "Hey, you take that back!" said Reggie in defense of his brother,

"Like we`re gonna listen to the brother of an Eggman wannabe!" said Jeff, causing all of the other Freedom Fighters to start shouting words of agreement. Angry at being called that, Roy balled up his fists, causing his gloves to activate and glow a bright blue at their knuckles. When he saw this, Jeff smiled for a split second at the fact that his goading was working, but he wiped it away before anyone saw before saying, "So, you`re going to attack me, huh?" he hissed at Roy.

"Leave me and my brother and I alone, Jeff," Roy said in warning.

"Stay out of this, giving Roy more time to betray us? I don`t think so." Jeff stated, retrieving a halberd from its holder on his back and bringing it to bear.

It seemed a fight was about to break out, but before anything happened, a commanding voice called out from the crowd, "That`s just about enough!" boomed the female voice.

When they heard this, both Jeff and Roy turned to see a female chipmunk step through the crowd and into the center. When he saw her, Jeff immediately dropped his weapon and saluted, as did the other Freedom Fighters.

"Princess Acorn, I-I-" Jeff stammered.

"Please, it`s just Sally…" she spoke gently, then she looked at both Roy and Jeff before continuing "…what is going on here?" she said, this time in a much more commanding tone.

"We were playing on the hill and we accidentally crashed through the back wall of the barracks," explained Roy.

But before Sally could say anything, Jeff interjected, "You`re not going to believe this freak, are you!? He attacked the barracks on purpose and his brother is an accomplice!" he said, pointing at Roy and Reggie accusatorily.

Roy was about to say something in protest, but he stopped when he saw that Sally had slightly raised her hand, signaling for everyone to be quiet,

"I`ve heard enough," Sally said, "Jeff, I think you`re overreacting a bit."

"Are you just going to get away with it?!" Jeff protested, pointing at Roy again.

"I never said that…" Sally replied while taking a quick look at the damage to the barracks, then she turned to face Roy and continued, "…Roy, while it was most likely an accident, you did damage the barracks and endanger your brother, so I am forced to relegate you to exile from our village for one whole day as punishment for the damage you caused."

Roy said nothing.

"Well then, I request the duty of escorting him out of our village," Jeff said, his voice dripping with malice.

"No, you will not, Jeff -" Sally replied curtly, "-as of this point, your duty is to supervise the repair of the barracks."

Sally pointed to one of her Freedom Fighters "You there, Hershey, you are to escort Roy to our borders and to make sure that he does not re-enter the village until exactly twenty-hours have passed."

"Yes, ma`am!" Hershey said; as she promptly took Roy by the arm. Then Sally picked another Freedom Fighter from the crowd, "Hamlin, escort Reggie to his home and inform Roy`s parents of what has just happened."

Without a word, Hershey started to usher Roy away, despite Reggie's protests.

"Don`t worry, Reggie, it`s only a day!" he reassured his distraught younger sibling

Sensing that her job here was done, Sally left without another word so she could go back to sleep, she had already dealt with a long night of brainstorming and this whole mess was not helping any. When he saw that Sally was out of earshot, Jeff decided that he would have the final word, "Oh, I think you deserve far worse, but who am I to disobey her highness." Jeff said.

"Leave me alone," Roy said, not even bothering to look at Jeff,

"Oh, that`s a laugh, you, telling me to leave you alone, after all of the meddling that your family has done over the years-" The crow hissed provokingly.

"That`s quite enough, sir," Hershey interrupted.

"What, you`re defending this traitor?!" Jeff snapped at Hershey.

"I am neither defending him nor condemning him, I am simply following the written law." Hershey replied.

"And what laws would those be?" Jeff asked.

"That all exiled persons are to be shunned and never spoken to -" Hershey explained.

"Bah, I don`t know what part of the law book you`ve been stuffing your nose in at night, but fine, I have no need to converse with an Eggman wannabe anyway." Jeff said before returning to the village in a huff.

After she was sure that Jeff was out of earshot, Hershey spoke, "You know I lied, right?"

"Lied about what?" Roy asked.

"I lied about that rule; you know, the one saying that exiles are to be shunned," she replied,

"Why would you do that?" Roy asked, not really getting the point,

"Well, two reasons: one, I wanted to get Jeff to go away and two, your family has done so much for our village, I just had to repay them somehow; getting 'the Jeff' off your back seemed like a good way to do it," Hershey explained,

"Hold on a moment; what`s going on with you calling him 'the Jeff' anyway?" Roy asked chuckling.

"Oh, right, Jeff had a reputation for driving his trainees so hard that on average, eight out of ten of `em would quit in the first week of training…" Hershey explained, "…and this was all before the Eggman showed up."

"Wait a moment, you mean there was a time before that monster was around?" Roy asked, surprised, "…I`ve always heard that he was an immortal demon that took your soul and put it into a machine to act as his puppet." He added,

"Oh, yeah, that children`s story…" she remarked, "…nope, according to Jeff, the Eggman appeared about fifty years ago and at first was considered an ally to us Mobians, but then we found out that he just wanted to use our talents to take over the rest of the world; when we refused, that`s when the Eggman decided to start roboticizing folks to force them to do what he wanted anyway; it all seemed like it was over, but then Sonic appeared about twenty-five years ago; the rest is history."

"Why wasn`t anyone told about this?" Roy asked,

"Well, the whole story wasn`t really kept from us on purpose, not really…" Hershey explained, "…it just most people didn't want to tell their children or simply didn`t want to admit that they were once allies with the greatest nightmare of our age."

For a while, neither of them talked, Roy was still trying to process recent events while Hershey simply had nothing else she wanted to say. After a while, Roy could not help but ask, "Why is all this happening?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Hershey asked in reply.

"Why am I being exiled for a day and not get thrown into the brig" Roy replied, "this isn't standard procedure, is it?"

"Do you think I'm a mind reader? I have theories but -" Hershey replied.

"What kind of theories?" Roy asked.

"Gossip actually, that you venerate Eggman, but I never believed it" she replied, "…besides, no offense, but I don't think you're anywhere near as smart as him."

"But I`ve been trying to give you some tips and weapons and no one would listen; they`d just say something about how I`m defiling the premise of the Freedom Fighters and then act like what I just said didn`t matter," Roy complained, "…and now I`m getting exiled because of my ideas!"

"Hey, don`t look at me, I never get one say or another concerning how things are run around here, nor do I want to…" Hershey replied, "…but from what I heard, there`s a new Freedom Fighter that`s making some headway into changing that."

"Who?" Roy asked,

"Come to think of it I didn't catch the name, but I'm fairly certain it started with an N…" Hershey replied,

"Tch, well that`s really helpful, thanks," Roy said sarcastically,

"Alright, if you`re gonna be like that, then just shut up until we can both go home." Hershey said.

The two did not speak any further until they reached a row of wooden posts that marked the village limit.

"Be back here in approximately twenty-three hours, and I'll escort you back." Hershey ordered Roy.

"It`s been an hour already? I didn`t think that we`d been walking that long." Roy inquired,

"Look, my orders are to take you out of town, not walk you to Robotropolis." Hershey replied.

"Well, gee, that`s very generous of you," Roy remarked sarcastically,

"Just be patient…" Hershey said, "…home isn't going anywhere." With that, Hershey found a comfortable spot and sat down to keep an eye on Roy. Deciding it was best to sleep his sentence away, Roy laid his head down next to a tree and shortly thereafter, fell asleep…

Quite sometime later, Roy awoke to booming sounds in the distance.

"Roy, get up!" Hershey shouted when she saw Roy was awake.

Roy stood up to see Hershey staring into the forest, After standing up the rest of the way Roy saw it as well: sporadic flashes of light, coinciding with the booming sounds, as well as smoke billowing over the top of the trees.

"Is, that the way to Knothole?" Roy asked, his voice slightly shuddering at the frightening possibility,

"Yes," Hershey replied shakily.

"We have to get home." Roy stated.

"If there's still a home left after all this," she replied in a quivering tone.

The pair ran all the way to the village in just under a minute, only to be greeted by a terrible sight: the village of Knothole marched upon by hundreds of Swatbots and Robian; laying waste to everything in their path.

In the distance, Hershey spotted a hopeful sign of life: a group of ragged refugees slipping away amid the chaos. "Roy, we have to help them.” She said, but when she turned around, Roy was already heading further into the village, towards his own house and by extension the robotic menace.

Hershey quickly gave chase, catching up to him in the span of a heartbeat, grabbing him by the shoulder and spinning around to face her tear streaked face. "Roy, stop! Whoever's back there. They're gone!" Hershey shouted as she tried to usher him away to safety.

"Let go of me; I have to help him!" Roy stated, brushing her aside and continuing forward.

Before Hershey could reply, a trio of Swatbots crashed through a nearby building and onto the road; one of them took aim with its wrist-mounted laser rifle and fired a bright red beam of light at them.

"Run!" as Hershey yelled as he quickly pushed Roy away from the shot, just barely avoiding certain death herself as she squeezed off two rounds from her hunting rifle back at the Swatbots, but both ricocheted off without leaving so much as a scratch on their black chrome finishes. Hershey grabbed ahold of Roy and darted into an alleyway as quickly as she could as dozens of deadly beams of light filled the street behind her.

"Why are we heading further into the village?" Roy asked worriedly.

"Now`s really not the time for questions, move!" Hershey replied before she ushered Roy between the buildings and away from the assailants. When they reached the other side, Hershey directed Roy to a nearby building on the other side of the street, "Stay inside, I`ll draw them away, then when they`re gone, you use this and find your way north." Hershey instructed Roy before handing him a compass with a black leather casing.

"Why head north?" Roy asked.

"Because that`s-" She was about to reply before a bright flash of red light blinded the both of them and smashed the building next to them.

When the dust settled, Roy found himself alone, Hershey was nowhere to be found, though presumably buried under the nearby rubble.

Before Roy could react, however, another flash of light struck the other building next to him, forcing him to start running again.

The three Swatbots were now much closer, though to Roy`s benefit, he now had two buildings worth of rubble between him and them, but that wasn`t going to be enough, as one of the bots cleared the rubble away with a single swipe, sending pieces of brick flying some thirty blocks away.

Roy turned around just in time to see this and was knocked completely unconscious by a flying chunk of brick, and saw no more…

…Roy awoke quite sometime later, only to find himself trapped in a pile of building materials,

Roy looked around, but no matter where he searched, he could find no trace of an escape route, just darkness and suffocation.

Roy started to panic and begin to hyperventilate as he scrambled for a way out. He moved aside rock and rubble in the immediate vicinity of his paws before coming to the realization that he was no closer to escaping his predicament than before. "Calm down; perhaps this is a good thing, if I can`t see outside, then the bots outside can`t see in." He said to himself.

Then a thought struck him: his family is still out there with those things, Roy reviewed his surroundings one more time, but couldn't find a way out, "Come on, what am I missing, what am I mis- oh, yeah, I forgot!" Roy said, taking his backpack off and rummaging through it. Roy retrieved a set of high-tech goggles from his backpack, put them on and pressed a button on the side of them; instantly, the darkness around him was replaced by the somewhat comforting green glow of infrared vision.

"Now to gather some details…" Roy muttered aloud as he pressed another button on the underside of his goggles, he now saw an ultrasonic image of the pile of rubble he was trapped in.

"Hmm, there`s only about two feet of rock above me..." Roy said, "…now to find a way to get it off of me." Roy thought for only a split second before coming to a solution: he would blast his way out.

"But how can I do that without plastering myself in the process?" Roy asked himself, "I know, the shield emitter, that`ll work!" Roy exclaimed, snapping his fingers,

Roy took the shield emitter out of his pack and fastened it to his belt, "Well, here goes nothing." Roy remarked as he pressed the button on the emitter. In an instant, the rubble cleared with the explosive force of several tons of TNT, sending bits and pieces flying in all directions,

But when the dust settled and Roy got back on his feet, the sight that greeted him was terribly sobering indeed,

There was no real trace of Knothole left, just a snow-covered wasteland,

The ashes from the devastated village coalesced with the fallen snow, painting everything a hideous dull gray. Bits of blackened wood and brick dotted the landscape and a small fire burned here and there for good measure.

Roy simply stood there for a moment before plopping himself on the ground in defeat. There was nothing for him to save and his family was quite likely long dead, so what was the point?

Roy decided that it was best to just wait for exposure to do him in, it being winter, he figured that it would not take too long to do so. He sat there, for a long while, with no thoughts running through his mind, save for one: he failed.

But this is not the end of this story, not by a long shot… because after a while, another thought struck him: he did not just lose his family, his family was taken away from him, and he knew who took them… Eggman.

Roy`s thoughts suddenly turned from grief and lamentation to deep, cold revenge; he was going to make sure that monster paid for what he did; sitting there and dying wasn`t going to accomplish that.

But Roy had a problem: he had no real idea where Eggman was, or even where he himself was for that matter.

"Maybe there at least someone around, someone else who survived the Swatbots." Roy said aloud, "Help here, kinda lost!" Roy shouted at the top of his lungs.

But there came silence, no reply.

After walking around for a few hours, Roy cried once again for any signs of life. Silence again.

Roy decided that crying for help would only attract trouble, so he decided to find his own way out of this wasteland, or at least to some kind of supplies and/or shelter.

Roy searched for quite a while, never taking time to rest, for there was no place to do so.

After about a day of non-stop searching, Roy started to feel dizzy; he instinctively put his hand on his forehead and felt something warm and wet on his hand.

He looked at his hand and saw a dark red liquid on the fingers of his gloves, that brick did more than just knock him unconscious.

Extremely tired and a bit delirious, Roy tried to call out one last time for help, but he only gave a pitiful squeak of a shout before falling over and losing consciousness.

But Roy`s last cry for help brought providence to our brave hero in the form of another Mobian. She resides in the middle of a place that is neither constricting or spacious, but for sanity`s sake, let us call it spacious, the middle of nothing, or at least she thinks she is in the middle, it`s been so long that she does not even remember where or what 'this' is, or even her own name for that matter.

She was enjoying her favorite pastime: shouting the words: 'is anyone there?'; she no longer remembers why she does it, it just seems like something to do.

But this time, her activity was interrupted by someone else`s shouting, "Hello, I need a little help here, kinda lost!" spoke the voice that interrupted her activity. The female Mobian, irritatedly shouted back "Hey, I`m yelling here, wait till I`m finished!"

After she shouted this, the noise stopped and she resumed her odd pastime.

Sometime later, the noise started again, this time louder than the first, this angered the Mobian to a great degree; she was interrupted, again. The female raged at this annoyance, cursing and shouting protests against being interrupted from her pastime, if you had walked in the same room, you would most definitely have already snuck your way back out of the room before you even had time to notice that you were leaving. After her quite frightful bout of cursing, the voice stopped, Thinking that she scared off the annoyance for good this time, the female resumed her aimless shouting.

Quite sometime later, long after the female Mobian had grown bored of shouting, the noise started again, but this time it was weak and frail, as if it came from a dying person who was still desperately trying to cling to life,

"Whoever that is, they don`t sound too good…" thought the Mobian, "…I have to help them." She stated firmly,

The moment she thought those words, a bright light filled her prison, though it only illuminated her, for there were no walls to shine upon. At the light`s source, there was an odd little hole in the void; through it, the Mobian could see something different from the rest of the world, this piqued her interest, so she went over to see what was on the other side of the hole. Making her way over to this odd point in her strange world via some method unknown, she investigated the hole in the void, finding that it looked exactly the same from all directions, this puzzled her,

The Mobian figured that she should touch this curiosity, but the moment she made contact with the hole in the void, it expanded, whilst at the same time the void around her seemed to contract as if it was being replaced by the world that was on the other side of the hole, Before she could react, the Mobian suddenly felt the ground beneath her feet, air in her lungs and bright light in her eyes.

This all startled her and caused her to trip over on the ground face first.

"This is so odd…" said the Mobian, "…why is this stuff all over the ground?" she said, gazing at the dirt and snow whilst still laying face first in it.

The newcomer staggered onto unfamiliar feet which she tottered unsteadily upon until by some ingrained muscle memory she managed to right herself. With her eyes, blinking like a newborn baby as she took in the sights about her.

All around her was covered in white; shiny char-wood dotted the landscape, the sun was glinting off of every reflective surface in a dazzling display of light.

"Lovely." Said the Mobian, her eyes glinting in the spectacle.

Then she looked at herself, she saw her brown fur was covered with a tattered cloak that looked as though it was at one point pitch black, but it now was bleached a pale grey.

On her hands and feet were odd looking gloves and boots, they looked as if they were at some point gem encrusted, but all of the facets had lost their adornments ages ago, leaving only a slightly hideous set of mottled black and grey set of clothes. But the Mobian`s inspection was cut short by a weak cry from behind her, barely above a whisper "H-help me…"

The Mobian turned around to see Roy lying there, unconscious and with one foot already in the grave.

"Oh, dear, what happened to you?" asked the female Mobian, but there was no reply.

"You gotta get to someplace warm," she commented; never once asking why she knew what he needed.

The female decided to carry Roy to safety, though where exactly 'safety' was she did not know.

But when she touched his arm, the Mobian was suddenly flooded with new information, images, words, images about words and words about images, all coursed through her mind, and all at once,

Instead of being knocked over by this flood of information, the female Mobian simply continued what she was doing and slung Roy over her shoulder with ease, but she carried the look of one who suddenly had a great deal to think about and no time to ponder it.

She then proceeded to search for some kind of shelter. Following her new memories, the Mobian quickly found a wooden cottage that was somehow still standing amongst the ruins,

When she made her way inside, the Mobian found a simple cot and a wooden chair, beyond that there was nothing else in the room save for a roof, walls and dust. The female sat Roy down on the cot and then sat down in the chair, but when she sat down, the chair gave way almost immediately, transforming from a chair to a pile of firewood in a single move.

Finding that she had no place to sit, the Mobian decided to stand at the window and ponder her newly acquired memories.

"What is my name?" the Mobian asked herself, she pondered this question for a while, periodically muttering things like, "Now I know my name isn`t Roy because Roy is over there, is it perhaps Jeff? No, that`s not it, silly, that name is for the birds; let`s try that again…"

After a while of heavy pondering, the Mobian found a name that didn`t belong to a bird or a dude or both; she kept seeing a female fox wearing a white blouse and black jeans, "Could that be me?" she asked herself, there was no mirror around, so she could not confirm it.

After a few minutes, she decided; that fox was most likely her, so that fox`s name is most likely her name as well.

"That`s it, my name is Samantha!" she exclaimed, but Roy was still unconscious and did not hear her.

The female now known as Samantha looked over to Roy and just stood there staring at him for a while, trying to understand why she knew so much about him, and yet she knew for a fact that she had never even met him until about a few minutes ago.

"Perhaps I knew him at some point and then I got hit in the head and forgot." Samantha mused to herself.

For quite some time, Samantha stood there and pondered everything she had just learned from Roy`s memories, especially the most recent.

When she started to ponder the memory of Roy`s conversation with Hershey, her curiosity was quite piqued, for some reason, every time the memory mentioned Eggman, she kept seeing an image of a furless fellow with a ridiculously large moustache and an annoying voice.

"What an odd character, where`d all his fur go? Poor guy, no wonder he`s angry." Samantha said aloud.

Samantha`s comment made enough noise that Roy stirred in his sleep, "Oh, sorry, go back to sleep, didn`t mean to wake you…" Samantha said in a whisper.

Deciding that she did not want to disturb Roy`s rest, Samantha thought it best to go outside and think.

When she stepped out of the door, she saw the moon had risen some time ago, painting the scenery a brilliant blue-grey,

"This whole place is even more beautiful at night, wonderful…" Samantha said, placing a hand on her heart as if to still it.

The sky above resembled a rich wall of diamonds, endlessly shining amidst that dark canvass of the Universe. Then something interrupted her stargazing, an odd wave of energy washed over her, in response, her body started to glow a faint and deep blue color. "What is this?" Samantha asked.

She looked at her hands, the glow had softened a bit, but it was still noticeable; every time she moved her hand in front of her eyes, she saw a shimmer, almost like what happens to the air above a fire. A few minutes later, a bright flash came from the sky, Samantha looked up to see that one of the stars in the sky was now a million times brighter than all the rest combined. Then, as quick as it appeared, the star suddenly dimmed all the way to nothing, save for a small disc of light, a remnant of the brilliant heavenly light and nothing more.

Samantha wanted to see this disc a bit closer, to see what just happened, to investigate the wonder she just saw; but she knew that she could not reach them, for she could not leave the ground, so Samantha decided to go back to the cottage and see how Roy was doing, but when she turned around, she could not see the cottage, in fact, she could not even see the ground.

Samantha looked around herself, but the ground was nowhere to be seen, "Am I, flying?" Samantha asked, looked down and her question was answered when she saw terra firma some fifty feet down. She wiggled her toes and realized this was no trick of the senses.

"But, how?" Samantha asked. Glancing around, she noticed that her hands were now glowing brighter than ever and they seemed to project a bright blue stream of aether downwards which seemed to keep her suspended in mid-air.

Seeing that she could now reach that disc and with no other frame of reference, Samantha headed there. With a single instinctive thought, she started to ascend, as if the act of flying was as normal as running.

Higher and higher she traveled, as her confidence slowly grew, and so did her speed, until she started to see a cone of clouds form around her and a deafening noise begin to permeate the air.

Yet higher still she ascended, traveling higher and higher, the air started to become thin and cold, ice started to form on her hair and fur, stinging her with its cold embrace, Samantha felt no fear until she drew a heaving breath and realized the air was thinner than anticipated. She drew one wheezing breath, then another, but no respiration was granted to her. Her eyes crusted over with ice and she started to lose consciousness; at about thirty thousand feet up, Samantha lost consciousness altogether…

Samantha awoke about three thousand feet from the ground to see her new predicament: she was now hurtling towards the ground at a frightful pace; she needed to level out and fast, but it was too late, as she was now moving too quickly to change course, her only recourse was to curl up into a tight ball before she hit the ground.

She crashed some sixty feet from the cottage that Roy was resting inside, creating an explosion worthy of a large artillery shell and sending bits and pieces flying in all directions, After the dust settled, Samantha opened her eyes to find herself in a crater, but when she looked around, she found that much to her surprise she hadn`t a scratch on her.

"Ok, this is odd…" Samantha remarked, she didn't have any real memories, but some innate logic made her aware that falling for several miles and being unharmed upon landing was markedly abnormal, but before she had enough time to think about what just happened, Samantha heard someone call out to her, "Umm, are you alright?” Asked the interruption.

Samantha turned to see Roy standing at the crest of the newly formed crater.

"Oh, you`re awake!" she exclaimed, quickly climbing out of the crate before hugging him tightly as if she had known him for years.

"Umm, who are you?" Roy asked, confused.

"It`s me!" Samantha exclaimed.

"I think you're mistaken. I really don't know you." Roy stated, pulling himself away.

"Oh, right, I`m sorry, you`re right, let`s start from the beginning. My name is Samantha and you’re Roy; right?" Samantha asked excitedly.

"Uh, yeah, that`s my name. How do you know?" Roy asked in reply.

"I don't. The last thing I remembered is finding an odd hole in my world and then finding you on the other side, and then I touched you shoulder and all of a sudden I knew everything about you-" Samantha replied in a hyperactive voice that Roy found quite indiscernible.

"Ok, slow down, I`m confused, what are you talking about?" Roy asked; rather taken aback at the suddenness of it all.

"I think it would be easier to understand if you used your goggles and scanned me." Samantha said.

"How do you know about these?" Roy asked, as he unconsciously reached for the rim of his goggles.

"Like I said, it will be easier to understand after you scan me, trust me." Samantha replied.

"Uh, alright then…" Roy said as he pressed a button on the side of his goggles. At once, Roy`s goggles made a detailed scan of Samantha, save a few exceptions for decency, to Roy's disbelieving eyes. "These readings… They don't make any sense," Roy said incredulously.

"What do you mean; is there something wrong with me?" Samantha asked.

"What I mean is that based on all the data, you shouldn`t even be alive, much less a walking talking Mobian as you are right now," Roy replied.

"Why do you say that?" Samantha asked.

"Well, for one thing, your molecular density is absolute," Roy replied.

"Is that good or bad?" Samantha asked.

"Neither, it`s actually impossible; at your body`s density, you should be heavier than the planet itself, and yet according to your gravimetric data, you only weigh three tons, and to top it off, your electro encephalographic readings are running perpendicular to my own." Roy replied.

"What do you mean by that?" Samantha asked; subconsciously checking her figure at the mention of weighing three tons.

"What I mean is: the only way for your brain to function on the exact same wavelength as mine would be for you to have all of my same experiences, but in order to accom-" Roy began to say, but he felt a solid spike of pain shoot through his head and promptly doubled over, grasping his head with mouth agape as though he were locked into a silent scream.

"Roy, are you okay!?" Samantha exclaimed as she quickly ran over and caught him before he hit the ground.

"It's okay, it’s just that I shouldn't be using my 'Instant Design' with a concussion." Roy explained.

"'Instant Design'… isn`t that the ability that allows you to invent things at a moment`s notice?" Samantha asked.

Okay, that is going to get tiresome really fast! Roy thought, despite the screaming pain in his head. "Yes, that`s exactly right, so I need to get these off for now." He said aloud as he took his goggles off his head, "Umm, you can let go of me now."

"Oh, right, I`m sorry, let me help you up," Samantha said as she lifted Roy to his feet.

"So, what are we doing now?" Samantha asked a slightly dazed look on her face.

"North" Roy muttered as he rummaged through his pack, "We're heading north, away from Robotropolis and towards… oh, shoot, where`d that compass go?"

"You mean the one that Hershey gave to you?" Samantha asked.

"Do you know where it is?" Roy asked as he continued to look around.

"No, I don`t, but I do know that you have another in your equipment chest at the foot of your bed," Samantha replied, jabbing a finger in a seemingly random direction.

"What are you pointing at?" Roy asked.

"Cause that`s the way to your house…" Samantha replied, "…you really need to look at your memories a bit more objectively." She remarked,

Oh, great, now she`s starting to talk like me! Roy thought before he said aloud "If you know the way, lead on, I need to get my equipment and rations anyway."

"Fine then, follow me," Samantha said as she started to walk with him in tow.

"Hey Samantha," Roy said after a few minutes.

"What is it, Roy?" Samantha asked.

"I know that it`s probably just a coincidence, but you have my mother's name." Roy replied.

"Really, that`s funny…" Samantha replied, "…nah, it`s probably just a coincidence."

To be continued…

 Thank you very much for reading my story (Or at least skipping to the end to read this comment)

I hope that you enjoyed it and I also hope that you favorite and watch this story.

(Edited by Zoggerific: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/10296931/ and yours truly).   (Original idea by yours truly).

[survivorgreatlakes-blog]

Episode 4 - “I’d rather get spanked in the ass by karma herself” - Emmon

Oh my god! That tribal could not have gone any better than it did. It proves how strong trust can be, and that people can trust you back if you give them the chance to. Some of the Odawa members were just too social, and that was their downfall tonight.

BLESS. I am back to my tribe. Also literally went to exile for NOTHING since someone else found the super idol first, but whatever. I think i'm in a good spot now because of Queen Luke. ALSO BYE KAGE.

HAHAHAHAHA IM CACKLING FUCKKKK!!! All the lies I told Kage made him paranoid and then he went crazy. THEN I told all the people I trust that he's a crazy player and they believed me and now he's here in Redotion lake and I literally get to end his game omg. Poetic justice at its finest

Okay i bet all the records and I can die now.I didnt give 100% in the challenge because why huh ??? Kage is so ugly like his game is messy af.

I'm legit ecstatic lol.  An idol was used to send out someone I didn't trust, my whole former tribe is not looking to be in the best spot, and I'm about to go take me a little vacation at exile :D

AHHH! Tribe swaps are never fun, especially when it's 4-4-1. But hey, we just have to keep winning at this point. This next week is the week i went home the last time i played, so i'm praying history doesn't repeat itself. I'd rather get spanked in the ass by karma herself than get out 3rd again.

Hi! I'm Luke and I just did THAT. The plan worked perfectly and Kage was taken out thanks to me. I was not ready for the fuckery of rocks this early in the game because I could have been rocked out and I ain't no Paschal English, Katie Collins or Jessica Lewis! I also think it's extremely fitting that the Oscars are happening tonight when my alliance is talking about the super idol because the Oscar should go to ME for acting shocked that it exists when I have it in my pocket ready to use for when I get voted out. Hopefully I won't have to use it until merge if I make it but (:

So Matt is telling me whilst at The Shoreline there is a new idol combination that's longer the previous one and I sWEAR TO GOD! IF Y'ALL! MADE MY SUPER IDOL FAKE! IN EXCHANGE FOR A NEWER HARDER TO FIND ONE! I'LL CHOKE!

I love the fact that the swap has forced me onto such a weird position, I'm not the one being pagonged but Meskwaki members that stayed on their tribe might be completely Anti-Odawa which could be bad for me. I wish Kage luck but he might get eaten up by Andreas so ehh, I hope the other 4 Odawa can stick it out. About the abduction it was most likely someone on NuMeskwaki but it definitely could be someone here as well, either way Odawa is screwed and whoever it was just did this in an attempt to get Adam safe and now the tribe is 5-4-1 :]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]] why is everyone doing this to me i don't know how to be an underdog

i'm tired and every time i go to the shoreline i regret it and i always forget to search FUCK

I'm not gonna lie I was pretty sad to see that I was separated from literally every Odawa member and I might not see them until the reunion call which is pretty grim but probably true unless there's another swap. I really don't know the dynamic of this tribe but I'm really glad we keep winning and winning because I don't want to deal with tribal and not live up to the underdog role the game is practically forcing on me. The way I see it Meskawaki 2.0 is pretty much full-on boner assault on Anti-Odawa which has me concerned but my weak ass can't do anything about it so whatever.

i was bored so i started drama with andreas. i really have no idea what kind of game i want to play so far.... adam being added is extremely interesting because meskwaki now has majority 5-4-1. I feel like i can convince people to vote on my side for a game-changing vote. :D i wanna get some threats out while andreas aka the comp master iss till in redemption

This is fantastic. People are LITERALLY THANKING US FOR TAKING KAGE OUT. I feel kinda bad, but he did it to himself. He didn't keep his mouth shut WHATSOEVER and he threw people's names around, especially mine, so that's grounds for elimination. Talk shit, get hit. I'm currently talking to Bodhi about the tribal council and he's asking for "reassurance we're still working together" and of course I say yes, but something doesnt feel right about it. He's using those petty ass cheeky emojis and it makes me not want to trust him. ESPECIALLY SINCE HE TOLD ADAM TO VOTE FOR ME! I'm leading him to believe I'm still on his side, but I can't say at this point if I want to or not yet. This is going to cause me to have to choose between allies, which I really don't want to do this early in the game. On one end, I have Luke and Eric, with Luke ready to flip on Eric whenever I flip the switch. I'm pretty close to Luke at this point, and to flip on him would be chaos. And then Bodhi, who comes as a package deal with Aidan and Christian. Hopefully, if worst comes to worst, I try to get Bodhi to vote Christian or Aidan since they're rarely around. Dana is in the middle with me, so we're going to have to choose if we have to go to tribal again. I plan on winning today though, because this is a challenge I'm actually good at.

Pet Peeve #1 = Attempting to correct me on the rules when you, yourself do not understand them......I love Matt but yikes, that's how you get on my bad side.

I knew Kage would try and slander my name once he got voted out. Sucks that I just pinned it on Eric and evaded attack...I mean, Eric did lie about the Super Idol saying it was just a regular one.....

Crow caws onward! Shook that we won that tribal immunity, but we did it! I've secured a spot in the final 17 without attending TC yet....good and bad, but still mostly good ;) Scott is clearly wary of me after my incident with Kage at Shoreline, but I actually don't need him :X I have a good relationship with both Kyle and Stoner so if the vote goes Anti-Meskwaki I should be in the loop....so Scott better not keep up this sort of untrustworthy attitude towards me or we're gunna have some issues....jeepers!

YYYYAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS I got invited into an alliance and its not by tribal lines! Me, Julia, Augusto, Scott, and Kyle.....it's perfect. 2 from both Meskwaki and Wyandot - 1 from Odawa (so no tribe has majority within the alliance) and we all get along! This will definitely ensure all of our safety at this upcoming tribal considering the others will assume it's Old Meskwaki vs. Old Wyandot.... And I'm also glad that I wasn't the founder of the alliance so that if it does get exposed, I won't take the (full) fall for it and can recover.....this is amazing!

And now I find out that it's because of Kyle....I KNEW THAT BOND WOULD COME IN HANDY! Hey, I might be at the bottom of this alliance, but I'm in it! Like Jeff Varner once said, the answer is yes! This ship is sailing, and I don't know where it's going but I'm ON IT! >:)

Things have certainly shaken up here in the Great Lakes! Firstly, Wyandot won immunity last round which was amazing cause who knew what would've happened if we did. Meskwaki went to tribal and everything went perfectly, Dana and Carson stayed and Kage went... thankfully. After that dramatic tribal, Emmon told me he found an Amulet of Abduction and asked who we should take. He eventually decided Adam, which I wasn't opposed to as he is someone we could swing on over to our side. Emmon, being the lovely person he is, had me in his thoughts when he made that decision which I appreciate. Adam came to our tribe and everything was fine and dandy. Everyone decided to have a sex party or whatever at the Shoreline and it was REVEALED by Andreas that a super idol had been found. First of all, why is everyone but me finding advantages? Secondly, HE DID THAT!! It jumbled things up a bit and because I'm a messy bitch that lives for drama, I certainly didn't mind that. Whoever has it is lucky af!! Back at Wyandot, I decided to create a lovely alliance with Kyle and Scott. My thought process regarding that was the simple fact that we all were on different starting tribes and could spill all sorts of tea to each other. I also want to save myself by any means neccessary to get to the merge, so this is somewhat beneficial. If the alliance will be successful, I'm not sure. All I know is that we have to put rubber to road and see how things pan out.

For whatever reason, I am looking in all the wrong places! The Shoreline doesn't mesh well with me apparently, so yay for that! I do appreciate the fact that the other tribe gets to see me, so it could build up bonds and whatnot... which is the plan! My intuition is on-point because I totally suspected something would happen this round and surely enough, it's a double tribal council! Now we have to break down what we've built here on NuWyandot and it sucks, honestly. I wanted to escape tribal for a few more days to make sure I didn't go home. ;-; Now we just have to wait for the free-for-all to begin and for the bloodbath to commence. I was complaining about not playing the game, but I guess you truly get what you wish for out here. What I'm trying to do is build good relationships with everyone here and make side alliances if I need to. An alliance that is in the works is myself, Roxy, Kyle, Crow, and Scott which I'm fine with because I had made an alliance with Kyle and Scott a few days prior to that. The old Wyandot tribe wants to stick together, which is lovely! Honestly, it would be the best if maybe Dan went home cause it'd be easier for people to flip on him... especially due to the fact that he probably hasn't connected with everyone, at least in my eyes. My best bet would be him or maybe Adam? We'll see, but I really hope I can win immunity or something cause it's crucial that I make it through this round... I don't wanna flop again ;-;

I've been weighing out my options for this vote. I could either A) vote for Eric, stick with Aidan, and have Aidan be voted out 4-2. Or I could B) vote for Aidan, my closest ally from day 1, and have him go in a 5-1 vote. If I pick A, then I feel good about myself, but then Eric might not trust me. If I pick B, then I'll feel like shit for voting out my closest ally, but Eric might trust me. I want Eric, Luke, Carson, and Dana to all want to stick with me because Odawa is very dead now. If I can line up these targets correctly, I'll just ride it out until the end. But fuck, it hurts me very hard to vote out someone as close as Aidan.