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peaceoutofthepieces · 4 years ago

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Sink Or Swim

tag list: @cleocc @feeling-kinda-so-so @hopelessromanticvirgo @dreamy-slytherin @adora8 @lockerfivethreefive @painfully-oblivious @poeticinemaa @jjustonemorething @sassy-sara @wedarkacademia @coolguyssyndrome @hischbabe @suckerforsobbe @tayspots @starmansander @theah0lt @zoenneforever @invisibleme @chibibanane @odi-et-amo85 @watermelonlover-123 @xiaomailab

The following clip contains mentions of mental illness and suicide attempt (near the end — when Lucas starts talking about his mother). Feel free to skip that section and message me for a brief description.

~^~

Friday, 19:41

Songs: Haux - Something To Remember; SG Lewis - Warm

Jens’s hands shake as he unlocks the door, nudging it open quietly with Lucas close at his back. He steps into the dark hallway and flicks on the light, dropping his keys on the small table as Lucas shuts the door behind them. Jens wills himself to relax, reminds himself that they’re alone as he shrugs off his coat and hangs it on the hook and allows Lucas to do the same.

“What did you say your parents are doing?”

“They’re having a date night for their anniversary, booked a hotel room. Lotte’s staying at her friend’s house.”

Lucas hums, tugs Jens around to face him and slides his arms around his waist. “So we’re alone, and you can chill.”

Jens drops his head onto his shoulder and nods, pressing a kiss to the crook of Lucas’s neck. He reaches behind himself to take Lucas’s hands and then leads him into the house. Jens plans to take him on a short tour, but they get interrupted at the first stop. Ace slinks out through the doorway to the sitting room and immediately winds himself through Jens’s legs, gazing up at Lucas warily.

“You have a cat?” Lucas asks, grinning down at the furball.

“Yeah, and he can be kinda bitchy, so I’d hold off on becoming a fan.”

As Jens says it, Ace butts his head against Lucas’s leg. Lucas raises his brows, grinning widely as Ace wraps around his feet. He leans down to scratch behind the cat’s ears and earns himself a purr as Ace rubs his head against his palm.

Jens watches the interaction with a glowing heart. It had been a spur of the moment decision, when Jens had asked him to come over. He hadn’t allowed himself to overthink, but had just jumped at the opportunity. He can’t remember the last time he has had the house to himself, but it certainly wasn’t within the space of time in which he’s known Lucas. Jens had only managed to spend the two nights so far with Lucas due to pure luck. Lucas had snuck him in the first time, and then his father had been working an evening and morning shift the second. They have never got to spend a full night truly alone, just to themselves, and that’s what Jens wants. His body thrums with the need for it even now, having ratcheted up a few notches since last Friday.

It’s almost unbearable, how much he just wants Lucas’s hands on him. It’s definitely embarrassing.

He may also be hoping to coax Lucas into opening up a little. Lucas has been a little quiet the past few days, thoughtful. He keeps turning to Jens as if he wants to say something and then stopping with a smile, offering him a kiss instead. Jens doesn’t mind the added affection in the slightest, even while being teased by his friends, even while wondering why it doesn’t freak him out. Lucas touches him and everything else seems to go still. That doesn’t worry him.

But there are other questions that still cause him concern, and he’s waiting and waiting for Lucas to provide the answers. He’s desperately reminding himself to be patient, to be trusting, but it’s difficult. It’s harder when he fears the faith isn’t being returned.

It’s familiar.

“You were so cute,” Lucas marvels, snapping Jens out of his daze. He’d wandered into the sitting room on his own and now stands admiring the photo frames on the mantle. His mouth stretches into a grin, taking in various images of Jens at different ages, none of them all that flattering.

“Come on, I didn’t bring you here so you could tease me,” Jens protests.

Lucas turns to him and raises a brow, smirking. “I thought that’s exactly why you brought me here.”

Jens flushes, but doesn’t deny it.

Lucas walks back to him, laughing quietly. “I’m not teasing, though. I mean it. You’re adorable.” He presses up onto his toes and kisses Jens’s nose.

Jens resists the urge to roll his eyes at him or drag him into a proper kiss and leads him to the kitchen instead. Lucas traipses after him leisurely, taking everything in, trailing his fingers along the wall. Jens opens the fridge. “Do you want anything else to eat? Or drink?”

“Uhm, just water, maybe?”

Jens pours him a glass of water and hands it over, filling one for himself and leaning back against the counter before taking a sip. He considers Lucas for a moment and then holds up a finger before slipping out to the back door. He cracks it open and immediately catches sight of Nugget on the step, waiting patiently.

Jens huffs and steps back, opening the door wider and allowing him to scuttle in and run straight to the kitchen. Jens returns just in time to see Lucas drop into a crouch, face lighting up with excitement as Nugget barges right into his hands, tongue hanging and tail wagging as Lucas sets his hands in his fur.

“Hi,” Lucas coos, voice taking on the tone Jens has only ever heard people use with babies. “You’re so cute. What’s your name? Huh?”

Jens bites his lip as he makes his way over to him, shaking his head at the display. By now Nugget is scrabbling at Lucas’s hoodie, having raised onto his back paws to get closer. “This is Nugget,” Jens introduces. “Nugget, this is Lucas. I was gonna warn you not to be jealous that I might like him more, but obviously he’s not gonna let that be a problem.”

Lucas grins up at him, entirely amused by his sigh and his pout. “You’re still my favourite,” he soothes. “Even more so now that I’ve met your dog.”

Jens laughs, but he is soothed. He relaxes even further as Lucas raises back to full height and draws him into a kiss. They enjoy the few seconds before Nugget barks, and then Jens is huffing and pulling away, looking down at him with a scowl. “Why did I let you in?”

Lucas smacks the back of his head for the comment, but kisses him again immediately after his whine of pain. Jens goes about getting Nugget his food and water as Lucas sits down on the floor and plays with him, looking entirely at home in Jens’s kitchen. It has an effect Jens can’t quite describe beyond the race of his heart and the flutter in his stomach. They spend a little while in this space, talking quietly about nothing. They discuss their studying, exams, assignments, for a few minutes before shutting it down in the agreement to take the night off. Nugget comes to settle himself in Lucas’s lap after filling his stomach, having already taken ownership of the boy. Jens might actually be a little annoyed if he didn’t feel so fond.

After a while, he lets Nugget back out into the garden and takes Lucas upstairs.

He has a brief moment of panic in which he wonders over the state of his room, not entirely comforted by the reminder that he has seen Lucas’s space in utter disarray multiple times. He’s glad when he opens the door and can’t inmediately see a mess or any laundry lying around. He turns to look at Lucas hesitantly, biting his lip as he watches the boy look around, taking in the space with delicate attention.

He moves around, examining the books on Jens’s shelves, his small collection of old CDs. He roves his eyes over the walls, where football posters are still tacked up alongside some of his drawings. Lucas zones in on these, lips twitching up at the corners as he gets closer.

“I didn’t know you drew.”

Jens shrugs. “I don’t, really. At least not like you. Not seriously. Just those kind of doodles.”

Lucas smiles fully, nodding. “They’re cool. Maybe you have a knack for art after all and aren’t just a secret makeup nerd.”

“Oh, Robbe already sent me some of the edited version of that. Do you want to see?”

“Really, already? That was quick.”

“It’s Robbe,” Jens laughs. “He’s always working.”

Lucas nods and Jens nods back, crawling onto his bed and patting the space beside him as he takes out his phone. Lucas settles down against his side, making himself comfortable on Jens’s shoulder the second he’s given permission. Jens pulls up the video and hits play. He relaxes into his pillows, focused more on Lucas pressed against him than the video. Lucas’s quiet laughter is enough of an indicator, and Jens only looks at the phone when he groans, covering his face with a hand.

“I can’t believe I let you rope me into this. Kes and Jayden are gonna see this and they’ll never let me forget about it.”

Jens huffs, pressing a kiss to the top of his head as he watches the footage. It’s one of the close-ups of Lucas, showing off the smoky eye Jens had managed to give him as he looks up at the camera, shaking his head before Jens stills him, laughing. “You look really pretty, though. I mean it,” Jens adds, before Lucas can roll his eyes or laugh it off.

The boy blushes instead, glancing up at him under his lashes, smiling widely. “You think so?”

Jens hums, tilting his head down to kiss him, relaxing further. “You always do, though. My handiwork just helped a little.”

“Oh, is that it?” Lucas laughs, leading Jens to hum again. “Okay, I see.”

Jens goes in for another kiss, but something has distracted Lucas. He leans up and away from Jens as he looks at his shelves again. “Is that a keyboard?”

Jens follows his line of sight before nodding.

“Moyo said you were more of a musician. Why have I never heard you play?”

It’s a simple enough question, and yet it makes Jens nervous. “I don’t know, I don’t really do it as much anymore.”

Lucas looks at him, soft and curious. “Would you play something for me anyway?”

Jens only hesitates for a moment before getting to his feet and fetching the instrument. He settles on the bottom of the bed, facing Lucas, who had leaned back to lie against the headboard as he watches him. Jens balances the keyboard on his lap and takes a moment to turn it on and adjust the volume, pressing a few keys to test it out and give him time to think of a song.

Eventually he settles on a score he’d learned recently, devoid of lyrics and focusing entirely on the notes. It starts off slow and allows him to get into a rhythm, fingers shaking, fluttering through the first few sections before gaining a little confidence as the rhythm becomes familiar.

It’s nerve-wracking, being able to feel Lucas’s eyes on him. Having anyone’s eyes on him. But he focuses on the music, and doesn’t falter.

He floats his hands naturally over the keys, having settled entirely by the time the rhythm picks up. It’s still not the hardest speed, and has a few repetitions, and it doesn’t take quite enough of his attention to make him forget about Lucas. He chances a glance at him when it slows down again, fingers lingering on the keys. Lucas is watching him with rapt attention, lips slightly parted, entirely focused. He looks much too enticing to just be lying here, in Jens’s bed, watching him, not doing anything to distract or attract attention and managing it anyway. Jens quickly averts his gaze down again and falls back into the quicker notes.

By the time he reaches the high section, his heart is at ease. It flows out of him in the stillness of the room, his pulse matching the ebb and flow of the music as it tapers out. It fills him with a light only music can, a familiarity now long ingrained in him. It’s in his nature, to pour himself out through his hands into the keys.

He holds the last note for an extra second, then looks up at Lucas. The boy is already watching him with a smile, eyes alight with that familiar wonder and misty with something Jens can’t identify. He crawls down the bed towards Jens and draws him into a kiss, deep and slow, careful of the keyboard in Jens’s lap as he tangles a hand in his hair. Jens kisses back reflexively, heart thudding.

“You’re amazing,” Lucas murmurs, after a few minutes that may just be seconds, expression still achingly soft.

Jens shakes his head, incidentally brushing their noses together. “It’s nothing special.”

“It is,” Lucas argues. “You are.”

Jens shuts his eyes and presses closer to him, swallowing around the sudden lump in his throat. They remain there for a moment before Lucas quietly says, “I want to talk to you, if that’s okay.”

It’s exactly what Jens had been hoping for, but it surprises him. His chest feels tight as he sets the keyboard aside and devotes his full attention to the other boy, who now avoids his gaze, nervously playing with his hands.

“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to,” Jens reminds him. “But I’m listening. Nothing’s gonna scare me away.”

Lucas nods slightly, licking his lips. He lets out a shaky breath before straightening his shoulders and looking at Jens, resolute. “I know you don’t really understand why I stayed in Utrecht, or why I felt like it was my fault when my mom…” he trails off. Takes another breath. Starts again. “I didn’t tell you, but I fucked up before. After my dad left, everything was a little shitty. I couldn’t do it on my own, couldn’t even understand how to begin. I just needed to get away from it. I spent as much time as I could out of the house. With Kes and Jayden, at their houses or at parties, drinking and smoking. It wasn’t a big deal then, because it’s what we were all doing. I wasn’t just some rebellious, angry kid or something.”

He seems to falter, so Jens nods. Reminding him that he’s listening and also attempting to encourage him on. Jens presses closer, letting their knees bump before he takes Lucas’s hands in his own, rubbing his thumbs over the backs soothingly.

“I didn’t even think about how I was barely seeing her. I was always home late and she was always asleep early. Everything was fine, so I could keep ignoring it. I got home one night as usual and didn’t pay attention to the fact that the door was locked, or that it was unusually quiet. I was shitfaced, so I just went straight to bed. Imagine the fucking shock I had when my dad woke me up shouting the next morning.”

Lucas huffs, self-deprecating, and Jens resist the urge to pull him into his arms. Not yet.

“She was in the hospital,” he says quietly. “She’d downed half a bottle of pills and the neighbours found her. They’d had to call an ambulance. My dad was still her emergency contact. And I had no fucking idea about any of it.”

He looks up, eyes watery, and Jens pulls him in and holds onto him tightly. Lucas folds against his chest, tucking his head easily under his chin as he clings to Jens’s red hoodie. Jens strokes a hand down his face and presses a kiss to the top of his head, breaking down what he’d been told and trying to figure out how he’s supposed to respond.

“Fuck,” is what he eventually settles on. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that, Luc.”

Lucas shakes his head, gripping him tighter. “If I’d just been there, it wouldn’t have happened. I didn’t even know she wasn’t doing well. She was supposed to have someone who could watch out for the signs. She was supposed to be safe with me.”

Jens shakes his head, squeezing him, trying to convey comfort and reprimand all at once. “That’s not fair. None of that is on you. You don’t even know that you could have stopped it.”

“But I could have tried. I could have gotten to her sooner. I could have done something.”

It’s so adamant that Jens doesn’t feel like he can argue. He tries to put logic to it, but it doesn’t feel like something that can be broken down in such a way. He doesn’t think that’s what Lucas wants. He isn’t looking for pity or for Jens to excuse him.

Instead, Jens says, “I understand, Luc.”

Lucas presses closer to his chest, but finally glances up at him. Jens notes that though it had seemed like he would, Lucas hasn’t shed a tear.

Jens strokes his fingers down his cheek and presses a kiss to his forehead, watches him shut his eyes. “Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me.”

Lucas nods, swallowing slightly, tilting his head against Jens’s cheek. “I just—it was too hard to explain right away. It isn’t something I talk about often. I mean, it’s been over a year since it happened and she’s past it, but I’m not. It’s dumb. Getting rid of the guilt...it’s something I’ve worked at and failed on for so long. Going back to her now, and messing up the same way just reminded me of what happened then and I couldn’t let it happen again. I’ve tried so hard, Jens.”

Jens cups his neck and tilts his head back enough to press their foreheads together, sending only comfort now as he gives another nod. “I get it. I’m not mad, Luc. I never was.” He sighs, letting his own eyes close as he attempts to gather his thoughts. “It just scared me. I know that I fuck up easily. I say or do stupid things and I don’t always pay enough attention. I’ve made it hard for people before. I was worried I’d done the same to you.”

Lucas shakes his head against his. “Hey,” he coaxes, touching Jens’s cheek. “I didn’t leave because you made it hard and I didn’t ignore you because I don’t trust you. I went home to tell my friends how much I care about you and I fucked up while I was there. I didn’t want to be the reason anyone got hurt, and I thought the best way to protect you was to let you go. But I fucked up and I’m so, so sorry Jens.”

“Don’t be,” Jens murmurs. “Just promise me you’ll stay.”

He has a feeling that they aren’t done. He’s aware that even if there is truly no more to het out of Lucas, Jens has his own demons lingering between them. But right now, Lucas is in front of him. He can’t bring himself to care about anything else.

“I’m staying,” Lucas swears instantly. “My life is easiest with you in it.”

“I know I’m shit at this, too,” Jens whispers. “At talking about things, and just being honest. I know I can make it hard to trust me. But it—it’s been hard for me to trust anyone, too.”

Lucas strokes his cheek, nodding, expression pinched.

“But I trust you,” Jens admits.

Lucas swallows. “Nothing is hard with you. You’re the only thing I’ve ever been sure of,” he replies.

Jens kisses him, hard and unrelenting, and Lucas gives as good as he gets as he slides his hands under Jens’s hoodie.

#van der stoffels #vds #wtfock #skam nl #sink or swim #vds season fic #sos clip

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imjustthemechanic · 4 years ago

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The Price of a Soul

Part 1/? - Agent Russel Part 2/? - The Letter Part 3/? - Miss Lake Part 4/? - The Stewardess Part 5/? - An Assassination Part 6/? - Fallout Part 7/? - Face to Face Part 8/? - Deals, Details, and Other Devils Part 9/? - Baggage Part 10/? - Private Funding Part 11/? - Just Passing Through Part 12/? - Party of Four Part 13/? - Resolute Part 14/? - The Wreck

They find the plane - and Miss Lake definitely knows something she’s not telling yet.

Peggy would not have expected dogsled to be a very comfortable way to travel, and it was not – to somebody used to the solid bulk of aeroplanes and automobiles, this comparatively rickety contraption felt like it would be shaken to bits underneath her. The wind was bitter on her face and the cold bit into her fingers and toes, numbing them. Yet they covered the ground remarkably quickly, and there was the exuberance of the dogs, who were doing what they’d been born to do and clearly having a marvelous time at it.

Lake was certainly enjoying herself, laughing and calling out “mush!” as she tried to make their sled pull ahead of Howard and Jason’s. It was enough to make Peggy rather resent her. Who was she to be having fun while they were searching for a dead man? Lake herself ought to be in New York tracking down Dottie, and then on her way to prison. She had no right to consider this a holiday.

“Do you know why it’s called mushing?” she leaned down to shout in Peggy’s ear, over the whistle of the wind.

“I don’t!” Peggy replied. “Why?”

“Because when the French settlers learned it from the Iroquois, they would order their dogs to marche!” said Lake. “And the English are terrible at French, so they pronounced it mush, and that’s what it’s been ever since!”

It also took far longer to get to the site by sled than it had by plane. As mile upon mile of icy wasteland rolled by, Peggy began to wonder if they were going in the wrong direction. They need only start out off-course by a few minutes of arc and they would miss the place by miles. But Howard and Jason had their map and their compass and they would stop repeatedly to check. Peggy had to have faith in them.

The first sign that they were on the right track was when they came to the open path in the ice that the narwhals had been using yesterday. There were none there today, though from a distance they spotted the tall black fin of an orca. They had to make a bit of a detour to find a place where it closed over enough for the dogs and sleds to cross, and Peggy didn’t dare look down as they passed over.

“Unicorns are supposed to like beautiful young virgins,” said Lake cheerfully.

“Is that why they left?” asked Peggy. She was not a virgin, and no longer particularly young, either, nor would she have flattered herself by saying she was beautiful… and regardless of her age or charms, Peggy was quite certain Lake did not meet the unicorn’s standards, either.

Lake giggled. “No, I was thinking of them leading the way to Captain America!”

“I see.” Steve had certainly been young and beautiful… even before Erskine’s serum he’d had the most angelic face. His virginity was none of Lake’s business, though, so Peggy did not comment on it.

“This should be it coming up!” said Howard.

The sun was behind them, with their own long shadows stretching ahead across the snow, and the landscape beyond blindingly white. It was impossible to make out any detail. Even the point where the snow met the sky was a little uncertain. Peggy tried cupping her hands around her face to block out as much light as possible but that really did nothing… and then there it was. The flash of sunlight on exposed metal.

“There!” she exclaimed. “A little to the south!”

As they drew closer, they found themselves approaching a tiny rocky island sticking out of the ice, no bigger than a block of Manhattan. There was not a single sign of life there, not even a bird or a patch of moss. Against the harsh sunlight, the exposed rocks looked black as coal… but not all of them, Peggy realized, were rocks. Some of them were too flat, or had ragged edges that did not look like they were made of stone, and then there was that thing the sun kept shining on.

She couldn’t take it anymore. They were still a hundred yards off when Peggy threw aside the blanket covering her legs, rolled off the sled, and ran ahead. As she moved the reflection pulsed rhythmically off slats of unpainted metal, and she realized what she was seeing… the immense fan of one of the Valkyrie’s jet engines, caught on the rocks and half-covered in snow. Every time her angle changed, a different surface caught the sunlight.

The barking of the dogs and the shouting of her companions faded into the background as Peggy climbed the icy rocks to start brushing snow off the engine housing. Under the soft layer that had most recently fallen was more that had hardened into rough ice. Peggy beat this with her fist to crack it, and when her mittens couldn’t get a grip on the edges she took them off and used her bare fingers. Pieces came away, revealing the metal underneath painted matte black, but with a symbol picked out in a higher gloss. She couldn’t uncover very much of it… but it was enough to see the end of a tentacle.

“Peg!” Howard called out from below. “What have you got?”

She blinked away tears, and looked to see the sleds come to a half at the foot of the rocky slope she’d just climbed. Lake was kneeling in the snow reassuring the animals, while Howard and Jason looked expectantly up at Peggy.

“This is it!” she said. “It has to be. This is the Valkyrie… at least part of it!”

“I told you so!” Lake declared – but she didn’t sound mocking or gloating. She was as delighted as they were. She kissed a dog’s nose and told it what a very good girl it was, and then grabbed a shovel off the sled, paused to take in the position of the sun, and paced out a distance across uneven ice to the west of the shattered engine.

She had described seeing Steve’s body in the ice. She must know exactly where he was.

Peggy tried to slide back down the slope, but lost her footing and tumbled, coming to rest in a heap among the rocks. Jason helped her up, and she murmured a thank you before seizing an ice pick and running after Lake. The men joined them moments later, and they all set to work on the layers of snow.

The ice here was far thicker than it had been on the engine, and cutting through it was back-breaking. Despite the cold, all four of them were soon removing hats and mittens as they sweated with the exertion. Peggy could see in Howard’s eyes that he wanted to take a break, but when she offered him one, he refused. He was stubborn enough to keep working as long as everybody else did. Peggy certainly wasn’t going to stop yet, and Lake was digging like a woman possessed.

“Aha!” Howard said, and grabbed Jason’s write to stop him digging. “Look! Look at that! Peggy, move, you’re casting a shadow.”

She moved to the side, and the sunlight fell on the ice below them. It was cloudy and cracked, and very difficult to see anything through but a vague white haze. When Howard pointed it out, however, Peggy saw it – a smear of red.

That reinvigorated everybody. They resumed their work, more carefully now, since they didn’t want to chop right through and damage the body they’d come here to find. But the time they simply had to stop, they could see enough to know that Steve’s body was there exactly as Lake had described it – lying on his back against the top of the plane, eyes closed, his shield on his left arm and some small object clutched in his right hand. His legs were not visible yet, but there was no sign that he was anything but entirely whole.

As the sun passed overhead, clouds blew in and the wind became bitter. They made camp in the old polar bear den beneath the Valkyrie’s torn-off wing, which hadn’t had any bears in it for a very long time and was surprisingly warm even before they got a little stove lit to warm up coffee and supper. There, it was time to discuss what they were going to do next.

“Somebody needs to go back to the plane and radio Stark Industries with our location,” said Howard. “They can send more helpers and better transportation. Something that can land on the ice,” he added, with a nod to Lake. “Guess that better be me.” He looked at the opening of the den, and Peggy could see that he didn’t want to leave. After so long searching for Steve, and having finally found him, he was afraid that if he took his eyes off the crash site, it would vanish.

“I’ll go,” said Jason. “It can’t be Miss Lake because she’ll never come back, and you two have more invested in this than I do. People at the company know who I am and they’ll know the message is from you.”

“Perfect!” Howard grinned, relieved. “You can give them Peggy’s coordinates, they’re close enough to let them find the place, and we’ll wave them in. Tell them we need something that can land on ice but that can lift… I’m gonna say at least two to four tons. It’ll depend on how much of the ice we can get off him. And we’ll need a ship with a big freezer on board. We don’t want him thawing out before we can get him embalmed.”

Peggy nodded, glad Howard had thought of that because she couldn’t bear to. She didn’t feel quite so terrible as she’d feared she might, but the initial triumph of actually finding the wreck had worn off, and she felt drained, as if she could curl up in here and sleep for a hundred years like Rip Van Winkle. There was a part of her that was sad she could no longer fantasize about Steve’s miraculous return, but mostly she was just relieved. This time it really was over, and she would never have to say goodbye to him again.

That was exactly what Daniel had said, wasn’t it? That as long as Peggy didn’t know for sure where Steve was, he would always haunt her. Now at long last, she could truly lay him to rest and move on.

Jason tipped the last of his coffee down his throat and stuffed a piece of tinned pork roast in his mouth. “You want me to come back after I’ve delivered the message, or stay in Resolute with the plane?” he asked.

“Better stay there,” Howard replied. “If they can’t find us they’ll find you, and you can lead them back out here.”

“Got it.” Jason crawled towards the den exit.

“You’re going right now?” asked Peggy.

“The sooner I get there, the less time you have to spend out here in the middle of nowhere,” Jason pointed out.

“And the sooner you get a real meal again,” said Howard.

“Exactly.” Jason smiled. “Good luck.”

“You as well,” Peggy managed.

It was about twenty minutes later, after Jason had no doubt vanished from view, that Howard reached into his own backpack and pulled out a bottle of bourbon. “Damn,” he said. “I was so caught up I forgot I brought this… doesn’t seem right to open it when we’re not all here.”

“Save it for when we’ve got Steve on the ship home,” Peggy decided.

“Then there’ll be more people who want some,” Howard complained.

“You can share,” said Peggy. “For now… it’ll probably take a couple of days at least for your people to get here, so we just need to hunker down.” It would have made more sense, really, for them all to return to Resolute, but she did not suggest that. She didn’t want to leave any more than Howard did. “It’ll give us time to think about other things.” Things Peggy wasn’t sure she wanted to think about quite yet, but which needed to be dealt with.

“Yeah.” Howard stared thoughtfully at their little camp stove. “He wouldn’t have wanted anybody trying to take him apart and see how he worked.”

“No, he wouldn’t,” Peggy agreed. Whatever else he’d been, Steve was, above all, a human being, and they needed to remember him as that, not as the subject of an experiment.

“So we’ll make sure nobody can,” Howard said. “We’ll have to cremate him… we’ll have a public viewing first, because everybody will want to come pay their respects, but after that… and we’ll scatter his ashes at Ebbet’s Field.”

“Where the Brooklyn Dodgers play,” Peggy said with a nod, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. “That’s perfect… that’s exactly what he’d want.”

Howard looked at the bottle again, then tucked it back in his bag and raised his tin coffee cup instead. “To Steve.”

“To Steve,” said Peggy, tapping hers against it.

“To Captain America,” Lake agreed with a glance at Peggy.

Peggy sipped her coffee, then looked at Lake. Their uninvited guide had been full of energy earlier, probably working harder than any of them despite being the smallest. Since they’d stopped work for the day, however, she’d said very little. As Jason was leaving she’d gone out to bring the rest of the dogs into the den with them, so that the animals’ body heat could help keep the space warm, but other than that she’d been quiet and still, as if thinking deeply about something.

“What about you?” Peggy asked her.

“What about me?” Lake said.

“Well, what are you planning to do next?”

“I’ve got an extensive to-do list.”

There was silence for a moment, and then Peggy swallowed hard to get all of her pride down in one lump before saying, “thank you. For leading me to him.”

Lake shook her head. “Don’t thank me yet.”

“Oh, no?” asked Peggy.

“No. You’ll know when.” She gave Peggy a weak but apparently sincere smile. “Trust me.”

#fanfic #captain america #agent carter #peggy carter #steve rogers #steggy #fix it fic

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suitofvibraniumarmor · 4 years ago

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** Writing Challenge **

I know, I know, my next one isn’t quite wrapped up yet, buttttt this idea came to me when my cousin and I were taking a walk down a ridiculous part of Memory Lane and I got excited. I’m guessing this has been done before at some point -- that’s not stopping me from presenting to you:

I love fluff. And I wanna see more of it!

Below the cut you will find some prompts that, in the context of Twilight, are absolutely cringe-worthy. My challenge to you is to take that prompt and make it something we can love.

Disclaimer: I’m not Twilight-shaming ANYONE. I literally sat and watched all of Eclipse and now want to watch both Breaking Dawns. It’s more about sentiment, and the occasional girly giggle for me, but ... yeah. No judgement here, friends.

Guidelines, prompts, and tags are below the cut! (Yes, I copied and tweaked from my last writing challenge. I’m being efficient, thank you! :P )

Please read all of the information carefully!

Rules, Guidelines, Important Dates:

Sign-Ups start when this post is live and will go through to December 30, 2020. I will accept two people for each prompt, one prompt per author.

Please send your sign-ups to my ask box so they’re easier to keep track of. I will answer them privately so I’m not flooding anyone’s dash!

In your ask, please include your preferred prompt and a backup option, as well as your pairing (so I don’t take the same pairing for the same prompt). Also, please let me know if you’ll be posting from a URL other than one you’re asking from.

To be included in the challenge masterlist, please post your fic (or the first part, if it’s a series) by Decemeber 31, 2020.

Please include an author’s note tagging me and mentioning the challenge in your fic post; include #BetterThanTwilightWC in the first five tags. If the tag doesn’t work, you may DM the link to me, also. If you decide to write a series, please tag me in the masterlist.

Please give me up to 48 hours to read your fic before checking if I have seen it. If I have not liked it after 48 hours, please DO check. (You know, since we’re all aware of how unreliable tumblr is. And how unreliable my mind can be. Yikes.)

The challenge masterlist will be posted between January 1 and January 4, 2020.

There are no word count limits, but please use the Keep Reading feature if your story goes beyond 500 words. Additionally, if your fic goes beyond 5000 words, please consider splitting it into multiple parts. This is not a requirement, only something to think about.

Yes, this is a FLUFF challenge, so you MUST have fluff as your main genre. You’re more than welcome to include other genres, but you MUST have a happy and/or hopeful ending.

You’re welcome to think outside of the box! Just because I’m talking Twilight and love stories, doesn’t mean there has to be romance! Give me amazing friendships or strong family bonds or self-love. Or romance! Whatever you’d like.

You're welcome to change pronouns in the prompt as necessary! Heck, I tweaked a few of ‘em so they’re not Twilight-specific.

For personal reasons, I do not read and will not accept into the challenge (which means I will not reblog or add to the masterlist) stories that include: non-con/dub-con, underage sex, adult-child romantic/sexual relationships, spouse-bashing, child abuse – I could go on, but I think you get the idea. If you’re not sure about something, I’m always happy to answer questions!

Bring on the ships, OC’s, reader pairings – I’m trying to be more open-minded as of late, but I can’t promise that I will read everything. Again, for personal reasons. But I will reblog everything!

Characters and RPFs from Marvel/MCU are both welcome.

If you need an extension or need to drop out, please know that I am extremely flexible when it comes to that deadline/due date. In the words of Captain Barbosa, “It’s really more of a guideline.” Just shoot me an ask or a message and we’ll work something out, no worries!

Prompts:

1. “I have always loved you, and I will always love you.” 2. “The clouds I can handle. But I can’t fight with an eclipse.” 3. “I know what you are.” 4. “You held out your hand and I took it without stopping to make sense of what I was doing.” 5. “You have a connection with her that I’ll never understand.” 6. “I’m glad she has you.” 7. “It will be like I never existed. I promise.” 8. “I knew who I wanted to be. I wanted to help people. Brings me happiness.” 9. “That will take a while to get used to.” “We have a while.” 10. “What if I’m not the hero? What if I’m the bad guy?” 11. “I’d rather hear your theories.” 12. (sarcastically) “Super. That makes me really happy.” 13. “You’re like my own personal brand of heroin.” 14. “Maybe I shouldn’t be dating such an old man. It’s gross. I should be thoroughly repulsed.” 15. “It’s an extraordinary thing to meet someone who you can bare your soul to and they’ll accept you for what you are.” 16. “I’ve been waiting for what seems like a very long time to get beyond what I am.” 17. “I feel like I can finally begin.” 18. “He’s totally gorgeous, obviously. But apparently nobody here is good enough for him.” 19. “He did say I couldn’t step inside the door. I came in through the window.” 20. “I know things. Like how to hunt somebody to the ends of the earth. And I know how to use a gun.” 21. “Now I’m afraid.” “Good.” 22. “I’m not afraid of you. I’m only afraid of losing you.” 23. “About three things I was absolutely positive ...” 24. “You’re so stubborn.” 25. “Do you know how worried I’ve been?” 26. “I can’t even think about someone hurting you.” 27. “The only thing that can hurt me is you, and I don’t have anything else to be afraid of.” 28. “Don’t antagonize her. She’s the strongest one in the house.” 29. “All right. That’s enough experimenting for one day.” 30. “It never made sense for you to love me.” 31. “I wish there had been someone to vote no for me.” 32. “It’s just a little baby.” 33. “How strongly are you opposed to grand theft auto?” 34. “I’m not missing another fight!” 35. “No one can hide like me.” 36. “If I asked you to stay in the car, would you?” 37. “I have one condition, if you want me to do it myself.” 38. “I had an adrenaline rush. It’s very common. You can Google it.” 39. “How did you get in here?” “The window.” 40. “I love a happy ending. They are so rare.” 41. “You should put your seatbelt on.” 42. “Can you talk about something else? Distract me so I won’t turn around.” 43. “I can’t live in a world where you don’t exist.” 44. “After all the thousand times I’ve told you I love you, how could you let one word break your faith in me?” 45. “Maybe that’s why they kicked me out.” 46. “All of my best nights have happened since I met you.” 47. “You know everybody’s staring?” “Not that guy ... no, he just looked.” 48. “She wishes she was that awesome.” 49. “Does he visit often?” “Yeah, all the time.” 50. “Lie ... Lie better.” 51. “I’m Switzerland.” 52. “That should have been our first kiss.” 53. “Would you like to hear my story? It doesn’t have a happy ending -- but which of ours does?” 54. “Another party?” “It’ll be fun.” “Yeah. That’s what you said last time.” 55. “You are the only one who has ever touched my heart. I will always be yours.” 56. “The way he watches you. It’s like he’s willing to leap in front of you and take a bullet or something.” 57. “Kill me! Not him!” 58. “Stay.” “Give me one good reason.” 59. “Yeah, it’s and off day when I don’t get somebody telling me how edible I smell.” 60. “Damn it! You’ll be the death of me, I swear you will.” 61. “If I could dream at all, it would be about you. And I’m not afraid of it.” 62. “Do I dazzle you?” 63. “I’m tired of trying to stay away from you.” 64. “Bring on the shackles, I’m your prisoner.” 65. “You are my life now.” 66. “And then we continued blissfully into this small, perfect piece of our forever.” 67. “Nobody’s ever loved someone as much as I love you.” 68. “I don’t know what happened.” “You love him.” 69. “All of sudden it’s not gravity holding you to the planet, it’s her. Nothing else matters. You would do anything, be anything for her.” 70. “You really love her?” 71. “I don’t see the whole point of the rest of the world without her.” 72. “Then I found a promising site ... I waited impatiently for it to load, quickly clicked closed each ad that flashed across the screen. Finally, the screen finished -- simple, white background with black text; academic-looking. Two quotes greeted me on the homepage:” 73. “I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.” 74. “I’ll be fighting for her, too, and I’ll be fighting twice as hard as you will.” 75. “It’s always been him.” 76. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited for you.” 77. “They’re coming for her.” “They’re not gonna touch her.” 78. “Doesn’t he own a shirt?” 79. “You know, if it weren’t for the fact that we’re enemies and that you’re also trying to steal away the reason for my existence, I might actually like you.” 80. “You have disappeared. Like everything else.” 81. “The absence of him is everywhere I look.” 82. “I don’t have the strength to stay away from you anymore.” 83. “Your number was up the first time I met you.” 84. “We all like to drive fast.” 85. “It’s too easy to be myself with you.” 86. “I’ve never given much thought to how I’d die, but dying in the place of someone I love seems like a good way to go.” 87. “Don’t tempt me too far. My patience isn’t that perfect.” 88. “His tone questions my sanity, but it only made me more suspicious. It was like a perfect delivered line by a skilled actor.” 89. “What’s he mad about?” 90. “No measure of time with you will ever be enough.” 91. “I promise to love you forever, every single day of forever.” 92. “We’re gonna be great friends!” 93. “If I had my way, I would spend the majority of my time kissing him.” 94. “Until your heart stops beating.” 95. “I touched the cool miracle of his ski, and I was home.” 96. “Forbidden to remember, terrified to forget; it was a hard line to walk.” 97. “This isn’t the time to make hard and fast decisions. This is the time to make mistakes.” 98. “Leave it to you ... you have to start hanging out with the first weirdos you can find.” 99. “I love him much more than I should, and yet still nowhere near enough.” 100. “I refuse to be affected by territorial disputes.”

Tags for possible interest/signal boosting (if you’re so inclined):

@captain-s-rogers @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @hurricanerin @horsesandbandsforlife @im-not-an-armrest-im-short @captain-rogers-beard @shynara51 @sea040561 @pinknerdpanda @xtina2191 @jackryanplz @beakami @heartsaved @fullprunerebelstatesman @blackwidowismyhomegirl @the-murder-strut-murdered-me @shield-agent78 @jennmurawski13 @okay-maybe-i-like-marvel-too

#betterthantwilightwc #twilight writing challenge #prompt list #queue and i remember budapest very differently

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pauldron-pieces · 3 years ago

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Perdita 'Aurelezra' Gentle's Backstory: From Elsewhere

Fandom: Dungeons And Dragons (5E)

Pairing: N/A, Perdita-Centric

Rating: Holy shit M.

AN: This is a hypothetical narrative scenario featuring original characters in a world created by my Dungeon Master. As usual, this is non-canon and I own nothing aside from intellectual properties specifically attached to Perdita Gentle. This installment is mechanically unsound in a multitude of ways and ignores certain important lore facets.

Applicable trigger warnings are listed inside. Enjoy!

Taglist: @sporadic-fics and @cookiethewriter!

Inspired By: The Little Mermaid Score: Bedtime and sleepmakeswaves: One Day You Will Teach Me To Let Go Of My Fears

[Perdita Gentle is a Warforged celestial warlock utilizing the Pact Of The Bastion homebrew, and her appearance can be found here!]

[!TRIGGER WARNING!: This installment contains multiple triggering scenes including vivid depictions of violence and brief mentions of character death. Stay safe!]

It came from elsewhere...

Amidst the hail of shooting stars peppering the landscape from the tail of the near-passing comet, something else arrived.

It was frail, fragile, spindly fingers clawing for purchase on the walls of the crater it emerged from. It did not make it much further than that, and it was discovered the following morning by two children surveying the damage in their family's garden.

Between the two of them, they propped it up, marveling at the chipped red gilding that coated its limbs. It stirred and they fled in a panic, running back towards the large house and calling for their parents.

×+×

Brand stared down at the crumpled mess of Warforged on his front terrace, an eyebrow raised. His two young children danced around his legs, alternating between pulling him forward and tugging him back. "This is the cause of all the fuss? This?" He asked incredulously.

"It moved by itself!"

"Aye, just as you move by yourself." The former captain commented dryly, ruffling his daughter's hair and utterly destroying the complex tangle of braids her mother had labored over. "You two lubbers have seen Warforged before, or have you forgotten?"

"Testin doesn't look like that!" His son protested. "Testin has a face!"

"You know how your hair is different from mine, pup? And how your sister's nose is less prodigious than this beak I sport? Warforged have such varied traits as well."

The head on the thing looked like an old Thanatonaut relic, just a smooth dome. It also bore archaic equipment for off-Flow navigation on the inside of its arms. Brand heaved out a sigh, smoothing a finger over his brown mustache in a meditative manner.

"Well, we can't just leave 'em out here. Ceere, have your mother ring Testin. And you, Kamer, are going to help me settle this poor rattler into one of our chairs out here." Brand rolled his eyes at how pale his son went, while Ceere stuck her tongue out at him. "Oi, chit, stop taunting your brother. Now shoo, and make sure your mother knows to tell Testin that it's important!"

×+×

Brand Gentle had made his fortune in his younger years as the eventual captain on a deep-space excavation platform. He had seen many odd things in his day, unearthed strange and unusual artifacts from times long gone by. Thanatonaut helms that predated mankind's fumbling into Flow travel, monoliths to terrible and forgotten powers; the refuse of man's advance into the stars.

Yet he had never seen anything quite like this. A Warforged birthed of a meteor, trimmed in battered red and gold like the veils of the Vespertine Order.

The former captain sat on his patio across from the mysterious Warforged, finally leaning forward in his chair after he collected his thoughts. "What is your name?" He asked quietly.

The thing ticked and whirred, and a hoarse voice answered, "I have no designation." A female voice.

Brand sighed heavily. He should have known it wouldn't be so straightforward. Beside him, Testin Awe cleared his throat. "Think back. Can you remember what happened before you woke in the Gentle's prize rose garden?" The hulking Warforged's tone was dry, blue eyes darting to Brand when he touched upon the sensitive subject. Brand was exceedingly protective of his roses.

More ticking. "Darkness." An odd shimmy of mechanics long unused as she tipped her head to the side. "I fell."

"I bet you did." Testin replied, then muttered under his breath, "Captain, she's battier than the Bakhroma Green."

Brand waved him off, giving the faceless Warforged across from him a tight smile. She cocked her head to the side again, and he got the unsettling feeling that he was being studied.

"I hurt your flowers. How can I fix them?" She queried.

Brand blinked. Testin, despite lacking an actual throat, seemed quite intent on clearing it today.

×+×

Calling her Perdita seemed to be a given. She was lost, constantly, wandering the grounds of the Gentle estate at all hours of the night and day. She had no physical needs, as was the custom of her race, so Brand saw no harm in her roving. She certainly didn't seem malicious, just curious in a blunt way.

Libertia, Brand's wife, took an odd shine to the spacey automaton. The former captain often found the woman chatting to her, trying to help her expand her ability for speech. Perdita was minimalist in her words, though she did eventually begin to speak more as the years passed.

Testin thought Perdita was a bit touched. "Still a little battle-rattle in that one." He had remarked privately to Brand, his craggy face oddly sympathetic for a Warforged. "Hard to shake sometimes."

Brand knew better than most folk that Warforged were more than adequate matches for their fleshy counterparts, and he took everything his old first mate told him as gospel. Testin was in agreement with Brand that the red and gold Warforged was decidedly not a threat.

"She just likes the flowers?" Testin asked suddenly one evening as he and Brand sat on the terrace. Brand nodded lazily, the smoke from his cheroot cigar twirling and arching through the air. "I don't get it, but...well, I guess you did have a penchant for gathering up the misfits." The gray-green Warforged allowed, his sidelong grin making Brand chuckle. "She's happy here, y'know. She mentioned it to me earlier. She thinks she's helping when you let her trim the bushes." His laughter was a rusty noise.

"She loves talking with Lib. Er, with may not be the right term. My wife could talk the legs off a table." Brand smiled fondly and Testin rolled those glowing blue eyes.

"Have you heard from Kamer at all?" The large Warforged changed the subject, frowning when the former captain sighed and shook his head.

"I'm not sure I should have sent him away for his schooling. What with the Empire gaining ground steadily, I'm uncertain how long the boarding schools will be safe."

"Hey, Kamer's smart. You know that. That kid won't get himself tangled up in anything. Besides, what the hell would the Empire want with a kid who's sole aspiration is to be an architect?" Testin tilted his head. "Now, Ceere-"

"Don't remind me, she's apprenticed to the Facturers now. Hopefully, by the grace of the gods, she'll put her tinkering tendencies to good use and stop destroying my beautiful skiffs." Brand groaned, putting his head in his hands.

"I mean, she's got great potential. Engine ripped itself apart in three different places."

"I'm well aware, you mechanical menace. It was my favorite Screamer class!"

×+×

Libertia was the one to suggest that Perdita consider taking up the habit of the Vespertine Order.

"You seem at peace whenever you come with me to chapel, Perdie." She commented one afternoon over tea. Brand raised an eyebrow at his wife, then glanced at the featureless automaton across the way. "Have you ever thought about joining the convent?" Libertia queried.

Perdita hummed thoughtfully. "I like the chapel. It's quiet. Makes me feel like I can stop moving." She offered a shrug. "I know I'm not...quiet." She was a much older model than Testin and her body tended to rattle or squeak at odd intervals.

"You don't feel like you can be still here?" Brand asked curiously.

"I am restless." The Warforged admitted quietly. "Some things help. The garden. The chapel."

Brand grunted, settling back in his chair and lapsing into thought. The Vespertine sisters were a formidable bunch, for all that they resided on this backwater planetoid. They seemed to have their proverbial fingers in a multitude of pies. He wasn't sure if he trusted them with his Perdie.

His mustache quirked up in a wry grin, realizing that he was thinking of the Warforged like she was one of his own children. "Do what you think is best, Perdie. Perhaps the quiet will help you sort yourself out. Gods know we tithe enough to the church, maybe in exchange for our continued generosity they'll accept someone a little less fleshy than their usual ranks."

He got the faintest impression that Perdita was beaming at him, her whole body haloed with a strange golden light. But Brand blinked and the light was gone. He shook his head at himself, vowing not to spike his afternoon tea so strongly next time.

×+×

When the Empire came to the planet years later, they struck without warning.

Evening prayer had just finished, the last fleeting rays of sunlight peering through the simple leaded glass windows of the chapel. Perdita sat docile in the pew, her head bowed beneath her veil.

"It makes me glad to know that you've found some sort of peace and purpose." Brand commented, the now-elderly man ambling up alongside her. "Never put much faith in this church business, myself. Give me the Flow and a nimble craft and I'm a content man."

"Captain." She inclined her head. She had heard his sentiment many times before.

"I'm surprised you haven't gone out to chart the world, my dear. Your cartographer's gear will get rusty!" The former captain teased, settling down into the pew and patting her arm. "Surely, the Vespertine sisters ought to be spread?"

"It is dangerous." Perdita sighed. "I am trying. The Ferrarium Empire-"

"Bah, belay that codswallop here." Brand groused. "Bunch of nobles in stuffed shirts with too many guns and not enough good sense. Stole my good boy away and turned him into a simpering buffoon." He bowed his head, touching his thumb to his left cheek and then his sternum. "Thank the gods his mother passed on before he made that terrible choice."

An odd whistling caught his attention, and Brand cocked his head. His hearing had been shot for years, maybe he was imagining the sound-

The windows abruptly exploded inwards as an impact rocked the ground. Sisters scurried this way and that in panic, their veils fluttering like butterfly wings as they ushered the last few stragglers out of the structure. Brand, his ears still ringing from the first bombardment, felt a second one strike outside. Perdita was stiff, unmoving in the pew, so he seized her hand and made haste for the doorway.

"Perdie, we cannot linger in this place!" He tried to snap her out of it, her deceptively-heavy form slowing their flight. "It's the Empire, Perdie, we have to--" Through the haze of dust rising, the former captain caught sight of a massive dreadnought's keel flying low overhead. Rage burned at his soul; why would they come here of all places? This was a planet of agriculture, not manufacturing!

Perdita tilted her head, and Brand knew that she must have noticed the ship. "What is that?" She asked, her voice ticking up slightly in query.

"That is something that should not have turned its eye upon us!" Brand snapped. "Why the devil would they-" There was shouting up ahead, and scattered pistol fire. "Martyr's malfeasance," the elderly man swore, "I ought to have known."

The Inquisitors had arrived, bearing overpowered arms and causing chaos as was their want. Brand managed to slip around the edge of the advancing line, searching the crowds for Testin's large form. His old first mate was nowhere to be seen and Brand's heart sank.

An Inquisitor loomed up out of the smoke in front of them, halting the former captain in his tracks. "Identify yourself, civilian." The armored man droned.

"Or what? You've already blown the chapel and convent to pieces!" Brand spat. "What could the Ferrarium Empire possibly want from a sleepy little colony planet?"

The Inquisitor's baton met the side of the elderly man's head with a dull thud, felling him with ease.

×+×

Brand started awake, hacking and wheezing as he inhaled ash. He sat up, ignoring the throbbing of his head. Where is-

"Perdita!" He yelled, struggling to his feet and cupping his hands around his mouth. "Perdie, where are you?"

The cobblestones underfoot had been broken and scattered by the mortaring, making the footing uncertain. The former captain stumbled forward over the rubble, continuing to call for the Warforged.

A shimmer of red and gold flickered through the hellish smoke up ahead, and he fancied it might be her habit. His suspicions proved correct as her frail form solidified out of the clouds of billowing dust and ash.

"Perdita!" Brand exclaimed gladly.

She turned slowly at the sound of his voice, that damned veil still flapping fitfully in the turbulent air. Beneath the gauzy shroud where her domed head was, the former captain saw something blaze to life. Eyes, hundreds of them, glowing through the fabric. Brand stopped in his tracks, uncertain of what he was seeing. That blow to the head must have rattled him, now he was hallucinating!

Her hand pressed to her chest over the long habit. "I am the bastion." Perdita said calmly, as though they weren't being bombarded by low-flying aircraft. "I am Vespertine, I am Alizarin, I am reborn. My name is Aurelezra, and I fell to defend."

A shell plummeted from the sky and with a single motion, she obliterated it. One moment it was there, the next, she simply pointed at it and a shimmering golden manifestation that resembled an enormous rose blossom appeared directly in its path. The shell struck it, the impact sending foiled shrapnel flitting listlessly to the ground.

Brand was wholly bewildered. The only other time he had witnessed such power was when-

The thousands of eyes swiveled to stare at him, blinking rapidly. Brand swallowed hard. "What did those blasted nuns do to you, Perdie?" He asked, his voice so low he wasn't sure if she would hear it over the pandemonium.

Perdita tipped her head to the side, those eyes writhing and teeming nauseatingly over one another, flickering through the habit in a way that made Brand exceedingly glad she was wearing it. "I am the bastion." She repeated. She sounded hideously serene. "I am Alizarin."

Rifle reports barked through the air and Perdita turned towards the noise, setting off over the debris with sure steps. "Wait, Perdie!" Brand protested, fumbling after her as best as he could. "Perdie, are you mad? These are Inquisitors, you can't just..." He trailed off as he watched her simply walk through the line of gunfire. "Or perhaps you can." He muttered.

A strange golden haze shone around her body and every time a bullet struck the haze, a malevolent eye roiled to the surface to fix the attacker with a blazing stare. More shells rained down and each one was foiled or thrown off-target by shimmering, sunset-hued roses, blossoming riotously to life in midair like some grand fireworks display at a midsummer fair.

"Captain!" That was Testin's voice, thank gods. The elderly man turned this way and that, breathing a sigh of relief when he finally spotted the towering mass that was Testin.

"Testin my boy, you're a sight for sore eyes!" Brand said with a wry grin, taking in the small cluster of nuns that were teeming anxiously in the shadow of the massive automaton. Among them was the Mother Superior, her black veil a stark contrast to the usual red. "You've got some explaining to do, woman! What the hell have you done to my Perdie?" Brand thundered, itching to shake her until her teeth rattled.

"Sister Perdita has spent many, many hours reading the scriptures and studying our texts, Captain Gentle." The woman replied, almost infuriatingly calm. "She was brought to this planet for a specific reason."

"What are you on about? Look at her! It's like she's possessed!" The elderly man shouted.

"She has become more, Captain. A vessel for something that we mere mortals have only glimpsed. Alizarin, the Red Saint."

"There's a thousand blasted eyes all over her and she's sending out starbursts of roses that intercept cannon fire!" Brand roared. "I'll only ask once more, what have you done to her?"

"She willingly accepted this power, Captain. I suggest you calm yourself. I know you do not believe or trust in the power of the Red Saint, but Sister Perdita does." The matron retorted haughtily. "And when Libertia was alive-"

"Keep my wife's name out of your mouth." Brand snarled, his hand instinctively twitching down towards his hip for the piece he had carried in his younger years.

"Easy now, Cap." Testin intoned, raising a hand. "Easy."

"You planned this from the start." Brand accused the woman, a sick sense of realization blossoming in his gut. "You put the idea in Libertia's head, didn't you? Why Perdie?"

"Warforged make excellent vessels." The Mother Superior said simply.

Testin rumbled in threat overhead, one large hand settling heavily on the woman's shoulder. "I suggest you choose your next words very carefully." The Warforged paladin's tone was one of extreme irritation. "Unless you'd like to find out how bad of a vessel I can be."

"She has become a warlock of exceptional power." The woman hurriedly continued. "The Red Saint is pleased with our offering, and he will-"

"The Red Saint, aye? Unwilling martyr himself." Brand scoffed. "You've gone and turned my girl into a nightmare for the glory of that flayed demagogue."

"A nightmare that can go toe-to-toe with Inquisitor gunsmithing." The Mother Superior shot back smugly. "You knew as well as I did that it was only a matter of time before the Ferrarium Empire turned their gaze to the Fringes. Their grasping for resources is ceaseless."

"As interesting as your bickering is, we're wasting time." Testin growled, gesturing vaguely forwards. "She's gaining on their dreadnought. We following her?"

×+×

Everything was so loud.

"It is time, Aurelezra." His voice was like smoke, like whispers. He drew her attention upwards to the ship, He guided her hands as she wove the spell and He found her the suitable target. "They will not take this planet. They will never take again."

Perdita nodded shakily, power dripping and sparking from her fingers. "Never again."

"You have done well, Aurelezra. You easily outstrip the mortals." He praised as she raised her hands. "I shall do such wonders through you."

×+×

Without warning, a bolt of red light shot from Perdita's hands and arced up at the command ship. Testin swore loudly, the Warforged's face twisting into an approximation of a grimace. "Oh, that's not good." He said hoarsely, leaving the cluster of nuns behind as he moved forward.

"What, what's happened?" Brand asked frantically, trying to keep up.

"That was something that uh, I wouldn't have used. A little too spicy for me." The Warforged grunted, readying the hand cannon integrated in his left forearm. His heavy, elephantine feet easily crushed the rubble beneath him, clearing the way for the former captain. "If everyone on that ship isn't dead after that spell hits..."

"What?" Brand gasped.

Testin shook his head mournfully, not finishing that trail of thought. "We need to figure out where the ship will go down. Figure out whether we can break it apart ahead of time or whether your Perdie has a few more Red Saint tricks up that veil." Testin's sigh was heavy. "I'm sorry, Captain."

The command ship began rapidly losing altitude, listing slightly to the right. Perdita pursued it doggedly and Brand watched her raise her hands again. "Perdie!" He shouted, heartened when she paused. "Stop, Perdie!"

"Stay put!" Testin yelled, then said, "Cap, either get onboard or get left behind, we don't have time for your old bones."

Brand growled something uncharitable about his former first mate, then swung up onto the pro-offered arm.

Testin sprinted forward, easily catching up to the waifish Perdita and grabbing her around the waist with one massive hand. "I'd like to shake the marbles clean out of your chest right now, but we don't have time for me to be pissed off at you." Testin snarled at her, still at his full sprint. "You got anything else in that arsenal of yours, or are you gonna' let that ship crush someone's farm?"

"I can do it."

"What, exactly?"

Perdita pointed upwards at the ship and simply said, "shatter." A massive golden rose exploded into being on the keel, blowing a hole in the hull the size of the town square. Splinters and beams rained down, Testin barely managing to dodge a few of the larger chunks.

"Martyr's malfeasance, you're a menace!" The larger Warforged said in disbelief, the cannon in his left arm whirring to life as the ship sank within his range. "I mean, keep it up, but saint's blood you are an absolute terror." His cannon glowed, shoulder tight when he fired and sent the projectile rocketing upwards to erupt in a radiant blast. "Not fancy, but any port in a storm." He huffed, trying to chamber another round without releasing Perdita.

"There's so much." Perdita was shaking in Testin's grip. Molten gold trailed from her fingertips and every eye that shone through the veil was wide open.

Brand clambered across Testin's shoulders, the elderly man reaching out so he could grab one of her hands. "Listen to me, Perdie." He said loudly, trying to make sure she could hear him over the rapidly-approaching creak of timbers and warning system alarms. "You've got some kind of hellfiring power now, right?"

Perdita nodded slowly. "He's so loud." She breathed, and Brand knew with crushing certainty that she wasn't talking about himself or Testin.

"Aye, I'm sure he is. But if he wants to have you as his vessel, he needs to understand that you're the captain." Brand reasoned fiercely. "You bite back at that freeloader and you tell him you're the damned captain, you hear me girl?!"

×+×

I'm the captain.

Perdita clung to the thought, staggering through the red haze of her subconscious.

I'm the captain.

Alizarin nodded in acquiescence. "That you are, Aurelezra. For now. For this moment. What will you do?" He chuckled. "You are unfamiliar with such power. You have already overdrawn yourself. What will you do, Defender?"

It doesn't matter whether I'm tired. I'm the captain. Me. Not you, she thought stubbornly.

×+×

Perdita clawed her way up Testin's arm to his shoulder, the larger Warforged rumbling in confusion. "What the hell are you doing now?"

"I'm the captain." Perdita said sharply. Blast after golden blast was flung by her hand, the ship groaning under the assault. Timbers cracked and creaked like the ship was caught in a ferocious gale. "I'm the captain!" She yelled, "I'm the captain!"

The dreadnought rent itself apart at the scuppers with one final impact, briefly looking like the massive ribcage of some eldritch horror. The engines tore free of their mooring, the shriek of metal heralding doom for the trio as they plummeted downwards. Testin tried to backpedal, but he had built up such a head of steam and the engines were so enormous-

Brand fumbled to catch Perdita's hand once again, closing his eyes as he heard Testin grit out what he assumed was his final swear.

Looks like I'll be home soon, Lib.

"A Bastion for my faithful." That was not Perdita's voice. It was barely a whisper, smooth as silk and light as a favorable breeze. "Blessed are you, Brand Gentle, for you have seen my power once before. Blessed are you, Brand Gentle, for you have survived my power once before. Blessed shall you be, Brand Gentle, though you do not believe."

A golden dome sheathed the triumvirate of individuals, millions of eyes scattered across it opening and closing at random. Brand gripped Perdita's hand as tightly as he dared, uncertain if he was the only one seeing this...wonder.

"Fear not, Brand Gentle. She will not be harmed."

The dome vanished and Testin fairly seethed with curses, the gray-green Warforged reeling back a step from the flaming wreckage of the engine that surrounded them. A neat circle had been sheared out from the dome, the edges still molten and smoking.

"That's it. Whatever's gotten into you, I'm tearing it out of you!" the paladin announced, grappling Perdita around the waist again. "Send that cosmic bastard back to the Deep Reef where it belongs, I-" He paused when she went limp in his hold, lowering his glowing right hand after a moment. "Uh...Perdie?" He asked warily, shaking her until she rattled. "Perdie?"

"I'm the captain." She responded, her voice reedy with exhaustion. Perdita reached out to Brand, and he carefully laced his fingers through her own. "I-I'm the...captain..."

"Aye child," Brand murmured, "that you are."

×+×

The whole colony banded together to scuttle the dreadnought's bones. The Vespertine sisters made themselves marvellously useful when it came to putting the dead to rest.

Most of the ship's crew had been slaughtered by whatever Perdita had done with that spell, and the few left alive had perished on impact.

Testin had grunted in satisfaction as he surveyed the red veiled sisters scurrying to and fro in the wreckage. "I think your Perdie just fired the galaxy's largest warning shot."

"Aye." Brand had agreed wearily. "Now all that's left to see is whether the Empire will take notice."

"Their dreadnoughts aren't usually...destroyed, Captain. Once word gets back to them, all hell's going to break loose." The Warforged predicted grimly, his arms folded over his chest. "You'd better make sure she clears atmosphere before they come back around."

"I don't think I could make her stay!" The former captain chuckled. "She's always been on the move, Testin. High time she did something with all that energy."

×+×

"The Gotengo has been moored for years, Captain. You think it can still hold up?" Testin mused, poring over the old schematics.

Brand sighed, raking a hand through his hair. "It's the finest craft I have at my disposal, dusty or not. And she'll need something nimble if she's planning on trekking out there through the blockades." He meandered to the window of his study, staring down at his rose garden without actually seeing it. "I've already gotten in touch with Squire Deering, and he claims he's found a slew of candidates for her crew."

Testin snorted in disbelief. "And you trust that penny-pinching miser? Guy probably trawled through three different wharfside taverns and asked for able-bodied seamen."

"Deering may be a...bit tight fisted, but he's a good man. I have great faith that when Perdita arrives, she'll be shown nothing but courtesy." Brand assured the gray-green Warforged, stroking his mustache.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I distinctly remember that waistcoat-wearing ponce saddling you with a ship that had a rotted out mainmast." Testin deadpanned. "What did he blame it on? Moths?"

Brand coughed awkwardly, clearing his throat. "Regardless, he will treat her right. Warforged or not, she's the captain."

"A new Captain Gentle." Testin shook his head ruefully. "Never thought I'd see the day. Bodes pretty shit for the Empire, if you ask me."

"All I hope is that she and that blooded saint first mate of hers give them hell."

#perdita gentle #captain perdita gentle #dungeons and dragons 5e #dnd writing #dnd 5e character #dnd warforged #dnd warlock #celestial warlock #dnd npc #dnd backstory #warlock backstory #dnd character #dungeons and dragons #she's been retired but I love her #my lil captain #pact of the bastion #warlock pact

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lins-fandom-hub · 4 years ago

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the next chapter

No, I don’t have a name for this chapter. Yes, this is a wedding. Yes, this kind of serves as an “epilogue” to 09/01/1998. If you haven’t read those yet, please do so before reading this!

This wedding occurred on 09/03/1998, two days after the events of the last story.

Part 1 || Part 2

“Just one last touch of glitter over here,” Chiara murmured, waving the can of hairspray once more over Clara’s hair as Badeea and Tulip secured the bun on the top of her head. “And done!”

The three girls stepped back to admire the bride in the mirror, and it was a sight to behold. Donned in a red dress that embraced both vintage and oriental styles, corset shimmering like a ruby and skirt wrapped in silk and layers of tulle, she looked like a phoenix rising through a furious flame, a crimson rose fresh in full bloom--a beauty descended from the early sunrise. Her glasses were removed for the special occasion; she wore her contact lenses from her days at the Task Force in their place. Dark grey eye shadow with red and gold accents highlighted her brown eyes, and with a hint of crimson blush and a coat of magenta lipstick, what once was a warrior was turned into an elegant princess.

“Andre did a brilliant job with the dress,” Tulip said in awe. “I mean, he did a brilliant job with everyone’s clothes--and in such a short span of time, too!”

“And the choice of makeup he put on you as well--it looks stunning!” Badeea added with a nod. “Then again, he was the Style Wizard of Hogwarts. He could use his trendsetting talents anywhere.”

“I’m so lucky to be a bridesmaid for this wedding, at least,” Chiara remarked, twirling around slowly to admire the cream-coloured full-length dress Andre made for all the girls. “I never thought that I’d see the day when my closest friend ties the knot with her loved one.”

“Hey, we’re all here together, and that’s what matters!” Tulip reassured her with a huge smile. “And I’m laying off the pranks today, too. I promise I took off Dennis’ Dungbomb for the occasion.”

“Careful we don’t ruin the flower crowns little Em made for us,” Badeea warned, straightening the wreaths of daisies and sunflowers on their heads and fixing her own as well over her hijab. “Here’s hoping the others get the wedding pavilion set up on time.”

Just then, in came little Em with several bouquets of fresh flowers in hand--and she, too, was wearing a cream-coloured dress, the hem already beginning to gather grass and dirt stains from working in the garden.

“Everything’s just about set,” little Em announced with a broad grin as she handed the bunches to the girls in the changing tent. “The boys did a great job with the marquee--I had dad bring in some bamboo shoots for the pedestal for the minister, and the whole place is decorated with flowers and branches from the Wiggentrees. The Bowtruckles weren’t too happy about that, so I had to bribe them with a bunch of woodlice so they wouldn’t disturb the wedding. And everyone’s in their seats as well--they’re all waiting for you.”

“Is dad coming by as well?” Clara asked, turning around from the mirror.

“Yup--both mum and dad just arrived not too long ago,” little Em confirmed. “Dad said he had to make sure the Screechsnaps and the Fanged Geraniums had enough dragon dung to keep them satiated. And the Bouncing Bulbs he recently potted were a rather exciting bunch.”

“Ah, I remember those days in the greenhouses,” Chiara reminisced with a laugh. “Well, at least your parents are here, Clara.”

“And another man named Cecil Lee has come around too. He introduced himself as Barnaby’s uncle,” little Em added. “I’m actually kind of glad Barnaby has some decent family.”

“Indeed.” Clara nodded, marvelling at how smart the response sounded--maybe Barnaby was right after all. Everything did sound more intelligent with the word “indeed”.

Tulip then turned to Clara and gave her a hug. “We’ll be outside waiting for you, alright?”

“Can’t wait.” Clara nodded as she hugged Tulip back, and the three girls exited the changing tent. Little Em then walked over to Clara and looked at their reflections in the mirror, a frown settling over her face as she twirled the bouquet in her hands.

“So...how are you feeling?” little Em finally asked her sister. “You know, since the bonfire and all. I know you’ve been trying to keep busy with the wedding plans, but…”

She trailed off, unsure of how she could phrase the question without coming off insensitive.

“I still miss them,” Clara admitted with a wistful sigh. “There’s never a day when I don’t think about them, and even now with the ritual done I still think about them. But I know they’re happy. They lived a fulfilling life, each and every one. And we honoured them well with the lanterns and everything--I know that they’ll always be watching us from afar now.”

“Even if you didn’t like them at the start?” little Em inquired now.

“Merula...Merula I can forgive,” Clara reassured her with a laugh. “Besides, she died defying her parents in the war. I call that seriously brave. Reckless, maybe, but brave. And Talbott at least managed to take down the murderer who took his parents’ lives in cold blood. Ben...he took down so many Death Eaters on his own, too. Tonks even went to the battle to support her husband. So many things we do out of love, even if...some of us didn’t know it.”

“At least what you did, you did out of love, too.” Little Em smiled and squeezed Clara’s hand. “Just like you’ve always done, what with the danger of the Cursed Vaults and Rakepick and R and the Japanese dark forces. You have so much love in your heart, and I’m sure everyone else you know knows it too. Never forget that as you walk down the aisle and seal your union with Barnaby. What you do, and all that you do, you do out of love.”

For a moment, Clara nodded, her face pensive as she let the words sink in. Then she smirked playfully at her sister. “Remind me to give you the same lecture when you get married to Diego.”

“Oi! I don’t like him like that!” little Em protested now, scrunching her nose in disbelief. “We only kissed once before the battle but that’s it!”

“It’s still something!” Clara remarked. “Alright, fine, I’ll stop teasing if it makes you feel better.”

“Clara? Little Em? You in there?”

Jacob finally arrived into the changing tent, accompanied by their father wearing a matching black tux with his eldest son.

“It’s time, isn’t it?” little Em asked.

“Everything is in order, and the minister has arrived,” Jacob said with a nod. “It’s time.”

Clara’s father, Sueh-Yen, gave her eldest daughter a quick glance-over and smiled, the edges bringing up the wrinkles near his eyes. “You look wonderful, little star--so grown up.”

“I’ll always be your little girl, dad,” Clara reassured him. “Now come on. We can’t keep everyone waiting.”

And with a chuckle, she took her father’s arm and walked out of the tent, Jacob and little Em following close behind.

---

“Nervous, Barnaby?”

Charlie glanced over at the groom with a worried look in his eyes, reaching over to help him straighten the gold dragon lapel in Barnaby’s dark green suit.

“Very,” Barnaby nodded. “I just hope that this wasn’t a mistake. It’s been almost 5 years since we got engaged, and now...I can’t believe this is happening.”

“You don’t need me to pinch you to know it’s real, Barnaby. And besides, I’m sure Clara would love this more than anything,” Charlie said with a gentle pat on his shoulder. “Your love withstood almost three years across the globe. If that doesn’t say something, I don’t know what does.”

“I guess you’re right.” Barnaby exhaled and nodded at his best friend. “Thanks for being my best man, by the way. I really owe it to you.”

“Of course.” Charlie smiled and nodded at Barnaby’s confidence.

From the other side of the altar, Penny smiled at the two--she was Clara’s maid of honour, after all, ensuring that all the other bridesmaids were in line. “Barnaby, you and Clara have always been the cutest couple at school, and you’ve been together through so much. I can see there’s nothing you won’t do for each other. Just hold on to that for all that life is worth.”

“Shh!” Jae whispered now. “Here she comes!”

Everyone turned around now to see Clara enter the wedding marquee with her father, taking careful steps as Badeea conducted a small group of girls in a wedding chorus. Her eyes immediately locked on Barnaby at the end of the aisle, and it took everything in her not to run towards him and embrace him. All the memories from their time at Hogwarts and beyond flooded her mind, and in that very moment she had never felt more love for this man than she ever had. They withstood so much together and apart, it was a miracle that at the end of the day they haven’t cracked from all the pressure.

Jacob and Em eventually took their seats with their mother, and once Clara reached the altar, her father passed her off with a teary smile. She then passed the bouquet to Penny and took Barnaby’s hands, facing her soon-to-be husband with a small smile of her own. Perhaps it was the fact that she had her glasses off for the occasion, or that she was so close to crying again, because then Barnaby lifted a hand and gently touched her cheek, his thumb gently stroking her face.

“My star,” he managed to whisper, emerald eyes gleaming with happiness and love as he looked at her.

Clara couldn’t help but grin at the compliment, heat blooming in her cheeks like they always had with every compliment. “My hero,” she whispered back.

Soon, the chorus ended, the entire vicinity fell quiet, and the minister officiating the wedding at the altar cleared his throat. Clara couldn’t help but notice that it was the same man who spoke at Dumbledore’s funeral--the only time she had returned to the UK in her time at the Chinese Wizarding Task Force.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered today to celebrate the union of two very faithful souls…” the wizard commenced, nodding at Clara and Barnaby whose smiles were so wide they felt they could literally radiate with light.

How quickly time had flown, Clara thought, leaning against Barnaby’s hand still against her cheek. The intolerance she once felt for him had long since dissipated when he jumped in front of her to block her from Ismelda’s curse...and now here they stood, clad in not only glamour but in warmth and love. She felt Barnaby’s thumb rub over her knuckles, and she squeezed his hand in response.

All they had lived for came down to this very moment now.

“Do you, Barnaby Lee, take this woman, Clara Xing-Hui Lin, to be your wife for as long as you both shall live?” the wizard finally asked Barnaby.

“I do,” Barnaby responded almost immediately, a gentle smile on his face as he faced his wife-to-be.

“And do you, Clara Xing-Hui Lin, take this man--”

“Yes!” Clara blurted out before the minister could finish. “Um, I mean, I do, yes, sorry--”

Barnaby only chuckled and leaned forward, their foreheads touching. The simple gesture was enough to calm her, and she quietly breathed out a sigh of relief, her face relaxing in a smile.

“Then I declare you both bonded for life.”

The minister clapped his hands and raised his wand--a shower of silver stars descended upon the couple still holding hands. Barnaby gently locked his fingers under Clara’s chin, and pulled her into a kiss, the moment so warm and sweet it felt like they were suspended in time.

And soon the reception went underway as family and friends both greeted the new couple and wished them well. Food and drink were served, the Weird Sisters struck up a tune, and everyone danced the night away.

As the night slowly wound down from the whirlwind that preceded it, Clara couldn’t help but let out a tired, grateful smile. Tonight was about more than just a union--tonight was about penning the last chapter and starting a new one. Together, everyone came to terms with the losses they suffered. And together, they all came to see the new chapter unfold.

Together, they would make new marks in the enigma of time.

#sorry if the ending sucks big time #i lost the motivation haha #post hphm #hphm chiara lobosca #hphm badeea ali #hphm penny haywood #hphm tulip karasu #hphm em lin #hphm jacob lin #post hogwarts mystery #hphm clara lin #hphm charlie weasley #hphm barnaby lee

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magnhild · 5 years ago

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let’s talk about nora valkyrie

warning: this post is not a solid, coherent discussion. it is simply a mess of my thoughts and ideas and is rather messy. also, it contains spoilers for volume 7 of rwby, but if you can see this post then you’re probably all caught up and don’t have spoilers tagged.

so anyway let’s get into it.

I’ve always loved Nora, there’s never been any doubt about that. but at the same time, she’s always off to the side, hasn’t done too much to contribute to the plot and arguably hasn’t had any character development either. This volume though is where I think that changes. Volume 7 is truly taking steps to make sure we know she’s part of the main cast alongside her teammates and RWBY, to the point where she’s now joined Yang and Blake as one of my top favourite characters. And I think she’s going to be far more important in this volume and possibly the next ones than any of us anticipated.

Some of us had already picked up that there was more to Nora than one would first think. We’ve picked up on her brutal honesty and her surprising perceptiveness, both when it comes to people’s feelings and how to potentially solve issues. She’s certainly smarter than most people give her credit for. But volume 7 is bringing all this to the surface so that everyone can see, and I don’t think they’re just doing so for no reason. They could easily have Blake taking her role in the story, or maybe even Ruby or Weiss. But of all people, it’s Nora who’s standing up more than any of the main cast for Mantle’s wellbeing and calling Ironwood out for what he’s doing to harm it. For her, it almost seems personal, with episode 7 seeing her get angrier than we’ve ever seen her before. In fact, aside from direct confrontation with villains, we’ve rarely seen any character get this angry so far in the show. I’ve seen people say that it’s because she was an orphan and she doesn’t want to see the people of Mantle go through what she did, but I don’t think it’s that simple. After all, Ren was an orphan too, but he seems to be taking the opposite stance to her (and that’s a whole other can of worms). No, I think- and disclaimer, I’m not claiming to have come up with this- that Mantle is Nora’s original hometown and where she spent her life before somehow winding up in Anima. After all, we have absolutely no knowledge of where she came from or went through before meeting Ren aside from the fact that she was not from Kuroyuri. As for further details on her backstory, there are several possibilities. Maybe her family were extremely poor and suffered greatly from the city’s circumstances. Maybe she’s the child of a human-faunus couple and faced discrimination from both humans and faunus as a result, especially given the racism of Atlas. Maybe her parents died early on in her life and she was an orphan long before meeting Ren. Or maybe her parents died early, but she was taken in by other family. Perhaps a grandmother who might just be on her deathbed deep within Atlas who’s constantly thinking of her lost granddaughter.

Yes, the Winter Maiden Nora theory sure is a good one and if my personal theory (the human/faunus child one) falls through, I’d be very happy with it. It certainly makes sense. Not only did we never get a mention of the current Winter Maiden’s last name, but her first has some interesting origins. Fria is one of the modern spellings of Freyja, a Norse goddess, who, according to some scholars, was one of the Valkyries of Norse myth. Interesting, huh? There’s also the fact that it seems a little too easy and obvious for Winter to get the powers. Not to mention, it would certainly be a very interesting choice for the story if the powers go to someone who is beginning to oppose Ironwood rather than his most trusted lieutenant. And if Nora does indeed become the Winter Maiden, the whole game changes. Atlas’ fate is suddenly going to pretty much be in the hands of this 19-year-old woman who isn’t looking to be a very big fan of Atlas right now and is already getting stressed enough as it is. I don’t actually know much about proper Norse mythology, but I know that, in the Marvel movie at least, it’s Thor himself who causes Ragnarök. Whether or not it’s the same in the actual folklore, I don’t know, but it’s definitely something to think about.

So yeah, there are a lot of possibilities surrounding Nora being from Mantle but now let’s talk about where she could be headed with these possibilities in mind. I think it’s clear at this point that she is regretting allying with Ironwood with each passing day. In the very first episode of Volume 7, she expressed her dry disappointment with the state Mantle’s in and she’s continued to do so as time’s gone on. We also know that she supports Robyn Hill and it’s been implied that she thinks she’s doing a much better job at helping people than Ironwood is. And then there’s Ren. Despite their kiss in episode 6, it’s clear that they’re still having problems, especially now that Ren’s showed a worrying amount of support towards Ironwood- it even seems to have surprised Ruby. With all this coming to a head, I don’t think Nora’s going to be staying with the team for long. Something’s going to happen, something like a huge argument or a break of her trust and it’s going to push her right to someone who she knows is doing the right thing- Robyn. After all, Nora expressed frustration with all the lies she and the others are having to keep in the very same episode Robyn’s Semblance was revealed to be the ability to know the truth. There’s also my personal headcanon of her, May and Joanna all being trans girls and bonding over it, but I’m not getting my hopes too high for that.

Honestly though, if Nora joins the Huntresses, I think it’ll be great, both inside the show and out. I personally don’t think that what Ironwood’s doing is a good idea at all, nor do I agree with his methods and I think Nora rebelling could be the push the others to do the same (especially since Yang and Blake have already done it a little bit). It could be the cause of some really interesting conflict and we could get a lot of character building. Would she leave in secret or make it very clear where she’s going? Would her friends be able go after her or will Ironwood insist that the Amity project is more important? Will Ren feeling deeply betrayed and angered or will it be the wake-up call he needs? The choice opens so many doors and if it’s the direction they take and I’m very much here for it

Then there’s Ren. I’ve already mentioned him several times in this post, so all I’m gonna say is that I don’t think their conflict will doom them, not at all. Ren and Nora have been best friends since they were young kids and were all each other had for the longest time. They’re not going to let this ruin their friendship after all they’ve been through together. And despite what I keep seeing people saying, I think episode 6 made it clear that Ren does return Nora’s romantic feelings and it’s all in the kiss. There’s no way he’d have reacted the way he did- wrapping his arms around her and staying in the kiss for several seconds- if he didn’t feel the same way. He’d have pulled away or at the very least looked uncomfortable with it. I honestly think that, once Ren realizes that how he’s acting is risking him losing her for good, he’ll come to his senses. Every friendship and every couple have their arguments but that doesn’t mean it has to end. I have faith that they’ll get through this, even if it takes a while.

So yeah, there’s all of my jumbled-together thoughts about Nora and where I think she could be headed. I actually didn’t get down quite all of what I wanted to say, but there’ll be time for that when I eventually make Nora’s episode of my ‘Why I Love’ series on YouTube, though that’ll definitely be after volume 7 in case anything more important happens with her. For now, I hope this satisfies you guys and gives you something to think about in the seven weeks (yes, seven- they’re taking a break after episode 8) that we have to go of Volume 7.

bye nerds

#rwby #rwby theory #rwby analysis #rwby spoilers #nora valkyrie #becky rambles

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thanksjro · 5 years ago

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Eugenesis, Part Six Scene Four: Xenon Info-Dumps For Five-And-A-Half Pages

Alright, back to bullshit.

Galvatron is being a rude little turd to Xenon, calling his robot collection old and dusty, but Xenon’s too wrapped up in the Quintesson/Cybertronian lore to be bothered. Ultra Magnus just wants to know what the fuck he’s done with the Matrix.

You heard the man, out with it.

So, back when the Quintessons first started out, they were known as the Progenitors- yeah, I know- a quasi-organic race who went from caveman-level intelligence to full-blown hard sci-fi sons of guns at an incredibly rapid rate.

Problem is, they didn’t get any further than that. They tried, sure. They tried real hard, for millions of years. Then, once their inspiration had run out, they started looking to other races to try and figure something out.

This just in, god is dead and James Roberts killed him by turning him into a glorified OS.

So, P.R.I.M.U.S. is encoded onto these geodes, and they become sentient. Sometimes they think they’re god.

Just like everyone else in this story.

Now that the Quintessons knew about these little god-doodads, they wanted one for themselves, to try and reverse-engineer the secret to immortality. They hired some guys called the Weavers to nab one for them.

This is some serious nerd shit, y’all. Galvatron agrees with me- he’s never even heard of any of the things Xenon’s droning on about. Neither have I- this is all Roberts at this point.

The Weavers brought back two geodes to the Quintessons, who promptly hid them away until the Masters cooled off a bit, since they were a little miffed about the thievery and whatnot. Then they noticed a couple problems: A) the geodes were encrypted to the moon and back, and B) if you so much as looked at the thing wrong it would purge the Lifecode completely.

Didn’t Optimus throw this thing at Unicron a couple times? Maybe the geode just doesn’t like you, Xenon, ever thought of that?

In order to decode the geodes, the Quintessons needed massive computers. Y’know, like God. But before they could really get a head start on that, the Masters’ nanobot enforcers showed up, blocking out the sky like a giant swarm of angry wasps. They wrecked shopped on Quintyxia- the old one, not the new one- and the Quintessons ran for it. They headed for the planet where they’d buried the other geode, but something went wrong with their hyperspace drive, and they didn’t arrive until two million years after they’d set off.

They dug for the geode, hit something metal, and that’s when the quakes started. The Quintessons left, thinking the planet was unstable.

At this point, Magnus is begging Xenon to just get on with it.

The Quintessons headed back to Quintyxia, to find that their lush, green world had been turned into one made of metal. Cybertron. Quintyxia is Cybertron. New Quintyxia is Quintyxia. It’s like that time Prince named himself the Artist Formerly Known As Prince.

Of course that leaves the question of why the nanobots didn’t just destroy the planet instead of… doing whatever they did to make Cybertron Cybertron.

So, Cybertron is a planet-sized computer, tasked with the sole purpose of decoding the meaning of life.

You know, I remember reading somewhere- and don’t quote me on this, because I can’t for the life of me remember where exactly- that Roberts has never read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Now, either he’s lying- which I don’t know why he would, the guy loves references- or this is just a weird thing the collective brain of the English population does, where they all jump to the same ideas in absurdist sci-fi.

When the Quintessons showed up on Cybertron, they were met with the results of the cracked Lifecode- the first Transformers (but they couldn’t transform, that was a thing that developed alongside the war.) They couldn’t do much of anything, really.

Well, now we know where the protoform babies in IDW come from.

The Quintessons, not ones to squander an opportunity, decide to use these fragile, helpless proto-beings as slaves.

Yeah, the Quintessons have kind of been the worst since day one.

They build brain modules, stick them in the ground- Seedlings, Xenon calls them- and watch as the planet wrapped living metal around them and built bodies.

The Quintessons get pretty good at making the Auto-Bots, and get to a point where they’re drafting up blueprints for each solitary one. Blueprints that Xenon apparently kept, since he’s got all these copies in the pods right now.

If you couldn’t tell already, we’re going with the “the Quintessons made the Transformers” creation myth.

Of course, you make a big enough species, they’re going to need some corralling- that is, if you want to be an awful, controlling, overbearing parent. And the Quintessons definitely wanted that. So, what’s one to do?

…Look, it’s not that I necessarily disagree on a base level, but-

Xenon, you fucking neckbeard.

Because the Quintessons forgot that religion is not a one-set-outcome game, they were surprised to find that it had given their creations hope and will, things you really don’t want your enslaved masses to have.

The Covenant drove off the Quintessons, then fucked off into deep space to spread the message of Primus, with Maximo at the head of things. Maximo was the leader of the Cybertronian Empire and Megatron’s progenitor in the Marvel UK comics. They did leave someone behind to keep the masses within the faith- Primon. He’s important in the comics, just trust me on that.

Oh man, we’re finally getting some answers.

Xenon admits that the Quintessons didn’t come up with everything; there were parts that they just straight-up ripped out of the geode’s owner’s manual.

Oh. Well. That’s… underwhelming. Xenon’s really just dumping the entirety of the Cybertronian religion into the trash at this point, isn’t he? This info-dump has been going on for five pages, and we still aren’t done.

Turns out that kill switch code was pulled from the geode too- 4/11.002983712 is its serial number. That’s like if you called your dad by his first name and then immediately died afterwords.

But whatever happened to that second geode the Quintessons buried on the other planet?

Yeah, that turned into Unicron.

Turns out the virus that wipes the Lifecode from the geode messed up, and made the geode want to kill literally everything in the universe just for being alive.

Well, isn’t that all just fine and dandy~!

Because the Quintessons didn’t realize what Unicron’s whole deal was at first- the vore-planet had learned how to lie at some point before they met up- they worked together for a time.

At this point the Quintessons had gone from being quasi-organic to something more cybernetically-dependent, so that might have also made things a little difficult in the baby-making department. Or not. I don’t fucking know, things are just happening at this point.

MOTHERFUCKER DO YOU KNOW WHAT BOOK YOU’RE IN

THERE WILL BE NO HAPPY ANYTHING

Storytime’s over, back to the present day. Xenon’s going to take these podded robots and populate New Quintyxia with them. They won’t fight, they’ll be actual, normal people who don’t wage war.

Xenon must have gotten some new glasses, because that’s one hell of a rose-tinted worldview he’s got there.

Ultra Magnus at this point just asks for the Matrix back so they can go home. Xenon says “nah, but check this out tho” and powers on the pod-bots.

Xenon, that’s gross. Don’t make Galvatron and Magnus watch you be weird with the power of granting life, man.

All the robots wake up, stand, and stare up at Xenon, who’s floated up to the ceiling on his power trip. They… aren’t supposed to do that.

Turns out the Matrix is a friggin’ liar, and only promised power because it’s actually Unicron in there. Well, damn.

Galvatron shoots Xenon. Good.

Shoulda sprung for the waterproofing on your Uggs, Mags.

Galvatron’s on a roll, now. He aims at one of the zombies and fires, and they all go down, thanks to their interlinked minds. Crisis averted, I guess.

Magnus, though not happy with Galvatron’s wanton destruction of innocents, has bigger fish to fry at present; he’s convinced that the Matrix is still inside God. Boy oh boy, is he wrong, but the narrative demands he at least tries. He sticks his hand into the computer, up to the shoulder. That’s not good heavy-duty machinery safety.

Well, shit. He’s been possessed by a higher power.

You know, now that I think about it, there’s a good chance that Xenon putting the Matrix into God messed up the killswitch code, and that’s why Prowl had to use a wasting disease to try and end it all. Not really relevant at this exact moment in the story, just a thought I had.

Galvatron, having had enough mystical bullshit for one day, shoots his arm clean off, severing the connection. Magnus drops like a stone, and Galvatron bolts as everything starts coming down around them.

Oh no, Magnus is gonna be our first victim, isn’t he?

Magnus follows after Galvatron, leaving his arm. Hope he doesn’t run into any aqua fortis on the way back to the Trident, because his Pretender shell is beat all to hell.

Then Xenon pulls himself together and stops being dead.

Sigh.

This was ONE section.

#transformers #jro #eugenesis #part six #maccadam #Hannzreads #text post #long post #prose writing

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momentofmemory · 5 years ago

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fictober - day fifteen

Prompt #15: “That’s what I’m talking about!”

Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

Warnings: None

Characters: Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanoff

Words: 1502

Author’s Note: set during ca:tws, right after SHIELD/HYDRA bombs camp lehigh.

>>Faith

Consciousness came back slowly: dust, rubble, trying and failing to breathe. Hearing someone’s voice calling her name. The whirring of helicopter blades and the chirping of crickets, the feeling of arms under her legs and shoulders, the memory of being carried through the dead of night at a pace even her concussed brain could identify as unnaturally fast. Darkness and smoke and gunfire, the sound of a car revving. Knowing something was terribly wrong and bòzhe mòi SHIELD is HYDRA—

Natasha’s eyes snapped open.

It was dark outside, and something was strapping her down.

“Don’t try to move too fast, Nat. You hit your head pretty hard.”

The voice was male, coming from her left—she jerked towards it and nearly hurled when the movement sent her head spinning. Natasha gripped the seat divider next to her—car, her brain supplied; the strap was just a seatbelt—and blinked until the black spots disappeared from her eyes.

Steve sat in the driver’s seat, glancing back and forth between her and the road. “You with me?”

Natasha swallowed and slumped back into the seat.

“Yeah.” She licked at her painfully dry lips. “What’s our status?”

“Not the best.” Steve said. “SHIELD’s been compromised, but there’s no way to know how deep it goes. If their influence is anything like what Zola said, we can’t risk contacting anyone connected with them.”

Natasha tried to wrap her head around that, but only succeeded in making her head hurt worse. “There must be someone we can trust. Stop at the next gas station and I’ll see what Barton knows.”

“Barton’s off the grid.”

Natasha bristled. “He might be off your grid, but—”

“In Central Asia.”

Oh.

Natasha’d forgotten he’d been chasing down a lead on Taskmaster before all this went down.

“And it’s not just about who we can trust.” Steve flicked on his turn signal before passing the car in front of them, because apparently going twenty over the limit was fine, but only if you communicated your intentions to the drivers behind you. “SHIELD’s surveillance network is too advanced. They’ll know to be watching anyone they think we’ll contact.”

Meaning, no Avengers back up, and that covered pretty much everyone Natasha knew.

She swung her feet up on the dash and definitely did not sulk, choosing instead to stare out the window and count the miles as they ticked by. Privately, she wondered if it was wise to travel down the highway like this, but despite the darkened sky there were a surprising number of cars on the road. She peeked at the clock on the dash—5:23am. The early shift headed to work, then. She must have been out longer than she’d realized.

She winced and eased her throbbing skull back onto the headrest.

“So, Mr. Man With a Plan,” she said, closing her eyes, “where’re we headed.”

“Somewhere safe.”

Steve may have been terrible at straight-up lying, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t good at avoiding the truth.

Natasha cracked one eye open. “Somewhere I wouldn’t approve?”

“We’re going back D.C. to lay low and figure out our best move. That meet your approval?”

It didn’t, actually. “You’re being uncharacteristically vague and unhelpful.”

Steve glanced in the rearview mirror, checking for tails for the fiftieth time since she’d woken up. “You could try being uncharacteristically trusting.”

“Low blow, Rogers.” Lower than she’d like to admit, but now wasn’t the time for that. Just like now definitely wasn’t the time to think about how all these years she thought she’d been wiping out her ledger, the cloth itself had been drenched in red.

She tapped her fingers against the glass window and tried to chase away her past. As she did so, she realized the car was different from the one she remembered Steve hot-wiring outside the mall yesterday—probably because the other one was ashes at this point.

She cleared her throat and compartmentalized—she was still good at that, at least. “So if you won’t tell me where we’re going, can you at least tell me where you borrowed this from?”

“Stole.”

Natasha wondered if she’d hit her head harder than she thought. “…What.”

“This one’s stolen.” Steve tilted his head towards the back of the car. “There’re swastikas all over the bumper.”

“Captain America is driving a car with Nazi propaganda on it?”

“Yeah, and SHIELD will be just as confused as you are.” Steve switched lanes. “We get some extra cover, and a Nazi loses their car. I call that pretty patriotic.”

Natasha rolled her eyes, and then frowned as Steve pulled onto the exit ramp. She sat up a little further. “Steve?”

“Natasha.”

She’d just about had it with this whole trust thing, which she was also pretty sure was supposed to be a two-way street. She punched the button to raise her seat all the way up. “Why are you taking the exit?”

“We’re exiting.”

“Steve, this is the suburbs. We don’t know anyone here.”

“You don’t know anyone here,” Steve said. He pulled to a stop in front a traffic light. “And SHIELD doesn’t, either.”

“Steve, who the hell—” Natasha froze, remembering the man Steve’d been chatting up on the National Mall. “Oh, no. Oh no, no, no. Please tell me you’re not doing what I think you’re doing.”

Steve’s patented jaw of justice clenched. “We needed somewhere to go, in D.C.”

“Which definitely doesn’t mean the house of some guy you just met!” Natasha hissed, then grimaced as it exacerbated her headache. “Bòzhe mòi, Captain America is a Disney Princess.”

“Natasha.”

“Don’t look at me like I’m the problem here!”

Steve yanked the wheel and pulled into a gas station parking lot, forcing Natasha to clutch at the armrests. The car shuddered to a stop and Steve took the keys out of the ignition. “We’ll need to walk from here. I don’t want to bring any more attention than necessary.”

“Want to—Steve!”

Natasha stumbled out of the car after him, wincing as the movement jostled her ribs, which had chosen that moment to remind her of their bruised state. Steve was at her side in an instant.

“It’s not far,” he said.

Like that made things any better.

“You don’t know anything about this guy’s past! Who he works for! What he’s done!”

Steve’s eyes snapped, and when Natasha pushed away from him, he let her. “I know what he’s doing now, and that’s enough.”

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Natasha threw her hands up in frustration. “You can’t just—you can’t just ignore what people did and expect things to go the way you want them to!”

“I know,” Steve said. “Because that’s how things like Operation: Paperclip and Zola and Hydra happen. That’s not what this is about.”

“Then what is it about, Rogers?”

Steve shrugged helplessly, then ran his hands through his hair. He shrugged again. “…Faith, I guess.”

“Faith.” She could hear Madame B’s scoffing voice in her ear. “Faith, after what we just saw? What we just learned about everything we’ve been working for?”

“Faith in people, Nat,” Steve repeated. “And trust, too.”

Natasha stared at him. “You’re out of your mind.”

“Yours isn’t so great right now, either,” Steve said, offering a small smile.

Natasha bit her lip, and looked at the car. She could jump back in. Steal the keys from Steve, drive off and hunker down in one of her safe houses. Not look back.

He’s Captain America. He tends to inspire a certain sense of… Loyalty.

She sighed, remembering Maria’s words. “Don’t make me regret this.”

Steve’s smile grew softer, and Natasha scowled. “If we get killed, I’m haunting you all through the afterlife.”

The sun was starting to rise when they finally reached the nondescript house Steve identified as his friend’s, and after Natasha scoped it out—concussion or no, she was good at this—she and Steve slunk to the back of the house and rapped on the door.

Natasha shifted her weight from side to side, uneasy out in the open like this, but the door opened before she could change her (or Steve’s) mind.

“Hey, man.” He looked as confused as Natasha felt.

“I’m really sorry about this,” Steve said, no preamble as usual. “We need a place to lay low.”

Natasha wasn’t much better. “Everyone we know is trying to kill us.”

The man looked at their disheveled appearance, and Natasha tensed, ready to run. But to her surprise, he nodded, and moved out of the way.

“Not everyone.”

Natasha brushed by him without a word, trusting Steve to handle the details. She listened to them talk as she hunted down the bathroom, but it wasn’t anything she didn’t already know, so she tuned them out and closed the bathroom door.

Faith, huh.

She stripped and turned the shower on, stepping into the cool water. She stood in silence, water dripping in rivulets down her body, and washed away all the sweat, blood, and ash she’d been covered in.

She wondered if that meant he had faith in her, too.

#fictober19 #steve rogers fic #mcu fanfic #steve rogers #natasha romanoff #fanfiction #romanrogers #memsfic

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these-are-the-first-steps · 5 years ago

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So it looks like Marvel’s TV division is shutting down and what’s left is being taken over by a higher-up department. Probably anything made after now will go straight to disney+.

But the concerning part of this is that they had gotten the greenlight to pre-pro NEW shows that have suddenly gotten axed for the sake of this shakeup.

It’s like Marvel was given the illusion of being somewhat autonomous after the disney takeover just to have the trap finally close in around them.

Is this what Lucasfilm has to look forward to in just a couple of years?

I have faith in Kathleen Kennedy to protect LF, but am terrified of her ever leaving or stepping down because it would leave LF wide open to this same sort of treatment that has watered down everything like Marvel.

It’s terrifying. This is why “tons of new movies/shows!” outside of the main storyline (after disney explicitly said after buying LF that “star wars is and always will be about the skywalker family” - if something happens to Ben, what a fat bunch of fucking liars they’ll have been because all these offshot films and shows are already pushing it) is such a concern. Too much too fast makes quick cash to repay disney the cost of buying you up and then BAM you get your soul sucked out of you the second they recoup the purchase loss and you’re just another watered down disney drone with barely any quality or originality in what you’re making.

That, in a sea of remakes we’re already drowning in, is going to kill our creative spirits.

Marvel shows made up a healthy chunk of NYC film production (even if the hours were often horrible- rip daredevil’s crew, real talk. we still think about yall a lot) so I’ll be sad to see that go, but that’s only a small bit of the unnerving implications going on here. As crew, as a fan, especially of Star Wars.....like what the fuck is disney up to?? At what point will money stop being the driving force and actually creating worthy cinematic art that is Interesting and Compelling be a thing again? Don’t they already have enough cash? This is so freaking frustrating to watch. I don’t want this to be LF’s fate, man. None of us in this business do. Marvel stuff us interesting, but we love SW too, too much.

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tsukiyaki · 5 years ago

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even when i don’t cooperate

Lord God,

“I’m doing better now. We made it.”

I want to say these words and mean them, so badly. But I can’t. Not yet. And not knowing when I can again is suffocating, because I don’t want to be not okay anymore.

I’m sorry, Lord, that I don’t know how to receive your love and comfort right now. When you want me to do something for you or hack and slash for your kingdom, I’m in. It takes my mind off the pain in my chest. But when you draw near as the lover of my soul, or as my father in heaven, I’m going to greet you with a door, boarded up and bolted shut. I’m a conflicted, irrational child on the other side, weeping over my own brokenness, over how I need you and miss you so much, but I can’t bring myself to look at you because it reminds me of this open wound that in all honesty, I hold you partially responsible for.

I need you to bust through that door. I need to know that you’ll fight for me and win a landslide victory, even when I fight ugly against you. I’m tired of always trying to do the right thing, holding myself to a standard that is higher than I can maintain without growing bitter and resentful for having to meet it. I think the best thing I can do for myself right now is to stop trying so hard to be the person I think I should be, because I’m not there yet. I never wanted to point my finger at you and blame you for my unhappiness, Lord, but this is the only way I can relate to you as your child right now. To take it all out on you, because you can take it, and only you can take it, even though you’re the only one who never ever deserves it.

But I’ll do myself a favor and record the bits and pieces I remember of how you’ve pursued me in the past month. Your love is relentless. And I hear you. I hear your gentle whispers through the door. Maybe one day soon, but certainly one day eventually, I’ll read through these words, and they’ll finally get through to my calloused heart:

You make a way for me at work every day.

I like my job for the first time in 5 years, and the change that made that happen was handed to me on a silver platter.

I have the best manager and teammates who love me and care for me.

Though I’ve been a mess, I’ve never had to de-prioritize my own wellbeing, because you always make just enough time and space for me to do that without compromising my work.

You continue to speak encouragement through me to the people in my life. If anything, I’ve seen an increased boldness behind my words and genuine affection for others in the midst of my pain. Thank you for the grace that allows me to do what I love most.

On 10/2, you spoke to me clearly through another one of your children, words that I needed to hear, even if I didn’t want to. Still, I recognize this as a divine appointment, for you didn’t delay a single minute after you had prepared my heart to receive your command, but you held off just long enough until I was ready. This day, in order to obey, I decided to let go of something very precious to me. Thus began this arduous process.

On 10/10 and 10/17, my coworker and I read about Noah in our Bible study through Genesis.

Late at night on 10/16, I spilled my guts to a few sisters and started to process in earnest how hard it has been to let go. The next morning, one of them sent me the teddy bear picture. You got me this time. It struck something deep inside of me. I realized I’ve been so reluctant to let go because I loved that teddy bear. And I thought if I could truly say “I love it,” that’s enough to justify keeping it for forever. But it’s not. And you know it’s hard to let go of what I’m holding on to, but you definitely have something better in store. At the end of the day, obedience to you must supersede my love for anything else.

On 10/21, I woke up and wrote another song for the first time in almost 2 months. It was going in one direction, but the bridge came to me and redirected the song to you. It heavily references Noah’s flood.

On 10/23, a sister messaged me a word from you. She said she felt like Jesus was asking me out to dinner. I said He’d have to work for it, but I appreciated it.

On 10/27, I couldn’t muster the energy to worship you until we sang, “Even when I don't see it, you're working. Even when I can't feel it, you're working. You never stop, you never stop working.” At the end of service, a sister prayed for me. When she finished, she held me, looked at me, and said, “I feel it. I feel the pain ... It’s going to be okay.” Then she hugged me. And the way she did all of that disarmed me. Someone else actually knew what it felt like to be me, and they acknowledged that I’m not just weak. That it really does hurt, and it makes sense that I need time to grieve. So I went back to my seat, and I cried for the first time since 10/2. I cried and cried and prayed that I wouldn’t stop until I got it all out of my system, because crying doesn’t come easily to me anymore.

Later on 10/27, I pulled my own name again during prayer time in accountability group (which of course, I didn’t know until after I prophesied over the name on my slip of paper). You told me my heart is like the ark, and we’re still building it to prepare for the flood you’ll release in my life. You will wash away all the pain, all the grime of my past. At the end, I will see your promise, and I will walk forth as the new creation that I already am, completely freed from the chains of yesterday. This time, I finally realized how intentionally you’ve been planting Noah’s story in my life.

On 10/31, my coworker and I continued reading about Noah.

I marveled at how long it took Noah to build that ark. How pointless it could have seemed if he had stopped to compare what he “had to” do with what everyone else “got to” spend their time doing. How he could have stopped at anytime to doubt your command and give up because it was hard labor and didn’t make sense, yet the Bible says “And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.” It made me feel a lot better about what you commanded me.

One other verse also struck me: “Then the Lord shut him in.” Somehow, when I read that verse, I felt like you were saying, “Don’t be afraid. I see you. I brought you here--to protect you, not to harm you. There is a purpose to this pain.”

Sometime in the last week, I was willing to open up my Dwell app and listen to Job 38-42. They just happened to be the next chunk in the chronological Bible in a Year audio plan I started a while back. You spoke to me through a number of verses, which I found somewhat amusing because you were talking mostly about animals, yet you spoke to me through each one in such a relevant way:

Job 38:39-41 (the lion and raven): “I am a provider, and I provide for you, as I provide for animals that do not know how to pray to me with eloquent words.”

Job 39:2-3 (the mountain goats): “I know the right time for all things, including the fulfillment of my promises in your life. You don’t know when this heavy burden will pass, but I do. And there will be joy and life at the other end.”

Job 39:5-8 (the wild donkey): “I am a liberator. I freed you from bondage, and I’ve given you a home, a lush and vibrant place of provision.”

Job 39:9-12 (the wild ox): “I hold absolute authority. Don’t trust in other people or powers, not even yourself. Trust in me, because I alone have authority to command all people and powers.”

Job 39:13-18 (the ostrich): “I am the source of wisdom. Without me, you labor in vain, and you won’t even be able to recognize the value of what is precious in your life. So ask me for wisdom.”

Job 39:19-25 (the horse): “I am all powerful, the source of your might, and I made you like the horse. You shall laugh at fear and not be dismayed, and you won’t turn back from the sword. This is a hard battle, but admit it--somewhere deep down inside of you, when you hear the trumpet sound, and you smell the battle from afar, you’re not actually afraid. You are ready and aching to claim another victory for my glory.”

Job 39:26-30 (the hawk and eagle): “I am a master strategist, and I give you vision. I know where to position you for success, unique to how I designed you. Don’t compare where you are right now with someone else, because it might not make sense for that person, but it makes sense for you. And if you trust me and obey me, you will land in a place where you can finally see clearly.”

Job 40-41: (Behemoth and Leviathan): “I am not a tiny God. Behold my creations. No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me? Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.”

Job 42:10: “I listen to the prayers of my people, which carry the power to forgive sins. Job prayed for the people who failed him, even betrayed him as friends in their failings. I call you to do the same. I empower you to do the same.”

On 11/3, a sister shared her testimony. It was powerful. But what really got me was when she referenced an alternate version of the teddy bear picture. The same picture I can’t get out of my head, and you clearly don’t want me to forget. At this moment, I honestly hate what you ask for in that picture. But I can’t deny that you are clearly reaching out to me, even now.

During service on 11/3, Jason spoke on Mark 10:35-52. Verse 50 hit me: “Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.” The blind man threw his most prized possession aside to ask for sight. In faith, he exchanged his one tangible source of security for the possibility that you would answer his prayer. I thought of the teddy bear in my hands. You’re asking me to trust you, to throw it aside, and to reclaim the singleminded devotion I once had for your vision. You’re inviting me to come before you and confess, “Father, my beloved, I want to see.”

#dominoes

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smolbeandrabbles · 6 years ago

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Science & Faith - Finale - Talos/Keller (Captain Marvel: AU)

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

Authors Note: See what I did 😉 Well, I don’t know what to say, my first complete series!! I got some more Talos/Keller in the works... So don’t fret, I’m not giving this man up entirely 😘❤ Oh god, I tried so hard to cut her damn Lore down because it was just gonna read like a guide to her race... I was somewhat successful... I think... Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. Except Maliyah and all her race Lore. I have to say I’m not completely sure of Supernova’s powers I just LIKE the idea of it being something to do with dying stars... That Lore is kinda twisted with my own. Slight lyrical liberties with ‘Color’ by Carly Pearce. Premise: So often told she didn’t belong on Xandar, and for so many different reasons. Now she has a way out... Is Maliyah brave enough to take Talos up on it..? Words: 6563 Warnings: Zip. (Assassination?)

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE USED Not Reader Insert

I give up, I surrender And be nice, 'cause this heart's a little tender You were right, I was wrong, boy Yes, I know that you knew it all along, boy Tried to tell me we belonged together, I knew better, I was like "no" I admit it, I'm a wild child looking for a hand to hold

I’ll be the lines, you be the color Just like the day and night need each other Life ain't as great without the other I’ll be the lines, you be the color you be the color

Oh, nothing feels like you, boy I don't know how you knew, boy

---

Oh, and there's a view I just can't describe No, I'm not there yet, just a few more steps, baby wait Okay, you can open your eyes

This is it, this is now, this is what I've been talking about Looking out, can't you see forever? Take my hand, just take it in This is a moment we won't forget On top of the world, here, together If there ever was a time for a perfect kiss, this is it

--- Maliyah zipped her jacket and popped her collar, rolling her sleeves down as far as they could go she actually looked half presentable as she entered the meeting room. The conversational lul was quiet... She stopped at one end of the table, frowning and pointed to the empty chairs; “Where are...???” Talos and his lieutenants were noticeably absent. “Well, seen as we don’t seem to be able to come to a satisfying conclusion with them here, I decided we would have a debate without them. Then we give them our final answer.” Maliyah nodded and walked slowly to her seat, this was all her fault and she knew it. She was bringing her personal life into her professional one and if she didn’t do something, she was about to screw this up for two races. Neither of which were hers. She sat, noticing how Yoel almost ignored her. Oh, so he wasn’t happy with her either?! Figures. Reis hasn’t arrived yet... Maliyah took a deep breath. She could do this; she could get through this. Reis arrived, and he wouldn’t take his eyes of her. That stare coupled with that smirk meant trouble... It was times like this she wished Garthan was still around. He wasn’t. Maliyah was back to defending herself. The only non-Xandarian of the Nova Corps. Reis wasn’t down for that, and he was even less down with the races of her significant others... Nova Prime sighed deeply; “As of right now, we have no conclusion. And quite frankly I’m sick of it. They deserve nothing less than a straight answer and this political bickering is embarrassing.” She gave Maliyah a sharp stare “I expect better from you.” Even though she was addressing the table as a whole Maliyah winced – time to make her decision. “I know you do.” Nova Prime looked a little taken aback. It took a lot for Maliyah to swallow her pride. Yoel shifted. Aha... all she needed was him back on side... That was all she needed... “I expect better from myself. I’m not pretending to speak for the table. I understand we have only just fought and lost a great deal to the Kree. But that does not mean we should be uncivil to the Skrulls.” She took a breath; “It should never have got to the point where you felt the need to call this meeting. And I am disappointed in myself and my actions.” Maliyah folded her arms, “I realise I have a great deal of influence as your military leader and I have abused that power. There have been many good ideas around this table that I have rejected for personal reasons. That was stupid. And I retract all previous statements. I retract my right to veto anything that comes from this, and I am almost tempted to tell you I should leave... I should have no power here...” Her eyes flicked to Reis, to how smug he looked at her admitting she was wrong. That was exactly what he wanted. She was about to wipe that off his face though. “They need us. I think we need them.” His face fell, looking like she’d just betrayed him. Those on the fence would sway with her, she’d seen it happen in the past few days alone. Reis’ little bit of power was slipping through his fingers. She turned back to Nova “...Give them what they are asking for. In honestly it isn’t much.” An alliance between races didn’t have to cost either a thing… But, Maliyah had ideas of her own. She tipped her head “Though I’d bargain on that light speed engine… We need something like that... I’ll work on it.” She tapped her fingernails against the desk in thought. Talos would probably agree on giving her something. And something that fast – she might need a back-up plan for when her own race came calling… At this, Yoel swivelled his chair and stared at her, she looked back to him and waited for him to smile; “I wondered when you’d start seeing sense!” Reis wasn’t having it. He tried not to let his anger show on his face, calling all attention back to him; "Blue to Green? I don't think we can trust our Denarian to do anything but date her way through the colour spectrum. I move for a vote of no confidence.” The whole room fell into an awkward silence. Maliyah just folded her arms and pursed her lips. Really? He wanted to play this game? Well, she guessed she had ignited a vote of no confidence in herself… Of course he’d make a play. "I think with some semblance of humanity there, you've missed out a colour..." "Not if he was never human." "... Then that's consistency; a far more trustworthy trait than political backstabbing." Ah-! That made him back down. He sat back in his seat, staring murder at her. Nova Prime sighed; “Maliyah… I want you to know… These personal reasons of yours, that both you and Reis speak of…” Maliyah swivelled back in her seat, biting her lip gently. She was aware that even with her jacket pulled up, it was still virtually impossible to miss the lights crossing her skin. “…They are not an issue. I understand why you made them such. And I appreciate your honesty in knowing you were wrong to make them one.” Maliyah bowed her head; “I made hot headed decisions out of spite. And… For that, and what it means for Xandar, for these negotiations I can only apologise…” Yoel looked pretty proud of her, but Nova Prime just smiled; “I feel it is not us you should be apologising to…” Maliyah received another significant look from her partner. “Oh-! Well… I guess you’re right!” *** She re-entered an empty apartment and sighed. She could only blame herself… She unzipped her jacket and rolled her sleeves up. Would he come back? Would he come back to her? He was probably at other meetings. She guessed Nova Prime would call upon them to discuss the final verdict. Then Maliyah would have to try the prospect of the lightspeed engine proposal on him… She wasn’t sure how he’d take that. Another thing to help her run away?? Well, what if it wasn’t him she was running from? She was sitting on the bed with her legs crossed watching the sky when Talos returned. He noticed she did this a lot. Far more than on Earth. “What do you keep looking for?” She shrugged “Something’s coming. Always is... Earth was the only place I never felt that. And look what happened... There I could just watch the stars.” He crossed her apartment and sat in front of her, if only to pull her attention away from the sky. “I owe you an apology...” “What? What for?” She gave him a look, like he was just being polite; “Everything.�� She steepled her hands in front of her lips “I’m sure they’ll tell you everything is resolved; the deal is finalised. You’re getting everything you asked for. I’m sorry for standing in the way of that.” “You had reasons.” “Yeah, that weren’t good enough reasons and I should have kept to myself... I’m their Denarian and their Supernova I should know I sway everything here... You talk so much about fixing this... I decided I needed to fix something myself.” “What is a Supernova? To you. The significance of me calling you that is far more than just a name...” She indicated to his wrist “You’re wearing part of it.” He looked to the fine chain, the North Star looking pendant she always called a Nova. “My brother gave it to me... I gave it to you. He was the original Supernova… It fell to me, but I’m not Xandarian... He knew his limits. The fact that no-one knows mine is scary. To them.” He held his wrist up “So what is this? The source of that power?” Maliyah took his hand in hers so that the star fell between them; “No... The two pieces together... That energy? As far as I know, we’re talking a real supernova.” His face scrunched like he was trying to process that information “…You’re… Talking about yourself?” She nodded slowly; “I am now… You’re meant to keep me grounded. The significance of you with my Nova star should not be taken lightly.” She took his other hand “So don’t you dare go dying on me!” He raised an eyebrow "Is that your version of I love you?" She narrowed her eyes slightly with a wry smile; “The last time I told someone I loved them he wasn’t who he said he was.” ** Maliyah could sense it before it happened. Strolling through the Capital with Talos just to get used to him. She needed to know him as well as she knew Keller. They were technically the same person... But nothing about them was similar... His love for her, maybe. But the way his feelings presented themselves to her - she had to get used to all of Talos' nuances. So she just made him walk and talk to her. Maliyah didn't have to concentrate on anything but his voice; allowing herself to get wrapped up in him. “…What happened to you?” “Hmm?” “The day I left, what happened to you?? Even if you got shot, you’d bleed…?” He laughed, and his genuine amusement sent another wave of gorgeous sparkles across her skin; “Oh. No. Not bullets. More… energy.” “Energy!?” “The same kind of energy in fact that powers the engine. Only... in a more condensed form.” She was clearly trying to figure out how that worked in her head. Accepted she couldn’t. Was impressed he could take a hit from a mini infinity stone and changed subject, slightly; “Wait - you were there for the drive?!” “No... I helped make the drive. Well, commissioned the drive - for my people.” “So how long did that take?” “Well... Let’s just say Keller didn’t become a Director overnight… I’d have given the drive up and stayed for you, you know?” “I figured. Would you ever have told me?” “Whether you believe me or not I tried many times. But... Jonathan to you was... Everything... and I... I didn’t want to take him away from you.” “Well, I guess in a weird way, he’s still here...” Maliyah was not a true empath. She could only ever feel everything from her significant other. But if the feeling from someone else was intense enough - if it was so out of place, she could sense it. And on this sunny afternoon, walking down the promenade and absentmindedly watching other lovers and families go about their days, she felt it. It was close. And it made her uneasy. It pulled her out of her focus on him. Maliyah turned; the problem was nothing looked out of place. Everyone seemed to be going about their business happily. But it was something; an uneasy, panicked feeling. She ran forward a few steps and turned, so she could still talk to Talos - walking backward. She slowed herself, making him slow his walk - by the look on his face he knew something was up too - but she had to make this natural. How else was she supposed to find out who or what it was? Then she spotted him. Not because he was trying to stand out, but because he wasn't. And not only was he trying to be inconspicuous, as the crowd moved around him and he weaved - he only kept his eyes on one thing. And she realised with horror that that one thing was Talos. Oh - HELL no. The crowd fluctuated again and she lost him. Now this was bad... Maliyah picked up her pace again, instinctively trying to distance him, Talos followed no questions asked. Her colours ran over her skin where it was exposed in vibrant warning lights and her eyes were alert. She wasn't pay attention to his talking, but he kept the conversation flowing to appear natural. Maliyah sprinted forward - yanking Talos back and out of the way, despite the fact he was bigger than her, she slammed her shoulder into the guy; he was winded and floored in seconds. And her Yaka arrow was in his face. Oh-! Talos almost smirked, now she was using it to defend him? That was sure an interesting turn of events. The weapon the assassin had been carrying skittered across the floor as the crowd froze and parted to see what was happening. "What the hell was that you just attempted!?" He wasn't a real assassin; she could feel his panic now. It was a cheap move and it hadn't paid off. With that arrow in his face Maliyah wasn’t surprised he could barely speak - she squinted. He wasn't going to get away with that. He cried out in pain as the arrow began to dig into his skin at her insistence; "I could just kill you, of course." She stood back, "That would be a violation of several Nova Corp rules and I'd probably be sanctioned. But it’s not half as bad as what YOU just attempted." "He is a killer!" The man spat "He deserves to die." Was he Kree? On Xandar…? "You've got about 10 seconds to change your opinion." He whimpered as the arrow began to draw blood. Talos reached for her "Maliyah." It was like he snapped her from her anger, "Do not end his life on my account..." It was as much a swell of pride as surprise that she would. She was serious. About making this work. He didn't think she'd ever let Keller go... That she would ever accept him. But here she was. She took a deep breath; pulling the Yaka arrow back a few inches. Tapping her coms "Nova Corp. Arrest made in sector 3. Immediate escort to the Kyln necessary." She called her arrow back in disgust as she heard dispatch send out ships to her location. "This so called murderer just saved your life. Asshole." Talos had to be quick to follow her through the crowd. She was pissed, they were here on political asylum and someone had just tried to kill him!? Was there literally no end? Would it never be over...!? She realised she was tired... of everything... He caught her arm; "Mali... Mali wait..." She turned back to him; "I'm sorry." He was taken aback; for what? "Sorry? Maliyah. You just saved my life." She blinked a few times; before giving him a crooked smirk - "Yeah. Don't get too used to it." He shook his head; he knew she didn't mean it the way it'd come out. She was still about that front. But it was an ever increasingly flimsy front. "What are you sorry for?" She looked around her; "I'm just tired..." "Of what?" "Of war... of all this political nonsense... of races... fighting over EVERYTHING. I don't want to live this. It's why I left Xandar in the first place. Only, Ravagers aren't much better... So I went exploring. And then I found Earth - and – I just... Earth gave me something so real..." she shook her head, and gave a gentle smile, that extended to the sparkle in her eyes and the soft colours in her skin. Genuine happiness "Earth gave me you." Talos opened his mouth; but realised no words would do that moment justice. He realised it then, what he thought he had before, but looking at her now it was just so clear. Maliyah Saal had really fallen for him. The real him. *** “You want the lightspeed engine?!” “No. No… Not the actual engine just something like it.” “Why!? So, you can run away again.” She sighed, but there was a smile there – she knew he was teasing her this time “…No! Not exactly.” “That sounds like a yes-! What did I do this time!” “Stop it!” She placed her hands on the table – currently they were looking at holograms of tech. It had started as a tactical discussion. It was fast becoming something else “Nothing-! I’m thinking of me. My race. My planet.” “…?” He tilted his head “What?” “You know eventually they’ll come after me and drag me back home. I figure if I can’t beat ‘em, and certainly won’t be joining them… Then running as fast as possible across the galaxy is probably the best option.” He chuckled; “Alone?” “I didn’t say that!” “That’s what it sounded like.” She tried her best to look grumpy as she rounded the table, pointing at him “Now, alone is no good for me is it!?” “Are you telling me this about your planet to try to get me to give up on you?” “…No!” He crossed over to her, with a little smirk; “Good. Because it kinda sounds like you’re giving me an excuse to leave…” He placed his hands delicately on her shoulders “But… I don’t want to leave. You and your race and all those problems we can work through… Right? I’m down. I’m ready when you’re ready. Don’t rush this for me…” He placed his forehead to hers again “I love you. Do this at your own pace. I’m always gonna wait for you…” Maliyah pulled back from him for a minute, shaking her head gently, she knew that already. He already had… She smiled, pulling him towards her and into a kiss; “You should be done waiting…” ** Talos watched her stare absentmindedly out over the port as his lieutenants continued to move about the dock, resupplying the ship; "Don't you ever think maybe it’s time for another change?" They were standing by his ship; now everything on Xandar was finalised he really had little reason to stay. And he certainly didn’t want to outstay the welcome. "You look like you need one..." She folded her arms and tilted her body back "Oh? Really? Any suggestions?" He frowned “You don’t belong here. Maliyah.” “…So, what? I belong with you…” It took him far too long to realise what part of that sentence was a question. When he did realise he had an instant idea; "That’s-! That's not a bad idea! Maliyah-!" Talos took her hands in his "Come back with me.” "Huh? How?!" "Well, someone from Xandar surely needs to check we're keeping up our end of the bargain on this treaty right? We could do some kind of political consulate... swap... That works? Right?" She studied his face very carefully, before she laughed, and she kept laughing until tears were in her eyes "You're serious! Oh my gosh! You're serious!" He watched her look back to him in wonder, and he nodded in confirmation "I've never been more serious about anything." Nova Prime looked between them with a smile; "I don't see a problem with that." They looked to each other with wide eyes - it shouldn’t have been that easy? Should it?! Why was it that easy!? She chuckled; "Maliyah, darling. I have known you for far too long. Could I really ever have stopped you from leaving." Maliyah chewed her lip for a second; "Well... My duty is to the Nova Corp. As I hold the Nova Force.... I just.... I should be here..." She had to admit it. "Perhaps the Nova Force being kept separate to an Infinity stone would be a good thing. Two great sources of power here may cause problems.... You are correct. Of course. But, we can make it work... Who would you have take over for you?" "Day has always been the better Denarian. It’s time we gave him the full title." "You will come back whenever we call you." It also wasn't a question. Maliyah nodded; "Yes M'am." Nova Primes eyes flicked to Talos; “That will work with your people?" He nodded, but didn't have much of a choice "We shouldn't need her for anything more than politics. I hope. That power would surely be useful..." His eyes flicked to Maliyah "But she isn’t one you want to bore or tie down." Maliyah almost snorted. She wasn't sure life with a shapeshifting race could ever be boring.... "Now on that we certainly agree. Very well, Maliyah. I will see your complete hand over to Denarian Day... And then you are free to leave as a Xandarian Emissary for the Skrulls." They both bowed "Thank you M'am." Turning to leave Nova Prime called her back; "Maliyah... Just hold on a minute..." She stopped, But Talos respectfully took his leave. "M'am?" Nova Prime approached and gently took Maliyah’s face in her hands "My darling girl. I have known you since you were very small. You are not of Xandar. But you will always be Xandarian. I am proud of the woman you have become. Your parents are proud of the woman you are... I know Garthan would be the proudest.... He might not have ever said it, far be it from Garthan to do so, but my darling... He was. He always was." Maliyah couldn't help beaming "T-Thank you... That is an honour." Prime smiled; "Maliyah Saal - wherever this universe takes you, and with whomever you chose - you will always be our Supernova." Talos was standing just down the corridor when she left, and Maliyah sprinted to him, slowing to a stop with a smile that he couldn't help but mirror. "So, you're officially coming back?" "Officially. I’m a political mission, General." "Of course. We shall have to be very serious about this." "I am serious about this." He nodded "No doubt..." Maliyah entwined her fingers with his; "But your planet. I want to know EVERYTHING! Tell me everything I need to know!" *** Before she left, Maliyah had one more thing she needed to do. She had arranged to meet Reis in the Corp HQ, so she could tell him the news. He still gave her that same look of distaste. He’d never be happy until she was no longer Xandar’s problem... “Looks like you’re about to get your wish.” He raises an eyebrow and tilted his head questioningly; “I will no longer be Denarian of the Nova Corp effective tomorrow. Instead all duties will be handed to Day as a true Denarian just like my brother was...” “And you think that makes me happy?” “I wasn’t finished! I will also be leaving Xandar. I have a new mission and new orders - so you’re going to be rid of me. Likely once and for all. Surely that’s got to make you a bit happy?” He couldn’t help but smile a little. “And where will you go? With them?” “Not that you have any reason to have a problem with that Reis... Not that you should have any reason to have a problem with the Skrulls at all. But, I guess the threat of another War is too much for you, is it? Or is a war just what you want…? Is that why you did it?” He looked back to her; eyes narrowed. “What did you just say?!” “See, I’m proud of this, Reis. Of what my race has the capability to do. Of these colours. So, I really hope you’re proud of yourself...” Maliyah could sense his panic even though Reis looked controlled; he was trying to keep so composed... ”I don’t know what you-” ”Cut it. I know I don’t have proof. But I know you’re responsible... And that it didn’t work...” It shouldn’t have surprised her that all paths on this attempted assassination currently led to Reis. It wasn’t just about how it would affect the treaty... But how much it would hurt her too... She turned away from him; “We’re done here.” but she flicked her eyes over her shoulder; “But I’m never going to stop looking for that proof... So watch your back.” “You have no power here anymore...!You’re not even Xandarian!” She shook her head as she walked away from him; “See Reis there is your problem. I wasn’t born here... You’re right. But Xandar is my home. I have a duty to my home that I will fulfil. And the fact that you can��t do that, makes me more Xandarian than you will ever be...” *** It was good to be back amongst the stars. Saying goodbye might have been hard but Maliyah knew it wouldn’t be forever, she would come back to Xandar every so often. But the explorer in her felt most at home here... The light speed technology clearly didn’t extend to all ships. But she would rather have the time to think about her decision than watch her beloved stars blur by... Talos let her stand alone and think about it, and almost didn’t bother her for the duration of the trip. Waiting for the tension to work itself out of her, until she at least looked more relaxed. He didn’t have her gift for sensing emotions but he could read her body well. She didn’t truly relax until they came upon the planet itself. Like she was accepting that there was no going back now. Talos joined her. “How are you feeling?” She leant her head against the window frame “Like I made the right choice? I’ve never been here before… I’m thinking of how much I get to discover for myself.” That was the adventurer in her talking “And you’re here. So I think I’m gonna be just fine.” He laughed. He’d certainly take that. The ship descended into atmosphere and he watched her face closely. He loved coming back home; but she was seeing this for the very first time and he was desperate to know her reaction. Maliyah’s eyes widened in joy, it had to be at the way colour flashed across her skin, and she couldn’t take it all in fast enough. The planet was covered in what appeared to be lush green forest areas, grasses of different species, she could see for miles upon miles - to the mountains raised in the distance and the great glassy lake reflecting the sun. Every so often cities raised themselves up, all with great glass structures. They had built up instead of out. Preserving as much of the planet’s natural beauty as possible. An almost seamless blend of technology and nature. Talos had to look back at it for just a minute, so he could imagine what was racing through her mind... “Take the war away from the planet, everything grows back…” But he couldn’t help it; “So, tell me, did you make the right choice?” She didn’t answer, but a smile spread across her face “Ah-! That’s a smile!” Maliyah pushed his arm; “Shut up! It was NOT a smile!” He didn’t believe her for a second, and worse, now she was blushing… * Maliyah Saal was not one for thinking she made many mistakes. But her first month was a hard period of adjustment. Everything about the Skrulls was different from everything she’d ever known. Immersing herself in the culture wasn’t hard – but they were all so interested in her, she found herself answering the same set of questions ten thousand times. She could only cope with so much at a time before she got overloaded. Talos knew this and he shadowed her, giving her just enough space to explore as independently as she wanted, but always close by when he felt she needed rescuing. She was always welcome for the respite of just being alone with him and letting herself get as wrapped in his emotions as she had with Keller. It was so different and yet so familiar, and it was a sensation she never wanted to fade… Sometimes he would let her take Keller back. And that was comfortable. There was something else in that he would do that for her… But that wasn’t her life anymore… “Please stop doing this…” She took his hands in hers, sincere “…You don’t have to do this for me anymore…” She bit her lip, as she so often did, to suppress her smile – but what was the point in that when the lights flashing across her skin so often gave her away? “…He is not the man I want…” Eventually she got culture shock. It was too much and she would spend excessive time alone. To counteract that, Talos took her back to the stars. The trips were short, because Maliyah promised herself she wouldn’t leave until she’d explored every inch of his planet. Still, it was amongst the stars that his Supernova belonged. She always looked at home here. He was in tune with her enough to know, she might have been tied to Keller on Earth but she would never have stayed. She was far too tough to tie down. Maliyah was made to explore. Talos was determined to make the most of that. To make sure if her race ever came looking she would never be found. “…You want to save me from my race?” “…Yes. Because I know I can.” Talos tilted his head “Maliyah, you weren’t made to go back there. And it would be a travesty to let them take you away now.” His look was defiant “They will not take you from me.” *** “I was told I’d find you here” Maliyah was starring around the room with interest; “I was told this is where Skrulls come to practice shifting…” “We do.” He studied her carefully, she really was getting into this... “…Well then…” She looked up at the ceiling; and took slow, deliberate steps “What are you doing here.” Ending her walk at the open window, Maliyah leant on the sill. “You know. Sometimes I can’t get over it.” “What?” “…My kind was made – MADE – to traverse the stars and combine DNA with other races… Everything about how we are made is tied to that notion. Even down to the way we have children…” She turned from looking at the scenery to look at him “…Yet we became so insular? We’re explorers – but now it’s all about purity…” She turned back with a sigh; “…When Aurons started leaving home they did it to bond… To find that perfect DNA match. And your DNA… that’s almost perfect. But it’s so discouraged now, if home calls me back what would I be good for? What would my children really be good for? Bloodline purity? The age-old ways of my race were never about that.” Talos joined her, “…Your race… Are you telling me your race is compatible with all others?” “If all the markers in both parents’ DNA is correct. Then yes.” “…You’re talking about children again.” Maliyah scoffed “So were you.” She turned to him; “Yes. But it’s not an exercise in intercourse. Intercourse will not result in anything. My DNA will simply reject yours… It will create colour, but not life. A real DNA bond is a two-way consensual street.” “Meaning what?” She raised an eyebrow; “You’re ready for that?” “Aren’t you?” “…I thought I’d highlighted the significance of what our children would mean…” She gave a shrug “But now I’m here…” She relaxed herself against the railing, regarding him coolly – “…It requires your blood to mix with mine. Your DNA becomes a part of my very existence. However… MY DNA must also become a part of yours.” Apparently this information didn’t deter him “How?” “That’s really up to you, isn’t it... It needs to be a serious decision and commitment because it is an irreversible one.” “All I’m hearing out of your mouth is not now but later.” Maliyah smiled – oh, he knew her far too well – with a nod; “Not now… But later.” ** As the months continued to pass, they only continued to grow closer. Maliyah revelled in this kind of intimacy; she'd never loved or been loved like this before. The closer they got and the further their bond strengthened, the more Talos noticed she started to pick up. His language was almost second nature to her now, and there were times when Maliyah would forgo the universal transmitter completely. She didn't need it. He'd offered to try to learn hers, but she'd just laughed. Maliyah decided to teach him basic Xandarian; but her language was a waste of time – For Auron’s, their lights meant sometimes they didn't need words… It was all a little too good to last. He knew she'd be called to Xandar eventually... And late one evening that call came. "We are under attack-- Maliyah we need you to go come back - - they are after the infinity stone...!" “…I gotta go…” “Right now!? Right this second!?” Talos was only halfway dressed before she attempted to walk out of the door; “If it’s the infinity stone they need me – my planet needs me!” It struck him that she didn’t say home… "Don't you need the lightspeed engine?" "No..." She turned to him; "I can get there pretty quick. But I do appreciate the offer...!" He threw his jacket on "Should I come anyway?" Maliyah shook her head, taking her hands away from the door she turned back to him; "I am not risking your life for Xandar... You belong here. They need you here." "You need me too..." Talos placed his hands gently on her arms, making her lean up to kiss him with a smile; "I know. But I can't let you come with me...." He took her hands "Then come with me. Let me show you something. " "Do I have time?" He was already pulling her down the corridor "Yes! It's a good place for you to set off from too!!" Talos knew this much, Xandar needed Maliyah because she was their Supernova... He didn't know nearly enough about the powers she had under that responsibility. But that would probably be what got her there... And he guessed his shooting star could fly. She followed him cautiously; even though he was moving at pace. Maliyah guessed he knew the urgency that was needed back on Xandar. But before she left there was just one more thing he had to show her... They continued on a path out from the city on a slow incline. In the months that she’d been here she wondered why the hell he hadn’t shown her this before?! Maybe he was waiting for the right time?? Talos hesitated at the edge of the forest area and turned to her; “... Close your eyes.” She stopped and tilted her head with a raised eyebrow. He held out his hand; “Don’t worry I got you.” Maliyah smiled, closing them without question and lacing her fingers with his “I know you do...” she breathed, and let him pull her gently. She could feel the warmth of the sunrise as he led her gently. “Okay. Open them.” She did so slowly, and breathed, hands covered her mouth as she gasped. And she thought she’d seen beautiful from the atmosphere. Talos smiled, taking in the view for himself “This has got to be my favourite place on the whole planet...” The edge of the cliff opened out onto the Great Lake below, waterfalls running into it throwing colours as the sun just caught them enough to sparkle. The sky was clear, and as the closest star began to burn in the sky, the evening stars melted away. “... and now I get to share it with you...”That wasn’t a significance lost on her as she grasped his hand tighter, she couldn’t say anything. But she didn’t need to... “Look you got your thing with Xandar, I’ve got my thing going on. But it’s okay… We’ll do our own things, but we’ll always have THIS and we’ll always have each other.” Maliyah bit her lip at his sudden seriousness “Promise me you’re gonna be here when I’m done...” Talos turned to her with a gentle sigh, “I can’t promise I’ll be here. But I can promise I’ll always find you.” he held up his wrist, that gorgeous Nova Star. She took a step back with a sigh “... I don’t know how long this is going to take.” “Take your time. Maliyah. I can wait on you... I’ll always wait on you.” “I’ll aim not to keep you waiting forever...” She gave a smile and closed her eyes again. This time when her lights flickered, they were in blue and yellow. The star around his wrist glinted – it was obvious to him now, the two were connected. Her eyes were much bluer when she opened them; with a gold sheen, and she very slowly lifted herself from the ground. “Stay safe!” Talos couldn’t help but smile that she’d addressed him in Skrull. She was getting good at that. “If you do.” She laughed, “…Fair bargain.” Maliyah hovered out over the edge of the lake and sighed; “I’m gonna miss you!” “You haven’t even left!” He laughed; “Go hurry on and save your damn planet so you can get back here then!!” And he said it like it was so obvious. Maliyah gave him one last gentle nod as she turned to leave but she wasn’t even half way to the atmosphere before she was turning back. She pulled herself closer to him, radiating heat and energy. She was right - she held the power of a dying star... She ran her hands over the markings on his skin, and kissed him gently. When Maliyah broke it she placed her forehead against his. Hands still on him. She felt like the warmth of the sun too. He decided whoever was attacking Xandar had a world of hell coming… And they probably deserved it. But Talos didn’t expect for her to mimic the same purring sound he had. He almost froze. Hang on... Maliyah let him go, and floated back to over the lake, and the smile on her face said the same thing he had as Keller when he’d done it for the very first time; I love you... Suddenly she looked like she’d remembered something and began rummaging through her jacket “Oh! Yeah! If you’re saying we’re compatible…” She threw him a small glass vial. The liquid contained within was thick, blueish-purple, just like her eyes. “Prove it!” He looked a little confused as he looked back to her. She gave him a wink “When the time is right... well, you’ll know what to do.” Was she saying what he thought she was saying..??! “D-don’t you need m-my blood for this?!” Talos felt lightheaded for a moment just thinking about that. She didn’t just love him. That wasn’t all this was about anymore... Maliyah gave him a mysterious smile that made him think she might already have it. Back on Xandar they’d run many security tests, including on his bloodwork. She gave a gentle shrug but didn’t say another word. She hesitated once more, then sighed. Leaning in for one last kiss; just one more and she could do this… And she would come back… With that and her eyes telling him everything she couldn’t say, she turned. Illuminating in a soft white-to-yellow glow… Starlight… Maliyah forced herself not to look back as she shot towards the atmosphere. Talos watched her arc across the sky with a smile. She was still the most beautiful shooting star he’d ever seen. The brightest supernova.

---

I just want you all to be sure, that now we’re clearly linked back to Avengers: Infinity War canon, she’s gonna be okay... He’s gonna get her to Carol and they’re gonna go kick ass on Earth....

#Talos x OC #Talos #I don't get to tag Keller if Keller is no longer a feature. Right?#Captain Marvel #Ben Mendelsohn #MCU AU #Captain Marvel AU #I don't think we can trust our Denarian to do anything but date her way through the colour spectrum.#Giggling over writing that line #This Is It is so Krennic but it worked... it just WORKED for this #wow guys I finished it!#And it's not a half bad ending??? I think???#Is it too neat!?! I dunno...#I feel like there's more too this... but... hmmmm...#I did a last second change on Reis. Because I didn't LIKE it being too neat.#Progressive!!! Well done me. Leave it open!#Science & Faith #Maliyah #30

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pass-the-bechdel · 5 years ago

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Marvel Cinematic Universe: Doctor Strange (2016)

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

No.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Two (16.66% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Ten.

Positive Content Rating:

Three.

General Film Quality:

A mediocre story that mostly relies on its special effects in order to appear interesting.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

The only time that Christine and The Ancient One share the screen is when the latter is unconscious and dying, so the failure here is particularly unsurprising. For that matter, you could even argue that ‘The Ancient One’ isn’t much of a name for a named character to have...

Female characters:

The Ancient One.

Christine Palmer.

Male characters:

Kaecilius.

Stephen Strange.

Billy.

Nicodemus West.

Etienne.

Jonathan Pangborn.

Mordo.

Wong.

Daniel Drumm.

Dormammu.

OTHER NOTES:

Kaecilius produces two blades simultaneously for the beheading of the librarian, but the head is removed in a single slice, which means that one of those blades was being waved around purely for the Cool Points of dual-wielding. All about that aesthetic.

Someone sure did enjoy Inception, huh?

Remember that thing about how Iron Man balanced Tony Stark’s initial self-absorbed asshole behaviour really well with his journey to heroism in order to make him palatable enough to watch in the first place? Strange categorically does not get that treatment. He’s just an egotistical jerk who is tedious to watch, and while his arrogance is variously addressed by other characters, him going through an emotionally redemptive process is presumed by the script rather than actually being included.

If they really, really wanted Benedict Cumberbatch for this role, I feel like they should have just allowed him to be a British doctor living and working in the States. The guy cannot do accents.

My sister saw them filming the scenes in the streets of Kathmandu. Small world.

I understand that The Ancient One was an Asian man in the comics, and while I applaud the decision to make the character female in this film (especially considering that the only other significant female character is the awkwardly-included personality-lite love interest Christine), they shoulda done it without the white-washing. Tilda Swinton is great, though.

...Mister Doctor.

in an altogether lacklustre film, The Ancient One’s final moments are a highlight.

Also a highlight: the reverse destruction in Hong Kong, a much better use of the bountiful reliance on special effects in this movie, where so much of it previously had been empty spectacle.

So, let’s talk a bit about that well-known writing rule: Show, Don’t Tell.

While this movie certainly does a lot of showing in the showy sense of the word - the frequently-empty spectacle of special effects as mentioned above - that’s not the type of show from whence story comes, and it leaves the thin plot to be almost exclusively told, without active support in the content of the film. Having characters charge around in the mirror universe doing weird spatial warping shit may be visually entertaining enough to hold the audience’s interest (at least the first time around), but it doesn’t help us to comprehend any aspect of the plot, its rules, what drives it, what matters, etc. It’s just...empty spectacle. Doctor Strange doesn’t pretend to be complex or deep storytelling outside of that anyway, and that’s ok insofar as there’s no reason it has to be or even should be, but what it is, when you set that spectacle aside, is...kinda nothing?

The game of ‘recount the plot as simplistically as possible’ goes like so: arrogant doctor suffers a seemingly incurable injury, searches for a cure anyway, finds a temple of the mystical arts, learns some mystical arts, fights some rival magicians, thwarts their evil plot, the end. As I’ve noted before, the ability to distill a plot to its simplest form is not in itself proof that the plot is somehow bad or lacking; the question is what does the actual film do to make that simplistic plot work for it? When the answer is ‘...kinda nothing?’, that’s a bad sign, and particularly unfortunate here because the whole mystical arts and magicians and the freakin’ multiverse thing has no excuse for being this boring. As a simplified plot, Doctor Strange still sounds like it could be intriguing, it’s brimming with potential, and yet the only thing it exploits that potential for is an excuse to over-indulge in special effects. It’s a waste of story ideas, to start with, and considering the cast, a waste of actors, too. If you’re not gonna make the most of their skills, you might as well cast a horde of unknowns and save the casting portion of the budget for, I dunno, another gravity-defying skyscraper battle?

It should come as no shock at this point that I’m about to make this about the greatest resource of any story: the characters, both because that’s what I always do, and because damn, did they forget about characterisation being, y’know, a thing you actually have to write into the script? You can cast the greatest actors in the world if you want, and they’ll do their best to make a symphony out of the single note you give them to work with, but even then all they can do is make thin material look its best; they can’t magically generate story action and development in the places where their characterisation should have been. Let’s talk about Kaecilius as an example, because as the plot’s antagonist, he’s the most egregious of the lot: why is Kaecilius the villain? The part where he’s positioned opposite the protagonist characters and their ethos is an indicator, yeah, but why is he there, doing what he’s doing, what are his motivations? The basic answer is that he wants to bring Dormammu and the power of the dark dimension to Earth because he thinks it will bring peace and life everlasting. How do we know he wants that? We’re told so in the dialogue. Why does Kaecilius think this is a good idea? Don’t know. Turns out Dormammu’s bad news, but we don’t know how or why Kaecilius was misled on the subject. Power from the dark dimension is apparently bad news too - we know because we are told so in the dialogue - but why exactly this is and what the consequences are is unclear. We don’t have the information we need in order to understand why Kaecilius turned so severely, why certain rules exist or why they are being broken; everything we know, we know because it’s delivered to us in plain speech, not because we see it demonstrated in the events of the film, and considering that the core of the conflict seems to have come from distrust in The Ancient One’s teachings, it’s pretty ironic that the narrative then expects the audience to know or believe the truth in anything that she or her acolytes utters. If we were shown the truth of it, or at least shown the reasons to doubt or contemplate alternatives, we might be able to build a story out of this, but instead, we get ‘fuck you, it’s like this coz we said so. He has metallic purple eyeliner, isn’t that enough?’

This lack of character building spills out to impact the rest of the characters too, naturally; the criminally-underused Mordo suffers especially as a result, since everything from his reason for coming to Kamar Taj, to his supposed rigid outlook on life, to his disillusionment with the cause, all relies on the audience simply shrugging off the idea of being shown the evidence in behaviour, the influence of the past, how it shapes his perspective in the present, etc, just forgoing anything that could be considered characterisation (and therefore, fodder for character development), and settle for ‘he’s like this: we know because another character said so’. Functionally, Mordo is hardly a character at all, he’s just The Other Guy that Strange sometimes interacts with, and big revelatory moments for him - Strange outing The Ancient One’s use of dark dimension power, Mordo grappling with his shaken faith - fall flat because we haven’t seen why this should matter, why Mordo can’t bring himself to see shades of grey in a situation, why The Ancient One has kept these secrets in the first place etc. The Ancient One herself fairs only marginally better as a character because the only thing we know about her (mostly because we’re told) is that she’s secretive; that said, ‘she’s secretive’ doesn’t work all that well as a sneaky way to avoid actually fleshing out a character, and the fact that instead of having any more meaningful secret revealed other than her power usage (which, again, isn’t that meaningful really because we aren’t shown a genuine reason to attribute it meaning, we just know that the characters are saying upset words about it), The Ancient One simply dies without ever becoming less enigmatic, means that we’re still left with more of a shell of a character than a real one, just the concept of a person, not an actual person with motivations and decisions we are privy to or could understand (and therefore, could judge or attribute meaning).

Strange, at least, is shown to be an arrogant jackass, but, as noted, that personality template is presented in a very cliche manner that - in the context of the MCU - reads much like a Tony Stark knock-off, only without any of the character nuance or developmental arc to pull it off in a palatable or entertaining fashion, and part of that problem is the fact that while Strange’s initial personality is shown, his process of change is...not. Like anything else in the film that should have been dynamic, it’s told to us in words more that it is demonstrated in actions. The earlier portion of the film is somewhat slow and low on intrigue or tension due to the fact that Strange doesn’t know the extent of the world he has become involved with, and he’s wholly occupied with his quest for a cure (though, frustration with his progress or with the fact that none of his training seems relevant to it is pretty light-on, as are any moments of struggle with his own self-interest vs the greater good - Strange’s hands are just a means to an end so that he has a reason to find Kamar Taj, rather than a sustained part of his struggles on a physical, mental, or emotional level). As soon as Strange learns that there’s a bigger battle out there, Kaecilius attacks (very convenient timing), and the story changes gears to launch headlong into its final act, with only time for The Ancient One to tell Strange that this is not about him (though, again, his self-interest has not remained centralised enough nor created continued strife necessary to make this declaration seem revelatory) before Strange is faced with either playing the game, or letting Kaecilius bring Dormammu and end the world. As such, Strange deciding that endless dark dimension torment is a bad thing isn’t really a big forward step (or even a selfless one - he could still be 100% focused on returning to his old life and leaving the multiverse to the pros, he just obviously can’t achieve his own self-interest with Dormammu around). Technically, we never see proof that Strange has given up his old ways, bettered himself as a person, or made any kind of decision that isn’t about his own ego (sticking around to become a universe-saving time-lord sorcerer is, um, a distinct step up the power trip ladder, after all). The idea that this character has actually gone through anything more than a career shift is just kinda assumed, rather than being demonstrated, and consequently, the idea that this is a character worth rooting for now is also, just assumed.

Ultimately, the moral of the story is pretty obvious - ‘show, don’t tell’ doesn’t have to mean ‘never provide exposition to explain anything’, but it does mean that you should try to demonstrate essential things like worldbuilding and characterisation as often as possible, if for no other reason than because letting your audience see that something is so is much more engaging and powerful than just telling them how it is. If all you’re gonna do is tell, you might as well just stick with reciting the plot aloud, it’d be cheaper and less time-consuming, and while it wouldn’t really take advantage of the fact that film is a visual medium, just churning out a bunch of special effects shenanigans without a plot to underpin them doesn’t take as much advantage of that as you might think, either. Imagine what an interesting, dark, twisty film we could have made out of this story if, say, questioning The Ancient One’s teachings (or cleaving to them unflinchingly) had been made a prominent concept, so that rifts in trust and the shaking of core beliefs about the universe were more meaningful developments? Imagine if Dormammu was a more significant idea about which we heard conflicting information from unreliable sources, imagine if we could see how tantalising Kaecilius’ perspective was, if Strange struggled at all with who to believe and how to reconcile his ego with the smallness of his existence in the vast multiverse, etc, etc. Imagine if the plot had some sort of core concept instead of just empty spectacle and placeholder characters. Imagine. What a waste.

#Marvel Cinematic Universe #Doctor Strange #MCU #Bechdel Test #female representation

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duhragonball · 6 years ago

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Continuity

I’m still reading Star Wars comics from the original Marvel run of 1977-1986. Last night, I made it to the Return of the Jedi adaptation, so now I’ve read all the issues set between that movie and Empire Strikes Back. As I expected, these comics (#45-80) feel a lot more like authentic Star Wars stories than the pre-ESB issues (#7-38). The biggest plot hole that I noticed was that Luke still has his lightsaber throughout this period, despite losing it on Bepsin.

It occurred to me later that this wasn’t necessarily a mistake. There’s a deleted scene from ROTJ which shows Luke assembling his new lightsaber right before the mission to save Han Solo from Jabba the Hut. This strongly implies that Luke didn’t have a lightsaber of his own between Episodes V and VI. This was further supported by the ROTJ radio drama, produced in 1996, which incorporates the deleted scene into the story. There, Luke expresses frustration with how difficult it is to build a lightsaber, and then he finally realizes that he should have been using the Force to assemble the pieces. I haven’t read the novelization of the movie, but maybe it was touched on there as well.

Later sources indicated that building your own lightsaber is the final ritual for completing your Jedi training. This is shown in the 2002 Clone Wars cartoon, where Barriss Offee assembles her own saber on Ilum, under the supervision of Luminara Unduli. I’m pretty sure this scene was inspired by Darth Vader’s line in ROTJ, when he observed that Luke’s training is complete after checking out his badass green lightsaber. The implication is that building your own lightsaber is difficult enough that Luke would have to be a Jedi Knight just to pull it off.

But in the early 80′s, none of that lore existed, and it would be a simple matter for writers to assume that Luke had no trouble at all getting a spare. What I find strange is that no one bothered to explain where this spare lightsaber came from. It’s like the writers just assumed he never lost the first one, but that’s crazy.

Really, the artists on the original Star Wars comics never seemed to be able to keep track of the lightsabers to begin with. In the early comics, they paid no heed to the color schemes or hilt designs at all. Not that I would expect late 70′s artists to really worry about props from a movie that had just come out, but they kept coloring all the lightsaber blades at random, and drawing the hilts way too short and thick. Luke and Vader looked like they were holding soda cans. The art started to get more true to the movies when Tom Palmer got involved, but one thing I started to notice was how the artists would draw Luke and Vader’s lightsabers on their belts, even when they were holding them, ignited, in their hands. It was like the artists recognized the lightsaber hilts as part of the characters’ costumes, but they didn’t understand what they were. I can’t really blame them for this, since the big column of light was what really drew everyone’s attention in the theaters, and it wasn’t like they could look up hilt schematics on Wookieepedia like you can now.

Anyway, it struck me as kind of interesting how something minor like that can start off as an oversight, and then be easily corrected, or magnified into a major plot hole. It’d be pretty simple to explain Luke’s between-movie lightsaber.

Obi-Wan Kenobi had a spare tucked away somewhere, and Luke had been keeping it in storage just in case something like this happened.

Yoda had a spare, and Luke took it with him when he went to Bespin, and put it inside R2-D2′s lightsaber compartment for safe keeping.

Luke found a new lightsaber on a mission.

Luke built a new lightsaber to replace his old one, then lost that guy, requiring him to build the green one in ROTJ.

Luke found/constructed a replacement weapon, but it’s actually a knockoff “laser sword” and it doesn’t work as well as a genuine Jedi design, but it got the job done until he could do the job right.

I find it curious that no one ever bothered to tell any of those stories, though. The Expanded Universe era of Star Wars multimedia seemed determined to sew up as many continuity problems as possible. Some writer in the 2000′s did a story to establish that Jedi would swap lightsabers as a gesture of mutual respect, just to explain why Mace Windu’s action figure has a different lightsaber design than the one he has in the movies. I’m not too worried about this stuff, and I don’t think Jo Duffy or David Michelinie were too worried about this stuff when they wrote Luke carving up Stormtroopers in Star Wars #45-80, but between 1994 and 2008, there were people working for Lucasfilm who were paid to worry about this stuff. I’m genuinely surprised that no one ever got around to penning Star Wars: Luke’s Spare Lightsaber: The Lobot Chronicles: Dark Tidings.

It’s the little things like this that get lost in the shuffle, I’ve found. When you read a Star Wars novel or comic book, the major characters are always very consistently portrayed, and the story always sticks very closely to the groundwork laid down in whatever movies were around at the time. Star Wars #45-80 excelled at this. Every issue was either about the good guys searching for Han Solo, or dealing with a crisis big enough to pull them away from the search for Han Solo. I was disappointed that they didn’t spend much time at all having Luke work on his Jedi training, or trying to make sense of Darth Vader being his father, but I think Marvel knew the next movie would address that, so they knew not to wade too deep into that stream.

The stuff that gets changed the most is the minor characters. I read one issue where they basically established that Wedge Antilles never made it off the base on Hoth in ESB. He and “Nice Shot” Jansen had to take cover in the AT-AT Luke blew up, and then they lived in what was left of the base while they waited for the imperials to clear out. He was stranded there for months, and it was a pretty cool story, but I’m betting that later Star Wars writers decided to ignore this, because they wanted to use Wedge in other stories during that period.

General Tagge’s another interesting example. He was the guy on the Death Star in Episode IV, the one who warned that the Death Star was vulnerable while the Rebels had the stolen plans. Tagge’s kind of a walking continuity error to begin with, because everyone kept getting him mixed up with Admiral Motti, the guy who sassed Vader and got choked out for his lack of faith. In the Archie Goodwin run on Star Wars, Tagge was killed in the movie when the Death Star exploded, but his brothers and sister turned up as recurring villains with a grudge against the Rebels and Vader alike. Flash forward to 2015, when Disney took over Lucasfilm, and in the new continuity, Tagge survived the Death Star’s destruction because he happened to leave right before it went to Yavin IV to get blown up. This was done mainly to set him up as a rival to Darth Vader in the 2015 Darth Vader comic. I guess they figured there was no reason to invent new characters when they could just salvage some of the officers from the movie. Tagge feels more authentic than his siblings because we actually saw him on film. He’s a “real” Star Wars guy, while rest of his family are just cartoons. I think that’s the attitude anyway. Back in 1978, they were probably eager to create new characters because they had tons of world-building to do. So the 2010′s Marvel comics don’t square with the 1970′s Marvel comics at all, especially where the Tagges are concerned, but Darth Vader’s dealings with them feel pretty consistent.

The reason I bring up all of this is because I used to think that the continuity in Star Wars was never terribly complicated. When production of The Force Awakens got started, Lucasfilm announced that they were rebooting the whole Star Wars canon, declaring all the Expanded Universe content as “Legends”, which no longer counted as official continuity. The only hard canon sources from now on were the movies, the Clone Wars TV series, and anything published after that announcement. Naturally, all the post-Return-of-the-Jedi stories would be off the board, which only made sense to me, seeing as Force Awakens would contradict it. But I figured the other stories could still be made to fit together somehow, since none of them had anything to do with Rey or Kylo Ren or the First Order, or whatever.

But really, it’s been like that all along. The novels and comics would introduce some idea, and others would build on it, and then George Lucas would override it with his next project. Then the writers would have to pick up the pieces. The 2008-2013 Clone Wars TV series trampled on a lot of continuity from the 2002-2005 Clone Wars books and comics, primarily because George Lucas worked on the TV series, and he was the final word on this stuff. That announcement in 2014 pissed off a lot of Expanded Universe fans (so much that they bought a bunch of billboards to complain about it), but it was kind of inevitable. They’ll probably have to wipe the slate clean again around 2040 or so, because there’ll be enough new movies that the comics and novels won’t align with them.

I sort of half-joke about my own fanfiction getting this kind of treatment. My goal is to write stories that could fit into the established continuity, but I can only work with the continuity I know. With Dragon Ball, that was easy, until Dragon Ball Super got underway, and Akira Toriyama started writing new stuff. It was pretty easy to write my own female Super Saiyan, until DBS introduced a couple of their own, and now I have to wonder if they’ll say or do something that might contradict my own take. Likewise, this Broly movie might establish some new lore that I need to take into consideration. I can write new material to work around those things, but the stuff I’ve already written is pretty much locked in. My private joke is that in any of these new animations, a character will just stare at the screen and coldly announce that “Mike’s fanfic never happened.”

But that’s pretty much what Lucasfilm has been doing to the novel and comics writers for over forty years. “Splinter of the Mind’s Eye” would have been the official sequel to Star Wars if Empire Strikes Back hadn’t been funded. Instead, Dengar and Bossk looked at the screen and said “Alan Dean Foster’s novel never happened.” Return of the Jedi killed every Luke/Leia shipper’s hopes and dreams. “Oh, those fanfics never happened, my young friend,” Ben Kenobi said from beyond the grave. Attack of the Clones wreaked all sorts of havoc on Boba Fett’s backstory. The Force Awakens wrecked the Skywalker-Solo family tree. “Han and Leia only had one kid, and I’m gonna kick his ass!” Rey shouted asskickingly. And on it goes. I read that one writer resigned after they retconned all the stuff she had set up about Boba Fett’s home planet, but that’s the way the game is played, unfortunately.

Me, I’m just writing my stuff for fun, when it comes down to it. I like to think all the continuity can be fit together, but the reality is that there’s too many redundant pieces, so they can’t all be part of the same picture. You can either have Tagge or his brothers, but not both. You can decide to keep Ben Solo or Jan and Jeice Solo from the EU novels, but not both. Or you can do an AU, I guess. They’re all AU’s when you get down to it.

I suppose that, no matter what, I prefer my own assumption that Luke just didn’t have a lightsaber between Empire and Jedi. I’ve read too many stories about how there’s more to a Jedi than his lightsaber, and how the best Jedi never use them at all, so it makes sense to me that Luke had to make due without one, and use the loss to force him to refocus on his training. While the others searched for Han, he was doing cool Jedi homework that he should have been doing on Dagobah, and he purposely waited until he was finished before building a new lightsaber. That just makes too much sense to me, even if some other version is presented. But the other stories are still fun to read. They don’t have to be canon to be enjoyable.

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