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entwined-fxte · 1 year ago

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just for a while.

a/n: surprise! it's a fic from 2 years ago!

content: when artem encounters an unwanted conversation, how do you save him?

artem wing × fem!reader (you/your).

no explicit warnings, but reader is wearing a dress.

fluff/comfort. 1.7k words.

"Mr. Wing, are you sure this dress is alright for tonight?" You took a moment to stare at how the dress hugged your torso, worried that it wouldn't live up to the expectations of the event. "I can't help but feel like it's too casual for black tie."

The senior attorney couldn't be more glad that you were distracted with twirling the loose hem of the skirt. It meant you wouldn't see how quickly Artem's ears turned red when you asked him for an opinion on how you looked. "You look perfect like that, Y/N."

The way you giggled at his response sent Artem's heart into orbit. He wasn't sure he was regretting the decision to invite you, or if he was relishing in delight at how he got to see you like this. The only word in Artem's mind was "breathtaking".

"While that certainly helps with my self confidence, it doesn't quite answer my original question." Meanwhile, you didn't think there was any more room for improvement when it came to Artem and his suits, but you were painfully (and wonderfully) mistaken. When Artem came to pick you up, you expected his usual striped suit and tie, but it was replaced with a sleek, black suit and a bowtie. His hair had a touch of gel to it, which kept it pushed back just a bit more than usual, but the subtle difference was enough to almost make you stumble when you first saw him. "Is this really formal enough?"

Some years ago, Stellis began hosting formal parties annually for the sake of making connections between the big names of the city. It was always a black tie event, and was also only by invitation. According to Celestine, Artem had also been invited to go both last year and the year before, but he had declined on the basis that he had no “plus one” to take. Artem was ready to decline a third year in a row, but Celestine decided to take matters into her own hands and force you to be Artem's “plus one” so that he would go this year. She had said it was for the sake of the firm, but the way Celestine smirked at Artem at the time gave very mixed feelings.

"Don't worry; the dress suits both you and the occasion." His eyes found yours within seconds, and even though you both clearly saw the red on each other's cheeks, the unanimous decision to ignore it was telepathically made. "We should get going," Artem said while clearing his throat, gesturing to the car he had driven over.

Awkwardly, you tore your gaze away from him before making your way over to the passenger side. "Right, let's head over," you said just a little too quickly for Artem to believe you weren't avoiding a conversation just now.

The car ride itself was short, but the silence felt like eternity, and it felt even longer when either one of you made the slightest noise. By the time you reached the venue, you were ready to open the door before it was even unlocked. But with the event just a few steps away, you were instantaneously reminded that you weren't the most confident in your attire.

When you stopped trailing behind Artem, he took notice immediately, turning to look at you with concern written across his face. "What's wrong?"

Your hands fiddled with the hem of your dress, barely meeting his eyes as you answered. "I just don't want to look out of place," you murmured before casting your gaze elsewhere again.

Artem blinked at you before moving to get in your line of sight. When he saw your eyes on him, he sent you a smile before gesturing to you to walk towards him. "Just stay with me, and you'll always look like you belong."

There were a lot of things Artem did that always caught you off guard; one being when he said things without thinking it through.

When Artem finally realized that what he said had more than one connotation, his cheeks flared up and he felt like he was on the verge of a mental disaster. "B-because, you're my work partner. So, of course you belong here." As quickly as he could, he averted his gaze to gather himself before shakily offering his arm to you. "Now then, shall we?"

His face was still red and his eyes were everywhere but on you, but you found that he had done the job of calming you down. Even if it was his own heartbeat that had started becoming erratic.

Gently, you slipped your arm into his, starting to fall in step with him as you walked into the venue.

A few heads turned your way when you came inside, and there were a few voices that had started to mention how Artem had declined the last two years' invites. Subconsciously, your hand held tighter on his arm as though you wanted to steal him away from the gossip. Unfortunately, your linked arms were separated far sooner than you would have liked, and both of you were eventually dragged to different sides of the hall in different conversations. At some point, you had noticed a woman who seemed to be a little closer to Artem's age approach him, and even though you continued to cycle through conversations, Artem was still talking to the same woman each time you shot a glance at him.

The next time you checked your watch, you realized that you had been shuffling through people for almost an hour, which also meant that Artem had been talking to the same woman for an hour. Even with no reason to be mad, you couldn't help but feel irked at how the woman seemed to close the distance between her and your senior.

You managed to ignore it for another 10 minutes, but the last of your patience was ripped from you when you saw the woman take a step forward and Artem immediately back away. As politely as you could, you excused yourself from your current conversation before beginning to weave through the room to get back to Artem.

The closer you got, the more the sound of strained laughter and polite agreements rang in your ears.

Artem had been dealing with this for what probably felt like ages to him, so it was your responsibility to get him out.

When you were close enough, you called his name as gently as you could, making sure to furrow your eyebrows to look concerned just to complete the look. "Artem? Are you okay?"

If you thought Artem's face was red when he heard you call him by name, then the colour his face turned when you took his hand in yours was a shade of red that only an art student could recreate.

While the senior attorney made an attempt to cover his face with the hand you weren't holding onto, the woman who he was talking to cleared her throat before looking you dead in the eye. "Sorry, and you are?"

"Y/N," you replied as casually as you could, determined to sound unfazed. "Sorry to interrupt, I just came to check on Artem." You weren't sure how badly he needed a rescue, but you figured that he was relieved when he adjusted his hand to slip his fingers between yours.

"Oh, yes, you're his work partner, right?" The woman's eyes flickered back and forth between Artem and your interlocked hands before brushing the situation off. "I didn't realize you had more than a work relationship," she said with a hint of exasperation, obviously wanting to pry.

In return, you laughed the tension away, taking a second to rub your thumb on the back of Artem's hand to bring the act home. "It's not something to really put out there, after all. We're happy being quiet about it."

"Oh, well, I wish you both good luck in the relationship," the woman replied hurriedly, giving you both a slight bow before slipping away to avoid further embarrassment.

Next to you, Artem released a sigh that sounded like he had been holding it for the entire hour. "Thank you," he whispered, taking a moment to relax himself.

To your surprise, Artem didn't drop your hand, but instead strengthened his grip when you were about to pull away. "Ah- Mr. Wing-" You stuttered on your words, but immediately became silenced when you found his blue eyes locked onto how your fingers were interlaced.

"Stay like this. Just for a while," Artem murmured. "Please."

His voice was broken, filled with a longing that he had always wanted to satisfy. Even if he couldn't hold you forever, he at least wanted to keep you close tonight.

"O-of course, Mr. Wing," you spluttered out, squeezing his hand in response before turning away to hide the heat that had crawled up your face.

For the rest of the night, the only time you left Artem's side was when you excused yourself to the ladies room. When you came back, Artem extended his hand to you again, refusing to continue the conversation he was taking part in until your fingers were laced with his. The both of you became a topic for strangers, since no one had imagined Artem was romantically involved with anyone, let alone his work partner. Despite the stares, you and Artem continued on with the event, the comfort from each other strong enough to drown out the rumours that were circling the gala. Occasionally, you whispered to Artem about what might happen for the two of you regarding the rumours after the night was over, but he always shook his head and said, “rumours about me never last long to begin with.”

The later it got, the more you found yourself pressing into his warmth, and even when you forced yourself to pull away from him, he brought you right back, his free hand reaching up to brush a strand of hair out of your face before leaning closer to you.

“If you’re getting tired, you can lean on me,” he urged softly, his gaze finding yours before moving to look at the time. “Or, if you’d like, we can leave a little early and I can bring you home.”

With a contented sigh, you shook your head, taking him up on his first offer. “I don’t mind staying here longer,” you smiled, moving closer to Artem as he stroked your thumb with his own, completely forgetting every worry you had before you came.

a/n: if you recognise this fic no u don't lol

reblogs are really appreciated (´ω｀) ♡

#tears of themis #artem wing #tears of themis x reader #artem wing x reader #artem x reader #otome #aris writes ❄️

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dvmm13 · 3 months ago

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Stalemate(s)

“Let me sit under the shades for a while. I’ve been cooped up inside the study for too long.” The headmaster gave her a reassuring smile as the Omega-Level Telepath put her hand on his shoulder with a firm squeeze before she departed to get back to her tasks for the day.

Distant chatters from the junior year students rang from across the lake, while Bobby and Remy LeBeau paired with one another to a parkour course around the mansion as well as utilizing their powers to gain the upper hand.

Logan is off at the side under the Willow, lying atop one of the thicker branches with something nursed in his mouth while lecturing the students there with him about some fun facts of the first-hand history lessons he can share with them.

Katherine phased herself through the mansion from ground level to reach the antenna above following Henry’s instructions.

Scott led a caravan of The Gold Team members in a leisure run around the backyard garden.

“Such a peaceful illusion you’ve cast for them, old friend.” A familiar voice greeted him from behind, and it brought a sad smile to the headmaster’s lips. Erik Lehnsherr made himself known only to the Optimist and not everyone else as he cast his narrowed eyes onto the ignorant occupants of Xavier’s estate. “How are you feeling? The headache’s gone?”

“Mostly,” Charles nodded along with the answer, observing the tall man dressed in a deep burgundy shirt and a long coat with curiosity in his eyes.

“Speak your mind, Charles,” Erik teased him while tapping his index at the side of his temple where a ridge of something hiding underneath the skin was prominent enough for searching eyes.

“How are you?” the headmaster smiled softly as he asked the question, and averted his eyes following the Survivor’s gaze. A pair of black and white swans, Valet and Baroness lazily sauntered about upon the lake’s surface under the warm sunlight.

“Bother me with such a mundane query, truly?” Erik retorted lightheartedly, parting his coat aside to put his left hand inside a pocket “…What do you say to a game?”

“Right now?” Charles averted his eyes to the decorative chessboard with a full set of pieces made from steel.

“No time’s like the present.” With little to no effort, Erik reset the pieces to their appropriate places on the tables “Who should go first?”

“I won the last time, so you.” Charles smiled warmly and bowed to his friend a little.

“Very well,” Magneto chuckled with a slight shaking of his head then he asserted his mastery of magnetism so subtly that Charles could barely feel it. “White pawn takes D-4,” he announced to the headmaster and moved the piece silently with his power.

“I follow with D-5,” Charles informed the tall man and the piece complied.

“Pawn to C-4,” Magneto announced.

“I would like to decline the invitation, old friend; Pawn to E-6.”

“Ever the cautious mind.” Erik praised with a chuckle, then made the next move “Knight to F-3.”

“Black Knight to F-6,” Charles calmly followed along with the strategy deployed earlier by the Master of Magnetism.

“Another Knight to C-3,”

“Rook takes E-7.”

“Very well; Rook C-1 to F-4.” A ghost of a smile graces the long-haired man’s lips as he quietly studies the next move while the man in the wheelchair silently watches. “How further do your…disciples, have to wait in the shadows for a chance of freedom?”

“Not too long,” Charles replied, thinking for a little before speaking again “Knight B-8 to D-7,”

“Speculatively, I presume?”

“Hopeful would be a better terminology, my friend.”

“What is hope but a fool’s dream?” Erik retorted and moved his piece, then he waited for the bald headmaster.

“It is a sustenance of the soul,” Xavier paused for a little before informing the opposing party of his intention “…with it, a man can move a mountain.”

“Many of us can do the same without lifting a finger, Charles. Do not apply lowly sapiens’ words to our kind; it’s degrading.” Magneto flicked his wrist softly and the piece moved according to his will.

“We share the World with them, Erik.”

“As were once the Dinosaurs and the Mammalians,” The Jewish survivor shrugged his shoulders dismissively at his friend’s reasoning “until nature runs its course,”

“Erik, I implore you; do not forsake your human—"

“It died a long time ago, Charles.” Erik finished his latest move and averted his eyes toward the worried man in a wheelchair next to him “And the humans you cherish so tortured it off of my heart.”

“You might wish that to be the truth, my friend…” The headmaster ignores the ongoing chess game to fully address the man standing under the shade with him; a man who was once the caring and loving headmaster of the Institute “…but even then, the contradiction to that statement still exists in Wanda Maximoff.”

“I wouldn’t even care if she were to be born a human,” Erik said with untamed pain in his voice, a glance revealed the confused expression on the bald telepath, which brought a smirk upon the corner of his lips. “Curious as to why I am not bothered by your information?”

Now, both forego the match and just contemplate one another, standing closer than they have in years yet so far apart it might as well be a call from across the globe.

“…Promise me that you won’t harm him.” The prominent eyebrows on his forehead drawn into one another, paired with a determination shining through his posture were enough to give the Master of Magnetism a deeply endearing chuckle.

“Charles,” Erik shook his head slowly in mockery “Who did you take me for?” his eyes cast away until they landed on one of the people living at the mansion, and then those sharp eyes turned briefly into longing. “…Anna-Marie and Mister Wagner are like siblings, what kind of a father would I be if I intentionally hurt one of them?”

Magneto let the silence stretch on as he watched Anna-Marie interact with Kitty and Eleanor, seemingly trying to come up with a formation to rival Colossus’s and Wolverine’s Fastball Special.

“…I hope,” Erik smirked a little at the contradiction he had brought upon himself “that your students are prepared, my friend.” That statement sent a shiver down Xavier’s spine.

“Erik—”

“Save the speech, old friend,” Magneto smiled sadly at the telepath and started walking out of the shades while looking up at the sky, closing his eyes to take in a deep inhale of fresh air into his lungs “and convince your children to join me in a quest for the future of our kind.” With arms casually stretched to the sides, Erik levitated himself off the Institute’s ground before shooting off to the South while cocooning himself in a field of magnetism.

“Magneto!” Scott came rushing with his fingers hovering above the trigger of his visor, yet he noticed Charles’s raised hand as a command to stop. “Professor, why was he here?!”

“…Call the Team, Scott,” Xavier took a minute to collect his words “The Brotherhood is on the move.” His eyes wandered to the decorative chess board and saw the stalemate of the pieces on it.

#cherik #charles xavier #erik lehnsherr #x men #fanfic

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noelle666 · 10 months ago

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Heinrix van Calox/Noelle von Valancius - Guisorn III (fanfic)

Had the idea to write something related to Heinrix's home planet for some time. We don't know where exactly Guisorn III is located, but, eh, let us think it is located somewhere in the Calixis Sector, which is pretty close to Koronus. I don't know what business may've led them to this place, but let's pretend they had some business. This might be pretty long reading/writing.

Time period and other circumstances: couple solar years after Rogue Trader game events, Heinrix is a Master of Whispers, him and Noelle are betrothed. Both my RTs, Noelle (Ecclesiarchy priestess) and Maarden (psyker pyromancer and telepath), exist together (they are refered as "brother and sister" even though by the blood they are very far away from each other).

"Lord Captain, we are receiving message from the planetary government. It is an invitation to a celebration of some local holiday", - mechanic fingers of Vox Master Vigdis were dancing on a panel, she entered a command and a voice started its flow from speakers.

"Dear Lady von Valancius! Government of Guisorn III would like to invite you to our yearly ball dedicated to the Day of Formation, the day our home was brought back to the light of The Emperor, the day of our second birth. We would be very happy to see you among our guests. You can have up to three members of a retinue with you. The event will take place in the Agathia Fortress in two days".

"The message was send automatically, the only added information was your name, Lord Captain. Shall I send a reply with confirmation? In that case, they will add you in a guest list".

Noelle started thinking deeply: on one hand she never liked any events which include large amount of people and visited them only if duty calls. On the other, it is impolite for a noble person to decline an invitation, especially if it was addressed directly to this person.

"Fortress, huh? Sire Agathia doesn't change his habits. Previously it was a "castle" althought looked like a mere barton. Even if he expanded the place, I am sure there are no tall rockcrete walls surrounding it".

Heinrix stepped closer to Lord Captain and noticed her face expression: a young woman was diving deeply in thoughts, her index finger was pressed to lips, she was standing motionlessly like a statue.

"Three members of a retinue? We can take Lady Cassia, she likes social events. As for the other one..."

"We?"

"We", - Heinrix looked straight into Noelle's eyes as if saying "This is my decision and I am fully sure of it". Then he continued, - "I think, your brother would fit. He had attended several meetings similar to what we will see, he has experience, so I am sure in him. Or mistress Heydari: her communicating skills, for sure, will help her make connections useful for her. And maybe for us too. The only thing which will be preferable for this event is a proper gown".

Noelle sighed. A proper gown? In that case she needs to think fast since she has no ball dress or more or less presentable clothes. Subjects in the Koronus already know their leader is a humble person in all matters of her life, but here is the new world and you need to look different. And if Heinrix says, the governer is an eccentric person, Lord Captain's simple Ecclesiarchy dress may drag unnintentional attention. Funny - you need to look bright and stunning to mix with the crowd which looks the same.

The next days Noelle has spend time dealing with small tasks and, more importantly, preparing for the ball. Jae was very eager to provide her help as a "fashion consultant" when she learnt that Lord Captain needs to find a proper dress, and so she grabbed her and Cassia "to do what ladies do best - shopping and having some fun". She herself declined an offer to join the retinue at the event since she needed to meet some "buisness partners". During "shopping session" Heydari wanted Lord Captain to buy almost half of the store: "Shereen, you look like a precious jewel on a velvet cusion in every dress! I am sure this is not the last ball you are going to attend, so why not buy several dresses? Everyone needs to see your inner princess! Especially someone in particular. Oh, and don't forget to call me again - I will make a miracle out of your hair". Jae chuckled, but the young woman already has put her eye on a pretty simple steel grey dress with an airy skirt made of several layers of translucent fabric, a top of it was decorated with beading and tiny pearls. Cassia decided to follow her companion's advice and chose long-sleeved straight deep purple samite dress the very fabric of which was embroided with thin pattern.

When "the X day" arrived, Noelle, fully prepared, was standing infront of a mirror in her quarters, checking if her appearance was proper enought for the evening. Familiar sound of steps distracted her, and then a familiar person appeared behind her, reflecting in the mirror. Van Calox was looking at his beloved for several seconds, then he stepped close to her.

"There is something missing".

He stood right behind Noelle; something sparkling appeared in his hands - psyker deftly fastened silver chain around her neck on which a little pendant was resting: small roung pearl inside of a round spiderweb "cage". Young woman smiled, she turned to Heinrix and lightly kissed him; the man in response hugged her tighter with no desire to separate his lips from hers. When he stopped, he looked into her eyes and said:

"Don't worry about me, my love. I know, you will anyway, but at least let me reassure you: I am fine".

"Your lips are now glossy", - Noelle smiled, - "Here, let me rectify the situation". She wiped out lip gloss from the man's lips with a wet tissue, and they headed towards the exit. She, indeed, was worried: even thought chances to meet Heinrix family were low when Lord Captain's ship has arrived and she had to do some business in the Calixis Sector, still this social event increases those chances sharply.

***

The "fortress" indeed looked more like a palace, just like Heinrix described. Guests were everywhere: in the main hall, in the garder, in the corridors, but it was still possible to find vacant spots for sitting such as fancy couches or wide windowsills covered with cushions. Live orchestra was playing beautiful music, and from time to time guests invited each other for a dance; the others were more interested in drinks and appetizers. Heinrix pointed at a wide plate filled with large deep red berries:

"Guisorn wild cherry, sweet and crunchy. One of the first plants cultivated on this planet. Try it, the harvest season has just arrived and it lasts only for a month".

Noelle ate two berries - sweet cool juice unlike anything she ever knew covered her mouth.

"Oh, it is tasty indeed!"

Heinrix lowered his voice.

"Back in the days, sisters asked me to gather them from trees in our family garden. I clibmed a tree and they were cathing berries with skirts. Then we were sitting on a grass and eating until our stomacks were very full".

"Dear guests!" - a loud voice distracted Heinrix and Noelle, it was the "star and master of the evening", planet governer Lord Maximillian Agathia, - "It is an honor and a delight to have you all here. In about an hour a culmination of the event will arrive, a grandioso firework show, so be sure to find the best spot! And now please, allow me to invite you all to a traditional Guisorn III menuett!"

Crowd of people vacated center of the room, those who were brave enough or sure in their skills went out and started preparations.

"Will my lady be so kind to accept my invitation?" - Heinrix bowed slightly and reached out his hand to Noelle, waiting.

"Heinrix, I... I can't dance, I've never done this before".

"This dance is pretty simple: mostly you need to walk next to a partner and touch hands from time to time, do it several times and then bow to each other in the end. Trust me and merely repeat after me".

Noelle sighed and then took her beloved's hand. She could've never thought she would attend all ball's activities, she hoped she would just enjoy the evening somewhere in a quite cornen, but here she was, wached by many eyes, dancing for the first time in her life with the best partner she could've ever wished for. With a corner of her eye she was watcing other couples for reinsurance, her movements might've been a little bit clumsy but the view of Heinrix was calming her heart and helping to focus. She was twirling and then holding Heinrix's hand, looking straight into his eyes; it felt like no one was around and the orchestra was playing only for them. At the end of a dance, when each man bowed to his woman, Heinrix gently took Noelle's hand in his for a kiss.

"Master van Calox! I've never thought you could dance! The way you moved and the bright gold color surrounding you and Lord Captain almost made my very soul sing with happiness!" - Cassia was clapping her hands, she looked like a child ready to jump out of excitement.

"Lady Cassia was torn between a desire to join you and her shyness. And I, unfortunately, not a master of dances, although I had to dance waltz couple of times in my life. So I promissed her to become her partner if there still will be a chance tonight", - Maarden sighed.

"Let's just say, some old habits and knowledge sometimes cannot be wipped out. And now, please forgive me for I intend to "steal" Lord Captain for several minutes", - psyker took his beloved by the arm, and they headed towards corridor.

"Dear guests a minute of attention!" - a loud voice once again filled the hall, - "Let's chance the rules! Ladies invite gentlemen for a waltz!"

"Master Maarden, you promissed..."

"I did, and I will not break my promise, Lady Cassia. But I have not practices for a very long time, so forgive me if I make any mistake".

"I am sure you will be fine", - Cassia took Maarden's hand, and they went out to the center of the hall.

***

"Are you tired?"

"No, not at all. Surprised, yes, and... happy. Neven thought I could ever enjoy something I am not very used to. Heinrix, you are still full of surprises".

"To be fair, I don't think there are mysteries left in me you don't know. There may be some non-obvious things I've never told you, but only because their matter is not that large. You know you can ask me anything and I will tell you everything, just like you did when we were spending evenings together after finishing our mission. When I became truly yours and yours only".

Noelle and Heinrix were sitting on a windowsill, the man was holding Lord Captain's hand in his, gently caressing it; he was gazing at young woman attentively.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, no. I..." - psyker chuckled. - "The more I look at you the more I feel something, as if I am falling for you again even though I already love you with all my heart".

"You know, it may sound silly, but when the were dancing and I was looking at you I felt the same way".

"When we are back, I think it will be the right moment to start preparations for the wedding. It will take some time and many decisions should be made, but now I know for sure - we will have to dance at least once. Only if you are not against it, I have no right to force my future wife to do something that may make her unhappy. But I think this evening opened some hidden side of you to me".

Noelle smiled.

"I... will think about it".

"Heinrix?"

A woman was standing in front of the couple, a few steps away from them. Her dark blue velvet dress with fluffy skirt, decorated with pattern embroided with golden threads, bracelets and dark hair decorated with gems, even the gaze showed that she was a person of noble origin. The gaze of her cold grey eyes... and her face... something familiar in them caught Noelle's attention.

"Anna". - Heinrix stood up from a windowsill and made two steps closer to the unknown woman.

"It seems I disturbed your privacy, forgive me, but... it is really you".

Noelle stood up too, she looked closely to Heinrix and the unknown woman and realised - the lady standing right in front of psyker is his sister, the resemblance right now was obvious when both were close to each other.

"Many years have passed".

"Forgive me yet again", - the woman looked at Noelle and faintly smiled, - "I will not take more of your time. I will only say I am happy to see you alive and well, really".

"You..." - Noelle stepped closer to Heinrix and quietly took his hand while looking at Anna, - "I think, you need to talk to each other. Please, don't leave so soon".

"I agree. Will you join me for a little walk, Anna?"

"Of course".

Heinrix turned to Noelle: he felt her hand was shaking, she was nervous yet tried very hard to calm down. He knew his beloved may turn into a "protective" mode if something may look like a danger and she needs some time to calm down. Psyker gently kissed her forehead and whispered in her ear: "Find Maarden and Cassia, I'll join you later right before the beginning of the firework show". Noelle nodded: no signs of fear and worry were caught by her eye in her beloved's eyes, face or even body language, so mentally she breathed a sigh of relief and went to the main hall. Heinrix and his sister headed towards the exit to the garden.

***

"You grew up".

Anna broke silence between her and her brother while they were walking between carefully trimmed bushes. Heinrix chuckled.

"I can say the same about you. But deep down inside of my memory you still remain as little loud hurricane. Tell me, how did you recognize me?"

"The second time you must turn anti-clokwise, young Master Heinrix, yet you are still cannot remember it".

"I remember... But turning anti-clockwise is completely inconvenient".

"Thankfully, Madame Rozanna doesn't see you. Otherwise she would've needed something more serious than twigs".

"Then I would have to run away from her again. Her twigs were too fragile anyway, I'd broken them easily," - Heinrix sighed, the picture from the past appeared before his eyes: dancing class, several boys and girls from noble families learning cultural traditions of their world. Every young knight pilot should've known how to present himself, how to act like a gentleman, how to speak. Heinrix was a difficult student: he had grasped many things on the fly, but if he found something went against his believes or comfort, he would've turned into an unbrekable wall and started argument even with adults.

The memory vanished as sudden as it appeared; Heinrix invited Anna with gesture to sit on a garden bench.

"To be frank, this little detail merely proved my doubts. I visit every event and like to watch guests, to see new faces. I noticed Lady von Valancius and her retinue: very humble young lady, shy I'd say. Can't say I paid much attention to you and other two people with her, although it's interesting to see differences between navigators. And then by chance I was standing not so far away from you two when you were telling her about wild cherries: it surprised me since we sell them mostly within our sector. And then... even though you lowered your voice my ears caught what you've said, about sisters gathering those berries with their skirts", - Anna's gaze was directed somewhere far away. - "I recalled out childhood, recalled those days, it hit me like a hammer. I asked myself: "Could it be that my brother I haven't seen in decades is still alive? That he by a very slim chance is here right now?" And when you invited this young lady to dance I was watching you both, I was clinging to this thin string of hope. And you proved me right. My brother, our noble knight who swore to protect me and Margaretha, who reappeared here, on his home planet, as sudden as when he vanished from our lives that day".

The woman looked at Heinrix: his facial expression was calm, yet it was difficult to not notice something in his eyes, a barely perceptible sorrow.

"Oh, I need to shut myself up. I can speak and speak for hours. Tell me, how are you? How is your life? If it is proper to ask such question."

"I'm afraid I would need more than this evening to tell you about my life in details, but what I can say now is: I've had several life changing events, aside from what happened that day when my powers awakened. I went through psyker training, then surved several years in the Imperial Guard, then was noticed by Lord Inquisitor. I was going with the flow of my life, accepted it as there was no other choice, did what was needed, what was right because I was told so, because I started to think the same way. And then I met someone who broke these walls and showed me the real "me" who was dug deep inside, chained by duty and by someone else's ruling hand. She made me look into the eyes of truth, she, out of all people I've met, brought happiness to my life. And love. I can't remember I've ever loved someone like her. Or, I think, I've never ever loved anyone before meeting her. And now I serve her and will serve till the end of the days".

"You still are the true defender, Heinrix, eager to give his life for those who have place in your heart", - Anna smiled, she toucher her brother's cheek attentively looking at his face: she remembered a boy with heavy augmentation which required removing one of his eyes - a necesarry sacrifice for those whose very mind and soul supposed to be bonded with the machine spirit. The eye was a peak of an iciberge concidering how much metal Heinrix had in his head. Psyker looked as if he's never had any surgeries and a slight difference in the color of his eyes could be a merely little unique detail, a highlight.

"The eye is real".

"You are a biomancer?"

Heinrix nodded.

"No one ever told me what exactly had happened to you. Only when I became older I found letters from the Inquisition in father's desk. Probably, parents and sister wanted to spare me of gruesome details and to make me think Heinrix had to leave because of some very important and secret reason. They all knew how much I loved you. I was telling Margie that since you left with no goodbyes you will come back, eventually. Oh how naive I was... When I found you have a gift of sorcery, I decided I need to dedicate my life for researching of psyker phenomenon. I was talking with different psykers, studying them. Funny enough, deep inside I had an insane thought that maybe I could've invent a "cure" for such "condition" only to bring you back home".

"Anna..." - Heinrix took Anna's hand in his. - "I am back. I cannot remain here, you know that, but for the time being I am here".

"I know. Still I can't believe it".

"I think I need to cheer you up", - Heinrix stood up from a bench, - "Come. After all, I need to introduce two women, importaint to me, to each other properly".

***

Several minutes were left before the skyes would be covered with shining ornaments of fireworks. Maarden and Cassia went to the central fountain: the crowd already surrounded it, but young navigator saw a spot she and psyker could occupy. Noelle stayed at a distance under a large tree; she was told to wait and she was waiting. Minutes were stretched to a size of eternity, or so it seemed to her.

"Noelle".

A familiar voice, so warm and dear, so close, made heart to pound a bit faster. The young woman turned her head and saw her beloved right next to her, he took her hand and gently kissed the inner side of the palm. Noelle smiled, she then noticed the woman next to Heinrix, the one she saw earlier today.

"You came".

"I can't break my promise. And I am not alone. Allow me introduce you: Noelle, this is Anna, my sister, the youngest one. Anna, this is Noelle, my Lord Captain and my future wife".

Two women bowed to each other.

"It is a great pleasure to meet my brother's darling. I hope he's not offending you", - the woman in dark blue dress smiled slyly.

"Oh, no! He is a true gentleman!" - Noelle's cheeks started to turn pink.

Anna laughted, Heinrix sighed and shaked his head.

"The last thing I was hoping to see is you "testing" my fiancee, dear sis".

"Oh, Heinrix, it was but a mere joke! Please, forgive me, Lady Noelle, I had no intension to insult you".

"No need to apologize", - Noelle shaked her head and smiled.

A sound of many voiced interrupted their conversation: guests starded loudly chanting countdown. Three, two, one... Several small sparks soared up to release all their brightness and cover night sky of the capital city with fancy ornaments and slogans, congratulations and prayers to the God-Emperor. Each flash of firework caused the crowd of guests to cheer and clap, laghter and happy shouting were coming from all sides of the garden. Lord Captain squeezed Heinrix's hand, she looked at his face illuminated by the light from above. Psyker noticed his beloved's attention and looked back at her, he smiled with corners of his mouth and squeezed Noelle's hand in response.

"Lady Anna", - Noelle looked at the woman standing on the left from Heinrix, - "I... I don't think tonight we may have time to speak a lot. My ship will remain at the orbit of Guisorn III for two weeks or so, depending on how fast the business will be finished. So, I though if you agree to be out guest? If you don't mind, of course, and can share some of your time".

The yound woman looked at Heinrix as if asking: "I hope you don't mind". Deep inside he himself wanted to do the same, so he nodded slightly: "You are doing the right thing, my love".

"Thank you for the invitation, Lady Noelle. It will be an honor".

#warhammer 40k #rogue trader #heinrix van calox #warhammer 40000 #von valancius #fanfiction #fanfic

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javaghoul · 1 year ago

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renji for the character ask! :D i hope ur having a good one!

Thank you SO much for requesting this idiot 💜

Yomo fills the role of Stone Cold Intimidating Grumpy Guy Who Can And Will Kick Your Ass If Needs Be (and is secretly a big softy but shhh). I think most of us like the odd character who is stoic and quiet. It compliments the more vivacious, chatty characters.

There's a lot going on behind the facade. He may look like he couldn't be less interested in something, but the cogs are turning over in his head the entire time. He's a big thinker.

Everyone loves a tsundere *swoon*.

But.

A Yomo in real life would be a pain in the ass. The only people who "know" him, are the ones that are close to him, yet he actively prevents that from happening. The only times he can allow himself to be open and honest (and receptive to conversation) is when he's drunk. Which is a problem... And could indicate an unhealthy reliance on alcohol.

I think Yomo's stubbornness gets in his way. He's not great socially, and is deliberate in shutting down any attempts at conversation...yet he craves connection. He's rude to others, and then when he gets the cold shoulder in return he takes it VERY personally. It's almost like he WANTS to be chased by people, but doesn't want to give much in return.

I get the impression that he's someone that would have the belief that "I can't help it (e.g upsetting others). It's just the way I am". He can help it, it's just that he's an asshole.

I think anyone who managed to "become friends" or more with him, would spend much of the time confused as to where they stand with him. In the manga, we see him saving/helping people, but thats usually followed by him criticizing them. He has a habit of sending mixed signals. I get the impression that unless you have an exceptionally thick skin, being friends with Yomo would often feel like you're burdening him with your presence. And guess what? He ain't going to reassure you either!

We know that Yomo is a caring, thoughtful, and sensitive person, because that has been literally shown to us in the manga via flashbacks/inner dialogue etc. Not necessarily through his actions and words. So I think a real life Yomo would leave most people frustrated and confused and probably upset because he's got a mean streak ("He ain't trying to insult you, it's just how he is! 🙄"). Unless you're telepathic of course. Or get him drunk and ask directed questions.

I also think he would SUCK at respecting boundaries. I imagine him to be that person who, when his partner or friend declines an invitation to hang out or whatever, he takes it as a personal insult. And instead of asking them if they're ok, he'll stew, ruminate, come to his own (wrong) conclusions, and then turn up at their place anyway. And get shitty when said person is annoyed with him. In his mind, that is genuinely easier than asking them a simple "you ok?". Jeez.

Anyway I still love him, but he'd drive me up the fucking wall in real life. I'm ending this here because I could go on forever.

#thanks for the ask #Took ages #I hope it's worth it #tokyo ghoul #tokyo ghoul:re #yomo renji

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untamedtempest · 2 months ago

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Supposed to be small, but still not including everything that was in my head something about the birthday Thor (@asgardianhammer missed between Ragnarok and Infinity War. Cut for length.

🎵 Happy birthday to ya Happy birthday to ya Happy birthday Happy birthday to ya Happy birthday to yaHappy birthday🎵

Cecilia's soft tune quickly gathered steam, everyone joining in as they noticed Remy following behind her carting an enormous chocolate cake covered in sparklers. Sincere love emitting from all around her happiness was genuine.

"Now, no cheating Stormy. You pucker up." A chiding twang carried over a shoulder before the tap to her cheek. "Just like dat, but make sure ta blow."

Smiling wasn't difficult, easy as the task given to her.

" Woo-hoo! Happy birthday Roro!"

That it took any effort, even a thought to keep it constantly present.

"Thank you, everyone! I'm-"

The air shifted, faint yet distracting. For stretching seconds bright eyes were drawn from the crowd to a distant hill waiting to hear, to feel anything.

"…uh, fortunate to celebrate with you."

Was it foolishness or miraculous he'd given her hope a moment could be so perfect? The deflating warmth in her chest made deciding impossible. As was staying once the students were sent to bed.

'Six o'clock.' Or so she thought. Fate had other plans and help from a telepathic redhead. 'There's one guest I'm positive you'll want to talk to before slinking off.'

"Steven?" Having seen his casuals only a handful the captain blended into the scene. "I had no idea you were coming." None of the other Avengers aside from Tony responded to the invite and the rsvp came back with a stamped response politely declining. "Did you drive up here? I would have sent-"

"It's okay, I took my bike. Teleportation isn't exactly my favorite mode of transportation," Steve admitted sheepishly as if aware this was one gathering where his was the odd opinion. "Flying via person ranks slightly above it, but it wouldn't be right to ask the birthday goddess and Thor's-"

Her face must have involuntarily given away the sudden surge of concern.

"Fine! Far as I know. It's been weeks since I've heard from him but that doesn't mean- shit..." Yes for all the mocking off hours Rogers carried a mouth closer to a sailor than a boy scout. "Sorry, I didn't mean to fuck up your night. I wasn't even gonna stay I just wanted to leave your gifts."

"Gifts?" Knowledge of the deep friendship Steve and Thor managed to cultivate between nearly world-ending disasters brought a sliver of hope back and perhaps saved Steve's life.

"Yes. Here, I drew this a while back." The paper he handed her depicted two spent weather gods. Ororo tucked under one of Thor's tree trunk limbs seemed to keep him upright as much as he surely was her. The state of their clothes and hair told this was a post-battle nap on the Quinjet. "I should have asked but-"

Something would have burst if she hadn't hugged him right then and thanked him for the beautiful piece, she also noticed the gift bag in his other hand.

"When Thor comes back please tell him you got this in perfect condition," he said with the seriousness of one of his debriefings while handing it over. "ON your birthday not a day late. He was VERY insistent on that. He put the date into my phone and circled all the calendars."

If Ororo were still paying attention that grumbled comment would have received a chuckle. Instead, she's engrossed in a scroll. Golden penmanship so heart-achingly familiar fingertips absently traced the elegant curves of her name. Like the craved box she found it in treasured because it came from his hands.

"A little of his magic after all…"

All the warmth returned, her heart took a stronger beat, and though the wind signaled nothing but her own longing its caress comforted all the same.

"Uh?" While she read, reread, and envisioned placing the tiny tempest gifted to her last year into the glossy mahogany Steve managed to give her privacy while lingering just close enough and busied himself with Jubilee's firework display. "Are you ok? I can get out of your hair."

"Apologies," she replied with a not truly sorry sigh. "It would seem you are the last and crucial part of this gift."

Confused Steve still followed when Ororo took his arm refusing to let him see what Thor had written and how it put him on the hook. Loathing and for the first time in months missing the Thunderer slightly less when he's dragged to the dancefloor.

#asgardianhammer #c: you can't dodge our lightning (thunderstorm / asgardianhammer)#v: a world of infinite possibilities (mcu)#(this was longer if can believe #steve and ororo convo much longer #idk might fill it in for archive later *flops*#sv: love me lights out (thunderstorm)

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thecollectivestrange · 2 months ago

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Furry Frequencies: How Animal Communicators Are Tuning In

One of my New Year's resolutions is to be an active listener for my family, friends, and particularly my cousin Bubba, a willful white hybrid mix of a Maltipoo and Shih Tzu, who has a lot to say. This has led me to the expert community of professional animal communicators to understand how they, collectively as a profession, build communities of people—pet owners, activists, ranch owners, pet shelter operators, and any animal lover alike—to learn how to communicate with animals and build better relationships with them, wild or domesticated.

Bridging the Gap Between Humans and Animals

Animal communicators, who are invariably white middle-class women, telepathically communicate with animals, living or deceased, through a psychic connection or intuition (Kulick, 2017). This ability is innate and something we have all lost from childhood as we have been socialized to believe that words are the only form of communication.

This psychic connection that we can tap into cannot be explained through science, although there has been extensive research into human-animal communication. Rupert Sheldrake, a former director of studies in biochemistry and cell biology at Cambridge University, describes this psychic connection as an observable phenomenon. He explains that our intuition and invisible emotional connections with animals allow us to anticipate their social needs, just as animals anticipate our social and emotional needs (Kulick, 2017). For example, science cannot yet explain how dogs know when their owners are coming home.

So, what does communicating telepathically with animals look like? Interspecies communicators, another term for animal communicators, look at pictures of an animal, living or “gone spirit,” and intuitively reach out. Pea Horsley, a TEDx speaker and prominent professional in the field, explains in her speech how she was able to save a trapped dog and help the owner find and rescue them. Her call to action is for all of us to start learning. In fact, the profession as a whole calls us to start listening to what animals have to say.

youtube

From Pets to People: How Animal Communicators Foster Connection

To gain better insights into how interspecies communicators develop community, I reached out to the following professionals for interviews through their Instagram pages, contact forms, and press staff. Only Pea Horsley responded, declining the request. However, much can be observed simply by exploring the internet.

Ashwiinni Salve, Nancy Windheart, Kathy Van Guilder, Pea Horsley

There are a myriad of ways these professionals build connections online, locally, and internationally.

Collective Knowledge Building - Many professionals write books, host podcasts, share testimonials, and build their social media presence. Most, if not all, of the content that interspecies communicators provide is free, as they position themselves as educators who value the ability of anyone to learn.

Hosting Workshops and Events - Aside from hosting their own webinars and classes, professionals are often invited to pet shelters to lead workshops, as Horsley notes in her TED Talk. She herself even hosts international retreats, where clients and participants can sign up through her website.

Online forums- A quick Google search will show that there are forums dedicated to specific animals, animal health and behavior, recommendations, and anything under the fur.

How Research Strengthens the Animal Communication Community

Research on human-animal communication has focused on apes, elephants, parrots, and dolphins and, surprisingly, has a scandalous track record of flawed methodology, unsubstantiated claims, and even researchers on LSD (Kulick, 2017).

Knowledge built by anthropologists, animal rights activists, philosophers, and communication scholars has come together to explore topics ranging from cognition (whether animals can truly understand human language) to language learning (teaching animals sign language or other forms of human communication) and observing animal behaviors and social interactions.

Don Kulick, a Swedish anthropologist, leads an interdisciplinary research program that studies vulnerability as a feature of existence in society. This blog mainly refers to his work, as he has published research directly related to animal communicators. In the research linked in this blog, Kulick provides an interesting synthesis of research literature drawing from various fields.

Animal communicators often reference quantum physics to explain how we can use our consciousness to communicate with the consciousness of animals. They take academic research and translate it for mainstream audiences through their blogs and podcasts.

Paws and Practice: Learning how to communicate ourselves

Professional communicators provide numerous guides for practicing animal communication. Most techniques involve meditation to be present, setting an intention, and using intuition to connect with a pet in some way, shape, or form.

#Youtube

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fierykitten2 · 2 years ago

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Headcanons I came up with yesterday but forgot to post: the Mew that Mewtwo was cloned from was officially invited to the Fifth Smash (and was possibly replaced with Incineroar) but it declined the invitation in favour of watching telepathically. It sometimes takes over for Mewtwo, disguised as it using Transform and still hangs out with Falcon, Samus, Fox and Lucario (who haven't found out yet) while like this. The most noticeable differences between the real Mewtwo and Mew disguised as Mewtwo are that the fake Mewtwo acts noticeably more bubbly (the real Mewtwo can be more of a chaos demon), acts more friendly towards Lucario (instead of pranking him or flirting with him - the real Mewtwo and Lucario have a strange relationship) and shows bias towards Falcon because he's basically just as much of a god as Mew is (as opposed to just randomly warming up to Falcon first out of all the fighters in the Second Smash) - sadly the same can't be said about their clones because Falcon achieved (some level of) godhood four years after being cloned while Mew was a god from birth

#mew #mewtwo #headcanon

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theflyingfeeling · 2 years ago

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Hi, I have an idea for Joel/Olli promt! So there's comic con (or something similar), and Joel really wants to go, get more Venom merch, but he needs company. However it seems like everyone around him has plans with their s/o or is not interested in such geek things... except for Olli, who hears Joel complaining and excitedly suggests to go. It's not that Joel doesn't want his company, rather he's too nervous about going somewhere with his secret crush on Valentines day... And they have a really great time there, even though they're into different parts of con, but of course it's not a date (or is it?��)

Hello! 👋 Oof, I'll have you know I wrote so many versions of this fic (particularly the ending), so I really hope this one pleases you 😅

words: 28033

rating: G

trigger warnings & additional tags: a shit-ton of pining, but what else is new? I also hope you enjoy the geeky references 🤭

AO3: here!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The miniature Yoda stared at Joel from his position by the Millennium Falcon, mercilessly and with great judgement.

A coward, you are, he seemed to say with his old, wise eyes.

Joel couldn’t find it in himself to disagree, although he did wonder about his own mental well-being. Having figurines of fictional characters communicate with you telepathically, no matter how sage and respectable they were, was surely a sign of not having it all together anymore.

In my defence, Joel said to Yoda in his mind, I didn’t ask for any of this.

As usual, he blamed Joonas, primarily for ditching him because of a date night (although Joel had to admit the Gregorian calendar was also partly at fault, for making the comic convention fall on February 14th this year), but also for proposing Olli should go with him instead, coincidentally at the exact moment Olli had joined them in the studio kitchenette. Then again, Joel hadn’t had much choice, since Aleksi had already declined the invitation, claiming it overlapped with Rilla’s dental appointment, and Niko would, naturally, have a key role in Porko’s grand date night. Joel hadn’t even bothered asking Tommi, knowing he’d most likely have plans with his own partner, especially after Joel had seen him fiddling with a small velvet-covered box the other day. Vilma had work and Samy’s sister was in town, so it really seemed Olli was the only one with no other plans for Valentine’s Day, against all impossible odds.

One might wonder what exactly Joonas had done wrong in suggesting Olli to accompany him at the convention. To everyone else following the scene from afar, it might have seemed innocent, helpful even, but Joel knew better. The catch was that Joonas, that insufferable bastard who always ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, had caught Joel during their European tour last spring when he had been replaying that cursed video he had filmed of Olli doing yoga poses with no shirt on. If Joel had to find something positive out of the situation, it was that at least that particular time he had been only watching the video (with lust in his eyes and longing in his heart), because not all his daydreams about that video were quite as innocent.

(By now Joel had deleted the video from his phone, to avoid something like that from happening ever again. He didn’t mourn the loss, however, as the sight was permanently imprinted on his internal memory card.)

Be as it may, Joonas had managed to squeeze the truth out of him that day, and Joel could still not believe his terrible luck. As much as Joel loved Joonas, he was the last one of his friends he wanted to know about his sort-of-maybe crush on Olli. Had it been Tommi instead, the guy would’ve probably made one sarcastic remark and left it at that, whereas Aleksi’s quips about it would’ve probably been so foxy and subtle that no one would’ve noticed a thing, if not for Joel’s burning blush. As for Niko, Joel would be surprised if he hadn’t heard all about it from Joonas by now.

So when Olli’s face had brightened at the mention of a comic con and an extra ticket Joel didn’t want to go to waste, how was he supposed to tell him he’d rather go alone instead? Indeed, how was he supposed to not melt into a pining, miserable mess when Olli came to him on their next break from recording, his eyes shining as he showed Joel the schedule of the event on his phone and listed all the exhibitions they must see, all the lectures they should definitely attend.

All that had lead to Joel waking up in that morning feeling as if he had not slept a wink, which wasn’t far from reality; he had spent half the night picturing all the potential as well as the absurd scenarios of what would happen the next day at the convention, and when he had finally fallen asleep, he had dreamt of Olli and Olli’s hand in his as they roamed the conference hall together, and when they stopped the whole place was empty all of a sudden, or maybe Joel only had eyes for Olli and his red lips as they moved closer to his…

It really was no wonder that after such a night Joel was now imagining a plastic Yoda voicing his disappointment in Joel for not having the courage to take Olli’s hand, albeit only under the pretext of not losing each other in the crowd when the presentation about the influence of Kalevala on Tolkien’s work had ended and the mass of people had headed towards the exit of the lecture hall all at the same time. If Olli had been disappointed in Joel’s clumsy rejection of his hand, he had hidden it well by explaining passionately how fascinating he had found the part that had illustrated the similarities between Kullervo and Túrin Turambar, who ever the latter was (and Joel only had a vague knowledge about the former character as well).

What would you do, then, Joel asked Yoda, if one day you found yourself crushing on Obi-Wan? I betcha green ass the Force would be nowhere near you at that moment.

He never got his answer, for he felt a tap on his shoulder before he could hear Yoda’s croaky voice in his head again.

“Look what I found! It changes colour when you put coffee in it.” Olli beamed and showed Joel a mug that was, undoubtedly, somehow related to all that hobbitty stuff Olli loved, if Joel had to give a wild guess.

His brain still tangled in the conversation he had been having with his new imaginary friend, Joel only managed a weak smile, more at Olli’s excitement than the collectible in his hands. Thinking Olli wouldn’t pick up on his strange mood was, however, wishful thinking.

“So, what do you want to do next? I feel like we've only been looking at my interests so far,” Olli said and scratched the back of his head, as if ashamed of his enthusiasm, which was the last thing Joel wanted.

“Nah, I don’t know…” Joel mumbled while Olli was putting the mug he had purchased in his backpack, so tenderly that for a while Joel thought Olli was going to plant a kiss on its side.

“No, it’s your turn to decide.” Olli zipped the bag and swung it on his back again, flashing a kind smile that made Joel want to punch himself in the face for finding it so adorable.

When Olli kept insisting on Joel making the decision of their next comic con activity, Joel remembered the stall selling Marvel merch they had passed earlier. Particularly he thought back to the black Venom t-shirt that had been hanging behind the counter, with the alien symbiote’s slimy, gaping mouth decorating the backside. Thanks to fan gifts, he owned several Venom shirts already, but he didn’t own that one yet.

Olli was happy to fulfil Joel’s timid request to find the Marvel stall again, and when they set off to wander around the large conference hall, Joel partly hoped Olli’s hand would try to find his again, because this time he might have actually accepted the gesture, even if it would likely have launched the panic mode in his pitiful brain. He knew it was stupid, to dream of just having your fucking hand held, like he was some kind of pathetic, touch-starved loner with barely any human contact in his everyday life. Sometimes he envied Joonas, who seemed to have no problem asking for (and receiving) spontaneous affection from his loved ones, while Joel was able to do that only when he was high enough on endorphins during or after shows to not be in full charge of his actions, or drunk enough to not care how others might perceive him. Mind you, he wasn’t the type to care an awful lot about what others might think of him (at least not on a good day), but when it came to Olli, he would rather die than in any way imply his attraction to him or do anything that might blow his already poor cover.

And yet, masochistic as he was, he often tortured himself with the naive, overly-optimistic hope he nurtured somewhere deep, deep inside him of Olli maybe returning his feelings. He knew it was no use, but there were days he couldn’t stop thinking about the faint shade of red that had appeared on Olli’s cheeks when he had noticed Joel had been filming his shirtless yoga session, or that one time he had felt Olli holding his breath when Joel had, in a sudden burst of recklessness, grabbed a handful of the bassist’s hair during a gig and brought their faces close for two seconds which in that moment had felt like two millennia. A little less frequently he reminisced the incident of Olli accidentally passing out in Joel’s bunk instead of his own and waking up with his hard-on pressed against Joel’s hipbone (Joel blamed it on the hangover), not to mention how Olli had fucking winked at him when Joel had, quite senselessly, blurted out he’d rather bone Olli out of all his bandmates if he had to choose one. Sure, it had only been in the context of that silly game some fans had asked them to play at a meet and greet, but Joel had still seen it best to avoid Olli the best he could for the rest of the day, just to save himself from further embarrassment. He tried not to think about any of these occasions for too long at a time, because if he did, he would eventually drive himself crazy trying to figure out what it all meant.

You know, if it meant anything at all.

“Ugh, do you have any idea where that Marvel stall was? I feel like we’ve been walking around in circles,” Olli frowned, and Joel almost bumped into his backside when the man stopped to look at a makeshift café down the aisle they were walking.

“We can stop for a snack if you want to.”

Two minutes later Joel regretted taking pity on his friend; Joel tried to look away, tried not to think about how sweet sugar would taste off Olli’s lips as he munched on his half of the doughnut they shared, but Joel supposed he may as well let himself have this new image for his dream catalogue for the following night (as a treat, in case they wouldn’t find the Venom merch).

“Right, now let’s find that Marvel stall for you,” Olli said, wiping the final sprinkles of sugar off his lips and bringing Joel back to earth as he did.

~~~

“That one,” Joel pointed at the t-shirt his eye had caught earlier, and soon the salesperson handed him an identical one in a plastic wrapping.

“Did you notice our Valentine’s Day special offer?” the woman asked, gesturing at the heart-shaped piece of cardboard next to Joel that read ‘Buy a T-shirt, get one for half price!’

“Ah, yeah, thank you, but I think I–”

“Oh, look how cool this is!” Olli nudged Joel’s side. In his hands Olli was holding a black t-shirt with some kind of geometrical triangle illustration that Joel had a vague memory of seeing on a movie poster before.

“...I’ll have that one as well,” Joel said to the salesperson who nodded contently.

“Really?” Olli’s puppy eyes stared at Joel like he had just offered him his hand in marriage and half of his kingdom.

“Well, I mean, it’s half the price off and… you paid for the giant doughnut, so…”

His mouth felt dry and his cheeks flared up when Olli’s face softened.

“Thanks, man.” Olli gave him a clumsy half-hug that Joel wished would’ve lingered like so many of their other hugs seemed to do these days. For the few seconds the embrace lasted, Joel already managed to become intoxicated by the scent of Olli’s cologne.

“Wait,” Olli said when the salesperson reached her hand to take the shirt from him, “I wonder which size should I get?”

Still drunk on the smell of Olli, Joel almost had to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things when he was suddenly face to face with a shirtless Olli, in the middle of a crowded conference hall.

If Joel’s tongue had felt dry against his palate before, now there was an entire desert in his mouth, and Olli’s toned body was the oasis he was thirsty for. His upper body must have been topless for only a couple of seconds before he pulled the new shirt over his head, but that was plenty enough time for Joel to take in the firm pecs covered in curly chest hair, the nipples that looked like tiny strawberries Joel was dying to taste, a soft-looking stomach one could easily lay his head and fall asleep on, and a faint happy trail that disappeared under the baby blue boxers that peaked from under Olli’s trousers. Joel already knew what he’d be picturing later that night, in the dark of his bedroom with his hand down his own underpants.

“What do you think?” Olli asked him, oblivious to the hunger raging inside Joel.

Even with a shirt on, Olli was a sight for sore eyes with the way his biceps filled up as he posed for Joel.

“Looks amazing,” Joel sighed, trying to control his breathing so as to not appear like some kind of creeper who drooled after half-naked young men.

Olli seemed pleased with Joel’s feedback and grinned as he undressed himself off the shirt to hand it to the salesperson. This time Joel was prepared and pretended to be immensely fascinated by the display of Funko Pop figurines behind the cashier.

They shuffled around the convention for almost an hour more, occasionally stopping to marvel at someone’s exceptionally detailed cosplay costume or to point out cool collectibles and comic book inspired art, from paintings to pastries, until Olli’s gait became visibly more sluggish. Arriving near the large map of the exhibition where they first had started off earlier that day, Olli planted his cheek heavy on Joel’s shoulder. Joel granted himself a few seconds to lose himself in the softness of Olli’s hair against his neck and the aroma of the man’s shampoo before he spoke.

“When does your train leave again?”

“Mmmmh, around six,” Olli mumbled sleepily and rubbed his cheek against the fabric of Joel’s hoodie, as if he was about to fall asleep on his feet.

Perhaps Yoda had been right about him; only a true coward would fail to take the opportunity to wrap their arms around the soft boy leaning onto them for support or do anything at all to keep him there as long as they could. Joel? He was barely able to look at Olli, let alone return his gesture, which was a greater tragedy than any galactic war, as there was nothing Joel wanted to do more than exactly that.

“D’you wanna grab a bite before that?”

“Mmmmmh,” was the response Joel got, which in Olli-language meant ‘yes’.

~~~

Seen this coming, you should have, Yoda’s voice echoed in Joel’s head when, after a full McDonald’s Drive Thru meal, Olli yawned with his head on Joel’s lap as they sat on a bench at the railway station. For the first quarter an hour that had followed their fast-food dinner, Joel had watched how Olli had fought against exhaustion and finally lost the battle as he had practically slumped on Joel with no warning at all, and since then Joel had been fighting a battle of his own against wanting to sweep aside the curls that had fallen on Olli’s forehead or sliding his hand inside Olli’s jacket to keep it warm.

Olli growing sleepy after a heavy meal was predictable and very in-character, so Yoda did have a point. What Joel could never have foreseen was falling in love with his friend, after all these years of viewing him as a younger brother, in a way.

Simple times, they were, he explained to Yoda in his head, who nodded approvingly.

Then again, when Joel looked at Olli, breathing calmly on his lap, he wondered how it had not happened sooner. It wouldn’t have made much difference, he feared, but maybe he would have come to terms with it by now.

Or perhaps he’d be even more heavy-hearted, after all the years of craving something he could not have. Perhaps he would have lost all that was left of his sanity, being so close to Olli every day, yet nowhere near where he wanted to be.

Perhaps it would have destroyed him.

Joel was so lost in thought of what might have been that he didn’t notice how one of Olli’s curls had swirled around his finger until Olli shifted on his lap a little. The small movement was followed by a quiet, satisfied sigh, despite his awkward position and the uncomfortable wooden bench on which he lay, which encouraged Joel to continue caressing his silky hair.

“Did you have fun today?” Olli suddenly asked.

Spending a whole day with you? It was both Heaven and Hell.

“Of course,” Joel assured as Olli’s eyes fluttered open. “You?”

Olli nodded. “I love places like that.”

Olli wouldn’t have needed to tell him that, though; Joel had seen the way Olli’s eyes had glimmered the moment they had stepped in.

“Thanks for taking me there. And for the shirt,” Olli added quietly, closing his eyes again and nudging his head against Joel’s stomach, as if to urge Joel to keep on petting him. Joel was happy to comply; it wasn’t exactly in his power to deny Olli anything at all. If Olli had asked him, Joel would’ve happily sat there the whole night, with Olli in his arms like he belonged there, even if nothing else would ever come out of it. But as it turned out, the inevitable passing of time was not on Joel’s side, because soon after, the announcement of Olli’s train to Oulu echoed around the railway station and the comforting warmth of Olli’s body left him.

Olli groaned and rubbed his eyes as he sat up, but then the bliss and turmoil of being so close to Olli returned when he leaned against Joel again, pressing his face in the crook of Joel’s neck.

“Too tired,” Olli whined. “It’ll be so late when I get home. Why couldn’t Tommi wait for one day before driving back?”

Then stay, Joel wanted to say. Stay, stay, stay.

He had already opened his mouth, but Olli stood up. Joel followed his example and immediately felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist.

“I hate sitting on the train,” Olli mumbled against Joel’s chest.

Then stay.

“And it’s so chilly there.”

Stay.

“And you’re so warm.”

Stay.

“And I’ll miss you.”

Please.

“And I really hate missing you.”

Oh, for the love of god, stay!

“Damn, Joel, I wish you would just say it already, so that I can stop thinking it’s all in my head!”

Joel stopped breathing and the train arriving at the track next to them stopped moving, as did the whole world around Joel.

“Say what?” he asked quietly, terrified to hear the answer.

“That you want me to stay.”

Olli’s eyes looked into his, and when Joel most needed it, that ridiculous humanoid alien from a popular space opera franchise that had haunted his subconscious for most of the day was silent. The only guidance he had then was Olli’s gentle gaze, the same soft eyes he had often stared into in his dreams as of late, sometimes with hope, other times with despair. This was no dream, however, and Olli’s honest eyes were waiting for his honest answer.

“Stay,” he whispered, almost hoping the noises of the railway station would swallow his desperate plea.

Olli stared at him silently for what must have been mere seconds, but to Joel it felt like time had stopped or ceased to exist completely, which Joel wouldn’t have minded awfully much to be honest, as long as he’d get to hold Olli forever, even if he would never hear the words Olli was to say next.

“Then I’ll stay.”

Olli rose on his tippy-toes so that his hot breath warmed Joel’s lips for a single second before their lips touched, in a kiss that was somehow passionate and cautious at the same time, greedy as much as it was tentative, a perfect mirror to Joel’s current feelings.

It was exactly what Joel had been fantasising about for nearly twelve months, possibly longer than that if he dared to be honest with himself, so when Olli parted from him, it felt precisely like all those dreams he had woken up from prematurely, with Olli slipping out of his hands at the sound of his alarm clock going off. Only this time, Olli was still there when Joel opened his eyes.

“Your place or mine?”

Joel blinked at Olli’s cheeky smile.

“Huh?”

“Come on!” Olli grabbed his hand, and in the next moment they were sitting next to each other on the train to Oulu, talking and laughing and kissing and probably driving the other passengers in the extra class crazy.

Hours later, the clock was nearing midnight, the train was nearing their childhood hometown, and Olli’s lips were nearing Joel’s collarbone as he slept against Joel. Earlier on their journey, those lips had secretly nibbled on the thin skin just above Joel’s collarbone, almost as if in an attempt to spell something there.

Love you, he does.

This time, Joel smiled at his inner Yoda’s observation.

Yeah, I think he might.

#blind channel fanfiction #blind channel rpf #valentine's day fluff by theflyingfeeling #not sure i'm still 100% satisfied with the ending but eh. it's the best one of the version i wrote #i hope i'll be able to put together something short and sweet for tomorrow 💕#joelxolli

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ladydorian05 · 4 years ago

Text

A Christmas with you~

Oh god...where do I begin, okay as of today Dec/24/2020, the movie We can be heroes isn’t out yet, so everything is just from my imagination, interactions, personalities and everything else that may sound slightly canon, it’s most certainly NOT canon. I hate using ‘Y/n’ on reader inserts but this time I had to. Thank you @din-damn-djarin for being my beta for this fic, I really, really appreciate it. Go check out her fics, I adore her Neigbor Marcus Pike series, it’s SO good.

This is a monster of a fic, where did so many words come from?

Hope you guys like it.

Thoughts are in italics

A Christmas with you~

Pairing: Marcus Moreno x f!reader

Summary: You’ve been in love with your best friend for years, what you don’t know is that he’s also in love with you. Could a little push from one cunning young girl help you both get together during the most wonderful time of the year? (sorry, still suck at summaries)

Warnings: Reader’s superhero name is “Striker”, why? Because my brain thought it sounded cool, I jump from POV to POV, one plotting child, best friends to lovers, a pair of pinning idiots and implicit spiciness.

Words: 7K something

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was no secret to any of the members of the Heroics that you had no family to spend the holidays with.

In a way they were all your family, you were all a close-knitted team, but sometimes, it just wasn’t the same.

Then, there was Marcus and his daughter. He had been there from the moment you joined the team he became a very close friend, your best friend. Most of the time you got partnered with him, especially when it came to reconnaissance missions, you worked well together, you trusted each other and always had each other’s back.

Eventually, you began to feel differently towards him. You were no fool, you knew what you felt for him was definitely more than simple fondness, attachment or admiration. Your heart rate increased when he was close, his smile makes you smile, you would do anything for him, anything to keep him and his loved ones from harm’s way.

He’s always been so charming and handsome and a total gentleman. There had been times where you had wanted to take the first step, confess your feelings to him and see where that would take you, but you couldn’t; at first because he had been a married man about to become a father when you met him and then when his wife stopped being a part of the picture, well you just wanted to be there for him as a friend, he had enough on his plate raising Missy on his own, he didn’t need you to dump all of your feelings on him.

He was doing amazing on his own, but you wanted him. No, you wanted both of them, Marcus and Missy, to know that you would be there for them whenever they needed you. Besides, you were just friends, he’ll never see you as anything more.

“That will be all for today, everyone’s dismissed. I wish you all a happy Christmas eve and remember to keep your locators close, we all know how crime rates increase during this season. I'll see you again here until the 26th” Ms. Granada said, taking you out of your thoughts and officially ending the debrief meeting.

Every year, during the holidays, most of the team got a leave from duty, beginning early on Christmas eve, until the 26th; that was if no major crisis happened that required the whole team, otherwise only a handful of volunteers were left on patrol duty during those days.

Seeing as you’ve never celebrated the festivity, you always volunteered to be a part of the patrolling team. Not that your teammates had never invited you to spend Christmas with them and their families, they had done it on multiple occasions, not wanting you to be alone, time and time again you had reassured them that it was alright you didn't mind spending the night patrolling.

In truth, you always declined because you didn’t want to intrude, the celebration was all about family and spending time with loved ones, you knew your friends had good intentions but you just didn’t want to feel like you didn’t belong there, like you were invited to tag along out of pity.

Eventually, the invitations stopped coming your way, and while it hurt a bit that they gave up on you, you were also relieved for not being put on the spot again and again having to decline their generous offers.

But this year, unbeknownst to you, a scheme was beginning to brew inside the head of one young girl, to make you change your plans for the night.

~~~~~~~~~~

Missy wasn’t blind, she knew there was something between her father and Striker, even before she learned that her father was a superhero.

When she was younger, she had shipped his dad’s alter ego and Striker. They always looked so in-sync on the tv, like the perfect duo, but now that she gets to watch them both in real life? She had no doubts, they liked each other.

And it wasn’t just when they were in costume, Striker had always been around ever since she could remember, all of her birthday parties, her school festivals, even helping her dad every time some mom came up with the idea to have bake sales at school over and over again; what’s wrong with that woman?

She had noticed all the constant glances, the here and there ‘accidental’ brush of hands, even the full-on staring; just like right now, during the debrief, her father’s eyes kept straying from Ms. Granada to Striker and every single time he turned his attention back to the meeting before he could notice how Striker had been doing the same thing. Oh yeah, they were both pining for each other.

The problem was that they were SO stubborn, she’s been trying to bring it up to her dad, but he would immediately change the topic of the conversation with some question about school or any upcoming mission, it was frustrating!

She wanted him to be happy, she wanted both of them to be happy, and being superheroes was dangerous business, she wasn’t about to wait until something happened to either of them, as dramatic as that would be, for things to move forward. Like always, it was up to her to give them a push.

“You know, if you keep staring at her like that she’ll burst into flames.” One good thing that came with the pair of pinning adults was that the whole thing made them so easy to tease, and she loved to tease her father.

“I think you're mistaken, that would be something Lavagirl could probably do, not me sweetheart.” With a chuckle, Marcus puts a hand on her head to ruffle her hair. “Ready to go?” Changing the topic, again. This time she wasn’t about to let it go.

“Not yet. Actually, there’s something you haven’t done.” Missy crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Oh, really?” Marcus smiled as he mimicked his daughter’s stance. “And what is that thing I haven’t done?” he said with amusement.

Missy smirked. “You haven’t asked Y/n if she wants to come home and celebrate with us. “The smile on Marcus' face disappeared, a stunned expression replacing it.

“What!?”

“Yeah, you should invite her, we can all have dinner together and maybe she can stay and open presents with us.”

“Uh…Missy, sweetheart I don’t think that’s a good-“

“Oh, come on, dad! It’ll be great! It’s not as if we’re doing something REALLY special tonight. Please?”

“Sweetheart, she’ll probably say no, you know she never comes to Christmas parties.” His hands moved from his chest to rest on his waist as he spoke.

“Which is why you should invite her over. We’re not throwing a party; it’ll be just the three of us. And even if she says no, you won't lose anything just by asking.”

He wouldn’t know what to do if she rejected him. How cliché of him to fall in love with his best friend.

He had slowly fallen for you, so much so that by the time he realized what was going on, he was already a goner.

He had always known how beautiful you were, your smile, the way it illuminated your whole face; your eyes, your nose, your lips. He noticed how you were always helping people, inside and outside your Heroic persona, he also noticed how you tried to dismiss your own worries, not wanting to ‘burden’ others with them.

If only you would let him do for you the same things you do for him. He would love nothing more than to share whatever problems weighted down on you. He also knew you never accepted invitations to any Christmas celebration, at first, he had thought maybe you were being shy, being the new member of the team and all that, but year after year you always declined every single invitation from your teammates, he had always hated the thought of you spending the holidays on your own, patrolling the city.

He had never tried to invite you himself, back when his wife was around, they had always traveled to her parent’s house so it was useless to ask you to tag along, and then, after she left, it had been difficult to even try to celebrate.

If he asked you to come to Christmas and you said no, if you rejected him…well what hope could he have that maybe, just maybe he could find the courage to confess his feelings. But the probability of them being unrequired scared him so much. Should he risk it all?

Missy didn’t need to be a telepath to know what her dad was thinking, he was thinking too much and that normally resulted in him chickening out, well this time she wouldn’t let him.

“Or do you actually like the idea of her spending Christmas patrolling the city in a cold night most likely on her own?” This time she copied her father’s stance, silently challenging him to a staring contest, she had this in the bag, her dad had never won a staring contest in his life.

“You can be so stubborn when you want to, little lady.” Marcus said after a few seconds, breaking eye contact.

“Who do you think I got it from?” She said with a self-satisfied smile on her face.

“Come here.” Marcus pulled her in a hug. “I love you; you know that?” he said, leaving a kiss on top of her hair.

“I know, I love you too. Now stop stalling and go ask her.”

“Okay, okay. Sheesh, you’re also bossy.” He squeezed her a little before letting go and walking towards y/n.

“It’s called leadership!” He shook his head laughing, well, at least he was doing something right, god knows raising Missy almost on his own hadn’t been easy.

~~~~~~~~~~

You had been waiting to see which teammates would be staying with you this year to agree upon a schedule, when you noticed Marcus approaching you, he stood in front of you with a wide smile making his adorable dimple appear.

“Hi there.” He greeted while rubbing his hands together, one of his nervous ticks.

“Hi there yourself, everything okay?” It was weird, you could see how tense he was and he kept shifting from foot to foot.

His eyes widened and his head kept moving as he nodded. “Yeah, yes, everything’s alright.”

“Okay.” Now this was a Marcus you didn’t get to see often. Normally he was so self-assured, he always carried himself with confidence, even in the face of danger. “Are you excited to go home and spend a whole day with Missy?”

“Of course, it’s been some time since we’ve had the chance to spend a whole day together.”

“I’m glad you got the chance, she’s been working so hard, you both have, you deserve some time off.”

And so do you. He thought.

“You know, you’re right, you should also take a break.” He frowned. Marcus could see the bags under your eyes. You had also been working harder, pulling more time than the others. You did this every year during this season and it always pained him, while everyone else went home to their families you didn’t even hang your suit and equipment for a night and a day off, no, you made sure to keep everyone safe.

“I don’t know, not many of us volunteer for patrol as it is, and I don’t have any plans for the night or tomorrow so, why not?” You looked down at your feet. It was the truth, why bother taking a break, only to go to a cold empty apartment? You could find a better use of your time like this.

Marcus, swallowed, steeling what little resolve he had, it was now or never.

“You know, we- Missy and I that is. We were wondering if…maybe, if you don’t have any other plans; and of course you can say no, but it’ll be great if you said yes, and it’s nothing formal-” You watched him with amusement as he kept rambling, “It would be just the three of us and well, pizza and movies and junk food, staying up until midnight and opening some presents. Don’t worry, you don’t have to actually bring anything, it’ll be fine with jus-“

Shit, why was he talking so much, and why wouldn’t his hands stop moving!? Something like this hadn’t happened to him in a freaking long while, since he first invited a girl he liked on a date, like twenty or so years ago!

Leave it to you to have this kind of effect on him, only you could reduce him to a babbling idiot, if this kept going on, he wouldn’t be able to actually ask you the question.

~~~~

Oh my god! What is he doing!? Missy stared at her dad as he kept talking and moving his hands around while you just looked at him with mirth and confusion.

She had to do everything in this family, didn’t she?

“Would you like to join us tonight and maybe even tomorrow?” Missy interrupted her dad before he could keep on talking.

Marcus hadn't been so grateful to his little girl than in that moment. “Umm, yeah, would you like to join us?” Marcus looked at you with a smile and hopeful eyes.

“Oh…OH!” You were speechless, you weren’t expecting an invitation this year, least of all an invitation from him. While it wasn’t weird for him to invite you to special occasions, he’s never once tried to invite you to spend Christmas with him. You always thought this time of year was special for him and that he preferred to spend it alone with Missy. “I-I…”

“Please say yes! It’d be fun, we just sit in front of the tv and watch movies while eating junk food!” Missy jumped in hugging you. She wasn’t scared to use her resources, every single one of them, if that meant that y/n agreed to the invite; she’d even use the puppy eyes if she had to, she had to exploit that one before it stopped working.

“I don’t know, we can’t leave the city defenseless…” Puppy eyes it was.

“Pretty please! I’m sure it’ll be fine, you always stay on duty, they can manage one year without you!”

Oh no, not the puppy eyes! You stared at Missy’s brown eyes, they looked so much like her father’s. You shifted your gaze from Missy to look at Marcus only to find him doing almost the same expression. God damn it! Not him too, he’s too old for that face to work, why is it working!?

What the hell, it’s not like you didn’t want to.

“Okay, I’ll join you guys”

“Yes! You’re the best, see ya later!!!” Missy gave your middle a squeeze before running out of the room, leaving you and Marcus staring after her.

“You mister are way too old to be pulling the puppy-eyed look, you should be ashamed.” You turned to see his smug face.

“I’ll keep using it for as long as it keeps working.”

“What a disgrace.”

“So umm, does six work for you?”

“Yeah, I’m just going to let the others know I won’t be a volunteer this year. See you then.” With a smile you gave Marcus a quick hug before approaching one of the members of the Heroics that, much like you, always volunteered and was the one in charge of making the schedule for patrol rounds.

“Yeah, see you.” Marcus said shaking his head, long after you had left his side. He needed to get a grip of himself, if not, he would have a long night waiting for him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Even if Marcus said not to bring anything, you hated arriving at a friend’s house empty handed, even if it was Marcus, especially if it was Marcus; so you made sure to grab a couple of things on the way to your apartment. Some bags of everyone’s favorite chip flavor and enough ingredients to make some cinnamon rolls.

You took a quick shower once the glaze was done and the cinnamon rolls were in the oven. With one towel around your body and another one around your hair; you stood in front of your dresser debating on what to wear.

It’s not like this was a date; as if. So why worry so much? Still, you kept on throwing clothes on your bed, you told yourself enough by the time you were seriously contemplating putting on a dress.

You put away the mess you made, leaving out a nice button up shirt and a pair of comfortable dress pants, the ones that had actual pockets, you finished your look with some comfortable boots, you were probably going to end up taking them off at some point so you also put on some cute Christmas themed fuzzy socks.

Satisfied with your choice, you decided to put on a baggy T-shirt to take the cinnamon rolls out of the oven and to prevent the glaze from dirtying your clothes when you poured it on the buns once they were cool enough.

You were fifteen minutes late by the time you got dressed, packed everything up, and grabbed the presents for Marcus and Missy that you had wrapped up a week ago. You send Marcus a message saying that you were on your way.

~~~~~~~~~~

Marcus went into full panic mode when they got home an hour and a half away from the time he told you to arrive, they lost too much time lining up to pay at the supermarket, he insisted on going once he remembered he was out of your favorite candy, he also got a bag of chocolates and some sodas.

For a moment he contemplated getting some beers, but soon dismissed the idea, he wasn’t that much of a drinker and he didn’t like to drink in front of his daughter. Besides this wasn’t a date, of any kind, just his daughter and best friend; who he had been in love with for a long time now, spending some quality time together.

Shit, he forgot about the pizza!

“Missy, go take a shower and change into something more comfortable but nice and then come give me a hand, we need to set everything up in the living room” He said as he dialed the number from the pizza place the three of you loved.

Missy took the grocery bags to the kitchen before doing what her father asked her to do, but in reverse, that way there was a chance that you would arrive while she was still getting ready leaving the two of you alone for a few minutes.

She opened the chocolate and candy bags dumping the contents into two different small bowls, she listened as her father finished ordering the pizza on her way to the living room where they had a slightly bigger tv than the one in front of the breakfast table, she left the bowls on the coffee table in the middle.

“Missy, I thought I asked you to do something else before setting everything up.”

“I know, but we’ll finish faster this way, you need to take a shower too. Can you get the glasses from the cupboard?”

He sighed but went to the kitchen to get the aforementioned glasses.

“Hey, did you order the potato wedges?” Missy asked, taking one of the soda bottles and putting it inside the fridge.

“Yup.” Marcus answered, passing her the second bottle. “Give me a hand with the plates please.” He bumped her with his hip as he passed her.

They inspected their work for a moment before going to their respective rooms to get ready, Missy decided to take her time choosing her clothes, she even contemplated whether it’d be too much to take a bath instead of a shower.

~~~~~~~~~~

Never before, in his whole life, had he gotten ready for ANYTHING as fast as today. He almost pulled out a suit from his closet before doing a double-take and grabbing a nice shirt, some black denim pants, and his favorite sneakers.

He decided to forgo any kind of hair product and only dabbled a little bit of cologne on his wrist and neck. On his way to the living room, he stopped by Missy’s room to knock on her door.

“Are you ready darling?”

“Not yet!” Was her muffled response.

“Okay, I’ll be in the living room, take your time but remember we’ll have a special guest over.” A special guest? Come on Marcus, she’s been here multiple times before, she’s like part of the family, maybe not in the way he wished her to be but still.

“Okay, dad!” A special guest!? Really!? He was hopeless, did he even notice how obvious he was? Why hadn’t he done something about it yet? Y/n could easily slip through his fingers by the time he decided to actually make a move. She needed to up her game.

Marcus kept staring at the clock as it read five minutes past six, leg bouncing. Maybe his clock was wrong, maybe he didn’t put the right hour, maybe it was forward by a few minutes.

God, he was a mess, he needed to calm down, it was just Y/n, his best friend; she’s hung out with them before, on multiple occasions, except…well she wasn’t JUST Y/n, she never was and never would be.

She was everything, she became everything to him in such a short time that sometimes it scared him. If he had to be truly honest with himself, he needed to admit that he began to fall for her the moment they met, he fought against it for years, he was married with a baby on the way for god’s sake.

He had loved his wife and he would’ve never cheated on her, but he also couldn’t deny the connection he felt with you from day one, he had never felt something even remotely close to it with anyone else.

If things had been different, he would have told you about his feeling’s way sooner, he had been selfish, he knew he couldn’t afford to lose you, he lost his wife, Missy lost her mother, he couldn’t lose you too if you didn’t feel the same, that would’ve destroyed him when Missy needed him more than ever.

So, instead he kept it silent, holding on to the hope that maybe, someday, he’d be able to act upon his feelings for you.

He was startled by his phone chiming in his pocket, the first thing he noticed was the hour, quarter past six; and the second, your message. ‘I’m on my way.’

He sighed, you would be there soon, could he maybe try to hint at something tonight? Well, if he didn’t, maybe he could bring ‘that’ out.

~~~~~

Fifteen more minutes later you were finally ringing Marcus’ house doorbell, not for the first time, you were happy with the proximity of your apartment complex to his house.

“Hey! Why didn’t you use your key?” Marcus' smiling face greeted you. “Oh, I see why.” You were holding a container in one hand, balancing two gift boxes on top and the cloth bag with the chips in the other.

“I kind of couldn’t even if I wanted to.” You laughed.

“I told you, you didn’t have to bring anything but yourself; here, let me help you.” He took the container with the cinnamon rolls from your hands. “Come on in.”

“As if you didn’t know me Marcus, I never come here with empty hands.” You followed Marcus to the kitchen after closing the door behind you.

“This thing is warm, what’s inside?” he had left the bag and the container on the counter, he also put the boxes aside.

“Well, you have two options, you can try to guess or you can open it.” You said with a smile, taking the bags of chips out to fold the bag they were in.

“I know it’s warm, is it something sweet?” so guessing it was, you loved to play this kind of game with him every time you brought baked goods.

“Yes.”

“Can I smell it? Am I allowed to do that?” he asked, eyebrows raised and a big smile on his face.

You faked a thoughtful look before nodding. Marcus lifted the container close to his face and took a deep breath.

“Cinnamon?” His eyes opened wide in delight. “No way, don’t tell me! Are these, you brought cinnamon rolls!? Holy sheesh!”

You laughed at him, you knew he loved cinnamon rolls so you made them as often as you could, you even gave him the recipe but he claimed that they just didn’t taste the same when he made them himself. You thought he was just too impatient to make them and preferred to just eat them.

He opened the container to keep the bread from getting soggy because of the condensation inside it.

“My god! They look delicious, I swear could kiss you right now!” What!?

FUUUUCK!!! YOU IDIOT! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!!!! he froze up, there was a moment of silence between the two of you before it was thankfully interrupted by the doorbell.

“The pizza is here! Just in time.” He said with maybe too much enthusiasm. The delivery guy deserved a big tip, he just unknowingly saved his ass.

Did you hear correctly? Did he say kiss? That’s what he said, right?

No, well yes, he did say it, but he probably didn’t mean it like, well...THAT. It was just an expression, he was overjoyed you brought him food and you were just thinking too much into things. Yeah, that was it, you were thinking too much.

“I heard the pizza arrived! Don’t start without me!” You shook your head, clearing your thoughts as Missy appeared around the corner. “Hi y/n!”

“Hi Missy.” You opened your arms towards her for a hug that she walked right into.

“You got chips, nice. Wait do I smell cinnamon rolls!?” Like father, like daughter.

“Ah-ah-ah! Don’t touch those, little lady. Those are for later.” Marcus said stepping into the kitchen. “Now, come on, I left the pizza on the coffee table.”

“But dad, they’re WARM.” Missy argued, stressing out the last word.

“Don’t you think it also hurts me to leave them there? We can reheat them later in the oven.” Marcus said with his hands on his hips. Missy looked like she wanted to say something more, so you decided to cut in.

“Mis, why don’t you take the gifts I brought and put them under the tree? We’ll be there in a minute.” You said handing her the boxes.

“Okay, but I get to pick the first movie!” Both of you watched as she walked out.

“I swear this girl.” Marcus huffed running a hand through his hair.

“Don’t you dare finish that thought Moreno, you’re just as bad as her when it comes to your precious buns.” You said shaking your head.

You hear him gasp as you walk to the fridge, knowing he probably stashed the drinks there. “You wound me!”

“Uh huh, let’s go before she decides to start eating without us.” You grabbed one of the cold bottles of soda inside the fridge and made your way towards the living room. “Don’t forget to bring the chips.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Together you made your way to the living room.

~~~~~~~~~~

Missy decided to sit on the carpeted floor right in front of the coffee table, that way her dear pining love birds would be forced to share the loveseat.

“What took you so long? I hope the big box is for me, also I already picked a movie.”

“Don’t be impatient, you’ll find out soon.” You said as you ruffled her hair a little, leaving the bottle of soda on the table close to the glasses.

“Oh no. Sweetheart, we forgot to move the couch.”

“It’s okay dad, you two can have the loveseat, besides this way I’ll be closer to the snacks.” Don’t be suspicious Missy, you don’t want to ruin this perfect chance. Phase one, getting them to sit together: complete, phase two is on hold.

“You sure you don’t mind darling?”

“Nope, can I start the movie?”

Oh god, they were going to be really close to one another.

Calm down, Moreno. You’re fine, this is fine. It’s your best friend. He reminded himself for the millionth time that day.

He didn’t know what was wrong with him, maybe it was because this was your first Christmas with them and all the domestic stuff was getting to him.

He turned to look at you “After you.” He said gesturing towards the loveseat with his hands.

“Thank you. What are we watching Missy?”

“First Home alone, The Santa Clause, Arthur Christmas; you know, the classics with a touch of new stuff.”

“Let’s begin then.” Everyone sat in their respective places with a plate and a slice of pizza.

As the evening progressed, he found himself using the ‘stretching move’ to put his arm around you, when he noticed you weren’t bothered by it, he willed his body to relax and enjoy the company of his favorite people in the world.

As the movies kept playing on the screen and the snacks disappeared little by little. You felt yourself get more comfortable.

For a moment you let your imagination run wild; for a moment you let yourself believe this was a normal occurrence, family movie nights, cuddling with Marcus on the loveseat, going to sleep beside him afterward, waking up beside him, help him raise Missy…

You needed to stop this, as wonderful as everything sounded inside your head you knew none of that would become a reality.

“Okay, it’s getting late,” You got startled by Marcus nudging you softly with his shoulder before pausing the movie, you hadn’t even realized you leaned into him “don’t think that I’ll forget about your bedtime just because Y/n is here.”

“But dad!”

“No, come on, let’s open some presents and then I want you to go get ready for bed. I can see your head nodding from here, you’re tired, go on choose one.”

Phase two: Leave the love birds alone, has officially begun. Missy thought, wishing for her dad to finally take the opportunity to climb that last step. Phase three of her plan, officially having you as a mom, depended on it.

“Okay,” Missy said pretending to be disappointed “Y/n, which one is mine? The big one?”

“Sorry Mis, It’s actually the small one.”

“Oh.”

“’Oh’? What’s that supposed to mean? Don’t you have faith in me?”

“I do, but what cool stuff could possibly be wrapped in such a small box?”

“You’ll see once you open it, sweetheart.” Marcus left the remote control on the table and returned to his previous position on the loveseat, arm around you and all.

Both of you watched as Missy broke the wrapping paper and opened the wooden box taking out what looked like a smart watch from inside it.

“Oh! It’s one of those cool watches!” Missy exclaimed with surprise.

“Yes and no.” you said, leaning in towards her.

“what do you mean?”

“This one’s special, see I got Tech-no to make it especially for you. It does work like any other smart watch, but you’ll be able to use this one even if you don’t have a Wifi connection or aren’t close to any phone tower.”

“What!? How!?”

“It’s linked into one of the Heroics main recon satellites, it has a GPS function that’ll show you the map and your location no matter where you are, it also has the emergency button. It’ll alert your dad, me, or the Heroics mission control station. It has many more functions, I think, but that’s all I remember. Tech-no included a manual, you’ll get it once you turn it on. Oh yeah! Almost forgot, aside from being able to use conventional charging cables, I don’t know how but he also included solar panels.”

“OMG! I can’t believe it!! It’s the best gift ever!! Thank you!!!” Missy jumped from her place on the floor to tackle you in a hug.

“You’re welcome, I thought it could come in handy now that you’re in the saving the world business with us.” You said with a laugh.

“Hey, Missy, you still want the big box? We can exchange.” Marcus said with raised eyebrows.

“No way! This is mine, I’m gonna go charge it. Thankyousomuch, goodnight, bye.” With that Missy took off running towards her room.

“Hey, don’t forget to brush your teeth!” He reminded her.

“I won’t!”

You both heard the door to her room slam close.

“Wow Y/n, you didn’t have to.”

“It’s no big deal Marcus, you know how much I love her, and I worry. She’s too much like you.” You said staring at him.

“Wha-what’s that supposed to mean?” He said feigning offense.

“I mean it in a good way! She’s kind and selfless, headstrong, brave, and so intelligent. What we do is dangerous, and now that she's exposed to it, well, knowing her she won’t stay behind anymore. All we can do is give her the tools to keep herself and her team as safe as possible.”

Could you be any more perfect? He knew you loved his daughter, it’s always been clear to him, but could she love him just as much?

“You know now I have to try and top that gift next year, right? There’s no way anything I got her this one is going to top yours.” He said with the most serious face he could muster.

“That was the point.” You answered with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

“Mala.” he said, squinting his eyes at you.

“You think I’m bad!?” you gasped, “I’ll show you bad mister.” You stand up from your seat, you walk in your Christmas themed socks; boots long forgotten in favor of comfort; towards the tree to take the gift you brought for him. “No present for you, I’m going to keep it.” You said smugly .

“Now that’s not fair.”

“Oh, I think it is.”

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry.” He apologized.

“What? What did you say? I couldn’t hear you.”

“I said I’m sorry, oh benevolent woman! Goddess of the amazing Christmas presents! I kneel before you.”

“You’re ridiculous.” You laughed at him.

“The things I have to do for a present.”

“You didn’t really kneel.”

“You serious?” he asked flabbergasted.

“No. Now open your gift before I change my mind.”

Marcus eagerly tore the paper apart, revealing a thinner wooden box than the one Missy received. Inside, Marcus found an old throwing knife.

You stared at him, holding your breath as he opened the gift, it wasn’t some cutting edge piece of tech, but you knew how much that knife meant to him.

He was speechless, he instantly recognized it the moment his eyes laid on the engravings of the blade, this had been one of his father’s throwing knives. While not exactly a superhero, his father had served in the army as part of a special secret division. He had preferred knives instead of guns. And he taught Marcus everything he knew about them, that was the reason he had chosen to fight with swords, in memory of his father.

But how, how could you have gotten hold of one of his knives, they had been lost during his last mission.

“I-I, how-” He swallowed hard “How did you find it?”

“Well, I remembered what you told me, about your dad, what he did and a-about your dad’s last mission and well, remember last time I took some days off a few months ago? I did some research and found the town he had gone to. I asked around and I found this old lady, she treated your father’s wounds at some point during his mission and he tried to pay her by giving her one of his knives, she never sold it. I told her about you and well, she insisted on returning the blade to you.” You finished your tale a little bit breathless, he became really quiet when he opened the box.

He couldn’t believe you remembered that, it’s been so long since he told you about his father.

Had it been a mistake to search for the blade? Did you overstep? Maybe you should have told him before going on that trip.

“Marcus, I’m sorr-” One moment you were trying to apologize to him and the next you were being enveloped in a pair of strong arms.

“Thank you.” He said breathless, leaving a kiss on top of your head. “This means so much to me.” You just smiled and hugged him back.

You stayed like that, relishing in the feeling of his arms around you, holding you tight to his chest.

This woman, this wonderful, amazing, beautiful woman… fuck it, he knew what he had to do.

You felt a pang of sadness and longing as Marcus’ arms began to retreat from around you.

“Wait here. I-I need to go get something.” You watched as he left the box with his gift on the table, stood from his seat and disappeared around a corner.

Calm down, calm down, it was just a hug. You told yourself.

Marcus came back to sit beside you a minute or so later holding a small baby blue box with a white ribbon on top in his hands.

“I-I’ve been waiting for the right moment to give you this. It’s nothing like what you gave us but…I hope you like it.” He reached for your hands and left the box in your palms.

Upon a closer look, you noticed the box came from a jewelry store, an expensive one at that. You opened it carefully, not wanting to damage the little box. Inside the box, lying on a silky looking piece of fabric, you saw a beautiful heart shaped golden locket, there was a flowery design with some vines on the surface giving it some texture.

“Marcus!” You gasped. “You didn’t have to; this must’ve been really expensive.”

“Go ahead, open it.” You did as he said not lifting the heart from its silky bed. Inside, you found a small picture of Marcus, Missy and you.

You remembered that one was taken during Missy’s birthday last year, in the picture the three of you were laughing, your faces dirty with cake frosting from the small war that took place moments before his mother had taken the picture without them noticing.

“Marcus! This is beautiful, thank you so much!” You were about to hug him when he raised a hand to stop you.

“There’s more.” You were confused, he was acting a bit strange, you noticed he was tense as you looked from him and back to the necklace. “Turn it around.”

Once more you did what he said, closing the locket you took it in your palm noticing something engraved into it. On the back you found that it was indeed engraved. It read:

‘For the holder of my heart~’

It’s now or never. He held his breath as he watched you read the words. He began to worry when you didn’t show any kind of reaction.

“What?” you whispered, it can’t be, could this mean, did he, what?

“I-I was going to wait to give it to you, I had this elaborate plan, I wanted to ask you out, take you to a nice restaurant, then maybe we’d go to a park or something. I also thought of giving it to you on your birthday, but then we got kidnapped by aliens and I lost the courage, because what if I ruined everything? What if I ruined our friendship just because I fell in love and you didn’t feel the same? Then things would’ve become awkward and we’d stop hanging out and eventually we would’ve become strangers and I never want that to happen, I want you, I want you in my life, in our lives and I can’t imagi-”

“Marcus.” You interrupted him. “You love me?”

“More than anything.”

“How long?”

“Long time now.” You nodded slowly. Your brain still trying to process everything he just said, but mainly repeating ‘he loves me!’ over and over again.

“Can you... help me put it on?” you gesture to the necklace still in your hands.

He nodded, taking it in his hands as you turned around for him. He didn’t understand what was happening, you were still here, you asked him for his help to put his gift on, so that was something good, right?

“Done.” He said stunned as you turned around to face him with the biggest most beautiful smile he’s ever seen.

“You love me?” You asked again. Your voice, now full of emotion, a stark contrast from the flat one you used a moment ago.

“Yes.”

“You really, really love me?” now he was getting confused.

“Yes Y/n, I love you, you and only you.”

“Good. Because I love you too.” He barely had time to react before your lips were on his and just like that, time stopped, right there, in that moment, there was only you, the feeling of your lips on his, the pounding of his heart, the feeling of your hands, your fingers as they carded through his hair.

He couldn’t get enough of you. He pulled you closer to him until you ended up straddling his lap, his hands on your hips, your lips moving in perfect sync with his as if it wasn’t the first time you kissed. His senses overwhelmed by you and how you made him feel.

Suddenly, you leaned back, ending the kiss with a smack; much too soon for his liking; leaving you both a panting mess.

“You have no idea how many times I’ve dreamt of you saying that, of you feeling the same way.” You said breathless, giving him a small peck when you finished talking.

“Oh, honey-is, is it okay if I call you that?”

“It’s more than ‘okay’ Marcus.” You said laughing.

“I’m glad, because I’ve been dying to call you all kinds of beautiful names. And me too, honey; I’ve imagined countless times telling you how I feel about you. I’m so sorry it took me this long to tell you.” He pulled you in, claiming your mouth again, in a kiss more intense than the first one making you moan. You felt his tongue lick your lips, silently asking for entrance, letting go of your inhibitions you let him explore the insides of your mouth, your own tongue tangling with his.

This time he ended the kiss, making you whine from the loss of contact.

“I want you, but tell me to stop, and I will.” He whispered in your ear, “Tell me if it’s too soon and I’ll stop.” he sucked on your earlobe before leaving a trail of kisses down your neck, alternating between kissing and sucking on the sensitive skin there.

“Don’t you dare stop Marcus.” you gasped, “Don’t you think we’ve waited long enough?” you asked as you ground your hips against his earning a groan in response.

He returned to your lips for one more hungry kiss before outright growling “Hold on tight, honey. Let’s take this somewhere more comfortable.” His hands slid from your hips to your ass, supporting you as he stood from the cushions making you squeal in surprise. Your arms went around his neck as you tried not to fall backward.

“Marcus! Warn me next time.” You admonished him “What about Missy? What if she hears us?” You ask as he begins to walk towards the part of the house you knew led to the bedrooms.

“That’s why we’re going to my room, so we don’t have to worry, it’s soundproofed. Now like you said, we’ve waited long enough.” He squeezed your ass before latching his lips on your neck again.

~~~~~~~~~~~

He stirred awake, with the feeling of your hand drawing mindless patterns on his naked chest. With a smile, he remembered what happened last night when he finally confessed to you, and what happened after as well.

He let his eyes open, slowly, letting them adjust to the little morning light that managed to seep through the curtains. He turned his head to look at you, your head resting on the hand that wasn’t drawing shapes on his chest.

He smiled at you, lifting one of his hands to hold yours, lifting it from his chest to place a kiss on your knuckles.

“Hey. Merry Christmas.” You greeted him with a smile.

“Merry Christmas indeed. Did you sleep well, honey?” he asked, lowering your hand in his and resting it on his chest right over his heart.

“Better than ever.” You gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment before leaning in at the same time to share a sweet, slow kiss.

“I wish we could stay like this forever.” He mumbled against your lips.

“Who would save the world if we did?” You managed to ask between little pecks to his lips.

“I bet the others can do it just fine.”

“Okay, well, who would keep Missy out of trouble?”

“Yeah, I don’t think either of us can keep her from that.” he stared at you, before saying your name. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Marcus.”

You stayed in bed, in each other’s arms, until one of you remembered that neither of you turned off the tv last night, and he remembered the cinnamon rolls had been left on the counter in the kitchen.

Once dressed, Marcus in his pajamas and you in one of his shirts (that almost made the both of you stay in bed longer) and a pair of pants that he let you borrow to keep you comfortable, you set out to clean the living room.

When that was done, you set to work together inside the kitchen preparing breakfast for everyone, reheating the cinnamon rolls and making fresh coffee.

The two of you were soon joined by Missy, whose only reaction to the two of you being now together-together was a very happy, very exasperated ‘Finally!’.

He looked at his little family with a smile on his face as he sat down on the table. He could finally say that this Christmas he finally received what he’s always wished for, what he’s been yearning to have for years.

Your heart.

Tag list: @mindless--ramblings @oloreaa @16boyfriends-and-me If anyone wants to be added or removed from the taglist, or wants to only be tagged for certain characters, please let me know.

#marcus moreno #marcus moreno x f!reader #marcus moreno x fem!reader #marcus moreno x female reader #marcus moreno x reader #marcus moreno x you #marcus moreno x y/n #wcbh marcus moreno #my fic #chibi writes

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newyoungjustice · 4 years ago

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Headcanon Ask: Jon throwing a slumber party for Himslef and his friends. Go crazy

For sure!

So for starters, until about a year in to NYJ being a team.

They obviously all live together at the tower, but they haven’t had a real sleepover together.

So Jon decides to ask his parents if they can all have one.

His parents think it’s a great idea, but say that it’s probably not a good idea to host a sleepover with 10 kids in their apartment.

So Kathy and him decide that they could use the farmhouse to have their team over.

Lois and Clark say that’s fine, so one weekend when they aren’t at the tower they have a team sleepover.

Mar’i’s there too because Jon wanted to invite her (definitely not because he has a crush on her)

Suren does his own thing most of the time, so he’s not there bc the team doesn’t know where he is lol.

Jon goes to the convenience store and gets a bunch of candy and snacks, and his parents get lots of food at the store too.

Kathy and him make some food amd clear out the living room of the farmhouse beforehand.

Everyone shows up at around 5 on a Friday, and Damian just went home from school w Jon and Kathy bc they all go to the West-Reeves school

They talk a lot obviously because there is 11 kids.

They do all of the “normal” sleepover stuff like playing truth or dare, watching movies, staying up late etc.

Irey brought her polaroid camera and they took lots of pictures that they all have hung up in their base/at their house’s

Someone definitely dare someone else to kiss them just because they are all like 11/12-14 year olds at a sleepover what else are they gonna do. (I wanna say Mar’i got dared to kiss Jon, and maybe someone kissed Colin, idk?)

They eat literally so much sugar.

They all have a pillow fight, but like, way more violent seeing that they are a mix of former assassins/an archer/speedsters/three people with super strength/a telepath/someone with a lantern ring and maps who can definitely hold her own lol

Lian fully knocks Jai off the couch in said pillow fight

Milagro braids people’s hair, she tries to convince Damian to let her do his, to which he declined.

They all sleep on sleeping bags/pillows and blankets on the floor.

They also play a very heated game of uno that Maya wins, everyone resents her for it.

They also go walk around Hamilton county a little before dinner, and sit outside on the grass for dinner (they have pizza because it is a classic sleepover food)

They wake up in the morning and get donuts from a local shop in the morning.

It was also some of the kids’ first official sleepover, so it meant more to some of them then they would admit. (Colin and Maya probably)

Overall super fun time with the super kids.

#jon kent #damian wayne #colin wilkes #kathy branden #mar'i grayson #maya ducard #lian harper #irey west #jai west #maps mizoguchi #milagro reyes #young justice #new young justice

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thegoodprincess · 4 years ago

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Together We Are Apart, but Apart We Are Together | KTH Ch. 3

Author: thegoodprincess

Pairing: Kim Taehyung | Original Female Character

Genre: romance, fantasy, action, forbidden love, human KTH | angel of death OC, supernatural au

Word Count: 1.7k [series, ongoing]

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Mentions of blood

Summary: After admiring a handsome boy from afar, an Angel of Death reluctantly rescues him from his own demise. As a result of going against her better judgment she inadvertently invites him into her world.

Author’s note: A character named Malachi appears in this chapter. His dialogue is italicized for the purpose of demonstrating that he has the ability to telepathically communicate with the main female OC. Just thought I’d point that out. 😉

Together We Are Apart, but Apart We Are Together

Chapter 3. Rescue

'Cause all I need is the love you breathe. Put your lips on me and I can live. — Mika

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In an instant I was completely submerged with a few feet of water above my head. I was met with the piercing feeling of the water right away. It was so severely cold that I was sent into a brief state of shock from the almost unbearable pain. Every muscle in my body simultaneously tensed, my throat felt as though I was being asphyxiated, and my eyes burned.

As ironic as it sounds, I took a few moments to ground myself. I tried as best I could to endure being suspended in the water. All four of my other senses were completely numbed out, forcing me to feel the full extent of the water.

Willing myself to focus on something else, literally anything that would momentarily distract me from the pain that had activated my fight or flight response, was when I noticed how eerily silent it was underwater. It was so much more strikingly different than it was on land.

The silence above the surface felt like being alone; blissful, refreshing, and introspective. But underneath the water it was lonely; pressurized, desolate, and suffocating.

Being beneath the darkness of the ice only amplified the absence of sound. This in turn made it seem as though the frantic thoughts in my head were the only thing I heard; they were deafening.

Once the initial shock wore off, I identified the pain as being equivalent to repeatedly being stabbed by a million extremely sharp blades all at once. The pain only intensified as I moved through the water. Every stroke of my arms and kick of my legs transformed each penetrating stab into an agonizing slice that tore deep along my skin from what felt like the inside out. Although I could not die, the sensation was excruciating as it traveled through every nerve ending of my body. I couldn’t imagine what it felt like for him.

Fighting through my discomfort, I adjusted my eyes in the dark water so that I could search for him. I spotted him slowing sinking further and further down, making no effort to swim. His eyes were closed and his face was serene as if he were sleeping. The water surrounding him was tinted scarlet from the blood oozing out his wound. It was safe to assume that he blacked out on impact from shock. If I didn’t get to him quickly enough, he was going to drown.

Using all the force I could muster I aggressively swam to him and was able to grab ahold of his wrist. After tugging him towards me, I did the only thing I could think of that would save his life. I kissed him, giving him my breath. Upon my lips meeting his, a blindingly bright light was emitted and my wings came around him engulfing him in a bubble of my aura. I closed my eyes and we ascended upwards near the surface of the water. Both of our heads broke to the surface. I took a big gulp of air, but he remained unconscious. Tucking my arms under his and gripping him tightly to keep his head above water, I swam to the edge of the river. Once I reached the edge I hauled the both of us up out of the water.

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I dragged his limp body back to the cold pavement. I tried as best I could to find an area that wasn’t coated in a copious amount of snow and gently laid him down on his back. In an instant my lips were back on his to breathe life back into him. I then pressed his chest to push out any water that he may have swallowed into his lungs. Immediately he began coughing up water, sputtering out between choked breaths. He was just barely conscious. His eyes flicked rapidly beneath his heavy eyelids. He barely managed to open them after I gently slapped at his face, but he only looked at me with a glassy stare. He wasn’t fully aware of what was going on or of my presence. His body was only instinctually taking in oxygen to fight for survival.

Taking a moment to assess his state, it was the first time I was able to fully take in his appearance. His skin was pale white, it almost looked translucent. His lips were already tinged blue and ice was beginning to form on his eyelashes. His hair was completely drenched and sticking in clumps to his face and scalp. I moved his bangs off his forehead.

He was shivering. I placed my hand on his cheek. His skin was ice cold to the touch. The water had gone through every fiber of his clothes despite the layers, throughly soaking his body down to the bone. The air around him only intensified the heat loss, bitting viscously at him. He was softly moaning and whining in pain.

It was then that I noticed the snow that was near his shoulder was beginning to stain crimson. Anxiously I brought my hands from where his collarbones were up to my face. The opaque ruby fluid clung to my skin thickly coating my fingers. His clothes were not only soaked with freezing cold water but an excessive amount of his blood. The wound was bleeding at a rapid rate now.

The odds of him surviving were stacked highly against him. Even though I had saved him from drowning, my efforts were going to be in vain. If I didn’t act soon he would imminently die in my arms from either hemorrhaging or hypothermia.

Taking two fingers I palpated his neck to check his pulse. It was sluggish, indicating his health was rapidly declining. His breathing was slow and labored. He was beginning to slip in and out of consciousness.

I used up a lot of my aura already saving him under the water, but had enough to temporarily mend the wound. However, it came with a catch. On the condition that I did heal him, it would result in me not having enough energy to teleport us back to my home where I could finish reviving him. Going on foot would take too long as it would surely run the risk of him dying before we even reached half way there. And on the off chance he did survive the journey, I’d first have to restore my own spirit before I could properly attend to him. Time was of the essence.

Weighing my options I decided to tackle one task at a time, that being to heal his wound, then worry about effectively warming him up after. Placing the palm of my hand gently against his shoulder, I closed my eyes concentrating, willing the golden light energy to flow out of me and into him. In my mind I could see the threads of his being fixing themselves, my aura weaving together the broken pieces. Thankfully his bleeding stopped, but he was still shivering. I felt weaker but it was important that I stay focused. Now I needed to call for help.

“Malachi!!!” I screamed using a little more of my aura to reach out to him, summoning his aid.

Suddenly the shadows that surrounded us quickly came together rising up from the ground and morphed into an intimidating silhouette that towered over us. Before us stood a figure shrouded in what could only be described as the shadows of darkness. They wore a oversized hood that covered a majority of their face. Using their blacken fingers, they removed the garment allowing me a clear look at their face. A boy’s daunting face was revealed.

He had ashen skin that looked as though he rubbed soot into it. Despite the gray coloring of his skin his face was handsome with sharp angular features like his nose, cheekbones, and jawline. All made him appear traditionally masculine. His chin-length hair was straight and the color of the midnight sky missing the glimmer of the moonlight. It fell haphazardly over one of his pale gray eyes, one of his only “light” features. Long billowy black silk robes cascaded down his lean frame further cloaking him in the shadows. Some may have easily mistaken him for the grim reaper, but he wasn’t such a being. He looked at us bemusedly stunned trying to assess the situation. Pity swam in his usually aloof abalone irises. His eyes nervously moved between the two of us as I laid embracing the mysterious boy’s body.

“Please Malachi, I don’t have enough energy. You have to get us home so I can help him. Hurry, he’s dying,” I yelled panicking.

Malachi looked at me confused. His hauntingly beautiful voice echoed in my head. “Mistress you are not allowed to get involved in human ordeals such as their death. It is against our nature.” He cautioned, but his warning was laced faintly with sympathy.

“I know but he wasn’t supposed to die tonight. Death was meant for another. He just so happened to get involved,” I defended hastily. The longer we spent discussing the events that unfolded tonight, the more this boy’s life force ebbed further away.

“Then that is his doing, we must not concern ourselves—,” Malachi argued coldly before I abruptly cut him off.

“Malachi! I beg you. Please.” I groveled in distress at his feet. I don’t know what convinced Malachi. It may have been the way my voice had cracked at the end of my plea, the continuous tears that brimmed over my eyes obscuring my vision and left trails down my cheeks, or how my body curled in anguish as I desperately clung to the boy in my arms, but he reluctantly succumbed.

“Fine. But if there are to be repercussions, you are to take responsibility,” Malachi negotiated bluntly, void of almost all emotion. Wearing a somber expression he knelt down, encircling us both in his arms. The shadows that had previously flowed around him had stretched out towards us. Swiftly they began to envelop us, shielding us from the scene of the river before us. With that we were transported home.

#taehyung fanfiction #taehyung fanfic #kim taehyung #taehyung x oc #bts supernatural au #bts fanfiction #bts fanfic #bts army #taehyung #my writing

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audiblesmirking · 4 years ago

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erratic heartbeats ~chapter 5: she sells seashells by the sea—ohmygod SHE'S DROWNING~

⚠️Minor Swearing⚠️

Legend: "English unless stated otherwise" --- 'Thoughts' --- "Telepathically speaking" --- [Authors' Note]

——————————

'Ah, the beach... I would've enjoyed your sand today if it weren't for my parents forcing me to go out' Azumi sits on her beach mat, an umbrella implanted behind her and shielding her from having heatstroke. 'A shame, Atsumi-san reported me for being closed in my room all summer. They never really did like me, I suppose.'

The psychic let out a sigh, her hand moving to shut all the thoughts around her up and wrap her arms around her knees. 'I don't understand how people can be so sociable.' Azumi commented, turning her head at the party going on near her. '... and loud.'

She thought the noise was getting louder, so she decided to pack and move to a different, and quiter spot on the beach. Wearing her sunglasses, she began her search for a new place to sit. The sound of the party slowly fades as she walks away from her previous position. 'Atleast they're having fun.'

The wind felt nice on her skin as it gently blows against her. Azumi was watching the swaying palm trees as she saunters on the cemented sidewalk, when a stray pebble made its way into her footwear. Cringing, she raised her foot to shake off the small stone, successfully relieving it from its discomfort. However, due to her movements, she accidentally stabs the back of someone with the end of her umbrella, earning a yelp from the aforementioned someone.

"SHIT. I'm so so sorry—" The situation surprised Azumi, as well as the poor person who was hurt from her carelessness. She extended her free hand to help support the boy—who looked oddly familiar to her—as he stands up.

"It's fine. Just be careful next time—"

"Hairo-san?" Azumi finally recognized the person in front of her once he turned around to face her, she lifted her sunglasses and laid them on top of her head. Hairo had a hand stretched behind him to sooth the spot in his back that had been jabbed, when he saw the familiar face of his classmate. Before he could greet her though, she already started talking. "I'm sorry for stabbing you with my umbrella. I was distracted because there was a pebble in my slipper; and I didn't see you because I was making sure the pebble was out and not providing discomfort to my foot. I should've looked at where I was going. I—" Azumi shut herself up by covering her own mouth after realizing she was rambling. "Again, I'm so sorry, Hairo-san."

Kineshi laughed at her reactions, successfully lightening the atmosphere. "It's alright, Kanasawa-san. It's good to see you."

His words brought a smile on Azumi's face. She liked his presence, because he always seems to bring her out of her shell at the right times, plus he's the kindest to everyone he meets. Atleast, that's what Azumi sees in him. "You too. By the way, what brings you here?" She gestured at the whistle he picked up from the ground after dropping it out of shock from their encounter.

"Ah, well, I volunteered as a lifeguard—" Hairo was cut off by a yell followed by splashing, a tell-tale sign of someone slipping into the water. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" He was already sprinting down to the shore.

'Kusuo-san, Kaidou-san and Nendou-san? Surprise to see them here.' Azumi thought, walking astray from the sidewalk and following Hairo.

He dived into the shallow waters, the force pulling down his pants, as he lifts the seemingly unconscious Kaidou. 'Hairo-san does have a knack of not wearing underwear.' Azumi sweat dropped, at his partial nudity. She layed her things on the sand close to Saiki and sat down, having decided that this spot was suitable.

"Oh, it's you Hairo!" Nendou greeted as Hairo stood up, holding Kaidou as he lay limp in his arms.

As Kineshi took notice of Nendou and Saiki's presence, Azumi is left puzzled. 'How did he pull up his pants while holding Kaidou?'

Hairo walks out of the water and places Kaidou on the sand in front of Azumi's mat, as if nonverbally saying 'look after him' and moving on to answer Nendou. 'It's a mystery to me how you don't see Kusuo-san as capable for this.' Azumi was about to turn off her power limiter to see how much water her friend inhaled, when the boy in front of her stirred, halting her hand mid-air. Saiki, who has been silently watching, squinted his eyes at this. "Kaidou-san, are you okay?" Azumi loomed over his head, with some of her hair that failed to be pushed back by her hand falling down and tickling his face.

She was too late to gather the ones that hanged, sitting back and expecting the sneeze Kaidou let out. Azumi grimaced, eyebrows knitted and looking apologetic, "eesh... sorry." moving to kneel beside him as he sat up. She hesitated to hold his shoulder as he coughed out the water that entered from his nose and mouth, instead she gave pats on his back, attempting to help get rid of any excess sea water.

Once Kaidou settled down, he took notice of Azumi's presence, having been the first face he saw after regaining consciousness. "Ka–Kana–Kanasawa-san?! Wh–What–HI."

His response relieved her, Azumi let out a sigh before smiling at him. "Hi to you too, Kaidou-san."

——————————

"Ugh... who's at the door this early in the morning..." Azumi groaned, dragging herself out of her room and in the hallway in front of her door that overlooks the front yard and gate. She had a hand on her ear cuff, sluggishly twisting and turning, in order to deactivate it. "And on the day Atsumi-san isn't here."

Atsumi was hired only for the duration of the summer break to maintain the lavish look of the Kanasawa manor, with a weekly day off for them to refresh themselves. Yesterday was their last work day before the next term starts.

Azumi squinted her eyes at the person in front of their gate, wanting to confirm herself despite the person's thoughts distinctly confirming almost her every doubt. "Hairo-san?"

'Hmm... Kanasawa-san isn't answering the intercom. Maybe she's not home.'

'What kind of teenager is up and about at 7 am on the last day of summer?' Azumi sighs, wanting to go back to bed, but her drowsiness has already left the moment she used her powers. 'Apparently, people like Hairo-san'

'I came here to return Kanasawa-san's beach mat and umbrella that she left yesterday...' He looked down on the bag he was holding.

Realization hit Azumi like a wreaking ball, as her mouth dropped, her hand raising to cover it. 'Oh yeah... That's what I forgot...' No wonder the feeling of having forgotten something never left her until she went to bed.

'Well then, I'll just give this to her at school tomorrow.' Hairo turned and was about to leave.

'No way, I'm not carrying those at school.' Azumi already teleported behind her home's front doors, creaking one open and successfully halting Hairo from his departure.

"Ah, Kanasawa-san! Sorry to bother you, but you left your beach mat and umbrella yesterday" He exclaimed once he saw the figure of Azumi walking towards the gate.

"No, I'm sorry to bother you, Hairo-san. You came all this way to bring me back my things" She opened gate and took the bag from Hairo's extended hand. "Thank you..." Azumi smiled at him.

'Oh My, My Dear, forgetful as you are, you're so rude. Invite him in. Invite the guest in. Invite him in.' She froze. She thought she heard the voice of her mother, but remembered she was at work. "... in...?" She hadn't realized she spoke before it was too late.

"In?" Hairo repeated, confused at the dazed look his classmate was showing. "Ah! Are you asking me to come in, Kanasawa-san?"

Azumi felt embarrassed for spacing out in front of him, she answered in confirmation. "yes...?" It sounded unsure and more like a question, but Hairo laughed it off and thought it was her usual shyness that was preventing her from speaking clearly. "I–Come in, Hairo-san." Azumi opened the gate wider for her classmate to enter.

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm sorry, Kanasawa-san. Today's my last day as a volunteer lifeguard. I have to do my best until the end!" Hairo was determined; he almost always is.

"oh thank god" She felt relieved he declined, wanting to be alone for the rest of the day to prepare for school tomorrow.

"Hm? Did you say anything, Kanasawa-san?" Hairo was distracted at his self-motivating thoughts. He turned to Azumi, who simply shook her head as a reply, a tight smile displayed on her face.

"Good luck, Hairo-san" She closed the gate before letting out a sigh.

'Even without her physically being here, I can feel my mother's criticism on everything I do' Azumi agonized, comical tears streaming down her face as she clenches her fist in frustration.

Teleporting to her room, a weird clinking sound came from the bag Hairo gave to Azumi. 'Hm?' She peeked inside, there was her umbrella sticking out, her mat neatly folded in and... are those seashells?

They were pretty, Azumi confesses, and had unique shapes, but she doesn't remember picking them up yesterday. She may be quite forgetful, but she knows she isn't one to get everything that catches her eye. No, that would be her mother.

'Why did Hairo-san give me seashells? Strange.'

——————————

A new semester starts at PK Academy. Some classmates were complimenting Hairo on his new tan, while most of them were flocking around Teruhashi, surprised to find out she had an eye on someone special.

Azumi was sitting in her designated chair, observing around her classroom, when she cringed at Teruhashi's sly excuse after she accidentally yelled and broke her perfect figure. 'Who in the world is Yurwei Offidjot?' She facepalmed, feeling vicarious embarrassment on Teruhashi's act.

Though, Kaidou, who was standing behind Saiki, misunderstood Azumi's actions. "Hey, Saiki, Kanasa—huh? Are you okay, Kanasawa-san?" Azumi lowered her hand, turning her head to face Kaidou.

"huh...? Ah, yes." She absentmindedly nodded. He looked weird today, with his hair styled strangely and sporting an eyepatch over his eye.

"Really? Well, if you're not feeling well, just tell me—us! Just tell us—! We're you're friends, right?!—"

"Get to the point, Kaidou" Saiki cut him off before he spiraled.

"O–Oh, right. Don't you think Nendou is acting strange today?" Kaidou stuttered, before glancing at the mentioned guy sighing and shifting his hand all over his face. "Normally, he'd be bugging us to get ramen or something"

"True. He is acting a little strange."

Kaidou and Saiki planned to stalk Nendou after suspecting him to be hiding something, and invite Azumi with them. However, "Azumi-san! Please help me!" Yumehara appeared next to her and dragged her out of the classroom, leaving the two boys to spy by themselves.

She dragged the psychic into a more secluded place, behind the school. "I don't know anyone to talk to about this, but please hear me out, Kanasawa-san!" Yumehara started, her voice cracking at the end. "My boyfriend, Takeru, and I haven't been getting along, and I think we're growing apart..." She sobbed, holding onto Azumi's forearms for support.

Azumi sweat dropped, not knowing what to do or how to comfort her. "Ah, I thought you liked Kusuo-san. When did you get a boyfriend?" At her words, Yumehara raised her head, showing the tears that were trailing down her cheeks.

"That's another problem! I think my crush on him is resurfacing..." She weeped, wiping her cheek. "Takeru used to be so romantic..."

"here we go..."

"He loves to say this phrase, but he's so repetitive at it. It's getting a bit tiring. And when he finally says something different..." Yumehara cringed at her memories, earning furrowed eyebrows from Azumi. "... it made no sense and turned me off."

Azumi nervously laughed, grabbing Yumehara's hands and holding it in hers. "I see. I appreciate you telling me all this, Chiyo-san, but I'm not the best choice to ask for love ad—"

"That's not all. Takeru's feet stink, he makes lots of noise when he eats, and he holds chopsticks weird, too. He's very condescending to store clerks, he's got terrible fashion sense, and he kills the mood at get-togethers all the time by dislocating his jaw..." Yumehara cut her friend off, enumerating all of her boyfriend's flaws. "These days, all I can see are his faults"

'Good grief. I normally couldn't care less about other people's relationships, but she might go after me again if they break up.' Azumi resisted the urge to look up and at the watching Saiki.

"okay, alright... What do you want me to do, Chiyo-san?"

"I predict that Takeru would bring me on a date later, before he walks me home. I want you to follow behind us, and if anything goes wrong, (like if we break up), atleast I have someone to be there for me." Yumehara turned away mid-sentence, whispering something inaudible—for an ordinary person—before continuing.

Azumi's features softened at her words. 'She just needs a friend.' She nodded, earning her a hug from Chiyo.

"Thank you, Azumi-san!"

'That's Chiyo-san's boyfriend?' Azumi thought, standing by the gate while holding open a book.

"Sorry to make you wait. Now that I'm here, the rain in your heart is—"

"Oh, it's fine. I just got here too." Yumehara didn't even let him finished, as she deadpanned at him.

'I'm guessing he was about to repeat his usual phrase Chiyo-san got tired of.' Azumi raised her eyebrows at the sight of Saiki behind one of the pillars of the entrance. 'Ah, he did say to himself that he wanted to salvage their relationship.'

"Wanna do something? Go somewhere?" Takeru started, walking beside Yumehara as they leave campus.

"Either is fine." Chiyo boredly replied.

"Then let's go somewhere."

"I can't go too far."

As the couple conversed, Azumi pretended to be busy reading her book as she follows behind. 'It'll be awkward to walk behind them with Kusuo-kun.' She resisted the urge to sigh, instead, she placed her free hand in her pocket. 'The two are heading to the town center... Maybe I can just stop by one place and wait until something bad happens to Chiyo-san.'

Azumi already turned a corner, opting for a shortcut to the town center and get ahead of the couple and Saiki. 'It beats having to act like I'm reading. And besides, Kusuo-san will be there to make sure everything goes perfectly.'

•°●•°●•°●

Azumi found a quiet café to rest and wait, having ordered a slice of cake to not raise suspicion. Her power limiter was turned off for her to listen to the thoughts of the people around her, primarily Saiki's, so as to keep track of Chiyo's actions.

Yumehara and Takeru's date was going smoothly, thanks to Saiki and his powers. 'I wonder when can I control mine like how Kusuo-san can control his.' Azumi sighed, lightly envying Saiki's ability to use his varying psychic powers at will.

'Her favorability meter is at ♡95♡. There's no way they can break up now, right?' Azumi had a bad feeling, suspecting that Saiki likely jinxed everything after thinking that. She stood up, grabbed her bag and dashed out of the shop.

'Good thing I paid after ordering.' Azumi headed to the direction of the Okonomiyaki place that Yumehara entered with her boyfriend. 'What is this 'favorability meter' anyway...?'

Saiki was about to turn and go home, having done so much for Yumehara's relationship, when he heard a yell from inside the Okonomiyaki shop. A voice belonging to a condescending, insensitive young man.

♡67♡

Takeru removed his shoes, his stinky feet fumes invading the air. "Man, I'm starving!"

♡49♡

He held up his hand that had his fingers weirdly tangled in his chopsticks. "Time to eat!"

♡31♡

He began chewing with his mouth open.

♡00♡

"... I can't take this anymore!" Yumehara ran out of the restaurant, crying as she leaves. "Goodbye!"

"Huh? Hey..." Takeru tried following after her, but he stopped at the restaurant's entrance, still chewing his food with his mouth open. "What's her problem?"

Azumi arrived just as Yumehara was about to bump into her. "Woah, hey. Are you alright, Chiyo-san?" She held the crying girl's shoulders to keep her upright, eyebrows furrowing in worry.

Yumehara peeked through the space between her fingers, immediately wrapping her arms around Azumi's neck once she saw it was her friend in front of her. "Wahh, Azumi!" The sudden physical contact distressed the psychic, she froze. "I broke up with my boyfriend!"

"... Um... There, there...?" Azumi hesitated, trying to choose her words right. She panicked when Yumehara cried louder, earning a few stares from the people passing by. "fuck, wrong words... um... ice–Ice... cream...?"

Yumehara sniffled, wiping her tears after withdrawing her arms from Azumi. "Ice cream?" She repeated, before brightening up a bit. "Yeah, ice cream will probably cheer me up after all that."

Azumi sighed in relief at her response. "Alright, I'll treat you to some ice cream."

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"Kanasawa-san...!" Kaidou called out to Azumi as she walks along the school's hallways. She turned at the call of her name, just as Kaidou reached her. "I, the Jet Black Wings, will be holding a meeting later after school."

Kaidou had his hair covering one of his eyes, a serious look plastered in his face. "I have assembled formidable seni—no, allies in our quest to defeat Dark Renunion and stop their human seperation plan. We'll gather behind the school and discuss our plans." He turned and walked the opposite way Azumi was heading.

'Oh? He made friends, good for him.'

Azumi was fiddling with her ear cuff as she walks to the back of the school. Kaidou has always been talking to her about the secret organization of Dark Reunion, how overpowered he is despite the initial impression, and the reason behind his bandaged limb. She asked once about the torn hems of his shirt, pants and blazer, and was met with,

"I go through difficult battles everyday before school. Dark Reunion has been sending assassins after me, and I don't want to get the school involved, so I defeat them all before the morning bell rings."

Even though his thoughts reveal otherwise,

'I cut the hems of all of my uniforms, because it makes me, the Jet Black Wings, look cool.'

Azumi keeps hearing from others, even from Saiki, about how Kaidou has eight-grader syndrome. She searched about it, since it was the first time she heard about the syndrome, and was intrigued.

"Ah, Kanasawa-san, you're here." Azumi reached their meeting spot. There was Kaidou, but no sign of any one else. "The others are probably running late." He seemed to know what Azumi was thinking.

She nodded, walking towards him and laying her bag down on the bench. "How many are the 'others' we waiting for?" She knows Saiki was one of the others, having felt his presence nearby as he silently watches.

"There are four more, counting Saiki" Kaidou crosses his arms, trying to act tough and collected, but his thoughts were panicking. 'What if they don't show up?! That just means I wasted Kanasawa-san's time...! No Shun, they will come! The fate of the world rests on our hands! We have to be ready for Dark Reunion's next attack!'

•°●•°●•°●

'... they didn't come...' Kaidou sulked on the opposite end of the bench they were sitting. About 2 hours have passed, and the sun was shining just over the horizon. He hung his head low, his bangs covering most of his face. '... I wasted Kanasawa-san's time...'

Azumi hid her frown, head turned to her sad companion.

"Is he still there?" She piqued at the laughters her heightened hearing heard. She subtly looked up and saw the peeping heads of three seniors. "Yeah, dude, he's still there." They continue to fail to stifle their laughter.

Azumi faced front, trying to act like she was patiently waiting with Kaidou and ignorant of the three seniors' set up. She sensed the seniors peer over the window, leaning each of their elbows on the window frame, thinking he wouldn't look up and call them out. "What a loser. You were right when you said he had eight grader syndrome so bad." The three made fun of what Kaidou said to them when they first approached him, disparagingly mimicking his words.

"Haha, right?!—Hey, who's that chick with him?" One of them pointed out, the rest looking down in curiosity. "This is the first I've seen her. Is she a freshman?"

"I don't know."

Kaidou stood up, drawing Azumi's attention as she turned her head. The seniors ducked under the window. "I'm sorry I brought you here for nothing, Kanasawa-san." He grabbed his things and walked away with a half-hearted wave. He didn't bother to turn and look at her, he was too ashamed to. "I'll see you tomorrow."

This time, Azumi openly knit her eyebrows, worried of the effects of this prank to his mental state, before her expressions turned terrifyingly blank. An eerie and powerful aura surrounds her as her ear cuff lit up like a strobe light, indicating that it was trying to control the haywire burst of power coming from within the psychic.

"Ah, that was fun. Let's go."

"Hey, are we still on with our maze run?"

'Maze run... ?! They still have the nerve to go and have fun after fooling the poor heart of Kaidou?!'

"Heck yeah, come on."

'You all will pay for what you did to Kaidou...'

Azumi properly dealt with the three pieces of trash.

But she did not kill them. unfortunately

'Is she... really a psychic like me?'

——————————

Azumi was worried for Kaidou after yesterday, but he reassured her today by acting like usual. "I feel a great disturbance in the air today. What is Dark Reunion planning?"

"Let's go eat ramen!" Nendou exclaimed, as he walks home with Kaidou, Azumi and Saiki.

Azumi tried to walk behind them, but Nendou and Kaidou insisted she walks first, next to Saiki. So there she was, nervous out of her mind and mindful of her gait and expressions.

"Huh...?" She turned to see what grabbed Nendou's attention, stopping the other two in their tracks. "They installed a new playground over there... And there are no kids playing on them!"

"W–Wait—! Nendou!" Kaidou tried to stop him, but he was already running towards the monkey bars that seem too high for a small child to climb. "Hey, you can't play on those!"

Kaidou ran after him. 'Good grief. Those guys have the minds of preschoolers.' Saiki peeked at Azumi beside him. She had such an ignorant expression, with her eyebrows raised and mouth opened slightly, curiosity dancing in her eyes. 'Her expression right now is such a far cry from the one she made yesterday.' His eyes followed Azumi as she walks to sit on one of the swings.

Saiki observed the scene for a few seconds. Kaidou and Nendou were shouting at each other over the slide, while Azumi sits and watches them argue. 'This is probably the best time for me to go home now.' Saiki thought and turned to walk away.

"Hey Saiki...!" Kusuo clicked his tongue and faced Kaidou. "Come over here and tell Nendou that this is a jungle gym and not a prison for little kids!"

"I'm not the only one here. Ask Kanasawa." Despite the uninterested façade, Saiki walked over and sat on the other swing next to Azumi.

"See?! He said it's a jungle gym!"

"I said no such thing"

"Huh?! I thought it's a jail for children..."

"Idiot! Why would they add a jail for children in a park?!"

Saiki peeked once more at Azumi as Kaidou and Nendou continue to yell. 'She's awfully quiet today' He commented, assuming she knows that he knows about her previous usage of psychic powers.

Just after he finished his thought though, the girl spoke up, pointing at one of the playground equipment. "What's that called?" She asked, like a child.

Nendou and Kaidou ceased their argument, turning their heads at where she was pointing. "Merry-go-round?" Kaidou whispered the answer.

"Ah, that! It's a round-and-round-and-round!" Nendou gave Azumi a thumbs up while walking towards it.

"No, it's a merry-go-round! A. Merry. Go. Round!" Kaidou ran in front of the jock, and stepped up on the merry-go-round in efforts to seem taller.

Nendou took the opportunity to spin the playground equipment, causing his friend, who went ahead and climbed aboard it, to scream from the top of his lungs.

"NENDOU...! THAT'S ENOUGH, PLEASE!"

•°●•°●•°●

The street lights were already on by the time Azumi and Saiki were walking towards their houses, the sun having set minutes ago. They just came from having a ramen dinner with Kaidou and Nendou, and were now heading home.

The two grew used to the silence that falls on their atmosphere whenever they walk together. It was one of the rare quiet times Saiki gets after dealing with nuisances everyday, and he appreciates it. While in Azumi's case, she grew tired of the constant nervousness she feels at these times, so she gave up in filling the silence.

"See you tomorrow, Kusuo-san."

Azumi entered the gates of her house, still feeling the happiness from the afternoon's activities. And, oh, how she wished she knew what was coming for her once she entered the doors of her home.

"You're home late, Zumi-chan..."

Azumi froze in her steps, the small—almost nonexistent—smile on her face dropping. She was just about to walk past the open doors of the main living room, when she heard the voice of her father. She turned her head, hoping she was mistaken and was just hallucinating. She immediately regrets.

"Come here, my dear. Sit down." Akina, her mother beckons, as she was seated on one of the single seats. Aiken, her father, was seated on the other, opposite of his wife. A coffee table was laid in front of their diagonally-positioned seats, then a camelback sofa facing them.

Azumi didn't want to, but it would seem rude or even disrespectful to ignore her parents. Her legs shook, but with every step she takes, it would become almost unnoticeable. She was nervous, because this was the first in such a long time where they would talk face-to-face and was not over dinner. Atleast when conversing over food, she could avoid the discussion under the guise of eating. But right now, there are no distractions.

Once Azumi sat down in front of her parents, she stayed silent to let one of them start the conversation.

"Now, why were you late to go home?" Akina was the first to talk.

The young Kanasawa felt like she was in an interrogation room. The pressure she feels over the two pairs of eyes staring at her is overwhelming. "I... was out with friends... mom, dad." She tried to speak coherently, drawing out false confidence by raising her chin to meet her parents' eyes. "... We... stopped by the park and ate dinner at—"

"Who are these friends of yours?" Aiken cut her off.

"Kaidou Shun, Nendou Riki, and—"

"What did your group do for you to be home at this time?" Aiken continued.

"... We stopped by the park and ate dinner at Hayanari's ramen shop—"

"You had ramen for dinner?" The tone Akina used to state her words were heart-racing, and not in the good way.

"uh—Yes... mom."

"Hm, is that so?" The mother leaned back in her seat, meeting her spouse's stare for a moment before redirecting her gaze at her child in front of her. "Tell me, about your friends... Are they psychics?"

"..." Azumi hesitated at this, but tried to quickly recover. "No but–"

"If that's so, then why are you still hanging out with them?" Azumi's façade almost slipped at her mother's comment.

'She didn't let me finish.'

"You should be training your powers before it gets out of hand." Aiken spoke up. "Because of how late your powers awakened, you don't have much control over it than if you had them sooner."

'Ah, we're back at it with my powers again.' Azumi lowered her eyebrows and turned to look at the roaring fire in the fireplace, a little upset at the shift in conversation. Big mistake.

"Kanasawa Azumi. Look at us when we're talking to you." Her mother pronounced her full name, indicating that the topic has turned serious. "I don't remember teaching you such disrespectful manners."

'That's because you didn't. You and dad are gone most of the day, all week, every month.' She frowned this time, angry to the point of tears. She hid her gritted teeth and resisted the urge to glare at them.

"What's this...? You're talking back now?" Aiken stood up when his wife did. She was surprised, but soon that shock turned into irritation and disapproval.

'fuck' Azumi made the mistake of not shutting her mouth, because of her tendency to speak what's on her mind becoming a more common plot tool of the author to cause drama.

"What has gotten into you, Azumi?" Aiken tried to make sense of their daughter's sudden attitude. "Ever since you've started attending traditional school, you've been more recluse and irritable."

"Yes, you avoid us at dinner. And I suppose those friends of yours may also have an impact." Akina huffed, crossing her arms before sitting back down, her husband slowly following suit.

"what... what are you saying?" Azumi mumbled, suspicious of her parents' next words.

"I guess you'll have to go back to homeschooling if PK Academy has that much of an effect on you." At her mother's words, Azumi feels like she was electrocuted by lightning.

In her surprise, she jolted up on her feet. "That... That won't do, mot—mom... Wasn't the reason you've placed me in a traditional school was to well-round me? To cover the 'social skills' I lack?!" Azumi tried to reason, giving up on masking her emotions. "Mom, it's about time I meet people who can give me perspective into the life I wasn't able to live...!"

"Enough with this attitide! The whole reason we ever enrolled you here was to expose you to a more experienced esper...!" Akina didn't realize her slip-up until Aiken called her name.

"I—You... what?"

——————————

|A/N|

discuss the plot holes of "erratic heartbeats" with us! @ the link in my bio.

#fluff...?#original character #reverse harem #saiki kusuo no psi nan #saiki kusuo no psi nan cast #i sprinkled a little angst at the end

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theteams-notebook · 5 years ago

Photo

June 18, 2010

I messed up and didn’t realize that the people on Earth don’t communicate telepathically like we do on Mars. It made Kid Flash and Superboy upset, so I won’t be doing that again.

SB and KF went off on their own in Mount Justice to cool off for a bit. We just let it happen. It’s not like we could catch KF even if we wanted to.

Robin, Kid Flash, and I went off on our own “mission” last night to find Speedy and invite him into our Team. He declined and said some things that he may regret later on and that upset Kid greatly. His invitation into the Team is always open, but I am doubtful that he will ever accept.

I found out that SB and I both like the sound of TV static!

It’s oddly calming.

We got to see Miss M’s Bio-ship, though! That was cool and I’m super interested in knowing how it works! She said it’s organic like her clothes, so there are a lot of possibilities that it could transform into!

(A polaroid photo of the Team standing by the Bio-ship is taped to the top left corner of the page.)

How did Red even know where we kept the camera?

I told him.

Why?

Who else would take photos of all of us??

We met a villain calling himself Mister Twister. Initially, we had followed Miss Martian’s thought of him being Red Tornado.

He was definitely not Red.

Even though he wasn’t good ol’ Red, he was still an android. Though, who made him, we still don’t know. Maybe whoever made Red?

If Mister Twister was made by the same person who made Red, maybe there’s more like him out there somewhere.

(On the top left corner of the page, a polaroid photo of Mister Twister is taped there.)

Sorry for the terrible quality. I moved too quickly while taking it.

Where were you even keeping the camera?

I have very deep pockets.

I always did wonder how you carried so many things with you. I didn’t even realize you were carrying your goggles until you pulled them out! You can’t even see them in your pocket!

KF is known to wear things with deep pockets or multiple pockets. Like she said before, you can never be too prepared for a situation. But even I draw the line somewhere.

I don’t wanna hear it from the guy with a utility belt that seems to hold everything we need for a situation!

You both contribute equally to what we need for missions. It is good to be prepared for any situation.

#young justice #yj #the team #miss martian #suffpsii #robin #kid flash #aqualad #m'gann m'orzz #dick grayson #conner kent #kaldur'ahm #kaldur #wally west #50 shades of grayson #the team notebook

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phantom-le6 · 4 years ago

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Episode Reviews - Star Trek The Next Generation Season 1 (3 of 6)

As we draw close to crossing the first month of 2021 off the calendar to make room for February, which in my view is only of use for Pancake Day and nothing more, I’m back with yet more reviews from the first season of Star Trek: TNG. Will these episodes prove any better than those of the first two rounds, or are we looking at more lemons with warp engines? Let’s find out…

Episode 10: Hide and Q

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise is en route to Quadra Sigma to aid colonists caught in a methane explosion when Q re-appears and demands that they abandon their mission to compete in a game. He teleports Commander Riker and the bridge crew, with the exception of Captain Picard, to a barren landscape and appears in front of them wearing a uniform of a Napoleonic era French marshal. He explains the rule of the game is to stay alive, and after Lt. Yar refuses to compete, he transports her back to the bridge of the Enterprise in a "penalty box".

Q returns to the bridge too, to talk Picard into setting a wager. He explains that the Q Continuum is testing Commander Riker to see if he is worthy of being granted their powers. Picard, having the utmost faith in his First Officer, takes the bet, as winning it would mean Q would get off their backs. Meanwhile, Riker and his team are attacked by what Lt. Worf reports as "vicious animal things" wearing French soldier uniforms from the Napoleonic era and armed with muskets that fire energy bolts instead of the classic projectiles. Q returns to Riker and tells him that he has granted him the powers of the Continuum, and Riker promptly returns his crew mates to the ship but remains behind with Q to ultimately reject the powers. Q brings the crew back to the landscape, this time without their phasers and with Picard. The crew are attacked once more by the aliens, and both Worf and Wesley Crusher are killed. Riker uses the powers of the Q to return the crew again and bring both Worf and Wesley back to life.

Riker makes a promise to Picard never to use the powers again and the ship arrives at Quadra Sigma. A rescue team beams down and discovers a young girl who has died. Riker is tempted to save her, but in the end, he refuses to do so out of respect for his promise. However, he quickly shows signs of regret at this decision, which he expresses to the captain. Tension between Picard and his first officer grows as Riker now seems to be embracing his powers, and his behaviour toward the crew begins to change. At Q's suggestion, and with Picard's blessing, Riker uses his powers to give his friends what he believes they want, turning Wesley into an adult, giving La Forge normal sight in place of his visor, and creating a Klingon female companion for Worf. All the recipients reject their gifts, however, with Data even anticipating and declining Riker's attempt to make him human. Picard declares that Q has failed, and when Q attempts to go back on his word, he is forcibly recalled to the Continuum. Picard is pleased to see Q gone, and praises Riker for confirming his trust in his "Number One".

Review:

There are two main reasons to enjoy this episode; Q and Picard. This is the first time since the pilot that we’ve seen Q and Picard interact, and it’s much better this time because both the actors are a bit more at grips with their characters. The scene in the Captain’s ready room between the pair where they both quote Shakespeare is one of the real highlights of the first season, a veritable miniature diamond in a season-long run of rough. In some respects, it’s almost a pity Picard-Q meet-ups aren’t more frequent, but ultimately, I think that they have to be done as little as possible to retain some impact in the later seasons.

Unfortunately, the episode lacks sufficient subtlety in trying to convey a story about power corrupting. The key reason why the Dark Phoenix story in the X-Men comics is a classic that no adaptation has ever effectively captured is because it involves Jean Grey being corrupted by power slowly, inch by inch, until circumstances push her over the edge. When the Primarch Horus is turned to Chaos in the Horus Heresy novels that form part of Warhammer 40,000 lore, it’s not an overnight transformation from the noble being he was to the power-mad tyrant laying waste to Terra years later. It’s a slow, gradual seduction by power, and a single episode of any TV show doesn’t give that.

As a result, the idea of Riker’s shift in character and attitude seems too rapid and falls flat. The only thing that doesn’t fall flat is how the rest of the cast reacts when Riker tries to act with benevolence. It’s a testament to each of them how they resist being granted their supposedly fondest wishes. I especially applaud Geordi and the autistic-like Data for their choices. I never like stories that try to push the idea that characters who are somehow differently abled, either blatantly or through the metaphor of a genre-specific concept, should always want to eliminate that difference. Maybe Geordi can’t see like everyone else, but considering all the different things he can see with his visor, it’s not like the vision he has is any better or worse. It’s just a pity his reason for saying no was more about not liking a Q-style Riker than about accepting himself and all the goodness inherent in that.

Add in Troi not being around at a time when her character could be very annoying without much effort, and you’ve got an episode that has many saving graces propping up a poor execution of a decent core concept. End score for this one, probably 7 out of 10.

Episode 11: Haven

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise arrives at the planet Haven, where the ship's half-Betazoid Counsellor Deanna Troi has been summoned by her mother Lwaxana. Deanna had previously been set into an arranged marriage to the young human doctor, Wyatt Miller, and his parents have since tracked down Lwaxana to enforce the marriage. After Lwaxana and the Millers are welcomed aboard the Enterprise, the parents argue over whose cultural traditions will be honoured at the ceremony. Deanna and Wyatt attempt to get to know each other but find it difficult, as Deanna is still in love with Commander William Riker. Wyatt has had numerous dreams of another woman with whom he has fallen in love, and had initially believed her to be Deanna communicating telepathically with him.

The Enterprise then learns of an unmarked vessel approaching Haven. Captain Picard recognizes it as Tarellian, a race they thought to have been wiped out by a highly lethal and contagious virus. When they contact the ship, they find a handful of Tarellian refugees who have been travelling at sub-light speeds to Haven in hopes of finding an isolated location to live out the rest of their lives in peace. Picard insists that they cannot go to the planet for fear of spreading the virus, and has the Tarellian vessel placed in a tractor beam. Wyatt discovers that one of the Tarellians, Ariana, is the woman from his dreams, and she too recognizes Wyatt. Wyatt tells Dr Crusher that he will transport some medical supplies to them, but transports himself along with the supplies. When the crew discovers this, Wyatt's parents demand that Picard bring Wyatt back to the Enterprise, but Denna insists that he cannot return, as Wyatt would now carry the Tarellian virus. Wyatt promises his parents, Deanna, and the rest of the crew that he knew that this would be his destiny, and is happy to try to help cure the Tarellian virus. Wyatt convinces the Tarellians to leave Haven and search for help elsewhere. Picard orders the tractor beam to be dropped and allows the vessel to depart the system.

Review:

When it comes to Majel Barrett in the era of the TNG-DS9-Voyager shows, her best work as a guest star is her voice work as the voice of any given Starfleet computer. Her worst work is when she’s guest-starring as Deanna Troi’s mother. Her whole character is the very definition of nails on a chalk board, and it’s very rare if ever that an episode featuring her can be anything good. That said, her presence does help to improve Deanna’s character just because it means Deanna’s suddenly no longer the most likely to irk you with her characterisation. Basically, anytime Deanna’s on the screen at this early stage in the show, all I can think is “please don’t have her go all over-sensitive like she did in the pilot.”

Leaving the Troi family aside, the episode isn’t much to get excited about. Just a run-of-the-mill b-plot about a plague ship that interconnects with the main plot nicely to save us from the Trek equivalent of a shotgun wedding. Frankly, I’d have preferred it if they’d done a plot exploring the arranged marriage idea and casting it down as the terrible idea it is, but then I suppose it wouldn’t be politic to do that with a culture that is part-and-parcel of the Federation instead of being the guest-race-of-the-week. I’d give this one about 3 out of 10.

Episode 12: The Big Goodbye

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise heads to Torona IV to open negotiations with the Jarada, an insect-like race that are unusually strict in matters of protocol. After practicing the complex greeting the Jarada require to open negotiations, Captain Jean-Luc Picard decides to relax with a Dixon Hill story in the holodeck. Playing Detective Hill in the holo-program, Picard takes up the case of Jessica Bradley, who believes that Cyrus Redblock is trying to kill her. Picard decides to continue the program later and leaves the holodeck to affirm their estimated arrival at Torona IV. He invites Dr Beverly Crusher and historian crewmember Whalen to join him in the holodeck. While Crusher is still preparing, Picard and Whalen are ready to enter the holodeck when Lt. Commander Data arrives, having overheard Picard's invitation. Entering the holodeck, the three discover that Jessica has been murdered in Picard's absence. As Picard explains that he saw Jessica at his office the day before, Lt. Bell brings Picard into the police station for questioning as a suspect in her murder. Meanwhile, the Enterprise is scanned from a distance by the Jarada, causing a power surge in the holodeck external controls. Dr Crusher later enters the holodeck, first experiencing a momentary glitch with the holodeck doors, and joins her friends at the police station.

The Jarada demand their greeting earlier than the agreed time and are insulted at having to talk to anyone other than the Captain. The crew tries to communicate with Picard in the holodeck but finds it impossible; the Jarada signal has affected the holodeck's functions, preventing the doors from opening or allowing communication with the crew inside. Lt. Geordi La Forge and Wesley Crusher attempt to repair the holodeck systems. While inside the holodeck, the group returns to Dixon's office. Mr. Leech appears, having waited for Picard, demanding he turn over an object he believes Jessica gave him. When Picard fails to understand, Leech shoots Dr. Whalen with a gun, and the crew discovers that the safety protocols have been disabled, as Whalen is severely wounded. As Dr Crusher cares for his wound, Picard and Data discover that the holodeck is malfunctioning, and they are unable to exit the program. Mr. Leech is joined by Redblock, who continues to demand the object. Lt. McNary arrives and becomes involved in the standoff. Picard tries to explain the nature of the holodeck, but Redblock refuses to believe him.

Outside, Wesley finds the glitch; however, he cannot simply turn off the system for fear of losing everyone inside. Instead, Wesley resets the simulation, briefly placing Picard and the others in the middle of a snowstorm before finding themselves back in Dixon's office. With the reset successfully clearing the malfunction, the exit doors finally appear. Despite Picard's warnings, Redblock and Leech exit the holodeck, but dissipate as they move beyond the range of its holo-emitters. As they leave the holodeck, Picard thanks McNary, who now suspects that his world is artificial and asks whether Picard's departure is "the big goodbye", to which Picard replies that he simply doesn't know. Picard reaches the bridge in time to give the proper greeting to the Jarada. The Jarada accept the greeting, heralding the start of successful negotiations.

Review:

The Big Goodbye has a special place in the era of holodeck era of Trek as the first example of a “holodeck-gone-wrong” episode. Later episodes of this series and the spin-off shows Deep Space Nine and Voyager would return to the premise of holodeck malfunctions time and again as either minor or major plot points. Unfortunately, the holodeck is already going wrong as a plot device in the show just from a technical realisation standpoint.

The basic idea of the holodeck is that it creates 3D images that resemble whatever is programmed into the computer, with some kind of force-fields giving the images substance while other aspects of the technology fill in the proverbial blanks (e.g. special programming to create interactive characters, localised environmental controls, etc.) However, everything that exists within the holodeck can only exist within the range of the room’s tech; if anything created by the holodeck moves beyond its walls, it should instantly cease to be. However, in the Farpoint pilot, Wesley Crusher fell into water on the holodeck, and when he walked out into the corridor, he remained wet and dripping when all the holographic water should have disappeared the instance he walked through the exit.

Likewise, in this episode Picard picks up a lipstick mark when he first tries the holodeck’s new upgrades, and that should have disappeared when he later briefs the crew in the observation lounge. Instead, Dr Crusher has to wipe the lipstick off for the captain, despite the fact it should have disappeared from Picard’s face long ago. It’s an annoying issue, and one that could have been easily fixed even back in the 1980’s when this show was made; evidently, this was just another example of how bad the show was at this stage. If TNG ever gets the kind of reboot the original series did, I sincerely hope any use of the holodecks pays attention to and rectifies this error in the application of the holodeck concept.

Otherwise, this episode doesn’t do much more than give Brent Spiner a bit more to do with Data by having him impersonate a 40’s-style gangers and give Patrick Stewart someone else to be besides the captain of the latest version of the Enterprise. It’s a fairly well-made episode for season 1 of this show, and it really sells the illusion of the holodeck program for the most part. The people who made the show just needed to learn that anything that gets made in the holodeck stays in the holodeck. I’d give it about 5 out of 10.

Episode 13: Datalore

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

While on the way to Starbase Armus IX for computer maintenance, the Enterprise arrives at the planet Omicron Theta, the site of a vanished colony where the starship Tripoli originally found the android Data. An away team travels to the surface and finds that what had been farmland is now barren with no trace of life in the soil. The team also finds a lab which they discover is where Dr. Noonien Soong, a formerly prominent but now discredited robotics designer, built Data. The team also find a disassembled android nearly identical to Data and return with it to the ship. As the course to the Starbase is resumed, the crew reassemble and reactivate Data's "brother" in sickbay. He refers to himself as Lore, and explains that Data was built first and he himself is the more perfect model. He feigns naiveté to the crew, but shows signs of being more intelligent than he is letting on. Later, in private, he tells Data that they were actually created in the opposite order, as the colonists became envious of his own perfection. He also explains that a crystalline space entity capable of stripping away all life force from a world was responsible for the colony's demise.

Lore then incapacitates Data, revealing that he plans to offer the ship's crew to the entity. When a signal transmission is detected from Data's quarters, Wesley Crusher arrives to investigate. He finds Lore, now impersonating Data, who explains that he had to incapacitate his brother after being attacked. Wesley is doubtful, but pretends to accept the explanation. Soon after, the same crystalline entity that had attacked the colony approaches the ship. Lore, still pretending to be Data, enters the bridge as the object hovers before the Enterprise and explains that he incapacitated his brother by turning him off, causing Doctor Beverly Crusher to be suspicious, since Data had previously treated the existence of such a feature as a closely guarded secret. Lore then explains that he can communicate with the crystalline entity and suggests to Captain Jean-Luc Picard that he should show a demonstration of force by beaming an object toward the entity and then destroying it with the ship's phasers.

Lore's attempts to imitate Data are imperfect, though initially only Wesley is suspicious, and his efforts to voice these concerns only draw rude rebukes from Picard and his mother. However, Picard does ultimately become suspicious, especially when Lore does not recognize Picard's usual command to "make it so". Although Picard sends a security detachment to tail him, Lore overpowers Lt. Worf and evades pursuit. Meanwhile, the suspicious Dr Crusher and Wesley reactivate the unconscious Data, and the three of them race to the cargo hold to find Lore plotting with the entity to defeat the Enterprise. When Lore discovers them, he threatens Wesley with a phaser and orders Dr Crusher to leave. Data quickly rushes Lore and a brawl ensues. Data manages to knock Lore onto the transporter platform, and Wesley activates it, beaming Lore into space. With its conspirator no longer aboard, the crystalline entity departs, and the Enterprise resumes its journey to the starbase.

Review:

This episode very heavily relies on answering the mystery of Data’s origin and giving him a villainous brother in a manner similar to the Thor-Loki dynamic of Marvel superhero lore (pardon the inadvertent pun) to make it worth watching, because goodness knows it falls down everywhere else. Spiner is remarkable playing the treacherous Lore alongside his regular character of Data, and it’s fun to see him make the best of what ultimately becomes a poor episode on other fronts.

I know some reviewers have stated they don’t understand Lore’s motives for allying with the Crystalline Entity, but as a Marvel fan, it’s actually fairly easy to deduce. Much like Loki in Marvel’s Thor franchise, Lore is a bit of a trickster, an android Q but without the pseudo-godhood or ultimately benign motives of Q. Also like Loki, Lore is the unfavoured son, one who was basically cast aside in favour of something supposedly better, so he’s turned against the humanity his brother admires and emulates out of jealousy and the pain of rejection. It’s not a hard motive to grasp, but with Lore not explicitly saying it, you need that knowledge of another fictional reference to make the deduction. Given that Marvel lore was largely overlooked by the adult world until superheroes were made into a legitimate cinematic genre at the turn of the century, it’s unlikely many original reviewers would have made the link.

However, as I’ve noted, the episode falls apart in other respects. The crew’s haste to reassemble Data’s brother mid-flight is very risky behaviour more akin to the cowboy antics of Kirk’s crew from the original series than Picard’s more measured approach, and they are remarkably stupid in failing to catch onto Lore’s threat. Only Wesley shows the requisite insight and intelligence, but expresses it poorly because at this time no one on the show could write Wesley with any kind of competence. As a result, Picard ends up looking like a total git for his outburst at Wesley, Wesley’s mother comes off almost as bad, and when it turns out that, as ever, Wesley was right, there’s no apology from Picard at all. On balance, this episode rates about 5 out of 10, which can be taken as the anti-Wesley acting having a severely detrimental impact on a great Spiner performance, or a great Spiner performance saving the episode by some horrid Wesley-bashing.

Episode 14: Angel One

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise arrives at the planet Angel One, which is ruled by an oligarchy of women. The ship is looking for survivors from the shipwrecked freighter Odin, over seven years after having been evacuated. The freighter was missing three escape pods and the only planet in range was Angel One. An away team consisting of Commander William Riker, Lt. Commander Data, Lt. Tasha Yar, and Counsellor Deanna Troi beam down to the surface. They attempt to negotiate with Mistress Beata, the "Elected One" of the native inhabitants, to let them search for the survivors. Time is of the essence however, as the Enterprise must travel to a Federation outpost near the Romulan Neutral Zone (where a group of Romulan Battlecruisers has been detected) as soon as they resolve their investigation into the Odin survivors.

Beata reveals that they are aware of four male survivors of the Odin who have caused disruption in their society, and are considered fugitives. Beata requests Riker stay with her (and later requests that he order Troi, Data, and Yar to track down the survivors' camp and their leader Ramsey, while staying and dining with her). After some back and forth, Data concludes Ramsey and the survivors of the Odin would have platinum with them, and Angel One is naturally devoid of platinum, allowing the Enterprise to easily detect them. Meanwhile, Riker dresses in the garb given to him for his dinner with Beata, Troi and Yar tease him for dressing in clothes that sexualize him and, in some ways, demean him. He responds by saying he is honouring the local customs, and acknowledges Beata's beauty, and that the garb is rather comfortable.

The Enterprise searches while in orbit around Angel One. Doctor Beverly Crusher relieves Captain Jean-Luc Picard of duty after he and most of the crew have fallen ill to a random virus on board. The Captain leaves Lieutenant Geordi La Forge in command (Geordi's first time in acting command of a starship). Shortly after, they find Ramsey and transmit his location to the Away Team, who beam directly to there.

When confronted by Data, Yar, and Troi, Ramsey and his men, having taken wives and started families during the seven years, refuse to leave. Data points out that as the Odin was not a star fleet vessel, its crew is not bound by the Prime Directive and the Enterprise cannot remove them against their will. Geordi informs Yar of the medical situation on board, and that more Romulan ships have been detected near the Neutral Zone. Riker gets close to Beata as they compare how gender roles differ between Angel One and the Federation. On the Enterprise, systems are becoming harder to maintain with more crew succumbing to the virus. Geordi (after a friendly reminder from a sniffling Worf) remembers that in command, he must delegate tasks so he can stay on the bridge. Dr Crusher finds that the virus is an airborne organism that produces a sweet smell, to encourage inhalation, after which it becomes viral inside the body.

Riker gets up to date with the situation, and decides that while Ramsey and his group are at large and refusing to leave the planet, there is little they can do. Before leaving they find that one of Beata's fellow mitstresses, Ariel, has married Ramsey, and was followed by Beata's guards to their camp, where they arrested the survivors and their families. The Away Team attempt to explain to Beata the reason for Ramsey's refusal to leave. Beata and her council reject his reasoning, and threatens to execute them the following day. After failing to convince Ramsey and his group to leave with them, Riker contacts the Enterprise in hopes of transporting Ramsey and his group without their consent (despite it being a violation of the Prime Directive, and almost certainly an end to his career). However, Dr Crusher (while treating an incapacitated Geordi in the Captain's chair) refuses to allow anyone to beam aboard for fear of them being infected, but allows Data, an android, to return. Riker orders Data to take command and get the Enterprise to the Neutral Zone before it's too late.

The following morning the Away Team is invited to witness the execution of Ramsey and his followers. Moments after Riker rejects their invitation Data makes contact and informs them that there is a 48-minute window in which Dr Crusher has to find a cure, and Riker must defuse the situation on the planet before the ship must leave for the Neutral Zone. On the planet, Ramsey and his men are prepared to be executed by disintegration despite Ariel's pleas, while Dr Crusher discovers a cure for the virus. Riker is prepared to have the away team and the Odin survivors beamed to the Enterprise, but makes a plea that execution will do Angel One’s society little good. He contends that Ramsey and his men have simply become a symbol for pre-existing dissatisfaction with the current society on Angel One, an evolutionary change that execution may only accelerate by turning Ramsey’s group into martyrs.

After deliberating with her fellow mistresses, Beata announces that she will stay the execution and banish Ramsey, his men, their families, and any others that support them to the far side of the planet. She explains that their banishment will not stop the fall of the oligarchy, but will slow it down enough that Beata will not be around to see its end. The away team return to the ship and Picard, already recovering from the virus but hardly having a voice, orders the ship to the Neutral Zone at high warp.

Review:

Apparently, the idea of this episode was look at South Africa’s apartheid system, but using a gender-based schism in a female-dominated society to explore the concept along gender lines rather than being more direct and using anything akin to a racial divide. As a result, the intention is lost behind some very horrendously sexist rubbish that makes the show seem more like a bad parody of feminism. The episode also has a lousy b-plot of a virus story that adds nothing to the episode, and again showcases how badly the holodeck concept was being handled at this time. A snowball from a holodeck skiing program should not be able to go through the holodeck doors to hit Picard and Worf in the corridor. 2 out of 10 is all this episode deserves.

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