#i feel like i’ve been transported to a different timeline… this is what I could have been

[sionisjaune]

Mutuals don’t sleep on cold soups this summer! I just made holodnik (Slavic households know) on my own for the first time from this recipe and it turned out great!!! Foolproof, not super arduous if you cook the beets ahead of time (I did not do this), a great way to use up tons of dill, and keeps well in the fridge😋

[gudfornuthin]

All I’ve Ever Wanted

Season 4!Five Hargreeves x fem!reader

! Spoilers ahead !

Summary: six years of travelling to different timelines, and Five isn’t sure how much longer he can go on for. Until he stumbles upon a greenhouse, full of strawberries. And you.

Word count: 4212

A/N: so season 4 was a… thing that happened. This story is basically my own idea of how things should’ve gone in ep 5. Instead of the weird Lila/Five situation, it’s just Five, and his chance of living a normal life with someone new. Hope you all enjoy, and feedback is appreciated :)

Number Five was never one to back down from a challenge. Having been through a series of different apocalyptic events, transporting to a timeline where he spent 40 years alone, and dealing with a misfit group consisting of his exhausting siblings, Five was up for anything. But the current situation he was dealing with? For the first time in his life, he was at breaking point.

After another wasted day spending hour after hour searching for any clues or information on how to get back to the correct timeline, Five returns to the subway, entering one of the compartments and slumping down in the first chair he sees. He rubs his eyes and lets out a visceral sigh, wanting nothing more than to go to sleep. He reaches into his pockets, pulling out a small pack of dried fruits. He rips it open and devours every last piece. He can’t remember the last time he had a proper meal. He was becoming more desperate, rummaging through trash cans and foraging in bushes, hoping anything he picks isn’t poisonous.

The compartment jolts and begins to move, making its way to the next timeline. Five wipes his hands on his already dirty pants, standing up and walking slowly to the door. He wonders whether his apocalypse counterpart will be waiting for him this time.

After several minutes, and Five almost falling over from his lack of sleep, he finally arrives, the doors opening. He steps out, immediately making his way up the stairs. No time to waste. He cautiously pokes his head out, looking around for any signs of, well, himself. Before he can move out more, something wizzes past his head. A bullet. He ducks, as more shots are fired directly at him.

“Give me a fuckin’ break,” Five mumbles, as he finally takes notices of the other him in the distance.

He sticks up his middle finger, and no soon after closes his fists, blinking as quick as he possibly could.

The Five with a gun disappears along with the destroyed world around him. Five drops his arms to his sides, turning around and admiring the new environment. Luscious, greenery surrounds him, with an array of different flowers sprouting from the ground beneath him. A small pond with fish glimmers in the sunshine, lily pads floating on top. He continues turning, finding himself standing next to a tall greenhouse. The glass was slightly foggy, making it difficult to see what’s inside. Five leans in closer, squinting as if that would help. He can barely make out what appears to be pots of fruit and vegetables, some fully sprouted and others not yet ripe. His stomach rumbles, the feeling of hunger consuming him.

A rustle sounds from behind him. He turns quickly, coming face to face with a pair of shears. Five jumps back slightly. He then spots the person wielding said ‘weapon’. A young woman, probably early twenties, wearing a light yellow dress and a pair of brown sandals. Five can’t help but admire her beauty, if it wasn’t for the fact she had a face like fury and didn’t seem afraid of cutting him in half.

“Can I help you?” Her words are kind, but her harsh tone says otherwise.

Five can’t exactly tell this young woman the truth. Showing up randomly in her back yard, covered in grime, gawking at her crops through the window. He raises his hands up in the air, trying to convey that he meant no harm.

“I’m so sorry,” he says, his throat sore having not spoken to anyone in quite some time. “I don’t really know how I got here.” That’s not exactly true. “I’ve been travelling for a few days now.” Try six years. “And I could really do with a hot shower and something to eat.”

The woman doesn’t say anything, just staring, with the shears still held out in front of her.

Five puts his arms down, shrugging in defeat. “I’ll just go. I truly am sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out.” He looks down. “Or step all over your rose garden.” He gingerly moves away from the destroyed flowers.

He turns and begins to walk away, hoping to find an exit as quick as possible. Blinking in front of this woman probably wouldn’t help his cause. A warm hand grabs hold of his wrist, forcing him to stop and look back. She has the shears loosely hanging by her side, as her eyes pierce into Five’s. She seems hesitant, words forming in her mind. At last, she speaks again.

“You’re telling the truth?”

Five nods incessantly, feeling like a child.

“And if I let you in and make you something to eat, you won’t try and kill me?”

Five holds back a laugh, knowing she’s being deadly serious. “I wouldn’t dare.”

The woman waits a beat, then huffs. “Come on, I was just about to start dinner.”

She moves past Five, walking into three greenhouse. He takes this as a sign to follow after her.

***

The young woman allows Five to use her shower, and he’s thankful for the change of clothes she provides for him too. The home is small and cosy, playing into the stereotypical cottage core of living. The lighting is soft, and the smell of pumpkin seems to waft through into every room. It’s calming, it’s peaceful, it’s something that makes Five feel on edge. He isn’t used to the domestic life, away from the terror and destruction, trying to save the world over and over. He knows he can’t stay here long, but he won’t miss the opportunity of a proper cooked meal.

After putting on the change of clothes, Five makes his way down the hall and into the kitchen, a small buffet waiting for him. He finds it hard not to drool, the potatoes and fresh pie, along with the fruit and vegetables he’d spotted earlier. It looks incredible. He takes a seat, as the woman places down a final plate of tomatoes, sitting down opposite Five.

They dish out the food, filling their plates as high as they can, especially Five. He tries not to look like a slob in front of the pretty girl, but finds it hard not to drop some things down his top. She doesn’t seem to notice, or pretends not to.

The woman takes a sip of her drink, clearing her throat. “So,” her soft voice makes Five look up from his plate. “Do you have a name or is that one of the many mysteries of the man shovelling food down his throat like he hasn’t eaten in several years?”

The woman isn’t afraid of being upfront. Five admires that. Although, it’s not surprising considering he’s a complete stranger she’s trusted in her home. He puts down his knife and fork, grabbing a napkin to wipe his mouth.

“No, I have a name. It’s Fi-,” he catches himself, unsure if his ‘name’ would just create more confusion, and unwanted questions. “Jerome. Just, Jerome.”

The woman squints her eyes, but doesn’t push further, seeming to move past his stumble. “Okay. I wouldn’t have pegged you for a Jerome.”

Five shrugs, not knowing what else to say.

“My names Y/N.”

Five nods. “Okay. We’re closer already.”

“Don’t push it,” Y/N says, a small smile gracing her face. Five can’t help but pull the same expression.

***

After a hearty dinner, and some obvious awkward silences, Five insists on helping Y/N do the washing up. The sun was beginning to set, and Five knows he’ll have to leave soon, but something stops him from doing so. He doesn’t want to admit it, but this was the most relaxed he’d felt in a long time. The fear or worry of something bad happening wasn’t there, and as he stands close to the woman he had barely met 2 hours ago, he realises what he’d been missing in his 60 something years. A place to live, with a person who makes him feel safe.

“Jerome,” the voice breaks through his thoughts, as Five almost forgets the name he’d given to this woman. “I feel like we’ve skirted around the topic enough. Is there any reason you were in the state you were in, taking refuge behind my greenhouse?”

Five places down the plate he was cleaning, turning to face her fully. Her expression is calm, and her voice shows no sign of interrogation. It’s a first for Five, as he’s become accustomed to people prodding him for information only for their own benefit. No one’s ever shown true interest in him.

He shrugs. “It’s been a tough couple of years. More than that I guess.” Fives eyes glaze over. “I haven’t seen my family in a long time, and I don’t know if I ever will. And if I do, I’m terrified of the state that I’ll find them in.”

Y/N stops what she’s doing, also turning to look at Five, a look of worry taking over her face. He knows he’s said more than he should have, but he couldn’t help it. He’s not good at sharing his feelings, and when he does, he’s scared of what will happen once the flood gates are opened. He isn’t sure if he’ll ever be able to close them.

“What d’you mean? Are they in some kind of trouble?” She asks, a slight shake in her voice. “Are you in trouble?”

Five shakes his head, not wanting to stress out this poor woman who’s been nothing but doting to him. “No! No, I just,” he sighs, knowing he’s really put his foot in it. “I just care about them, a lot. Too much. And I don’t even want to think about not seeing them again.”

A soft hand brushes against Five’s cheek, as he glances at Y/N wiping a tear away from his face. He didn’t even realise he’d started crying. He sniffles, moving away and rubbing at his eyes, fearing how red they may look. He sucks in a deep breath, calming his beating heart. Whether it’s from talking about his family, or the touch from the woman next to him, he isn’t sure. But he fears he’s overstayed his welcome.

Five moves away from the kitchen counter. “I guess I should probably go. Don’t wanna miss my train.” Although he knows they’ll always be one there waiting for him.

He heads for the door, remembering to go upstairs and collect his dirty clothes before he leaves. Footsteps are heard from behind him.

“Uh,” Five swivels back around, as Y/N hesitates over her words. “This may seem kinda forward, and a dangerous move on my part, but, I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight knowing you were out there in the middle of the night, traveling by yourself.”

Five holds his breath, not wanting to jump the gun, but already anticipating the next sentence out of her mouth.

“I have extra pillows, and blankets.” Y/N shrugs. “It’s not the most comfortable couch but I’d say it’s more comfortable than the chairs on the train.”

Neither of them speak for a while. Five ponders her offer over and over, wondering if this is something he wants to decline. He needs to get back to his family. He needs to get back to help them. But so far, every option has been a bust. He’s not sure how much longer he can go on for. It could be the apocalypse all over again. Stuck for 40 years, traveling none stop, unsure if he’ll ever see his loved ones again. Could a good nights sleep really be such a bad thing?

He thinks the risk is worth it. “As long as it’s not too much trouble for you.”

***

That one good nights sleep turned into three months, staying at Y/N’s home, crashing on her couch. It didn’t stop Five from going out, back to the subway, trying to find the possible solution to his six year problem. But the more time he spent with the woman, the less time he wanted to spend away from her. They grew closer, making meals together, gardening together, watching silly romcoms together. While Y/N taught Five how to bake, Five taught her how to fight. A young woman living by herself? It didn’t hurt knowing some basic defence skills.

Five didn’t want to admit it, but his family hadn’t crossed his mind as often as it usually did before he met Y/N. He’d become soft, wanting to be around her all the time, not wanting to visit the subway as often as he should be. He’s lucky enough to call her a friend. He hopes she calls him that too.

***

It’s late, and Y/N is sat on the couch, crocheting a few pairs of gloves and a long overdue jumper. People used to make fun of her for it, calling her an old lady, but she finds it soothing. And making your own clothes is a big bonus too. Five, or Jerome as she knew him, had been out most of the day. She never questioned what he was up to, only that he returned safe, ready for whatever she’d cooked up for him during the day. She wasn’t completely naive in thinking ‘Jerome’ has involved himself in shady business. But unless he plans on telling her, then she won’t bother pushing him on the matter.

A bang echos from the back of the house, specifically inside the geeenhouse. It makes Y/N jump up from her seated position, quickly rushing out to the source of the noise. It can only be one person, or that’s what she hopes. Either way, she grabs for her shears before entering the warm glass room.

“Jerome?” She whispers, watching her step, the only light in the room coming from the moon through the windows.

A muffled groaning reaches her ears, as Y/N blindly moves her hands over the walls, trying to find the light switch. She finally does, and flicks it on. A sharp gasp comes out of her mouth, as the brightness finally reveals her new friend curled in a ball on the floor, rolling in pain.

“Shit.”

She quickly makes her way over to him, delicately wrapping her arms around his waist and slowly helping him off the floor. He stumbles, knocking into a few pots, almost making them fall off the table.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, the word slurring under his breath.

“Don’t apologise,” she says, making sure he’s steady on his feet. “Let’s just get you inside and onto the couch.”

They make their way through into the living room, Five dropping haphazardly onto the soft cushions, while Y/N finally gets a proper look at him. His clothes are ripped, the once pristine suit (one she bought for him as a gift) now in tatters. His hair is sticking up in all different directions, and he’s clutching to his side like his life depends on it. She reaches for his arm, prying it away to reveal an array of bullet wounds, still bleeding.

“You should see the other guy,” Five jokes, tilting his head back and trying to forget about the burning pain running across his body. Funnily enough, if Y/N saw the other guy, he’d look exactly like him, considering this all happened due to an unfortunate run in with apocalypse Five.

Y/N stares at him with wide eyes. “Really? Look, I don’t bother asking where you go or what you’re up to when you leave this house, but I think now’s the time you tell me the truth.”

Five moves his head back down, looking her in the eyes. She’s terrified. And he hates that. He breathes in deep, taking her hand in his.

“If you can help me patch this shit up,” he briefly motions to his wounds, “then I’ll tell you who I really am.”

So that’s what they do. Y/N retrieves the first aid kit from her bathroom, while Five opens up about his life before he met her, and how he’s not from this timeline. He isn’t sure if she’s believing what he says, as she remains quiet the entire time, only occasionally looking up at him and quickly returning to removing the bullets lodged in his side. But she listens. And allows him to pour his heart out to her.

“The past six years were torture. Somehow worse than the forty I spent in the apocalypse.” Five turns his head and stares at the woman next to him, as she finishes up her work. “But these last few months with you. I could finally be normal. I could live a life most guys would kill to have. And I’m so sorry I lied to you this long.”

They fall into silence, the pair somehow closer together than they were a few minutes ago. Both emotionally, and physically. Y/N moves her hand and takes his, squeezing tightly. Five’s heartbeat picks up speed, only now noticing their close proximity.

“So your real name is ‘Five’?” He nods at her words. She nods back. “Hmm. It suits you a lot better than Jerome.”

They both laugh half heartedly, as they stare deeply into each other’s eyes. She moves her hand up to his hair, moving it out of his face, trying to calm it down slightly.

She carries on talking. “I can’t even begin to imagine what you’ve been through.” Five rolls his eyes. She doesn’t even know the half of it. “But if I can be the person to keep you grounded, for however long you’re here for, then I’m happy to do just that.”

Five smiles, glancing quickly at her lips.

She does the same. “And I hope you’re here for a long time.”

They both lean in, softly pressing their lips against each other’s. Five cups her face, deepening the kiss as Y/N rests her arms atop his shoulders. They move in sync, careful not to cause any more damage to Five’s wounds, as she somehow moves closer, one of her legs wrapping itself around his waist.

They don’t stop, clothes discarded, bodies intertwined, as their growing tension is finally broken. Five isn’t sure if he’ll ever get back to his timeline, but for now, he’s happy to call this place home.

***

Another four months, and still no sign of a way back. Although, Five can’t deny he hasn’t been trying as hard as usual. The peace and tranquillity has consumed him whole, falling into a proper routine with the woman he…

Is it love? Could he truly fall for someone like this? Someone who isn’t involved in the shit show he’s grown accustomed to? Someone who wants that quiet life, watering flowers and baking pies, with him? Maybe it’s what he needs.

Five stands in the greenhouse, picking some fresh strawberries, and trying a few to see if they were ripe. He’s already found the perfect recipe to use them in. Something he knows she’ll love.

As if reading his thoughts, a pair of arms slip around his waist. Y/N rests her chin on his shoulder, peaking over to see the basket full of fresh fruit. She picks one up, moving away and popping it in her mouth. Five turns and looks at her, smiling wide.

“They taste perfect,” she says.

Five takes her wrists, pulling her towards him and kissing her lightly. “So do you.”

She laughs, holding him close and breathing him in. “The cheesy lines don’t work on me, bub.”

“I think they do.” He mumbles, bringing her in for another kiss, sliding his hands up and down her back.

They stay like this for a while, holding each other in the warm glass room. The sun starts to set, as Five looks out and realises what time it is.

“Damn.”

She looks at him, confusion on her face. “What’s up?”

He shakes his head. “Nothing, I just need to do a double check of the subway before dinner.”

Y/N tries not to show her anxiousness, but some of it seeps through. After Five explained to her what the subway is and why he goes there every day, she’s terrified at the thought of him leaving and never coming back. But she knows he wouldn’t do that to her. Not without saying goodbye.

She steps back. “Right. Promise you’ll be safe?”

He kisses her on the cheek. “I promise.”

***

Five spends some time looking around the platform in the subway, checking the lights, checking the maps, even poking his head into the tunnels to see if anything has changed. But nothing. It all remains the same. No sign of his past life waiting for him. Was that such a bad thing?

Holding a small flashlight, he shines it up and down, left and right, hoping his eyes will catch something new. A sudden pop from above startles him, the grip he had on the flashlight loosening. It falls and rolls onto the tracks. Five looks up, noticing one of the bulbs now flickering. He huffs, moving to the edge of the platform and jumping down. He retrieves the flashlight, hitting it a few times to try and get it to work again. It comes to life, flashing in front of him. That’s when he spots something.

“That’s new.”

Five walks over, grabbing the mystery object and holding it up. It’s a plain notepad. He flips it open, scanning over the messy handwriting inside. His messy handwriting. He can’t help but let out a tiny gasp, as he figures out what it all means.

“This is it.” Tears form in his eyes. “This is my way back home.”

He’s shocked. He’s elated. He’s emotionally drained. This is his chance to rejoin his timeline. To see his family after so long. To fix the mess they’ve created. But all he can think about in this moment is Y/N. How the hell is he supposed to break the news to her?

***

After another hour spent pondering this new found information, Five slowly makes his way back home. His home. Where the life he’d built was waiting for him.

He enters the house and walks into the kitchen, where Y/N stands by the stove, boiling something sweet and caramelly. Five just stares at her; humming a random tune, wiping her messy hands on the apron he bought for her when her old one accidentally caught fire. That was the most stress he’d felt since coming here. And if that was the only stress he had to deal with, he’d take it every single day.

She finally turns and spots him, smiling wide. “Oh hey! I was worried for a sec, you were taking longer than expected.”

She moves closer to him, pulling him into a tight embrace. He holds her, not wanting to let go. Y/N can tell something isn’t right.

She leans back. “You okay?”

Five doesn’t reply, only holding the notepad out for her to take. She does so, flipping through the pages just like he did, her expression perplexed.

“I don’t understand-”

“It’s the way back to my timeline.”

She looks up at him, mouth slightly open, as her words fall short. Five can swear he hears her heartbeat speed up, as her breathing becomes erratic. Five isn’t sure what to do, waiting for an explosion of emotions to rain down on him. But nothing comes. Neither of them do or say anything.

Five chooses to break the silence. “I don’t wanna lose you. I can’t. I don’t think I could live the way I used to live. Not after living this life with you.”

Y/N bites her lip, suppressing a sob. “You have to go.”

Five furrows his brow, hoping he heard her wrong. He tilts her head up to stare into her eyes, seeing the tears forming.

“No,” he whispers. “You’ve become the most important thing in my life. The thought of never seeing you again, I can’t do that.”

A tear falls down her cheek, as Five reaches out to wipe it away.

“I’d love nothing more than to stay in this little bubble we’ve created,” she replies, finding it hard to keep her voice steady. “But your family, your timeline, all those people? They need you more than I do. And I know deep down, you can’t bear the thought of letting them die, knowing you could’ve helped.”

Five wants to ask her to come with him. Become apart of his family. He knows she’d get on with them all. And they’d all love her, possibly more than they love him. But he knows it’s cruel to ask her to leave her life behind. The house, the garden, the home that she’s worked so hard on. And the thought of throwing her into the thick of it all. Putting her at danger? No chance.

He pulls her into his embrace, kissing her hard. They hold each other tight, their lips bruising as neither of them can stop the tears from falling.

Y/N is the first to pull away. “If you ever get the chance to come back to this timeline, you know where to find me.”

Five smiles, not wanting to let her go. He kisses her once more. “In the greenhouse, tasting just as sweet as the strawberries.”

[unseededtoast]

Turtle Doves | Joel Miller

Part Sixteen

Chapter Directory

Series Summary: In which two broken souls connect so deeply, that if one should perish, the other would surely die of a broken heart. (slow burn, timeline changes. After TLOU1, before TLOU2, assumed knowledge of infected, uses elements from both show and game)

Series Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, death, and sexual content.

Also cross-posted on Wattpad and AO3. Link to my masterlist for everything else I’ve posted!

"Either they're lyin' or they don't know what's out there."

The material of the map crinkles in my hand as the wind blows, folding the corner down so that I can't see. With a huff I straighten it back out and try my best to see what, or who, we should be expecting next. So far the map has been pretty accurate and I have no reason to question it, not yet at least.

"Doesn't look like there should be anything for a while." Skepticism is evident in my voice and I pass the map to Joel, who has his hand reached out for it. He looks over the map with his signature scowl plastered on his face.

"Hm. Either they're lyin' or they don't know what's out there." He hands the map back to me, and I fold it back onto itself and put it back in my bag.

Before we leave the farm, Joel insists that he scours the property for another vehicle. He's convinced these people had some sort of transportation. I told him that I don't think they did, that they were entirely self-sufficient here. So now he's looking extra hard just to prove me wrong. We've trekked back into the fields on both sides of the house and have come up empty handed, and unfortunately I don't think that's going to change.

"Hey you think we should just get going?" I ask and stretch my back out, feeling the ache from my uncomfortable sleeping arrangement. The sun is already up and it's probably around noon. Joel sighs and rests his hands on his hips.

"We probably should. I was sure they'd have something." He sounds disappointed as we walk back towards the road. I wish we had found another car but we can't seem to get that lucky.

Once again the two of us are on the road, baking in the afternoon heat. Sweat falls down my back in beads and it negates the cleanliness of the shower I took only a day ago. That farm is sure to be heavily on my mind for a while, and it'll make it difficult to return to Boston on my way back. I'll definitely miss the shower and the berries very much.

And like all the other days of our traveling, my mind begins to wonder out of boredom.

"What did you mean earlier, when you said they didn't know what's out here?" Joel's head turns and he squints in the sunlight. His shoulders shrug,

"Exactly what I said, they don't know." His answer is unsatisfactory and so I press further.

"Do you know what's out there?" I ask, feeling nervousness bubble inside of me with what horrors he could be talking about. Joel sighs and wipes the sweat from his brow.

"Bad people and infected." He keeps it simple, but I know his words are nuanced.

I know Joel well enough by now to know when he doesn't want to talk about something, and I think this is one of those moments. His words become more clipped, his answers as short as possible. Just like yesterday when we were talking about our lives before the fall of society. I drop the subject but the worry is blossoming in my mind.

Bad people can mean a lot of different things. Some may even consider me a bad person for drug running in the QZ. There are too many degrees of bad, but I'm almost certain he's not talking about lowly pill smugglers. There are people like the T group and the deranged men from that town, and I know we're probably going to run into more before our journey comes to an end, it's just inevitable.

But I remember the promise I made to myself back at the campground; I will be stronger. I have to be. Back when I used to run patrols in the QZ I was able to compartmentalize my emotions, and through that I was able to gun down people and infected indiscriminately. Obviously I don't take pride in that, but I know I have it within me to do so.

Out of the corner of my eye I look at Joel and appreciate his broad, strong form. After everything he's done for me, I know that I would kill for him in a heartbeat.

I tear my gaze away from him, not wanting to stare for too long, and move to hold my hair up off of my neck. My hair is wet from sweat and it makes me want to gag, I hate the feeling of being so sweaty and gross, and I'm sure I no longer smell of homemade soap. A hair tie would be a godsend right now, but unfortunately I have none on me. Instead, I opt to just hold my hair up and let the breeze cool me down to the best of its ability.

Joel shoves the sleeves of his shirt up his arms, bunching them around his elbows. From here I can see the sheen layer of sweat that covers him, his golden skin shining subtly in the sun. He reaches around and grabs the bag off his back and the two of us pause in the road as he crouches down. From his bag, he pulls out two water bottles.

"Grabbed these before we left. Here." He hands one of them to me and I waste no time in unscrewing the cap and drinking the warm water. I'm sure I could down the whole thing right here, but I know we have to conserve what we have. Once I've savored a little bit of it, the cap is screwed back on tightly and I put mine in the side pocket of my bag, where the dried bouquet of flowers once sat.

"Thank you." I say once my mouth doesn't feel like sandpaper. Joel only nods his head and we keep moving forward.

The rest of the day passes uneventfully, the two of us too hot to say something or focus on anything but putting one foot in front of the other. Luckily, once the sun sets on the horizon, the air loses its humidity and cools down immensely. I'm not sure I'd be able to handle a hot night too.

My hair falls back around my shoulders and the sweat has dried up on my skin, leaving a gross feeling residue. Thoughts of the shower float around in my mind and I wish I had appreciated it more.

Joel and I sit across from each other in the dark, both of us too exhausted to say anything. The heat practically sucked the energy from my body and I'm using most of my remaining strength to stay upright. Neither of us want to attempt a fire tonight and that's fine with me. The cool breeze is a welcome feeling, and I don't necessarily want to breathe in smoke right now.

"I can take first watch." He speaks up as I resituate, moving my bag to my side. My mouth opens to protest, but Joel shoots me a pointed look through the darkness, the moonlight showing how his eyebrow arches.

"Fine. But wake me up after a few hours so I can take over." I give into him, my body feeling wrecked from low amounts of sleep and the uncomfortable couch.

"Sure." He answers as I move my bag around to use as a makeshift pillow. My arms wrap around my body to give myself a sense of safety, even though I know that I'm safe with Joel here. As soon as my head hits the lumpy backpack, I'm dead to the world.

Bright red light shines through my eyelids and I squint from the severity of it. My arm comes up to block the light and I sit up from the ground, noticing that it's morning. Joel never woke me up for my turn. Looking from side to side, I don't see him anywhere, nor do I see his bag. My heart rate increases and my head swivels around to see if there's any sign of him. But there's nothing, it's like he just disappeared.

Quickly, I rise to my feet and shrug my bag back on my shoulders. My mind is still groggy from waking up but I know I have to find him. He could be in trouble. The sound of my breathing invades my ears as I start pacing in circles, a solid plan not coming to mind. Trembling fingers rake through my hair, unable to keep my panic at bay.

Where do I go? What do I do? Why didn't he wake me up? When did he leave?

Questions swirl around in my head, keeping me from being focused and rational. Finding him is the only thing on my mind, driving me close to insanity in such a short period of time. A branch breaking in the woods beside me causes my breathing to cease and I watch, grabbing my knife. The brush rustles around, thick green foliage concealing who, or what, is coming towards me. The smooth handle of my knife cuts into my palm from how tightly I'm grasping it.

I see a blink of something through the greenery and my body involuntarily lunges towards it. As if I'm operating on autopilot my body goes into attack mode and I swing towards whatever is in the brush. My blade cuts through small twigs and a hand catches my arm as I wind up for another offensive move.

"Hey what the hell?!" Joel's voice booms out and he steps forward from the thicket, my arm strongly in his grasp. He's got a deep scowl on his face and my mouth falls slack, eyes blinking rapidly.

"I- You weren't- I thought." A coherent sentence can't be formed in my mind right now and Joel drops my arm and walks past me, back to where we spent the night. I turn on my heel and follow him in shamed silence.

"I was gone for five fuckin' minutes." He mumbles with a shake of his head, and my fear quickly burns into anger. The knife finds its way back into its holster.

"I didn't know how long you had been gone, Joel. I woke up and you weren't here, your stuff was gone. And you never woke me up to take watch. So tell me, what was I supposed to think? As far as I could tell you either up and left me or something bad happened." My skin heats up with my anger. Joel adjusts the straps on his bag and he huffs.

"I was tryin' to let you get a good sleep for once, and I went into the woods to look for a stream or somethin'." His voice is tinged with annoyance which only fuels me further, and I want so badly to fight back, but deep down I know I'll regret it later. So instead, I take a second to compose myself a little before I speak.

"Which is fine, but please, before you do something like that again, tell me. I was scared out of my mind, Joel. If someone had taken you they could've come back and taken me just as easily." My voice is strained as I try to keep the fire of annoyance under control. He stares back at me with a blank expression before nodding.

"Sure." His words aren't quite the apology I was hoping for, but at least he acknowledged my fears.

It's probably hard for him to understand this world from a woman's perspective, he doesn't have to worry about facing the same dangers. There's not a lot of people out here that would imagine trying to take advantage of a grown man like they would a girl or woman.

We start off for the day and I hope we can make good time before the sun gets to be unbearably hot. I love the summer, but I cannot stand being out in the heat like this. It's times like this where I really miss air conditioning and ice. For the rest of the morning I try to keep my thoughts positive and look for things that bring me joy, I don't like starting the day off on a sour note.

The wildflowers growing along the ditch lines are brilliantly colored, though some of them are withered from heat exposure. And the birds are singing their beautiful melodies, some reside on old telephone wires next to one another. Cool breezes blow my hair around and it carries the sweet scent of tree blossoms. My eyes flutter shut as I appreciate the scent, but my peace is soon interrupted.

"I uh, I grabbed these back from the farm." My eyes open and look over to Joel, who holds my gun and hunting knife in his hands. I had forgotten all about them. My eyes flicker from the weapons to his face before I grab them and tuck them into their respective spots.

"Thanks, I guess they just slipped my mind." I say, tightening my thigh holster. The pants from the farm are just a touch too loose on me, and the holster helps keep them up on my hips in tandem with my belt.

"Figured you'd need them back before somethin' happens." He says, pushing some loose curls off of his forehead.

"I've only got a few bullets left, let's hope nothing bad happens for a while." I say, remembering the small number left in the magazine.

"We still have some in the boxes from my store stash." He answers, but I know that when we took out the Fireflies that we ended up using a lot of that reserve.

"Yeah, we should probably keep an eye out for more though." I answer, feeling the heat of the day slowly start to creep up. Joel nods as we continue west.

After a few hours of walking, I'm unable to take the heat. The black shirt I'm wearing is drenched in sweat and my head feels light from dehydration. My hands are on my head, keeping my hair off my neck again, but I feel like my knees could give out at any second. I briefly drop my hair and grab the hem of my shirt to tie it up just underneath my bra in an attempt to cool myself down.

Joel looks over to see what I'm doing and I watch his eyes trail over my bare midriff as I pull my hair back up. He probably thinks it's disgusting how much I sweat, and I would have to agree with him. His eyes quickly avert away from my body and he tries to push his sleeves up even more, his arms covered in sweat as well.

"Up there we can take a break." He points to a large tree that shades the road and I nod, my feet dragging on the asphalt as we trudge over to it.

Once we reach the tree I collapse in the tall grass and sprawl out so that my body can air out. Joel keeps his composure better than I do, he rests against the rough tree bark and sips out of his water bottle. My eyes close when a gust of air breezes past us and I wish that it would cool off. There's no way we can keep going like this.

"Here." Joel's voice causes my eyes to open and I see him grabbing my bottle from the side pocket of my bag. I push myself up to rest on my elbows and take it from him, unscrewing the cap and greedily drinking. The water is hot and disgusting, but my body needs it. I see him out of the corner of my eye, his gaze follows a stray drip of water that runs down my mouth and along my throat, but he quickly looks away.

After I'm satisfied and my bottle is put back away, I lay back on the grass. If I could lay here and never get back up I think I'd die happy. The two of us savor the shade for what feels like hours.

"What if we started walking during the night, when it's cool?" I ask, my throat rough and still dry despite just drinking water. Joel shift his weight around,

"We could, we'd just have to be extra careful." My eye peeks open and I watch as he pushes damp hair out of his face. He's covered in sweat too, I can see the dark stains on his chest and back.

"I'd be willing to take the extra precautions." I push myself back up onto my elbows and notice Joel's eyes flick down towards my bare stomach once more before he makes eye contact with me.

"Then rest up, we've got a long night ahead of us." He says and rests back against the tree.

My eyes close again but I stay alert to every sound around us. In this heat it's likely we'd smell the infected before we see or hear them, but people on the other hand can be quite sneaky. I listen for patterns, or any sound that's too out of the ordinary and the task keeps me from falling asleep.

After a while I sit up, feeling reenergized and notice that Joel has fallen asleep. His neck is twisted at a weird angle, and I'll know he'll feel it when he wakes up. So I get up and carefully slide my bag onto the ground before gently laying him down onto it, as a makeshift pillow like I had done last night. Joel is a lot heavier than he looks, and I'm just thankful that he didn't slip out of my hands. I'm sure he'd be pissed more than ever if I woke him up by dropping his head on the ground. I'll let him rest for a while more until the sun starts setting before I wake him up.

While I waste the rest of the day away I braid grass into little ropes, split some of the blades in half, and just do anything to keep myself from complete boredom. Thankfully my skin has dried off for the most part, leaving behind the sticky residue but I'll take that over being drenched any day.

My gaze ends up falling to Joel and I can't help but wonder how he crossed the country with a young girl. If we struggle to agree on a sleeping schedule then I can only imagine how much he sacrificed to make sure she was taken care of.

Part Seventeen

[alphinias]

so do we all agree the gray jammies are worn after the red dress right? 👀 been trying to connect the dots and i think kie and rafe will def be "working together" of some sort against that new character. and she's prolly in the silk pajamas bc she manages to escape during the night (?) this i'm not sure of bc of that bts of bailey and cline hdksbxka so in conclusion, the sequences still make my head hurt but the good news is its only a month away 😌😌

Yes!! I’ve been thinking they had to be after it from the bts we’ve gotten anyway, but the stills connecting the red dress to episode one and the gray pajamas as late as at least episode three confirms it.

I feel like Rafe is stupid enough to just get betrayed by this guy and end up as kind of a prisoner, but it’s possible he’s just nabbed them both from the get go. Either way it will be super interesting if Kie and Rafe attempt to put aside their differences for a bit to get to freedom- since she’s in pajamas it’s giving “nighttime escape”, I agree. I can’t imagine it’ll be a truce that lasts long. What I can’t figure out is the back of the truck sequence. Since Rafe is fighting someone, technically it could be someone Carlos is having transport them somewhere. But Rafe fights everyone so maybe they just hitched the first first ride they saw after escaping and it goes south lmao.

The bts of Bailey and cline back in the obx is one of the literally most confusing pieces of bts we got and I think really set us back on working out the timeline. I guess the only explanation is it’s right after they get home and Sarah has been able to change first… or Sarah manages to get home separately. Maybe JJ is seen hitting the boat after they’ve already gotten Kie back because now they’ve lost Sarah. Idk. But I think that bts of the fits was outside kie’s house, so Kie is probably gonna roll up on her parents looking like that and then it’s gonna propel the drama of the Jiara scene later in episode four.

[schmergo]

I’ve posted on here before about how I feel like Luther from Umbrella Academy seems like a literal, walking, talking portrayal of what body dysmorphia feels like. Not just how extreme his physique is or his own shame and self-loathing, but also the way the camera kind of warps around him to emphasize how much space he’s taking up, the sound effects of floor boards straining under his feet, the way the camera angles always make him seem like he’s looming over everything, all of the furniture pieces or vehicles that seem incredibly small and flimsy under him.

It just all adds up to a constant feeling of awareness of his body, the space it takes up, and how people perceive him in an uncomfortable, almost paranoid-seeming way that just really made me sympathize with him (even in season 1, when a lot of people hated him). For much of the show, he feels trapped in and limited by his body, and even when he’s fantasizing about a romantic dance sequence, he can only imagine it with an idealized version of himself in a different body.

When I posted about this, several trans followers said that it also reminded them not only of dysmorphia but gender dysphoria. With that in mind, seeing his relationship with Viktor in Season 3 hit differently. Although he was awkward about it, he seemed the most genuinely thrilled for Viktor and it was really sweet seeing him ask him to be his Best Man, especially after their extremely turbulent past. I kind of feel like Luther might have a different perspective on what Viktor’s been through than the other siblings because he’s also felt like he wasn’t at home in his body, just not in the same way. Viktor was able to make changes in his appearance and identity to be perceived the way he felt inside, and I could tell Luther was really proud of him.

Likewise, it was nice to see Luther finally accept himself for who he is now (even before That Ending)— I feel like he was only able to let go of some of his body hang-ups because being transported to a timeline where he never existed means there are no preconceived ideas of who he is or what he’s supposed to live up to, so people who meet him for the first time just see him as himself.

And it’s so poetic that Sloane has gravity powers, because Luther has felt so physically heavy for the first several seasons and the right person makes him feel light- not like his body is different, but like it’s not weighing him down or trapping him. It’s nice to watch him dancing without being an idealized version of himself. It’s nice to see him wearing better fitting clothes instead of hiding behind baggy outfits and oversized coats. When he gets the idealized body he thought he wanted at the end of the series, he’s thrilled at first— but what he really wants is to show Sloane, and when he can’t find her, none of that matters anymore.

But my favorite moment in the whole series was watching Luther and Viktor with their arms around each other dancing and singing horribly to “Time of My Life” at the Bachelor party. They just both looked so happy and un-self-conscious and that’s just exactly what I wanted from both of them.

[and-claudia]

His Heir (Darth Maul x fem! reader) Prologue

A few disclaimers before we begin.

1. The cannon time line? Who is she? This story will NOT follow the cannon timeline, but it’s not like jumping around everywhere.

2. This story WILL stray from cannon in regards to Crimson Dawn

3. This will eventually be an x pregnant reader. This is your warning on that, so if that’s not your thing, you may wanna skip this one 😉

I think that’s it.

Tag list is open and can be found HERE

“There’s no need to be nervous.” Maul said to me from where he sat on the throne of Mando palace.

“I’m not nervous.” I said as strongly as I could but I knew he heard the shakiness in my voice.

He had told me this morning he felt as though something was going to happen today. He’s never been wrong about these feelings. All day I’ve been on edge.

“Do have those coordinates memorized still?” He asked arching the ridge where his eyebrow would be as he glanced over at me.

“314.44, 362.44.” I said with ease having memorized them long ago.

“Good. You may need them soon.”

I gave a single nod.

“You still don't know where they are to?” He questioned.

I shook my head, “You told me not to look into it, so I didn’t. And I was always meant to be the perfect little wife on the arm of some rich man so there was no need to teach me coordinate as a child.”

He hummed in response before speaking again.

“Would you like to know where they are to?”

“Yes.”

“They will take you to Dathomir. My home planet. There is a palace there, much bigger than this one. I’ve already sent some of my people to prepare it for us. It shall be our new home.” He explained.

I smiled at that. I hadn’t ever been out of the Mandalore system.

“When will we leave? Should I start packing?”

The look on his face said it all.

“My stuff is already packed, isn’t it?” I asked.

He nodded.

“I made sure your art desk made it onto the transport as well.”

“Thank you.” I smiled at him.

“Come, take a walk with me.” He said as he rose from the throne.

He stepped closer to me and offered me his arm. I took it and allowed him to lead me through the palace. Well sort of. He still wasn’t 100% used to all the different corridors and would subtly look down at me to direct him on which way to go anytime we came to a junction in the halls.

At some point though I realized he was actually leading me now. He was leading me to the hangar. When we got there he stopped and stood in front of me.

“Yn. Go to Dathomir. Take that ship over there and leave now.” He said gently.

“What do you want me to do once I get there?”

“Wait for me. Run Crimson Dawn until I return.” He said casually.

“You want me to run a crime syndicate by myself?” I asked.

“Yes. You were born to rule, Yn.”

I scoffed.

“You were. Unfortunately, being the youngest of your sisters you were forced to grow up in their shadows. But no more. You will do great things for Crimson Dawn, I know it.” He said truthfully.

“Thank you, Maul.”

He gave the faintest of smiles along with a single nod, his form of saying “you’re welcome.”

“They’re getting close. You need to go now.” He said. If I didn’t know better I would have sworn there was a hint of sadness in his voice.

I nodded.

“Here, take this.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a data drive and handed it to me.

I took it and looked up to him confused.

“The others may not take it well from you if you tell them you’re in charge until further notice. So when you arrive on Dathomir, you’ll have to host a meeting. Show them this holo video. It is me telling them what is expected of them until my return. If they do not agree to the conditions, they will be dealt with in due time.” He explained.

I nodded. I was nervous. He was trusting me with so much. I didn’t want to fail him.

“You’ll do just fine, Yn, I’m sure of it.”

I wasn’t sure what came over me but I closed the space between us and hugged him. He stiffened under my embrace.

“Maul, no one’s around, please hug me back.” I pleaded with him.

He patted my back gently but didn’t actually hug me before he pulled back.

“I’ll give you a proper one upon my arrival on Dathomir. I promise. And you know I never break a promise.”

That made me smile as I felt tears want to fall. It wasn’t like we were a couple or anything, but we were much more than a boss and an advisor. We were friends. We were each other’s only friend. Leaving was hard. Despite the fact that he didn’t say it flat out I knew that this would be my last time seeing him for a long time.

“You better not break that promise.” I said standing as bravely as I could, trying to mask the fact that I was terrified of what was to come.

“I won’t.” He paused and sighed, “You really must leave now. I want you as far away as possible before they get here.” He explained leading me over to the ship.

“There will be people there to welcome you to the palace and show you to the room that has been prepared for you. Good luck, Yn.” He said.

“Good luck, Maul.” I said before taking a deep breath and walking onto the ship.

I missed Maul. It had been months since I had last seen him. Crimson Dawn was doing fine. Everyone respected me. Whether it was because they actually held respect for me or it was out of fear of what Maul may do if they didn’t, I wasn’t too sure, but I wasn’t about to complain.

My days were pretty mundane. Well as mundane as running a crime syndicate goes. I had meetings with other members, I made plans for different things. Then I did it all over again the next day.

It wasn’t long until the months turned into a year. A whole year without Maul. I was scared he wouldn’t return. But he promised me and I held onto that with every ounce of my being.

It was late at night. I had just returned back to the palace after meeting with the Black Sun. Within the past six months I had traveled more than I ever had in my life. It was exhausting.

I was woken up by knocking on my door before it slid open and a droid walked in.

“Lady Yn, I bring news.”

“Well get on with it.” I said as I groggily rolled over.

“Lord Maul is returning. You may wish to get up and prepare for his arrival in the throne room.”

I sighed and rolled back over.

“It is late and I had a long day of traveling, I am exhausted. If Lord Maul questions why I did not go to welcome him upon his arrival, explain that to him. I'm sure he will understand. Tell him I will greet him properly in the morning.”

“Very well.” Was all the droid said before leaving.

It was maybe half an hour later that my door opened again. I waited to hear the droid once again but never did. I was confused until I felt the bed dip behind and then before I could react I felt arms embrace me.

I freaked out for all of 5 seconds before I heard his voice.

“I told you I never break my promises.” It was Maul.

I turned around in his arms and saw his face, one that I had missed so much.

“Maul?”

“I told you I’d return.” He said.

I couldn’t help but smile.

“You know that was a really creepy way to return. Coming in here, laying down on my bed, and hugging me. I could’ve shot you.” I said with a laugh.

“Well, you’re a terrible shot so, I had that going for me. Plus, I was told that you were refusing to come meet me upon my return because you were too tired. What was I supposed to do? I had to keep my promise to you.” He said, making me blush a little.

“I missed you, Maul. A lot.” I confessed.

“And I, you.”

We sat in comfortable silence for a few moments before I let out a yawn.

“Perhaps I should go and let you get your rest.” He said and he went to get up.

I grabbed his arm though to keep him there.

“You could stay. I mean, I don’t believe they have your quarters properly prepared for you.” I said.

He didn’t say anything. Instead, he just settled back down beside me and we both eventually fell asleep with the comfort of knowing the other was nearby.

Life after his return was great. When we had downtime the two of us would spend our time together. Whether it was reading together in the giant study or just sitting in my quarters having a few drinks and watching a holofilm, we were basically inseparable. Even when duty called we were still side by side as he sat on his new throne and stood beside him as his head advisor.

Everything was perfect… until he invited her to Dathomir. After that, Maul’s attitude towards me seemed to have shifted.

Qi’ra from Corellia. She joined Crimson Dawn a while back and worked with Dryden Vos. She was clever, I’d give her that.

“Why did you invite her here? And what do you mean by the two of you working much more closely?” I asked after he was finished speaking with her.

“That’s none of your concern.” His tone was short.

“None of my concern? Maul, I’m your head advisor, my job is to advise you on these matters.” I said with a dry laugh.

“No. It is to advise me when I ask you to, and I didn’t ask for it on this matter.” He bit back.

I sighed. He was in a mood and I didn’t want to pick a fight.

“My apologies. What can help you with then?” I asked.

“Send word to the members of Crimson Dawn we shall be hosting a gala of sorts and their attendance is required as I will be making a big announcement that night. It shall be held two weeks from today.”

I nodded, “I’ll get right on that.” I said before walking out.

The next day, Qi’ra showed up and I could tell right away she was terrified of Maul. I don’t blame her, most people are.

Luckily though, despite his newest addition to the palace, Maul still found time for our weekly movie night in my quarters.

“What do you think of Qi’ra?” Maul asked as I handed him a glass.

“What do you mean?”

“What do you think of her?”

“Well,” I began, I was debating on if I should be blunt about it or not, “For starters, she’s terrified of you.”

“Really?”

“You haven’t noticed? The way she acts around you, it’s like she’s walking on eggshells.” I said.

“Well, not everyone is as brave as you, I suppose.” He teased.

“You’re right.” I laughed, taking a drink from my own glass, “She's clever, but that will only get you so far. She does what she needs to stay alive. I think that could play into your favor though. Paired with her fear of you, she would probably do just about anything you asked her to.” I explained.

He hummed in response.

“Why do you ask, anyway?” I tilted my head at him.

“No reason.” He brushed me off.

I gave him a weird look but decided not to dwell on it too much and to instead turn my attention to the holo that was beginning.

Eventually it was time for the gala. Everyone was here, many of which I already knew from various meetings while Maul was away. It was nice seeing that nearly all of them still held a lot of respect for me.

Before the night had begun Maul came by to inform me that he wanted me to take Qi’ra with me and make sure she was introduced to other members of Crimson Dawn that she hadn’t met yet. Though I hated having to spend my evening with her, I did as Maul requested.

I was in the middle of introducing her to one of the members of The Black Sun when Maul finally entered. All eyes went to him.

“As you all know, I have an announcement to make.” He began, “I shall be appointing a right hand for myself. They will aid me when my advisors cannot and will oversee all my advisors.” He explained.

I felt eyes drifting to me and caught a few people glancing at me. We all waited in anticipation for him to announce the name.

“Lady Qi’ra… you are to be my right hand.”

Silence.

The entire room went silent. I now felt everyone staring at me waiting to see how I’d react. I glanced over to see even Qi’ra was looking at me with wide eyes. Even she knew I deserved that position over her.

I could make a scene. Humiliate her and Maul, but I didn’t. Instead I lifted my hands from my sides and began clapping. Soon everyone one else joined me in applauding her and her new position.

As everyone’s attention shifted to her and to Maul as he came down from where he was up on the steps, I took the opportunity to slip out of the hall. I needed to get out of there.

“Lady Yn,” I heard Maul call me.

I stopped for a second and debated turning around. Knowing that I had eyes on me I had to turn around, I couldn’t ignore him.

“Yes, Lord Maul?” I forced a smile.

“Are you alright?” He stepped closer to me.

“Yes, I just need some air.”

“I’ll come with you.” He offered.

I shook my head, “I appreciate the offer but really, I’d rather go alone. Besides, you have a ton of people here that want to speak with you.” I said politely, but he saw straight through it.

He gently grabbed my arm.

“Yn, what’s wrong?” He asked.

“Nothing. Please just let me go.”

Confusion swam in his golden eyes but he let go.

“I’ll find you in a little bit then.”

“Actually, I think I may just turn in for the night.” I said.

He only nodded, and with that I left. I was angry. Not only did he give the position to Qi’ra, but he didn’t even realize what that did to me. He humiliated me and didn’t even realize it. Every single person in that ballroom expected him to say my name. I have more experience than her.

By the time I reached my quarters I was pissed that I punched the wall. I immediately regretted that decision as now my hand was throbbing. But I wasn’t about to go to the medical unit we had so instead I got a bag and some ice from my mini bar and put it on my hand.

I went ahead and made myself a drink as well and sat on the couch. I sulked for a bit, but the longer I sat there the more the anger turned into sadness. I was hurt. I couldn’t figure out why Maul had passed me up for the position. He had always said I was his best advisor.

Should I have said something different about her when he asked me what I thought of her? Would that have changed his mind? Was I going to be casted aside after everything I had done for him?

That last one struck a nerve and I broke down.

I wasn’t crying over not getting the position, I was upset because my closest friend had just done the worst thing he possibly could to hurt me and he didn’t even realize it.

Tag list:

@fan-g0rl

[oceandiagonale]

You make a very good point of the Butterfree effects of rose winning and also dooming galar, the region is isolated so I'd imagine people are avoiding it now, it's been like this for half a year, leon has tried combating it as the champion but because of his connection with rose his PokeBalls were like one of the first to get upgraded for eternatus's energy so his pokemon quickly fell, I'd imagine his Charizard is the main one dynamaxed rampaging at wyndon or hammerlocke, wyndon because this happening might have interrupted a match and Leon gigantamaxed Charizard right as eternatus broke free and corrupted it's energy throughout galar, making it the first pokemon to fall and rampage, hammerlocke because Leon might have went there to catch eternatus and failed, though I'm leaning more towards wyndon as eternatus may be at hammerlocke? As thats probably where it was contained, though that might make it harder to reach half the region for cream attempting to uncorrupt the energy. Luckily rose didn't spread this energy plan outside of galar, so someone from outside may be able to come in but all the dynamax pokemon keep people from coming in through sky and sea, so help from other regions will be hard to get, this is exactly why spikemuth can't get new PokeBalls, their air transport is effectively shut down, by the time they would have had a solution to even arrive at galar cream would have solved the problem, I'm still working on how this effects other villains and what changes based on that, not to mention the timeline, it's very confusing and headachey I'll tell you that

honestly I feel that, which is why I don’t talk often about Champion’s world sjdkhfhksdjf

I figure there are so many different ways any particular combination of villains could go wrong, if it came down to it we could just decide which one applies at the moment!! 🤔🤔🤔

oof, poor Leon in this world though 😔😔😔 not just failing but also being at the epicenter of the whole thing -- thank goodness cream is there to help put things right 😔😔😔

DSKJFHDJKSHF just makes me think

cream: I’m the Unown hero!! :D

some guy: you sure are bud, I’ve certainly never heard of you

HMMM yeah I could totally see Gio or Ghetsis using the catastrophe to their advantage!! and then you could play b2w2 as cream (I’ll play b2w2 as gene, maybe we’ll end up playing at the same time!! if only the ds wifi weren’t down we could have swapped version exclusives depending on that sdkjfhskjdfh 😔😔😔)

I really hope they get to just do the normal gym challenge after all that though tbh, just to get a break from everything 🥺🥺🥺🥺

[likesrandomstuff]

Avalance Fic Recommendations Part 3

Please see previous instalments below

Part 1: Bite Sized

Part 2: Snacks

Meals (Between 20,000 and 75,000 words)

When you want to live with a version of these characters for a while

I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends by Addictedtotvshows

My tags: Sara is an action movie star and Ava is a model, neither know each other, Ava is stuck for a couple of days

For this fic you have to suspend disbelief that it takes days for Ava to find another plane flight to get from one part of the US to another, when there’s no bad weather. Looking past that, really fun celebrity AU, and I’m a sucker for Taylor Swift titles. Ava’s stuck in town, Sara is a kind stranger and lets Ava use her home gym. Things escalate from there. Cameos from other Legends and Arrow character.

I've never fallen from quite this high, Falling into your ocean eyes by AvaHasAClosetMurderBoard

My tags: Soulmate AU, in canon besides that, when you mistake your soulmate mark for a pen line

I love soulmates, and matching tattoos is a great trope in that field. Told from Ava’s point of view, and she doesn’t think she has one. The tattoos can develop the closer you come to your person. Ava thought everyone was born with theirs’. The one Ava gets is so cool, and how it relates to Sara’s is so perfect. A lot of this drama could have been avoided if Ava didn’t cover hers’. The Legends don’t let Ava run away too many times. Read if you enjoy having your heart hurt and expand 5 times its’ size.

I Feel You In My Bones by childofsummer

My tags: Soulmate AU when you feel each other’s pain, if you’re thinking oh that’s bad for Ava, you’re right

The first time I read this was in 2018, and it was only one chapter and it caused me to stare blankly at my wall at 3am on a night I needed sleep. It is so accurate to Arrow canon, but told from Ava experiencing all of Sara’s pain, and death. Another one where I don’t know how well it works if you haven’t seen Arrow, but you’re not missing anything if you read this. Ava and Laurel become friends, and it’s perfect. 2018 me loved the ending of chapter 1 and what they do with a doppelganger. Later reads I’m not as sold on it. A warning, Chapter 2 and 3 have a very different tone and stray far from canon. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t do an escape room with Ava.

The Future Holds A Split In Roads (Where You Gonna Go?) by fvandomtrvsh, WardenRoot

My tags: College Roommates AU, Fake Dating, no one is surprised by the dating

Ava has to find a fake girlfriend, so her parents stop trying to set her up. Sara offers to help. They do a very good job of fooling everyone. That starts to include themselves. All the good tropes are there. Fake Dating. Bed sharing. They were roommates. Great family interactions. There is a wedding (not Avalance). Sara moves boxes for Ava’s parents. Cookies. Ava has a twin sister. The miscommunication pain is worth it for the rest of the fluff.

"It’s Just a Cup of Coffee (What Gave Me Away)" by Gabna43

My tags: Ava’s pov from 3x05 to 3x12, early in the timeline to Better than Ice Cream, how Ava changed her mind about Sara and the Legends

Season 3 was rough as it was Guest Star Jes Macallan, and not Series Regular Jes Macallan, so she wasn’t in every episode. This fic explores what Ava was doing when not on screen, and how that lead to showing up to the restaurant in that uncomfortable dress.

swear to god (i ain't ever gonna repent) by lucylikestowrite

My tags: I have not seen the movie but apparently a gay take on Mr & Mrs Smith, Sara’s still in the League, but is also married to Ava

The fic is like being in a tunnel, knowing it’s going to blow-up at some point, but it’s dark and you can’t see the turns. Sara loves Ava, but the rest of her life is a lie, and every chapter you’re waiting for something bad to happen, but you can’t stop reading. Also, a lot of screaming “communicate!”.

all the lives I've ever lived (they were leading me here) by TheTruthAboutLove

My tags: the canon AU fic, Sara gets transported to a bunch of other universes, and realises that there is one thing in common (She loves Ava)

Do you like canon fics? This is for you! Do you like AU fics? Also, for you! In the vein of Legends of To-Meow-Meow and The One Where We’re Trapped on TV. Sara has to make it to a portal in each new reality. Ava and the team have to deal with the AU Sara. I could read a whole fic on most of these universes. Thankfully some have spin-offs. Sara is her own best wing-woman. I would watch the show of the last universe.

how to lose a woman in ten dates by TheTruthAboutLove

My tags: Nora thinks Ava should date casually, Sara helps her out, a take on Fake Dating

Ava is FBI, Sara is a consultant. Everything pre-Legends Season 1 is canon for Sara. A lot of Brooklyn 99 watching. One of the best lines I have ever read anywhere. They are too competitive for their own good. There are quotes I still laugh at after a very high number of re-reads. It is what I read on a day I need a pick-me-up.

love like fools by TheTruthAboutLove

My tags: Sara and Ava grew up together, Sara had a kid with Oliver, Ava became a successful lawyer

In my head I don’t like kid fics, but there are a bunch on this list, so *shrug*. You want to hug everyone, except Oliver, who deserves to be punched. The kid is cute, the development of the relationship is cute. Everyone is going through A Lot emotionally. They just work so well together and bring out the best in each other. Try the first two chapters and see how you go.

Paging Doctor Lance by Witchgirl1234

My tags: Sara is a doctor, but it’s canon, Ava has to deal with Sara not knowing her

Due to anachronism Sara’s life is not impacted by Oliver Queen, so she we to med school, rather than on the Queen’s Gambit. This isn’t great for her pregnant wife Ava who’s still on the Waverider. Makes Ava tackle the question of what she would do for Sara’s happiness. It’s an interesting look of what could have been, but while keeping the Legends we know together. And a pre-season 6 exploration of how important Sara is for the team dynamic.

Click here to see all the parts

[kaluawoo]

So about Beverly Crusher and Dr Pulaski (sorry pulaski i forgot your first name and it's 6am so I'm not gonna look it up).

Honestly I'm new to the Trek fandom and I already saw a lot of Opinions on Pulaski so I'll keep that bit brief: She did really feel like someone tried and failed to recreate McCoy. Oh, she's got the "Not afraid to mouth off the commanding officer" and the "grumpy" and the "rude comments toward the resident Emotionless Nonhuman", and she's even got his fear of transporters (which... Wasn't even that prevalent in TOS and got embellished later on but I digress).

I've seen several posts already saying that Pulaski and Data do NOT work the same as Bones and Spock did because Spock could shoot right back, while Data cannot. And yeah that's right I have nothing more to say in that regard.

But even the other stuff. Now I'll admit, Pulaski got far less focus than McCoy, so it's hard to adequately compare them. But even the other bits tend to feel a little Off - Mouthing off the commanding officer has different vibes if they're also best friends, for example. It's not worse, it's just different - but it makes it feel like they were going for McCoy, and fell short, making it feel worse.

"But Lua where does Beverly feature?" Well see. Another reason we didn't need Pulaski to be another McCoy: Beverly already makes for a better one.

Yes she's not grumpy or snarky or snappy. But she has the heart that defined McCoy. McCoy is the guy who opted to regrow a random woman's liver, potentially messing up the timeline be damned, he's a doctor and what he does is help people. He's the guy who grinned ear to ear after helping the Horta. He's a healer first, a grump second. And in that vein, Beverly is often the one to advocate against the Prime Directive to ease someone's suffering, because she, too, is a healer. Oh, and she also kinda mouths off at her Captain, she's just gentle and friendly about it.

Pulaski would have worked so much better if they hadn't tried to go for McCoy. Take away her jerkness towards Data at first and her fear of transporters and you've got a perfectly viable character! (I'll admit I'm always biased when it comes to Data, but this isn't a case of "I want everyone to be nice to Data", it's a case of "Not being excessively mean to Data would've in my opinion been narratively better.")

The way Pulaski was done, it felt like while Beverly embodies what McCoy is (while still being her own unique character), Pulaski is what happens if you take one look at McCoy and try to copy that. And then people notice and are unsatisfied. And while i don't particularly like Pulaski, she deserves to be her own character.

[ashbrea381writings]

Fractals and Feathers: Chapter two, Information

“Colored cracks may appear in cases where a soulmate dies and is subsequently resuscitated.” Tim quoted as he sat back from the computer. “This happens frequently with heart patients and those in bad motor accidents.” 

“Yes, but these are a lot of them… And they’re gold.” Damian commented with a sigh. “And Kent has mostly gold with a few red ones. It shouldn’t be possible for someone to die and be resuscitated that many times!” He began pacing around behind Tim, muttering. “There must be some kind of magic involved here, perhaps Mother is behind this, Grandfather always hated my wings, it could be some sort of magic they’re using to try and make me think my soulmate is dead, but it didn’t work right.”

“Baby Bird, that doesn’t explain Jon’s wings.” Dick commented as he walked in, removing his mask and wiping some sweat from his forehead. “Besides, I did some recon too, it seems like a few people who’s soulmates are in Paris have experienced the same thing. When they called their soulmates in a panic over the cracks that had appeared, they were told that there is a new set of Supers in Paris. And one of them has the power to reverse all the damage done by the Villain… Including death.”

Tim gave a groan, typing furiously as he tried to get past the firewall that kept rewriting itself. “I can’t get any info out of Paris. I even set my VPN to and address in Paris, but it somehow keeps blocking me.” He growled in frustration as a window opened on the screen previously just covered with code, showing a young woman with dark, blue-black hair in a high ponytail and a red and black mask over eyes that practically glowed blue.

“Will you stop that?!” She snarled in heavily accented English. “I don’t care who you are, but you need to keep your noses out of our business.”

Thankfully, Tim and Damian were still masked up, and Dick was able to turn around before the video fully opened. “We work with the Justice League, if people are dying repeatedly and are only brought back by magic it IS our business.” Nightwing responded in his best Batman impression as he turned around with his mask back in place. “I’m assuming that would be you who does this?”

“Yes, it is, and I would appreciate it if you and your superpowered friends stayed away from my city.” She seemed to set whatever the camera was attached to on a ledge, showing a stunning view of Paris behind her. “We have it handled here and we don’t need any of your friends making our jobs harder.”

“Isn’t your job to protect the citizens of Paris?!” Robin growled, stalking up to the screen and glaring behind his mask. “Yet somehow, those who we know have soulmates in Paris are suffering with the knowledge that their soulmates keep dying only to be brought back by some magic that might just stop working one day!”

“I don’t get a choice.” She responded, crossing her arms. “Hawkmoth won’t stop until he gets what he wants and I don’t feel like letting the world potentially end, thank you. We are working on his identity, but it’s difficult with the magics involved-such as the one that alerted me to your intrusion and prevents you from finding what you want.”

“And how are we supposed to trust you?” Red Robin asked, almost too casually for Robin’s preference, if the way his shoulders stiffened was any indication. “See, we have a couple people we know personally whose wings are covered in gold and red fractal patterns, and we’re awfully worried about people who have to sacrifice themselves that much. Especially since it obviously sticks long enough to make a mark, AND they all showed up within the last couple of weeks.”

“One of my team members is able to rewind time for a maximum of 5 minutes at a time, this allows the possibility of thousands of different aborted timelines, hence why the lines might show up multiple at a time. Because they might have died in a couple dozen of the timelines before we finally had a solution.” She sighed and pinched her nose. “We are up against a madman with a magic item that allows him to use negative emotions against us and make his victims do the dirty work for him.”

“Dirty work? What kind of dirty work?” Nightwing asked, frowning and crossing his arms in turn. “What does he want, exactly? And how does that potentially end the world?”

“He wants the magic items that myself and my partner use. The ones our team uses and that Hawkmoth and his partner use are from a set of them, I won’t tell you how many. Each has a different power, and the one’s my partner and I use happen to be the two most powerful, using the power of creation…” She paused and gestured to herself, glancing off screen for a moment. “And destruction, respectively.” She stepped to one side to reveal a young man in armored leather with cat ears on his head.

“When you combine them, you are able to make a wish. Would you trust the man who is willing to destroy Paris with such a wish?” The young man asked, his black and acid green wings flaring out as though in a threat display. “Or being able to use someone like Superman as a weapon?”

“How would that be possible?” Nightwing asked, “Also, since we will apparently be having a longer conversation than I expected, I’m Nightwing. These are Robin and Red Robin.” He added, pointing to them. “We would like to offer aid if we can, even from a distance if we needed to. I’m assuming that since you could connect to our computer with the magic you’re using, you could also exempt it from the magic.”

“That’s a bold assumption. I’m Ladybug, and this is my partner Chat Noir. While I could let you guys have an exception, I’m afraid I don’t see why I should trust you.” Her wings were also bristling, the red-and-black spots clearly caused by the magic they used just as Chat’s coloration obviously wasn’t natural.

“We are known for being detectives above all else. We don’t have powers, and one or two of us are even mentally well-adjusted enough that we could probably come to you guys without risking whatever happens with your villain.” Nightwing insisted.

“How about we come to you? Give us a place to meet with you in your city, we have a way to transport ourselves. I’d like to size you up before I give you any more information.” Ladybug countered, moving her hands to her hips. “I don’t trust that you’re nearly as well adjusted as you claim, I’m one of the most positive people on the face of the earth and even I have had to force myself out of mindsets that nearly got me Akumatized. It’s not as easy to avoid as you think.”

“What was that word? Akumatized?” Red Robin asked, frowning as he tried and failed to translate the word.

“It’s what we call it when someone has been taken over by Hawkmoth. He sends out a butterfly corrupted by magic and turns normal people into a villain. Once the Akuma -the butterfly- is purified the victim does not remember any of what happened while they were Akumatized.” The Bug and Cat pair exchanged a glance, making frustrated faces at each other.

“What was that look?” Robin asked, still angry that they weren’t giving him what he wanted. “The look you two had just now?”

“We… We’ll tell you after we decide if we want help from you.” Ladybug sighed. “I’ve added a way for you to message me on my device I’m using to talk to you, it’ll show up as an app on your computer. Don’t use it for trivial matters or I’ll just lock you out. Give me a time and place to meet, using my timezone preferably, and I will do my best to have both me and Chat be there to discuss matters further.” With those last, brisk words, Ladybug reached for her device and cut the call.

“Well, that was rude.” Red Robin huffed, picking up his phone to show Batman’s face in a video call there. “Did you hear all that, B?”

“I heard. Send coordinates for the top of Wayne Enterprises, for 9:00 pm Paris time tomorrow.” He instructed, sighing from his seat in the Batmobile. “We will all meet them there, let her know that myself and the three of you will be there.”

“Copy that, B. Sending the information now.” The young man typed quickly, double-checking what time that would be for them. “That’s the middle of the afternoon, are you sure?”

“Yeah, nobody has anything scheduled for tomorrow, and she sounded about the same age as Robin. With all that considered, I don’t know if they DO have civilian plans early the next day, so I’d rather err towards them having more time to sleep.”

Reading the return message, Red Robin began to chuckle. “They want to meet us at 4am Paris Time, as they already get up that early to do other things and missing half an hour or so wouldn’t be an issue.”

“Very well, if that’s part of their routine, we can handle that.” Batman answered, seeming interested to know what the heck had them up that early.

[twink-frank]

I’ve been looking for a fic I read a while ago on AO3 for over an hour, I was hoping maybe you’d be able to help track it down? It was an au, Gerard was divorced and after Frank’s accident started thinking about what could have been, only to be transported to an alternate timeline/dimension where he and Frank ended up together. He figures out a mysterious lady who gave him a chocolate bar was behind it, iirc. They had a dog, it might have been Sweet Pea, and they were really happy to be in a “better” universe until they realized (spoilers but it’s kinda important) that Mikey was gone and Bandit existed but she wasn’t his kid bc they were never married to Lindsey, and then they have to decide whether to stay and be with Frank but lose Mikey or go back and be lonely but still have Mikey and Bandit in their life. And then at the end they end up actually getting transported back in time to ProRev and they’re given the opportunity to redo their life and make different choices. It was a pretty solid split between hurt and comfort vibes. It was a multi-chapter fic, and I also remember there was cover art, if that helps at all. I can’t remember the title or the author, and I thought I had it bookmarked so I feel like it may have been deleted, but I’m hoping maybe you know of it or someone who follows you might. Thanks in advance!

that sounds like one HELL of a fic bro, i dont remember anything like it but i also tend to stay away from multi-chapter fics. also if there was cover art it was probably a wattpad fic and i do not use wattpad for my own dignity.

but if any of my followers recognize this fic, please speak up thanks

[pepperonitimeline]

There is an interesting emphasis on timelines in Steven Universe

but like. Why?

Hypothesis: Steven Universe is made up of multiple timelines, but shown in an order that makes the events seem linear. read part 2 here!

I'm not the first person to speculate this at all. A lot of this stuff has been pointed out by @dogcopter​ @arrozbrillante​ @stevenutheories and many others on various platforms!

I just gathered the most conspicuous "evidence" into 1 post. If you’re interested in SU theory and analysis you should check out their blogs. :o) This was as short as I could make it..

And a big thank you to @love-takes-work for her podcast summaries!!! 

So, most ostensibly there’s Garnet, who can see multiple futures. In Pool Hopping she begins to call her visions timelines specifically.

Garnet: In this timeline, we do the opposite of that. Hey, you! Have a pizza!

Steven: Hey, Vidalia's house is around here. Let's bring her the last pie.

Garnet: Now, that would be nice. She must be upset that her son was taken into space by those Homeworld Gems. (referring to the events of I Am My Mom)

Steven: You mean Onion? He isn't in space. He's right over there. *points*

Garnet: Sorry, I-I must be thinking of a different timeline.

-

Garnet: My bad. I was sure we were in the pepperoni timeline.

-

Garnet: It's important to keep in mind that all these horrible things did happen to you in alternate timelines. Safety is fun.

In Steven and The Stevens:

Yeah

It was confirmed on the podcast that the Steven we see from that episode on is a different Steven than the one from episodes 1-21. In “The Fantasy of Steven Universe” Sugar explains:

"I think, early on, we knew for sure what we wanted to do was to create episodes that feel self-contained but give you a new piece of information or change the characters fundamentally. So, Steven and the Stevens, is tight but Steven does change fundamentally after having that experience. He's not the same- in THAT case he's LITERALLY not the same character..."

It’s muffled because they're all laughing but right after they say this Matt Burnett goes “He died.” 

Link to the episode

Love-takes-work also has a text summary of the episode

But something I haven't seen discussed very much is the time travel chase scene. Granted it’s very blink-and-you’ll miss it, there are some Stevens who witness the other Steven’s fighting but that don’t end up in the Sea Shrine at the end.

Way back in 2015 @stevenutheories already did the math as to how many alternate timelines may have stemmed from the time shenanigans: 3 to 5. Not counting the original one who is definitively gone. 

Technically quantum mechanics don’t work like that and those Stevens should have been Thanos’d too. I’m not going to pretend I understand physics, that is just what I’ve been told by someone who does. But then again the magic time thingy wasn’t bound by rules of real-life physics in the first place… so ??

Let’s cross-examine SATS’ accompanying KBCW post.

“At any given moment, if you asked me what I was thinking about, the answer would be one of two things: katana swords, or THE POSSIBILITY OF ALTERNATE TIMELINES RUNNING PARALLEL TO OUR OWN!

Proving the existence of these timelines can be pretty tricky, even for a seasoned paranormal investigator such as myself.  An inter-temporal incursion caused by the momentary weakening of the time-space continuum doesn’t really photograph well.  And all the cross dimensional time travelers I know don’t want to go on the record about their experiences.  Frankly, the only thing I can submit as evidence of alternate timelines is the fact that THEY ARE PROBABLY JUST SO COOL AND AWESOME THAT THEY HAVE TO BE REAL.

Think about it!  What about a universe where that asteroid missed Earth and we had DINOSAURS for pets instead of dogs?  Or a universe where someone was like “Hey, zeppelins are way cooler than planes, let’s just do that!”  Or a universe where AN ALTERNATE VERSION OF ME CAN GROW A FULL BEARD?!  What an amazing life that Ronaldo must have… in THIS stupid reality I have a really hard time getting my moustache to connect to the rest of my facial hair and it’s incredibly frustrating.”

KBCW and Ronaldo’s commentary in general are usually half-right. Like the “Polymorphic Sentient Rocks are aliens who want to hollow out the earth… to make it lighter so they can transport it back to their star system” thing.

I can't help but think the "Dinosaurs for pets instead of dogs" is a reference to the live action Super Mario Bros. movie- where the meteor that killed the dinosaurs sent them to a parallel universe instead, causing mammals to go instinct in said universe. (Don’t know about the zeppelins.)

And then, and THEN there’s Keep Beach City Safe, KBCW’s more obscure rival blog run by (most likely) Onion under the pseudonym "The Observer". Apparently he’s planted cameras all over town to record Steven’s adventures. There's also a "Recruiter" and second mystery narrator calling themselves "Marco Díez", it's a whole thing,

Assuming it’s real, here’s one of the posts I think are the most relevant.

“I have been on zero gem hunts over the years, and what i have learned over the years is: always be prepared for anything, and everything. Connie’s already knows that and this her first mission. I, wasn’t so fortunate on my first mission. It was a crisp Autumn morning, - with notes of cinnamon in the air. I was the mountains, the air temperature, humidity and level elevation levels, were perfect.

Then, I noticed the creature, it was charging me. I tried to evade the gem monster, but it just kept on coming, and coming! There was no escape! And then- Wait! I just remembered. I never been on a gem hunt! So where did I get that story from?”

This was posted on August 1st alongside Gem Hunt… and the day after the Greg The Babysitter post, which was deleted earlier this year, right after people started interacting with it again.

Being a Babysitter is hard, especially if your Greg Universe. This guy, in the picture above me. Wait did I just become self aware? Hey, I did! Haha, I always knew I was more to me than just a narrator. Actually this is the first time I thought about, Because I'm self aware baby! Woohoo, yeah! Wait, what was I talking about? Ah yes, Gregory. So this Greg guy,Has to Babysit this cool baby, because he owes her for letting him mooch off her. And Greg, is like totally irresponsible, he some how lets the baby climb a Ferris Wheel. How does that even happen? This dude is so not getting payed. And what's up with his hair!?!

So here it is, another story, told by Greg, about his past self. I wonder how many times I started a paragraph with the word so. And when he was telling this story, we got some clues that could finally tell use when all of this started. We know about the gems and what happened  thousands of years ago, but we don't know about the hems and  what happened thousands of years ago. They wee being very vague about the whole thing. Almost intentionally, well it was obsessively intentional.

?

There are subtle inconsistencies in Beach City's layout. ("The Observer" points this out, too.)

Remember Danny’s? In Bubble Buddies and Joking Victim, there’s a shop named Danny’s Salt Water Taffy.

Then in Watermelon Steven it’s gone.

As for a prop: Chaaaaps used to just be Chips

That’s from Monster Buddies, the episode right after Steven and The Stevens.

It's just as likely someone on the show simply thought the background/chips looked a little too busy or whatever. But re-doing stuff costs a lot of time and money, yknow? Neither of which is the animation industry very generous about. Did you know even props have model sheets?

Of course it could just be another brand of chips. Maybe Utz got involved somehow.

Lastly I want to highlight a quote from a Rebecca Sugar interview regarding SU ending.

“The story is continuing off screen and I do know what happens next, at least in certain timelines, for the characters,” Sugar says. “But I would have to decide how and when I’d want to dig into that, or if it’s best to give them their privacy.”

yeah so like what the fuck

[starlightrows]

Head Over Heels

Part II—

← Previous - Next →

Pairing: Wrecker x reader

Word Count: 1.1k

Warnings: swearing, slut shaming, allusion to sex (don’t worry ya’ll the smut is coming in part 3, releasing Friday!)

Summary: Wrecker is over the moon about your recent confession. Crosshair is annoyed, but takes it too far

AN: Decided to move the timeline for this series up so that I can start working on my longer Wrecker series! Also sorry if anyone simps for Crosshair

Wrecker had a hard time focusing on the mission the next week or so, more so than usual. All he wanted to do was fly back to the base and be with you. He tried his best to keep his mouth shut and act normal. But he couldn’t stop himself on the final journey back to base.

“She said she loves me,” he’d said “I wanna take her somewhere fun and exciting to celebrate,”

Hunter thought it was sweet, a little annoying that Wrecker wouldn’t shut up, but sweet that he was happy. It’s hard being the only four outcast clones in an army of millions. Plenty of the Regs felt ostracized and unwanted by civilians, but they weren’t even wanted by their own kin. Wrecker deserved this, he deserved to be happy.

Tech thought their whole arrangement was ridiculously unprofessional. If he really thought about it he might’ve come to the conclusion that he was jealous of his brother. He lets himself believe he’s indifferent about the whole thing, and let’s his vod drone on and on about what planets he thinks would be most exciting to visit with you.

Crosshair is jealous. He can’t stand how easy it was for Wrecker to be himself and not drive people away. He couldn’t stand listening to Wrecker talk about you, or your civilian friends, or the things you cared about. The more he listened, and the more he thought about it the angrier he got.

They were coming into the atmosphere of the planet the base was stationed on. Wrecker was so excited, he was having trouble sitting still. Finally the Havoc Marauder landed in the docking bay, and the doors slid open. The squad disembarked and began unloading their cargo, Wrecker still talking endlessly. Finally Crosshair couldn’t take it another second.

“Wrecker your brain is too smooth to get it, but none of us give a fucking shit about your little bunk bunny,” He snapped

Everyone stopped moving, they all turned to stare at Crosshair. Wrecker’s face fell, he couldn’t believe he’d had just said that. A small gasping sound came from the main hangar door, where you had just come around the corner to greet them. You turned on your heel and left.

Wrecker dropped the crate he was holding and took two massive strides towards Crosshair. Without even thinking about it, he shoved him full force into the wall. The sound of his high powered, ultra precision rifle scope cracking on the impact.

“I love her. Someone finally likes me for who I am. Why can’t you just be fucking happy for me?” Wrecker yells. Crosshair looked up at him, guilt already beginning to creep in. If he was gonna say anything in his defense, Wrecker doesn’t stick around to hear it, he turns and runs out the hangar door after you.

Hunter glares at Crosshair. “Regardless of her involvement with Wrecker. She is still one of the commanding officers of this base. She is the only officer we’ve ever had that hasn’t put in to transfer us to a different base,” he grits out “and you just called her a whore”

Crosshair goaned, already feeling sore from hitting the wall. And now feeling guilty for offending not only you, but Wrecker as well. He fucked up, and he knew it.

Wrecker didn’t see which way you went, but this base wasn’t all that big, and you only had a handful of hiding spots he thought you would go to. He crossed the docking bay, and went to the busted up old transport ship that you’d been working on. It hadn’t flown since the early days of the war, and it was a passion project or yours to fix it up. And that’s exactly where he found you, sitting on the floor of the cockpit fiddling with the busted coms system.

“Hey Tiny,” he said softly, coming to sit down next to you.

“Hi” you answered, intentionally not looking at him

“I know you heard what Cross said,” he tried to start out gently

“Yeah, I did,” your hands stilled, you realized tears were brimming in your eyes and you needed to focus on not letting them spill over.

“He didn’t mean that,” Wrecker said, reaching out for one of your hands. You pulled your hand away, setting it in your lap.

“Yes he did” you your voice sounds choked, trying to stifle the sob building in your throat

“He’s just jealous because no one likes him” Wrecker joked, trying to lighten you up a bit

“Maybe he’s right Wreck” the first tear slides down your cheek

He’s shocked to hear you say something like that, “What? Why would you say that?”

“I mean I wasn’t always a member of command… I’ve been assigned to different bases and squadrons in the past. And it’s not like I haven’t....ya know messed around with a couple other troopers before I met you,” you drop your head into your hands, feeling guilty and ashamed. You tried desperately to wipe the tears off your face, and not look so helpless.

“Yeah but you already told me about all that though. It doesn’t matter, cuz you’re with me now. And you’re not messing around with anyone else right?” He asked, scooching to face you instead of being next to you.

You whipped your head up, “No! Of course not”

“Good, then it doesn’t matter what Crosshair or anyone else thinks” he smiled at you, “You and me Tiny, that’s what matters,”

You sniffled a bit and smiled at him, “How did I get so lucky?” You whispered now reaching out for his hand. He chuckled a bit, and dropped his gaze to look down at your delicate fingers gently brushing his palm.

“I missed you,” he whispered “Think maybe I talked about you too much, think I drove the boys insane,”

You laughed, and reached up to put your arms around his neck. Wrecker pulled you into his lap, letting his arms drape around your waist. His hands settled on the small of your back, he leaned in to kiss your cheek.

“I missed you too big guy, I hate it when your missions go longer than expected,” you melted into him, despite the hard plastoid armor.

“I was thinking tomorrow we could go explore more of the forest at the far end of the air field, you guys have some time off before your next mission,” you offered, you’d been thinking about it the whole time he was gone.

He tightened his hold on you just a bit, “Sounds good,” he whispered “But first, I want to show you how much I missed you,”

Tag List: @escapedthesarlacc @ladyjenny19 @comphersjost @ortizshinkaroff

[thiswasinevitableid]

For the meet-ugly prompts: #13, Indruck, SFW ? 👁️👁️

Here you go!

13: we make contact before trying to steal the last seat on the subway/bus/train and I end up in your lap and fuck you, I’m going to stay here because I’ve had a really long day and this seat was mine

The Phoenix Starport is a labyrinth, while technically made of chrome and touch-screens, is really made of lines.

Duck stands in line to show his ticket, to deposit his bags, to go through three separate security check-points and, when he gets to the section for the shuttle to take him to the Starliner, a fourth one because when your clients are high paying, you don’t want them getting blown to pieces.

He isn’t high-paying, he isn’t a seasoned space traveler, and he isn’t going to spend one second more on his feet than he has to. It’s been two solid hours of that just to get to this point. Unfortunately, every other passenger shares this sentiment. When the shuttle door opens a mass of lifeforms pile in, hunting for seats. Duck spots one, turns to sit, and finds it’s much fuzzier than it looked.

“Excuse me.” The creature whose laps he’s in reminds him of the pictures of Mothman scattered around his home state, “but this seat is taken.”

“Yeah, by me, because I saw it first.”

A click from inside the mothmans chest, “You are wrong. I saw it first, and did not foresee anyone being rude enough to use me in its place.”

Every other seat is filled, and it’s a fifteen minute ride to the Starliner. Duck crosses his arms, “you don’t wanna be a seat, you better get up.”

That earns him an annoyed chirr, “Not a chance.”

The shuttle ride is smooth, but his seat keeps prodding him with a clawed finger whenever he puts his weight on it. When they arrive, the two of them stand one after the other. The mothman shakes out his feathers, tosses a glare over his shoulder, and steps through the doors.

Unsurprisingly, the Sylvain Dream makes opulence seem subdued. There are rare flowers studding the fountain by the concierge desk, art from across the universe on the walls, and a sound dampening, shimmering carpet lining the hall to his room. He’s looking forward to some alone time; while all the suites at this level are technically two person, they’re so expensive that most travelers get their own rooms.

He keys open the door and comes face to chest with the same fucking alien from the shuttle.

“Ah. So we are in this timeline. Lovely.” The mothman says dryly, passing him to greet the bellhop who just finished scurrying up the stairs, “I see you have a message from minister Woodbridge. Kindly have someone reply and tell him that if it’s an emergency, they may contact me directly, but if the matter is anything else, they are to leave me in peace during my journey.”

“Yes, Seer Cold.”

“Thank you.” the seer drops a coin into his hand and brushes past Duck without another word.

Duck finally makes it past the entryway and gasps; when the people paying for his journey asked if he’d prefer forest, city, beach, or desert, he assumed it was some sort of vague theme. Instead, the carpet is lush, soft grass, there are flowers everywhere, and the furniture is all made to be woodsy and rustic. The bath and shower are like a mini water-fall and pool, his bed housed in a mock cabin.

“This is amazing.”

“If you are here purely for a leisure trip.” His suite-mate crosses both sets of arms, “some of us are being transported back to work.”

“Now look, this is a work trip for me too. You gotta admit this is pretty swank.”

“And an attempt to soften the blow.” Mothman mutters.

Duck rolls his eyes, decides this is not his problem to deal with, and goes to unpack for the month-long journey ahead.

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

For the first two days he and Indrid--which is what the aloof, perpetually touchy Sylph likes to be called--do their best to ignore each other. They’re stuck on the same dining schedule, which means Duck accidentally insults the alien by giggling when he sees him lick his dessert up with an absurdly long tongue. He makes it up to the next night by saving the pineapple soda delivered in their lunch basket for the Sylph.

On day three, he’s reading by the holo-fire pit when a white badge with blue writing dangles before him.

“Would you like to accompany me to the spa?”

“Uh….”

“Since I foresee you asking no, we do not have to spend the entire time together.”

“I, uh, I was gonna say sure, but was wonderin’ why you offered it to me.”

“Oh.” His antenna flick in a new way, “I, ah, they gave me two. I have no one else to go with and it seemed silly to let it go to waste.”

“I gotta wear anything special?”

“Since humans require clothes in all but a few scenarios, I suggest wearing your robe.”

The spa is just as elaborate as the rest of the ship, with cushy chairs and complimentary booze. The secretary hands them each a menu of treatments bigger than any Duck’s held at a restaurant.

“Sugar scrub….talon wax….rock massage. Do they mean hot rocks?”

“No, that treatment helps those with scales shed.”

“Huh.” Duck pokes his tongue in his cheek, “wish they said which of these were safe for, uh, squishy human bodies.”

Indrid reaches out a claw, tapping several on the list, “This ful massage would be good; you’re muscular, it will be nice to have those muscles tended to.”

“Oh, uh, thanks. Have been workin out more, nice to have someone else notice.”

The Sylph smiles, “you may also like the hair luxury add-on; I’ve always thought humans with salt and pepper hair should show it off.”

Before Duck can ask how Indrid developed that opinion or learned that slang, they’re ushered off into separate rooms. He’s scrubbed and rubbed until his body surrenders the last of it’s stress, the oils they rub on his skin and into his hair smelling pleasantly of pine and cedar. His session ends with one of the staff leading him to a small room covered in deep green marble, where he can rinse and dry off in his own time.

Indrid is in the same room, reclining in a chair with a sun lamp on his wings. They’ve been groomed, the feather straighter and smoother than this morning. Duck takes his first real look at them, notices how the black is iridescent and that there are two bands of deep grey on the inside close to Indrid’s torso.

He’s really quite stunning.

“I feel” Indrid murmurs, “as if we got off to a bad start.”

“You think?” Duck aims for a genial tone.

Indrid cocks his head, “Yes. That is why I said it. I, ah, I ought to apologize for my temperament over the last few days. I am so very fond of earth, of humans, and I’d hoped to be able to work there indefinitely. But Sylvain is in crisis, and so they need me near. Never mind that we have the capability to transmit messages quickly between planets.”

“What’s the crisis?”

“Our plants are dying or failing to produce the resources we need. The belief is that-”

“-it’s a leftover contamination or mutation from the earth plants that crossed through the gate before it was destroyed.”

Indrid blinks, then grins, “it is novel to be the one having their sentences finished. Yes, Duck Newton; the gate has been gone for over two hundred years, but both our worlds will feel it’s effects for many more years.” His antenna perk up, “you’re the one they’re bringing on to consult.”

“Yep. That’s why they gave me such a sweet deal on the trip; they know it’s gonna be fuckin exhaustin work. Even with all the other perks they’re offerin, I know a lot of folks didn’t wanna apply.”

“Why did you feel differently?”

He pushes to the other side of the little pool so they can be closer, “I spent my whole life in the town I grew up in. I love what I do, I love helpin forests stay healthy and regrow and I...I dunno, how often do you get the chance to go to space and see forests on another planet?”

“Once, if you are me.” Indrid closes his wings, clicks off the light, and offers Duck a hand, “and I am glad you will have the chance to do the same.”

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

“You know” Indrid passes Duck the plate of toast, “I am named for Sylph who was the second most recent seer after myself. He and I are the same kind of Sylph, and when my parents learned their mothling-to-be was the next seer, they decided I would be Indrid Cold.”

“Not gonna lie, people actin like your fate is set in stone from birth gives me the creeps.”

“Understandable. I would not admit this to the other ministers, but I am no longer content with reporting on the futures. I try to change fate when I can. In this way, I am also like the first Indrid Cold. He kept trying to intervene in disasters; that’s how he got seen when he should not have been.”

“Holy fuck, there really was a mothman!”

“Indeed. I also learned from his personal notes that he was so fond of humans, he ended up marrying one.”

“Damn” Duck passes him the sweetener for his tea, teases, “you share that habit too?”

Red eyes linger a moment too long on his body before Indrid grins, “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

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

“You sure you don’t wanna swim?” Duck treads water in the green lagoon of some distant moon. The cruise is docked for an activity day, Duck having selected to spend it snorkeling and Indrid deciding to spend it with Duck.

“The wings are not built for it. Though the water does look pleasant.” Indrid lazily sifts black sand through his claws.

“You could wade in. It stays pretty shallow there” he points to a sand bar.

“If I get in over my head, will you come to my aid?”

“You know it.”

Indrid wades in, chirping as the waves hit his knees. When Duck next glances at him, Indrid is glancing right back. He’s smiling, soft and secretive.

“I am glad you picked this spot. The view is spectacular.”

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

They’ve hit turbulence a handful of times, all of which pale in comparison to the jolt that sends him tumbling out of bed. There are stabilizer controls to lighten the gravity in the room so they won’t feel the bumps as badly. But when he wobbles over, he finds it’s already up to the lowest it can be without him floating.

He stumbles to the window, the curtains shut against the vast universe. Is turbulence this severe normal? If the gravity doohickey isn’t able to help, maybe that means they’ve never hit a storm this bad.

Opening the window is a terrible idea; there’s no cause of the turbulence to be seen, and now he’s in a dark room staring into the depths of space, it’s so big, he’s so small, they all are, the forces of nature still have it in them to crack this ship like an egg, killing them all.

“Would it help if I said there are no futures where this storm poses a threat to us?” Indrid whispers from behind him.

“Kinda.”

“Would it help to see something breathtaking?”

“Wh-”

Indrid taps the glass, drawing Ducks attention to two massive, starry shapes, “Celestial whales. At least that’s the human name for them.”

“Holy fuck.” They remind Duck of Whale Sharks, but impossibly bigger, skin coated in thousands of star-spots, “how can they do that? I mean, obviously they ain’t mammals, but fuckin nothin thrives in deep space.”

“No one is certain.” Indrid sighs, happily, “isn’t it wonderful to know there are such things in the universe?”

“Yeah. AHfuck” He hits the wall as the whole ship shudders, “fuck, sorry-”

“It’s alright. It can be alarming when you’re on your first trip through the cosmos. I, ah, I have something that may help, if you’re alright with me touching you some.”

“Fine by me.” Duck follows Indrid to the Sylph’s bed. The seer sits cross-legged with his back against the wall and instructs Duck to rest his head in his lap. The points of his claws begin rubbing his neck and the base of his skull, Indrid humming at a low, steady pitch until Duck’s eyes start to close.

The pressure points are helping, he can tell by his loosening spine. But what soothes him to sleep is the repetitive reminder of Indrid there with him in the dark.

When he wakes up the storm is gone. His body is still moving, rising and falling in time with Indrid’s breath as he sleeps. He pulled Duck atop him in the night, and at some point must have wrapped him in his wings, since once, is still half-flopped on Duck’s back.

Seized with affection, Duck kisses his shoulder. When this earns him a happy chirp, he does it again, then kisses a cheerful path up to Indrid’s cheek. Red eyes open, sleepy and full of tenderness, just in time for the Sylph to turn his head and kiss Duck properly.

“What a lovely thing to awaken to.”

“No kiddin” Duck kisses him again, “fuck, Indrid, this is the weirdest goddamn thing to ever happen to me and I’m thinkin it might also be the best.”

Indrid hugs him close, “We shall have ample time to find out, if you wish to do so.”

“Hell yeah. But we only got a few days before we hit Sylvain.”

“Yes” Indrid kisses his nose, “but I happen to foresee Woodbridge ignoring my request for peace and sending me a message saying I will be working closely with a certain, visiting forestry expert.”

[goddessofmischief]

Blue Monday, Chapter 12 - Loki Laufeyson x Reader

Read chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 8, 9, 10 & 11!

Author’s Note: It’s been a long time coming, but we’re in the endgame now! There will be only a few chapters left after this one.

...

“What do we do?”

It was a simple enough question, you knew. You had just discovered that Mobius - your boss, your trusted mentor - was plotting against you.

Either that, or Loki was.

Though somehow, it seemed infinitely preferable to you that it was Mobius. If Loki truly had betrayed you... well, you just couldn’t take it.

“We’ll go, of course,” said Loki. “Mobius has us on a leash - as long as he lives, we are bound to him. We both signed our souls over, Y/N, the very moment we signed that contract. The only thing left to do is confront him.”

“Travel by Tesseract?”

“No. We’ll take the Bifrost. If Mobius is plotting against us, it would be unwise to arrive via his method of transportation. We have to catch him off-guard.”

You nodded, mind racing.

“Alright, alright... we’ve just got to get to the Bifrost, then-”

“Easier said than done. The Bifrost is guarded by a soldier called Heimdall. He’ll know that I’m a time-traveler immediately. There’s no possibility he’ll let us through.”

“What if we could distract him?”

“I can’t imagine a distraction large enough that it could distract a man who can survey the entirety of the universe in a single glance.”

You thought, carefully.

“What if there were two Amoras?”

...

“This is an awful plan,” Loki muttered, striding beside you.

“It’s a wonderful plan. Heimdall will be distracted by the impossibility of the situation, and he’ll have to come look -- then we can sneak away.”

Loki nodded.

“It makes sense on paper, doesn't it? But these things never seem to work as well in practice.”

“Yes. True.”

“And besides... Amora was a fearsome warrior, love. She could kill you. How do you expect to fight her?”

You shrugged.

“I’ve got her sword, haven’t I? Without that... I imagine we’ll be equals.”

...

You were dead wrong.

You’d only been looking at Amora - who, you had to admit, did look quite a bit like you - for all of six minutes, and she was the most terrifyingly intense person you’d ever witnessed.

“And you’re sure you’re ready for this, darling?” Loki asked again.

“Yes,” you said, quietly. “I was born ready.”

With a final squeeze of his hand, you strode up to the warrior.

“Amora!” you shouted. “Of Asgard!”

You had gotten her attention, you knew - and she stared through you, with piercing eyes.

“You are myself, I see.”

“I am more yourself than you are,” you taunted, and Loki arched an eyebrow. You could almost hear his thoughts:

What are you doing?

Enough small talk!

Make her mad!

You cleared your throat.

“I am yourself, Amora. And I have come to take what is mine. I’ve already got your sword-” you swung Kursebreaker for extra effect. “How about your betrothed?”

Amora growled, and with identical grimaces, the two of you faced off against each other.

“I will destroy you,” she promised.

You smiled.

“You may try.”

She lunged in your direction, and to your surprise, the sword seemed to do all the work for you. You blocked her kicks and her punches, and even managed to knock her to the ground.

That is, until, someone tossed her a staff.

She beat you to the ground, and you began to collapse under her weight. Somewhere in the crowd, you could hear Loki’s whispers, as if he was speaking against the back of your neck - spells, enchantments.

Loki had chosen you over Amora. Loki was fighting for you.

That had to mean something.

“Well,” said a larger guard, who you guessed was Heimdall, “What’s this?”

“This imposter has attempted to vanquish me,” said Amora, standing up. “I was about to finish her off.”

Suddenly, like magic, fifteen of you appeared in the arena. Loki gestured at you, and you ran to him, the other Amoras distracting the crowd.

“That was close,” you panted, and you both ran. “I thought she was about to kill me.”

“I thought she would, too!”

You glared at him, and, suddenly, you stopped in front of a large, rainbow bridge -- the Bifrost, you guessed.

“Good, the sword’s here -- come on, you first.”

“What, so I can die first?” you shouted. “Nice try, Loki - not bloody likely!”

He groaned.

“Trust me?”

“No, of course not! The worst possible thing I could do is trust you!”

Thirty soldiers began to descend upon you, and you glanced at Loki.

“Fine, yes! I trust you!”

Without warning, Loki swept you into a kiss.

“I’ll see you on the other side,” he promised, and you vanished into the Bifrost.

...

The T.V.A. felt a little different, now. Cursed, or haunted, or something.

It felt wrong. Like you’d outgrown the place.

And you had, in a way. You didn’t need to be their agent, ever again. You didn’t belong to anyone. All you needed was Loki, and you had him.

“He must be around here somewhere,” Loki muttered, ducking around a hallway. “Somewhere...”

“Hey, kids.”

“Mobius,” you snapped, glaring at the man who had just appeared before you. “You son of a bitch.”

“Easy, darling,” Loki whispered, dangerously serene, tangling his fingers in yours. “It’ll be alright-”

“No, it won’t be!” you exclaimed, wrenching your hand away. “Don’t you understand? He’s about to kill us!”

“And do you really think I’ll let him?”

“Loki, I don’t think you’ve got a whole lot of say in it.”

“She’s right,” said Mobius, nodding towards both of you. “See... that’s kinda been my plan all along.”

“Explain yourself, small man,” Loki ordered.

“Well, the thing is - this universe is done. Earth is gonna destroy itself, just wait and see. Asgard is dead. The rest of our universe will soon follow. So I’m going to take that tesseract... and I’m going to the next one. It’s a big multiverse. I’ll travel a little, y’know... decide where I want to end up. I’m really kinda glad you guys came to confront me, by the way - after all... it is why I brought you here.”

“You tried to frame me?”

Loki looks completely unsurprised, of course, as utterly tranquil as a resting lake, but you saw the stirring underneath.

Mobius had chosen him because he thought he would be a monster, and make a monstrous choice. He had hoped that Loki would destroy the universe for him.

And Loki had disappointed him.

But he had saved you. That had to count for something.

Right?

“Tried? I did frame you,” said Mobius. “In the eyes of the universe... when I destroy this world, you will be the only possible culprit.” “Why’d you bother?” you ask. “You could’ve just... destroyed this timeline yourself, and taken the credit. You were my mentor. I know you’re powerful enough to do it.”

Mobius wagged his finger at you.

“The Watchers,” he said. “They see everything, you know. Broad strokes and actions. If I had done it, they would’ve made my travel... inconvenient.

And, besides. I had the book, I knew how the story would end. I knew what he thought you were, all along. And I knew that if I put the one thing that Loki needed and just could not have so close to him, it’d be bound to end in bloodshed. It’s simply the most likely outcome. Why have all that blood on my hands, when it could so easily be on the God of Mischief’s?”

Loki looked lost, and far less certain than before. You wanted to comfort him, but... you were quite unsure, yourself. Both of you would soon be dead. There was precious little that either he or you could do about it.

“It’ll be alright,” Loki repeated, sounding a little uneasier than he had been. You looked up at him, concentrating, carefully, on memorizing every flawless line of his face.

You’d never told him you loved him.

Well... it just didn’t matter. You’d be dead in moments.

It just didn’t matter.

But he had to know something else. You had to destroy one last bit of hope for him.

“Loki,” you whispered, quietly, reaching for his hand, “Loki, I can’t do it.”

“Can’t do what, darling? Handle this fool?”

“No. I can’t... I know part of you thinks I can save us, but I can’t. I’m not a goddess. I’m not. I’m just me. And that isn’t enough.” “I know.”

“What?”

He did a half-hearted little shrug.

“I suppose... I’ve known for a long time. If you ever were who I thought you were... you aren’t, anymore. I can’t explain it. But I did know.

Oh, what’d you expect me to do, love? Admit that I had been sticking around, all this time, simply for you?”

Your breath caught in your throat.

“But... no matter,” Loki said, briskly, pressing a kiss to the top of your head and continuing to glare at Mobius. “I imagine you know why she looks like Amora? That must all be part of your plan, yes?”

Mobius chuckled.

“Certainly, friend. See... it’s all very funny... she is Amora.”

...

Feedback feeds this writer, feel free to send me an ask to let me know what you thought of this chapter, or ask me about it!

Taglist: gorgeourrific-nerd @suwupremeleader​​ @sserpente​ @tripleyeeet​ @kcd15 @rorybutnotgilmore 

[averymerrymoth]

I love your fallout OC!! How did she flee Europe and how do you think the conditions are in fallout! Europe, do you think they’re better than the US, worse or about the same?

Oh jeez , dude, I’m so sorry for taking literal weeks to respond! I’ve been offline for a bit!

Thank you very much! I don’t have a lot to elaborate on, but I’ve definitely spent a bit of time trying to come up with some basics for Fallout!Europe. In my rough little timeline I’ve been making up it took her roughly 6 months via several boats to get from Europe to mainland North America. She’s mostly a charisma/agility build so it’s not hard for her to talk her way onto a ship or sneak on if she needs to. She started in Norway and got stuck in Scotland for a couple weeks before convincing a ship headed for whatever Fallout’s version of Newfoundland is to take her. Then she had to stowaway on a ship transporting trades to New Brunswick to get off the island. Then it took her 2 months to slowly waddle her anxious little ass down to Boston.

There’s so little info on Fallout!Europe besides pre-war details, and I get a bit nervous trying to elaborate on it in my own opinion. I’m a bit scared of Fallout lore goblins coming out of the cracks in an unnecessary fit of rage to say a detail is wrong because a 6 word footnote made in a 2013 game magazine vaguely says otherwise. It's rough keeping all the info straight sometimes! @ o @

For the most part the only established lore is that the European Commonwealth was suffering before the Great War because of their Resources War with the Middle East. So it’s assumed it was rough being over there to begin with. However, one of the dev’s for FO3 said in regards to Allistair Tenpenny who’s a British immigrant: "Tenpenny came to the Capital Wasteland from Great Britain to seek his fortune, so that alone tells you that the U.K. was also hit in the war. And if he came to U.S. to succeed, that says a lot about how screwed up Europe must be. So we just allude, a little bit, to the state of the rest of the world. We like to leave a lot to the players' imaginations, and somebody like Tenpenny serves as a catalyst for those thoughts."

So that makes me feel a little better about having to make a bunch of stuff up. I don’t see why it wouldn’t be at least a little similar to the US. Both continents have their own set of politicians and I’m sure Europe’s were just as shady as the US’s. Maybe a bit more classist with surviving monarchs/royals and their descendants, given if there were still any by the time the bombs fell. If anyone could have afforded to build a decent shelter it’s them. Wouldn’t put it past them to take from the already scarce resources and horde it for themselves. I did have a small headcanon that made me laugh a bit which is that it’s not actually THAT bad overseas, but that the upper class that’s developed their own territories to keep out the filthy peasants is very hoity toity about who can join them. I think it’d be funny if Tenpenny was never taken seriously by the other rich folks and had to leave just to find somewhere he could establish a name for himself. I just don’t like him and want him humbled lmao.

I also figure they’d have their own set of beasts evolved from radiation running around. As to what exactly those would be I have no idea. Maybe just a shit ton of giant wolves. If it’s like 76 there could be cryptic like beasts. Banshee-like feral ghouls that scream to stun their enemies would be really interesting.

I wrote my OC to use blades and melee as a primary weapon because guns/ammo were slightly harder to come by in Europe, and more expensive to purchase from merchants. Same thing for decent food and clean water which she hordes out of fear of not being able to find when she needs it. She’s got little caches hidden all over the commonwealth lol.

I’d be interested in hearing about different takes or opinions though! Would most likely help me elaborate my own thoughts.