#just in case anyone responded to this with spoilers/leaks

[ultrakart]

Miraculous season 9 be like

“Somehow, Hawk Moth returned.”

[anjelicawrites]

Me waking up to the leaks like LOOK HOW THEY MASSACRED MY AEMOND

Hi nonnie! I didn't respond to this when it arrived because I didn't want to accidentally expose anyone to the leaks. I'm gonna use a read more for spoilers just in case.

They truly assassinated him. Of the beloved character we all loved there's little left. He was given the Loki treatment true and through. I, personally, am not going to give Condal what he wants, I'm never gonna stop love Aemond because I am ignoring the way he was butchered and keep writing the Aemond in my head and read about the Aemonds in everyone's heads: they're all better than what the whole team put on screen this season.

[darkshrimpemotions]

Hello! I've been following your blog ever since the finale of The Winchesters and really love all of the metas you've done, they're all very well made.

I have a question about your thoughts on The Leak. I saw that you had made 2 vague posts about it and how the SPN side of tumblr has been treating it, namely poorly (to speak in delicate terms). I'm currently writing a piece about why potentially this attitude is going on, and why it is so pervasive. I'm asking you since you have obviously been in this fandom far longer than I have, and would like to get a second opinion from someone who may potentially have a more comprehensive view on this issue.

However, I completely understand if you don't respond to this as this is an issue that deals heavily with spoilers. I just thought you're 2 posts about it were interesting and would've liked to hear more from you about it as someone who is a diehard heller yet doesn't agree with what's been going on.

Hi hello. I am finally answering this since Good Omens 2 is now out. I didn't want to draw yet more attention to the leak ahead of time, but the time is come so here I go.

There are a lot of overlapping things factoring into some Hellers' overall reaction to the Good Omens leak and Good Omens 2 in general, but I do not have the bandwidth nor the desire to give anyone a crash course in Heller History & Psychology. It mainly comes down to the fact that Hellers, especially those who've been with the show and ship for years, are wounded more than most of us would like to admit by years of queerbaiting, and a bit defensive as a result.

Many of us are in our late 20s, early 30s, or older and grew up without ANY positive representation at all. What little visibility queer people in media were allowed to have was steeped in themes of deviance and tragedy. And the few truly joyful depictions of us that did exist were not accessible to many of us in our communities, especially before the advent of widespread internet access. As a personal example, I only saw the film Big Eden (2000) in the last five years. I didn't know it existed before then!

Queer representation only became more normalized on television once I was well into my 20s. And even then, it was only normalized within very specific limitations. A character could be introduced as queer or have a Queer Life Script type of story. But the majority of these characters were still steeped in negative stereotypes, and it was basically unheard of for a show that didn't set out to be inclusive to suddenly make one of its main characters queer in canon.

(Tangent: I still remember the first time I saw an unexpected queerness reveal on television. Two men were staring intensely at each other in the midst of an argument and I jokingly said "now kiss" at my television screen. And then they did. And after about 5 seconds of wondering if I had magical powers, my entire brain was rewired forever (it was an episode of Cold Case).)

The point is, it was really easy for a long time for general audience members and fans who didn't like Destiel as a ship to tell us we were stupid and crazy for shipping it, because they had the entire history of film and television in North America backing them up. Not to mention the cherry-picked comments of certain actors over the years, and the behavior of moderators at conventions. And many anti-hellers took full advantage of all that, and still do, and don't acknowledge at all the role that real homophobia plays in supporting their stupid little one-sided ship wars.

All of this to say, Destiel fans have every reason to be defensive and prickly.

That being said, I think malicious spreading of the GO2 leak untagged and unwarned-for was extremely shitty. Ruining something important for someone else because we couldn't have the thing we wanted is childish and self-absorbed beyond belief. Shitting on actual, canonical queer representation because it isn't the ship and show you wanted it from is just shitty, full stop.

And for what? It's not like Warner Brothers is going to wake up one morning and say "wow those Hellers really shit on every other queer rep on offer, guess that means it would be lucrative and smart from a business standpoint to resurrect a cancelled show just to give them canon Destiel after all these years!" But then let's be honest, there's no logic behind this kind of behavior. It's just meanness, bitterness, and spite. And while I sympathize with the bitterness, the meanness and spite are inexcusable.

Finally, the veiled-to-explicit accusations that Good Omens was trying to somehow supplant or copy Destiel are unspeakably stupid.

For one thing, I can think of few things further from "trying to be like Destiel" than taking a queer interpretation of a work that was not really intended by its authors and running with it full speed ahead. Supernatural is an example of how homophobia makes a story worse by flattening its characters and wasting its potential. Good Omens the show is an example of how a willingness to embrace queer interpretations of a story can give it new life and dimension.

So if anything, that's an inversion of what happened with Destiel! Supernatural is a straight man's straightwashed fanfic of a censored version of a queer story. It was forced into the closet at every turn by a homophobic network despite the efforts of queer and queer-friendly writers to course-correct throughout its 15-year run. The sheer number of bisexuals SPN took inspiration from only to straight-wash and queerbait for as long as it did is almost as ridiculous as claiming that a show that did the opposite of that was trying to emulate it.

I also find it stupid because Good Omens the book was published fifteen years before the fifteen-year hate crime that is Supernatural ever aired a single episode. The elements of queerness that the show teased out and expanded upon existed back when Eric Kripke was still what I can only imagine was an insufferable teen proto-filmbro making some poor underpaid high school English professor take up drinking to cope with his hypermasc Americana edgelord bullshit in every essay.

Much like when SPN fans started yelling that Matt Ryan's Constantine was a ripoff of Supernatural and Castiel, this is just embarrassing. If anything, the inspiration for Destiel came from Good Omens, not the other way around.

As for any worries fans express (in their adamant denials) about the Ineffable Lovers "replacing" Destiel, I have to ask...for who? Pretty sure no diehard Heller is going to burn their Castiel handprint patch from Stands as a sacrifice to the gomens gods to prove their loyalty. And anyway, nothing is ever going to approach being the "new Destiel" without at least a dozen years of will-they/won't-they slow burn angst and enemies to allies to enemies to friends to coparents to lovers shenanigans. It's just implausible! We can't even get a show to have five whole seasons anymore nowadays.

I know Destiel is important to Hellers. I'm a Heller. It's important to ME. But we aren't doing ourselves or anyone else any favors by acting like every star-crossed queer love story that comes along is somehow copying or devaluing Destiel. That is just laughably untrue. The Ineffable Lovers will never be Destiel, sure. But who ever said they were trying to be? I thought the whole explicit canonicity bit made it pretty clear that wasn't the case.

TL;DR: Hellers including me all have terminal brainworms from being gaslit since we were impressionable teenagers by Eric Kripke and all his successors, but that's no excuse to intentionally spoil big moments or be shitty about other shows giving their audience canonical queer rep. From the bottom of my Heller heart, grow the fuck up besties.

[nikadoesanart]

Dazai living in a shipping container analysis

I’ll be talking about the “pros” and “cons”, if you can even call them that, of Dazai living in a shipping container near a dumping site. Also I am using what architecture knowledge I do have on the subject of container homes.

This is on the longer side so brace yourself. Also Stormbringer spoiler warning, in case that wasn’t realized yet.

Before I actually start I’ll preface this by saying that I’m a former architecture student but it was with a design focus. I have also previously designed a shipping container home so although I have some knowledge, it does have its limitations.

Also this will be updated when the fan translations get to this part of Stormbringer. Currently, I’m getting the information from chazukekani and popopretty’s summaries and translations, so please check them out too!

As a general reference for what to expect of a shipping container home, the average shipping container is 8 x 20 ft or 8 x 40 ft. As a more visual example, here is a portion of the container house I designed. Note that it’s total length is 30ft because I have two 20ft long containers stacked on top of each other, with a 10ft offset. The space beyond the sliding doors is a balcony and can basically be ignored for the purpose of this analysis. With the pictured dimensions, you can consider it to be insulated from the outside, so as not to sacrifice internal space. Despite this, you can see that it feels fairly cramped even with minimal furniture (a sink, toilet and shower unit in the bathroom and a bed, desk, and wardrobe closet in the master bedroom).

Dazai’s current living arrangement

Now for comparison, let’s first take note of what’s known of Dazai’s living conditions for comparison.

he’s living in an illegal dumping site, and there are toxic substances coming from the ground because of this

“Not even a field mouse would dare to approach it.” (Popopretty)

the area is not on the map and Dazai lives near the center of it (which can easily be one of the worst parts in terms of health and safety)

the container was previously “used to export passenger cars overseas” (popopretty)

his only furniture is a fridge, (exhaust) fan, desk/table, a chair, and a bare light bulb

no one would approach “not just because the place itself was weird. It was because no one could predict how Dazai would react if someone approached his private residence.” (Popopretty)

it’s been a year since he’s joined, yet no one trusts him → he could’ve been living here since before he joined but we don’t know as of yet

he’s sitting in complete darkness, lightbulb off and door shut, until Verlaine opens the door and walks in

Verlaine asks if he’s living here because he’s afraid of property taxes but Dazai claims that he’s afraid of Verlaine. He’s not actually addressing his choice of location because he only corrected Verlaine on what he fears, and gives no actual explanation for why he chose to live here.

The “pros”

Naturally unapproachable location. Even if Dazai being PM Dazai wasn’t a factor in people staying away, the nearby smell alone means no one would normally approach it, much less suspect a Port Mafia executive of all people to be living there. It’s also unmapped territory so even less reason for him to be found. This means enemies and allies alike would have a more difficult time trying to find him (ie. to come for his life) and there’s unlikely to be anyone else around. After all, if even a mouse won’t go there why would a whole person live there?

It costs him nothing. Not that it’d make a difference with what we can assume of his financial wealth. He has money, likely more than Chuuya who lives in a nice apartment in a nice area, yet chooses to live in a shipping container in an illegal dumping site. This is beneficial for Dazai, since there’s no paper trail or record of where he lives, which goes right into my 3rd point.

Ease of abandonment. Considering his whole goal at the time is to off himself without troubling others in the process, it makes sense that he’d want to leave minimal traces behind. No unpaid rent or mortgage, no one on a waiting list to move into a nice place, and no personal belongings or attachments. This winds up being a pro/advantageous when he does leave the PM since there wasn’t a trace to follow him with in the first place. He can simply grab his few things of importance and find a new shipping container or abandoned building outside of the PM’s territory. In fact, he might’ve even been able to stay there or in that general area since no one dares to approach it in the first place.

The “cons”

Or should I say say the dangerous living conditions he’s in. I don’t find them surprising because again, he doesn’t have a long term plan to live at this point. He doesn’t have much reason to care about what happens to himself, as we can deduce from his overall disregard towards being constantly injured and in danger for example. This is also where the architectural stuff comes into play.

Let’s start with the most visible one, lack of insulation. With a shipping container home, you can insulate from the inside and lose about a foot of interior space in each direction (6 in. off each wall) or from the outside and lose the aesthetic of the textured walls. Either way, it costs time and money to do it. We know it’s not insulated from the inside because of the illustration and, in my opinion, it’s very unlikely that Dazai would’ve gotten it insulated from the outside because at the very least, it would make his container stand out among the others nearby. You need to insulate a container home because they get very hot or cold in the summer and winter respectively, as they are made of metal. I’ve heard that at the very least, Japan’s summers are HOT.

This one is a little harder to confirm and will likely be updated as fan translations are released, but a likely hazardous set up for electricity and (hopefully) plumbing. If you don’t have the insulation on the inside but you still have your electrical and plumbing, it can possibly become both a visual mess and a safety hazard. It’s possible that he kept it all in the back portion of his container for example, or maybe he has it taped to the floor or walls somewhere, but that also brings the question of where it’s connected to on the outside. Since he’s on a dumping site, then where’s the electrical going to go at the very least? Sure he can use nearby public facilities but every day? He has a fridge, single lightbulb and a fan but where is the power is connected to? In terms of plumbing, I think it’s equally likely he found a Porta potty nearby or there’s (hopefully) some sort of public or PM owned facility nearby. Really, his hygiene, especially during the PM days when he was (as far as we the audience are aware) likely at his lowest, can easily become its own separate question/discussion for another day. After all, we’re just talking about the condition of his container in this post.

The possible fumes and chemicals left over. The paint on shipping containers is meant to withstand the sea water splashing on to them, so it may contain harsh chemicals. And we know that his container was used previously to ship cars overseas, but that still leaves the possibility for things to have leaked on the inside at this time. We don’t actually know if it’s been used more than once, but seeing as we do have a usage history, I’d say there’s a fair enough chance for it to have been a single use container. Still, chemicals could’ve previously leaked and the paint may be a concern in the long run. It’s also possible that it has begun rusting as well, due to the metal being exposed to the likes of sea water. Also, let’s not forget the toxic substances from the illegal dumping site itself, possibly going into the container over time.

Also as far as we can tell, there seems to be a lack of windows. This means no natural light, aside from opening a whole door. Keep in mind that windows can help with indoor temperature control, not just natural light.

Living in a dump site, especially an illegal one. This one should speak for itself but I’ll list some concerns anyway. Seeing as it’s illegal, we can probably just forget about regulations altogether, much less any possible existing ones being followed. This means that there can be literally anything from hazardous waste material, to dangerous and sharp objects on the ground, to who knows what kind of smells and fumes, etc. In short, not a safe area to live in, for health concern reasons at a minimum.

Again, my knowledge on shipping container homes themselves is limited and I do recommend checking out Belinda Carr’s videos on some of the downsides of them from a professional’s POV.

7 reasons why shipping container homes are a scam

Responding to comments: shipping container scam video

Also, just because Dazai was making presumably LARGE amounts of money obviously doesn’t mean that he has to spend it all or live luxuriously if he doesn’t want to. It’s not that hard to infer why Dazai did choose to live in such conditions and I mainly wanted to draw attention to how these conditions can affect him, with both the advantages and disadvantages.

[vendettaparker]

Talking to the Moon [P.P]

Summary: When Peter’s identity is leaked, he is forced to leave you and his old life behind, shattering your heart in the process. 

Pairing: Peter Parker x Avenger!Reader

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: ANGST, like straight up rip your heart out. Far From Home spoiler (kinda), Endgame spoiler (kinda)

a/n: so if you couldn’t tell this is based off of the song ‘Talking to the Moon’ by Bruno Mars. its a loose interpretation. i’ve been planning an angsty fic like this for a while. angst is my favorite genre of fic, especially when it has a hopeful or fluffy ending. so this one DOES have a hopeful ending and potential for a sequel,, so yuh, enjoy! <3

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

     Three years, two months, and 14 days. That’s how long it had been since Peter’s identity was leaked. That’s how long it had been since he left you. For good. 

     Peter had been frantic after that news broadcast aired. He webbed back to the compound immediately, crying the whole way. He was scared for himself, sure, but the fear he felt in the pit of his stomach for May, Ned, MJ, you. That was the reason for his tears now. He could hardly breathe by the time he made it to the compound. Happy, Rhodey, Sam, and Bucky meeting him as he burst through the large floor to wall windows in the main room. The frantic yelling, pleas, and cries coming from the main room were what alerted you to his presence. When you walked in he was a mess. Crying, heaving with anxiety about how scared he was. Peter had always been a sensitive, emotional boy, but he always got over his shit eventually. But this? This, seemed like the end for him. 

     You ran up to him, shushing him and holding him. Trying to tell him to simply “breathe”. All he could say, over and over again like a mantra was a schloo of “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I love you. I’m so sorry.” Your heart broke. How could fate be so cruel to the sweetest boy? The one who was the most deserving of all the happiness life could possibly offer. The rest of the team had shown up within the next hour. Happy, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and Pepper also present. Peter had calmed down slightly, but he knew, he just knew, this was the day he had to say goodbye. He had had this talk with Mr. Stark back when he had stopped his first villain, Vulture. Tony knew the type of sick monsters out there who would love to get their hands on the boy behind the Spider-man mask. He and Peter had developed a plan in the tragic case that Peter’s identity should be released, at least, not on his own terms. Tony’s plan was for Peter to run away. Leave. Take nothing with him but the clothes on his back, and even then burn those clothes the minute he could. Tony knew. He knew these dangers. And worse, he knew the consequences. 

     May had come to the compound the second she got the call. She knew as well. Peter knew. She knew. Tony, even in his grave, knew. Everyone knew. Everyone but you. 

     Peter had a getaway car and a destination ready within another hour. He wouldn’t disclose it to anyone. He took you aside, gently stroking your cheek to wipe the hot tears that never seemed to cease. “Hey, hey, (Y/N). I’m so sorry.” He whispered, choking up on every other word, trying to be stronger, just a little stronger, for you. “I have to go now. I’m so so sorry. I love you so much.”

     “It’s okay Peter,” You sniffled, pushing his bangs back and giving him a sad smile. “I’ll miss you, but I’ll be here when you get back. Don’t worry.” 

     Peter’s lips quivered and he heaved another sob. “No, (Y/N). I-I’m not coming back.” You took your hand back as you felt the pressure of tears building behind your eyes. 

     “W-what? No, this—it’s just temporary. Until we can—Fury and Pepper—We can fix this.” You stuttered anxiously, hoping your words would convince him that this was okay. That everything would be okay. 

     “We can’t, (Y/N). It’s done.” Peter spoke, his voice hardly making it to a whisper. 

     “No!” You wrapped your arms around his neck, trying to hold him closer. “Please. Please. Please. I-I can’t! You can’t! I—You’re all I have!” You were sobbing uncontrollably now. The weight of the situation finally caving in and crushing your heart and soul. “Please! I’ll do anything, I’ll protect you! Please!” 

     Your meltdown didn’t help Peter one bit, if anything, seeing how desperate you were to keep hold of him, to just love him; that broke him more. “I’m sorry, please forgive me. Please.”

     “How can I? You’re killing me.” You whimpered into his chest, tears soaking through his black sweatshirt. “I can’t— I just— I can’t!”

     The whole team heard. No walls were thick enough to block out the heartbroken sobs from the two teenagers in love. Fury was the one to finally bring an end to it. Nobody else having the heart to pry you from each other. Even Fury felt his own stoic exterior cracking. 

     You were in hysterics, clawing, and grabbing at Peter’s sweatshirt, hair, face, anything you could grab. It didn’t matter if you hurt him at this point, he’d heal. But if he left you, you knew you’d never recover. Fury had put you in a chokehold while yanking you back. Peter just heaved and heaved, his sobs getting louder and his chest getting tighter. May rushed over to him and took his hand, placing his head in her chest. 

     Fury yanked you back more, but you still refused to quit. Fury released his chokehold, not wanting to do any real damage to you. Right as you were released, Wanda came up behind you and placed her hands on your head, red magic already starting to swirl. 

     “No, please.” You wheezed, trying to get a fresh breath of air. “He’s all I have.”

     Wanda looked at you, tears glistening in her eyes. “I’m sorry, (Y/N). I’m so sorry.”

     Without so much as a flick of her wrist, you were out, descending into darkness. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

     Peter left after that. The car taking him away, and you hadn’t seen him since. As the months went on you never really recovered. Never really felt whole again. You just survived. That was all. You went through the motions of everyday life, but never truly felt like you were living. Two weeks after Peter left, May left with Happy. They moved to California, living there ever since as well. They got married last year. You were all invited and everyone went. Everyone but you. You missed May and Happy, but it still hurt. Plus, you were busy anyway. After you graduated high school, you flung yourself into the avenger lifestyle, fully immersing yourself in it. You went on every mission possible. Did all the paperwork you could. You did anything and everything you could to keep yourself busy. Stop yourself from feeling the pain that had stopped feeling like a searing stab and had now turned into a dull ache. A new constant in your life. 

     Nights were the worst though. The only time you couldn’t be constantly avenging or working yourself to the bone on new suit technology. The only time you had to think and feel. The only thing keeping you going was the hope that Peter was still out there. Somewhere, anywhere, missing you as much as you were missing him. Watching the same moon you watched. Basking in the same sun that shined on you every day. Every horrible, miserable day. 

     “(Y/N)?” the quiet, soft voice of Pepper breaking you out of your headspace. You hummed a response and looked up at her, waiting for her to continue. “Did you hear what I said?”

     “No, sorry.” You responded sheepishly. Pepper’s gaze softened. She took in your lean figure and pale face, eyes seeming to be sunken in from the dark circles. “I was just finishing up this briefing of my last mission.” 

     “You went alone?” Pepper asked, concern washing over her features.

     “It was a simple one. Just took out a mob, was done in like, four hours.” 

      Pepper sighed. “(Y/N)—”

     “Pep, it’s fine. It was so easy, anyone could have done it.” You cut her off, turning back to your laptop, typing away. 

     “It’s not just that though. It’s all of this. This whole funk you’re in. The same one you’ve been in for years, (Y/N).” Pepper waved her hands around to emphasize her point. “We all see it. You can’t keep doing this to yourself. He wouldn’t want this.” 

     Your whole demeanor changed. The solemn, yet calm veneer breaking. “It doesn’t matter what he wants, Pepper! I didn’t want this. All I wanted was him. For the rest of my life. Nothing else would matter, as long as I had him to get me through it. But I don’t have him. I have nothing. He was it for me. He—” You sobbed, tears finally running down your face in an uncontrollable waterfall. “I feel like I died. Like I am just a spectator, no longer doing anything of interest to myself.” 

     Pepper pulled you into her so fast. She was always quick to console you. The months after Peter left she was the only one you could stomach seeing. “It’s okay. I know, shh, I know.” Pepper was tearing up now too. She knew you never got over it. But now seeing with her own eyes how broken you’d really become. The reality hurt. “He’s out there, okay? And it’s going to be okay. He’s okay. We’re okay.” 

     You just cried. That’s all you could do. The more you tried to talk about it the stronger the urge to cry was. Pepper just hummed and held you. Stroking your hair until you fell asleep. 

     When you woke up you were in your room. It was dark and the moon was shining through the opened window. You just stared at it, closing your eyes and imagining Peter was staring at it too. The same one. Thinking about you, just like you were thinking about him. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

     Another few weeks went by. The same routine, the same empty feeling consistent in your body. Nothing changed. The revelation that you were, in fact, not okay didn’t fix anything. It still hurt. You were still broken.

     You were in the training room, sparring with Wanda when the melodic tune of your ringtone rang through the gym, echoing off the walls. You put your hands up in defense to stop Wanda from continuing the match. Wanda whipped her hands around and brought your phone to you in a wisp of red magic. 

     “Thanks.” You mumbled, wiping your sweat off your forehead with the back of your hand and taking the phone from the air. Wanda nodded and jumped out of the ring to grab her water bottle. 

     You looked at your phone still ringing, seeing an unfamiliar number, but taking in the location: Budapest, Hungary. You answered the call bringing the phone up to your ear “Hello?” You asked, shifting from one foot to the other waiting for a reply. A beat of silence pasted before you heard a tired, yet all too familiar voice on the other end. 

     “(Y/N)?”

[jaylamcd68]

The Rookie 4x02

Episode Summary

Spoilers ahead

Tamara is moving in permanently and they are choosing paint colors. Lucy is indecisive about the paint colors  but John says Tamara was ready to paint weeks ago. Tim’s first day as a Sargent is today, Lucy pranks him by leaving boots in his locker. Grey and Nyla give Tim a silver and gold plated sergeants badge. Nyla’s new rookie is apparently an former internet star that was exonerated for murder. Tim is taking roll call today. New rookie officer Thorsen introduces himself and says he promises to fight to tip the scales to justice because he knows what it’s like when the scales are tipped against you. Tim then tells everyone that this weekend is going to be crazy, multiple concerts/sports games/ other events with thousands of people and celebrities.

Nolan and Lucy are paired up, Lucy is asking him what he thinks about wallpaper, John tries to get Lucy to realize that she’s being indecisive because she feels guilty about “moving on” and until she deals with that Tamara is never going to feel like she really belongs in that room. They pull over the main chick for the episode and Nolan asks Lucy if he can practice being a TO on this call, Nolan calls Lucy boot as soon as they get out of the car which is a nonstarter for her 😂 They ask her for her licence and registration, as soon as they run her name Claire Ivy turns out to be suspected in over 40 high end heists. Nolan calls in to Grey and Tim and they advise John to advise her to get out of town since she’s likely here to do another heist to which Claire has already told Lucy Nolan would say when he was in their shop looking her up. Lucy tells John she has a girl crush.

Harper and Thorsen arrive at a call. There are signs of violence so they enter. There is a gas leak so they holster their weapons and continue their search where they find a body and Thorsen starts to have a panic attack.

Grey and Bradford arrive and get the scoop from Harper. Tim asks Nyla if her rookie puked to which Nyla says yes but it’s more than just the gore, the situation seems to have triggered some uncomfortable memories, then she turns to grey and deadpans “almost like he shouldn’t be a cop” to which he replies “good thing he has the best TO in the business to help him through it” and Tim jumps in with “he can say that now that I’ve been promoted” 😂 Grey gets Tim to run by what should happen next. Tim says they should canvass the scene while FD contains the gas leak to which Grey reminds Tim he is not a player anymore, he’s the coach so Tim tells Nyla to get her rookie and do it.

Bailey and the firefighters arrive in scene. Lucy suggests John should ask her out again. Thorsen apologizes to Nyla but says it’s good that he knows he has this trigger and can work on it to which Nyla tells him that this is not therapy and to work his problems out on his own time.

Angela is on maternity leave and is watching an ABC 20/20 documentary on Aaron Thorsen’s murder trial. Wesley walks in saying Jack finally is down. Angela tells him that Aaron is Nyla’s new rookie because they apparently are letting murderers in to which Wesley points out that he was found innocent, and Angela points out that it was after he was found guilty but then the baby starts crying again. John and Lucy call Angela about Claire Ivy to which Angela tells them that she’s one of the best and to look into the files she had before.

Lucy calls over Bailey and then ditches so John anxiously asks her out again to which she says yes.

Back at the station they talk about Claire Ivy’s reputation and that she doesn’t normally go for anything less than $5 million, but that still leaves multiple targets. They ID her crew via hotel security cams. Tim asks Nyla if she wants in on this and Nyla says yes but her rookie isn’t ready and she parks him on the desk. He tries to say he is ready, and that he can’t prove he is ready if he’s not with her, but Nyla says he also can’t get her killed if he’s not with her.

Outside the hotel Lucy and Nolan are posted waiting for Claire. Lucy is fan girling about Claire. John is nervous about his date with Bailey. They see Claire leaving the hotel and talk with her, they get her to hinting that the heist is happening tomorrow

Harper and Thorsen talk about how the rest of their shifts went and apparently 9 people at the desk asked him if he was a murderer and TMZ showed up. Aaron questions if Nyla is going to fire him and she tells him that he will come in and quit tomorrow because he won’t be able to stop thinking about the dead girl and if he doesn’t then that’s when she’ll fire him.

Angela and Wesley who haven’t slept in days are arguing over Aaron’s case, in the middle Jack wakes up crying and they realize how dumb they were to waste the time arguing the case when they could have been sleeping, showering, etc.

Lucy knocks on Tamara’s door and apologizes for being so picky about the paint colors. She starts to cry and just explains that it’s because she’s been having such a hard time because it makes it real that Jackson is never coming home. Tamara understands because every time she changes something she feels like she is erasing him as much as she is happy to be living here she also feels guilty that Jackson isn’t. 😭😭😭 Lucy says Jackson would be happy that Tamara is here and happy that something good came out of the whole situation. Also that he would mock them for having all these paint colors on the wall.

Bailey arrives at John’s house. He tells her about the fancy restaurant that makes meals out of some legume to which Bailey does not seem interested in and then asks her if she wants to go on a stakeout with him instead. At the bar Claire comes up to them and Claire informs John of all the info she has looked up about him because she likes to do her background research too. John and Bailey kiss after Claire walks away. Bailey and John wake up at his house the next morning and are all smiles.

Nyla asks Grey to not convince Aaron to not quit when he walks in to do so this morning only for Grey to look out to the hall and say it doesn’t look like Aaron has any plans on doing that since he was dressed for patrol. Nyla confronts him about what she said about what would happen if he didn’t quit himself and Aaron expresses that he is not going to quit because what happened to him was so awful he has committed himself to making sure that it doesn’t happen to anyone else so if she cuts him from the program he will just go to every other station in California until someone gives him a chance because he needs to be a cop.

Outside the hotel Lucy and John and staking it out again and Lucy asks how last night went. John says his date was great and then gets a text from Bailey saying she doesn’t think things will work out. Tim calls in for a status report and tells them that Claire’s whole crew is having brunch in public which is concerning. Then Claire comes out and they have put boots on her car for “not paying tickets” and Claire lets them know that her back up plans have back up plans and gets on a motorcycle and drives off. Tim loses sight of the rest of the crew at brunch because a bus pulls in front of them. He enters the bus and pulls up a hatch to discover they went through it and down a sewage drain.

Nyla and Aaron arrive at the murder scene because a neighbour reported seeing someone enter the home. When Harper asks who he thinks it would be Aaron tells her either a burglar who knows the homeowner is dead or the killer looking for whatever the police didn’t take. They discover the girls assistant in the office looking for her laptop. Aaron reports that no laptop was checked into evidence. It turns out that the dead girl was coordinating the jewelry for the Gala, which Aaron concludes must mean that this is what Claire’s heist is going to be about. Whenever there is going to be a gala, celebrities borrow tens of millions of dollars worth of jewellery that are delivered by an armoured car before and then picked up by afterwards. Claire killed the girl to get the delivery schedule and to get the biggest score she would hit the truck right at the beginning. They pan to the heist only for it to turn out the John is the armoured van driver, Tim is the security gate guard, etc. and they capture them all with John getting Claire personally after shooting her in the shoulder when she fired on him.

Grey scolds Tim for getting in on the action because he says that Tim doesn’t trust anyone else to do it right. Grey tells him “control freaks don’t make good sergeants.” Tim tells Grey that advising from a distance might work for him, but he has to find his own way of doing things. Grey then tells him that a little praise goes a long way to which Tim says it’s against his nature but he’ll give it a shot 😂

Nyla tells Aaron to thoroughly check the shop at the end of each shift. Aaron then asks Nyla if she can give him a different nickname than 5 minutes, because 5 minutes was approximately how long his roommate that he was trialed for “killing” was alive and dragging himself looking for Aaron for help after his throat was cut in their apartment, and Aaron feels guilty that if he had just woken up maybe he would still be alive. He doesn’t want pity from Nyla but she just responds don’t worry because coming up with nicknames is fun for her.

CHENFORD: Lucy is seen sneaking into the men’s locker room with another pair of booties and as she is trying to open up his locker (so she must have his code!! They have so much trust 😍😭) Tim catches her and says he’s disappointed in her for being so unoriginal since she had already put boots in. Lucy tells him she can’t help it if she’s had a busy day. Tim then painfully tries to praise Lucy for her and Nolan’s good work today and explains that he’s been told to do this because that’s what good supervisors do. Lucy asks what else he appreciates of her to which he responds that she knows when to not push her luck. His little smirk as he heads back to his  locker is everything 😭❤️

Angela and Wesley are asleep on the couch when Angela’s phone rings. They are worried that the sound woke the baby but it did not, however when Angela reads that they caught Claire Ivy she yells in excitement which does wake Jack😂

Lucy is making supper and hears a loud noise coming from Tamara’s room. Tamara opens her door and asks Lucy to promise she won’t be mad when she sees what she’s done with the room. She had graffitied the walls with her art. Lucy loves it.

John catches Bailey on shift just to ask her why she broke up with him over text. Bailey says she’s horrible at relationships so she thought she would cut it off ahead of time. John convinces her to give them a chance and they kiss even though she is still on shift with her coworkers hollering in the background.

[makeste]

Open for movie speculation? :) The new key visual was released today and if you don't want miniscule spoilers then I'll gladly spend the time asking how you're doing in these times and how you light up my saturday with your posts that never cease to make me laugh haha. I do hope you're doing well :) So here's the wee spoiler (or should I call it a spoiler?) the antagonist(?) is called "Flect Turn", hope you have a nice week :)

so as usual, I'm late in responding to this, but I just wanted to clarify that my "no spoilers, please" policy pretty much only applies to the new BnHA manga chapters, and that's specifically because of the weekly reaction posts. I know part of the appeal of a liveblog is watching someone else's reactions to all of the surprises and twists and wtf moments, and so I try to preserve those each week. if I wasn't liveblogging the series I would probably be reading the leaks along with everybody else to tell the truth lol.

so that said, feel free to send me spoilers about the upcoming movie! out of respect for those who do want to avoid being spoiled, I'll tag those posts (and this one) with "bnha world heroes' mission spoilers" and "bnha movie 3 spoilers" so people can blacklist those tags if desired. but I personally have no objection to them; back when Heroes Rising came out I already knew all of the plot points and had read detailed spoiler summaries well before I finally got the chance to watch it myself. it definitely did not take away from the experience at all, and in fact I'm kind of glad I knew about the end twist ahead of time because I was able to devote more mental energy to analyzing and appreciating it rather than still being all "!!!!" from the shock lol.

so yeah, I've been trying to stay up to date with the news about WHM as well. here's everything I think we know so far:

the movie will take place during the Endeavor Agency internship, as expected.

the bad guys are a terrorist organization called "Humanize", who believe in the Quirk Singularity Doomsday Theory we first learned about during the Remedial arc. as a refresher, basically the idea is that as quirks continue to evolve with each new generation, they'll eventually grow too powerful for humans to control and will destroy the world or something lol.

anyway so Humanize hears about this, and they're either like, "man that sucks, we should just kill everyone with a quirk so it doesn't happen", OR they're like "man that sounds awesome, we should totally expedite that." like, I'm really not clear on this part lol. but either way, they apparently come up with a plan to cleanse the world of quirk users by planting magical plot bombs called Ideo Trigger Bombs, which make people lose control of their quirks.

as mentioned, the bad guys' leader is named Flect Turn for god knows what reason lmao. I'm guessing it's some kind of weird play on the word "reflect" (especially given his character design), and based on that, as well as the Ideo Triggers, I suspect this guy has the ability to somehow turn people's own quirks against them. you can see him at the bottom of the key visual anon mentioned, here.

anyway so the heroes are all "hmm, pretty sure the end of world = bad" and so they all decide to band together under this "W.H.A." umbrella (which I'm still assuming stands for either World Hero Agency or World Hero Association or something like that) to deal with the bombs.

as shown on the key visual, in addition to the Endeavor Agency trio, the movie will also feature the kids from Ryuukyuu, Fat Gum, Gang Orca (who has Jirou and Shouji interning under him for anyone who lost track), and Hawks's agencies.

the movie will also feature a new character named Rody Soul, who's this weird steampunk Dickensian urchin-looking guy with a ponytail lol. he apparently teams up with the trio following one of the bomb incidents.

most of the movie will apparently take place in a fictional country called Oceon (this is why nobody could quite place where that bridge in the trailer was from lol).

at some point Deku gets framed for murder idk. just Deku things.

and last but not least, as usual there will be a special manga tie-in release, in this case titled "Volume W(orld Heroes)". looks like the initial release will be exclusive to theater-goers in Japan, but I'm sure someone will get their hands on it and post it online, and Viz will eventually release it in English as well (they did the same with the previous two tie-ins). it'll include behind-the-scenes sketches, a new Horikoshi interview (probably the part I'm most looking forward to), and of course, the new movie tie-in chapter. as with the previous tie-ins (Volume Origin and Volume Rising), this will be written and drawn by Horikoshi himself. I'm hoping that it will feature the trio, but the other movie tie-ins featured All Might and Nine, respectively, so it's probably more realistic to assume this one will focus on Rody. ah well.

I think that's it. I haven't really done much speculating about the plot either tbh, though what we've learned seems pretty straightforward. Deku probably either gets framed for one of the bombs, or gets caught up in one of the blasts and loses control of OFA. or maybe they'll save that part for his fight with Flect at the end. god, if we get a scene where he goes on a Blackwhip rampage with a big screen budget I will lose my whole damn mind. especially if Kacchan and Shouto have to work together to stop him. can you imagine omg. but I should really rein myself in before I start getting way too hyped up over a bunch of wild hypotheticals. this is why I try not to speculate lol.

[newtonsheffield]

Always excited to see you respond to my asks. I think I'm fangirling over you. Please do not apologise for the "delay". Sometimes, I forget what I've sent you and only remember when it pops up on your page. Then, I get even more excited.

Just read your headcanon of our nervous clown Anthony set during the dinner in Insufferable. SO GOOD! Thank you and a thank you to whoever sent you that ask!

Staying on this theme, can you give us a snippet into the morning after Daphne's party from Anthony's POV? The waking up before her, the breakfast prep, and whatever else your beautiful mind is willing to treat us with!

💕

Ahhh Fangirling over me? The most truly useless human being I know? Nahhh no way! Just yesterday I said to myself Let’s follow our dream. Let’s get some macadamias. That’s a true story and honestly, the macadamias were a delight! Anyway, truly, very glad you’re enjoying these little snippets despite the enormous delay (most of the time)

Mmmm I’m truly starting to think I might have to write Insufferable from Anthony’s POV because the entire time Kate’s sitting there thinking she’s trapped him in a hospital room with her family and then assaulted him with her tears he’s desperately trying to work up the courage to ask her on a date. Then quietly dying the entire car ride to Daphne’s because in his mind, They’re on a date, to a family function. His intentions couldn’t be any clearer. As we know, this was not the case for Kate who was desperately wondering if it even was a date. We’ve seen the morning after from Kate’s point of view in little snippets here and there but let us peep what’s going on inside our boy’s. Spoiler alert (it’s bloody heart eyes)

Anthony Bridgerton awoke on the 30th of June 2020, with a sneeze. A little disoriented after such a jarring awakening he opened his eyes, wondering what could possibly be tickling his nose, his left arm seemed to be completely numb. And them he remembered. Kate Sheffield was tucked into his bed beside him, her legs intertwined with his, snoring softly in an absolutely adorable way. His arm tightened reflexively around her waist, pulling her back even tighter to his chest. Warmth and contentment bloomed in his chest as the night before came flooding back to him. Kate’s horrorstruck face as she saw that woman, flirting mercilessly as he tried to brush her off, Kate’s tears her voice angry and finally, I love you too and his heart was on fire. This truly hadn’t been is intention at the beginning of the night, he’d intended  to have a nice night with her and deposit her safely back on her doorstep possibly, if she’d allow him, with a goodnight kiss. But then she’d told him she loved him, and her mouth had been on his and god he couldn’t even think as she’d pulled back and whispered in his ear I think you should take me home Anthony her voice a husky rasp that had sent a shiver down his spine. 

It was odd, Anthony thought as he watched Kate sleep peacefully, bathed in the soft light leaking through the curtain,  that he felt so content with her here. Or rather it should be. He’d always preferred to take women back to their own homes, wanting to compartmentalise them from the home where he hosted his family. But last night when he’d all but dragged Kate into the waiting car his hand creeping up her thigh he hadn’t even hesitated before he’d sent them back to his. And as he’d pushed her back onto his mattress and knelt before her with a soft This is... this is okay right? and she’d moaned God, Yes, Please Anthony in a way that set him absolutely on fire, his last thought as he’d pulled her stockings down with his teeth had been how right she looked here amongst his things. 

Kate shifted slightly, her eyelids fluttering open, widening a little in surprise and confusion before she relaxed against him, letting out a warm contented little hum that made his heart want to burst with affection for her. He chuckled

“My, My, Poor Boris Johnson will be ever so disappointed to hear that he’s fallen further down your list of marriageable prospects.”  Kate groaned “You’re going to be insufferable aren’t you?” Anthony hummed happily, felt his lips curve in a content smile. “I’m rather afraid I will be.” he whispered in her ear, silence settling between them comfortably. Kate seemed to stiffen after several seconds, turning in his arms and sitting up slightly, wrapping his bedsheet around her, covering herself from his view, a small crease between her eyebrows. Anthony felt nerves creep into his stomach. God, what if she was about to tell him this had all been an enormous mistake? That she’d just gotten a little swept away by his declaration and brushed him off with a Thanks, this was fun. Or Worse That was alright What if-

“I’m sorry I slept over, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” Kate’s small voice broke through his reverie. Anthony felt his own brow furrow. “I wanted you to. I meant what I said last night, Kate. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.” he said, his voice soft but firm. He’d whispered them in her ear as they fell asleep last night I didn’t even know I could. Her eyes which had been trained on the bedsheets in front of her flick to his, a relieved sort of smile on her face.  “I’m glad that wasn’t just...” She trailed off, her cheeks colouring a little. Laughter bubbled in Anthony’s chest, he leaned towards her, letting his lips brush her ear,  “The incredible sex you gave me talking? No. It wasn’t.” He felt Kate shiver against him as he added “Though, thanks for that.” Kate scoffed and swatted him away. Anthony laughed, tugging on the back of her neck until her lips met his in a soft kiss he felt her relax against him, her tongue tangling with his, deepening it in a way that had heat building quickly in the pit of his stomach again. And then her stomach growled. Anthony pulled back laughing brightly as Kate groaned embarrassedly, her head dropping to his shoulder. 

“Why don’t you take a shower, and I’ll make you some breakfast?” He said, kissing her forehead, as he stood from the bed moving to his wardrobe, rifling through to find some clothes for her humming happily to himself as he pulled his own boxers back on.  Kate was smiling softly when he returned, biting her thumbnail almost in disbelief. Anthony felt his heart leap again, an odd sense of pride welling in him. He’d taken Kate Sheffield out, and after a minor mishap it had gone well. Very well. And he intended to let things continue in this fashion for as long as she would let him.  “I’ll be in the kitchen when you’re ready.” He said, handing her the clothes and turning away as she nodded softly. She caught his hand holding him in place for just a second longer as she kissed his cheek before padding softly to his bathroom.  Anthony whistled the entire way downstairs, and as Kate joined him, peeking nervously through the door as he was whisking eggs, before perching herself at his breakfast bar he couldn’t help but think he’d very happily spend the rest of his life having Saturday mornings just like this one.   

Again, this got away from me a little my b.

[frightfurtabby]

HimiKiyo Week 2021 Day 4: I Am Not Your Queen

// Mastermind Kiyo AU for day 4! Because that’s a pretty good reason to be enemies. Could things be different? It’ll take a while for these two to figure out.

Word Count: 2848

Links-

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34159447

Amino: (coming soon)

“That’s right. If all other alibis check out…” Shuichi said, hand on his chin. This was the final class trial, everyone’s fate hinged directly on what was going to happen next. It depended on the case they’ve built up so far being absolutely correct. One irrefutable accusation and the mastermind’s entire game was crumbling to pieces like a house of cards. “Then there can only be one person that was behind the lies that killed Kaede, Rantaro, and all our other friends.” 

His finger pointed across and to his left, at the person standing between Tsumugi and Maki at their trial bench. “Korekiyo Shinguji, you’re the real mastermind behind the killing game!”

The detective's words echoed throughout the room, bouncing off the walls. Himiko, in spite of how many times others called her “slow” grew increasingly silent as the discussion kept going back to them and their actions from earlier. They had been outed as a serial killer in a previous trial but in spite of everything they helped Himiko at her lowest point immediately after what had happened with Angie and Tenko. 

She remembered crying on Kiyo’s shoulder, listening to their soothing voice put her at ease, advice like a wise sage being passed down. Each and every time she needed it, she would go to that anthropology lab. Each time her footsteps took her in, her feelings only grew stronger. Her first kiss was in there, with them. Before what happened there was a pull she felt, but she never got much of a chance to get close with how intimidating they came off as.

Kiyo, who was now replying calmly as though none of it was bothering them. This was how it started in the other trial too, So that should be reassuring right? 

“Yes, it was me.” they said, “I just so happened to pick up my own after noticing Kaede had taken one with help from my nanokumas.”

Oh. 

Oh no.

And now it felt like the world was crumbling again. Only instead of feeling deflated and alone she was enraged. Enraged that the case against Kiyo didn’t have any holes in it. How could it be true? And now just admitting to it?

“Was all of that… was all of it a lie Kiyo?” she begged that what they had was real. Even now standing across from them as enemies. 

“No. I’ve been up front with you this whole time. There were simply parts of the story you weren’t ready to know. And you still… aren’t ready yet.”

“But you- but you-” words escaped the Mage, leaving her unable to think calmly and properly. “You could have stopped this at any point, but you kept going.” She didn’t even notice they felt a tinge of fear underneath the words she was replying to.

“Why assume I have enough control to end it early, that would be going far off-script.” A small bead of sweat formed which the killer wiped away. 

Wait… off script? What did something like that even mean?

Himiko turned to notice that Maki was giving them a death glare. “Because you’re the mastermind, obviously.”

“Oh, I see. In that case… no, I wasn’t working alone to do this.” they began to explain. “This wouldn’t have been possible without Team Danganronpa and all the fans watching right this very minute!”

“T-Team… D-Danganronpa?” Tsumugi stuttered in shock.  

“Yes, the studio that put together the killing game with me on the ground so to speak to act on their behalf. We are not actually the only ones left alive, there are more humans alive than any other time in history and millions upon millions of them tune into this program.“

“The world is… fine?” Kiibo pondered. The revelation made him tense about what his inner voice may be.

“Why would the world want a killing game?”

Kiyo responded “It works as a kind of release valve, I suppose. Conflicts have dwindled over the existence and increasing popularity of this show after all.”

“Can we… Can we go home? Kiyo please, let me go, let *us* go. You can do that right?”

“Even though it is not destroyed, you still cannot.” The other voice came from Korekiyo once more. Sister was back in action. Sternly she looked over each of the remaining survivors. As though she was looking down on them.

Himiko glared at her from under her hat. “You again.” While she was feeling so complicated about Korekiyo right now, she unambiguously disliked their “Sister”. Then it hit her. Maybe if the Sister personality was the one that was the one really in charge she could forgive them… maybe.

It would take a lot after something as horrible as this. Especially since Maki and Shuichi swore to never forgive the mastermind, she was certain that she wouldn’t either. Even if Kiyo was just a lackey it would take time to trust again.

“I’m pleased you’ve all made it this far.” Sister said, sounding incredibly pleased with herself, rather than anything they’d accomplished. “I wasn’t sure you had it in you. I’d like you all to meet the fans.” 

The blush bear sweated, making the cartoon ‘awooga’ sound like a character seeing an attractive person. “Yes ma’am.”

Futuristic gears spun in front of Monokuma, bringing a keyhole to in front of him, he stuck the key in and several screens proceeded to descend. Faces appeared: Asian, white, black, men, women, even children. Various expressions across their features. None of them stayed long enough for any witness to recognize, even if they remembered anyone they had known.

“These are the fans of Danganronpa.” Sister explained. “Danganronpa is their collective favorite show. The 53rd season has been one of the most successful in years.

The discussion was halted. It was surreal, more so than even waking up here originally was. All of those people had been watching the whole time. 

Himiko asked “So the fans they saw… everything?” Did they know who the mastermind was?”

“I presume some of them did, but this reveal is equally for their benefit. There’s a vibrant debate each season about who the mastermind is and how they did it. Occasionally spoilers will get leaked.”

“So this… was the killing real?” Tsumugi’s voice wavered as she tried to speak up.

“Yes, that part was real. The people playing those eliminated characters are gone from this world as well as the real one.” Sister took off Kiyo’s hat and put it across their chest looking solemn. “They knew there was a strong chance of that, and signed up like many other fans before them.”

“Was it you or Korekiyo who committed Rantaro’s murder?” Shuichi prodded. The shock was wearing off. The trial was continuing at last in the wake of 2 extremely unnerving revelations.

“I feel like that’s a question dear Korekiyo should give the answer to.” Their shared body pulled up the mask and Kiyo began to speak again 

“It was as I said many times, I’m only meant to be an observer. I… admittedly broke that role when I chose to do what I did. I even apologized to them, to myself for it.”

“Then why, surely you must have had a reason.” Shuichi prodded. 

“Regrettably for my ethnography, our class that should have been in a completely fresh, sealed environment was muddied when I did it. Sometimes what I want comes into conflict with a higher power and they were banking on Rantaro Amami’s death being the hook for the episode.”

“So then Kaede’s shot put ball really missed…then why didn’t you kill all of us when we got the answer wrong? Simply f--for Television ratings?”

“I’m afraid the answer to that is yes. That is why everyone survived the sham trial. The fans would have completely revolted.”

“But maybe we’d be spared this revolting game continuing. Do you understand all of this is wrong?” Maki shot at them. 

“Those are quite the harsh words from a professional killer. Though… maybe I shouldn’t say that, your backstory is fake after all.”

“So then… I didn’t spend all that time…” Maki muttered. That wouldn't stop all of it from feeling deeply real. 

“No you did not. That is part of the Ultimate Real Fiction.” Kiyo explained. “It was put into your mind by the flashback lights, as Shuichi deduced. All of our lives were.”

“Being fundamentally changed into a completely different person with a completely different life… what kind of cruel person would force someone to-” Maki

“Forced to?” Kiyo asked quizzically. “No, I can assure you every one of you wanted this. Team Danganronpa takes all of your input very seriously.”

“Our… input?” Himiko asked.

Kiyo clapped their hands together. “Of course. Now I shall show you!”

The screen cut away from the faces of the fans and to some kind of tape. Shuichi Saihara stood in front of the camera. He spoke about how he loved Danganronpa and wanted to be a detective character.

He finished with “ And I’d do anything to be in danganronpa. I will come up with the best, most gruesome murders. Everyone would love it! And, a detective character hasn’t been the blackened yet, so I’m sure I could do that. I’m even thinking about the perfect punishment… for the ultimate detective.”

His glee was evident. Someone so against the killing right now had been one of the biggest fans ever, with a Junko like joy in thinking about how he would be punished as the culprit. It really was like before coming here he wasn’t the same person.

They even went so far as to play Kaede and Kaito’s revealing in part they had said things like “I don’t have any faith in humanity” and “I’m going to kill everyone and win.” respectively. 

“So you see… none of us were the same. If you like how you are now then you may stay perhaps? Finish the fight of hope against despair. Or we, as friends, could all stay here?”

“No, we won’t do that.” Shuichi said, pointing dramatically. “Right guys? The only way to get through and win this. It’s to reject hope and despair. The very premise of Danganronpa.”

It was put up to a vote. Before that, the outside world had tried to argue Hope or Despair, reinforcing the choice. But the cast continued to refuse. 

“We’ll end this with our own hands!” 

It came and went. And… Everybody abstained.?

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

Kiibo flew out of the trial room, determined to end the entire killing game now no matter the cost. Everyone would finally be free. All he needed was to finish off this prison school with his upgrades. Rocket boosters made it easy to fly to the next part to blow up.

Down below him, the remaining survivors stood in the courtyard. Kiyo had stopped right before outside. Himiko stopped as soon as she noticed they weren’t running like the others. And those three stopped everything because their friend was endangering herself.

She approached them, which caused a curious head tilt. They had been waving before that moment. It should have been goodbye forever.

“I can’t… let it end like this. It shouldn’t end with you dying like Junko.” 

“Why not? Do you not doubt my feelings? I’m just playing my part after all.”

“Your part, look… about that, listen.”

“And what a grand p-” It seemed like they wanted their final words to be some grandiose speech. 

“We don’t have time, please.” She grabbed them by the hand, watching the school building collapse further as it became less able to hold its own weight with all the holes punched in each wall. Over her shoulder she pleaded with Maki to help move the obstinate murderer. 

The rock above must have spurred Maki on. If she had done nothing, surely both of them would have been crushed. And as painful as it was to keep someone who worked for the captors around she wasn’t about to lose another friend after watching what had happened with Kaito and Kokichi getting themselves killed in that harebrained scheme. 

If it ended like that, it felt like it was disrespecting their plan to stop the killing.

Maki also helped Himiko pull Kiyo away towards an opening that formed after Kiibo blew himself up to take the cage down with him. Four people crawled through, blinded by a bright expanse. 

Birds chirped. Several voices could be heard shouting. It was time to go home.

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

The campus was in a bright field. In fact they could clearly see the ruined courtyard from where they all stood. The wall was broken down and so all that was left behind was the twisted, warped metal of their former cage and the buildings they had walked for the several months they were in a fictional world cut off from everything else.

The line separating the two worlds was broken. It was really that thin the whole time. And it reflected the true reality they found around them. 

It was as unfamiliar as their memory of waking up inside what they had just left. Nobody but the mastermind retained any memory of ever being in this place.

They were led to a hallway by uniformed employees, many rooms lining each side of it. It looked exactly like the dorms that had been in the fictional hope’s peak. Save for the fact all the placards were for them: the survivors and the deceased. 

If there was much spoken, Himiko didn’t pay attention to it. She didn’t know what to say, how to process much of it internally. 

Korekiyo was much more aware and listened, chiming in hoping to be helpful in spite of the fact none of them would want their help. 

The mastermind was almost always scripted to be killed, to be thoroughly and finally defeated by the hope of the students. It was in fact what they had agreed to happen. This class was very different. Shuichi and Kaito and Maki of course, but the whole time Himiko was special too. 

And she didn’t remember why that was. 

They had agreed in private at some point before the procedure to fully become their characters but after the first scene’s rehearsal that it would be terrible if only one of the two had to die. In the moment of escape there was a split second where Kiyo could swear a spark in her eyes indicating some kind of memory of this.

Was it an unspoken acknowledgement? They had to check. If she had really remembered something, then maybe there wasn’t a need to perform a routine as enemies. And they could be forgiven for what happened. At least, more easily so than if she did not recall what things were like leading up to the actual game.

After things settled down, Himiko and Kiyo privately met once again. Both were nervous. 

“Himiko Yumeno. I… would like to ask you something.” 

She didn’t look up, just sitting in the chair and debating whether or not she should be afraid of them. They could go back to being Sister at any point, and that would really freak her out. 

“Go ahead.” the redhead muttered.

“Why did you save me?” Kiyo leaned forward trying to listen more closely.

“I don’t know. I… maybe it was a mistake letting you live. For some reason though I felt… like I had to.”

Maki, Shuichi, and Tsumugi certainly let her know how much of a mistake they thought it was. It didn’t feel good, even if the latter two tried their best to be polite about it. 

“If it makes you feel any better I’m not sure how I feel about this either.”

“Do you… no, did you want to die Kiyo?”

“Yes. I was quite fine with it.” they held their tongue upon finishing, hesitating. That statement was not entirely true. They had accepted it, but part of them still felt bad that only she would get out of this if they had. And that was debatably the worst outcome. The other two options would have been preferable, and they got one of them!

“I… well you know how much I wanted to die in the killing game. How scared I was.”

“I knew how much you wanted to die before, from your audition.”

That reminded her. “Why didn’t you show any from mine then?”

“I…” Kiyo started, rubbing the back of their neck. “I was sure you would hate me even more than you already should if I showed it the way I did the others.”

“Can you show me it?” she perked up a little bit. Why were they so concerned about if she hated them? They certainly seemed willing to tell her all sorts of things even though they were enemies.

They nodded and produced a USB drive. They walked over to a laptop and put it in. “And if you don’t remember anything after this, I’ll tell you everything.”

“Promise?” she pleaded with them.

“Yes.” a small smile was hidden by their mask. Maybe being enemies wasn’t a forever thing.

[alyssawritesssfics]

Hounded [7] 7. Contents Under Pressure

Pairings: Bellamy x OC // Kane x daughter!OC

Word Count: 3.5K

Warnings: violence, mentions of blood, series spoilers

Summary: Athena, Clarke and Raven work to save Finn’s life after finally making contact with the Ark.

Author’s Note: Hii, here is chapter/episode seven! Next chapter is all Bellamy and Athena (Day Trip) and I can’t wait to post that one. I hope you enjoy it anyways! Please remember to note and reblog! It really helps me see interest and therefore update the story more often. Thank you!

Tag List: @topazy​ (DM or send an ask to be added)

previous chapter // series masterlist

Raven’s voice was faint, repeating the same exact thing over and over again on the bottom level of the dropship. She begged for the Ark to hear her, pleading for their help. All we had gotten so far was static.

Octavia winced, grabbing my attention. “Can you please not space out while you’re stitching my forehead? I’d really like to avoid a scar.”

I smiled slightly. “Trust me, a scar is the least of your worries these days.”

She frowned, her eyes shifting to the floor. “Do you think Finn will be alright?”

“I hope so.” I responded, tying off the stitch and cutting the end with the small scissors that came in the pack. “Clarke will figure it out. She always does.”

“You know her better than I do.”

I noticed Octavia shift in place as I reached over to grab some gauze. Placing it over the wound on her head, I used the little bit of tape Clarke had offered up to stick it on. “You’re good to go.”

Octavia sighed, running her fingers along the bandage. “Thank you.”

“No sleeping for another few hours, alright? Just in case.” I said, as thunder grumbled outside.

“I don’t think anyone is sleeping anytime soon.”

“Probably not.” I sighed.

“Athena!” Clarke’s voice boomed through the dropship.

Octavia stiffened. “You should go, I’ll be alright.”

“Athena!”

I stood from my spot on the floor, grabbing the suture kit before looking down at Octavia. “If you need me at all, call for me, alright? If you feel dizzy or anything-”

“I’ll call for you, I promise.”

I gave her one last smile before opening the hatch and climbing down to the bottom floor. Clarke quickly spotted me across the room, waving me over with her free hand.

“How’s Finn doing?” I asked, placing the suture kit at Finn’s feet.

Clarke averted her eyes. “He’s still alive, for now.”

I noticed Raven’s eyes shift towards us, before focusing back in on the radio. “Calling Ark Station. Please come in. The hundred are alive.”

Suddenly, the radio crackled, a voice coming through. “This is a restricted station. Who is this? Please identify yourself.”

Everyone fell silent, staring at Raven. Her face was pale, her eyes wider than usual. Finally, she responded. “This is Raven Reyes. I’m from Mecha Station. I’m transmitting from the ground. The hundred are alive. Please, you need to get Doctor Abby Griffin, now.”

“Hang on, Raven. We’re trying to boost your signal.”

I blinked. “You did it? That’s really the Ark?”

Raven turned her head, smiling, though her eyes were still laced with tears. “It’s really the Ark.”

“Raven? Are you there?” I recognized Abby’s voice instantly.

Clarke’s eyes darted back the radio, a frown forming across her face. After a few moments she took a deep breath, heading over and taking the radio from Raven.

“Mom? Mom, it’s me.”

“Clarke?”

Clarke smiled for just a moment, though it quickly faded. “Mom, I need your help. One of our people was stabbed by a Grounder.”

A new voice emerged. “Clarke, this is the Chancellor. Are you saying there are survivors on the ground?”

“Yes, the Earth is survivable. We’re not alone.” Clarke said. “Mom, he’s dying. The knife is still in his chest.”

“Okay, just give us two minutes.”

“Clarke,” Jaha’s voice emerged again. “Is my son with you?”

Clarke looked at me, her eyes swelling with tears. I gave her a reassuring look and she turned her attention back to the radio. “I’m so sorry. W-Wells is dead.”

Everything fell silent once more, only the static of the radio coming through. Finally, Abby’s voice came through once again. “Okay, Clarke… I’m going to talk you through this step-by-step. Just find-”

The radio cut out for a moment, coming back through in mumbles.

“Raven, what’s going on?” I asked.

She shook her head. “It’s not the radio, it’s the storm.”

“Clarke, we need to hurry.” Abby’s voice was clear again. 

“Clarke!” I turned around, noticing Octavia rushing into the dropship. I hadn’t even noticed her climb down after me. “Here, this should help.”

Clarke headed over, grabbing one of the canisters from Octavia. She screwed open the lid, breathing it in. “Monty’s moonshine?”

“Pretty sure no germ could survive this.”

The dropship began to shake, lightning striking off in the distance.

“The storm is getting worse. Monroe, close the doors.” Clarke commanded.

“We still have people out there.”

Octavia nodded. “Monty and Jasper still aren’t back. Neither is Bellamy.”

“It’s okay, they’ll find somewhere to hide out.”

Before Octavia could argue, Clarke turned back to me. “The suture kit?”

I nodded my head towards Finn’s feet. “Right there.”

Clarke grabbed the kit, pulling out the needle. She then poured the moonshine over it, rotating it to cover every inch of the needle.

“Tell me you can do this.” Raven spoke, moving closer to Clarke.

Clarke looked up at me. “We can do this.”

“We?” I asked.

She nodded. “I need your help. Our mothers work together, you and I used to spend hours together in medical reading those journals.”

“Clarke, I’ve had zero training. Sewing Octavia’s head was hard enough.”

“My mother will give us instructions. I just need your extra set of hands, alright?” I averted my eyes, hoping she’d give up. “Athena, please. I need you.”

I looked back up, noticing her pleading eyes. “Alright.”

“Hey, they’re back!” Monroe called out.

Octavia turned to the door, rushing over. “Bellamy!”

Bellamy entered the dropship first, Monty and Jasper lagging behind, carrying the Grounder from the cave. They dropped his unconscious body to the floor, him handing at Octavia’s feet.

She looked up at her brother, her face red. “What the hell are you doing?”

“It’s time to get some answers.”

“You mean revenge?”

“I mean intel,” Bellamy responded, turning back to the boys. “Get him upstairs.”

I marched over to Bellamy, a frown across my face. “Bellamy, you know she’s right.”

“Clarke, we’re ready.” Abby’s voice came through again. “Can you hear me?”

“Athena, I need you.”

Bellamy’s eyes landed on the radio, his face going pale. I placed my hand on his shoulder, my eyes fixed on his. “Bellamy, this is not who we are.”

I watched as his eyes shifted back to the radio, before landing on me once more. “It is now.” He said, pulling himself away from me and headed up the ladder after Monty and Jasper.

Shaking my head, I turned to Octavia. “Please, just sit down somewhere, alright? I can’t worry about Finn, the Grounder and you all at the same time.” Octavia nodded, heading up to the second level of the dropship.

I walked over to Clarke, standing next to her. “The blade is at a sharp, upward angle. Between the sixth and seventh rib.”

“How deep?” Abby asked.

“I can’t tell.”

“That’s alright, just don’t remove the knife yet.”

Clarke grabbed the canister of moonshine, pouring some into her right hand. She then handed it to me, rubbing her hands together. I did the same, and then Raven.

Abby’s voice came through again, though we were distracted by the fighting of two delinquents behind us.

“Damn it!” Clarke yelled. “Raven, clear the room.”

Raven nodded. “Everyone upstairs. Now! Let’s go!”

Clarke placed her hand on Finn’s body. “He feels warm.”

Raven spun around, rushing back to his side.

“That’s alright, fever sometimes accompanies a trauma.” Abby responded. “Clarke, I need you to tell me if there’s any fluid leaking from the wound.”

Clarke examined the wound. “No.”

“That’s good! That’s really good. You got lucky.”

Raven crouched down, her face close to Finn’s. “Do you hear that? You’re lucky.” She smiled.

“Okay, Clarke… You need to have a firm grip on the knife.” Abby started. “You’re gonna need to angle it upward to the left, very slightly to the left, as it exits the ribcage.”

“How very slightly?” Clarke asked, her voice now shaking.

“Three millimeters. Any more would be bad, any less too.”

“Okay, three milimeters. Got it.”

“You can do this, Clarke.” Abby encouraged her. “You’ve assisted me on trickier procedures than this. Once that knife is out, the hard part is over.”

Clarke nodded, taking a deep breath. “Extracting now.”

Placing her hands around the knife, Clarke began to pull slowly.

“Clarke, he’s waking up!”

My eyes landed on Finn’s face, his body beginning to move.

“Finn, I’m going to get the knife out of you, okay?” Clarke spoke before looking between Raven and I. “I need you two to hold him still.”

While Raven and I held Finn down, Finn strained, trying to keep his body from moving. As Clarke neared the end of the knife, the dropship began to shake again, throwing us all across the room. I watched as the knife tore out of Finn, him falling to the floor in the other direction.

“Clarke! Clarke, what’s going on?”

I lifted my head, noticing Clarke standing with the knife in her hand, her eyes fixated on Finn. He was awake, staring right back at her.

“She did it,” Raven mumbled, looking between the two. “She did it.”

…

The three of us had managed to get Finn back on the cot and Clarke was now finishing up her stitches. “Okay, I’m done.”

“Good,” Abby responded. “Do you have anything to cover the wound?”

“We still have one bandage left,” I spoke up, handing it to Clarke.

“Athena?”

My eyes darted to the radio, my shaky legs rushing over. “Mom? Is that you?”

“Oh, thank God.” My mother cried. “When your wristband went black I-”

“I’m okay, I promise.” I smiled through teary eyes. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too, sweetheart.”

“Guys,” Raven spoke, grabbing my attention. “Should he be this pale?”

“He’s lost a lot of blood, Raven.” Abby spoke. “If he’s anywhere near as tough as you though, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

Clarke placed her hand on his forehead. “Mom, she’s right. He’s feverish and his breathing is uneven.”

“You need to give him some time to recover. Let me know if he gets any worse, but I think he might just be out of the woods.”

“There’s nothing but woods down here.” Clarke rolled her eyes. “I need a break.”

“Clarke, wait!” Abby pleaded. “Raven, Athena… Can you please give us a few minutes?”

“Of course-”

“No, no. Raven, stay with Finn.” Clarke responded, rubbing her temples. “Athena, come with me.”

I followed Clarke up the dropship ladder, reaching the top level. Bellamy stared at the Grounder, who was tied up using seat belts we’d salvaged. Clarke pulled herself through the opening, a boy I didn’t recognize stepping in front of her.

“Get hell hell out of my way.”

Bellamy sighed. “It’s alright. Let them through.”

The boy stepped aside, allowing us to pass. I stood next to Bellamy, Clarke approaching the Grounder, who left out a hardy groan.

“Well,” Clarke turned back to look at Bellamy. “If he didn’t hate us before, he sure as hell does now.”

“Who cares?” Bellamy asked. “How is Finn?”

“Alive,” Clarke responded, glaring. “His people will care. How long until they find out where we’re keeping him? What happens when they do? I mean, when they come looking for him.”

“Relax, Princess. No one saw us take him. Thanks to the storm, you couldn’t see a soul out there.” He reached out, Miller handing him a journal. “In case you missed it, his people are already killing us. How many more of our people need to die before you realize we’re fighting a war?”

“We’re not soldiers, Bellamy.” I spoke up. “There’s no way we can win.”

“You’re right. If we don’t fight.”

Clarke went to speak, being cut off by Raven’s cries. “Clarke! He’s seizing!”

“I’m on my way!” Clarke called out, rushing back down the ladder.

I ran down after her, rushing to Finn’s side.

“Get my mom on the radio.” Clarke said.

“The radio is dead. Interference from the storm.” Raven responded, staring at Clarke. “Please don’t let him die.”

…

Finn soon stopped seizing, his body settling in Raven’s arms.

“It’s stopped.” Clarke spoke. “Quick, help me get him on his side.”

I moved into position, noticing Raven remained holding Finn, staring off into the distance. “Raven? Raven, please.”

“There’s fluid in his lungs, he could choke.” Clarke added. Raven snapped back into focus, nodding as she stepped away. Clarke and I then rolled him over, fluids spilling out of his mouth. “He’s burning up!”

“Fluid in his lungs? Does that mean the knife-

“No, this isn’t blood. It’s something else.” I responded, looking at Clarke.

Clarke stared at Finn. “I-I did everything she told me to.”

“Wait, we’ve seen this before.” I said. “Shortness of breath, fever, seizing.”

“Poison.” Clarke spoke, her eyes lighting up.

Raven shook her head. “You sterilized everything, I watched you do it.”

“Not everything.”

Clarke reached over, grabbing the knife. “Raven, stay here.”

I followed Clarke back up the ladder. “They locked the damn door!” Clarke hissed, banging on the hatch. “Open the door, now! Bellamy!”

Finally, Miller opened the hatch, allowing Clarke to pull herself through. I followed close behind, watching as she marched over to the Grounder.

“What’s on this?” She waved the knife in the air. “Answer me!”

Bellamy looked at me. “What is she talking about?”

“He poisoned the blade!” Clarke snapped her head back. “All this time he knew Finn was going to die no matter what we did.”

“What is it?” I asked, moving closer. “Is there an antidote?”

“Athena, he doesn’t understand you.” Octavia spoke, poking her head through the hatch.

“The vials.” Bellamy mumbled, turning around and picking up a small pack. “It’s gotta be here.” He laid them all out on the floor in front of the Grounder.

“You’d have to be stupid to have a poison around for this long without an antidote.” Clarke mumbled, getting on her knees. “Which one is it?”

The Grounder just stared at Clarke, his face never changing.

“Answer the question!” Bellamy yelled.

Octavia pushed her way through the small crowd. “Please, just tell us.”

“Which one?” Clarke asked again. “Our friend is dying down there, and you can stop it!”

My eyes shot to Bellamy, silently pleading for him to do something. He rubbed the back of his neck, moving closer to the Grounder. “I’ll get him to talk.”

He lifted his fist, Octavia jumping in front of him. “Bellamy, no!”

“He wants Finn to die! Why can’t you see that?” His eyes drifted to Clarke. “Do you want Finn to live or not?”

“Athena, please!” Octavia begged. “You said it yourself, this is not who we are. He was protecting me, he saved my life!”

Bellamy shook his head. “We’re talking about Finn’s life!”

“Do it.”

I looked at Clarke, shame written all over her face.

“Clarke, please…” Octavia begged before turning back to the Grounder. “Please, just tell us which one it is.”

Bellamy picked up a knife, using it to rip open the Grounder’s shirt. “Tell us which one it is, or you’ll wish you had.”

“Bellamy,” Octavia pleaded. “Please don’t do this.”

Bellamy grabbed a seat belt, taking a deep breath before swinging it. As it hit the Grounder’s skin, he let out a small yelp, causing me to turn away. 

“Please!” Clarke begged, still on her knees. “Which one is it?”

“Just tell them.” Octavia begged again.

Bellamy placed his hand on Clarke’s shoulder, a tear falling from her eye as she eventually stood up. As Clarke moved away, Bellamy hit the Grounder with the seatbelt once again. 

Each time he’d hit the Grounder, we would plead for answers. Finally, Octavia had had enough.

“Stop it! He’s not going to tell us anything.” She yelled.

“Clarke!” Raven yelled. “He’s getting worse!”

“We’re running out of time,” I spoke, kneeling in front of the vials. “If you tell us, they’ll stop. Please. We just want to save our friend.”

The Grounder simply stared back at me, and I knew reasoning was never going to work. Bellamy sighed, kneeling down next to me.

“Hey, you don’t have to be here for this, alright?” He whispered.

I shook my head, looking him in the eyes. “I’m not leaving until we get that antidote.”

Bellamy stared back for a moment before finally nodding. “Alright.” He stood up. “Maybe this will work.”

I watched as he retrieved a metal pick from the makeshift table. He adjusted it in his hand, looking back at Clarke who nodded. Bellamy took a deep breath, driving the pick into the Grounder’s right hand, causing him to groan once more.

“What’s taking so long?” Raven asked, poking her head through the hatch. “He stopped breathing.”

“What?” Clarke asked, getting ready to run downstairs.

Raven grabbed her hand. “He started again, but next time he might not.”

“He won’t tell us anything.” I said, standing up. “We’ve tried.”

“Wanna bet?” Raven asked, marching over the cables next to Grounder.

Bellamy eyed her. “What are you doing?”

Raven ripped the cables out of the wall, touching them to each other, causing sparks to shoot off of them. “Showing him something new.”

The Grounder began to panic, attempting to move himself away as much as he could while tied up. Raven took the cables, placing the ends of them against the Grounder’s chest as he screamed out in pain. 

“Which one is it?” She yelled, shocking him again. “He’s all I have!”

“Stop it!” Octavia yelled.

Raven turned back to look at her. “He’s letting Finn die!”

Octavia looked to Clarke’s hand, grabbing the knife from her. Without hesitating, she placed the knife against her wrist, pulling it back along her arm.

“Octavia!” Bellamy called out.

I watched as the Grounder’s unwavering calmness turned to panic, him attempting to lunge forward. Octavia stared at him, her eyes filled with tears. “He won’t let me die.”

Bellamy attempted to grab Octavia, her shoving him off before falling to her knees.

“Which one is it?” She asked, using the knife to point at each one. The Grounder nodded his head towards the last one. “This one?” She asked, earning a final nod.

Clarke reached down, grabbing the antidote. “Thank you.” she said before running back downstairs, Raven and I following close behind.

…

After giving Finn the antidote, I went back upstairs to check on the Grounder, a bucket of water in my hand. I placed my hand on his, grabbing the handle of the pick. I looked back up at him, his head turned away from me.

“I’m so sorry.” I mumbled, yanking the pick from his hand.

He hardly made a sound, nothing probably compared to Raven shocking him. I tossed the pick on the floor, grabbing the wet rag from the bucket and attempting to clean his hand, him shutting his fist.

“I need to clean your hand, please.” I begged, trying to pry it open. 

Footsteps came from behind me, Octavia appearing in my peripheral. “Here, let me try.”

I nodded, handing her the cloth and watching as he opened his hand again. Taking a deep breath, I spoke again. “I’m so sorry, Octavia. We had to save Finn.”

Octavia turned her head, looking me in the eyes. “For the record, I saved Finn. Nobody else.”

I nodded, stepping back slightly. “You’re right. We should’ve listened to you.”

“Nobody ever does.”

Not knowing what else I could say to possibly make things any better, I grabbed the pick from the floor, heading back down the ladder and out of the dropship. Looking around, I noticed everyone setting up camp again, repairing any damage from the storm. It was as if Finn almost dying and the Grounder never happened.

“We’ll get it cleaned up.” Bellamy spoke, standing next to me.

I scoffed, walking past him. “I wish this was the only mess we had to deal with.”

“Athena,” Bellamy spoke, grabbing my hand with the pick in it. I spun back around, our eyes meeting. “Who we are and who we need to be to survive are very different things.” 

We remained staring at each other for a few more moments. I noticed Clarke approaching, slowly, her eyes falling to our still touching hands. I pulled mine away, clearing my throat.

“What are we going to do about him?” Clarke asked, nodding to the dropship. “We can’t keep him locked up in there forever.”

“If we let him go, he’ll come back. Not alone next time.” Bellamy sighed. “Not easy being in charge, is it?”

Clarke sighed, looking away.

Bellamy gave me one last look before heading off to help the others. I placed my free hand on Clarke’s shoulder. “Hey, everything is going to be alright. Our people will be here soon.”

“Not soon enough.”

~

next chapter

[solari-writes-things]

Healing

🛑 WARNINGS: light descriptions of violence. Spoilers of the main story. 🛑

✨ requested by: @sazafraz

✨ Pairing: Kotal x OC

✨ Summary: Izel is helping Kotal repair himself, as Outworld is beginning to transition its rule to Kitana.

✨ Solari Says: This is the first time I’m writing for Kotal, and I don’t think I’ll do well. However, I will give it my all and hope that you all will enjoy.

✨ Prompt(s) -

Blue Chalcedony - soothe fear and anxieties, bringing calm and balance.

gif credit: to the OP. Pulled from Pinterest, if anyone knows the original person, please let me know.

MORE KOTAL | MORE MK | > MASTERLIST < |

The coolness of the ground against her knees did not phase Izel, her eyes shut as she focused on the area surrounding her. She concentrated on the energy coursing through her veins, the aura that encompassed the neighboring room--the one that she was set to supervise.

Kotal was inside, floating in of the thousands of souls that circled endlessly in the chamber. He had suffered a near-fatal injury during his battle with Shao Kahn, taking a blow to his spine that would have left him paralyzed for life if he didn’t have the resources Outworld had.

Helping him to the chamber had left Izel with her heart hammering against her ribs, rhythmically beating in her ears. Kotal was not one to sustain injury easily, let alone almost die from it. But this last battle, this last interaction... it left her anxieties in a spiral. So she tried to feel him, through the decorated double doors as his body recovered slowly.

Her breathing evens as her eyes snap open, managing to shove her worries down once more. Her eyes rested on the vibrant aqua her chest was wrapped in, before raising her head. One foot at a time, she places them on the ground and stands herself straight--before turning around and placing her palms against the cool gold decor that was on the door.

She could feel the Soul Chamber on the other side, like a jolt of electricity shooting through the muscles on her arms. She pushes them open slowly, hearing the shrill noises of the souls beginning to softly leak through. She follows through with her full of her body, the doors swinging open and then slowly creaking closed behind her with an echoing thud.

She observed Kotal as he drifted slightly, the glowing green circling his body like rough water. His tattoos were illuminating underneath the color tint, as if he were standing behind a stained glass window. His eyes were shut as he let the chamber carry him, his body loose as it weaved back and forth gently.

She steps forward, the shrill shrieking of the souls growing louder. She was almost afraid to reach out to him, call for him--like he would break as soon as she made contact. The magic surrounding him was almost intoxicating, as it only grew more prominent as she got closer to the chamber.

Soon, she stood right in front of him. She could feel the energy brushing against her skin, like a wind that was never physically there. The worry and anxiety were beginning to sink in again, her glowing eyes watching the details of his face to see if they were to twist into anything negative.

But here he was, serene. The most relaxed that she had seen him with recent events, having to help fix a timeline that had shattered at the hands of a titan.

“Kotal,” she calls gently, only to see if he were to respond.

It was like her voice had pulled him from under water. His large hands reach up to clench into fists, as if he were testing if he could feel his movements. His eyes studied his palms closely, and the glowing hues looked up to meet hers. Izel could make out a gentle smile through the whirling green, and matched it with her own.

“Izel, my love...” he spoke kindly, as his body lowers so his feet are flat against the floor. The green misting around him vanished immediately, only leaving his large figure standing in the middle of the Soul Chamber.

“Kotal...” she breathed again, almost dazed to see him standing in front of her once again.

He went to step forward, however his time in the soul cocoon had not been kind. As if his body was not adjusted to the idea of walking so soon after, he stumbled forward. Izel, despite her much smaller stature placed a hand gently against his chest to catch him.

“Please, don’t push yourself too much, my love...” she speaks softly, hand placed against the glowing tattoo on his chest. Her other arm was at his back, just in case she needed to support him to move. “You need more time to heal.”

“I will be fine,” he tried to assure, attempting to take another step forward but almost buckling again.

“You need to rest,” Izel instructed, her kind tones a little more firmer with her beliefs. He may have healed his spine, but he still needed some time to recover after the battle at the coliseum. “We must ensure that you are indeed ready to battle again, especially if this war in Outworld continues on for much longer. These things... they take time to mend, even under a new rule.”

“That is not for us to fear now,” Kotal responded, finding the will to stand himself straight without falling into her.

“But there is a possibility that it may bleed onto us, onto the Osh-Tekk,” Izel pushed, the constant ringing in her mind finally beginning to peer through the cracks.

“And if it does, we will be ready,” he soothed. He stood tall, taking one more step without his weight buckling him down. He looked down at Izel, studying her glowing eyes with love and care behind his own. Appreciating everything that she had done to ensure that he would make it out of the coliseum, that he would end up alive after everything had taken a turn for the unexpected.

He reaches up, placing the palm of his hand at her cheek. It almost enveloped her head, save for the headdress that she traditionally wore, but she leaned into it with the same love that he had shown in his expression. Her own, much smaller, hand reached up to press against the back of his and it was like the fear had melted away through the contact.

He brings her in, pressing her body against his own as he hugged her close. Relief rippled through him, finally drinking in the fact that he had almost not been able to see her again. If it had just been longer, if she had gotten pulled into another situation just after he had been injured, this may not have been something that they could have done.

The now-quiet chambers provided a blanket of solace. Since the beginning of Kronika’s merging, and maybe for the only time they would have, it was just the two of them.

For the moment, it would be wrong of them not to take advantage. So their faces grow closer, Kotal slowly leaning down to press his lips against hers, as if she were going to vanish from his grasp.

And for once, Izel’s mind was silent.

__

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[365days365movies]

January 4, 2021: First Blood (1982) (Part II)

Quick Recap before we go on. Oh, and SPOILERS right up top!

John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is a Vietnam vet wandering through Washington State, until coming upon the town of Hope, run by the Sheriff Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy).

Sheriff Will Teasle is an absolute dick who arrests Rambo for no real reason; just for being a “drifter.” His police force, which includes the sadistic Galt (Jack Starrett) and sympathetic Mitch (David Caruso, AKA Horatio Caine from CSI: Miami), beats John Rambo, and post-2020 me is UNCOMFORTABLE!!!!!!!

Rambo has Vietnam flashbacks (like you do) and escapes the prison, pursued by the obsessive and dickish Sheriff and his equally dickish men (except for Horatio, maybe).

Galt tries to shoot Rambo, and karma bitch-slaps him RIGHT in the face, holy shit. He dies, and Rambo is blamed and shot at, escaping into the forest.

OK?

OK. On with the recap!

At this point, all of Rambo’s actions are in self-defense. In truth, it’s been self-defense since the beginning. However, he does kill two dogs, so...yeah, can’t really justify that. That sucks. The dog’s handler gets shot by Rambo, who now has a gun, and we also see that Galt’s certified sociopathy has leaked into everybody else but Horatio upon his death, including the dog guy, who tells his dogs to straight up kill Rambo. But, as previously stated...that’s not what happens.

At this point, I should introduce the amemedala.

The amemedala is a portion of the mesencephalon (or midbrain) discovered in the brains of millennials and younger individuals, recently discovered, named, and made up by yours truly. This area, attached to the thalamus, acts as a relay center between the cerebrum and the various sensory receptors of the body, similar to the function of the thalamus. However, while the thalamus governs the broad relay of senses to the appropriate areas of the brain for analysis, the amemedala relays appropriate sensory signals to the frontal lobes, where catalogs of shared sociological trends, or memes, are housed. This relay and association generates connections between extrenal stimuli, and entries in the meme catalog of the frontal lobes. While this is technically an autonomic process, it can be suppressed with enough willpower.

Why am I ringing this up in the middle of First Blood? Because EVERY. SINGLE. CELL of my brain is working to suppress the amemedala right now. Why? BECAUSE OF THE LORAX, AND FOR WHOM HE SPEAKS.

Is it an outdated meme? Very much so. BUT I CANNOT GET IT OUT OF MY GODDAMN HEAD AS I WATCH THIS MOVIE.

OK. That is now out of my system. Anyway, Rambo continues to speak for the trees, which is understandably starting to spook the smalltown cops. This leads to the VERY surprising moment where a camouflaged Rambo appears OUT OF NOWHERE and stabs Horatio in the goddamn leg! Like, wow, he was invisible! I had to rewind the film to see where he was. This is tense...and awesome, not gonna lie. This is awesome.

And then, he gets another cop by JUMPING FROM A TREE. Well, a tree stump, BUT STILL. After he takes him out, he stands in plain sight in front of an approaching cop. That cop, subscribing once again to the shoot-first-ask-questions-later policy, fires. And I SWEAR, Rambo is FASTER THAN THOSE SPEEDING BULLETS, as he dodges out of the way, and the bullets HIT THE COP HE JUST TOOK OUT!

And then, when I didn’t think this could get any more intense, that cop triggers a booby trap, and A STICK WITH WOODEN SPIKES GOES THROUGH THIS MAN’S LEGS, AND HE’S SPEARED LIKE A KEBAB OH MY GOD

The asshole sheriff runs to the NEW set of panicked screams, and his compatriot is just Batman-ed away by Rambo. It’s just the sheriff, now. The storm is building, and the forest is getting darker. The sheriff frees leg-spike cop, and goes to find the other cop, who’s been PINNED TO A TREE LIKE A BUTTERFLY IN A DISPLAY CASE. See, look!

HOLY SHIT IT’S RAMBO WITH A KNIFE IN THE FOREST. He pins the sheriff up to a tree, then with some legitimately badass lines, threatens with the sheriff with “a war [he] wouldn’t believe,” and telling him to make like Elsa and…

I love this sequence. It is the most intense, crazy, holy shit sequence I’ve seen so far this month. Wow. I understand why people talk about this movie. Man, that was a hell of a ride! Good movie, though. All right, so, time for the final sco-

Oh. Oh, my God. I’m only HALFWAY INTO THE MOVIE?

...Wow. OK, then.

We now meet Colonel Sam Trautman, Rambo’s commander in the Green Berets. He’s come to “get his boy.” He says that he came to rescue the Sheriff’s dumb ass from Rambo, rather than the other way around. And the Sheriff is...an idiot. He’s an ass, he’s a maniac, and he’s a stubborn idiot. Even after learning that Rambo is the best, he’s unwilling to back down, the dummkopf.

Rambo kills a wild boar in the woods, which makes no sense for Washington State, but whatever, sure. Anyway, they try to get the colonel to lure Rambo out, even though that’s obviously gonna make his PTSD, just...SO much worse. Especially as he starts using Vietnam parlance in contacting him. Not gonna end well, guys. But it’s then that we learn that Rambo is now the last surviving member of his unit, contributing to his trauma. Rambo’s also been trying to get in contact with the Colonel, winding up here because he has no place to go. He says that there are no friendly civilians, and the trouble’s been caused by that “king-shit” cop. I will be using this term from now on.

Wow. Damn. Hell of a reason for that title. And I think I love this movie. Seriously, I’m having a good time.

King-Shit Cop keeps going ahead with his absolute idiocy, despite all warnings to the contrary. So, a bunch of troops now converge upon Rambo’s place, but he naturally opens fire on them, without killing a single person. In fact, he hasn’t killed anyone this whole movie, and they make a point of saying that he’s been holding back the whole time. So, they decide to use the next, most logical course of action. They FIRE A ROCKET AT HIM.

Afterwards, the Colonel and King Shit Cop catch up at a bar, where the latter exposes his full sociopathy, commenting that he just wanted to kill Rambo. This is opposed to the Colonel, who doesn’t really know what he’d do if Rambo survived.

Which, of course, he did. C’mon, you think a little military-grade propelled explosive is gonna kill John Rambo? Nah. He’s the best there ever was, and he’s gonna prove it now. He jumps into a military vehicle holding an M-60, and hijacks it. Doesn’t take long for the news to break that Rambo’s still kicking, and he’s quickly intercepted by King Shit Cop, who JUST. DOESN’T. KNOW. WHEN. TO QUIT. And I’d admire his tenacity if he wasn’t SUCH AN ASSHOLE.

The cops try to run Rambo and the truck of the road, and he plays the UNO Reverse Card on them instead. And I’m pretty sure at this point…

...that old Johnny boy’s just killed some cops. So, yeah, now there’s a bigger problem. He powers through the State Police blockade like it was a banner blocking a football team, stops at a gas station, grabs the gun from the car, and LIGHTS ALL OF THAT SHIT ON FIRE! Destroying the livelihood of an individual who had nothing to do with this.

Yeah, Rambo’s starting to turn from innocent acting in self-defense to public menace REAL quick. And yeah, it’s King Shit Cop’s fault entirely...but, yeah, Johnny needs some help, because he’s losing the train at this point. But, not to be outdone, King Shit Cop is also beginning to lose it, and it’s definitely beginning to seem like only one of them is going to come out of this alive. And the Colonel tries to give him an out, but King Shit Cop’s prepared to go down with the ship that he blew a hole in in the first place. Like an asshole.

But here we go, the finale. John Rambo vs. King Shit Cop (whose name, by the way, is Will Teasle. I just like Rambo’s name for him better). KSC’s on the roof, Rambo’s on the street. Rambo causes more property damage, possibly because banks also give him PTSD (I joke, but PTSD is no laughing matter, John clearly needs help), and then finds his way to a store that has just all of the ammo a psychologically-damaged Vietnam War veteran on a revenge quest could ever need.

And then he BLOWS. THAT. SHIT. UP.

And he does this...ALL of this...just to lure KSC out of hiding. This man DESTROYS A TOWN because this idiot, sociopathic, unhinged, King Shit Cop, won’t just STAND. THE FUCK. DOWN ALREADY.

Rambo enters the police station, where KSC is on the roof. And, like the Colonel and the rest of us guessed, KSC gets shot in the process. And as Rambo stands over KSC, the Colonel finally shows up and does what literally everybody else should have done.

Talk. He just...talks to Rambo. He talks to this mentally ill man, and that mentally ill man responds, espousing his pure anger at the war, the public, protesters, work, the country, the town, himself...everyone. And goddamn, is that shit palpable.

This man can no longer fit in the world that he was forced to leave, and forced to return to. This poor, poor, poor man. It hurts. And it sucks. And he pours his heart out to the Colonel, and to us, and...you feel it. You feel his trauma, you feel his pain. You feel the aftermath of war. And it’s been seven years at this point for the Colonel, but no time for John. Not Rambo. John. And it’s just...never over.

Damn. Goddamn.

This...this is one hell of a good movie. And not just a good action movie, either. A damn good movie.

And that’s it. That’s First Blood.

[curry-planet]

Tonight Is The Night I Die | Chikage Utsuki

» summary: 

in which [codename] and april are paired up for one dangerous mission.

» warning: major spoilers (mainly centered around chikage utsuki and hisoka mikage), mentions of death, heavy AnGsT

» author's note: • i will be using [Codename] here instead of [Name] for most parts of the story. your codename can either be your birth month or whatever codename/nickname you want.

» playlist: palaye royale - tonight is the night i die pierce the veil - texas is forever palaye royale - anxiety

April clicked his tongue as he tapped his foot impatiently. August was being the usual worrywart that he is, checking everything before they head off for another mission.

Saying that this mission will be easy is an understatement that he shouldn't jinx. In fact, this mission was classified as an S-rank mission. The most challenging one.

"You got your ear piece?" August asked [Codename], which nodded as she pointed to her ear.

"How about your gun? Your dagger? Binoculars? Did you pack your first aid kit? What about-" August rapidly fired questions one after another as he checked both of April and [Codename]'s bags.

"August, please, we're going to be late." She sighed.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop." August raised both of his hands in a surrendering manner as he chuckled and stepped back from their bags.

"Please be careful out there." August said with a sincere smile gracing his face.

"We'll bake a cake when this mission is over, right? December?" August added as he nudged the sleeping figure beside him.

December who was dosing off was awakened and sleepily nodded in agreement.

April snarled. He didn't like sweets. There was no way in hell they would bake a spicy cake for him. It would taste too disgusting.

"...Buy me marshmallows." December added before closing his eyes and sleeping again.

[Codename] chuckled, ruffling December's bed head even more.

April didn't understand how she didn't feel any uneasiness for their mission. If she did, she was damn good at hiding it.

"April, you good?" [Codename] asked as she looked up to stare at April directly in the eyes.

"Yeah, let's get this over with quickly." April nodded to himself. They could do this right?

April and [Codename] took the train to their destination. Despite the common belief that agents and spies wear all black outfits, they didn't. They were wearing casual clothes to fit in.

Their mission was one of a kind. These type of mission didn't happen too often. Their data was breached, they failed to protect their valuable information so it has come to this. They had to personally get them back.

"Chikage, you're thinking too hard about this." [Name] sighed as she leaned her head on Chikage's shoulder.

Currently, the pair was still on their way to the enemy's hideout. The hideout was located near a cliff at the last station.

"And you aren't." Chikage responded sharply.

He couldn't help it, their lives were at risk everyday, that much he knew but this time is different. Their lives might end tonight. Not to mention, The Organization only sent two people.

He understood that December and August were one call away in case of emergencies yet he couldn't help but worry.

April sighed, being the worrywart was August's job. He should trust himself and [Codename] more. They weren't chosen without a reason after all.

"Why don't you carry Hisoka's marshmallows for me, yes?" [Name] said with a close-eyed smile. Chikage sighed. He had no choice, his partner has already pushed the bag of sweets into his arms.

"Why do I have to carry this for that sleepyhead?" Chikage asked in a futile attempt to maybe avoid the task at hand.

"Because he's important to you, just like how you're important to me." [Name] replied in an instant.

Chikage felt his heart skip a beat. That's right. They're a family but why does Chikage feel different for [Name]?

"Come on, ease up, hun~" [Name] cheekily said as he poked Chikage's cheeks.

"Here, let's listen to some songs." [Name] said as she took out one of her earbuds and forced it into Chikage's ear.

I know I can't live much longer Hear the angels sing

Tonight is the night I die Believe me, believe me when I say Tonight is the night I die

What a morbid humor [Name] has. Then again, it could be true. Tonight might be the night where they die.

Chikage's eyes widened in surprise as he heard the words from the bridge of the song that came from the pair of earbuds in his ears.

___

[Codename] cursed under her breath as she felt another bullet graze her skin. She fired another round of bullets against their enemies and hid behind the wall of the hideout.

Their mission has gone haywire.

"April?" [Codename] whispered to her earpiece. There was no response.

"Damn it..." [Codename] cursed under her breath yet again as bullets started penetrating the wall she was hiding behind of.

April could see [Codename] from his peripheral vision yet he couldn't hear her. April was fending off enemies too like [Codename] was. It wouldn't be wise to communicate as of the moment anyway.

April and [Codename] were suppose to ambush the enemy organization yet they were the one ambushed instead. It seems like someone from The Organization leaked their plan.

[Codename] fired a couple of bullets from her gun before ducking behind another thick wall.

She bit her lip and pushed back her cries as she ripped her coat and used it to apply pressure to her bleeding wound.

April focused back to the enemy in front of him. He was trained to do this. He should only focus on himself and his enemy, yet deep down, April knew he was worrying for his partner.

April felt felt a bullet graze his non dominant arm. He grit his teeth as he swiftly reloaded his gun and shot the man in the head.

The Organization told them to finish off the mission with minimum casualties yet this was another story. April couldn't take it.

"April!" a voice called out to him. April gritted his teeth. What was this idiot doing? Why was she calling his codename like that? Why-

As if time was on slow motion, April saw as a man from the enemy team managed to sneak up on [Codename] and hold her hostage while she was dealing with her wound.

Without hesitations, April cocked the gun and aimed it at [Codename] and her captor.

"Do it, boy. She'll die." The captor said as he placed a gun at [Codename]'s temple.

April felt no conflict. He trusts [Codename]. He knows what he has to do. It's easy in fact, shoot the man and she'll escape by herself. That's what they were taught and trained to do.

April felt his heart pound in his chest as he heard ringing in his ears. It felt like April's soul left him for a split second.

April pulled the trigger without hesitation. That was the cue for [Codename] to move, to get out of the way, yet, she didn't.

Panic. That was all April could feel and think of. Why isn't she moving? It's the queue, for goodness's sake!

April watched in horror as [Codename] struggled to free herself from the man's grasp. It should be easy for her, why isn't she-?

April found the answer within a second. [Codename] was bleeding out, and damn she was bleeding out fast.

April stood frozen in his place as he watched the bullet from his gun enter [Codename]'s chest, pass through it and into the man's heart.

April couldn't think of anything but the words that he heard from the song that he and [Codename] listened to as he watched her fall to the ground.

As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I look at you as I take my last breath. As I die and fall to the floor, My pain and suffering is no more.

April saw red and nothing else.

Bodies of dead men littered the floor of the hideout. April gave no ounce of mercy to his enemies. He didn't spare anyone's life.

As the moon shines so bright in the sky tonight, April who was bloodied and tired, trudged his way to where [Codename] is.

She was still laying in her own puddle of blood, barely breathing. [Codename] grasped April's cheek in her shaky hands.

"A-april..." she coughed out.

"...Why didn't you-?" April asked but was abruptly cut off by [Codename] coughing out more blood.

April hurriedly sat [Codename] up, leaning her into a sitting position against the nearest wall.

"H-here we are... crashing once again..." [Codename] forced herself to speak after coughing once again.

"No!" April exclaimed rather loudly. After calming himself down, he added,

"Save your strength for later. August would be so worried." April reminded.

"L-listen... I-i wouldn't last... long." [Codename] said, her voice merely something barely louder than a whisper.

[Codename] closed her eyes and took a deep breath which worried April. She couldn't die right now. Not after what he did.

[Codename] gathered all of her remaining strength and pulled April's lips into hers.

April couldn't focus on anything else but her moonlit face.

April couldn't do anything. He didn't do anything but reciprocate the feelings she couldn't say. He kissed her back with the same intensity as she was giving.

The kiss would've been bittersweet, if not for the salty tears that were falling from their eyes and the metallic taste of blood in between them.

[Codename] pulled back to breathe. She opened her eyes to meet April's pair of own.

"I- Why- I'm sorry..." April uncharacteristically stuttered out. If [Codename] had the strength, she would've laughed.

[Codename] slung both of her arms around April who was kneeling on one of his knee to support the both of them.

She buried her head into April's chest and held on to his warmth. Something that was slipping past her fingertips as her life was being taken away slowly and painfully.

"I'm sorry..." April whispered into her ears. Those were the two words he was repeating over and over again.

"I have no-thing t-to forgive, April..." [Codename] breathed out with a smile.

"J-just protect... them.. for me, p-please." [Codename] added before leaning her head back to the well behind her.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw a flicker of movement in the corner of her eyes.

For the last time in her life, she shouted his name to warn him.

"April!"

Two gunshots can be heard in the dead of the night.

___

August was extremely worried when April was catatonic after arriving back from his and [Codename]'s mission.

He was carrying a lifeless body on his back, specifically [Codename]'s lifeless body.

In an instant, August covered his mouth in shock as his eyes quickly became waterfalls of tears.

It has been exactly a week since that tragedy happened and April was yet to speak.

April wasn't talking, he wasn't eating, neither was he sleeping. He was just in his room 24/7.

August didn't intend to be such a nosy senior to April yet he couldn't help himself but use his position to find out what has happened.

They're a family, they should also know.

August wishes he didn't, though.

Upon reading April's mission report, August barged into April's room. He wasn't angry, no. He's more disappointed that April kept it all to himself.

For the first time in a week, August saw April with his eyes closed. April had bags under his eyes, his skin was becoming sickly pale. Littered on the floor were bottles of alcoholic beverages.

Despite the storm of conflict that was brewing under August's heart, he forced himself to smile as he unfolded April's blanket and draped it around the sleeping man.

"April, rest well. You only did what you thought was right." August said as he ran his fingers on April's emerald shaded hair.

As August turned to the door, his eyes glanced upon a bag of marshmallow on April's bedside table.

His eyes narrowed in confusion. April didn't like sweets. Why would he keep a bag here with him?

Upon closer inspection, there was something odd about the bag of marshmallows.

First would be the bullet  sized hole on the packaging of the marshmallows. The second thing August noticed was the bullet inside the bag.

Little did August know, it was the bag of marshmallows [Codename] forced April to carry for the whole entirety of the mission. It was also the same bag of marshmallows that saved April's life in the end.

Perhaps, August will leave April for now. He would let the latter rest up until he's fine again. He'd let April do his thing on his own pace. August swore to himself that he'd be there for April, whether the latter likes it or not.

After all, you can't put a band-aid on a bullet hole that's still bleeding.

[greyias]

FIC: Smoke and Mirrors - Chapter 13

Title: Smoke and Mirrors Fandom: SWTOR Pairing: Theron Shan/f!Jedi Knight Rating: T Genre: Pre-Relationship, Slow Burn Synopsis: Something’s rotten on Carrick Station, and Theron won’t rest until he finds out what. But picking at the frayed threads of suspicion quickly unravels a conspiracy much larger than even the Republic’s top spy can handle on his own. (A mostly canon-compliant retelling of the Forged Alliances storyline, as seen through the eyes of Theron Shan.) Author’s Notes and Spoilers: See Chapter 1.

Chapter Index: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Crossposted to AO3

"Hell of a thing,” Jace muttered at the conclusion of Theron’s debrief. “Never thought the Imps would strike Tython.”

Theron shifted his weight, watching as Jace glared at his reflection in the desk. He had no idea if he was meant to respond to that, and if so, exactly what to say to it. It was just the two of them this time, as he was the official SIS liaison on the Korriban op. It was his job to debrief the military on both the Korriban raid and the Tython recovery. He’d already gone over everything with Marcus Trant.

Well… almost everything.

Of all the people in the galaxy to disclose his suspicions to, it made the most sense to do so with his boss. However, Theron knew that the first thing that Marcus would ask for was proof. For the SIS to do anything about Darok, they would first need actual proof he had a role in the attack on Tython outside of the suspicions of one agent. From the Republic’s viewpoint, the colonel was a hero whose quick actions had helped repel an Imperial invasion on one of their Core Worlds. Without evidence, the optics on accusing said hero of high treason were… not good, to put it lightly.

“First Coruscant, now this,” Jace continued on darkly, apparently still mired in his thoughts. “Hate to see the Order go through this again.”

The level of destruction hadn’t been on the exact scale of the Sacking of Coruscant, but was still devastating from the what Theron had witnessed via holo. Agents had already been dispatched to Tython to gather intelligence, and the Director was redirecting resources to the investigation. Even the mountain of data that Theron had managed to scrape from Korriban’s servers was being pushed to the back burner at the moment. It was possible those records contained information about how the Empire had not only managed to get their hands on isotope-5, but also more troubling, how they had managed to weaponize it.

Theron had done the scouting for the initial mission to Makeb, and had done a recent recon of the Aida Sector. Considering the attack on Tython, his suspicions about Darok, and the fact that there was probably a leak in their intelligence somewhere. It made him wonder how much else he’d missed… more than he was comfortable with. And it had gotten a lot of people killed.

“We’re going to find out how this happened,” Theron finally said, pulling the older man out of his dark train of thought.

“Don’t take it personally, son. Sometimes ops go sideways, it’s what you do next that counts.”

There was a part of him that bristled at being called “son” — although in the moment he couldn’t determine if the moniker had been meant literally or more figuratively. Theron really wouldn’t have appreciated it either way, but squashed the rise of irritation. Any long term relationship with the older man, either professional or familial, was going to take a bit of compromise on both sides. 

“This shouldn’t have happened,” he said, failing to keep the bitter note out of his voice.

“You, Darok, and Highwind are why we have Tython back.”

“She’s why we have it back,” Theron corrected firmly. “And her crew. They were the ones on the ground.”

He’d done what he could to help, but… he wasn’t the one that had been in the line of fire. And Darok definitely hadn’t been.

Jace raised his eyebrows thoughtfully. “So, I guess you don’t find her dossier so fictional now?”

“No, she’s very real,” Theron said. “Just different from what I expected.”

“That’s how they get you.” The teasing lilt in his father’s tone was something that was not appreciated. “Take it from me.”

“Uh huh.” Theron didn’t know where Jace was attempting to go with the comment, and had a feeling whatever lay at the end of that conversational detour was something he really didn’t want to explore. So he tried to stay on topic. “She’s capable, I’ll give you that.”

“Capable’s a bit of an understatement — I don’t think I’ve ever seen Saresh authorize anything that fast, much less a Medal of Valor.”

“The paperwork didn’t go through your office then?” 

He kept his tone light, as if the answer to his question was really of no importance. Even if he was very interested in exactly how Darok had managed to procure that medal in the timeframe that he had. If Jace had any insight on it, it would chip away a little of the mountain of detective work that Theron had in front of him.

“It was a special case,” Jace said. “I think Saresh wanted to find a way to generate some good news out of this whole ordeal.”

Create a hero before anyone could focus on the disaster too much. That certainly sounded like Saresh. There was another possibility though. That someone else knew that about the Chancellor’s political tendencies, and had someone inside of the Chancellor’s office just waiting for the right moment. If all of the proper paperwork had been filled out ahead of time, an aide might only have to wait for a holocall from Darok so they could fill in the remaining blanks.

“I thought about putting one in for you and Darok, but I figured you’d want to keep a low profile. And Darok refused.”

“Where is the Colonel?”

“Still helping organize the cleanup on Tython. Dedicated soldier, that man.”

An uneasy tingling sensation took up at the base of Theron’s spine, and he studied his father carefully. “Sounds like you know him pretty well.”

“Never served with him directly, but he’s run a lot of operations under my watch.”

Not a close friend, but still had the ear of the Supreme Commander. Made sense. Darok would need the confidence of the main in charge of the Republic military to pull of a hasty covert mission. Even if Theron and Jace had a closer father-son bond like normal families, it would have been useless to mention any suspicions. No. It was obvious Theron was going to have to gather all of his proof before he would be able to bring anyone else in on this. And for that he was going to need to start his surveillance on the colonel.

Jace took Theron’s quick excuses of needing return to his investigation at face value. Although technically they weren’t excuses as he was returning to his investigation — just running a different avenue of it. He decided to head back to his apartment. It would take a little bit of extra work to disguise his electronic trail, but it would be far easier to start a trace on Darok’s activities there. It was considerably more difficult to stay off the radar if he used the main network at the Heorem Complex. For right now, it was best that any inquiries into Darok didn’t show up in official channels. 

Maybe it was paranoid, but at this point Theron didn’t know how far the colonel’s influence stretched. Better safe than brought before a board of inquiry (at least before he sniffed out the truth). He still owed the Director an official report on both the Korriban and Tython ops, but that paperwork could wait. Just long enough so that he could lay the groundwork on the real investigation. If Marcus asked, Theron would just say that he could write reports just as easy from his apartment chair than one of the uncomfortable ones in the office.

It took painstaking effort to set up a program to route through the HoloNet and track all of Darok’s activities in such a way that the data trail wouldn’t be traced back to him. The whole process might have gone quicker, but after about the fourth time he coded a line, he had to admit to himself that he was distracted. There was no point in pretending otherwise. With a sigh, he pushed back from his terminal and grabbed the nearest datapad. A few keystrokes later and he’d been able to run a discreet search and corroborate Darok’s whereabouts. 

The colonel was on Tython, just like Jace had said. The uneasy sensation that had been distracting Theron’s coding session still lingered, so he made one more inquiry: the current berthing of The Defender and her crew.

Also Tython.

Considering how eager his recruit had been to dig into the investigation, it wouldn’t hurt for him to check in. If she hadn’t run into Darok yet, Theron should give her the heads up — and remind her who was running the intel side of this operation. Without a second thought he pulled up a mail window, and began to write.

To: Greyias Highwind From: Theron Shan Subject: Reconstruction Efforts

I left the other day before I could inquire into your part in the reconstruction efforts at the Jedi Temple. I’ve seen some holos, and it looks like a lot of work. I heard that our mutual friend might be onsite, but also that he’s a very busy man. You probably shouldn’t bother him if he is there.

He stared at the message for about ten seconds before deciding that was good enough, and hit send. Temporarily mollified, he returned to his coding. It was at least an hour, but he was just on the final part of the trace when he heard a ding from his inbox indicating that he had a new message. He muttered a choice expletive, but pulled his attention away from his work so he could read the missive.

To: Theron Shan From: Greyias Highwind Subject: Slow Progress

So this is your address? Had you mentioned before leaving, I would have written to let you know about all of the people helping out with the reconstruction efforts here on Tython. It is slow going, but progress is still being made. Most of the Council was away with the war efforts, and even now not all of them can return. I’m afraid I have not been able to keep an eye on everyone as well as I would like, as we are still searching for survivors amongst the rubble. My friends and crew are helping, although I would not say I am on the “friendliest“ terms with everyone here. There has been quite a lot of activity in the library. Seeing as Doc says it would make a good area for triage, I am planning on speaking to the individuals blocking access. I will let you know how my conversation goes. 

Last we spoke, there was also mention of a certain bracelet. I have yet to see this mythical piece of jewelry make an appearance. Let me know if you find it.

Theron nearly missed the last paragraph, as his blood pressure skyrocketed on reading the previous sentence. Without hesitation, he immediately hit reply.

To: Greyias Highwind From: Theron Shan Subject: Patience Is a Virtue

Have you considered that perhaps the library is structurally unsound? It sounds like whoever is up there might just be part of the engineering crew doing their job. Being that it’s on the second floor, wouldn’t it make more sense for your medic to set up in one of the classrooms on the first floor instead? That way neither of us has to stop what we’re doing to have any premature conversations. It’s always good to have proof before you start accusing anyone — of blocking medical access in this case.

And I’m pretty sure I mentioned that the bracelet was hypothetical. So you are correct in your categorization of it being mythical.

He sent the message off without even reviewing it, hoping that it was read before she charged in like a raging gundark and started asking questions. He didn’t bother getting back into finishing his query, not until he was sure that she wasn’t going to tip Darok off to their suspicions before Theron even had a chance to start digging. He watched the seconds pass by on the chrono, feeling tension gathering in his shoulders. This was why he worked alone. It was much easier to control the situation if he didn’t have to constantly be riding herd on others.

Finally, mercifully, his mailbox dinged as another message came through.

To: Theron Shan From: Greyias Highwind Subject: Fine

We’ll use the classroom. I need to go. Someone has just found another body—I think it might be Liam Dentiri. I may have to go bury one of my friends.

Theron stared at the short, clipped message for several long moments, not quite able to untangle the cold sick feeling winding through his gut. He need to stay focused on the larger picture here. If he put too many faces, attached too much emotion to the lives lost he might lose focus. It would be too easy to get lost in the fact that every single person slain in both of the conflicts had a larger, wider effect on the world around them. That they weren’t just numbers. Numbers were easy to look past. Names weren’t. As evidenced by Dentiri’s continuing to pop up, even now. He could still hear the pain and rage in Kira’s voice ringing over the comm. Couldn’t completely banish the image of Highw—Grey—trying to brush away the evidence of her grief.

How many other names were on that fatality list? How many more people were mourning friends or loved ones tonight? With no answers for why beyond the grind of an endless war. No hope for justice or an end to their pain, just the endless call to press onwards.

Theron rubbed his forehead, tension mounting near his cranial implants as he stared cross-eyed at the screen in front of him. He needed to get back to work and finish those last few lines of code, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the “reply” button. Finally, he hit it, if for nothing else than to get rid of those four sentences burning a hole through him.

To: Greyias Highwind From: Theron Shan Subject: Condolences

Sometimes I can get too caught up with trying to see the big picture sometimes, and I miss smaller details. Which I shouldn’t, because rooting out the tiny details are part of my job. That came out wrong. What I mean is that you once called Tython your home. It wasn’t ever mine.

What I’m working on will take some time, but I’ll stay in touch. In the meantime, obviously you do whatever you need to do over there.

I’m sorry about your friend.

He hit send and ran a hand through his hair, and the cursor on his terminal continued to blink at him. As if trying to tell him that he still had the last bit of coding to finish. Instead he continued to stare at his inbox, all the while wondering what the hell was wrong with him.