#luckily he gets arrested if you side with the empire so you would never see him again unless you go into the dragonsreach dungeon
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These Wounds Won't Seem to Heal 3/4
Summary: It’s not her fault. She’s still new and doesn’t know. He’s not flawless. Not anymore. He’s got scars, ones she’s seen first hand. Ones she helped tend to. His body is covered in them. There’s a thin red line where he took a bottle to the face during his early beat cop days. There’s another angry red mark on his torso from where he was stabbed with a knife in his ribs. The one where he had his hand slammed in a locker as a teenager has long since faded, only the barest hint remaining, only visible in just the right lighting.
There’s two oval scars now too. One in his stomach and one on his chest. Those are from the worst day of her life.But none of those scars compare to the ones he carries on the inside. The self-inflicted cuts he makes to his soul never quite healing over. He blames himself. It’s not his fault.
There’s a scar on her soul now too. One he left. A piece of her heart forever missing.
Rating: Mature (mostly for language)
A/N: Guy, I suck so hard core. I don't even know how I let so much time lapse between chapter 2 and now, and then to really top off my suck-o-meter, I realized that there's going to have to be a chapter 4 because I can't fix what I've done so easily. Not realistically at least. I promise, and happy ending is coming though, and it won't take me another 8 months to get it up. I hope to have it up and finished by the weekend.
The AO3 version
It’s been a hell of a night. She’s not sure where exactly it falls on her list of worst days ever, but it’s in her top five. It has to be. It’s not the worst, that honor is saved for the night she almost lost Killian, but it’s still up there. She’s spent hours now going through all of the details over and over again with Graham and Lance, her story never changing. Getting poked and prodded by EMTs, despite telling everyone that she’s fine.
She’s not, but they can’t stitch up her insides.
David, her partner, on the other hand has a bullet hole in his leg. Better than his head though.
She’s not even sure if she can fully reconcile everything that happened. She and David were investigating the death of a low profile importer, a nobody, interviewing some dock workers that had found the body. Some gruff looking men who easily blended in with the usual fishmongers and cargo sorters.
But they weren’t. She realized it just a second too late, right before a bag was pulled over her head. She fought like hell, but she was at a disadvantage. From what she heard, David had put up a fight as well, but in the end, it was useless, and she lost consciousness with a sharp blow to the head.
She woke up strapped down to a chair with David the same a few feet beside her. She shouldn’t have been surprised, Jefferson had always given her a bad feeling, but she never actually thought he’d go dirty. She certainly never expected to be facing the wrong side of his department issued sidearm.
Even now, everything is still a blur. Graham assured her it’s the shock, that it’ll fade once the adrenaline wears off; that everything will clear up after a good night's rest. She’s not sure about that though. It’s four in the morning now and the adrenaline seems to be hanging on for dear life still and she knows she's not going to rest any time soon. Humbert offered to drive her home but she declined, choosing to wait for August to finish wrapping up his report.
She’s not sure what time it is when they finally arrive at her apartment. The battery in her cell phone died ages ago. Neither of them even make a move for the fridge, choosing to bypass the beer she keeps stocked for the hard nights. Instead, the two of them move in silence to her room. She plugs in her cell before crawling in bed next to him, like when they were kids in Ingrid’s foster house. She’s not sure who’s comforting who at this point, but she knows that she just needs to be with family.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She doesn’t, but she knows she needs to or it’ll eat her alive. She’s tried that once already and it ended up with her almost having a complete nervous breakdown and a three week leave of absence with daily Archie sessions.
“I don’t even know where to start.”
It’s true. So much has happened in the last twelve hours, there’s no one easy to pinpoint place to begin. So August goes first. He fills in the blanks that he can, so that she might be able to piece together the rest. He tells her about Killian sending him undercover, about Jefferson and missing drugs and money. How Jefferson was helping to conceal evidence that would link Walsh and the Nikko empire to a wide distribution of pixie dust.
Some of it is just speculation, that Jefferson must have figured out they were closing in on him and that’s why he went for Emma, and David was probably just collateral damage. How he most likely picked Emma because he knew how much she meant to him , and while he didn’t say Killian’s name specifically, the implication hung over her like a heavy cloud.
“Before you got there, he told Killian to choose. Between me and David I mean. To pick which one of us would live and which one would die. And then he just started laughing and screaming in this crazed voice that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget.”
It was the single most terrifying thing she’d ever heard. The mania that accompanied it. She already knew that it was going to haunt her for months to come, if not longer.
It’s a real Gracie’s choice. Gracie’s choice Killian. GRACIE’s CHOICE!!!
She felt August shift next to her.
“Gracie was his daughter. She died while he was undercover with a Southie Gang. Killian was undercover with Cruella at the time. It was a freak accident, a gas leak and the house went up in flames, but he was convinced that she was killed by one of the De Vil boys. He told me once that he knew Killian had given him up as a snitch to prove his worth. The De Vil’s had nothing to do with the Southie boys, but he’d twisted it up in his mind. I never thought he’d do anything about it though. It was just crazy drunk venting one night.”
She knows August. Knows that he’s blaming himself for what happened tonight, but she ignores it. Nothing she says will stop him from tormenting himself, and she’s not done.
“I told him to choose David. He has this whole perfect life, you know. An adoring wife and a new baby, all of these people that would miss him if he were gone. I told Killian to save David, and I-” She hates how small she feels when she cries, but she can’t hold back the tears. “He gave me this look. He’s been cold, but this was something different. There was just so much anger in his eyes.”
And that’s when she breaks. Knowing that hated her was one thing, but watching him train his gun on her. Seeing the pure darkness in his eyes. She doesn’t know how to voice it to August, but she knows that if August hadn’t arrived when he did, she knows he would have done as she asked. That he wouldn’t have had to think twice about it. And it’s that knowledge that sliced open the last piece of her heart that had been hanging on by a thread, even after all that time.
August holds her through the tears, until she finally exhausts herself enough to sleep. And so she drifts off, completely unaware of the new voicemail alert waiting for her.
________________________________
The February air is cooler on the water and he kicks himself for not bringing a heavier jacket. It’s been ages since he’s been out on this boat, and time has helped him to forget everything except for the things he wishes he could. Liam always used to tease him, so much so that Killian would reject any offers of warmth from his brother just to prove a point. He wasn’t some silly kid that needed to be minded anymore. He was capable of doing everything on his own, except for bringing an extra coat. He forgot everytime, and today was no exception.
Luckily for Killian, the spare that Liam kept on the boat just for him is still in its place, folded neatly in a small storage locker below deck. It hits him in the gut a little, that Liam could be so right about some things and incredibly wrong about others.
It’s eating Killian alive, not talking to his brother. Not being able to express himself because despite everything Emma has done for him, Liam still doesn’t approve of her. Liam often still thinks of him as the teenage boy, awkward and desperate for approval from anyone that will give it to him, even if it means getting taken advantage of.
He’s not that kid anymore though. He isn’t letting his crush steal his essays and letting her claim this as her own. He isn’t using all of his hard earned money to buy her jewelry that she’s just going to pawn for cash later. He isn’t following after Emma like a lost puppy dog.
He’s in love with her, and he has a sneaking suspicion that she feels the same way. But at this rate, he’s never going to get Liam’s blessing, the only approval he needs anymore.
He shouldn’t be thinking about this now. He really shouldn’t. Not when he and Liam are sitting in a rented dilapidated loft across from an abandoned fabric warehouse waiting for the Canal Street Cutter to emerge. There had been a lot of chatter that morning about where he might be hiding and Liam assembled teams throughout South Boston hoping to catch a glimpse of him.
Emma and August were stationed about eight blocks over. Lance and Arthur were on the edge of South Boston and Waterfront. Other teams were scattered, but too far away to get to if they needed assistance.
Killian had tried to tell Liam that it was a bad idea to spread everyone so thin, but the elder Jones brother had been instant and headstrong as ever. It would have been a career making arrest, and Liam, ever aspiring to be more just wouldn’t let that chance pass him by.
“I just think that you have other obligations that require your attention right now.”
“If this is the bros before hoes speech you can just save it.”
“Killian,” The exasperation evident in his brother's tone, “you know I detest such vile language. It's crude and you are better than that little brother.”
“What obligations?” He has to quash his desire to correct his brother’s description of him.
“I just think that you are meant for so much more in this life and I worry that you gave up so much when you left the narcotics division to follow her into homicide. You were a rising star there and now you’re having to cut your teeth all over again.”
“It’s not as if I’m starting all over. For God’s sake Liam, I just made Lieutenant. But there’s more to life than a job.”
His brother takes his gaze away from the binoculars to turn to Killian.
“Look at father and all of his vices. It strayed him from the path. But you, Killian, you persevered and now everything you've wanted is in your grasp.”
“This isn't the same thing and you know it. Emma isn't some pathetic man’s addiction. Liam, I'm in love with her.”
“Killian,” Liam pauses, taking a deep breath. “She's a distraction. Think of all that you’ve accomplished in the year that you were undercover. You brought down an entire crime syndicate. You did that without her taking your attention away.”
“I didn't bring the De Vil family down because ‘we’ were apart. I did it because we were ‘apart’ and I knew the only way I'd be able to see her again without putting her in harm's way would be to find the evidence and make the arrest.”
“Fine, if you need another reason, have you thought about working directly with her, or even over her in a supervisory position? Have you considered how your personal relationship with a subordinate could affect your judgment?”
“It’s not-”
Liams sees movement in the distance, cutting off Killian’s rebuttal, but his view is obscured so he motions for Killian to follow him, to leave the safety of their little room. They stay silent as they walk downstairs and head out a propped-open door leading to an alleyway. They had to wind through hallways to get from the loft outside and now they’re further away from the warehouse with no cover.
Killian even tries pointing out how visible they are, but Liam shuts him down, determined to close the case. He’s halfway sure that Liam’s trying to prove a point about how Killian can’t be successful and be in a relationship with Emma. He’s seen it before, the way professional jealousy destroys couples. But Emma’s not like that. She wouldn’t see his success as her failure.
They try to skirt the perimeter and he knows he should keep his mouth shut, this just isn’t the time, but he’s just so frustrated that he can’t keep holding it in.
“Please don’t make me choose between you.” It’s an angry whisper, more to himself than anything, and even though he did his best to keep his volume low it’s still enough that Liam’s heard and turns back to him, missing sight of the empty beer bottle at his feet.
The glass battering against the gravel echoes through the night as they both stay silent, waiting to see if they’ve been heard. The air is still around them, and Killian thinks they just might have lucked out.
And then he hears the gunshots ring out.
Liam is on the ground before Killian has time to register what’s happened. He runs to Liam, but gets knocked to the ground before he can get to him. His body hurts and he can see blood covering his hand from where he just touched his abdomen. He’s always heard people say that the shock blocks out the pain, but they must all be liars, because the longer he lays there, the more the pain intensifies.
It takes everything he has to pull himself behind a dumpster, half crawling, half slithering like a snake.
The shock eventually did kick in though, because even to this day he has no memory of radioing in for help. Just the vague memories of Emma leaning over him. The look in her eyes as she tried her best to hold back tears.
The same tears he fought back the night he left Boston, like the coward he was. But Archie was right. He needed to get his head on straight, to distance and center himself. He had to leave, for her.
He’s still wrestling with the guilt. He talked about it with Archie, how she begged him to kill her and save David. And that he actually considered it for about two full seconds. Not because he wanted to, but because he didn’t want her feeling the way he did. The burden of knowing that someone else was dead, and knowing that no matter how good you are, how hard you try, that you’ll never live up to them. He didn’t want her hating herself the way he did. Didn’t want her to destroy herself like he had.
But then something snapped inside of him and rage bubbled up. The audacity of her to beg him to kill her. For her to try and force that decision on him, with no regard to him or his feelings.
It was at that moment that he finally realized what he’d been doing to her ever since Liam had passed away. He finally understood the choice she’d been forced to make that night. And he knew - he knew that despite it all - he could never live with himself if he’d chosen anyone but her. That he couldn’t let her go just like she didn’t with him.
The only thing that saved him was Boothe. In the moments that passed after August arrived, while the two of them tried to wrestle the gun away from Jefferson, he felt the weight of Liam’s death wash over him. And then he heard a shot ring out and there was nothing but panic. Panic and guilt.
It felt as though ages had passed as he searched for Emma in the smoke filled room. The SWAT team had moved in at some point, but he’d been too focused on fighting off Jefferson to notice. He pushed through the sting in his eyes and the tightness of his chest as he looked for her, but all he saw through the haze were armored cops everywhere.
It wasn’t until he was forcibly escorted outside the building that he saw her, saw that she was safe, and then his stomach turned. He ran around a corner away from all of the prying eyes, and for the first time in his career, he gave in and let the night overcome him.
It’s been nearly a year since that night and he’s been running ever since. Some days are better than others. The anger is mostly behind him, but some nights he still wakes up in a sweat clutching his bed sheets, ready to fight. But there’s never anyone around to take a swing at, because he’s all alone. He’s pushed away anyone that ever mattered and isolated himself on that damn boat.
He thinks of Emma, wonders if she’s moved on or not. He’s too cowardly to call her, partly because he has no idea what he will say if she answers, but mostly because he’s terrified that she won’t answer. So he broods. He takes to the local bars as he sails the coastline and drinks a little too much before stumbling back to Liam’s boat alone. It’s a wonder nobody’s robbed him yet for what a careless sot he’s been.
Tonight is one of those nights. He’s made his way down to Florida and back, only a few hours away from Boston, and his demons are screaming again. He’s hoping against all hope that the rum in the tumbler across from him will help quiet them. Just holding the small glass in his fingertips helps a bit. A placebo of sorts. He doesn’t want to be this man anymore though. This pathetic lonely human. He doesn’t want to feel this way anymore, but he doesn’t know how to fix it. Archie said that him realizing it was a good first step but he’s not sure if he agrees. He’s called Archie a lot over the last year. Somehow doing therapy over the phone as the boat sways back and forth under his feet has helped to ease his hesitancy. There’s something about knowing that he can hang up at any time if he wants, and that no one knows. No one will judge him.
They don’t talk about Emma, not in present tense at least. They’ve had conversations about the way he’s treated her in the past, about his complicated feelings for her, the way it’s all shaped him, but they never talk about her now. He’s not sure if it’s because Archie doesn’t know if he’s ready for that, or if Archie knows something that he’s absolutely not ready for.
Archie is here tonight though, the rum is.
He’s still twirling the amber in his hand as he hears the familiar scraping of a nearby barstool against a wooden floor. There’s a scent that follows, a floral perfume that doesn’t match with the musk of the dive bar. He doesn’t look at her directly, doesn’t need to when he can see her from the mirror behind the bar. Her top is low, flashing more skin that it’s covering. She’s closer than he thought.
“Is that for me?” She’s bold.
He’s reminded of those early days on the force, when he wouldn’t even have to talk to a woman. When he could just flash her a smile and she’d be on his arm heading out the door to her place. He’s not that guy though, he’s salty and cynical, and the look he flashes her is closer to a smirk.
“Excuse me?” “Well, you’ve been toying with it for almost twenty minutes. I just thought maybe you were waiting for me to walk into your life.”
Was he this bad at picking up women?
“Look, I’m not trying to be rude, but I’m not in the mood for woman.” “So you’re gay?”
It’s a good thing he hasn’t started drinking yet because he damn well might have chocked otherwise. He doesn’t get a chance to respond though. The bubbly blonde that served him his rum has returned with a spray bottle in hand. “Mary of Mothers. Didn’t I already have you escorted out of here tonight, Teresa?”
“Bite me, Tinkerbelle.”
The girl behind the bar might be all of five foot tall but there’s a beast inside her that towers over any man in that bar and before he knows what’s happening the bartender is drowning the girl in what smells like stainless steel cleaner and the words coming out of her mouth would make any Navy man blush.
The girl ends up running away and Killian isn’t sure what to make of any of it. He’s broken up bar fights before, but he’s never seen anything quite like that.
“Sorry about that. I know this little bar might not seem like much, but it’s all I’ve got and I’ll be damned if I let the likes of her selling her body in here.” “Oh, she wasn’t-” “Trust me, where you had agreed upfront or not, you would have been light whatever cash you have left in that wallet before the night was up. And I’ll bet you dollars to pennies you would have had a lovely little itch or two down there.” She nods her head towards his crotch before switching the subject like she hadn’t just implied the poor woman from before was an STD ridden whore. “So, I haven’t seen you here before. Where you from?”
He’s not sure how she’s disarmed him so quickly, but he finds himself telling her all about himself over the next hour. Business has slowed down and her other barmate seems to be more than capable of handling the few strays still walking in.
She makes him laugh too with her feisty spirit. It’s been far too long since he’s felt at ease like this. They talk and talk. Not about much in particular, just random conversation. She bought the bar about six years ago, and tells him about how it’s let her build the family she always wanted and never really got. She’s carved out her own little place in the world and he envies her that. The way she can just lay her whole life bare to a complete stranger while he can’t even talk to the people that know him best.
The night rolls on and it’s time to close up. He half expects that she’s going to invite him upstairs, to the little apartment she mentioned earlier, but she surprises him. She’s done that a few times tonight, but this one hits him in the gut. “So, what’s her name?”
This time he actually does chock on the water she’s poured for him.” “I’m sorry, what?”
“Killian, in the last few hours, you’ve told me your entire life story, everything from your shitty father to your arrogant brother, your job, your leave of absence, but you haven’t mentioned a girl one single time. You’re holding back, which means there’s something to hold back.”
“You don’t know that. I could be gay.” “Um, ya, I saw you check out Teresa’s rack earlier, definitely not gay. So what’s the deal.” He doesn’t want to talk about it, but he doesn’t want to be rude either. So he gives her as little as possible, but she sees through him. In fact, she actually asks him what the hell he’s waiting for as she pushes him out the door.
He doesn’t really know what he’s waiting for to be honest. He’s wanted to go back to Boston, but there’s just so many threads he left unravelled when he left.
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Iceberg Week 2021: Day 2 (July7)- Romeo and Juliet AU Pt. 1
Note: This fanfic is actually going to be a modern version of Romeo and Juliet. Where Weiss is the mafia's daughter and Neptune is the son of a police captain. I know it wasn't the best, but I would like to release it to share with you fellow viewers. Sorry for the late submission. I thought I should cut it into two parts
By wolfstyle2074
"Two Households, both alike and in dignity. When the differences have settled in cold blood. Love cannot be killed. The story of two young lovers seek out a way to escape with their lives when first sight came to light. Between law and crime, it was always conflict, questions of the choices we make in the war of blood..."
"Uh, Ren. Can we repeated that please? The background is getting sizzled?" Nora, a ginger-haired girl holding the camera, then interrupted as Ren, a raven-haired boy is speaking with a microphone in his hands. He is a reporter for a boarding school writing a story about two runaways fighting for their lives. "Um, Nora, are you okay?"
He asked. Seeing Nora wiping the tears off his eyes. Hearing the story kinda got her emotional. "Yeah, I just wished they'd be here to appreciate how you write this story."
"Don't worry, Nora. Neither of them will be forgotten. I am sure they will appreciate what you did to remember them." Ren said. Walking towards Nora and patted her on the head to cheer her up. "Wanna get some ice cream on the way out? I am sure it will make you feels better." Ren asked. Nora then rose her head up from the camera and smiled and nodded to the suggestion. "Yeah, I am sure it's fine. This is our last year in the Academy, sooner or later we will graduate." Nora said.
"You have read my mind, Nora." Ren said walking out together with Nora out of the school building. "Two years, and it was the story that made headlines that involves forbidden love between law and crime."
"Something tells me you will make a great novelist." Nora encouraged. The school bell rings. The one bell that rings from one transition to another, the sound that will haunt the students forever.
-2 years ago-
Captain Saturn Vasilias of the New York Police Force was in his cab to his destination for the assignment he was in. "10-2, we got a cartel in the dust facility, Ever Dust Inc., five males, two females on the road." One line have said from the radio. Saturn then picks up and speaks through the mic. "10-2 unit 6, close all the roads and don't let them escape." Saturn responded.
After driving at full speed, knowing he might have much time to prevent the crime of robbery in the dust facility and caught up with two cargo tricks in front of the entrance. The bombing was non-stop. The Schnee Family were a known crime family that illegally sells dust for weapons, their empire grew large since then. Saturn has been researching about them for years, but none of the family members has been caught. However, one of them, a young woman has been reporting about them and giving them tips since then, our of fear for the safety of her younger younger siblings, and would suffer the same fate. The woman then became an undercover informant.
Saturn then got off his cab, and takes out a megaphone as he spoke to an old man, who is in his 50s or 60s, wearing a casual suit, which is the sign of him being a ringleader of the cartel. "Jacques Schnee, you are under arrest for the robbery and numerous murders!" Saturn announced.
"Your father before you was a fool to think you could win this round!" Jacques retorts after ordering his men to raise their guns and pointed at him. "You never learn, haven't you, cold-blooded man?!"
Saturn's son, Jupiter has been behind his father this whole time and also pointed his sniper gun at him, mostly the main boss are the main targets. "Jupiter, you cannot draw weapons at him, you'll be charged with firearms! And you don't have a permit for that!" Saturn scolded him. "Relax, dad. Mom taught me a lot. Plus, this is the first time we have a father-son day in your fight." Jupiter remarks. But Saturn wasn't pleased. "Get ready, old man! Either you and your buddies come quietly and peacefully, or you'll regret it!" Jupiter warned.
"Peace? Peace is the very word I hate, as I hate all Vasilias'! Come at me then! Winter!" Jacques stated as he gave a hand signal to his men for gunfire. And called out his daughter, Winter to lead the gunfire. She came out and gave a signal to fire. Saturn and Jupiter hid behind the left side of the cab as the bullets created holes from a right side of the door. Jupiter then came out of hiding and shot back.
Jacques hid in his cargo for his own safety. And Saturn shots back at his arch-enemy. "Blasted Schnees, they don't know when to quit." Jupiter scoffed. Kept firing one after the other. Later, after a scuffle, Jacques got away in his own cargo. But the rest of his men have been caught, and some of the stolen dust has been recovered, but the rest were stolen.
Lydia, Saturn's wife, and Jupiter's mother, and a lawyer, cleaned some of the wounds they received from gunshots. Luckily they survived. But knowing her, she feared for her family's wellbeing and would scold them for getting too reckless. "Honestly, Saturn. You have enough damages for one day! And you, Jupiter, try not to get in the way for your father's patrol the next time."
"Sorry, Mom." Said Jupiter, crossing his arms.
"Sorry, honey. I'll make it up to you by making dinner tonight." He winces a little as Lydia puts rubbing alcohol on his bleeding shoulder. "Ah!" He hissed. "I am just glad Neptune wasn't here to witness this, it would've been traumatizing for him. Knowing how sensitive he was."
"I hope so too. Good thing our dear boy is at home minding his business." Lydia breathes in relief to know that her son is safe at home, or so she thought.
Later that afternoon, Neptune is in his bedroom doing his homework. Having headphones covering his ears with the music in his head. Then a knock on his window. It was a blonde-haired young man his age. Neptune then hears the knock and walks over to the window for a greeting. And opens the window. "Dude!" Neptune greets, and Sun jumps into the bedroom and gave him a handshake. "It's been a while."
"How've you been?" Asked Neptune. Sun then break away and gave him some stolen IDs with photos of him and Neptune. With different names that were related to crime empires. For Neptune, it's Kaman Aquors, and for Sun, it's Solar Reign. "What's with the fake IDs?" Asked Neptune. Sun smirked proudly as he thought of a great idea, or in Neptune's case, a bad idea. "Duh, I heard the Schnees are having a secret meeting for an auction. Where the stinking rich gathered around to buy stolen dust."
"Dude, no. I said it once, and I will say it again. No way. I cannot sneak out there and go to this auction. Dad will worry, and Mom, she'll be grounding me for a year if I ever go. I don't like how things were going as much as you do, but this is a bad idea." Neptune objects.
"Come on, Dude think of it as an undercover assignment. Think about it, once we have evidence to where Jacques Schnee is hiding, it will be the end of his empire. And plus, your dad will be so psyched, he will wanna make you part of his squad." Neptune then thought about it, his father has been stressing out for years fighting against the Schnees for their dangerous methods of running the business.
It worried him one bit as he saw his father feeling fatigued, coming home with wounds. Neptune then proceeds to think about the idea. Although it might get them into trouble, but it would give them the advantage for him to finally convince Saturn to rest up a bit. Neptune has no other choice but to accept the invitation. "Alright, if we're going to do this, we need a disguise. Knowing the Schnees, they would probably be after my family for being law enforcement."
"Alright! I knew you come around!" They high-fived. Later, Lydia came into her son's bedroom with dinner on the tray. "Sweetie, sorry your father and I are-Ah!" Lydia dropped her tray and it scattered into bits of vegetables and sushi. And saw that her son is gone and the window opened. "Oh my god! Saturn, he ran out again!" This is not the first time her sons have snuck out the bedroom window.
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Weiss, the heiress to the Schnee has arrived to her room to get ready to meet her mother. Since she came back from a business trip. "More tea, Miss Schnee?" Asked her butler, Klein who have been close to her since she was young. The only family member she had been interacting with is with her elder sister. "Your sister had returned from her business trip."
"Thank you Klein. You know, it's funny. Living in a private island with no one but your family. This is absolutely isolation for the matter. Father had some shady dealings. Mother appoints lawyers in cases of my father on trial. While my brother wasn't around, just with my father. "Well, it's natural to be alone sometimes, my dear. But at the same time, it wasn't okay. Hopefully your mother will get the time off and you can have a bond with her."
"Good idea. But in the meantime, I have to think about what to do for the rest of the day." Then Weiss hears footsteps. It was her elder sister, Winter. The main heir to the Schnee Mafia. Although neither of the sisters agree to this. They acted like they were used to this. Winter came back in a sweet after finishing tipping off the police. Without their father knowing it. "One more thing there and done." Winter sighs in relief.
Weiss is happy to see her sister appear in her room. "Winter!" Said Weiss. As she ran and embrace her sister once more. "How are you today my sister?" Winter said. Weiss broke away. "Not so bad." Weiss replied. "Welcome home, Miss Schnee. How are your shifts with your father?" Klein curtsied. But Winter said, "Klein, there's no need for you to address me. But it's good to see you too." Winter assured. Winter hates the life she is living right now and wants her father out of the picture to provide the freedom for her siblings.
"Did you know that Mother will be arriving soon?" Asked Weiss. But Winter was adamant and never wants to speak about their mother. But reluctantly, she had to keep her sister at Bay to not be down on suspicion. "Yes, I have heard. But for who knows how long." Winter responded. But their mother appeared before her. "I am right here you know." Sighed their mother.
"An evening with you, Mother." Sighed their mother, Willow. Willow walks over to Weiss, who she has been expecting to appear before her. With Winter ignored a bit. But to her relief. "To what will do I owe you, Mother?" Asked Weiss.
"I age forgotten that you are reaching adulthood at this time, darling." Said Willow. "Still, you look very lovely."
"Ah, yes. Weiss has been growing up with her studies and was ready to apply for a university at this age. But at the same time, she-"
"I know this is too much to ask, Weiss. But have you ever thought of marriage?" Weiss was a bit stunned for a moment. Never she thought her parents would ask of this. But was aware her mother had been arranged to marry her father at Weiss' age. "Not exactly, Mother. I haven't thought of that. Anything you want to add?"
"Oh, for goodness sake, Mother. Marriage? I thought we were over this. Weiss is young and you can't just arrange someone to marry her. That's objectifying her." Winter argued in her sister's defense. Knowing that it was a ludicrous solution.
"Your father has been running out of men for the run-ins at some point. Therefore we need to combine our empires. And your father has already picked out the best suitor for your sister." Willow argued back. And Winter can tell in the eyes of her mother that she is just too much into pleasing her husband. "The auctions start tomorrow and the selection, Henry Marigold will be there to seek her out. His father will be the solution to our problems." Said Willow.
"Um, Mother. I don't know about this. Maybe Winter is right. Never met him. And he probably won't like me anyway." Weiss took Winter's side, unsure if she should take the opportunity of pleasing, or the opportunity of arrangement. But then again, she has not seen either of her parents, or her younger brother. "I have not yet met this person. But since this might be the option to get out the manor, even for a moment. This might be her chance. "If it means it will help our family, then I will see to it. Give me time to get to know this person." Weiss said. And Willow clasped her hands in joy. "Splendid, starting tomorrow, we will get you ready." Willow gestures Klein to follow, leaving Weiss and Winter alone in the same room. Winter shook her head in disapproval.
"Weiss are you sure about this. Think about it. You can't have this. What about your dreams of university? You can't throw that away. What if this person was a tyrant?" Winter asked, unsure how is her sister going to deal with this. Normally Winter would defend her to keep her out of harm's way. Informing police in secret in hopes she would put her father in jail. But the thought of her sister in exploitation is the horror she wished she wouldn't have to hear. If two empires merged by union would mean bigger chaos with crime all over. And it would lead to square one. Another thing she has to report.
"I don't know, but no matter what, I'll have to keep and eye on things, just to be safe." Said Winter, this could be a chance to expose some darker secrets.
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Neptune and Sun have entered the auction without fail. Using the fake IDs with the names of the previous rich men Sun had stolen from before he arrived in New York. Wearing tuxes and mask to keep themselves covered. To not blow their cover.
The private island of Schnee was no problem to find. Since Neptune had been hacking in computers all his life, he has no issue to find the transmission networks of the island. Most of the time the wealth has been building private islands for isolated reasons, and they have the most secured equipment. "Must've taken a lot of money to build this place." Said Sun.
Neptune looks around while seeing people in dresses and tuxes, masks and jewelry. Chandeliers hanging from the ceilings. Portraits of Jacques in a series of timelines. What a show-off. Only a few portraits of him and his family. Tables with such beautiful silver cloths. "Tell me about it, sooner we take the photos, the sooner we get out of here. Here, every day the auctions were illegally run by the Schnee Mafia. Empires gathered to buy the most expensive loads of dust and weaponry." Neptune replied.
"I'll see if they got any contracts that are related to this. We need a list of surnames just to be sure." Said Sun. Neptune nods, "Good idea, I'll talk to some guests, see what they know. I'll also record anything on the way." Suggested Neptune. Sun then pats him on the shoulder for some luck for him. And left his side to go upstairs. Neptune came to look around for some whispering crowds. But someone who came across him when his eyes got caught, distracting him.
A young, white-haired woman his age wearing a dark blue dress, and silver necklace. A mask matching her dress with teal gems attached. The woman looked at him and gave him a smile. Neptune cannot make out for what he was feeling, as if a fever began to make his heart pound in his chest. But then the gaze was interrupted when a dark blue-haired young man, whose hair was combed to the side approached her before him. "Are you Weiss, how do you do?" Asked the man.
"Henry Marigold, I presumed?" Weiss asked. Henry then smiled and lend her his hand. "Indeed I am, I hope you can do me the offer in this dance."
"Of course." Sighed Weiss. Neptune is left disappointed at he was beaten to it. But decides to wait for the right moment to see what Weiss knows about the empire. While Weiss wants this to end, growing exhausted that Henry talks about himself and never asked Weiss of what she likes, or what hobbies. Finally, she has enough, and Weiss excused herself for some fresh air. Neptune takes this chance to approach her. "Evening Miss. How is tonight?" Asked Neptune.
Weiss rolled her eyes and thought she was about to get a round of boredom. Things did not go as planned. "Terrible, I thought tonight would go so well, but I felt like nothing, as if everything died down a bit." Weiss replied. Then Neptune offers her his hand. Weiss looks a bit surprised. "I hope you don't mind if I offer you this dance. If that's okay with you?" Neptune asked. He was a terrible dancer, if he can mimic the moves by watching the crowd of dancers, then he could pull this off. Weiss is a bit shocked, but felt flattered that a man asked if she would like to dance. His eyes captivated her in his gaze. The charming smile he drew on his face.
"Actually, I would love that." Weiss replies and takes his hand, and was pulled into the dancefloor. Trying his best to watch his steps while seeing how the others dance their hearts out. Weiss then gazed into his eyes. Meanwhile, a security guard whispered into Weiss' younger brother, Whitley's ear, and was shocked to see who was on the dancefloor with his older sister. "There's a dog scorching on the House of Schnee? No, absolutely not. By the length and honor of my kin, I shall take this by my own hand." Whitley was about to make a scene to expose Neptune, until he was stopped by his father. "Ah, son! It's a pleasure to see you're enjoying this party!"
"Father, don't you see who that was? That commoner is nothing more than that son of the cop who's been chasing you for years." Whispered Whitley. But Jacques refrains him from taking action. "Look as long as we don't create a scene. If we have blood drenched on our hands, we would be hunted down by his father. So just do me a favor and keep it down. I'll sent someone to take care of him by the morning." Said Jacques, then Whitley unwillingly complied and left without a word, defeated. But not before giving Neptune (who did not notice and whispers into Weiss' ear, as she giggles) a dirty look and then turned his head and went to his bedroom.
Then Weiss is escorted into the courtyard by Neptune to have a moment alone with him. "So, you don't see much of what went all in those kind of parties?" Asked Neptune as he sat near the fountain near Weiss. "Most of the time, I would stay in my mansion, the only times I went outside the island is when I have classes to attend. I always dreamed of going to university. But with my parents having different plans for me, I am not sure if that's happening any time soon."
"Really? I always wanted to study at a university too. When I was a kid, I always wanted to study in NYU." Neptune blushed as he looked at her once more. The more they chat, the more enchanting the night has become. Neptune seemed to forget for why he was here. Something about the girl he was staring at seemed familiar to him, but this is the first time they have met. "The last thing I wanted was a life of success and a bit of freedom, even if that freedom cannot last. I never saw my parents often, nor my brother when they're busy on the line of work. Surely I knew those kind of things were illegal. But how am I supposed to argue with that? Of course, I wasn't allow off this island to know more." Weiss sighs.
"I'm sorry, I guess it wasn't fair that you've been living here all your life. But hey, look on the bright side. How was this night now?" Asked Neptune. Weiss then blushed and giggled. "I guess it's okay, for now. Maybe tonight wasn't so bad when you came along. Something tells me you weren't from around here." Weiss questioned. Not sure if it's another one of those suitors her father had sent, but she didn't mind since he seemed to approach her sincerely.
"Oh, yeah. I was sent here. Just for inspection. It was getting boring to me, but meeting you, it got less boring." Neptune replied. Soon, neither of them realized they are getting closer and drew their faces nearer, and their lips touched to one another. Weiss caressed his cheek as they have kissed for a few minutes. It was like fireworks exploded in their hearts. But it was interrupted when Winter showed up in front of him. "Sister, what was the meaning of this?!" Confronted Winter.
Weiss and Neptune broke away. Weiss tried to find a way to make excuses. Although Winter does not mind letting her sister having a great time. But at the same time, she knew she have to pull her away to not let her face her father's wrath. "Come, Father is expecting you." Winter grabs her hand and pulls her away. Neptune follows and saw that Winter has escorted Weiss to her father, his father's arch-enemy, Jacques Schnee. Winter then whispers something to her ear. "I must warn you, his name is Neptune, and he is a Vasilias." Weiss is in shock and looks at Neptune with despair. Feeling she was tricked by a boy who enchanted her in this party. At least Winter did not tell her father about the kiss. Neptune was about to leave, but not before seeing Weiss smiling at him, a sign that they will meet again. Neptune still couldn't believe she was a Schnee, but he was happy to have met her. Sun then approaches him. "Hey man, where have you been?"
"Um..." Before Neptune can say anything, Sun smirked at the side of him he has been seeing. He could tell Neptune has been lovestruck. "Oh, I see what was going on here." He sang. "You've been infatuated." Neptune jolts at the state of blushing. Then waved his hand in defense. "No no no! That can't be true! I was just lost that's all."
"Really, I won't tell your dad. Just tell me about that girl you've been swooning with." Sun asked. Neptune wasn't sure how to describe to him. He would be a bit shocked to find out it was a Schnee he was dancing with. "How am I going to put with this. Okay, just keep calm when I say this. But the girl I was dancing with, she was a Schnee." Sun's eyes have bungled at a state of shock. Then shook his head and tries to set the record straight. "Dude, she is way out of your league, did you forget that her dad is a criminal, deadly mastermind?" Sun reminds him, but Neptune huffed in response. But manages to change the subject. "Dude, let's just get back to that later, right now we have to get out of here. Trying to get answers from her and she never knew much. But you can tell she has been living on this island too much. And her dad would've probably sent the guards by morning.
"Fine, you and I need a serious talk when we head back to New York." Sun sighs. One night, they were hiding somewhere in the jungle where the manor took place. Even if the trees are fake. Neptune then snuck into the gardens of the Schnee Manor to see Weiss standing on the balcony of her room. "The glimpse of her in front of the moon can't be more beautiful than the moon at sight. Her eyes matches the icy waters. And Weiss is the moon in the sight of my eyes."
"Oh Neptune, Neptune..." Weiss said as she thought of that name after the party after it grew quiet as the guests left. "She speaks." He said quietly. "Wherefore art thou my Neptune? Deny my father and refuse my name. For what is a name if thou wilt be? But be sworn my love and I won't be a Schnee."
"I defy my name too!" Neptune shouted as Weiss jolted in shock to see him below the balcony. "Goodness!" Weiss gasped in shock. She never expected him to meet her again. But worries what her father will do. "Neptune, what are you doing here? If Father finds out you're still here, he will kill you." Weiss whispered in a harsh tone. But Neptune uses a pillar to climb onto the balcony to speak with her.
"I know, but as a son of a cop. Unlike your father, my dad is more of an overprotective type. I knew you are form this family. But it doesn't matter, I just want to get to know you more. Therefore I also defy my name and would be preferred to be called by my first name." Neptune explains.
"For years both the Schnee and the Vasilias have been at war with one another and they were still at war now. It came to the point where I knew I cannot see you. But I want to know you as well. My father has been committing crimes I wished I should've stopped. There was nothing I can do. It was a never-ending bloodshed." Weiss adds, turning away for a bit. As Neptune listens.
"Last thing I wanted was this war to end. Although you are a Schnee, I don't see you as one, just a woman with culture and personality." He then lift her chin, gently as he follows. "So, maybe we can meet in New York, I know I can't stay here and get caught. I can take you anywhere you want. Just say the word and I'll do it."
"I would love that. But knowing my father, I will always get surrounded by security. Or in some cases, my sister, since she was older than me."
"Maybe I can come up with the sneakiest plan for us to escape security and we can hang out a bit more. Without both our parents' knowing." Neptune suggested.
Weiss has been thinking about it, she cannot stand being in the crowd of security. She knew her parents would forbid her from seeing him because he has Vasilias blood in his veins. But there was a side of him no one has ever seen. "Perhaps I will think about it. see if we can meet. I will give word to my sister. After all, maybe she can help with that." Said Weiss. Knowing her sister will be staying for a few weeks. Neptune then smiled as a response as they leaned in closer and kissed again. "Weiss! Where are you?!" Winter called. Once again, they break away from each other and Weiss knew she has to get back inside. "Coming, Winter!" Weiss called back. Then push Neptune away to get him to hide. "Quick, hide! Before security comes!" Weiss urges him until he fell off the balcony and landed on the bushes in the garden. "I'm okay!" Said Neptune.
The next day, Neptune returned home, only to find his parents waiting for him in the living room of his house. "Where have you've been, Neptune?! Do you have any idea how worried sick your mother has been?!" Scolded Saturn, he was not one to be harsh on his children, but never took his youngest for being a rebellious type. "Oh, hey dad. Sorry I am late, I was just out for a walk..." He said, nervously. But Saturn was a bit suspicious. "The thing is, I got bored and I couldn't help but feel a bit dizzy in my own home and thought I could get some fresh air. I didn't realized it was late and my phone has died." Neptune lied.
Saturn then approaches his son. And then places his hand on hos father's shoulder and sighs. "I am sorry, son. It wasn't fair for you to be kept in the house all day. We are worried for you, that's all." Saturn apologized.
"Are you sure you're not lying, bro?" Asked Jupiter, suspicious about his brother's whereabouts before he came back. He saw red in his face. It was a sign he was lying at some point. The last time Jupiter snuck out, his little brother was too honest enough to snitch on his brother.
"Just don't do it again. Next time just tell us, okay sweetie?" Asked Lydia. They were just going to let this slide and let this go, being the caring parents they are. Lydia then walks over to her husband and son and embraced them. Jupiter decides to let this go this time. But thought that the next time Neptune snuck out, he would have to follow him to see what he was doing.
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On the weekdays, Weiss and Neptune would have to escape security with the excuses of school activities after school. Only to sneak out of the school building and go on dates. First, Neptune has been taking her out to the movies on her request. Seeing a romantic movie about Titanic. How an upper-class woman has been forced into an arranged marriage, only to fall in love with a lower-class man who saw her as a person.
"Even with those differences, they found each other." Weiss teared up as she saw the ending as the love of the main protagonist's life has died from hyperthermia. Neptune wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. Weiss felt better after the ending. Unbeknownst to them, a curious ginger-haired girl takes a picture without a flash of light. They heard a click, but saw nothing as the young photographer hid from them.
Another day past and they were at a mall. But wrong move, Jacques' security team arrived to search for Weiss, but they hid in another shopping center, where they bribed the manager to help them escape. After they exit the building using an emergency exit, Neptune and Weiss laughed a bit. Thinking how awkward this say went.
The next day, they were at a park while avoiding some eyes that might see them. Suddenly, some classmates they never recognized in their school approached them and asked them to take a photo for the school yearbook. "Can we take a photo of you guys?" Asked a raven-haired boy. They gladly accepted and Weiss and Neptune posed together. Not thinking twice before, cause they were having too much of a great time. Then Neptune spotted his brother looking for him. He then yanks Weiss with him and ran off before Jupiter could see them.
The next date, Neptune has to sneak out of his house. But not before his older brother notice and decides to follow him. Neptune has taken Weiss to a cafe, where she can try some latte, something her father would not allow her too. "I don't know, I wasn't allow to have some caffeine." Weiss said with hesitance. But Neptune insisted to make her feel good about being outside of the island and some relief from isolation. "Come on, one taste cannot hurt."
Weiss took one sip of the straw and felt the flavors on her tongue. And felt the cool but tasty features of the latte. "Oh, that was blistering, but sweet. What else can you show me? I cannot believe we hadn't been caught yet." Weiss giggled.
"I cannot believe it either." That is, until a voice interrupted them. "A-ha! I knew you were lying this whole time, Neptune." They then turned to see Jupiter standing before them. He is not happy to see him with Weiss, knowing she was a Schnee and he hates the family that committed the crimes against his. And seeing him with the daughter of the Schnee family made him furious. "Neptune, who is this? He looks like my sister's age." Asked Weiss as Neptune stood in front of Weiss to prevent Jupiter form doing anything to her. As he approaches his brother. "What were you thinking, she is a Schnee for crying out loud! Her family are criminals and they hunted down our family for years!" Jupiter shouted as they crowd from different tables are watching. "Jupiter, I can explain!" Neptune defended. But Jupiter grabs his wrist, tightly. "Home, now." Jupiter hissed.
"Gee, do you have to be this scary?" Neptune flinched. Then Jupiter turned to Weiss in pure anger. "And you, tell your sister to meet me in Times Square. And stay away from my brother, or else..." Weiss looked at him in shock as his face grew a bit frightening. Neptune then looked at her with sadness. "I'm sorry, Weiss." Neptune apologized, before being dragged away from her and then back home. At least Jupiter is not going to tell their parents about the relationship. But decided to keep Neptune watched 24/7. To not let the daughter of the criminals see him again, fearing she will use him for their father's information.
After two weeks, Neptune received a text from Weiss. Telling him they need to talk and to meet him at Central Park. Neptune manages to block the cameras hidden beneath the walls meant to keep an eye on him. Jupiter has no idea what hit him. Then jumps out of the window again. Ran in to Weiss at the Central Park.
"Hey, Snow Angel. What's up?" Before Neptune can ask a bit more. Weiss started to tear up. "I'm sorry, I cannot see you anymore, Neptune." Weiss wipes her tears from her eyes. "It was a mistake, I never should've met you." Neptune is appalled to hear that she won't be seeing him anymore as he thought he did something wrong to make things worse. "What do you mean, did I do something wrong. Please, Weiss. I want to know what I did wrong." Neptune pleaded, wanting to comfort her and console her. As he gets closer to her, she pushes him away.
"The truth is, I am getting married." Neptune thought his ears were playing tricks when Weiss mentions she was getting married. "My father planned this from the start, he knew you were at the party that night. And the fact that you were the son of a cop, he was furious. He told me he knew about our dates. And if I don't go with the plan of marrying the son of another mafia, he would kill your father and you." Weiss explains. Neptune is shocked. He never knew her father would gone too far.
"Weiss." Neptune then wrapped her arms around her. But Weiss wants to protest this. But her feelings of warmth from him are too strong and she allows herself to, as if it were the last time before she meets her fate. "I'm sorry, I am sure that we cannot see each other again. But it was for the best if you're alive and your family as well. I think this is goodbye, Neptune." Weiss then turns away and walks away to depart from him.
But Neptune did not just stand there and watch, instead he stopped her and she turned back to look at him. "Neptune, I told you. We're different. I am the criminal's daughter, and your the son of the police captain. We're just not meant to be. I enjoyed these times together."
Neptune did not take these words to heart as he then decides to defy the opposites. He then brings out a small box wrapped in a ribbon. "Weiss, I don't care about any of that. Like I said, I defy my name and renounce the name of Vasilias. Just like you said, you also defied the name of Schnee. Therefore for me, you're just Weiss. And I won't define you by name. And I won't be preferred by the name Vasilias. I am Neptune, and only Neptune."
"Neptune. Somehow you managed to convince me. And for some reason, I have no regrets meeting you. The stars, the ocean, and the night sky, it will always remind me of the night we met. I also dreamed not only for university, but to also see you there. Where we can be free of our differences."
Weiss then looks up in the night sky and Neptune turned to the gift box. It was the perfect place for the right moment. Even if it is too early. His family will not like this, and her family will not like this either. But now would be a matter of time to ask her something. In hopes to free her from the Mafia life under her father's rule. "Weiss, I know we have met for a couple of days and months, but I was hoping I will ask you this."
Weiss then turned to Neptune who had knelt down and he opened the box to reveal a golden ring. Not expensive, but it was enough for Weiss to know the love he has for her. The real love she has wanted for a long time. "Neptune, you know we can't."
"I know, but I want to be the one to make you happy. If you let me, I'll try my best to give what I can give you. I will free you from this, and when we run, and cut ties with our families completely, this way, you can settle. Weiss Schnee, will you marry me, and join me in the flow of time?" Neptune's eye sparkled. Weiss can never be happier than before, as she wrapped her arms around him as he slips the ring in her finger. The least they have to do is survive their family feuds.
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The next afternoon, Winter and Jupiter are in a middle of a gun showdown as they came into a Mexican stand-off. "This time we will settle this once and for all, Schnee." Jupiter then cocks his rifle as he was the master marksman. But Winter has ready her gun after filling her bullets with her pistol. "You should appreciate when I became an informant for your father. I just want this war to end as much as you do."
"But not with you. These past few years were a streak of humiliation. Your father will not get away any longer without his secret weapon, mainly you. How does my father tolerate you this easily?" Jupiter snared. Glaring at her with such hatred. "Stop!" Then Neptune came in between them. "What are you doing, little bro?! Get out of the way!"
Neptune then turned to Jupiter. "No, bro! Let me handle this!" Then he turned to Winter. "I'm sorry my brother has been causing trouble for you! But for min and Weiss' sake, stand down!" Pleaded Neptune. Jupiter refuses to go down without a fight. And starts firing the gun, then Winter got behind the rails and shots back while Neptune and Jupiter also hid. "Sorry, Neptune, but this war has to come to an end."
Winter did not waste time to fire back. Jupiter then emerges and shots back. Neptune then fights back by tugging onto Jupiter's gun. "Let go of the gun, Neptune!" Jupiter yelled. "I'm doing this for the good of the family!"
"Good by foot!" Neptune retorted. Winter then lowers her weapon as she was about to say something. "Don't you realized this war has gone too far?! You and Winter have the power to stop this! If not for Dad, do it for me!" Pleaded Neptune as they kept fighting over the gun. Finally, Jupiter knocks out Neptune. Both are once again in position.
#rwby iceberg#rwby icy seas#weiss x neptune#weiss schnee x neptune vasilias#ice planet#weiss schnee#neptune vasilias#icebergweek2021
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Everyone Lives Prequel AU
Request: "Because fluff is my one true love and I enjoy beating the hell out of Star Wars with it can we get nothing bad happened ever in the galaxy far far away becasue the reader watched the movies,gets thrown into prequels despairs because these people are too pretty to be dead,crippled or depressed and is like well if no one else will save the hotties I will oh and others too"
Thanks for the request! I changed it a little so instead the reader is a member of the Rebellion, but still knows the prequel gang and what causes the fall of the Republic. I hope you enjoy!
All requests are open!
XXX
The galaxy falls into despair, and because you know nothing else to possibly do, you join the Rebellion alongside Bail Organa
You had been close to Padmé and consequently known Anakin and Obi-wan. Since Padmé’s tenure in the Senate, the four of you were inseparable, bonded by your wit, humor, and kindness
When everything is destroyed, you are left alone and devastated
It seems as if the darkness will never end, but then Ahsoka Tano saunters into your life and brings an opportunity to change everything
As it turns out, she is one of the few surviving Jedi, but her misadventures with the Rebellion efforts on Lothal brought her to a way of changing the past
She tells you about apparent portals in the Force discovered in an ancient Jedi Temple on the grassland planet
Few others remain who know your old friends as the two of you did, and Ahsoka feels as if you are the best candidate to travel through time
She tells you that if things go wrong in the current reality, she needs to be there to hold it together
So you are left to change the past. It takes some convincing- you know that the fate of your friends and millions of others would lie on your shoulders
But all-out war with the Empire is an ever-looming possibility, and this is a chance too great to let fall to cowardice and nerves
You accept the offer, pushing aside the doubts and every idea of what could go wrong, and stride into the Lothal temple at Ahsoka’s side
The journey through the Force is like nothing you’ve ever experienced, but you feel a dull pull from within you during the long, winding trek through the starry path. You are the one to lead Ahsoka to your mysterious destination in the world between worlds
The pull leads you to a door; in it, you see a circular picture of the halls of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, bustling with life, and pawadans and the Force, and so much light
Ahsoka peers in, and tells you with a shaking voice that this is the Jedi Temple as it was during the Clone Wars, before the Jedi and their home fell to ruin
There are no more doubts or hesitations: this is the way to bring everything and everyone back. Each innocent life will be returned if you succeed
Ahsoka hugs you, which is surprising at first, but when she looks at you, there are tears in her eyes
“May the Force be with you” is all she manages to say, but that is enough. No words could quite encapsulate what is at stake anyways, nor the danger and urgency of your mission
But you nod, take a deep breath, and step through the portal onto the stone floor of the Jedi Temple
Instantly, calm pervades you; the tension of your daily life dissipates as the steady hum of calm and order surrounds you
Since it is still war, albeit in a time of less chaos, you can only guess that Padmé will be on Coruscant, even if Obi-wan and Anakin aren’t
Luckily for you, your final days of the war were originally spent alongside the 501st, so there are few concerns over running into a past version of yourself as you resolve to change the future, and your plan is set into motion
Somewhat reluctantly, you leave the Temple behind. It fell with the Republic, and on your way to Padmé’s apartment, you fight an uneasy feeling from leaving what was once a great sanctuary
Padmé greets you with warmth, then surprise as you embrace her wordlessly and quickly upon seeing her. Between the tears in your eyes and the lump in your throat, you are too overwhelmed and inhibited from speaking
As you hugged, there was an unusual distance between you. Padmé is already pregnant; you felt her the large curve of her stomach against you
However strange your arrival is, not to mention your appearance and increased weariness, Padmé sits you down on her couch, comfortingly close, and asks what’s wrong
It’s so difficult not to pour your heart out to her; you have ached for years to update her on your life and the hardships you’ve faced. Every horror and injustice flashes before your eyes, but there is a carefully set plan it must be followed if everything is to be saved
Instead, you tell her you know. You say you know about her and Anakin and the baby, and you know in your heart that it will lead to disaster
She is stunned, then relieved. Padmé can’t deny it; her pregnancy is getting harder and harder to hide each day and her marriage is nearly obvious to anyone who has seen her and Anakin in the same room together
But finally, someone understands, and you offer an ultimatum: if she doesn’t tell Obi-wan, you will
Her hesitation is palpable, Although eased by your sympathy and understanding of the situation, as well as the consolation of having someone outside of her handmaidens to confide in, Padmé cannot betray the secret of her marriage without Anakin’s consent
But you also inform her that you know Anakin has been struggling with thoughts of the Dark Side, especially under Palpatine’s influence
You cannot quite reveal how you know all this, but your proximity to your friends is answer enough. Much of what you say has already been suspected by Padmé, yet her fear of the truth and the tumult it would bring prevented her from doing anything
The trust in you and your friendship seals the deal. She resolves to let Obi-wan in and begin an investigation into Palpatine, and with the seeds of securing victory successfully planted, you return to the Temple to caution the Jedi about Palpatine’s deeds and true identity
Getting an audience with high-ranking Jedi is exceedingly challenging. Most of the Jedi that you know are deployed throughout the galaxy
Yet luck brings you to Plo Koon on his leave, and he senses both your confusion and distress as a clear outsider, not only to the Temple, but to this time itself
There is little choice but to confess what you know about Palpatine, despite the suspicious amount of knowledge you have
However, the continued misgivings about the Chancellor added to your accusations are enough for Plo to call an emergency council meeting
When you explain your story, the Jedi do not wait to poke holes in your story, but Yoda stays curiously quiet for the majority of the meeting
Between Obi-wan vouching for you and the certainty of your claims, the Council resolves to investigate Palpatine despite any of their reservations
They say there isn’t enough evidence for an arrest, but a start is a start
A week trickles by, and you remain at Padmé’s side to help gather evidence into Palpatine’s corruption, becoming ever more nervous as the day the Empire will rise creeps closer
But at last, Anakin is called back to Coruscant, and instead of rescuing the Chancellor, he assists in his arrest
The Jedi’s investigation into his misdeeds, supplemented with Padmé’s own findings, amounts to a pile of corruption with the Trade Federation and endlessly shady dealings with the Separatists
Relieved from Obi-wan’s assurances that they will stand together and that he will vouch for Anakin and Padmé for whatever they will face when the baby is born, Anakin finds the strength to turn against his longtime mentor Palpatine
It still comes down to a duel, and Anakin still ends it, but this time, he kills the Sith and stomps out the evil in the galaxy
Further inquisition into Palpatine’s doings reveal his puppeteer-like control over the war, and the stringing along of both sides. Acting quickly, the Jedi manage to prevent Order 66 from happening and apprehend many of Palpatine’s allies in and outside of the Senate
Dooku is arrested and tried and Grievous is killed
Padmé gives birth to two healthy babies, and Anakin decides not to live in secrecy
The Jedi are upset and cautious about the whole affair, yet the Chosen One has just eliminated the last of the Sith. Additionally, Palpatine’s reign has shaken the foundations of the Jedi organization to its core, and the Council agrees that it might finally be time to rethink many of their policies
Anakin’s struggle with the dark has not been lost on them, and Yoda in particular senses that their future could have been much worse
Perhaps you encourage this line of thought as much as you can. After all, the blindness of the peacekeepers and leaders allowed Palpatine to take control in the first place
Yet at last, there is peace. Calm begins to settle over the galaxy; timelines converge and you exist only in the new, hopeful reality
There is still much to be fixed, many wrongs to be righted. But you have ensured that one day, all will be well and as it should be
#star wars prequels#prequels au#star wars au#star wars#Star Wars fanfic#star wars imagines#star wars headcanons#star wars x reader#star wars x you#pt#sw prequels#Padme Amidala#Anakin Skywalker#obi wan kenobi#padme x reader#anakin x reader#obi wan x reader#the rise of skywalker#tros#jedi#this is. so long#i died writing this and my soul ascended#can you tell ive thought about this since the first time i ever watched rots?#cause yeah#rots#star wars fix-it#rots fix it fic#fix it fic#revenge of the sith
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The Rise & Fall of Jar Jar Binks
Jar Jar Binks is often looked at as an additional character added into the prequel trilogy of Star Wars mainly to add in the some humor/cuteness and be for the kids, similarly to the ewoks in “Return of the Jedi”. The online Star Wars community also enjoys teasing about “Darth Jar Jar”, which is quite humorous but not actually true. In my opinion, every character from Episodes 1-6 has a good place in the Star Wars saga, including Jar Jar. In this post, I want to discuss what really happened to him, including after Episode 3. How did Jar Jar go from being an outcast to his society to a war general for them, then to represent them in the Galactic Senate? And after the Senate, what happen to him? Let’s take a look:
Banned From His Own Society
We begin Jar Jar’s story with his exclusion from his own race and society, the Gungans. Jar Jar is extremely clumsy, and not very bright. He was already on thin ice with the Gungans, and he was finally banned for crashing the submarine of Boss Nass (ruler of the Gungans). From there, Jar Jar left his home city of Otoh Gunga and wandered around the nearby swamps, not really having a purpose.
The Invasion of Naboo
Luckily for Jar Jar, his planet, Naboo, was being invaded. This was fortunate for him because of the opportunities it gave him. First off, he ran into the jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. They were attempting to discover why the Trade Federation was invading Naboo. However, they both knew very little about Naboo’s geography, and had no idea how to get to the capital city from the swamps. But Jar Jar knew how, and thus presented himself with some usefulness.
Even though he had been banned not too long before, Jar Jar took the jedi to Otoh Gunga to ask for help from Boss Nass. Of course, Boss Nass refused and warned Jar Jar of his unaccepted return. Jar Jar was immediately arrested and was to be punished for returning. However, fortunate for Jar Jar was the jedi’s mind tricks, as Qui-Gon persuaded Boss Nass to not only allow them to use a submarine to travel to the capital, but to also free Jar Jar and use him as a navigator. You see, when Qui-Gon met Jar Jar, he had actually saved his life from the initial invasion. Thus, Jar Jar owed him a life debt, in which is was willing to repay.
Battle of Naboo
Before the invasion, the humans and Gungans of Naboo had never gotten along. They had always avoided each other and never really respected one another. However, the Trade Federation’s invasion made both sides rethink their relationship. Jar Jar was the one to seal the deal, after he met Queen Amidala of Naboo. The Queen attempted to gain help from the Galactic Senate, but was unsuccess as the Republic refused to help Naboo. However, Jar Jar informed the Queen that the Gungans actually had a grand army, and would put up a fight before surrendering to the Trade Federation. Jar Jar then led the Queen back to the Gungans, where she begged for their aid and support. Boss Nass saw that the humans did not see themselves as superiors to the Gungans, and willfully decided to aid.
For his efforts to bring the humans and Gungans together, Boss Nass promoted Jar Jar to Bombad General (or simply war general) during the Battle of Naboo. He led the Gungan forces against the Trade Federation’s army while Naboo’s starfighters attempted to knock out the control ship above the planet. Due to his clumsiness, Jar Jar proved to be a not-so-good general, and his forces lost the initial battle. However, once the control ship was destroyed, the Trade Federation’s droid army stopped working, resulting in an ultimate victory for the humans and Gungans of Naboo. They now made an official peace with each other, looking very good on Jar Jar’s behalf.
Representing Naboo
Ten years after the Battle of Naboo, Jar Jar had ascended to the title of Representative of Naboo in the Galactic Senate. He now went by the title “Representative Binks” and served faithfully next to Senator Amidala, the former Queen of Naboo. Amidala was a strong and wise politician, always standing for democracy and peace. However, during the Separatist Crisis, she voiced her opinions on how peace must be maintained. Because of this, there were many assassination attempts on her life. She was forced to leave Coruscant, the homeworld for the Galactic Senate, and appoint a member to replace her in her absence. This replacement would be Representative Binks.
Unfortunately for Binks, many corrupt politicians (including Chancellor Palpatine and Mas Amedda) deceived and manipulated him to get their way. Since he represented Amidala, and he was surely not as strong or wise as her, these politicians could manipulate and control Binks on Amidala’s behalf. She was the leading member against the Grand Army of the Republic and against giving the Chancellor more emergency powers. Binks, unknowingly, ruined all this by allowing the Chancellor to have more power and to establish the army. In his manipulated mind, he was doing the right thing. However, he had just allowed for everything that Amidala was fighting against. Soon after, the Clone Wars began.
During The Clone Wars
Throughout the war, Jar Jar remained a representative of Naboo, however Amidala had returned and took her place once again. In the “Clone Wars” tv show, Jar Jar can be seen going on multiple adventures. While these do not progress his story much, they are still interesting to watch and good for those who love Jar Jar. His clumsiness and stupidity are surely shown.
Fall of the Republic... and Jar Jar
By the end of the war, Jar Jar was still a representative in the Galactic Senate. However, things were drastically changing. Binks remained a representative for the final days of the Republic. However, once it shifted into the Galactic Empire, his humiliation was truly revealed. Senator Amidala had died soon after the Republic fell, where Jar Jar and even Boss Nass attended her funeral. Amidala was Jar Jar’s main supporter to his political career, and now she was gone.
The people of Naboo (especially the Gungans) now looked at Jar Jar as a big reason for the creation of the Empire. He had allowed the Chancellor more powers, to establish the clone army and to begin the war, all things that helped the Empire come to reality. Once again, as with in the beginning of his story, Jar Jar was banned from the Gungan society. He was now an outcast in Naboo, hardly anyone would even speak to him, and if they did it was nothing nice. He had no option for returning to politics, or any role with the Gungans. His only option was to become a street performer in Theed, the capital of Naboo. Even then, only children would watch his performances, as adults still despised him. He would live the rest of his days as an outcast and street performer on Naboo.
So, that is the rise and fall of Jar Jar Binks. From an outcast, to a general, to a representative, and back to an outcast, Jar Jar had a rough life. However, his clumsiness and lack of intelligence showed that he inevitably was to be nothing of importance. In my opinion, he was very lucky to even become a war general, let alone an actual representative of his planet. Thanks for reading!
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New Year, New Books!
Happy 2019, book nerds! Now that we’ve cleaned up the confetti from New Year’s Eve, it’s time to get serious about some resolutions: reading as many books as we possibly can in 2019!
If your TBR pile needs some love, we’ve got you covered. Here are some of our faves coming your way in early 2019!
The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali
Available January 29th
Seventeen-year-old Rukhsana Ali has always been fascinated by the universe around her and the laws of physics that keep everything in order. But her life at home isn't so absolute. Unable to come out to her conservative Muslim parents, she keeps that part of her identity hidden. And that means keeping her girlfriend, Ariana, a secret from them too. Luckily, only a few more months stand between her carefully monitored life at home and a fresh start at Caltech in the fall. But when Rukhsana's mom catches her and Ariana together, her future begins to collapse around her. Devastated and confused, Rukhsana's parents whisk her off to stay with their extended family in Bangladesh where, along with the loving arms of her grandmother and cousins, she is met with a world of arranged marriages, religious tradition, and intolerance. Fortunately, Rukhsana finds allies along the way and, through reading her grandmother's old diary, finds the courage to take control of her future and fight for her love.
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Spin
Available January 29th
Even in murder, the music lives on. When rising star Paris Secord (aka DJ ParSec) is found dead on her turntables, it sends the local music scene reeling. No one is feeling that grief more than her shunned pre-fame best friend, Kya, and ParSec's chief groupie, Fuse -- two sworn enemies who happened to be the ones who discovered her body. The police have few leads, and when the trail quickly turns cold, the authorities don't seem to be pushing too hard to investigate further. But nobody counted on Paris's deeply loyal fans, ParSec Nation, or the outrage that would drive Fuse and Kya to work together. As ParSec Nation takes to social media and the streets in their crusade for justice, Fuse and Kya start digging into Paris's past, stumbling across a deadly secret. With new info comes new motives. New suspects. And a fandom that will stop at nothing in their obsessive quest for answers, not even murder...
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The Deceiver’s Heart
Available February 26th
In this sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller The Traitor's Game, Kestra Dallisor has finally gained possession of the Olden Blade. With the dagger in her control, she attempts to destroy the tyrannical Lord Endrick. But when Kestra fails, the king strips her of her memory, and leaves her weak and uncertain, bound to obey him. Heartbroken, Simon is desperate to return Kestra to the rebel she was, but refuses to use magic to heal her. With untrusting Coracks and Halderians threatening to capture and kill her, and war looming on the horizon, Kestra and Simon will have to learn to trust each other again if they have any hope of surviving. But can a heart once broken ever be healed?
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The Music of What Happens
Available February 26th
Max: Chill. Sports. Video games. Gay and not a big deal, not to him, not to his mom, not to his buddies. And a secret: An encounter with an older kid that makes it hard to breathe, one that he doesn't want to think about, ever. Jordan: The opposite of chill. Poetry. His "wives" and the Chandler Mall. Never been kissed and searching for Mr. Right, who probably won't like him anyway. And a secret: A spiraling out of control mother, and the knowledge that he's the only one who can keep the family from falling apart. Throw in a rickety, 1980s-era food truck called Coq Au Vinny. Add in prickly pears, cloud eggs, and a murky idea of what's considered locally sourced and organic. Place it all in Mesa, Arizona, in June, where the temp regularly hits 114. And top it off with a touch of undeniable chemistry between utter opposites. Over the course of one summer, two boys will have to face their biggest fears and decide what they're willing to risk -- to get the thing they want the most.
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Pretend She’s Here
Available February 26th
Emily Lonergan's best friend died last year. And Emily hasn't stopped grieving. Lizzie Porter was lively, loud, and fun -- Emily's better half. Emily can't accept that she's gone. When Lizzie's parents and her sister come back to town to visit, Emily's heartened to see them. The Porters understand her pain. They miss Lizzie desperately, too. Desperately enough to do something crazy. Something unthinkable. Suddenly, Emily's life is hurtling toward a very dark place -- and she's not sure she'll ever be able to return to what she once knew was real.
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Last of Her Name
Available February 26th
Sixteen years ago, rebellion swept the galaxy known as the Belt of Jewels. Every member of the Leonov royal family was murdered--down to their youngest child, Princess Anya--making way for the Union government to seize power. But Stacia doesn't think much about politics. She spends her days half-wild, rambling her father's vineyard with her friends, Clio and Pol. That all changes when a Union ship appears burning through the sky, bearing the leader of the Union, the Direktor Eminent himself, who declares that Stacia's sleepy village is a den of empire loyalists. Even more shocking, the Direktor claims that Princess Anya Leonova is alive--and Stacia is the lost princess As their home explodes into chaos, Pol smuggles Stacia to a hidden escape ship, leaving Clio in the hands of the Union. With everything she knows threading away into the stars, Stacia sets her heart on a single mission: She will find and rescue Clio, even with the whole galaxy on her trail.
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That’s Not What I Heard
Available February 26th
What did you hear? Kimberly Landis-Lilley and Teddy Lin are over. Yes, the Kim and Teddy broke up. At least that's what Phil Spooner thinks he overheard and then told Jess Howard, Kim's best friend. Something about Teddy not liking Kim's Instas? Or was it that Teddy is moving to Italy and didn't want to do long distance? Or that Kim slid into someone else's DMs? Jess told her boyfriend, Elvis, that he needs to be on Kim's side. Especially if he wants to keep her as his girlfriend. But Elvis is also Teddy's best friend. Now, Kim's run out of school for the day. Jess is furious. Elvis is confused. And half the lunch period won't talk to Teddy. Even the teachers have taken sides. William Henry Harrison High will never be the same again!
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Tell Me Everything
Available February 26th
Your secret's safe...until it's not. Ivy's always preferred to lay low, unlike her best friend Harold, who has taken up a hundred activities as sophomore year begins. But Ivy has her own distraction: the new anonymous art-sharing app, VEIL. Being on the sidelines has made Ivy a skilled observer, and soon she discovers that some of the anonymous posters are actually her classmates. While she's still too scared to put her own creations on the app, Ivy realizes that she can contribute in an even better way -- by making gifts for the artists she's discovered. The acts of kindness give her such a rush that, when Ivy suspects Harold is keeping a secret, she decides to go all in. Forget gifts -- Harold needs a major party. But when her good intentions thrust her into the spotlight, Ivy's carefully curated world is thrown into chaos. Now she has to find the courage to stand out... or risk losing everything and everyone she loves most.
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Mike
Available February 26th
Mike is the imaginary friend and projection of a repressed wish that won’t go away until Floyd confronts both his greatest fear and greatest desire: to succeed. MEET FLOYD. He's a tennis star. Possibly good enough to win Wimbledon one day. MEET MIKE. He's... different. Apart from anything else, Floyd seems to be the only one who can see him. But Mike must have appeared for a reason. And finding out why is perhaps the most important thing Floyd will ever do...
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Sorry Not Sorry
Available February 26th
Janelle and Alyssa used to be friends. Best friends. They knew each other's deepest secrets and went through the hardest times together. But that was then. Now? Their status is somewhere between frenemies and full-on rivals. Janelle is all about making a difference in her community, while Alyssa reigns over the shallowest girls in school. Until the day Alyssa collapses and is rushed to the hospital. Suddenly, everyone knows about her declining health and race against time. And, in a stunning twist of fate, the only person who might be able to save Alyssa's life -- is Janelle. But will the girls' bitter past get in the way of their futures?
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Brawler
Available March 26th
Eddie MacIntyre--Mac to a handful of friends--is Pennsylvania's most promising wrestler. His future is bright with scholarship offers and the dream of helping his struggling mom. But then comes a fateful match at the state championship, when his famous rage consumes him and he assaults a referee. In an instant, Mac loses all he and his mom have worked to build since his abusive father was locked up years ago. Facing arrest, Mac runs away to another town, where he is taken in by a shady promoter who has followed his career. He recruits Mac into Brawlers, an illegal underground fighting ring run by a gangland boss. This is a bloodsport that has no rules . . . but offers plenty of reward. Mac teams up with Khajee, a girl with the fighting skills he'll need to learn to survive . . . and her own dark past tying her to the head of the ring. Together the two must figure out their place in a world that hasn't been kind to them . . . and forge a future that could be.
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Quarantine: A Love Story
Available March 26th
Oliver wants a girlfriend, and there's a girl back home who might be interested in him. The problem is, he has to spend his spring break on a volunteer trip in the Dominican Republic. Flora, on the other hand, isn't really looking for a boyfriend. She just wants to end a miserable spring break visiting her dad and her new stepmom in the D.R. The solution to both their problems? Get back home to New York ASAP. Sadly, they won't be getting there anytime soon. Their hopes are dashed when Flora's impulsiveness lands them in quarantine -- just the two of them. Now, the two teens must come together in order to survive life in a bubble for 30 days. In that time, love will bloom. But is it the real thing, or just a placebo effect?
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I Don’t Want To Be Crazy
Available March 26th
This is a true story of growing up, breaking down, and coming to grips with a psychological disorder. When Samantha Schutz first left home for college, she was excited by the possibilities -- freedom from parents, freedom from a boyfriend who was reckless with her affections, freedom from the person she was supposed to be. At first, she reveled in the independence . . . but as pressures increased, she began to suffer anxiety attacks that would leave her mentally shaken and physically incapacitated. Thus began a hard road of discovery and coping, powerfully rendered in this poetry memoir.
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Dear Ally, How Do You Write a Book?
Available March 26th
Have you always wanted to write a book, but don't know where to start? Or maybe you're really great at writing the first few chapters . . . but you never quite make it to the end? Or do you finally have a finished manuscript, but you're not sure what to do next? Fear not -- if you have writing-related questions, this book has answers! Whether you're writing for fun or to build a career, bestselling author Ally Carter is ready to help you make your work shine. With honesty, encouragement, and humor, Ally's ready here to answer the questions that writers struggle with the most. Filled with practical tips and helpful advice, Dear Ally is a treasure for aspiring writers at any stage of their careers. It offers a behind-the-scenes look at how books get made, from idea to publication, and gives you insight into the writing processes of some of the biggest and most talented YA authors writing today.
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#I read YA#booklr#book love#young adult lit#diverse reads#books#bookworm#bookish#book nerd#new books#reading
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Day 152: Prague Castle (and the Window that Sparked a War)
On our last day in Prague, the miserable heat that had been oppressing us throughout our stay finally broke. But it went out with a bang. It stayed above 80 degrees until after midnight and only fell to the mid 70s by morning, where it stayed for the rest of the day.
Still, it was bliss simply to wake up to a merely warm morning. At least, it was bliss for the first few seconds of consciousness I enjoyed before a wasp stung my hand.
I’d never been stung by a wasp before, and at first I didn’t know what happened. It was like a bolt of sheer electric pain coursing through my hand and up my arm. I managed to kill and flush the cursed thing (literally) before it could sting again or call for reinforcements.
I was able to wash and clean the puncture quickly--no real harm done--but my hand was throbbing and stiff for the rest of the day. Not a great start, but luckily things got better.
Prague Castle is on the far side of town from where we stayed, across the Vltava River. So, for the first time since we checked into our flat, we took the metro.
The metro doesn't go all the way to the castle, but that gave us a chance to enjoy a picturesque, if largely uphill, walk through the beautiful, shop-lined streets of the Castle District.
One of the shops was a Koh-i-Noor Hardtmuth--a major Czech pen, pencil, and art supply manufacturer. As a professional stationery fan, I had to go in.
Meanwhile, Jessica entertained her own professional curiosity at a nearby gingerbread museum.
There were also a lot of shops selling puppets and marionettes. The Czech people apparently have a rich history of puppetry dating back to the middle ages.
That doesn't necessarily make them less creepy, though.
Once we made it to the top of the hill, we had a great view of central Prague. As well the surprisingly close Eiffel Tower.
(It's actually the Petrin Lookout Tower, but it was directly inspired by the Eiffel Tower.)
Prague Castle has been an important center of power for centuries--first for the medieval Bohemian kingdoms and later for the Austrian Habsburg empire that eventually absorbed them. It was also the home of the first president of Czechoslovakia after the country gained its independence in 1918.
It's also huge--a sprawling complex of palaces, churches, and squares. By some measures, at least, it is the largest castle on earth.
Outside the main castle complex is the Castle Square, lined with former palaces of important noble Czech families. One is still occupied by the Archbishop of Prague. Many of the buildings are painted with an interesting "envelope" pattern that gives the smooth plaster walls the appearance of being made of geometrically carved stones.
In the center of the square stands an elaborate column erected as thanks to God and Mary for ending a plague. It seems innocuous enough, but it is actually stands as a reminder of Prague's subservience to Habsburg Austria, which was were the tradition of erecting these Marian plague columns came from. After Czechoslovakia gained its independence in 1918, a similar column in the Old Town Square was torn down by a celebrating mob.
The castle grounds are free to enter as long as you don’t mind going through a security checkpoint. Once inside, you can buy tickets that cover various “routes” or sets of sights. When we got in, there was a huge line at the first outdoor ticket vendor. But the second ticket vendor, just inside a nearby building, had almost no one in line at all. Besides us.
(Thanks for the tip, Rick Steves!)
Just as we entered the middle courtyard, we got to see the changing of the guard.
The centerpiece of the castle complex is St. Vitus cathedral. It is big and impressive like a national cathedral should be, and was also one of the slowest cathedrals to ever be built. It was started in 1344, and due to wars, plagues, and religious reformations, it wasn’t completed until 1929. You can see modern architects with business suits carved into the western facade–representing the men who made the final push to get the cathedral finished in honor of Czechoslovakia’s independence following WWI.
Besides its massive size, beautiful Gothic architecture, and everything else we’ve seen in so many other cathedrals by now, one of the coolest features to us was a stained glass window designed by–you guessed it–Alfons Mucha.
The center panes show a young St. Wenceslas being taught Christianity by his grandmother, St. Ludmila. The two young women at the bottom of the window represent the Czechs and Slovaks. And the sides tell the story of Saints Cyril and Methodius, two brothers who brought Christianity to the Slavic lands from Greece.
One of the brothers’ biggest problems in spreading Christianity was that the Slavs had no written alphabet. So Cyril, the younger brother, decided to invent one for them. Over the next few generations, that alphabet evolved into the modern Cyrillic alphabet, which is still used today in many Eastern European languages.
Sadly, the brothers’ lives didn’t go so well after that. When they returned to Rome to show the pope their new Cyrillic Bible, Cyril got sick and passed away. Methodius returned to Bohemia as an anointed bishop, but eventually a new pope came along and decided that the Cyrillic Bible was actually heretical. The church arrested Methodius and locked him away for years. He was eventually released, after which he spent the rest of his life quietly in a monastery.
So, if Wenceslas, Cyril, and Methodius are the three most-venerated Saints in Prague, why is the church named for St. Vitus, a 4th-century Sicilian boy who was boiled alive in tar?
(The legend holds that a rooster was thrown into the vat of tar with Vitus as a sacrifice to the Roman gods, so Vitus is often depicted with a rooster at his feet. The legend also holds that Vitus was miraculously saved from the boiling tar. But not healed, so he still died--just later.)
In 925 AD, Duke Wenceslas--a Christian ruler of the still largely pagan Bohemia--received a relic of St. Vitus as a gift from the king of Germany. Wenceslas built St. Vitus Cathedral to house the relic, and it became an epicenter of Christianity in Bohemia.
It may have helped that the Slavic pronunciation of Vitus's name sounded a lot like the name of a pagan Slavic god.
Other cool sights in the cathedral included a 400-year-old carving of the city of Prague as it stood in the early 1600s, as well as a massive silver tomb dedicated to another local saint: St. John of Nepomuk. John was a Bohemian priest who was murdered by King Wenceslas IV in 1396. The actual reason was most likely a disagreement over the appointment of a Benedictine abbot, but according to legend it was because John refused to divulge to the king what the queen had said to John during confession.
In any case, the tomb is staggeringly opulent. A huge crowd was gathered in front of it, and it was actually getting hard to move as we approached. Jessica was hit with a wave of claustrophobia and made her way through as quickly as she could, but I managed to stay behind a bit longer to get a good look.
I also managed to get a peek into the gorgeous (and strictly cordoned) Chapel of St. Wenceslas, where the saint himself is entombed.
On our way out of the cathedral, we stopped for a moment to ponder the theological and economic implications of coin-operated electric votive candles.
Back outside, we walked around the central courtyard to find the cathedral's spectacularly gilt south façade.
The next stop on the castle tour was the old royal palace. It was mostly empty, centered around a massive great hall that was once used for feasts, markets, and even jousting tournaments. Today, the palace holds the country's modest crown jewels, a throne room, and a room covered in painted coats of arms.
But the most important thing in the palace is a window. A window that helped spark the one of the bloodiest conflicts in all of European history--the Thirty Years’ War.
One of the few things I still remember from my high-school European History class is the Defenestration of Prague. Mostly because it taught me the word "defenestration."
Defenestration: (Noun) The act of throwing someone out of a window.
To me and all the other kids in the class, that was fantastic. In reality, of course, it was deadly serious.
Long story short: It is 1618. Under the terms of the Augsburg Settlement, rulers within the Holy Roman Empire could choose whether their state would be Protestant or Catholic. Bohemia is an Imperial state, and its rulers are Catholic. But much of Bohemia's nobility is Protestant, and they're tired of being ruled by Catholics.
So, following in the tradition of the Hussites 200 years earlier, the nobles go to Prague Castle and throw the Catholic rulers out of a window. One thing leads to another, alliances are invoked, opportunists join the fray, and soon all of Europe is embroiled in a brutal, convoluted war that kills millions--mostly German civilians caught in the middle.
In the hardest-hit German states, over half the pre-war population die by violence, plague, or starvation before the war ends.
The Peace of Westphalia--a series of treaties that finally ended the Thirty Years’ War in (appropriately) 1648--is seen by many as the beginning of the age of sovereign nation-states.
It’s kind of crazy to me that the idea of countries being independent entities with precisely defined borders and their own separate governments is only four or five hundred years old. But it’s true. Throughout the Middle Ages, Europe was more like a chessboard, with squares constantly being traded back and forth into increasingly large and convoluted hierarchies. A single marriage could join two countries together, and a single death could tear them apart again. One man could be the king of England, an heir to the throne of France, and also the descendant of a French duke. Does that make England part of France or France part of England? It took five generations of war to decided that the answer was “neither.”
You can’t really understand medieval and early-modern politics without adopting a much more fluid sense of what a country actually is. It’s still really hard for me to do, and I’ve spent a lot of time trying.
Anyway...
After the royal palace, we visited the Basilica of St. George--an old Romanesque church that served as the royal chapel before the construction of St. Vitus Cathedral. It is smaller, less crowded, and more intimate than St. Vitus. Among the old Czech rulers buried there is St. Ludmilla, St. Wenceslas's grandmother and the first Christian ruler of Bohemia along with her husband Bořivoj.
Our tickets gave us access to one more sight as we left the castle: a medieval shop-lined street called Golden Lane. The name comes from the goldsmiths who used to work their and serve the castle's opulent needs, but today it houses a wider variety of shops and museums. There were jewelry shops, of course, and a puppet shop that creeped Jessica right out.
The coolest part for me was a showcase of medieval arms and armor, which was housed in the long attic that ran across the length of the street. Jessica found it immediately claustrophobia-inducing, so I stayed back to take pictures while she went on to look at the other shops along the lane.
Having made it from one end of the castle to the other, it was time for us to decide what to do next. There was the highly recommended Lobkowicz Palace--home to the oldest and largest private art collection in the Czech Republic--but Jessica and I had been around enough at this point to know that we didn't have another museum visit left in us that day.
The option we had in mind was a visit to the monastic brewery of Pivovar Strahov. It may have been considerably cooler than the previous days, but we had still worked up a strong thirst walking around the castle. Some traditionally brewed beer from a 17th-century monastery sounded like just the right way to cap off our stay in Prague.
Of course, that meant turning around and walking all the way back up through Prague Castle and another half-mile uphill beyond. It was worth it, though.
I'd wanted to try their "most award-winning" dark lager, but sadly it was sold out. So instead, I opted for their mainstay amber lager. Jessica chose from the more adventurous seasonal menu a coconut wet-hop ale.
Both were good, but we each preferred our own choice.
Thoroughly spent, we called an Uber to take us back to our flat. Jessica tried to make small talk with the driver, but he cut her off with a cursing tirade against an aggressive cyclist on the road. Typical Slavic conversation atmosphere.
Overall, Prague was one of our most challenging cities, but it also left us wanting more. Even five perfect days would not have been enough, and with so much heat and so little sleep, we had been at a significant handicap. So instead of pushing ourselves to see one last thing, we contented ourselves to an early evening and an eager desire to return--preferably during spring.
Next Post: To Vienna
Last Post: The Slave Epic (and a Break for Beer)
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The Currency We’ve Spent (I Love You Sequel) - Prologue
Main Pairing: Will/Nico
Other Pairings: Jason/Piper; Percy/Annabeth; Hazel/Frank; Leo/Calypso
Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15934799/chapters/37156304
Summary: Nico's life has stablised somewhat. He's managed to keep it together with Will and (as long as he ignores the fact his father might be part of a shady crime empire responsible for a lot of the tragedy in his and his friend's lives) things are looking up. But the fact his father might be part of a shady crime empire isn't ignoring him. And Luke's in town. As secrets are revealed, questions like what happened to Will's mother and whether Bianca's death really was an accident have to be faced. Nico isn't so sure whether he, or his relationships with Will and his friends, are going to survive the past coming back to haunt them.
Sequel to I Love You, You Pay My Rent which you can read here (tumblr) or here (Ao3).
“Thalia come on!”
Thalia glared at his back: he couldn’t see it, but he knew her and he could feel the weight of it.
“Good idea,” she spat out, “I wouldn’t have thought of that.” Her breathing was ragged: she’d gotten a lungful of dust back in the warehouse and it was playing havoc with her ability to run, and even more so with her ability to run and be sarcastic at him at the same time. He turned back. She was still clutching Hal’s jacket in one hand, fingers almost white she was holding on so hard. Her long, dark hair was whipping around her face, getting in her eyes. Her face was red.
“Luke!” she cried.
He turned back, just in time to see a man in black before him. He ducked, stumbled and rolled to the side, jarring his shoulder. The man grabbed at Thalia but she decked him with a ferocious right hook, wincing and shaking her hand out. Behind her two more men came, both heading for Thalia.
She started running, back into the warehouse. That didn’t seem like the smartest choice, but he couldn’t do anything but follow her back in. It was a large space, stripped bare by the time Thalia and Luke had broken in. There was no cover. The windows, covered with black paint, were far too high up to climb out if they’d had all the time in the world.
“Uh Thalia?”
“The door at the back.”
It had been locked when they’d tested it before. Thalia had way too much faith in his lock-picking abilities. He’d opened her locker for her once when she’d lost her key and ever since then she seemed to think of him as some kind of master thief. He really wasn’t.
“They’ve got guns,” Luke commented as he followed her over to the back door.
“They’re not going to shoot us,” Thalia replied, too blasé.
“Are you sure?” Luke demanded. “Because those people look pretty serious Thalia.”
It shouldn’t have gone like this. They’d just been looking for Hal and last they’d heard he’d been in the general (extremely shady) area of the warehouse. That had been quickly confirmed by Hal’s jacket, muddy and dirty and slumped in a puddle outside.
Hal was a bit of a nightmare, and after he had gotten in with the wrong people had become doubly so. When he’d disappeared from the party they’d initially assumed he’d wandered off with someone but when he still hadn’t turned up the next morning they’d gone looking for him. They should have figured that he would lead them into trouble.
“Now you just do your thing and I’ll try and stop them shooting at you.”
Her words were flippant, but there was a tremor in her voice. Luke closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath and tried very hard not to swear.
“Do you have a hair clip?" he asked instead.
Thalia looked momentarily blank. Their breaking into the warehouse had basically involved shoving the door really hard: whoever had stripped the warehouse had done all the work for them. She reached up into her hair and extracted a pin. She held it out to him, too far away from him for him to properly reach. Her eyes were distant, her focus was on a man walking towards them, leisurely and unhurried, a gun loose in his hand.
“Thalia!” he prompted, leaning up on his knees.
“I recognise him,” she said in a slightly strangled voice. “He works for my dad.”
Luke got Thalia’s sudden trepidation and confusion. Her dad was slightly terrifying. He’d somehow got it into his head that Luke and Thalia were a thing, and he made no attempt to disguise how much he disapproved to the point where Luke wouldn’t have been too surprised if he woke up to find an assassin in his room.
And if he wasn’t motivated to open the door before, he was now. Luckily the lock was cheap, barely any more sturdy than the lockers they used at school. He got the door open and dragged Thalia through, with a twinge of satisfaction when the man who had been walking so calmly frowned and quickened his pace to a run. Luke slammed the door in his face. It wouldn’t hold but it was worth it for the look of pure hatred in his eyes.
“Oh no!” Thalia said softly.
Luke turned. A black SUV was parked opposite. Standing in front of it was a man he recognised as filling the role of Bodyguard/Babysitter to Thalia which mainly involved picking her up from parties she wasn’t supposed to have gone to and glaring at Luke. Today he’d upgraded from glares to full on death stare. Thalia inched closer to Luke, slipping slightly behind him. Luke swallowed. Thalia getting nervous meant trouble.
“Thalia Grace,” the man intoned, thunderous and furious and cold with it. “Get in the car.”
Thalia, to her credit, despite hiding behind Luke just folded her eyes and glared back.
“I’m looking for my friend,” she said, stubborn.
How nice it would have been if that had worked. Behind them the door opened and he tensed. Thalia tensed in response.
He hadn’t expected to be pulled away from Thalia but his arm was nearly yanked out of the socket, and then was twisted behind his back. He yelped, helpless. Thalia moved towards him, but the man who had grabbed him from behind just took a step back, pulling Luke with him.
“Leave him alone!”
“Then get in the car,” death-glare bodyguard answered.
Thalia wavered, glanced at him. Luke, hesitant to speak in case it was against the guy with the guns rules, tried to send just go vibes her way. As scary as her dad was, maybe it was better she went home now rather than later. He didn’t particularly want her at the mercy of the guys with the guns, even if they did work for her father.
“How do I know you’ll let him go?” she asked.
“I’ll text you,” Luke said quickly. Behind him he could hear footsteps in the warehouse.
Thalia did not look convinced.
“Go,” Luke said quietly. “I’ll be alright.”
He didn’t quite believe it himself, and he didn’t know if Thalia fully believed it. She took another half step towards him, but stopped when his arm was twisted and he winced in response.
“Promise me you’ll let him go?” Thalia said. The man holding Luke agreed that Luke could go as soon as Thalia was at home. His tone was flat, bored, monotone. Luke prayed that Thalia wouldn’t argue anymore, that she’d just go. The footsteps in the warehouse were getting closer and he didn’t know if they were with Thalia’s father’s guys or against them.
And since when did Thalia's dad have guys.
“Okay,” Thalia said, very quietly.
“I’ll text you,” she added. “The second I’m home and if you’re not free I’ll –“ she trailed off as if becoming aware there was very little she could do.
“I swear my dad won’t get away with this,” she told Luke. “I won’t let him.”
The little arguments between her and her father shook their excessively big house, like incoming thunder. Luke believed her.
She headed to the car, dragging her feet. She glanced back over her shoulder at him. They’d come straight from the party to search for Hal, so her clothes were rumpled, her eyeliner smudged around red eyes. Hal’s jacket was heavy in her hand, the silvery material brownish from the water and dripping. She gave him a rueful half-smile.
And then she got in the car.
True to their word, they let him go when they received the news Thalia was back at home, dropping him to the ground into a puddle and clearing out so quickly it was as if they were never there at all. He texted Thalia to let her know they’d kept their promise.
He began the long walk home, sodden, tired and faintly irritated at Hal, even more so at Thalia’s father. Luke tried to believe that he had Thalia’s best interests at heart, even if he was an awful awful father who kept her from doing pretty much anything and hated all her friends. She’d talked about running away so many times, Luke often had a Sunday night panic that he wouldn’t see her in school on Monday morning. She always laughed off his fears and promised she’d never run away without him.
They had all sorts of plans, which mostly involved one of them having a car (which they didn’t) or one of them suddenly coming into money (unlikely). Still, lying back on the roof of Thalia’s house, or sitting in the tree of his tiny, overgrown garden watching the stars, the plans had seemed tangible and real.
As he was trudging down the street, he got a call from Hal.
“Where are you?” Luke demanded, not giving Hal a chance to speak.
“Where?” he said in response to Hal’s answer.
The police station was unfamiliar territory to Luke, who despite Thalia’s father’s opinion of him, didn’t make a habit of being arrested. Even Hal, who had all the wrong friends and an unlucky streak, had never been arrested before.
After a lot of bureaucracy, he was eventually allowed to see Hal. Hal looked nervous and fidgety. Luke sat down opposite him and rubbed at his aching head. His hair was wet from the rain, felt grimy and tangled. No wonder the police officer at the front desk had looked at him like he was coming to hand himself in.
“You know I have no money right?” Luke asked. “So if you want me to bail you out –“
Hal shook his head very quickly.
“They’ve called my parents,” he said in a low voice. He glanced over at the police officer who wasn’t paying the slightest attention to what the two teenagers were doing. “I wanted to give you this.”
Hal held out a notepad.
“Why?”
“Just take it,” Hal said. “Please.”
Luke took it with considerable confusion.
“Do you want me to read it or –“
“Throw it away,” Hal said. “The second you get out of here. The first bin you see just chuck it.”
Luke frowned at him.
“What are you getting me into?” he asked. Drug deals and gangs and crime flashed before his eyes in a story he'd probably modelled of the godfather. It ended with him dead and Hal's body being found in a river. Hal’s expression puckered.
“I know,” he whispered. “I know. I’m so sorry. You don’t have to, I guess, but if you don’t I don’t know what will happen and –“
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it,” Luke protested, shoving the notepad into the inner pocket of his jacket. “I just want to point out that this is insane. Even for you Hal.”
Hal was about to answer but his mother walked in, looking weary but not especially surprised. Hal closed his eyes and looked resigned.
“I owe you,” he said. “If you ever need a favour, I’m here.”
“What locked up in a police station?” Luke asked slightly sarcastically. It had been a long night. He rubbed his temples again.
“You don’t owe me,” he said. “Happy to do it.”
As he left the police station he checked his phone and when he saw Thalia hadn't texted back he tried to call her. Her phone went straight to voicemail. He frowned, a sense of foreboding beginning to build. Her father was constantly threatening to cut off her phone if she continued going out without telling him. Luke had always been doubtful he’d go through on that threat, purely because then he couldn’t keep tabs on her, but maybe he’d finally followed through.
Distracted by Thalia’s MIA status, the notepad stayed in the pocket of his jacket thoroughly forgotten the entire walk home. When he got home he checked the answer machine on the landline in case Thalia had tried there but there was nothing. He threw his jacket on the floor and flopped down on his bed. She should have called.
Without Thalia to distract him the weekend dragged. He briefly considered going over to her house, but if her father really had cut off her phone then he was clearly angrier than he’d ever been, and turning up would probably only get her into more trouble. He had never been so restless as he was during that weekend: his head was full of questions about what had happened after Thalia had gotten home, why her father had upgraded to sending out men with guns (actual guns!) to chase after her.
Thalia's dad was harsh, emotionally draining and definitely toxic but Luke had never worried about whether or not he was physically harming Thalia before. He worried now.
He’d never been excited to get into school in his life, but by the time Monday morning rolled around he was desperate to get out of the house and to see Thalia. When he didn’t see her in their first class, his stomach dropped. He tried to be rational. Maybe she was just late. But he knew something was wrong. He'd known all weekend. Thalia wouldn't just stop calling him back. She wouldn't. Not Thalia.
At lunchtime, after calling Thalia once more and finding the phone now out of service, he tried to track down her brother. Despite the amount of time he spent with Thalia he'd only run into Jason once or twice, Thalia's father doing his level best to ensure the two of them were kept well apart. Luke was pretty sure the kid had no real clue who Luke was, and certainly wouldn't be able to pick him out of a line up. Luke in return had no real idea who Jason hung out with or what he might be doing with his lunch break. With the school year only just starting, Jason had only been at their school a couple of weeks and no one Luke asked had any idea about the blonde freshman.
Thalia wasn't in the next day either.
On Wednesday he went to her house and found it empty and dark. By the end of the week he was pretty sure he'd never see her again.
He found out much later that Thalia had been moved off to boarding school, somewhere far away from him. All he could remember from the initial weeks, and then months, after her disappearance was the loneliness and the increasingly desperate attempts to figure out what happened to her, to contact her or someone who might know her. There was nothing, no one.
Hal had gone too, transferred away to a new school. At some point Luke remembered the notepad in his jacket on his floor where it had been lying since the night of the party, the last time he'd seen Thalia. Desperate for a distraction, and despite what Hal had said, he opened it up.
And that was when he found the memory stick.
Next Chapter: here
#the currency we've spent#will solace/nico di angelo#will/nico#Will solace#Nico di Angelo#solangelo#luke castellan#thalia grace#Percy Jackson and the Olympians
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The Things We Hide Ch. 9
The Southern Water Tribe stood for a hundred years against the Fire Nation, indomitable until Sozin’s Comet tipped the balance in Fire Lord Ozai’s favour. Now, as planned, the South is decimated, Chief Hakoda is a puppet on his throne, and Princess Katara is a political prisoner held in the Fire Nation capital to ensure his good behaviour. But Ozai has little time to gloat. A vigilante masquerading as the Blue Spirit is causing unrest among the people, rebel ships still hound his navy, and right under his nose the South’s most powerful waterbender waits with the patience of ice to strike at the very heart of his empire and bring it crashing down.
Chapter 1 on AO3 Masterpost here
Words: 4388 Pairing: Zuko x Katara Chapter Summary: The Fire lord’s garden party goes exactly how Katara thinks it will - until it doesn’t.
Read it on AO3
Katara –
It’s official, we’re taking a break. The fishing fleet got caught in a storm and luckily we found shelter. The people here are fishermen too, so it’s almost like being at home, only with less snow. All their fishermen are women, though. You’d like their chief. When we first landed, I may have accidentally suggested to her that we were better at fishing because we have bigger boats – don’t laugh, Katara, I know you’re laughing – but she kicked my ass like five seconds later, so she’s now teaching me some of their methods for fishing while our ships finish repairs. You should meet her. You’d like her. Although I don’t know how that would end for me.
Did you know they have a sea serpent here? I’ve only seen the fin, but it’s huge.
Anyway, there’s another reason I’m writing. I know you’ll understand this, you always do. I miss my little sister. You remember her, right? Always helping people, always exploring where she wasn’t allowed. We never could keep her out of the caves on the side of that stupid mountain behind our house, because someone told her that if she looked hard enough she’d find the hidden people and they’d tell her where to find the best treasure. She’s all grown up now, and Dad always told her to be careful, but I wonder sometimes if she still does things like that. She’s doing a great job with the polar bear-dogs, by the way. I hear they’re nearly eating out of her hand.
And one last thing – please don’t send me any more of those Fire Nation recipes with all those weird spices and complicated fiddly buts. It’s giving Nanak ideas and we all have to suffer through them, and what happens after. There’s nothing wrong with sea prunes, you know.
Mimi
--
The letter was crumpled, the ink smudged from so many readings. Even after going through it multiple times, parts of the code were indecipherable. When they had decided on disguising their notes like this, back before Sozin’s Comet, they had decided the need for secrecy was too great to risk anyone being able to find patterns in the smokescreen of friendly correspondence. Katara and Mimi both mixed banal details about their lives with the more important facts, hiding them beneath the surface like the deep ocean currents that brought the bow whales in spring. They relied on their shared memories and in-jokes to communicate, and relied on Nila’s skill at getting information to fill in any gaps.
Not that there was usually much they could do to help, Katara groused, as she sat under the lantern tree in the garden and reread the letter again for the dozenth time. They had worked out that the mention of the ‘hidden people’ was really about Nila’s spies, who had missed their previous three report windows, but the rest of it was still gibberish. And instead of being able to go out and look for them, she and her entourage were stuck in the compound, still under house arrest, with nothing more strenuous to occupy them than garden parties and the ridiculous intricacies of court life. Sometimes she just wanted to forget the plan entirely and swamp the palace in a deluge, but this far into the dry season there wasn’t nearly enough water for that, if she even had the power to move it anyway.
No, for now she was stuck playing the role of subjugated princess, smiling from behind a paper fan in a pretty dress and dreaming of the day she would be free to cast off the layers of Fire Nation silk and daub her face with warrior’s paint as she had on the night when she crushed the three transports against the breakwater. Soon enough, she would teach them the oldest lesson of the Water Tribes: the sea is patient, and powerful, and cannot be conquered.
In the meantime, perhaps she could pry some information out of one of the more loose-lipped nobles, and if that failed, her alter ego might find something. She smirked to think about the growing rumours of spirits in the city, murmurs in the marketplace of a shadowy figure that cloaked itself in mist and slinked through the streets after dark. Ozai had reacted to these rumours with predictable force, but the extra patrols assigned to the wards were reluctant to risk the ire of the people – or the spirits – by going after another preternatural vigilante. It helped, of course, that Katara could pass her waterbending skills off as magic, and she took vindictive pleasure in knowing how easy it was to bring the dissatisfaction of the Fire Nation’s citizens to the surface.
Like drawing out an infection, she thought. All they needed was the right tonic.
She wondered about the Blue Spirit. Since the first night they spent running through the Caldera, she hadn’t seen him. If nothing else, his knowledge of the city would make her own reconnaissance go that much quicker, but despite Hama’s insistence to the contrary, Katara was not reckless enough jeopardise their plan in order to seek him out. Whoever he was, he clearly held no love for those who abused their power, but here in the capital, that didn’t narrow down the field. Maybe he was the son of a disenfranchised noble house, out to seek revenge by stirring up the common folk against their masters; or maybe he was an artisan with a stall in the market, no longer able to tolerate the injustices he saw every day. It was a mystery she would be unlikely to solve with the limited time she had.
“Lady Katara,” Attuk said, making her jump. “Prince Zuko is here.”
She ignored the excited little skip her heart made against her ribs. No matter how charming or earnest he seemed, he was still the enemy, and any attraction he might feel should be cultivated as an extra tool, or as a weakness if it could not be used to serve her purpose. That’s what Hama would, anyway, and if Katara’s thoughts wandered a bit too often too how he had warned her about Azula, or how he had returned her father’s hunting kit without thought of reward, she ignored that, too.
She checked her appearance in the mirror. Today she wore scarlet, following the tradition of the Fire Nation court, but her seamstress had been clever with the cut of the fabric. The layers of silk mimicked the light camel-wool cloth worn during polar summers, the traditional fur linings substituted for intricate golden embroidery. She knew few of the nobles were familiar enough with Water Tribe fashion to notice her quiet rebellion, but it was a comfort nonetheless.
“I’m ready,” she said.
Zuko looked happy to see her. At his side, a servant held an armful of scrolls she recognised as the Southern sagas she sent him a few days before, because it had seemed the best way to thank him for returning her father’s affects.
“You didn’t like them?” she asked, frowning, once the pleasantries were out of the way.
Zuko’s eyes widened. “No! I mean, I did like them,” he stumbled. “I couldn’t put them down, actually.”
“Really?” There was that flutter in her chest again.
“It’s so different to what the masters here think of as poetry. Uh, I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” he added, inching one hand up to rub the back of his neck. “It’s just that, I’ve always thought poetry was kind of hopeless, you know? Blossom always fades, animals die, and we’re all caught up in the wheel of the universe, unable to change things. Your sagas are just so… so vibrant, like it’s celebrating change rather than just letting it happen, like you can do something and it will matter. If you see what I mean.” He ducked his head with a bashful smile. “There were probably a lot of references I missed, and the stories were a bit more complex than what I’m used to, but I did enjoy them.”
Seeing him so animated about her culture brought an unexpected flush of happiness that tingled along Katara’s limbs, and she answered his smile with one of her own. “If you want to keep them a little bit longer to copy them, I wouldn’t mind,” she offered, without really thinking.
“Are you sure?” Zuko checked.
She shrugged. “We’re allies, aren’t we?”
“We are,” he agreed, the smile spreading to light up his whole face. “If you’re sure you wouldn’t mind, then I’ll have a scribe make a duplicate. They can be a present for my mother,” he added, as the thought came to him. “I’m sure she’d appreciate them. Maybe you could clarify a few things for me, in case there are problems with translations?”
“I’ll answer what I can,” she replied. “What do you want to know?”
Zuko’s smile faltered at a subtle gesture from his valet, and Katara realised their shared excitement had carried them into their own little world. Together, they were chivvied across to the palanquin, with a hurried but half-hearted lecture from the servant about the impropriety of keeping one’s guests waiting, though Katara suspected the real reason for the sudden rush was a fear that they would arrive after the Fire Lord. From what she knew of Fire Nation protocol, the higher ranking nobles got to arrive at social events later, so that they could appear fresh and composed next to those of lower rank who had already spent hours enduring the heat and boredom that inevitably came with these sorts of parties.
As he handed her into the palanquin, Zuko smiled sheepishly at her, and she found herself returning it. Hama would disapprove. She set about arranging her skirts in a fan to avoid crushing the silk beneath her weight, pleased that Zuko had remembered to draw up the blinds without her even having to ask.
“There’s more of a breeze today, don’t you think?” she said, when the silence between them grew brittle.
Zuko nodded. “It’s coming off the sea. Li and Lo say the monsoon is finally here, and they’re never wrong – but I hope the rain stays away for the rest of the evening.”
Katara smiled and nodded. She didn’t tell him she could feel the sea in her bones, churning up a storm that would snap the dry crackle in the air like a strand of spider silk. She ignored the feeling, for the most part, but the weather-change left her fretful, distracted. She had come very close to making up some excuse to cancel the party and stay in the inner courtyard of the house, where she could bend away her agitation without fear of being seen.
“The thunderstorms at this time of year are amazing,” Zuko was telling her. “So much raw power, and after so long without water, the countryside just bursts into life. We have a special pavilion at the palace just for listening to the sound the rain makes on the roof tiles. The storms won’t be better until later in the season, but if you would like to see it…”
“I’d love to,” Katara said, thinking about how she might be able to sneak away and find the Fire Lord’s office. “It sounds wonderful.”
“I suppose you have storms in the South?” he asked.
“Not quite like here,” she admitted. “We have blizzards, and there’s thunder and lightning in those, but often the wind is so loud and the storm so thick you can’t tell. Sometimes it’s dangerous to go outside because the snow turns you around and you end up lost within a few steps of your doorway.” She shuddered. “I think I still prefer it to this heat, though – at least when it’s cold you can put another parka on.”
“I’ve never seen snow. I know what it looks like, from reading, and that it’s frozen water, but… what’s it like?”
Katara was thrown by the wistful tone of the question. She didn’t know how to answer – how could she, when the snow and ice of the South had been as constant and natural to her as the water? And in a land of such heat, what was there to compare it to?
“I never really thought about it,” she said. “I’ve never had to think snow was like anything, it just is.”
Zuko looked thoughtful, digesting her answer. “What’s a sea wolf?”
“What?”
“One of the sagas mentioned them.”
“Oh.” Katara relaxed slightly. For a second, she had thought he meant to trap her, but the expression on his face was open, the bright gold of his eyes slanted in expectation of her answer. Something uneasy stirred across the skin at the back of her neck, but what could it hurt to tell him about sea wolves? They came to the South in the spring, Tui’s demon aspect chasing tiger seals through the streams of melting ice, their black fins stretching taller than a man above the water. They were respected, Katara explained, because they hunted as a group like humans did, and were cunning, and generous, and vengeful in defence of their families.
“I think I know what you’re talking about. We call them Shachi.”
Katara tried the word; it tangled on her tongue and made her giggle. By this time, they were passing along a broad avenue lined with mangingko trees, their bright yellow leaves fluttering in the wind coming off the sea.
“In some of the stuff I read,” Zuko ventured after a moment of silence, “there was a character called ‘sea wolf’. It was used like a title.” He seemed to be choosing his words, glancing at her sidelong and picking at a stray thread in the silk cushions. “I… I hope this isn’t rude, it just caught my eye and, um… it’s alright if you don’t want to answer, but it seemed like a pretty big deal.”
Katara felt tension creep back into her limbs. The storm air was getting to her, but worse than that was the sudden, choking fear that she had been found out. How much did he know? Did the royal guard escorting them draw closer?
No, she decided. If Zuko had any idea who she really was, he would have brought more soldiers with him. And if this was a test, then surely it was better to control the information he got rather than to arouse his suspicions further.
Be calm. Be still. Adapt to the flow around you.
“There was an old tradition,” she said, trying not to sound like she was working out how to lie. “‘Sea Wolf’ was an honour given to the most powerful waterbender in the South, carried until they could no longer carry out their duty.”
“And what was their duty?” Zuko asked.
“They were the people’s champion. When they died or wished to retire, they would choose their successor.” She smiled. “It’s all in the past, especially now that the Fire Nation are our allies. What need do we have of such things?”
Zuko frowned, as if puzzling something out. “If it’s all in the past, what happened to the last Sea Wolf?”
Katara froze at the question. Fire and screaming flashed in her memory, the heat and the guilt of seeing her people destroyed and being able to do nothing to stop it. Her fingers reached for the familiar comfort of the necklace at her throat.
“She died.”
--
Katara was surprised by the number of guests in green and yellow as Zuko led her through the grand moon arch and into the Fire Lord’s public garden. The Earth Kingdom nobles flittered through the Fire Nation court like hummingbirds around flowers, keeping up a sycophantic bubble of conversation over their glasses of chilled fruit punch. The sight of which had Katara clenching her fists inside her sleeves. How many Earth Kingdom citizens had died trying to fight the Fire Nation, only for the self-interested aristocracy to pander to the enemy in order to protect their own interests? With great effort, she smoothed her face into a smile, and allowed Zuko to lead her through the crowd and offer introductions.
“Oh, so you’re the little thing Her Grace has taken such a shine to. The Fire Lord is quite generous to keep you as he does, you know.”
“Is it true the Water Tribes still wear animal skins and live in huts?”
“How brave of you to wear such colours, with your skin tone. And those beads – how quaint!”
Katara replied to all the backhanded sniping with good humour, but only because it was fun to guess whether they would be more shocked or scandalized when Zuko came to her defence. While he lacked the delicate wit to ever really be a proper politician, he made up for it with dry sarcasm and a disdainful stare, made all the more effective because, as the Crown Prince, nobody could afford to insult him. She watched as one particularly pushy matron, no doubt hinting at a match between Zuko and her rather mousy daughter, tripped over and over herself trying to clarify a remark about Katara’s hair.
“Lady Katara,” Zuko interrupted smoothly. “I hope you will forgive my rudeness. I got so absorbed in presenting you to so many lovely people that I forgot you haven’t even got a drink yet. Will you accompany me?”
Katara took his offered arm and all but purred at the way the matron’s jaw dropped open. “Of course, Your Highness. I admit, my throat is quite dry after all this delightful conversation. I don’t think I’ve ever tried fruit punch before.”
“Then I’m glad I have the pleasure of introducing it to you,” he replied, and led her to a quiet corner of the garden shaded by a thick stand of bamboo. “I’m sorry for all of this,” he murmured when he was sure nobody would overhear. “I know they can be rather… not nice.”
“I can handle them,” Katara told him with a shrug. “Is something else bothering you?”
“What?”
She frowned at him. “You’re scanning the crowd like you’re expecting something to happen. Am I keeping you from meeting someone special?” she teased, unsure why she wanted to catch him off-guard.
“What?” he cried, colouring. “No! I’m just…” He sighed. “It’s Azula. She’s late.”
“And that’s unusual for her?” Katara asked.
“She’s up to something,” he growled.
“Maybe you can find out if anyone else knows where she is,” she suggested.
Zuko’s eyes widened. “You believe me?”
She shrugged. “You do remember I met your sister, right? No offence.”
“None taken,” he replied, with a slowly spreading grin. “Wait, I almost forgot – drinks! Will you wait here for me?”
Katara hummed. “If I stay here all by myself it’ll look suspiciously like I’m not enjoying the company, but if I go out there,” she gestured vaguely, “then I’ll be roasted alive.”
“By the sun or by the company?” Zuko joked.
“Take a wild guess.” She shook her head. “I’ll mingle. I still have to find Bato, anyway. I haven’t seen much of him recently.”
Zuko bit his lip, the way he did whenever she brought up any reminder that she was still under house arrest, or that she and the rest of her entourage were watched, but he nodded and promised to come find her later with drinks.
Good, let him feel guilty, Katara thought as she ventured back into the sea of nobles. It means he won’t look so hard at what we’re doing.
She didn’t get far before she felt somebody slink up behind her. Instinctively, she took hold of the water in the nearby pond, but before she could do any more, a tall, pale young woman stepped out in front of her. Everything about her was made up of precise, straight angles, from the severe line of her fringe across her high forehead to the crease where her sleeves folded at the elbow, to the lazy slant of her kohl-rimmed eyes. She held herself with the kind of poise Katara knew from experience could drop into a fighting stance at the slightest provocation – something everyone else must have noticed, too, because the majority of the nobles who looked at her deflected their attention quickly away.
“You don’t have to pretend to like them, you know,” the strange woman said.
Katara gave her a quizzical smile. “I’m sorry?”
“Those Earth Kingdom ninnies,” came the drawled reply. “They probably wouldn’t notice if you were mean since they’re trained not to make a fuss. One of the only fun things to do around here is to see how far you can push them before they resort to having a tantrum.”
“We haven’t met before, have we?” Katara replied, hoping to at least get a name from her new acquaintance.
“Azula told me about you,” the stranger said. “The Water Tribe Princess. I thought you’d be taller.”
“My name’s Katara.” And yours is…?
“I know. Azula was impressed with you, you know, even if she’d refuse to admit it.” The thin face split into a smirk like a shark’s. “You should have heard her. It got so boring, listening to her go on and on about how rude you were to her.”
“I’m sorry I inconvenienced you,” Katara replied, not sure what else to say.
A shrug. “You should take that as a compliment, actually. Being ‘rude’ to Azula simply means not being scared stiff of her. Anyway, my parents would be horrified to find me not circulating. These parties are always so dull.” She turned with a dismissive wave of her hand. “If you ever need a friend, my name is Mai.”
Relieved to be out of dangerous waters, Katara offered a polite nod of her head and made her way over to where Bato was standing with his attendants. They all wore Fire Nation uniforms and stern expressions, telling her in no uncertain terms that every word she shared with her father’s ambassador would be reported to Ozai or his agents. In a way, she was grateful, because it meant he wouldn’t have the opportunity to chastise her for being reckless – because she could tell by the deep furrow of his brow that he knew exactly how she had been spending her evenings.
“Having fun?” she asked.
“I’m looking forward to the play they’re putting on for us, but it’s too hot,” he replied, smiling. “Not that there’s much to be done about that.”
“I’ve been told the rains will come soon.”
“Oh, and will they?”
She nodded. “Soon enough.”
“I see.” Bato sucked in his cheeks, glancing at their escort. “How are things with you, day-to-day?”
“I had a letter from Mimi yesterday,” she told him. “Something about –”
A fanfare interrupted her. The Fire Lord had arrived. Ozai appeared at the top of the steps to the private wing of the palace with Ursa’s hand placed delicately on top of his, fantastically arrayed in layered scarlet and burgundy that glittered with golden thread. On anyone less sure of their own power, such a display might seem ridiculous, but the thought did nothing to stop the cold shiver that ran down Katara’s spine. The last time she had seen the Fire Lord, he had been hidden behind a wall of flame.
He spotted them and came over. She was glad for the steadying hand Bato laid on her shoulder.
“Our most honoured guests,” Ozai said silkily. “We are so glad you could join in the festivities.”
“We are pleased to be here, your Majesty,” Katara replied, with a bow. “The entertainment promises to be enjoyable.”
“My son, no doubt, has told you about it,” replied the Fire Lord, with only the smallest hint of a sneer. “He would do better to spend his time bringing to justice the perpetrator of the recent destruction in the harbour.”
Bato’s grip tightened on Katara’s shoulder. “As I have told you before, Your Majesty,” he said, “the Southern Water Tribe will do all in its power to assist our allies with the capture of those responsible.”
“Can’t such serious talk be left until after the party is over?” Ursa interjected. “This celebration is supposed to be a happy occasion, after all.”
“My wife, the peacemaker,” Ozai chuckled. Katara noticed how his grip tightened on Ursa’s fingers. “Very well. We will take our seats and see what the Ember Island Players have for us this year.”
“Lady Katara, would you sit with me?” Ursa asked.
“Of course, Your Grace.”
As a group, the Water Tribe ambassadors and the royal entourage of the Fire Nation made their way to a small stone courtyard beyond the garden, where a small stage had been set up in front of rows of cushioned wooden benches. For a moment Katara paused, waiting to see whether Zuko would appear as he had promised. When her hesitation threatened to grow conspicuous, she sat down between Ursa and Bato, leaving enough space that she could shift up if she needed to.
On the stage, a man dressed in fiery orange tassels spread his arms.
“That’s Agni,” Ursa explained to Katara. “The god of fire. He narrates the story because his omniscience allows him to take events and show humanity the lessons embedded in them.”
“… a tale of how two threads of Destiny were ripped in twain…”
“I see neither of my children deigned to honour their father by showing up,” Ozai growled. “How disappointing.”
“Your Majesty, Zuko is here,” Katara protested. “Somewhere. He escorted me to the party.”
“… and, once known to each other, how they – what is the meaning of this?”
Ozai’s sneering retort faltered as he looked to the stage, where Azula stood with a blue fireball on each open palm, towering over the man dressed as Agni.
“I’m afraid tonight’s show has been postponed,” she trilled. “What a shame. I do so enjoy Love Amongst the Dragons. How fortunate that I’ve come prepared with an alternative form of entertainment.”
The audience watched, transfixed, as four royal guards armed with poleaxes marched onto the stage, dragging an unconscious figure between them.
“Noble guests, honoured Father, the time for fear is over,” she announced. “I have caught the saboteur. May I presents the Blue Spirit.”
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You don’t own me part 5
Excerpt: “Before we go in there you should know that you only speak when you are asked. Else I don’t want to hear any noise from you”, his tone was firm which should indicate you that there should be no backtalk.
“What?! Am I a dog?”, you yelled.
“Act like one and maybe you'll get a reward”, an evil grin spread over his face as he exited the car.
Word count: 2549 // Yaas my friends!
Warnings: Angst - It’s slowly increasing!
Author’s note: I know that mostly after the third part or so the people loose interest in my stories but still there are a some of you who stayed with me! @httpwyf , @dont-hyuck @vicassa @imbaekhyunstrash @byunbunniess @literaltae @jookyunhoe @crovalkyrie I hope I’m not bothering you by tagging you. If so please tell me and I’ll stop ;) I’m very thankful to everyone else too! ♥
Even if this part wouldn’t be read at all I still feel like writing it because I do actually enjoy it! I see a lot of people struggling on here by the lack of response they get for they stories while they totally forget the ones who did read and liked it! I must admit that in the beginning I felt the same because it is hard. There are so many awesome writers out there so you always compare yourself. But actually there is no need because writing is something just for me. It calms me down and I allows me to shut the world out for a little while. And that is what counts I guess. So yeah after telling you my little realization I hope you can enjoy this part :) ♥
part 1 || part 2 || part 3 || part 4
Check out my masterlist ;)
You were sitting on the couch starring out of the window front. It was dawning outside. The sun had nearly vanished behind the horizon. Four days had past. In these four days you had used the phone a lot. Mostly you called the reception to bring you food or as you were very bored to go swimming. It had been a little strange. A bodyguard about twice as big as you guided you to a swimming pool which no one else was using. Eve though it was in the afternoon. And it was a decently warm day which actually wouldn’t really matter since it was inside. You wondered if this one belongs only to Baekhyun since it kinda already felt like he owns the whole fucking place.
Chanyeol, as Baekhyun called him visit you two times. For like ten minutes maximum. He brought you clothes. The first time you mouth gaped open as you saw the clothes. They all were summer clothes or to put it otherwise just short and revealing. Maybe you could have expected that when a man is accountable to choose your wardrobe.
“Are you dumb?! I don’t give a fuck if he dislikes it or not but I guess I must continue to wear his clothes! I won’t wear any of these with the knowledge that cameras are filming me from every possible angle!”, you had protested.
Luckily Chanyeol was quick to persuade so you made a list for him with things to bring you. He still had left you the clothes. “Just in case you change your mind”, he said. The next day you found five bags full of clothes placed in the living room. You had to admit that these clothes were of high quality. And of brands you normally didn’t really cared about. All of these still had their price tags on. 300 bucks for a pair of sweatpants is really a lot to spent.
But he seemed to not really care about money. As much as you didn’t liked your current position you had to admit that you also were pretty curious about him. You were so sure that you already heard his name but the whole time hadn’t really brought you further. Lost in your thoughts you watched the last sunrays disappear. You sighed. For four days you hadn’t seen him. Maybe I won’t see him till he can make use of me. You stared at the phone in your hand. The name Baekhyun was on the top list of the contacts. You finger itched a little but you didn’t gave in. But the curiosity that had piled up for four days was bothering you and you wanted to know more.
I could just delete the browse feed when I’m done. You told yourself as you typed in the name. Immediately about 20 news site showed up. You scrolled through them till you clicked on an article posted on a private blog of a Jean Linda. You began reading.
“Byun Baekhyun is the twenty-four years old heir and leader of the Byun Clan. He undertook the empire after the former leader Byun See-Young died in a shooting in 2013. The Byun Clan is known for trading with an enormous amount of properties all over the world. For more then 30 years they had been under suspicion to only use that business as a cover up for much more illegal trading.
But although the police could link them reportedly to several murders around the area and a lot of drug and weapon deliveries from South America, East Asia and Europe they never got arrested. In addition to that the police also stated in 2009 to found evidence that perhaps proof that the Byun Clan also participated in human trafficking. But up until today they hadn’t been able to catch “the big fish”. That may also be because Byun Baekhyun lives like a ghost upon us. He is rarely seen at public occasions and if he ever showed up never without two hand full of men who would freely give their lives for him.
Byun Baekhyun is an enigma which may never be solved.”
The phone fell out of your hand. It landed on the ground. You choked nearly at your tears. You were crying out of shock. Out of disbelief. This article told you that you were held hostage by a person who is worst then any criminal.
He is a monster! What if he wants to sell me?! It shook you. As you remebered the cameras you wiped over your face. You got up to spray your face with water and wipe your nose. Every evidence should disappear that you had cried. As you padded back to the couch and picked up the phone before sitting back down again. You stared at it for a little before you typed in another name.
Park Jongdae, Nam Jongdae, Lee Jongdae, you read. No that’s not it. I don’t know his last name. I never asked. Your job required discretion since a lot of your clients had been very important men in different positions. A lot of politicians and actors. You grew frustrated so you cleared every evidence that you ever used the internet. You stared at the ceiling for some time.
“Put this on”, you winced as you heard a voice behind you. You spun around to see Baekhyun placing a dress in a big see through plastic bag neatly over the backrest.
You tried to gulp down the lump that had formed in your throat instantly.
“You scared me! I haven’t heared you coming”, you tried to controll your anger.
“Oh I’m sorry. Next time I make sure to annouce myself when I enter my own building!”, he said sarcastically.
“What is this?”, you mumbled.
“A dress. Isn’t it obvious?”, he knitted his eyebrows.
“Hmm”, you hummed in response, “What for?”
“You’ll see after you had put it on.” he surrounded the couch and sat down at the armrest. You could feel your body tense at his presence. He can’t know that I know! You straightened your shoulders and turned towards him.
“Please tell me where we are going“, you pouted and tried to sound a little whiny like you normally do it when you want something. It always worked with Jongdae. He couldn’t resist you like that.
“We are heading out to a little party. You will be my accompaniment so could you hurry up or we’ll be even more late then we already are!”, he argued.
You picked the dress up and walked upstairs.
“You know, you don’t need to bother leaving the room. I had watched you change about twenty times already”, he called after you.
You slammed the door with full force. Not only a pyscho but also a perv!
About fiveteen minutes later you walked the stairs back down. It was a deep red cocktail dress with bead work all over the décolltage. You also had put on a little make up and braided your hair.
“You look stunning! Just like I imagined it!”, he praised you and it sounded truely. As much as you were disgusted by this man his compliment still made you blush a little. That caused that a knot of anger formed in your stomach.
“Well something is missing”, he remarked and opened a box which had lied in his lap. Some red high heels were in it. Matching with the dress of course.
“May I?” You sat down on a leather armchair next to the elevator. He kneeled down in front of you and gently put on the first shoe. It fitted perfectly and your thoughts shot to the fairytale of “Cinderella”. How the prince put on the glass sliper that was tailored only for her foot. Also one of the thoughts for which you could have slapped yourself. You have to think straight Y/N!
You got up quickly as he had put on the second one ignoring his hand to help you. “Let’s go”, you ordered. You heard him chuckle.
“Whatever you want, princess.”
The car was rumbling over a uneven street which let you butt against his shoulder multiple times. After that it stopped fully.
“Sorry”, you mumbled and gathered your things to get out.
“Before we go in there you should know that you only speak when you are asked. Else I don’t want to hear any noise from you”, his tone was firm which should indicate you that there should be no backtalk.
“What?! Am I a dog?”, you yelled. Your plan had become irrelevant right now. You were never a person who would submit so easy.
“Act like one and maybe you'll get a reward”, an evil grin spread over his face as he exited the car.
You followed him while pouting. Stupid asshole! The car had parked in a merely dim lit side street. Does he ever use normal entrances? A quick nod towards the doorman and he opened the dorr for us.
“Ladies first”, he pointed you to go forward.
“I rather not”, I huffed.
“You women are such a pain in the ass”, he stated clearly amused by you attitude. You wanted retort something sassy but you couldn’t think of as fast as he had already walked in leaving you outside. You snorted and stomped after him. Your high heels were clacking on the wooden floor of a narrow corridor. It ended in a big room. A very fancy looking one you had to admit. You hadn’t expected it to be honest since the building itself looked more rundown from outside.
Black graphit floor with black and white walls. It definetly looked very exclusive. You felt out of place. Baekhyun took place at your side and guided you with his arm on your lower back towards a big set table. Minimum fifteen pair of eyes had focused on both of you and a lot of murmuring had begun. It hushed as you arrived the table.
“Ah Byun Baekhyun! How nice of you to honour our little gathering with your attendance”, a man maybe at the end of twenties had approached them and shook Baekhyun’s hand. You though you had heard a hint of irony ghosting in his voice.
Baekhyun seemed to ignore it and responded in a overly polite tone: “I’m also very thankful for the invitation and I’m sorry for our tardiness. But you know how women are. They always need their time to get ready”, his head nudged into your direction and he laughed out. Clearly a fake laugh. You suppressed to roll your eyes and just put on a fake smile.
“Well don’t they say real beauty needs time”, his eyes had scanned you thoroughly. He took your hand and pressed a sloppy kiss onto the back. “I would wait decades for such a gorgeous sight ”
You withstood the urge to puke. Sleazeball!
“I’m afraid your patience would be wasted”, Baekhyun interrupted your his touch by pulling you back to him. You were actually a little relieved. The man and Baekhyun seemed to fight a little starring contest till the man turned around to the other guests.
“Dinner is served! Please sit down!”, he requested everyone with a open arms.
Several “Thank you’s” came back before everyone searched themself a good sitting spot. Baekhyun dragged you towards the other end of the table and sat down. He forced you on the place next to him and caressed over you back. To outsiders it must looked like a loving gesture but it didn’t felt like that for you. It made your flesh crawl.
The dinner went by pretty unspectacular. Baekhyun was occupied with holding a chit chat with men around him. While you were poking in your salad you racked your brain what kind of meeting this was and which relationship they may have to Baekhyun. You came so far that you surely conntected it to something related to his “business”. And they don’t really seem to be friends. It is more like a forced kidness among everyone. One after another you glanced at each member at the table. There were some couples where you had ascertain in shock that some of the women could be the daughters of their companion. The single men you sorted in a age span from 16 to 65. 16 fucking years. How fucked up must your life had been when you end in such a business.
You really pitied them till a thought came to your mind as you watched them for a longer time. They were really flirting with everything that had boobs and a short skirt. Clearly enjoying their time. Maybe they also had choosen this life.
You suddenly felt sick. You tugged on Baekhyung’s shirt sleeve to get his attention. At first he seemed to ignore you so you shook his arm gently.
“Darling can’t you see I’m talking to someone?”, he tried to controll his temper.
“I need to use the washroom”, you responded rueful.
“Oh I see”, you understood it as you had his consent so you wanted to get up. He stopped you and leaned closer and whispered into your ear: “Kiss me.”
You pulled back to present him your very confused face. “What are you talking about?”, you kept your voice low.
“Didn’t you noticed all of them starring at you. Already undressing you in their minds. If you don’t want any of them follow and harass you, you should kiss me. Now”, he stressed while resting one hand on your back to pull you a little closer.
“I don’t think they would do something like this at such an event”, you pointed out.
He let out a sarcastic laugh. “Your naivete is really sweet but don’t think too highly of these rats! They had done WAY worst.” His words hit you hard. “But when they get to see that you belong to me they won’t dare to lay a finger on you. They know who to fear!” His hand caressed over your back to encourage you. You felt by the severity in Baekhyun’s voice that he was actually telling the truth.
These people sure as hell doesn’t hold a lot of moral values. Or maybe they had created their very own version of them to justify their actions. To be honest I don’t want to find out.
You took a deep breathe and leanded in. Your lips collided hard. It wasn’t supposed to be a romantic kiss. You tasted white whine and peppermint from his soft lips. A really delicious combination as you thought. While you pulled back you bit into his lower lip lightly.
“Don’t miss me too much”, you winked before leaving a panting Baekhyun behind. You took your time and swayed your hips until you were out of sight. You began to hurry and looked behind you around five times till you finally locked the bathroom door behind you. The whole time you couldn’t breathe normally. You exhaled noisily.
This is too much…
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I like writing it :)
#exo scenario#exo#exo mafia au#mafia au#byun byekhyun#baekhyun scenario#baekhyun mafia#kpop#kpop scenario#exo angst#angst scenario#kpop angst#baekhyun angst#kim jongdae#exo baekhyun#exo chen#exo jongdae#jongdae scenario#jongdae mafia#jongdae angst#chanyeol scenario#exo chanyeol#exo suho#exo xiumin#exo lay#exo sehun#exo kai#exo d.o.#exo tao#exo kris
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5 Movie Conflicts That Only Happened To Advance The Plot
Action heroes need to overcome obstacles before they kick all of the asses presented to them in chronological order. After all, their victories need to feel like they were earned, through much struggle and hardship. But sometimes screenwriters can’t think of a good way to accomplish that, so they whip up some absurd personal or bureaucratic nonsense instead, like being refused service at the DMV because you’re wearing a beer helmet. It’s part of our religion, Janice. Look it up.
5
The Rebellion in Rogue One Wants To Surrender To A Threat They Don’t Think Exists
In Star Wars: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story About Star Wars, Jyn Erso, the Star Wars character who sounds most like an Asian car model, informs the Rebellion about the existence of the Death Star. A few members of the Rebel Council support her plan to steal the Death Star’s schematics, but most either don’t believe that the weapon exists, think it’s all a trap, or decide that they should surrender to the Empire in the face of such overwhelming superiority instead. Eventually, the Council leans toward disbanding the Rebellion … because of a weapon half of them don’t believe is real. Wait … what?
Oh, and the reason some of them don’t trust Jyn in the first place is because she’s the daughter of the Death Star’s designer … which is also the exact same reason they sent her out to find information about the Death Star at the start.
Ultimately, Jyn gives an inspiring speech on the nature of hope … to which the Council responds with a series of fart noises. Remember, the Rebellion has already been fighting for years, and was formed entirely to wage a series of risky battles against a much more powerful foe; the only reason they were being doubtful here is because the movie needed a drama infusion, stat. Luckily, the Rebel Fleet eventually does show up and help out, right when things were looking their most grim. Sadly, we weren’t shown the scene where the Rebellion’s Death Star Truthers rounded up the rest of the council and made them watch YouTube videos until they all saw the light.
4
The Guy In Charge Of Defense In Independence Day Objects To Defending Things
If everyone on Team Good Guy agrees that their daring plan to stop the villains is brilliant and flawless, that kills the suspense. So Independence Day gave us Secretary of Defence Albert Nimziki, whose sole purpose is doubting our heroes, even if there’s absolutely no reason to do so.
When Jeff Goldblum first suggests his desperate plan to stop the overwhelmingly powerful aliens by giving their mothership a virus, Nimziki’s response is “This is ridiculous” before calling it a “cockamamie plan” and complaining that they don’t have the manpower or resources. He then offers absolutely no alternative suggestions, despite the fact that that is his entire job.
Remember, they’re coming up with this plan after:
A) They discovered the aliens intended to exterminate humanity.
B) Most of the military had already been wiped out, and …
C) Pretty much every other option, including the use of nuclear missiles, had failed.
So Nimziki’s objections boil down to “Nuh uh, this will never work, let’s just sit around and wait to die instead.” He’s the friend who shoots down every pizza topping after claiming he’s “up for whatever.” The plan, of course, works — making Nimziki look both cowardly and stupid for ever doubting it. After all, what good is saving the world if it’s not in somebody’s face?
3
Die Hard 2‘s Captain Lorenzo Hates John McClane For Absolutely No Reason
Die Hard 2: Die Hard In An Airport features the beginning of John McClane’s transition from relatable everyman to a cursed muscle lord doomed to encounter elaborate criminal activities wherever he roams. Early on in this extremely pre-9/11 film, McClane gets in a shootout at the baggage claim, and discovers that the man he just killed is a mercenary who was supposed to be dead already. He takes this suspicious information to airport police chief Captain Lorenzo, who immediately … becomes a huge bureaucratic pain in the ass, solely because a more reasonable response would end the movie in about 15 minutes.
Lorenzo complains about McClane breaking regulations, doesn’t bother to properly investigate the crime scene, and accuses McClane of gunning down a luggage thief and blowing it out of proportion because his fame has gone to his head. All of which is completely unwarranted. And this is after McClane points out that the dead man was carrying an obscure, expensive gun designed to beat airport security which — even if Lorenzo wasn’t genre-savvy enough to realise that he was in a sequel by now — should have clued him in that he was dealing with more than a desperate underwear thief.
Instead, Lorenzo has McClane thrown out of his office. Then, even after the full scope of the attack on the airport is revealed when the bad guys crash a plane, killing hundreds, Lorenzo threatens to throw McClane in jail. He eventually does try to arrest John, before finally accepting that his whole purpose in life is to be a designated naysayer, and comes around. In the end, Lorenzo apologises to McClane by tearing up a parking ticket he got at the start of the movie. It’s unclear how he deals with the psychic weight of the hundreds of deceased souls that died horrifically because he “just plain didn’t like the dude’s face.”
2
The Argument Over Detonating The Nuke In Armageddon Is Pointless Drama
In Armageddon, a team of oil drillers are recruited to blow up an asteroid that threatens to annihilate all life on Earth, because Michael Bay went to film school in a burning dumpster. The plan is to drill 800 feet into the asteroid and then detonate a nuke inside it, because a direct hit on the surface of the improbably tough rock would be ineffective. But then, of course, there’s a plot twist, wherein the government decides to remotely detonate the nuke on the surface …
Soldiers forcibly occupy mission control down on Earth, while up in space, William Fichtner gets his space-gun out to space-seize the space-nuke.
“The president’s advisors feel that the drilling isn’t working,” General Keith David tells a lead scientist inexplicably played by Billy Bob Thornton, even though Thornton points out that “they haven’t drilled the damn hole yet.”
Every intelligent (relatively speaking) person in the movie has made it explicitly clear at this point that detonating the nuke on the surface will do approximately fuck all to the asteroid, yet the government’s argument is “Our plan might not work, so we’re going to switch to a plan that definitely won’t work,” because apparently this 150-minute movie about blowing up a big rock needed to be padded out.
And this comes before the drilling team faces their more serious obstacles, like one of their drills breaking down. This scene might make sense if it came when the heroes were really struggling — a last-minute act of desperation — but as it is, it feels like the president is secretly siding with the asteroid, a foreign force that clearly doesn’t care at all for our well-being. Colluding with it, even.
1
Just Offer Peter Parker A Wrestling Contract
Early in 2002’s Spider-Man, which was the Spider-Man before the Spider-Man, Peter wanted to impress Mary Jane by buying a car, because he thinks he lives in 1950s rural Nebraska and not modern-day New York City. Luckily, he finds a newspaper ad promising the exact amount of money he needs. Movie magic! The catch: He has to survive three minutes in the ring with a pro wrestler at a sketchy cage match. Lord knows we’ve all been there.
Parker not only survives the match but also wins it. It looks like he just made an easy 3,000 bucks, but the sleazy promotor only gives him a hundred, arguing that Parker didn’t earn the money because the fight only lasted two minutes. The promoter is then immediately robbed, and Parker lets the thief escape in retaliation. But that same thief soon kills Uncle Ben, Spider-Man 3 is eventually made, and all of life is revealed to be a cruel puzzle with no solution.
But let’s back up. Why did the promotor stiff Parker in the first place? Yeah, he only lasted two minutes (heh), but he just beat up a professional wrestler with inhuman strength, acrobatics, and freaking web slingers. The crowd went from cheering for his grisly death to loving him within moments. Fans would pay damn good money to see more of a mysterious masked man who can walk up walls, jump unnatural heights, and kick serious ass. That’s why we keep making Spider-Man movies, at any rate. Why on Earth wouldn’t the manager sign him up on the spot, and make Parker the guy who annihilates mooks answering the newspaper ad?
But no, Uncle Ben Must Die, so the promotor prioritizes being a jerk to Parker over doing his job and getting rich. Maybe when the Spider-Man franchise is inevitably rebooted again in a few years this plot point can be addressed.
Molly is an avid reader and writer with all sorts of millennial dreams. Is also willing to write for food. Joel B. Kirk is a San Francisco Bay Area resident. He plans to produce and act in his own films for the masses, as well as write for television someday.
For more things that make no sense in films, check out 7 Movies That Made You Ignore That Their Plots Make No Sense and 5 Dumb Things Movie Characters Do Only to Advance the Plot.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and check out 4 Plot Holes You Didn’t Notice in Your Favorite Movies, and other videos you won’t see on the site!
Follow us on Facebook, and we’ll follow you everywhere.
Get intimate with our new podcast Cracked Gets Personal. Subscribe for great episodes like What You Don’t Know About The Opiate Epidemic and How Illegal Drugs Saved Our Lives, available wherever you get your podcasts.
from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/2017/10/15/5-movie-conflicts-that-only-happened-to-advance-the-plot/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/166414854562
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5 Movie Conflicts That Only Happened To Advance The Plot
Action heroes need to overcome obstacles before they kick all of the asses presented to them in chronological order. After all, their victories need to feel like they were earned, through much struggle and hardship. But sometimes screenwriters can’t think of a good way to accomplish that, so they whip up some absurd personal or bureaucratic nonsense instead, like being refused service at the DMV because you’re wearing a beer helmet. It’s part of our religion, Janice. Look it up.
5
The Rebellion in Rogue One Wants To Surrender To A Threat They Don’t Think Exists
In Star Wars: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story About Star Wars, Jyn Erso, the Star Wars character who sounds most like an Asian car model, informs the Rebellion about the existence of the Death Star. A few members of the Rebel Council support her plan to steal the Death Star’s schematics, but most either don’t believe that the weapon exists, think it’s all a trap, or decide that they should surrender to the Empire in the face of such overwhelming superiority instead. Eventually, the Council leans toward disbanding the Rebellion … because of a weapon half of them don’t believe is real. Wait … what?
Oh, and the reason some of them don’t trust Jyn in the first place is because she’s the daughter of the Death Star’s designer … which is also the exact same reason they sent her out to find information about the Death Star at the start.
Ultimately, Jyn gives an inspiring speech on the nature of hope … to which the Council responds with a series of fart noises. Remember, the Rebellion has already been fighting for years, and was formed entirely to wage a series of risky battles against a much more powerful foe; the only reason they were being doubtful here is because the movie needed a drama infusion, stat. Luckily, the Rebel Fleet eventually does show up and help out, right when things were looking their most grim. Sadly, we weren’t shown the scene where the Rebellion’s Death Star Truthers rounded up the rest of the council and made them watch YouTube videos until they all saw the light.
4
The Guy In Charge Of Defense In Independence Day Objects To Defending Things
If everyone on Team Good Guy agrees that their daring plan to stop the villains is brilliant and flawless, that kills the suspense. So Independence Day gave us Secretary of Defence Albert Nimziki, whose sole purpose is doubting our heroes, even if there’s absolutely no reason to do so.
When Jeff Goldblum first suggests his desperate plan to stop the overwhelmingly powerful aliens by giving their mothership a virus, Nimziki’s response is “This is ridiculous” before calling it a “cockamamie plan” and complaining that they don’t have the manpower or resources. He then offers absolutely no alternative suggestions, despite the fact that that is his entire job.
Remember, they’re coming up with this plan after:
A) They discovered the aliens intended to exterminate humanity.
B) Most of the military had already been wiped out, and …
C) Pretty much every other option, including the use of nuclear missiles, had failed.
So Nimziki’s objections boil down to “Nuh uh, this will never work, let’s just sit around and wait to die instead.” He’s the friend who shoots down every pizza topping after claiming he’s “up for whatever.” The plan, of course, works — making Nimziki look both cowardly and stupid for ever doubting it. After all, what good is saving the world if it’s not in somebody’s face?
3
Die Hard 2‘s Captain Lorenzo Hates John McClane For Absolutely No Reason
Die Hard 2: Die Hard In An Airport features the beginning of John McClane’s transition from relatable everyman to a cursed muscle lord doomed to encounter elaborate criminal activities wherever he roams. Early on in this extremely pre-9/11 film, McClane gets in a shootout at the baggage claim, and discovers that the man he just killed is a mercenary who was supposed to be dead already. He takes this suspicious information to airport police chief Captain Lorenzo, who immediately … becomes a huge bureaucratic pain in the ass, solely because a more reasonable response would end the movie in about 15 minutes.
Lorenzo complains about McClane breaking regulations, doesn’t bother to properly investigate the crime scene, and accuses McClane of gunning down a luggage thief and blowing it out of proportion because his fame has gone to his head. All of which is completely unwarranted. And this is after McClane points out that the dead man was carrying an obscure, expensive gun designed to beat airport security which — even if Lorenzo wasn’t genre-savvy enough to realise that he was in a sequel by now — should have clued him in that he was dealing with more than a desperate underwear thief.
Instead, Lorenzo has McClane thrown out of his office. Then, even after the full scope of the attack on the airport is revealed when the bad guys crash a plane, killing hundreds, Lorenzo threatens to throw McClane in jail. He eventually does try to arrest John, before finally accepting that his whole purpose in life is to be a designated naysayer, and comes around. In the end, Lorenzo apologises to McClane by tearing up a parking ticket he got at the start of the movie. It’s unclear how he deals with the psychic weight of the hundreds of deceased souls that died horrifically because he “just plain didn’t like the dude’s face.”
2
The Argument Over Detonating The Nuke In Armageddon Is Pointless Drama
In Armageddon, a team of oil drillers are recruited to blow up an asteroid that threatens to annihilate all life on Earth, because Michael Bay went to film school in a burning dumpster. The plan is to drill 800 feet into the asteroid and then detonate a nuke inside it, because a direct hit on the surface of the improbably tough rock would be ineffective. But then, of course, there’s a plot twist, wherein the government decides to remotely detonate the nuke on the surface …
Soldiers forcibly occupy mission control down on Earth, while up in space, William Fichtner gets his space-gun out to space-seize the space-nuke.
“The president’s advisors feel that the drilling isn’t working,” General Keith David tells a lead scientist inexplicably played by Billy Bob Thornton, even though Thornton points out that “they haven’t drilled the damn hole yet.”
Every intelligent (relatively speaking) person in the movie has made it explicitly clear at this point that detonating the nuke on the surface will do approximately fuck all to the asteroid, yet the government’s argument is “Our plan might not work, so we’re going to switch to a plan that definitely won’t work,” because apparently this 150-minute movie about blowing up a big rock needed to be padded out.
And this comes before the drilling team faces their more serious obstacles, like one of their drills breaking down. This scene might make sense if it came when the heroes were really struggling — a last-minute act of desperation — but as it is, it feels like the president is secretly siding with the asteroid, a foreign force that clearly doesn’t care at all for our well-being. Colluding with it, even.
1
Just Offer Peter Parker A Wrestling Contract
Early in 2002’s Spider-Man, which was the Spider-Man before the Spider-Man, Peter wanted to impress Mary Jane by buying a car, because he thinks he lives in 1950s rural Nebraska and not modern-day New York City. Luckily, he finds a newspaper ad promising the exact amount of money he needs. Movie magic! The catch: He has to survive three minutes in the ring with a pro wrestler at a sketchy cage match. Lord knows we’ve all been there.
Parker not only survives the match but also wins it. It looks like he just made an easy 3,000 bucks, but the sleazy promotor only gives him a hundred, arguing that Parker didn’t earn the money because the fight only lasted two minutes. The promoter is then immediately robbed, and Parker lets the thief escape in retaliation. But that same thief soon kills Uncle Ben, Spider-Man 3 is eventually made, and all of life is revealed to be a cruel puzzle with no solution.
But let’s back up. Why did the promotor stiff Parker in the first place? Yeah, he only lasted two minutes (heh), but he just beat up a professional wrestler with inhuman strength, acrobatics, and freaking web slingers. The crowd went from cheering for his grisly death to loving him within moments. Fans would pay damn good money to see more of a mysterious masked man who can walk up walls, jump unnatural heights, and kick serious ass. That’s why we keep making Spider-Man movies, at any rate. Why on Earth wouldn’t the manager sign him up on the spot, and make Parker the guy who annihilates mooks answering the newspaper ad?
But no, Uncle Ben Must Die, so the promotor prioritizes being a jerk to Parker over doing his job and getting rich. Maybe when the Spider-Man franchise is inevitably rebooted again in a few years this plot point can be addressed.
Molly is an avid reader and writer with all sorts of millennial dreams. Is also willing to write for food. Joel B. Kirk is a San Francisco Bay Area resident. He plans to produce and act in his own films for the masses, as well as write for television someday.
For more things that make no sense in films, check out 7 Movies That Made You Ignore That Their Plots Make No Sense and 5 Dumb Things Movie Characters Do Only to Advance the Plot.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and check out 4 Plot Holes You Didn’t Notice in Your Favorite Movies, and other videos you won’t see on the site!
Follow us on Facebook, and we’ll follow you everywhere.
Get intimate with our new podcast Cracked Gets Personal. Subscribe for great episodes like What You Don’t Know About The Opiate Epidemic and How Illegal Drugs Saved Our Lives, available wherever you get your podcasts.
Source: http://allofbeer.com/2017/10/15/5-movie-conflicts-that-only-happened-to-advance-the-plot/
from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2017/10/15/5-movie-conflicts-that-only-happened-to-advance-the-plot/
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5 Movie Conflicts That Only Happened To Advance The Plot
Action heroes need to overcome obstacles before they kick all of the asses presented to them in chronological order. After all, their victories need to feel like they were earned, through much struggle and hardship. But sometimes screenwriters can’t think of a good way to accomplish that, so they whip up some absurd personal or bureaucratic nonsense instead, like being refused service at the DMV because you’re wearing a beer helmet. It’s part of our religion, Janice. Look it up.
5
The Rebellion in Rogue One Wants To Surrender To A Threat They Don’t Think Exists
In Star Wars: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story About Star Wars, Jyn Erso, the Star Wars character who sounds most like an Asian car model, informs the Rebellion about the existence of the Death Star. A few members of the Rebel Council support her plan to steal the Death Star’s schematics, but most either don’t believe that the weapon exists, think it’s all a trap, or decide that they should surrender to the Empire in the face of such overwhelming superiority instead. Eventually, the Council leans toward disbanding the Rebellion … because of a weapon half of them don’t believe is real. Wait … what?
Oh, and the reason some of them don’t trust Jyn in the first place is because she’s the daughter of the Death Star’s designer … which is also the exact same reason they sent her out to find information about the Death Star at the start.
Ultimately, Jyn gives an inspiring speech on the nature of hope … to which the Council responds with a series of fart noises. Remember, the Rebellion has already been fighting for years, and was formed entirely to wage a series of risky battles against a much more powerful foe; the only reason they were being doubtful here is because the movie needed a drama infusion, stat. Luckily, the Rebel Fleet eventually does show up and help out, right when things were looking their most grim. Sadly, we weren’t shown the scene where the Rebellion’s Death Star Truthers rounded up the rest of the council and made them watch YouTube videos until they all saw the light.
4
The Guy In Charge Of Defense In Independence Day Objects To Defending Things
If everyone on Team Good Guy agrees that their daring plan to stop the villains is brilliant and flawless, that kills the suspense. So Independence Day gave us Secretary of Defence Albert Nimziki, whose sole purpose is doubting our heroes, even if there’s absolutely no reason to do so.
When Jeff Goldblum first suggests his desperate plan to stop the overwhelmingly powerful aliens by giving their mothership a virus, Nimziki’s response is “This is ridiculous” before calling it a “cockamamie plan” and complaining that they don’t have the manpower or resources. He then offers absolutely no alternative suggestions, despite the fact that that is his entire job.
Remember, they’re coming up with this plan after:
A) They discovered the aliens intended to exterminate humanity.
B) Most of the military had already been wiped out, and …
C) Pretty much every other option, including the use of nuclear missiles, had failed.
So Nimziki’s objections boil down to “Nuh uh, this will never work, let’s just sit around and wait to die instead.” He’s the friend who shoots down every pizza topping after claiming he’s “up for whatever.” The plan, of course, works — making Nimziki look both cowardly and stupid for ever doubting it. After all, what good is saving the world if it’s not in somebody’s face?
3
Die Hard 2‘s Captain Lorenzo Hates John McClane For Absolutely No Reason
Die Hard 2: Die Hard In An Airport features the beginning of John McClane’s transition from relatable everyman to a cursed muscle lord doomed to encounter elaborate criminal activities wherever he roams. Early on in this extremely pre-9/11 film, McClane gets in a shootout at the baggage claim, and discovers that the man he just killed is a mercenary who was supposed to be dead already. He takes this suspicious information to airport police chief Captain Lorenzo, who immediately … becomes a huge bureaucratic pain in the ass, solely because a more reasonable response would end the movie in about 15 minutes.
Lorenzo complains about McClane breaking regulations, doesn’t bother to properly investigate the crime scene, and accuses McClane of gunning down a luggage thief and blowing it out of proportion because his fame has gone to his head. All of which is completely unwarranted. And this is after McClane points out that the dead man was carrying an obscure, expensive gun designed to beat airport security which — even if Lorenzo wasn’t genre-savvy enough to realise that he was in a sequel by now — should have clued him in that he was dealing with more than a desperate underwear thief.
Instead, Lorenzo has McClane thrown out of his office. Then, even after the full scope of the attack on the airport is revealed when the bad guys crash a plane, killing hundreds, Lorenzo threatens to throw McClane in jail. He eventually does try to arrest John, before finally accepting that his whole purpose in life is to be a designated naysayer, and comes around. In the end, Lorenzo apologises to McClane by tearing up a parking ticket he got at the start of the movie. It’s unclear how he deals with the psychic weight of the hundreds of deceased souls that died horrifically because he “just plain didn’t like the dude’s face.”
2
The Argument Over Detonating The Nuke In Armageddon Is Pointless Drama
In Armageddon, a team of oil drillers are recruited to blow up an asteroid that threatens to annihilate all life on Earth, because Michael Bay went to film school in a burning dumpster. The plan is to drill 800 feet into the asteroid and then detonate a nuke inside it, because a direct hit on the surface of the improbably tough rock would be ineffective. But then, of course, there’s a plot twist, wherein the government decides to remotely detonate the nuke on the surface …
Soldiers forcibly occupy mission control down on Earth, while up in space, William Fichtner gets his space-gun out to space-seize the space-nuke.
“The president’s advisors feel that the drilling isn’t working,” General Keith David tells a lead scientist inexplicably played by Billy Bob Thornton, even though Thornton points out that “they haven’t drilled the damn hole yet.”
Every intelligent (relatively speaking) person in the movie has made it explicitly clear at this point that detonating the nuke on the surface will do approximately fuck all to the asteroid, yet the government’s argument is “Our plan might not work, so we’re going to switch to a plan that definitely won’t work,” because apparently this 150-minute movie about blowing up a big rock needed to be padded out.
And this comes before the drilling team faces their more serious obstacles, like one of their drills breaking down. This scene might make sense if it came when the heroes were really struggling — a last-minute act of desperation — but as it is, it feels like the president is secretly siding with the asteroid, a foreign force that clearly doesn’t care at all for our well-being. Colluding with it, even.
1
Just Offer Peter Parker A Wrestling Contract
Early in 2002’s Spider-Man, which was the Spider-Man before the Spider-Man, Peter wanted to impress Mary Jane by buying a car, because he thinks he lives in 1950s rural Nebraska and not modern-day New York City. Luckily, he finds a newspaper ad promising the exact amount of money he needs. Movie magic! The catch: He has to survive three minutes in the ring with a pro wrestler at a sketchy cage match. Lord knows we’ve all been there.
Parker not only survives the match but also wins it. It looks like he just made an easy 3,000 bucks, but the sleazy promotor only gives him a hundred, arguing that Parker didn’t earn the money because the fight only lasted two minutes. The promoter is then immediately robbed, and Parker lets the thief escape in retaliation. But that same thief soon kills Uncle Ben, Spider-Man 3 is eventually made, and all of life is revealed to be a cruel puzzle with no solution.
But let’s back up. Why did the promotor stiff Parker in the first place? Yeah, he only lasted two minutes (heh), but he just beat up a professional wrestler with inhuman strength, acrobatics, and freaking web slingers. The crowd went from cheering for his grisly death to loving him within moments. Fans would pay damn good money to see more of a mysterious masked man who can walk up walls, jump unnatural heights, and kick serious ass. That’s why we keep making Spider-Man movies, at any rate. Why on Earth wouldn’t the manager sign him up on the spot, and make Parker the guy who annihilates mooks answering the newspaper ad?
But no, Uncle Ben Must Die, so the promotor prioritizes being a jerk to Parker over doing his job and getting rich. Maybe when the Spider-Man franchise is inevitably rebooted again in a few years this plot point can be addressed.
Molly is an avid reader and writer with all sorts of millennial dreams. Is also willing to write for food. Joel B. Kirk is a San Francisco Bay Area resident. He plans to produce and act in his own films for the masses, as well as write for television someday.
For more things that make no sense in films, check out 7 Movies That Made You Ignore That Their Plots Make No Sense and 5 Dumb Things Movie Characters Do Only to Advance the Plot.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and check out 4 Plot Holes You Didn’t Notice in Your Favorite Movies, and other videos you won’t see on the site!
Follow us on Facebook, and we’ll follow you everywhere.
Get intimate with our new podcast Cracked Gets Personal. Subscribe for great episodes like What You Don’t Know About The Opiate Epidemic and How Illegal Drugs Saved Our Lives, available wherever you get your podcasts.
from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/2017/10/15/5-movie-conflicts-that-only-happened-to-advance-the-plot/
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