#me? drawing her carrying the collector? yes. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

determinedwriter · 1 year ago

Text

Whumptober 2023: Day 20: “You will regret touching them.”

Note: The idea for the plot was inspired by the first mission listed in this TikTok

Peter and I are on normal neighborhood patrol today as always. Nothing too interesting happens on simple patrols like these. Except for the occasional petty theft or community service stuff I like to do.

I’m definitely more into the simple stuff than Peter is. I like just helping people, even if it’s just helping an old woman carry her groceries. It can be oddly fun to do things like that. But Peter is a lot more into the action. We haven’t had any of that for a while now.

Be careful what you wish for.

Peter swings atop a building and I follow him with my power of fire flight, landing beside him. “Anything to report?” I ask.

“Other than returning a stolen tip jar and webbing up the guy that did it? Nothing.” He replies.

I cross my arms and smirk. “I don’t know, I’d say that’s pretty productive.”

Peter kisses my cheek. “What about you?”

“I took pictures with an Avengers fan. He was super into the costume.” I strike a pose dramatically. “And who can blame him?”

“Does he know The Flare is friends with Spider-Man?” Peter teases.

I giggle, kissing his cheek in return. “He seemed like a fan, yeah. Had merch and everything. It’s pretty wild.”

Peter puts his mask back on. “You know what, I’m gonna go take a picture with this guy.”

“You’re funny, you know that?” I tell him. “Hurry back and we can stargaze or something before my curfew.”

He smiles. “You’ve got it.”

Peter leaves and I watch him swing away like an acrobat. “Hate to see you go but love to watch you leave.” I joke to myself.

After a while, I hear my phone buzz and take it out of my bag, expecting it to be Peter. But it’s Dad. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Why is Peter’s suit tracker off?” He immediately asks.

“Oh uh, I’m not sure. He’s not with me right now. We were just gonna hang out but he’s talking to some big Avengers fan I met. He’s got a cosplay armor hand that looks like yours. It’s pretty funny. I’m not sure why he’d switch off his tracker. I can go look for him.” I explain.

Dad pauses and sighs. “If your tracker goes dark, I swear to God, you better not get kidnapped.”

“Understood,” I reply. “See ya, Pops.”

Hanging up the phone, I put it in my bag and leave it behind on the roof, beginning my fire flight around the city. I don’t see Peter anywhere so far. “A.R.I.E.S?” I ask my AI.

“Yes, Aurora?” She chimes back.

“Call Peter Parker.” I request.

“Calling Peter Parker,” A.R.I.E.S. replies.

The seconds go by as it rings with no answer, leaving me anxious. “I know his tracker is offline, but…can you help me scan a signal? You know I know how to hack.”

“You sure do, Miss Stark.” She muses.

My AI is adorable, I have to say.

I cease flight, landing on another roof. “Signal found.”

“Bingo,” I say to myself.

Tracking the signal to an old warehouse, I stay as quiet as I can, entering a room that looks like an obsessive shrine to the Avengers. There’s replica armor, photos, newspapers, and even some alien-looking tech all displayed around a glass case with Peter inside of it.

He looks like one of those pinned-up, dead butterflies in a frame. I suppress a scream, knowing not to draw attention to myself. “Oh my God, Peter…”

Please be just unconscious and not dead. Please.

Running over, I press my hands to the glass. Maybe if I can break the glass and get him out of here quickly enough, I won’t have to fight anyone or get into any trouble with this insane collector.

Wishful thinking, I know.

“A.R.I.E.S, contact my dad. Tell him exactly what’s going on here and send him my location.” I say.

“Aurora, I can’t seem to get a signal.” She tells me.

I gulp. “Do what you can, when you can. I’m gonna need some help here. But I’m not leaving Peter alone.”

“Will do,” A.R.I.E.S. says.

I break the glass, making a loud crash. Gotta be quick. Peter falls forward and I catch him, removing his mask. “Come on, come on, wake up. Wake up, Peter. We have to get out of here.”

His eyes open. “Hmm…Ro?”

“Hey. Hey, babe.” I gasp in relief, taking my mask off to kiss him. “I love you. We’ve gotta hurry and get out of here, okay?”

Peter blinks, slowly becoming more aware. “Right, yeah. This dude is freaking crazy. I’ll tell you more later. We-”

He pauses. I recognize these pauses by now, knowing he must be sensing something with his Spidey sense. “Ro, we have to go now. I mean now.”

Looking around, Peter looks confused, putting his mask back on. I do the same. “Where are my web shooters?”

“I don’t know. We have to get out though. Before-” I’m interrupted by a repulsor beam narrowly missing my head.

Turning around, I see the super fan. “I knew you’d come. I have a display case for you too.”

The repulsor beam comes from a replica Iron Man arm, the fan holding a gun in the other hand. “I won’t kill you. Not yet. I haven’t found out how to preserve bodies. But soon, I’ll have all of the Avengers on display.”

“I don’t want to hurt you. Just let us leave.” I reply calmly. “Please.”

The fan puts some kind of plugs in his ears before quickly pressing a pen-shaped device. It makes an ear-splittingly shrill noise, causing both me and Peter to collapse, suddenly unable to move.

He approaches us. “Sonic taser. A Stark Industries beauty. Only prototypes were made. Never widely produced. It was considered…unethical. I couldn’t believe when I was able to acquire it. It��s a rarity and while it’s not an Avengers-related collectible, I made an exception for this.”

I am dragged across the floor and put inside of a case like Peter was when I first arrived. I am powerless to stop him, completely paralyzed by the sonic taser. Peter is put into a case across from mine.

The case is extremely claustrophobic, making me want to panic. As the minutes tick by, the fan ties us firmly to the cases. God, please tell me that A.R.I.E.S. has been able to alert my dad. Or anyone, really.

We are both eventually able to move, tied tightly to the velvet-lined cases. More like cages. “Please, stop.” I groan weakly, my body still not fully recovered from the effects of the device. “You can still stop this…”

“I don’t want to stop. I just want to keep you in your pretty little frames here. You both look so…perfect. I do have to know…” He reaches for my mask and removes it. “Wow…the Flare is a little girl.”

“I’m not little.” I spit.

“What about Spidey?” He asks, removing Peter’s mask.

The fan laughs. “Spider-Man, huh? More like Spider-Boy.”

Peter rolls his eyes. “You called yourself a fan of the Avengers. I’d say you’re more of a freak.”

“I’m the freak? What about you, crawling on walls? And you, shooting fire from your hands?” He argues.

“What’s your plan here? You’re gonna leave us tied up until we die?” I ask.

“Long after that. I’m hoping to preserve your bodies somehow, like I said if you were paying any damn attention. We’ll see how it all pans out though, kid. What’s your name? Your real name?” The fan rambles.

“None of your fucking business.” I snap.

He shakes his head in amusement. “That’s how you’re gonna play this? Alright.”

He rummages through a drawer of unorganized gadgets. “Let’s see.”

The fan takes out a simple-looking black stick that zaps with electricity when he presses a button. “I have all kinds of S.H.I.E.L.D and Hydra devices too. You’ll soon learn to fear all of them. Or maybe you’ll get used to the pain. We’ll see.”

Peter struggles against his binds. “You will regret touching her.”

“Is she your little girlfriend? Hmm?” The fan taunts.

He glares at him. “You’re insane.”

“I’m a collector.” The fan corrects Peter.

“No, I’m pretty sure you’re insane,” I argue. “Not that you’ll listen to either of us.”

The fan takes the stick pulsing with electricity and presses it to my skin. “AH!” I scream in surprise, not expecting it to hurt quite so much.

“No…” Peter gasps. “Stop. Stop!”

The fan powers down the device and claps his hands together happily. “This…this is amazing.”

“If you’re such a fan, why are you hurting us?” I ask.

He laughs as if it’s a stupid question. “I want to see how much your bodies can take. You know, considering you’re Earth’s mightiest heroes.”

I gulp nervously. “Yeah, sounds like something an insane person would say. I think Spidey is right.”

The fan looks me in the eyes. “You remind me of Stark. Your attitude…and you have this look about you. Tell me, are you related to him?”

“No.” I lie. “But I get that a lot. You’re not the first.”

He studies my face, likely trying to figure out if I’m telling the truth. “Well…alright.”

“But Tony knows I’m here,” I say. “I alerted him before I came to help Spider-Man over there. Your time here is running out, pal.”

The fan chuckles. “Some help you are.” He taunts. “Besides, Tony’s never fought someone with an array of Avengers weapons before.”

“I guess not,” I admit. “But that tech? He knows how to work it better than any of us. You know I’m right.”

He pauses, expression momentarily betraying his tough exterior. “Tell me your name.”

“Tell me yours.” I counter. “Is it like, super nerdy? Does it fit the wannabe badass thing you have going here?”

The fan grabs my neck. “Tell me. Now.”

I don’t know if there would be any negative ramifications for telling him my name, but I don’t want him to win. I’m not about to let that happen. Knowing my name gives him more power than I’d like to give this jerk.

I shrug. “Does it make a difference to you?”

He grins. “I’d just like to know. I’ll even tell you mine. It’s Dan. Now what’s yours?”

“It’s kinda funny you thought that would work.” I chuckle.

“The fact you’re still laughing…shows me I clearly haven’t been cruel enough. This is just the beginning.” He taunts.

I refuse to show my fear. “Yeah, okay.”

Peter looks at me and suppresses a grin. I bite my lip and Dan turns to Peter. “You think this is funny? Huh?”

I shut my mouth, probably being at fault for that gnarly hit. “Sorry.”

He gives me a reassuring look, cut off by a second hit to his face. Dan grins wickedly. “You’re head over heels for her, aren’t you?”

Peter gulps. “The rest of the Avengers are gonna come here and rescue us, you know.”

Dan slowly nods and crosses his arms. “Yeah, yeah. Whether or not that’s true, I don’t really care. Why don’t you tell me your name, boy?”

Keeping his mouth shut, Peter’s expression turns to stone. Dan turns to me, pulling a cord tightly around my neck until I start to suffocate. Peter’s eyes widen and he shouts. “Hey, stop!”

“Just tell me your name. It’s that easy.” Dan taunts.

“Peter!” He yells back. “It’s Peter!”

“Peter what?” Dan doesn’t free me from the cord yet.

“P-Parker!” Peter exclaims. “Now take the cord off! H-Her lips are blue!”

Dan doesn’t budge. “What’s her name?”

He looks at me sympathetically. “I’m sorry. I have to tell him. I-It’s Aurora. Ro…”

Peter knows he wants my last name too, but hesitates. “Stark. Aurora Stark.”

Dan releases the cord from my neck and I gasp. “Y-You fuck.”

“Stark, huh? I’ve heard rumors, but…I wasn’t sure it was true. Tony Stark is a dad.” He teases me. “You really are a rare collectible yourself, aren’t you?”

“I’m a person.” I spit.

“A mutant.” He corrects me. “But I don’t hold that against you. The Avengers with powers impress me the most. I can’t believe I have two enhanced heroes in my own collection. Look at me now.”

“My dad is going to find this place and kill you,” I tell him.

Dan proceeds to light a cigarette and press it against my skin. “Hmm. Nothing. I suppose I should’ve guessed that.”

“Yeah, dipshit.” I laugh.

“You want me to burn the boy instead?” He asks me.

“No,” I reply quietly.

He ramps up the burning, setting my hair on fire. My skin and hair are normally completely fireproof because of my powers, but this seems to have a strange effect. My hair crumbles to ash until the flames reach my scalp and I force my body to extinguish.

Peter’s eyes get watery. “Are you alright? Does it hurt?”

“I’m fine,” I reassure him.

“Engulf yourself in the flames,” Dan tells me, holding a lit match to my palm. He knows I can harness it and grow the blaze. He knows I can surround myself with fire without it hurting. “Do it or I’ll burn your boyfriend alive instead.”

I take control of the flame immediately, the fire spreading from head to toe. This doesn’t hurt me. Not at first.

But the longer he makes me do it, the hotter it seems to become. I’ve never done it for extended periods of time before. Not without breaks. And not while held captive with Peter right in front of me.

Dan sees my skin start to get a little red, my fire-resistant suit starting to break down. “Keep it going.”

“You’re hurting her,” Peter says, voice shaking. “You have to let her stop.”

Dan smirks. “I don’t think I will.”

Whimpering and wincing, I try to stay strong. Peter shouldn’t have to see this. “My dad’s gonna come here and…and…”

A wave of pain jolts through me and I let out a little yelp. “You’re a d-dead man…”

“I think you’ll be the dead one in due time. I just want to see how long you can stay ignited. After that, I’ll preserve your body like I said.” He explains.

So I guess I’d better stay alight. Or I really am dead.

Minutes slowly but surely tick by, my injuries getting worse. I didn’t know this was possible. But my entire body is now starting to seriously burn and scar. “You’re f-fucking crazy.”

“You know, that’s really getting old.” Dan mocks.

“Just leave her alone…leave her alone.” Peter pleads.

“I don’t think I-”

Dan is cut off by the shattering of glass and my father himself flying in his armor. Finally, finally to our rescue. He and Dan shoot repulsor blasts in unison, causing them both to tumble several feet backward, the explosion of light shattering both Peter and my glass cages.

I’m set free, but fall on the floor in front of me, unable to catch myself. It knocks the wind out of me. “Oof!”

The commotion around me is mostly blurry. All I know is Dad is here and Peter is free. That’s what matters most.

Dad has quickly taken down our captor, hesitating as he reaches for me. “Ro, what…how did this happen?”

I must really look awful. “He made me…d-do this. If I’m engulfed for too long, it…does this. He said if I stopped then Peter would…would…”

“It’s alright.” He reassures me. “I don’t want to hurt you but I need to get you out of here so you’ve gotta be strong for me, okay?”

“It’s bad.” I say matter of factly. It’s not a question. Bad is probably an understatement. “I-Isn’t it?”

Dad locks eyes with me and I see the worry. The fear. “Nothing I can’t fix. I fix things, remember?”

“You do.” I murmur, comforting him rather than really worrying about myself.

“Eyes on me.” He instructs me firmly. “If you drift off, I swear to God I’ll ground you.”

“So no dying or my phone gets taken away?” I ask.

Dad grins at my wisecrack. “Bingo.”

Grimacing as he lifts me, I cry out. “G-God!”

“I know. I know it hurts. You’ve gotta just hold on for me, okay? Wrap your arms around me and hold on tight.” He tells me.

“O-Okay.” I whimper. “I just want the pain to stop.”

Dad carries me out of the warehouse, Peter not far behind. He’s in much better shape than I am, but he won’t stop worrying over me. “Hold on, Ro. I’m right here. I’m so sorry.”

Body aching, I curse myself for letting tears fall. It makes my burned skin hurt more. “It h-hurts so badly. I-I can’t breathe.”

Dad cradles my head and its burned scalp. “I’m getting you outta here, kiddo. I’ve got you. I’m not letting you go.”

“Please don’t…” I mumble, head spinning.

My eyelids become heavier until I cant keep myself awake any longer, coming in and out of consciousness as I’m brought to the hospital and treated. Bandages, medicine, IV’s, tubes, and muffled voices flash in my mind.

When I’m fully awake, I see Dad holding one of my bandaged ones. “D-Dad?”

He looks at me with tears in his eyes, quickly blinking them away. “Oh, thank God. You scared the hell out of me.”

“Same.” Peter says, holding my other hand on the opposite side of the bed. “But you’re gonna be fine.”

I exhale shakily. “I don’t know how my powers did this.”

He grins bittersweetly. “Powers are weird.”

“You can say that again.” I groan.

“I can’t relate. My superpower is my IQ.” Dad teases.

“And your insufferable arrogance.” I chime in.

“That’s right.” He replies quickly. “You know me so well.”

I sigh. “I knew you’d come to save us. It happened so fast…I didn’t want to leave Peter there alone. I had to…to…”

Dad very gently touches my shoulder. “It’s alright. I know. And you were right. The moment you went dark, I knew I had to find you. I’m just so sorry it took so long. That place was surprisingly well hidden for a warehouse.”

“A warehouse full of Avengers weapons and memorabilia.” I point out.

“And glass cages made for humans.” Peter adds. “Makes sense he would hide all of it. But he wanted to keep us both captive until he…figured out how to preserve our…erm, bodies.”

Dad shifts uncomfortably in his seat, showing how much the thought bothers him. I take his hand. “It’s okay. You got to us in time.”

“Yeah.” He mumbles.

Despite continuing to talk and make occasional wisecracks, it doesn’t make things feel too much better. My burns are pretty bad and I haven’t dared to try and use my powers again since. My body is too weak and too wounded.

Bruce and Dad both brainstorm ways to help with the scarring, Dr. Cho helping with some synthetic skin grafts as she’s done before. It’s not fun, to say the least. But having my dad and my boyfriend with me helps these treatments be less horrible.

I’m alive. I guess that’s what counts at the end of the day.

But I’ll never forget the way I got these scars no matter how much they fade.

2 notes · View notes

tamorapierce · 5 years ago

Text

Tammy's Spring 2020 Reading Recommendations For the Bored

Sooner or later the bookhounds among us are going to start joining my relentless song, from age five on up, of “I don’t have anything to read!!!!”

I am here to help. In this space, as I get to it (knowing, as my readers do, that I have no sense of deadline), I will be posting a constant set of collections of book titles by authors my team and I have read and will recommend in a wild variety of genres and for a wild variety of ages. (And I’ll give a short hint as to the subject of the first book/series—if I did them all I’d never finish this.) This last is for the many of you who are reading teen and adult books in grade and middle school, and those adult readers who are reading teen and kidlit. These people are for those who love books and don’t care who is supposed to be reading them.

Also, you may have to look far and wee, since we will be drawing upon not only recently published books but older ones that we have either read recently or that we read long ago and have re-read or have never forgotten. Don’t say I didn’t warn you when the writing is archaic. If you’re a true nutsy reader like the rest of us, you won’t care.

-Tammy Pierce

* * *

Assume the book came out within the last 2 years unless I put LO next to the title, which means you have to check libraries and bookstores online and paper for copies.

* * *

Diana Wynne Jones LO

A generation or two of fantasy writers, particularly those who love humor, bow to this woman as our goddess. Not only was she out of her mind in a very British and manic way, but with her TOUGH GUIDE TO FANTASYLAND she taught a number of us to ditch some ill-considered tropes of our genre. If you write historic fantasy in particular, move heaven and earth to track this book down. There’s a bonus: some of the entries will make you laugh till you cry.

She is best known for her books for middle grade and teens, but they are enjoyable for all readers. I cannot list them all here because my fingers will break (curse you, arthritis!), but these titles will give you a jumping-off point. And remember, authors change with each book, so you won’t encounter the same author with each title as the author you read in the previous one!

The Chrestomanci books, all in the same universe, in order of story,

not publication

Charmed Life (1977) An innocent lad follows his plotting egotistical sister to live with England’s chief wizard

The Lives of Christopher Chant (1988)

Conrad’s Fate (2005)

Witch Week (1982)

The Magicians of Caprona (1980)

Short stories

The Dalemark Quartet begins with

The Spellcoats (1979)

3 sequels

The Derkholm books are

Dark Lord of (1998)

Year of the Griffin (2000)

The Tough Guide to Fantasyland is standalone, but is a kind of offshoot of the Derkholm books. You don’t have to have read the Derkholm books to get Tough Guide!

There are other books and stories by Jones—I’ll let you find them on your own.

Philip Pullman

To this day I am unable to call him anything but Mr. Pullman—that’s how much in awe of the man I am. We’ve had dinner together, talked on the phone, talked at an event or two, done a conversation on audio with Christopher Paolini—it’s still Mr. Pullman to me. (I was an assistant in a literary agency when I discovered his work, and I never recovered.) He is, in a word, brilliant, and his interests range through all kinds of areas, particularly history and religion. I could have talked with him forever that night we had dinner, but the poor man had jet lag and I let him go to collapse. It was one of the best exchanges of ideals, values, and books I’ve ever had.

Read his work carefully, because what he discusses is never just the story on top. No matter what he writes, he is making strong points about social justice, human nature, religion, and history without preaching. He is one of the few male writers out there who can write female characters as people, not Something Different. And you never know, with his work, where he will go next.

The Ruby in the Smoke,

book 1, the Sally Lockheart mysteries

Victorian mysteries with a female hero and male assistants,

The Book of Dust and sequel,

first 2 books of The Secret Commonwealth

His Dark Materials trilogy

The Golden Compass

2 other titles

THE COLLECTORS

LYRA’S OXFORD

THE WHITE MERCEDES

FAIRY TALES FROM THE BROTHERS GRIMM

I WAS A RAT!

TWO CRAFTY CRIMINALS

COUNT KARLSTEIN

(I will stop here and let you find the rest. Most are available as Nook books.)

Sharon Shinn

I discovered Sharon Shinn with JOVAH’S ANGEL, but a shortage of funds left me unable to pursue my interest (I am an economic disaster with libraries, so I buy rather than borrow) until, with a job and money to spend, I spotted THE SAFE-KEEPER’S SECRET. It is the story of a medieval-ish world and a small village where a baby was left with a childless couple. She is raised as their daughter and discovers, as she grows, that her mother is an important, a Safekeeper, the person to whom a secret can be told, relieving the person who told it of the weight of guilt from it, to be carried by the Safekeeper until the owner either decides to tell or dies. (And if they die without giving permission, the Safekeeper never reveal the secret.) The baby who is adopted by this town’s safekeeper becomes the safekeeper in her turn.

The next book is THE TRUTHTELLER’S TALE, about a girl who acquires the gift (??) of telling the truth, whether the person she tells it to wants to hear it or not. The third book is The Dream-maker’s Magic. The three main characters now learn why they have been brought together over the course of the two earlier books, in what I thought was a satisfying, if unusual, conclusion.

And there’s more! I just did the two I love best!

THE SAFEKEEPER’S SECRET (book 1, two sequels)

ARCHANGEL (4 books)

TWELVE HOUSES (5 books)

ELEMENTAL BLESSINGS (4 books)

SHIFTING CIRCLE (2 books)

UNCOMMON ECHOES

GENERAL WINSTON’S DAUGHTER

GATEWAY

Daniel Jose Older

I was a Daniel Jose Older fan before I was sent DACTYL HILL SQUAD for a blurb (preodactyls in flight! Of all sizes! Confederate spies! Thuggish bigot northerners! The backlash of Gettysburg and the forced recruitment of blacks for the war effort! And strong, smart, fierce kids of various ages, sizes, colors, national heritage, and skills doing their best to help the war against the slaves, keep escaped slaves safe, duck the cruel managers of the homes and jails where they are being kept, find a half-decent meal, free other kids in trouble, learn who’s killing their friends, and help the dactyls! That’s part of it, anyway!

Yeah, I loved it. And there’s at least one new book, and once I’ve mowed though that, there are his older teen books, and his grownup mysteries, with their half-dead taxi driver who doubles as a part-time troubleshooter for the undead powers in his Bone Street Rhumba series. {happy sigh}

Edgar Allen Poe

Yes, some of these are reminders of why we ended up to be the readers we are and to nudge us to corrupt—I mean, “introduce”—new readers to the glories that are our legacies.

THE COMPLETE TALES AND POEMS OF EDGAR ALLEN POE

Here are the greats:

poems like “The Raven,” and “Annabelle Lee”

stories like “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Telltale Heart,” and ::shudder:: “The Pit and the Pendulum” (yes, a deep pit and a swinging pendulum topped with a razor-edged blade will be featured in this story).

My dad would read these to us on dark and stormy nights when we lived near the Pacific ocean, when the fog came rolling in, softening every sound, when there were no cars driving by and no other sounds in our house but his deep voice and the crackle of the fire in the fireplace. We would listen, soundless, as he wove the stories and poems around us and the foghorn sounded offshore.

That’s the power of Poe.

N. K. Jemisin

I think I began with Jemisin’s THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS, soon followed by its sequel THE BROKEN KINGDOMS. The series ended with a third book, THE KINGDOM OF THE GODS. She presented a rich and varied world from the aspects of people of different classes, showing the growth of societies and their formation. I have a secret passion for society-building and social interaction, and whether or not a book is difficult to read (as Jemisin’s books are in spots because she refuses to insult a reader by talking down to them) is immaterial. I want the world and I want the characters, and with her far-reaching mind and her respect for her characters she delivers each and every time. I have read almost everything she’s written since that first trilogy: if I’ve missed something, it’s because I was in the middle of a deadline and on the road and somehow didn’t see it. I’ll catch up! This is just a sample:

For readers of all sexes and adult reading skills

The City They Became (pub’d April 2020)

The Inheritance Trilogy:

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, 2010

2 book sequels

Novella: The Awakened Kingdom, 2014

Triptych: Shades in Shadow, 2015 (3 short stories)

The Dreamblood Duology:

For readers of all sexes and adult reading skills

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, 2010

Two sequels

The Broken Earth series:

The Fifth Season (August 2015)

Two book sequels

And there are plenty of short stories out there. I may even have missed a book or twelve!

For those who prefer to hear my ramble in person, a video!

youtube

#tamora pierce #tortall #book reccs #book recommendations #YA #fantasy #science fiction #diana wynne jones #edgar allen poe #philip pullman #sharon shinn #daniel jose older #nk jemisin

803 notes · View notes

thelovelyghostwriter · 3 years ago

Text

KuraNeon ABC Fluff Headcanons

uThis ABC is taken from this post. I was thinking, hey, what about KuraNeon?

[Yessss... They have a special attack together on one of the mobile games - not the mobage cards by the way]

Let’s go!

A ctivities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

Neon’s always bored, given that Kurapika is the one who is doing all the work. She’s often delighted to spend time with him, particularly shopping. She likes to shop for clothes, wearing cute outfits and asking him his opinion of it. She’s a tease and we know it. Sometimes she would purposely try on some racy outift for him to ogle at.

For Kurapika, he doesn’t really have a particular favourite activity with her. He’s just happy to spend time with her.

B eauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

At first they weren’t very close. Kurapika only focused on her flesh-collecting hobby that he disagrees with and Neon finds his serious working attitude boring and she didn’t really care about him. Ironically, the traits that each of them has that the other doesn’t is what draws them to each other.

After spending time together, Kurapika finds her eccentric view on her life interesting, even if he does not agree with them. He likes how she’s happy-go-lucky and just lives in the present, uncaring about what the future brings. Which is kinda ironic for someone who can predict the future.

Neon, on the other hand, finds his stern and down-to-business attitude really amusing. She likes how genuinely concerned he gets in doing the job done and she likes it when he teaches her things that she doesn’t know about. She also catches the glimpse of him being playful, it’s so rare and she likes it when he relaxes once in a while. He’s also really sassy when he wants to and she likes bantering with him.

For physical traits, Kurapika is in denial. She’s one of the few girls he interacted with and he finds her really adorable and pretty. He likes how she’s always wearing long sleeves and it all leads to a lot of imagination. Her eyes also drives him crazy because it holds so much naivety that he wants to stain.

Neon finds Kurapika a pretty boy. She likes his soft blond locks and the red earrings that he wears. She thinks it looks good on him. If she knows that he is a Kurta, she loves those pretty eyes (especially when they’re having sex). The first time Neon sees Kurapika in a tuxedo, her gaze will linger because he looks bonafide yummy in it.

C omfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

I don’t know what panic attack is like so I will not address that.

Kurapika is the type that tries to rationalize things (even though he’s impulsive as shit). So whenever Neon feels down, he will listen to her issues. He will try to understand her situation, analyse it and give her a few suggestions on what she can do. If it’s a problem that cannot be solved practically and she’s being confused/overwhelmed, he will comfort her by saying “it’s okay to feel this way”, he’ll tell her why she’s possibly feeling this way with scientific stuff and whatnot. He’ll find reasons to reassure her that it’s not the end of the world, and that he’ll always be there for her.

For Neon, Kurapika’s issues are deep. Sometimes he won’t even tell it to her. She won’t press him for answers, but she’ll let him hold her. She’ll hug him when he needs comfort. She’ll give him soft kisses on his forehead. She’ll try to distract him from feeling down by getting him to do fun activities like playing chessboard games until he gets better. If he’s working too much, she’ll ensure that he takes breaks by either sleeping, going out with her or you know, the old-fashioned way to de-stress ;)

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

For Neon, she’s not too concerned of the future. To her, it’s just... like that. She goes with the flow of the events and the growth of her connection with Kurapika just like a river. Whatever happens, happens.

Haha, it reminds me of the lullaby my mom used to sing - Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see. Que sera, sera.

For Kurapika, it’s bleak. This guy has always been a bag full of worry - which includes the future of his relationship with Neon. Initially, he did not plan to be in this sort of relation with Neon (his employer’s daughter, I might add). At first, he thought he’d marry her for practical reasons and earning her father’s trust, so that he can gain money in order to buy back some of his clan’s eyes.

His relationship with her becomes something a little more than that. He hates himself for being “distracted” or even indulging in that sort of happiness when he’s supposed to be on a mission. As a Last Kurta, he has some sort of survivor’s guilt. He thinks that if he lives on and forgets about bringing justice to his clan, he is bringing disgrace to them. He thinks he doesn’t deserve to live happily. Especially with a flesh collector. He thinks that it’s his duty as the last survivor to collect their eyes and bring them the justice they deserve.

Yet, he sticks around because this is the only thing that keeps him together and prevents him from sinking while trying to carry out this mission. He knows that one day, eventually, this relationship and his mission will become mutually exclusive, and he has to pick one of them. And that will be his mission.

However, whenever he tries to look into the further future after his mission ends, he sees nothing. After his mission, he doesn’t see anything to live for. This goes back to his wishes and thinking if it’s possible to ever live for something else after this whole mission of his is over - which is to be in a relationship with Neon.

It’s a paradox. His dilemma is indeed confusing and mentally straining.

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

Neon is rather passive. She relies on him when it comes for down-to-Earth decisions and she just tags along (she doesn’t care about the boring financial stuff). Ever since Neon lost her ability, he’s the one earning money for them. (He’s kinda like her sugar daddy ahahahha). He loves to be in-charge anyway, given how quickly he got promoted from a mere employee, to a head bodyguard and finally the head of her family.

She does influence him in certain decisions when she suggests it, or demands him what she wants. Depending on how reasonable her request/demands, he will either comply to make her happy or be firm with her by reasoning/compromising with her. Neon will sometimes just pout and agree with it hesitantly, other times she’ll throw a tantrum (and Kurapika has to deal with that, and maybe even “punish” her to discipline her KEKEKEK).

So yes, Kurapika is the dominant one in the relationship because he does a good job in being the role of providing for his partner (and he’s the dom in the bedroom).

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

OMG. Neon has temper tantrums and impatient; and Kurapika’s worse - he’s stubborn and he has a very bad anger management. It’s like a volcano meeting a thunderstorm.

When they fight, they fight big time. Sometimes it’s about Neon’s unreasonable demands/spoilt attitude, sometimes it’s Kurapika’s secretive behaviour or his neuroticism that leads to an argument.

After the fight, both of them will be grumpy towards each other and Neon will refuse to talk to him, glaring at him. Kurapika will be too hard-headed to talk first. Eventually, both will kinda miss each other’s presence. They will forgive each other once they realise that the fight they had was not worth breaking up the relationship.

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

They don’t usually express their gratitude explicitly. At first, they kinda just take it for granted and don’t really think too deeply about it. Especially for Neon, she’s the type of girl that likes luxury and she enjoys all the materialistic goods that Kurapika gives her. After a few months where it really gets serious, she thinks about all the things that Kurapika has done for her - protection, financial security and pretty much, everything for her. I have this headcanon where she does those tiny surprises for him on occasions (e.g. his birthdays) just to tell him how much she appreciates what he’s doing for her.

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Neon is more open to him whenever he asks. Besides, she can’t really lie or keep secrets from him because he’s sharp.

As for Kurapika, he’s rather secretive and even hid his ethnic identity to her. He doesn’t tell her things and it takes a while for him to open up. This can be a problem because once he admits to Neon, she is rather upset. She doesn’t like how her father lies to her all the time and will be very disappointed in Kurapika when she uncovers his motivations for being hired under her employment initially.

I nspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

I think for both of them, they are both ends of the spectrum. So definitely, along the way, they will influence each other.

Kurapika will teach Neon to be more mindful and caring of those around her. He will try to tell her why sympathising with the dead is as important as caring for the living (because baby girl just likes to make the living happy).

For Kurapika, Neon will get him to at least live in the present and enjoy it, because this boy faces a lot of trauma in his past and constantly worries about the future. Neon will try to get him to relax from time to time, be happy with the ever-present.

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

Neon doesn’t really get jealous because Kurapika is very much focused on her. She knows these bitches aren’t even her competition. Even though he attracts attention as he is a pretty boy, he’s very cold towards them, which actually makes a lot of them disinterested.

As for Kurapika... this man is extremely possessive. He didn’t like the fact that Chrollo talked to Neon that one time in the September auction, and he wanted to know every detail of what happened. Neon gets suitors from the mafia community and he makes sure none of them makes contact with her. He’s also paranoid as hell whenever she talks to a guy. Sometimes Neon finds it suffocating (they even fight about it at times), but she appreciates his overprotective nature and sometimes even teases him about it.

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

Their first kiss was rather awkward. Neon and Kurapika are still young. Neon was kinda heavily guarded so she didn’t have the opportunity to date a guy. She doesn’t seem like she’s interested either. The girl just minds her business and doesn’t seem to appreciate ingenuine attention from men. Kurapika is pretty focused on his mission for his clan so I doubt he dated either. So yes, when they first kissed, it was literally their first kiss. It was soft, short and sweet. And hella awkward because both of them weren’t sure what they were doing.

They will get good at kissing as time passes by. They just have to keep practising by kissing each other HAHA.

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

HAHA. I actually don’t see this couple saying “I love you” to one another - at least for Kurapika’s part. Neon is like 50-50. They pretty much just grow attached to each other over time and expressed their feelings by a kiss or something.

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

Fam. Let me tell you something real quick. Usually, for other pairings, it’s they become close friends, then date, then get married. This pairing is founded by a marriage theory. HAHAH.

It’s a common KuraNeon headcanon where they have an arranged marriage due to some mafia business. At first it will be like any arranged marriage since it was for practical reasons. They go through the motions, play the role of a traditional husband and wife. Then they get it all mixed up with the emotions and then fall in love. They proceed to become a full-fledge consummated marriage relationship and have kids.

N icknames - What do they call their s/o?

Kurapika isn’t really big on the nicknames. It’s more on how he goes from calling her “Boss”, to “Miss Neon” and eventually just her name as he got more comfortable with her.

For Neon, she calls him Kurapika, most of the time. Only when they are in the bedroom, she calls him Daddy. She even puts his contact name on her phone as that. Kurapika was repulsed by it at first, but she was often a playful sub whenever she calls him that. It makes him feel powerful. HAHAHA. Kinky.

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

Both of them can’t really define what love is, or understand what they’re feeling when it first hit them. It’s obvious for everyone - Linssen and the rest of Kurapika’s underlings. They know that their boss is in love with his wife and is sincere about their marriage. Neon just feels happier with his company and she did question it at one point, but decides that it’s for the best to continue and go with the flow. For Kurapika, when he realised that he’s suddenly happier, he’s scared. He’s not sure if he should be feeling happiness at all. He’s always afraid that the fiery wrath within him would die out. He wanted to remove that feeling. A man like him shouldn’t spare any time for love. But he stays anyway because it benefits him.

Neon’s love language is gifts and spending time with someone. She sees gift-giving as something where someone spends the money (which is earned by the hours they spent working) as precious and flattering for her. She dislikes it when the gift is ingenuine. Kurapika knows this and gives her all sorts of things to impress her. Neon also gives back gifts whenever she can. When she shops, she started to shop not only for herself, but enjoys thinking about what she can buy for Kurapika. Kurapika is a busy man, so Neon is often excited whenever he takes off-days to do fun activities with her.

For Kurapika, he’s more of an action guy than words. Aside from giving gifts for her, he shows his affections by doing what he thinks it’s best for both of them. This means protecting her from any harm and making sure they’re financially stable.

Both of them also like to be physically intimate with one another to show their affections.

P DA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

Kurapika is not very open about their relationship in public. Dude is too shy to do PDA. He thinks it’s none of anyone’s business when it comes to his relationship. Neon on the other hand, don’t really care what people think. She will hold his arm whenever they go out, and Kurapika will just let her. He blushes a little whenever she does peck kisses on him in public or in front of their employees. Linssen and the rest will just snigger and tease their Bosses, leaving Kurapika irritated.

Q uirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

Kurapika’s chains. Uhm, joke lmao. He can’t wrap her around his chains even if he wants to. They like to do bondage but they have to use clothes or some other type.

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

I’d say they are rather an unconventional couple, but their activities are that of a cliche couple. Kurapika is romantic in a sense that he takes her out to dinner, give her gifts and pretty much goes out with her to make her happy. Neon, of course, the ever-so indulgent brat that she is, likes to be pampered. They are okay with a routine-type of relationship, although once in a while, Neon adds in a surprise to make it interesting.

S upport - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

Neon doesn’t really have a goal. She’s more onto goods and her desires are often short-lived. Kurapika tries his best to support her in what she wants, given that they are reasonable.

For Kurapika, his goal will always be vengeance and collecting the eyes of his brethren. His marriage to Neon supports that, even if she is unaware of it. Being the head of her family helps him get the power, influence and money to negotiate (and buy) his clan’s eyes.

If Neon does find out about his goals, I think she’ll feel disoriented. She may have an inkling that he is marrying due to some motivations that are hidden; but she was unaware it was this drastic. She will be upset that he wasn’t fully honest, and may have mixed feelings collecting his clan’s eyes. She doesn’t care for dead people, but she does care about living humans and it’s important to Kurapika, who is alive. After a while, she will calm down. I don’t see her actively supporting him, maybe trying to use connections and her ways as a flesh collector to help him find the Scarlet Eye sets. As for the Spiders part, I think she’ll be more of a foil to that so I think she’ll just let him do whatever he’s supposed to do.

As for believing in him, Neon knows that he’s intelligent and he’s one of the bodyguards that are still alive. She had her fair share of bodyguards who just drop dead like flies, so she assumes Kurapika must be strong enough to still be alive and kicking. She is also aware that he has his ways of influencing people, given that her father believes in him. Therefore, she believes in him too. She also acknowledges that Kurapika saved their asses from being broke, when her father was freaking out. So definitely, she knows that he is very capable of running their organisation.

T hrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

I think I already answered this in the “R” for “Romance”.

But if I may add an NSFW...

Well, certainly they do have their own fixed of kinks ahhaha. They start out as being kinda vanilla and just make out, then have some good ol’ missionary sex. And then, Neon, being a mischievous girl that she is, seeks out to try new things. She starts out by calling him “Daddy” and being very bratty/teasing... just to let out his inner dom in the bedroom. She also prompts him to do bondage on her because well, the chains he wears gives them ideas HAHA. Neon will just act like the total brat that needs to be subdued and disciplined; and Kurapika will follow. He likes to be in control; and he finds all sorts of ways to tame his bratty wife sexually. Kurapika is deep down kinky but he doesn’t admit it; and Neon nudges him towards that direction and everything just flows.

U nderstanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

Okay. So... this is one of the main issues with their relationship. But this is what, I believe, makes it so interesting yet difficult to write a slowburn canon-compliant fiction of them.

Neon doesn’t understand him well because she mostly minds her business and is more self-centred. And the way she empathise with people is different from how Kurapika expects her to be. Canonically, they are the polar opposite. Neon (and Light Nostrade) acted as a foil in the YorkNew City. Neon values the life of the living, breathing people; and not giving two cents about the people that had died. Kurapika, on the other hand, mourns for his dead clan.

At first, Kurapika wanted to change the way she thinks - which is, of course, it kinda fails. Her hobby is in direct conflict of his beliefs.

While canonically, he straightaway knew her situation (that conversation he had with Basho explaining that it was the father that is using the daughter, not the other way round), it was not indicated if he sympathises with her. He was just very task-focused to impress Light Nostrade and gain his trust, which is to protect his daughter.

It definitely took a while for him to know her aside from being a “flesh collector” and the “bratty girl”. Maybe he got to know her more as a person, who is not so far from his age.

As for Neon, I imagine her whining about Kurapika’s strict behaviour as a bodyguard, and finding him a bit boring to converse with due to his serious attitude while working.

This couple really needs a LOT of patience with one another and time for them to bond.

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

I think I had already addressed this in the “D - Dreams” section.

W ild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

Neon and Kurapika initially never considered having kids, until Kurapika knocked her up and they have their first son. They named their first son Pairo. They have like, 3 to 5 subsequent kids, depending on how many kids you want them to go for. No matter how many girls and boys they have, all of them have Scarlet Eyes.

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

Oh yes. They do enjoy kissing and cuddling. And sex. But yeah, they don’t usually do PDA because Kurapika is rather shy about that. But behind closed doors? They’re doing more than kisses and cuddling - if you know what I mean.

Y earning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

They will be upset. They will try to get themselves busy. For Neon, she will shop and play card games with her fellow attendants to get her mind off of him. She will wonder how he’s been, send him text messages and nudes while at work and complain about how much of a workaholic this guy is.

For Kurapika, usually he’s the one away for either a business trip or on his way across the world to obtain another set of the Scarlet Eyes. He will think about her, it irritates him because missing her distracts him from the task at hand and he can’t help it. He’ll call her at some points of the day to just hear her voice and ask her well-being, to check whether everything in the mansion is fine or not.

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

Kurapika is persuasive in getting what he wants. That includes doing all sorts of tricks and nefarious ways to protect their relationship. As for Neon, if someone is blocking them, she will try to eliminate it by making demands and throw tantrums.

However, they won’t admit it. They will find some excuse to jusify their behaviour, which often fails.

Also, special thanks to @anotherworldash for helping me with Y and Z.

#kuraneon #kuraneo #kurapikaxneon #kuraneon headcanons

19 notes · View notes

reveltica · 3 years ago

Text

First Battle

tw: swearing, blood and lots of it

a/n: Iris is not wearing a dress but rather a shirt and some jeans. The idea is that they're running but i can't any other gif of this concept so please bear with it unu ehe.

part ii

The Hilichurls chased Iris and Dantalion out of their hiding spot. Fortunately they're fast enough to dodge their attacks.

'Do something!' Iris shouted towards Dantalion.

'Like what?!' He shouted back, making Iris scrunch her face in disbelief. 'I don't know fight them back? You're a Grand Duke who just so happens to conjure up books out of thin air, surely you have magic that could fight them?!'

The Hilichurl Berserker swung its fire engulfed club at them. Iris yelped and ran even more, clutching her shoulder bag tightly. Nothing in that bag may save her life though but the contents are still important to her.

'I-I can't use my magic right now. They sealed it together with the magic of my book that I showed you earlier, I could only summon mundane objects like my books from my library.' Dantalion huffed. Iris' eyes widened and she frowned. 'Are you kidding me right now?!'

A Hilichurl appeared behind Dantalion, ready to swing its club at his head. Iris gasped and shouted 'Dantalion, behind you!' Just in time, he turned around and landed a punch right on the Hilichurls mask, causing it to stumbled backwards.

'But I can still fight!' Dantalion smirked at her, causing her to cheer. They heard another rumbling noise, this time, much more louder. They looked behind, luckily they had put some distance away from the Hilichurls but that doesn't mean they're on the clear.

A much larger of its kind emerged, clad in black and orange and an axe in hand. Dantalion knew that they're fairly outpowered, so he turned to Iris.

She looked around, there must be something they could use to at least subdue these Hilichurls, they couldn't possibly defeat them, especially since she has a powerless Grand Duke.

'There! Through the trees. We can grab some vines, lure them in, and tie them around a tree. Think we can pull that off?' She proposed breathlessly.

'Sounds like a plan, come on!' They both changed their direction and lured the Hilichurls through a throng of trees. Dantalion rushed first to gather some vines while Iris acted as bait. The smaller Hilichurls followed her relentlessly. She passed the tree for their trap and Dantalion immediately emerged from the bushes, tying up the Hilichurls successfully.

'Nice going! Now the bigger ones are left.' Dantalion grunted as he tied them up tightly. The Berserker and Blazing Axe Mitachurl were slightly put off since their comrades were captured. This enraged them more and charged after Iris.

'Dantalion!' She screamed. He ran to her aid but the Hilichurls were gaining more speed. Iris was becoming exhausted from all that running and she didn't know if she could keep it up.

He looked around for more vines but realized that Iris has going to a dead end by that cliff. 'Dantalion!' She screamed his name even more. 'Yes, just keep on running on that direction, I have a plan!'

Iris was cornered, panic and dread settled upon her, thinking that this must be her end when suddenly she heard Dantalion shout.

'Run to the right!' And she did with all the strength she has left in her legs. The Hilichurl and Mitachurl were exactly where Dantalion wanted them, and he threw a rock. Not really at them but at the boulders above them.

With one small impact, they came tumbling down. Crushing the Hilichurl and Mitachurl, successfully defeating them. He cheered in triumph for his plan but it dissipated in a second when he noticed the Mitachurls axe broke and a big chunk of its hot blade was flying towards Iris.

'Iris behind you!'

But it was too late for Iris to duck down. As she turned around to see what was behind her, she was met face to face with that hot blade, slashing across her eyes and nose bridge.

She screamed and fell down in agony. All she could think about was the panic and fear for losing her eyesight. She could smell iron, and feel thick sticky substance from her face.

Blood, and lots of it.

Dantalion immediately rushed to her aid. He looked at her face and scrunched up in pain and disgust. Her eyes sliced right through, possible for her to go blind.

'Mondstadt!' Iris shouted at him. 'What?' he asked.

'In Mondstadt, The Cathedral, there are healers there! Take me there!' Dantalion understood as he looked to her right, he could see the city looming over them. The sun setting and the night is upon them so he had to make haste. He could carry her, sure, but it'll take them longer and she's losing too much blood. And suddenly, he remembered something. Something that would work highly in his favor.

'Shapeshift.' He muttered.

'What?'

'I could shapeshift into a dragon−'

'You could've flown us out of that situation earlier?! Are you mad?!' Iris couldn't believe this Grand Duke's incompetence. But little did she know that he intended for her to think that way, so she couldn't catch on with his original plan.

'I know but in order for me to shapeshift, I need to make a deal, a contract of some sort−' he explained but Iris hurriedly turned her head up to him.

'Anything! Just so we could get there in time. Please!' she wasn't thinking this through, perfect. Dantalion smirked, happy that she couldn't see the evil grin he has on his face.

He dipped his finger on the blood that had pooled beside her and began drawing his sigil on the back of her palm.

'I, Dantalion, Grand Duke of Hell−'

Wait, did he just say Hell?

'and The Keeper of The Forbidden Library, am now bonded with Iris, The Collector and Master of this Contract. We shall work hand in hand through hardships until our goals and objectives in this world have been met. May King Solomon watch over us.'

Everything around them glowed. Her hand and him respectively. He chuckled darkly to himself, seeing that Iris was out cold. He transformed into a grand and magnificent dragon with black scales that when light hits them, it turned to an array of different colors.

His eyes remained the blue and gold color and his two large wings flapped. Feeling a quarter of his power coming back, he had hope that everything would work out well in his favor. He carried Iris on his back and flew towards Mondstadt, cloaked in invisibility so as to not cause a panic.

part iv

#genshin impact imagines #genshin impact fanfic #fanfiction #genshin oc #genshin imagines #genshin persona #original characters #except for the hilichurls of course #genshin impact angst #genshin impact fic #genshin impact

12 notes · View notes

lawrenceop · 3 years ago

Text

HOMILY for 3rd Sun after Pentecost (Dominican rite)

1 Pet 5:6-11; Luke 15:1-10

June is the month of the Sacred Heart, and last Friday we celebrated the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a feast instituted first in France, and then extended to the universal Church in 1856. The feast of the Sacred Heart, celebrated on the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi, was specifically requested by our Lord who appeared to a Visitation nun, St Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1675. Jesus said to her: “Behold the Heart which has so loved mankind that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify Its love”.

St Margaret Mary also told us how the heart of Jesus appeared to her. She said: “The Divine Heart was presented to me in a throne of flames, more resplendent than a sun, transparent as crystal, with this adorable wound. And it was surrounded with a crown of thorns, signifying the punctures made in it by our sins, and a cross above signifying that from the first instant of His Incarnation… the cross was implanted into it and from the first moment it was filled with all the sorrow to be inflicted on it by the humiliations, poverty, pain, and scorn that His sacred humanity was to endure throughout His life and during His sacred passion.”

The Lord endures all this because of his burning love for humanity, a love that leads to the incarnation, so that the Second Person of the Trinity is henceforth hypostatically united to a human body and soul, and his divine heart, therefore, feels the pain and sorrow of rejection, and his whole body thirsts for our love. As St Teresa of Calcutta said: “He thirsts for you. He loves you always, even when you don’t feel worthy. When not accepted by others, even by yourself sometimes—He is the one who always accepts you.” It is this astounding love of Christ for sinners, and his acceptance of them – of us! – so that he comes in search of sinners that is expressed in the opening lines of today’s Gospel passage: “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Yes, the righteous law-abiding religious people of Jesus’s time were disturbed by the burning love of God for his poor lost creatures, and they struggled – as so many people still do – to accept the intensity of God’s love and the unfathomable depths of his mercy. For, often, we only can see how unloveable we are, or perhaps, even more to the point, how unloveable other people are! Hence Mother Teresa went on to say: “The devil may try to use the hurts of life, and sometimes our own mistakes��to make you feel it is impossible that Jesus really loves you, is really cleaving to you. This is a danger for all of us. And so sad, because it is completely opposite of what Jesus is really wanting, waiting to tell you. Not only that He loves you, but even more—He longs for you. He misses you when you don’t come close.” Therefore, if we do not come close to Christ, when we have sinned and fallen away from God; when we are lost and cannot find our way home, today’s parables remind us of this astounding fact: God comes in search of us, and his mercy and his saving grace is at work to draw us back to himself.

The great Dominican saint and mystic, Catherine of Siena, marvelled at the love of God for sinners. In her 14th-century Dialogue with God the Father she said to him: “O eternal, infinite Good! O mad lover! And have you need of your creature? It seems so to me, for you act as if you could not live without her, in spite of the fact that you are Life itself, and everything has life from you and nothing can have life without you. Why then are you so mad? Because you have fallen in love with what you have made! You are pleased and delighted over her within yourself, as if you were drunk with desire for her salvation. She runs away from you and you go looking for her. She strays and you draw closer to her. You clothed yourself in our humanity, and nearer than that you could not have come.”

St Catherine clearly has the first of today’s parable in mind: the sheep has gone astray, running away from the good Shepherd, and he, leaving the ninety-nine behind goes in search of the one. Then, “when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing”, and he calls on his friends and neighbours to rejoice with him. St Gregory the Great sees in this parable an allegory of the incarnation and passion of Our Lord. For God in Christ goes in search of his one sheep, the human race, who has gone astray, falling into sin. The ninety-nine others, St Gregory says, stands for the angels. So, leaving heaven, so to speak, God becomes Man in the person of Jesus Christ, and he goes in search of lost humanity; Christ comes to seek out sinners. Finding the sinner (and here we must think of what Christ is doing for each one of us through grace) he places the lost sheep on his shoulders, that is to say, Christ carries the burden and sorrow of our sins upon himself. As the prophet Isaiah foretold: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isa 53:6) So, Christ comes in search of us in order to shoulder the weight of our sins so that he can carry us back to the flock of heaven, there to rejoice with the angels.

Therefore, when we turn to Jesus and we repent of our sins, we are allowing the good Shepherd to carry away the burden of our sins. For it is the Devil who weighs us down with guilt, telling us that we are not worthy of God, not worthy even to be forgiven, not good enough. Hence Scripture calls the Devil “the Accuser” (Apoc 12:10), and Jesus calls him “the Father of Lies” (cf Jn 8:44). But the truth, the astounding truth of that Christ speaks of in the Gospel, and which he repeatedly wants all Mankind to know is that God draws close to sinners, and he longs for us to know his mercy and love, so that we can trust him and give him our sins, our burdens, our sorrows. Hence the Offertory chant today sings: “Let them trust in Thee who know Thy Name, O Lord”.

Thus, in 1899 Pope Leo XIII consecrated the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and he declared: “We have gone astray and we must return to the right path: darkness has overshadowed our minds, and the gloom must be dispelled by the light of truth: death has seized upon us, and we must lay hold of life… And now, today, behold another blessed and heavenly token is offered to our sight – the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, with a cross rising from it and shining forth with dazzling splendour amidst flames of love. In that Sacred Heart all our hopes should be placed, and from it the salvation of men is to be confidently besought.”

During this month of June, then, become a missionary of God’s love and mercy. Firstly, by telling someone – a friend, a neighbour – about the joy you have in having being lost but found and loved by Christ. So, share your joy. And then, spend some time in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, praying for that person, making reparation for offences against the Lord in the Eucharist, consoling him and alleviating his thirst with your love, your sacrifices, your mortifications. For Jesus has promised: “My Heart will expand Itself to shed in abundance the influence of Its Divine Love upon those who shall thus honour It, and cause It to be honoured.”

#sacred heart #divine love #repentance #forgiveness #love #mercy #Jesus Christ #Gospel #incarnation

18 notes · View notes

renee-writer · 3 years ago

Text

Roommate Wanted Chapter 15 Jamie's Sword

AO3

She walked into his room after dinner and looked around. The room is him. From the high bed with a tartan blanket over it to the old sword hanging on the wall. He comes up and circles his arms around her. “It was the original Jamie’s. Been in our family for 300 hundred years.” She gives a low whistle. “Aye. We’ve had offers from museums, collectors, all types of folks but Jenny and I agree that it needs to stay in the family.”

“I agree with you both.” He smiles against her ear before pulling it into his mouth. “Oh!” She feels a bit weak kneed. His hands tighten around her and he sucks hard on her ear. “Oh, that is so nice..” he smiles more, running his hands up and down her stomach. His lips move down to her neck, nuzzling right under her hair. “Jamie.” It is a moan and makes his cock even harder.

“I mean to make you moan and scream my name before I am through.” He promises. “Your ex might not have been serving you right, but I intend to.”

His hands work under her shirt, rubbing across the bare skin of her stomach. She sighs and rest back against him, feeling his other sword. Oh nice. He pants against her neck as his hands move up, finding her bare chest. Her breathy moans get louder as he runs his hands over them. He is still kissing her . She knows what she wants. He wants it too. But he intends to take his time with her. So he just cups them, running her nipples with his thumbs. “Oh Jamie.” She starts to rub against his erection.

“Claire, you slay me baby.” He growls against her neck. He lifts her shirt off so he has unrestricted access to her awesome boobs. They fit perfectly in his hands. His lips can now reach her shoulder. Kisses across first the left then the right. “I know what you want, Mon ne dunn, but patience will be rewarded.” He kisses down her back, leaving her breast to hold on to her waist as he kneels behind her.

“So good Jamie, don’t stop.” He raises goosebumps all over her as his lips, tongue, teeth and, stubble travel across the entirety of her back..

“I dinna intend to baby. Not until your legs are like jello.” He slips her pants off and runs his hand over the silk of her knickers. “Until I have tasted every inch of your skin..” She groans. “Oh aye, and you make sounds just like that.” Leaving her knickers alone for now, he kisses back up, before turning her around and kisses all across her torso before moving back up to her breasts. He slows down, easing his way up her white skin on both breasts before reaching her peaks. She cries out his name when he finally sucks her nipple in.

He is starved for her, starved for the wee noices she had already given his sister. But it wasn’t a competition, not really. As much as it had bothered him to hear her call out Jenny’s name, it had thrilled him too. She was getting what her ex had been unable to do. He had chuckled at the thought that had came to his head, that Jenny was more a man then Frank. Now he longs to make her feel just as good or better. He stops sucking and licks across the rosy peak.

“Ohhhh, I think I am going to cum.” Oh yes she is. He wants to make sure of it. He plays with the other while dipping his tongue across that sensitive tip. “Don’t stop! Don’t stop! Don’t Stop! Ooohhhhh, I am cummmming!” her body jerks. He moves away knowing she is to sensitive to be touched right now. She holds on to him through. Her fingers have a death grip on her shoulder. “Jamie, I’ve never came from just nipple play.” Admitted a few hundred heartbeats later.

“Well, I am honored to be the first. May I taste what I have done to you?”

“Oh please, yes.” He lowers her knickers down and off. Then he kneels before her, opens her older folds, and simply breaths her in. She smells of her desire for him, her own pheromones working overtime. It draws him in like the moon does the tide. He is just as helpless to resist her. A tongue dips out to taste her. Lord, she tastes as good as she smells! Unable to hold out anymore, he dives in. Under, around and, across her clit. She stands panting over him, her hands tangled in his hair. “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!” she breaths out as she gets close again. He adds his fingers, curling two up inside her wiggling and thrusting as he licks and sucks. “There, there, there! Oh f*ck!” she screams as her body falls apart. Her legs give out and he lifts himself and her up as he carries her to the bed. Laying her down, he watches it run over her. “Need you, inside me, now!” She demands.

“My pleasure ma’am.” He quickly undresses. She gets her first look at his other sword. Oh, he is magnificent. Twice as long and thick as Frank. Her body tingles in anticipation as he sheaths himself in a rubber and eases into hers.

“Oh, it will be mine too.” She is soon proven right as he thrust in and out of her, hitting her G spot with every inward move. Her clit with every outward one. The combo soon has her scratching down his back as his name is yelled out. It is yelled out twice more before he yells out hers.

#my writing #outlander fanfic #roommate wanted #jamie's sword #jamie and claire #claire and jenny #cannon divergence #outlander fandom #modern au

7 notes · View notes

wwilloww · 4 years ago

Text

athair lusa | pjm

athair lusa, the ground ivy, springing up from the soil with rich, purple flowers and broad green leaves.

Origin: Ireland

Pairing: Jimin x FaePrince!Taehyung

Genre: Folklore. Suspense. Fae!Au.

Rating: NC-17

WC: 2.4k

Summary: “Is it not a strange request,” Jimin says, “to ask me to dance when there is no music?” While on his way to draw water from the well, Jimin slips on a rock. When he stands up again, the world around him seems unrecognizable, as if everything has been dusted with an unfamiliar enchantment.

Warnings: Possessive behavior.

A/N: This story, also known as “The Fairy Dance,” is a story I grew up to, one that was told to me over and over. I consider this to be part of a larger personal project to queer the stories I grew up on. It’s an effort to normalize the presence of queerness in lore and unravel gendered expectations within folktales. Because of this I’ve done my best to stick to the oral telling of this story in both content and style - meaning the writing differentiates itself significantly from my usual style! This project is special to me and I truly hope you enjoy it. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it.

Thank you to @jingabitch for helping me when I felt most stuck with this! Thanks a million to my love @ot7always for editing the image in this banner and listening to me ramble. And of course a hUGE THANKS to the lovely folk in BTS Smut Hub for being my constant inspiration and motivation.

And finally, this is part of @ksmutclub’s Twisted Fairytale collaboration!

masterlist

Athair-Lusa.

In a town on the western most coast of the Isle, there lived a young man with hair that shone like the rays of August sun. He was beloved by the townspeople, known for the enchanting melodies that lifted from his lips like birdsong, ensnaring anyone in range. His name was Jimin.

One day in late November, as the night began to draw in, Jimin set down his reading and readied himself to go out into the darkness. He preferred the stillness of sunset and often went out at this time, just to hear the soft hymn of the world slipping slowly into sleep.

Now, it has long been known that the Veil between worlds is thinnest in November. As the remaining veins of summer fade from the land, spirits and creatures of the other worlds come to press up against the thin border between their world and ours. Even nighttime comes to linger, snatching time away from the golden fingers of the sun.

On this night, Jimin decided to take his walk to the well to gather water. He swung his wooden bucket over his shoulder and set off into the darkness. The trees stood tall above him, watching his path. Jimin felt the hair on his neck raise, as if something was watching him from the shadows. However, rather than turning home, he lifted his face to the night sky and sang. The music spilling from his lips split through the darkness of the night, and Jimin felt a sense of peace wash over him.

As the small stone structure of the well came into sight, his foot slipped. He could feel his ankle twisting, and then the feeling of falling through empty space. The air wooshed up around him as he fell.

His back hit the hard earth of the path, crushing the breath out of his lungs. For a moment, Jimin simply lay there, taking deep breaths to calm the fright in his body.

When he lifted his head, his old wooden bucket was nowhere to be seen. Instead of a path hardened by thousands of years of travelers, Jimin lay on a soft field of grass, shimmering emerald green beneath the full moon. Around him, everything seemed as if it had been touched by an enchantment. The trees, whose leaves had dropped a month ago, were now blossoming with flowers of the most brilliant colors. The chill of the winter air was replaced with a soft and warm breeze, lifted off a summer sea. And as he looked up at the sky, the moon hung twice as large, as if she had come down from her high throne in the sky to take a closer look at the goings-on of the people below.

As Jimin sat up, he saw a great crowd gathered a short distance away. As his vision cleared, he realized that they were circled round a fire that danced and leaped and seemed to reach out to the figures surrounding it. As if his mind had been wiped clean of thought, Jimin stood and began to move towards the crowd, mystified by their tall frames and slender figures.

Jimin himself was of average height, his body built like the land. Ready to work, ready to dance. But at this moment in time, Jimin’s body drew him forward towards the beings that stood round the fire, till at last, he stood in the very midst of them.

They held onto their silence, watching his every step. It was at this moment that he thought to be afraid. But as he made to step backward, to step out of their circle, he realized he could not.

Panic began to rise in his throat like bile, setting his muscles alight. Just as he opened his mouth to scream, the crowd around him turned and parted and a handsome young man stepped into view. Jimin’s eyes widened as he took in the figure, who walked like a prince. He wore a red sash, deep as freshly drawn blood. A golden band dressed his long dark hair, shining like the sky on the eve of a new moon.

Jimin’s heart thrummed in his chest as he realized the handsome prince was approaching him. He walked slowly towards him, allowing his eyes to rove over the young man. When he finally reached him, he bowed and extended a hand. An offering.

“Is it not a strange request,” Jimin said, “to ask me to dance when there is no music?”

The prince raised his head from the deep bow and swept his hand into the air. Instantly, the sweetest music carried through the night, surrounding them. He took Jimin’s hand with one of his own, wrapping the other one tightly around his waist. Jimin gasped as his chest was brought to the prince’s, their closeness sending warmth to his cheeks.

"What is your name, dear stranger?" Jimin asked, his brow furrowed. His words seemed to stick in his throat, bewilderment flooding his mind. Such a handsome stranger had never wrapped him up like this before, in such beauty, in such enchantment.

The prince smirked. "You may call me Taehyung."

"Are you a prince of these people?"

"If that is the word you use—then yes."

Jimin opened his mouth to ask more, but the Prince silenced him with a twirl, sending all thought of questioning the strange being before him out of his mind.

They danced until the moon became tired and went to sleep beneath the darkness of the horizon and the stars took their leave from the dance floor. As the prince twirled him round the fire, it seemed as if Jimin was gliding through the air. He had always been known by the townsfolk for his light touch and graceful step. But in the prince’s arms, Jimin’s body felt different. The strain of the movements was eased and he felt boundless energy spring up in his chest beneath the attentive gaze of the prince.

"I have never seen a man dance with your grace," the Prince mused, his gaze falling to Jimin's lips. "Or known one to capture such beauty in his every movement."

Jimin was not used to such flattery. His cheeks were painted with his embarrassment, he ducked his head. The Prince was quick to lift his chin, bringing his face ever-so-close.

“Do you like me, sweet boy?” the Prince asked, tilting his head.

“I do not know you,” Jimin replied, slowly. “How do I know if I like you if I have just met you?”

“There is an eternity to get to know me.” A smirk flashed across the Prince’s sharp features before he pulled Jimin tightly against his tall frame and spun him further into the dance.

Twirling around the fire, it became easy to forget the rest of the world. For that moment, all that existed was the feeling of his feet leaping off the ground, and the low music, and the feeling of being held so tightly by his partner.

Just as Jimin began to feel like time was slipping away from him, the figures around him stilled and the music slowed to a complete halt. The prince still had his arms wrapped around the smaller man, his face pressed close and curious.

"Will you dine with us tonight, dear Jimin?" the prince asked, his voice threaded with sweetness. Jimin's gaze fell to the prince's lips where a small smile played along the pink, plush corner. He wondered when the Prince had learned his name.

Before he could answer, the ground rumbled and split open, a long staircase descending into the darkness of the earth. The prince held out a hand, and hesitating, Jimin took it. Despite the warmth of the tall man's palm, Jimin's skin erupted in goosebumps.

The prince led him down the flight of steps, the rest of the dancers following silently behind. It seemed as if the stairs might never end, the rock around them becoming darker and warmer as they descended. After an unspeakable time, the steps widened and a great hall appeared before them, lit by thin candles that stood as tall as Jimin. As he looked up at the ceiling of the hall, he realized there was no roof, despite the depth to which they had descended. Instead, a yawning darkness looked down upon the company and untethered, unsourced lights bobbed gently through the air as if upon an invisible current. Before them lay a great table, heaped with every delicacy Jimin had ever conceived of and decanters filled with the most aromatic wines.

The Prince squeezed his hand tenderly, guiding him to the head of the table. There, the Prince took the golden plated chair and motioned for Jimin to take the one beside it. Gratefully, he bowed his head and slipped silently into the seat, admiring the gentle merriment and splendor laid before him.

As Jimin took the scene before him in, the Prince leaned closer to him, reaching out to twirl a piece of his light hair between his fingers.

“I’ve always wanted this,” the Prince said, his eyes never leaving the man’s hair.

“W-what?”

The Prince seemed to catch himself and pulled himself out of his reverie.

“I am a collector of beautiful things,” he said, as if that explained his strange words.

“I don’t understand.”

The Prince smiled softly, running his finger down Jimin’s nose and over his lips.

“Then drink and be merry,” he sang, his voice strung together in the most beautiful melody.

A dark-haired lady came between the Prince and Jimin, holding a jewel-encrusted decanter. Bowing her head, she first filled the Prince's cup, her hands wrapping slender and delicate around the silver handle. But as Jimin watched, he realized there was a slight tremble to her movements. He looked up at her, only to see her eyes darting to and from the Prince and his newest companion.

The young lady came around Jimin's other side, and as she leaned over to pour his golden goblet full of the sweet wine, she whispered in his ear, "Eat no food, and drink no wine or you will never see your home again."

With that, the woman stood abruptly and disappeared down one of the many hallways that spotted the great chamber.

Jimin quickly set the cup down on the table. The Prince took note of this, his eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"My dear, sweet Jimin," he said, his voice threading through the air like song. His voice spoke of softness, of tender touches exchanged in the dark. And yet, as Jimin gazed upon him, he saw the coldness in the Prince's gaze. "Do you not enjoy the taste of my wine?"

"No, no," he said, quick to unravel the tension of the moment. "I am simply not thirsty."

The Prince leaned into him, a smile spreading across his lips. "After all that dancing, you must be thirsty." He brought the cup to Jimin's lips, but he held his mouth shut.

The others at the table had fallen silent to watch the Prince hold the goblet to the man’s lips.

A large one with silver hair that fell to his waist stood abruptly from his chair, knocking it back in the process. "Whoever comes to our table must drink with us," he growled, grabbing Jimin's arm. A deep shock ran through him, stopping his heart.

At that moment a red-haired lass, her hair split into intricate braids, snatched Jimin's free hand and tugged him from the grasp of the large silver-haired being.

"Run!" she commanded, tugging Jimin towards the stairs. The pair wove their way towards the entrance, dodging the grasp of the dancers.

Around him, Jimin could hear the bellowing anger of the Prince, echoing off the walls of the hall as if he stood in every corner. Chairs and platters crashed to the floor as his subjects jumped up, attempting to stop his exit.

While Jimin was not large and while he did not hold the brute strength that many men boasted about, he was graceful and swift. Guided by the red-haired woman's agile steps, his pace was quick, as if he had learned this kind of dance many many years ago.

The pair sprinted up the steps, hand-in-hand, until they emerged into the dark night. The coolness of the early winter air washed over them, bathing their red faces and stinging their lungs. From the satchel that hung round her waist, the woman withdrew a vine. She grabbed Jimin’s hand, opening it up so she could place the plant securely. With tenderness, she wrapped her hand around his, closing it in a fist.

"You are safe for the time being," she said, her breath heavy with effort. "Take this, and hold it until you reach home. No one can harm you." Jimin opened his palm to look down upon the large-leafed plant. Athair-Lusa. Ground ivy.

"Thank you," he whispered.

The woman nodded, a sad smile playing across her lips. Her eyes shone with the kind of grief that only one who knows their own destiny can hold.

Jimin could hear the sounds of footsteps running up the stairs and so he took the white and green plant and turned his back on the field, the stairs, and the man who had held him so tenderly; and he ran. He ran along the sward and through the forests surrounding the town, past the well, and across the path. At last, he reached his home. He threw open the wooden door and locked it behind him.

His heart beat so quickly and furiously he worried it would pound its way straight through his ribcage. Behind his back pressed to the door, he could hear a great sound emerge from the forest and a voice cried out to him—

"The power I had over you is gone through the magic of the herb that ties you to this world. But when you dance again to our music, you will stay with me forevermore, and nothing shall hinder that eternity."

Jimin closed his eyes, clutching the herb to his chest. When he had regained his breath, he made his way over to the small bed tucked in the corner of his small home, folding the leafy plant carefully beneath the collar of his shirt.

It took a while before sleep came for him, and when it did, it was restless and dreamless.

However, Jimin kept the magic branch safely tucked into his clothes every day and the Fae never troubled him.

But it took many years before the sweet, low sound of music and the searing eyes of the Prince left his dreams.

taglist: @ppersonna @thatlongspringnight @myimaginationsrunningwild @ladyartemesia @ezralia-writes @ggukcangetit

masterlist

132 notes · View notes

what-the--curtains · 4 years ago

Text

Alliance

Chapter 6 – The Extraction

(Mando x f!reader)

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

Summary: The auction leads you to the child but the empire’s hot on your tail. With all hope lost you make a choice.

Notes: None (feel free to interact im unemployed and bored)!!!

Tw: (very brief) mentions of drugs/sex/alcohol/addiction, swearing

Words: 3.9 k

Tagged: @crazycookiecrumbles

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

You walk through the damp street, you don’t know what this dress is made of but the dirt and grime caused by the recent rain seemed to simply bounce off it. The streets were jam-packed, somehow even busier than they were the night prior and as the two of you make your way towards the auction hall Din’s visor scans the crowd, making sure nothing seems out of place. He takes care to never be more than a few inches away from you, convincing himself it's in order to maintain appearances. After all he knew you were more than capable of handling yourself, and why else would he feel the need to be so close to you.

“You lost beautiful?” A youthful looking Falleen asks as she appears out of the shadows

“No.” Din replies, making himself visible at your side when she moves into the light.

“Well I’m sure you're very beautiful under that armour Mando, but I was talking to your friend here.The names Isi and I make a living helping people around the city” Din’s about to respond again when you interject.

“Actually Isi we do seem to have gotten ourselves a bit lost, we're here for the auction.”

“I’ve heard of it,” she says, staring down at her manicure. You look up at Din motioning for him to pay her which he does begrudgingly. Taking the credits she leads you through the city, stopping outside a building covered completely in reflective mirrors.

“Best of luck” Isi, says offering you her hand

“Thank you, for your discretion” taking it you slide her a few more credits and she leans back against the wall of the building watching as the two of you enter. Two men in tailored suits open the inner doors granting you access to a small closed off foyer, also covered in the one way glass. You hand your invitation to the man on the right, parting your lips ever so slightly and gaze up at him batting your eyelids ever so slightly. In your experience a touch of flirting went a long way, especially when it came to moving through security.

He smiles and looks from you, up to the Mandalorian then back down. Turning his head to look at his partner he chuckles slightly.

“He your boyfriend, or something?”

“Bodyguard” you emphasize.

“Makes sense” he murmurs loud enough for the two of you to hear.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the modulated voice asks obviously aggravated.

“Never mind him, he’s just sensitive about the... you know ” you mime the outline of a helmet. The guard nods and lets you pass through placing his hand on the small of your back as you do causing you to cringe internally. Nothing worse than a stranger's hand where you didn’t want it. You glare back at the Mandalorian hoping your eyes would convey a message of ‘be cool’. A task he was about to accomplish when the second guard places a firm hand on his arm.“Leave the blaster Mando, there’s no weapons allowed.”

“He has no weapons” you interject, de-escalating the scene that was about to play out caused by the tremendous amount of male energy that was currently taking up the entire room.

“You’re right sorry ma’am, enjoy your evening” he says letting go of the Mandalorians arm allowing him to pass.

“Way to keep your cool, let’s try and get through the night without creating a scene” you say, slightly annoyed by whatever the hell he thought that display was going to achieve. Your anger disappears as you turn to an enormous room filled with people dressed to the nines in the finest the galaxy had to offer. Chandeliers dripping in diamonds hung down from the high ceilings illuminating the room like a sky full of stars and casting a rose gold hue across the occupants moving about the ballroom floor which seemed to sparkle underneath the high heels.

Servers moved seamlessly throughout the crowd; they were all dressed in lavish costumes, depicting various fashions from across space and time. The trays they carry are filled with multicolor foods and gem-coloured drinks. You’d never seen anything so opulent in your entire life. You’d noticed that servers would pair off with guests and disappear returning later with a look that could only be chalked up to exceptional sex or spice, both of which resulted in a similar glazed over and dewy look. A Darthomorian in a low cut red dress approaches you offering you a drink, you smile and thank them.

“I wouldn’t if I were you.” The modulator speaks up, as you bring the drink to your lips.

“Why? I might as well enjoy the lifestyles of the rich and dangerous while I’m here” you snap, apparently you were still upset at him.

“It has love wallop in it, makes the drinker more suggestible to certain propositions usually sent over by someone who wants to.” His voice trails off.

“Ew” you say pulling a face before dumping it in a nearby plant. “Guess I’m safer going to the bar.” You swirl your new, drug free, drink around and rest your elbows down on a nearby table, hoping the auction would begin shortly.

“How did you know what was in that drink.” You ask in an attempt to help pass the time.

“They show up at these kinds of things, so does spice and other illegal substances.”

“Once again how do you know about this? You spent a lot of time around illegal substances? I didn’t think it would be your scene.” you say taking a sip of the ruby coloured drink you had ordered.

“I’ve brought a lot of dealers over the years. It also crossed my path in my...” He pauses before continuing reluctantly “ wilder days.”

“Wilder days hey? Love to hear about those sometimes. You sample the product?” you probe, he gives you an unmistakable look of disappointment “Maybe you should, might help chill you out a bit.” You joke.

“That would go against my creed and fundamental belief system. Spice is...”

“Highly addictive, ya I know , it was a joke.” You say shaking your head, why did he have to be so high and mighty all the time.

“You’ve had it?” he seems surprised by this news, you hoped it wouldn’t change his opinion of you, the two of you had been getting on pretty well of late and you’d hate to jeopardize that.

“You gonna arrest me?” you joke nervously, hoping he didn’t notice how much his response mattered to you.

“No, just… how the hell did you stop? Are you okay to even be here, it's everywhere” was it disappointment or concern you picked up in his voice, you couldn’t quite discern between the two.

“I’ll be fine just tell me if it’s in anything I’m about to put into my body. And knock me out if you see me going for it” Diverting from the conversation you lift up a piece of food and show it to the Mandalorian who lets you know it’s safe to eat.

“Holy shit this is good!” you exclaim, looking around for where the waitress had gone

“Can you feel him?.” Din asks drawing your attention back to the reason why you were here in the first place.

“Too many people, I’ve already disrupted the force once I don’t want to do it again so quickly someone might notice. We’ll have to wait for the first item and follow whoever brings it out.” Just then a woman in a slinky red dress appears with some kind of an egg on a pillow and steps up onto the stage where an Ishi Tib drones out the rules and regulations for bidding.

“Is that an Kadri’Ra egg.” you ask in amazement.

“Looks like it”

“I thought they were extinct” you say still in awe

“Guess not” he replies, his shortness had become increasingly apparent over the course of the evening.

“We’ll get the kid soon, don’t worry, he has to be here.” You reassure, looking up at him causing him to look away. As the woman passes back through the crowd the two of you turn in tandem and follow her until you reach the back of the room. You stop and place your back against the wall, craning your neck you look to see which hallway the woman had disappeared down. You turn back quickly as another woman in similar garb appears out the largest of the hallways, carrying a cape made from an ice dragon pelt. As she moves towards the stage the two of you enter where she had exited. You move through the wide hallway until you reach the end, where a large metal door prevents you from moving any further.

“Should have about 15 minutes before the next one comes out.” You say stopping a few feet from the door. “you think anyone’s in...” you're almost done your sentence when you hear footsteps approaching from behind you.

Before you can make sense of what's happening the Mandalorian has pulled you into a thin hallway off shoot by the nook of your elbow. You’re now face to face with his chest and suddenly very aware of how tall he was.

“Where’s the other half of the item, seriously were two in and I’m looking like a fool up there!” an Arkanian, who you assume must be the collector and the host of the party, exclaims. You see them do a double take to where you're currently hiding, and watch as they begin to move towards the hallway.

“Can you pick me up?” you whisper urgently,

“Yes, but…”

“do it now” he complies with your order, as he does you wrap your legs around the armour covering his hips and prop your back against the wall, draping your arms loosely over his shoulders before burying your head in the part of his neck bare from armour, hoping that the compromising position would be enough to deter the collector rom asking any question. Out of the corner of your eye you watch as the presenter takes note of the two of you. Raising their eyebrows they turn and move back to the door.

“Yes that’s it, get it out there now so the bidding can begin, gods it’s hard to find good help these days.” they exclaim turning and following behind the presenter with the newly acquired artifact. You let out a sigh of relief removing your face from his neck quickly realizing that your nose is just millimetres away from his helmet.

“You can put me down now” you whisper breathlessly, for a reason you couldn’t quite explain. You take note of the slight hesitation that precedes him dropping you. Gathering yourself you exit the hallway and reposition yourself in front of the large metal door. You can’t see a panel on it or a key slot, it must only be accessible from the inside looking up, you spot a window.

“Give me a boost” you say, and he obliges. You lift the hem of your outfit and step onto his interlocked hands which he uses to push you up enabling you to reach the ledge. Pulling yourself up you roll through the window and drop down onto the rooms floor alerting the person in charge of handing out the auction items. You knock him out and swipe his key card using it to open the door for Din.

“This way” you say, dragging the handler's body over to a nearby post and tying him to it. Standing up you turn to see hundreds of items up for auction varying from Millaflower to a juvenile varactyl.

“Do you see him?” you ask, picking up a vial of what you recognized as death stick placing it back down when you hear him respond.

“No” you think you hear his voice break. “Wait.” he says, walking up to another, smaller closed off room placing a gloved hand on the door. He draws his blaster aiming for the lock. You lower his hand hoping to prevent a beam bouncing around the room subsequently giving you away. You lift up the key card you’d swiped from the guy in the room and use it to open up the door. He moves towards the oval container floating in the middle of the room and drops down to one knee as you watch tentatively from the door. Pushing a button the oval opens up and a tiny green three fingered hand reaches up for him. You hear a slight gurgle as the second hand comes up making a grabbing motion. Din picks up what has to be the most adorable creature you’ve ever seen.

“Told you I’d get you back didn’t I” he chuckles, you can hear the smile in voice as he hands the kid the small silver ball. You approach cautiously until you're standing beside him.

“Well fair enough I get why you traded me in for him” you say offering the child your finger which he grabs happily, looking up at you.

“ You two know each other or something?” He asks, his helmet staring up at you.

“Must be a force thing” you say, smiling down at the little critter.

“We have to go” you say, closing the egg hoping it would buy enough time to make a swift exit. With the child wrapped neatly under his arm the two of you move swiftly through the back alleys in darkness.

“Well that went better than I…” almost as if on cue, your speech is interrupted by the sound of blasters ricocheting off the ship's metal exterior. He hands you the child and rushes up to the cockpit to prepare for take-off.

“Brace yourself” he shouts down and you grab onto the overhanging bars with one hand and secure the child with your other, pressing your thigh against a beam in an attempt to stabilize yourself. As the ship lifts off the ground you hear the sounds of even more blaster bullets hitting its side.

“Din!” you yell up from below

“I’m working on it!” he shouts back down. A few moments later he manages to get the ship out of the reach of the blasters, punching it as he exits the stratosphere. A distinct beeping sound rings throughout the ship indicating there was a problem that needed fixing sooner rather than later. You ungrip your hands from the bars and check on the child who seems completely unaware of the situation. Using your free hand you pull yourself up to the cockpit where a disgruntled Mandalorian was cursing under his breath. You place the child down in the back seat buckling him in before taking your own.

“How far can we make it without stopping.” You ask after a long enough time had elapsed for the Mandalorian to calm down

“Far enough to be safe, I hope.” Turning to the side you see the kid sleepily closing its eyes.

“Could you put him to bed? I have to deal with this.” He says gesturing to the entire dashboard which was currently lit up like a tree on life day.

“Of course” you say, you were completely taken with the child, and more than happy to spend time with it.

“Alright where does he keep your bed then.” You say opening up a few compartments until you find the sleeping quarters. Opening the doors Anya’s head looks over to you evidently having slept through the whole ordeal comfortably on the bed. It was decent sized compared to most ship beds but still small especially for someone of Dins stature. Above it was a small hammock like contraption which you assumed was where the child, who was now more awake than asleep, slept.

“You need to rest.” You say softly, but he keeps staring up at you and grabbing at your hair. “C’mon you going to get me in trouble, with the guy upstairs” you smile down at him as he coos slightly. “Well I know one thing that used to help me sleep when I was about your size” You start to sing softly to the creature stroking one of its long ears as you do until it's fallen asleep. Unbeknownst to you the Mandalorian had heard you singing and followed the sound downstairs watching you and the child from afar.

“Mesh’la” he says louder than intended, causing you to turn around.

“He’s just asleep now,” you whisper, handing him to the Mandalorian so he can put him up top. You watch as he tucks the kid in gently squeezing one of its feet before turning back to quietly return to the cockpit.

“Did you say something down there?” you ask, sitting back in the co-pilot seat.

“No,well, yes I was just wondering what the sound was. I’d never heard something like it before.”

“What a lullaby. Didn’t have many of those growing up at the convent?” you ask, always slightly surprised by any personal information the Mandalorian revealed to you.

“No, at least none I can remember. What are they used for?”

“You’ve heard songs before though.”

“Yes, I heard some on Vryssa.”

“ Well Vryssa is home to many a folk song, helps people forget where they are. A lullaby is a song, often sung to a child to help them sleep.” You explain.

“What were you singing about.” He asks

“Ones was about a hanging that happened in Vryssa, told the story of two lovers planning to meet there”

“Doesn’t seem suitable for a child”

“No but I assume he doesn't speak English and lullaby is more about the melody than the words, the second was one passed down from my grandmother about the meadows of her home planet.”

“Where was she from your grandmother?” he asks.

“She never told me a name, only descriptions.”

“Maybe you’ll get to see it one day.”

“Ya maybe, if you and this kid don’t get me killed first.” you laugh, only partially kidding.

“Grogu.”

“Bless you?”

“The kids name, it’s Grogu.” he chuckled softly glancing over at you, still thinking about the way you had looked with him in your arms, singing softly.

After a while the beeping increases to a point where landing was no longer a task that could be put off. You step out onto a stone covered surface stretching out your legs and breathing in the remarkably fresh air.

“Think we lost them” you state, bending down and placing a palm on the smooth, cool moss covered stones. You stand back up and turn around watching as the Mandalorian exits the ship with a tool kit in hand and Anya and Grogu in pursuit. The kid follows Din over to where the damage is opting to stare up at him as he works, seemingly not wanting to be apart from him ever again.

“It's just one of the stabilizers, an easy fix we should be good to go soon!” He shouts over to you

“Anything I can do to help?” You offer

“No, It's a one person job. Thank you” With that you head off curious in exploration of the planet. It's old, empty, you wonder if anyone had ever been here before you. It wasn’t very livable, no trees, no food, no water, a truly desolate place. Yet it possessed a charm unique to planets of old, untouched by the reach of the empire, the republic and everything in between. You peer back over your shoulder, Anya’s sat protectively near the child who's still watching the Mandalorian rattle around the ship. You turn your head back as he closes up, not wanting to get caught staring. He picks up Grogu and re-enters the ship with Anya following close behind. You're about to join them when you feel something approaching. You begin to walk further from the ship and closer towards the presence you were feeling, stopping in your tracks when you see a triangular ship approaching. It's large, too big to be from any crime lord.

“It’s imperial” you hear a voice yell from afar as the Mandalorian makes his way towards you.

“Well never outrun them” you whisper, your brain running through the possible scenarios.

“We have to go”

``We'll never outrun them” you say louder and firmer this time, it didn't take an android to figure out what your probability of success was.

“We don’t have time to argue about this” he grabs your arm, but you pull it free turning to face him.

“Go” The words leave your mouth before you can process what you're saying. He doesn’t move. You can hear the ship approaching inching closer.

“Take them and leave, you have to protect them, keep them safe.” he was right you didn't have time to argue about this.

“Not without you.” he says refusing to move.

“Go!” you say shoving him “Now!”

“I'm not leaving you here”

“Yes you are, the kid he’s all that matters right now, go before he’s taken again. Now!”

“Just come with us” he pleads

“We won’t make it. You know we won't. This isn’t a negotiation. Go I’ll give you as much time as I can.” You see him finally accept the fact that this was in the only way.

“Here, take this” he says, giving you his blaster before turning and starting back towards the ship. He stops turning around one last time.

“(y/n) I…”

“I know” you say, using the force to throw him back towards the ship before turning to face the imperial ship which has landed a hundred yards in front of you.

Dialing up the ship Din takes note of the imperial model hoping he’d be able to find it again. As the troopers march out he sees you look back at him nodding your head as if to say you’ll be fine.You clear your mind breathing in the cool air. Closing your eyes you kneel on the ground placing one hand on the stone and the other on the blaster at your side. You can hear the ship taking off behind you as the troopers take aim firing at them from below, but the shots rebound off the force field that you’ve created.

You hold your ground as the troopers move in towards you determined to protect those inside the ship. Din watches as the blaster shots rebound back into the crowd of troopers. With one last look he jumps the ship into hyperspeed. He moves it into auto pilot and throws his head back in frustration as he hears Grogu cry out. “I know. Well get her back, but we're going to need some help” He says, picking up the kid holding him on his lap as he punches in the coordinates of a familiar planet. You drop the force field and begin firing when you hear the ship jump into hyperspace taking out as many troopers as you can before the blaster runs out. In one last ditch effort you throw it at a stormtrooper knocking it out. Slowly raise your hands in the air. They take aim. You prepare yourself.

“Wait! Don’t shoot” a tall man, dressed in all black says as the crowd of troopers part in his wake.

“We may not need the child after all.”

#the mandalorian #din djarin x reader #din dijarin x reader #din djarin x you #din djarin x y/n #reader insert #mando x reader #mando x you #mando x y/n #star wars #not canon #alliance #chapter 6

24 notes · View notes

druedidit · 3 years ago

Text

Drue Wilkes Intro

★ BIRTH DATE / 21 February, 1960 (bro this is my third pisces i am going out of my fucking mind) ★ BLOOD STATUS / Pureblood ★ PRONOUNS & IDENTITY / she/her; cis female ★ FACECLAIM / Reina Hardesty

ACADEMICS & ROOMING

★ PRIMARY SCHOOL / Cornwall County Day School, 1978 ★ ACADEMIC PURSUITS / Social Studies degree, History of Magic cohort ★ HOUSE & YEAR / Slytherin, 2nd Year

TW: mentions of murder, suicide, and gaslighting

POINTS OF INTEREST

★ The Wilkes, unlike most of the families listed as the Sacred 28, did not have much in means of monetary value to fall back and survive on. They were forced to become working class people, after the failure of yet another business idea of Rupert Wilkes. When two children came along, Devin and Drue, it only complicated things further. Thankfully, Lindsey Wilkes was able to salvage a hair dresser’s business in Diagon Alley, with a small flat above. It was much too stuffy for four people and while the adults complained and huffed, it was nothing but normal to their two children. Eventually, they were able to afford another business, just next door. They even had the opportunity to join the two flats above.

★ Owning the Junk Store, which worked like a wizard’s pawn shop, introduced the Wilkes to many opportunities they thought they’d never have. Most of the objects that came through their shop were faulty and Mr. Wilkes would spend hours trying to fix them -- success was 40/60. One day, something came through their shop he couldn’t pass up. A time turner. Months were spent, casting charms and spells to make it function good as new. And what do you know? Rupert Wilkes mended it. It became their family’s sole, greatest possession. The only thing of value to the Wilkes name.

★ Of course, having that much power would eventually lead to some trouble. In 1975, after Rupert refused to turn back time to save the family’s dying pet, Devin took it upon herself to steal the time turner. Fifteen year old Drue was woken from a dead sleep, to the sounds of screams. She always thought in a moment like so, she’d freeze up. But no, Drue ran on to her parent’s bedroom, and found her older sister standing over their limp bodies. Devin said only two words murder, suicide. Her life was now built upon this lie, because her sister refused to go back in time now and had much graver plans.

★ Devin never hid a single murder she committed from her younger sister. Family breakfast became confessional. Gory detail after gory detail, Drue knew if her sister did not slow down soon, she would be caught. Or become notoriously known. Either way, having the advantage of being two places at once seemed to lessen her chances of ever being arrested. But without Drue’s own sharp perception, she does not trust Devin’s sloppy ways and has vowed to assist her sister in her crimes. Drue’s become her own personal bait to lure in victims and participates in crime scene clean up. Now, in 1980, Devin has committed seven murders in the last four years. She believes spacing them out will draw away attention. Drue sincerely hopes so.

Extra HC Shit

She & her sister, Devin, claim their mum was a huge advocate for peace and muggleborns. They’ve even inspired people to start a foundation named after Lindsey Wilkes (who was allegedly murdered at the hands of her husband), which encourages blood unity through muggle sports such as tennis, bowling, and roller blading. They do not care if their pureblood allies believe them to be blood traitors. The end game is much more important -- you must be friends with your enemies.

Has never been too affected by the death of her parents, tbh? And though she lives this uncomfortable paycheck-to-paycheck life, she blames them for all of Devin’s disadvantages in life.

Works part-time at Junk Shop and the hairdressers called Hair Dahlia. There was no large inheritance when her parents died. They were left with more debt than anything and both had to continue working. Devin did not attend Hogwarts and Drue only got in on a scholarship for academics.

Working at the Junk Shop has turned her into a total COLLECTOR OOPS! But, she just collects the cool stuff that looks “artsy”. More so for aesthetic than function. Her dream of all dreams is to open some sort of art history museum in the wizarding world. Of course, the funds make it almost impossible to. She is majoring in History because of this, however. Might as well become rich in knowledge if you can’t with money, right?

Is a large participant in JWL and has never felt the need to exactly prove herself because of her lack of money. She feels her ideas and informative opinions are enough to carry her through. Maybe she’ll be so lucky to become President next year, with a little elbow grease.

Devin, her older sister is 100% a Death Eater. Drue’s in the process of being recruited. Which, she more than accepts. Their message is something she agrees with. Although, she wouldn’t be so messy about it -- it’s why she’s going to join. To reform the Death Eaters and keep her sister out of any crossfire.

Also speaks Japanese, is learning Latin, and is a fan of haiku, unironically.

TRAITS

✓ audacious; accommodating; tough ✗ gaslighting; extravagant; amoral

yes so p.s. my dears..... while i am not a fan of “mindgames”/intentionally gaslighting people, drue can be that way. it may actually be unintentional sometimes because how often she has done it in the past. anyways, i understand it can be a lot! if you ever, ever, ever need me to tag something as a trigger, let me know!!! <3 trust me bbs, i gotchu!

#sleepingd intro

8 notes · View notes

thethoughtsfromthreeam · 4 years ago

Text

Monument Woman

Pairing: Marcus Pike x OC (Rosemary Carter)

Warnings: None

A/N: God, I have been wanting to finish this story for weeks, but once we got out of quarantine, I lost all ambition to write. So, I’m glad I finally have enough of a cushion to get part 1 out to you guys. I won’t be following my old posting schedule, but I hope I don’t go so far between posts that you all forget about me!

Reminder: I ain’t ever seen Pedro Pascal in FUCK ALL, I’m just coming up with this as I go along, using imdb.com, wiki, and 84,000 tabs I got open to plan out this shit. I also write soft versions of his characters so if you’re craving asshole vibes, I ain’t got any but my own to offer.

Tag List:

@zeldasayer , @romanticgumchewer, @beskars , @coolmaybelateruniverse , @the-feckless-wonder , @pascalisthepunkest , @mandoandyodito , @randomness501 , @fioccodineveautunnale , @ahopelessromanticwritersworld [please message me to be added or subtracted]

Part 1 – And So We Begin

“Thank you for calling Fort Jamison Historical Museum, this is Rosemary. How can I help you?” The jaunty-sounding phrase rolled off her tongue automatically with little thought behind it until she heard the wizened chuckle on the other end.

“Do you always answer your cell phone like that?” She pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned as Robert Lancaster’s chuckle morphed into a hearty laugh. She couldn’t help but giggle along as she dropped her pencil and took off her glasses, setting them on the desk in front of her.

“You know, sometimes I do, especially when I’m not paying attention.” Rosemary leaned back into her chair, propping her feet up on the desk. Her free hand dropped down to fondle Banana’s ears as the dog snoozed next to her. “What’s up, Robert?”

“I’m doing some spring cleaning at the house and shop. I got quite a few boxes accumulated, including stuff I’d like to donate to the museum. When do you think you can come down to look through them? I don’t expect you to take them all, but there are a couple of items I want you to specifically have.” His voice sounded muffled over the phone as he bent down to toss another book into the Friends of the Library box.

“It’s a little slow this week,” she started as she checked the calendar on her wall. “Looks like I can come as early as tomorrow. So, if that works for you, I’ll bring the paperwork with me and we can just get it all done at once.”

“Oh, great! I was hoping you could come soon. It’s been a while since we had time to visit.” His smile was evident in his voice. “Can you do the paperwork on the computer?”

“Sure, we have the fillable PDFs.”

“Even better. Just bring your laptop and we’ll work on it as we go through everything. We can connect to the printer here and then you don’t have to worry about doing any of this at the office. By the way, do you think you’ll have time for lunch?”

“Robert, you know I always have time for you.” She smiled. They had been friends for ten years by that point and he never failed to ask the lunch or dinner question and she never failed to make time for him. Robert had been her first friend when she arrived in Michigan and the long-running friendship between the perpetual bachelor and the bold curator was stuff of area legend.

There had been speculation of a May-December romance between the two, but Robert saw the younger woman as the daughter he never had and on her part Rosemary saw Robert as the father figure she lost when her grandfather passed away.

“Want to do Phil’s or Coral Gables?” She smiled. Just as their dates were always guaranteed, she knew that their location was as well. But it was habit to ask and it never felt right if she didn’t.

“Why do you even ask the question? You know it’s supposed to be nice tomorrow, Coral Gables’ patio all the way.” The two chatted a bit longer before they hung up, returning to the rest of their respective duties. Rosemary sat up and Banana whined when she stopped petting him. Spoiled dog.

“Sorry, Baba. Work calls.” She stood up from her desk and wandered down the hall to the director’s office, knowing Helen was at her desk. The third floor of the museum was workspace for the staff and despite working there for so many years, Rosemary never failed to draw an appreciative breath at the stunning sight of the Kalamazoo River.

As she ambled down the hall, Banana’s nails clicked on the tile floor, hinting that she wasn’t alone on her journey. She smiled as she waved her hand and the dog rushed to her side. The two slowly walked to the director’s office, warming themselves in the afternoon sun that poured through the windows.

Rosemary heard the muttering first as she rounded the corner and entered the office. The stout woman was hunched over her laptop, her salt and pepper pixie cut sticking up everywhere. Whatever she was working on, it was stressing her out. Helen always pulled at her short strands when she was concentrating hard.

Smiling, Helen’s head jerked up as Rosemary knocked on the door. The older woman waved her curator into the office and leaned back. As she stretched, both women could hear a series of loud pops and they started to giggle.

“Ugh, I am getting too old to sit like this. I need a massage.” Helen groaned as yet another loud pop emitted from her shoulder. As Banana scooched under the desk to get scritches from Helen, Rosemary plopped down in one of the armchairs and it creaked in complaint. “Do you have to sit so hard? Those are collection pieces, you know.”

“Not anymore. I deaccessioned them last week into the decorative collection. Donor approved, mind you. So, we can sit in these however we want.” Rosemary grinned as she threw a leg over the arm of the ornate chair. For being so ugly, it was comfortable and not for the first time, she wondered if she could move them to her office without Helen noticing.

“That may be, but it’s not like we have money to fix something you broke because you were being too careless.” Helen raised her eyebrow and Rosemary sat back up in the chair like normal, having the courtesy to look chagrined. The director sat back.

“So, what do you need? Are you still having issues with that Gaylord order?”

“Naw, I talked to them last week, they shipped it out yesterday. Finally.” She rolled her eyes. “Robert Lancaster called me just a bit ago, wanting to donate some items to the museum. I got the time, so I’ll head to Saugatuck tomorrow to handle it.”

“Well, I know Robert is quite the collector, but do you think there are things we’ll want? I’m hard pressed to start accepting any old thing again after we finally got the collections cleared up and decluttered. I know he’s a long-time supporter of the museum, but I don’t know if I can take another ugly piece of furniture with a smile.” Rosemary laughed at the comment.

“To his credit, he said there were things we probably wouldn’t want, and I doubt he’ll be sad if I said no to some things. I certainly want to see what books he’s got for us. We have a few things in the library that probably need to be rotated out into archives for their own protection.

“Besides, I am not going to pass up a chance to swoop in and yank the rug out from underneath Saugatuck. You know that. Watching Fred get mad that I got the leg up on him adds ten years to my life.” Rosemary rubbed her hands gleefully, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

“You really hate him, don’t you?” Helen laughed. Lake Michigan History Center was a charming coastal museum, but everyone agreed their curator was a bit odd. Rosemary took an instant dislike to the man when she came on Fort Jamison’s staff and over the years, their dislike turned into a mutual hatred. Like her friendship with Robert, everyone knew Fred was Rosemary’s mortal enemy and vice versa.

“God, yes! Helen, he’s a dick and greedy as hell. I don’t trust him any further than I can toss his skinny ass. I am still pissed over the diary! Mrs. Greenwich assured me that we were getting it and he slithered into the village last year and took it!” Rosemary’s voice got louder. “THAT DAMN DIARY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SAUGATUCK, LET ALONE MENTIONS IT!”

Helen laughed harder while raising her hands in surrender and her curator stopped herself before she got too carried away. Rosemary cleared her throat and drew a deep breath. Ugh, he always managed to get her riled up even when he wasn’t around. Damn Fred.

“Sorry, sorry. I shouldn’t let him get me so mad, but god. I hate him so much! So, if Robert Lancaster’s got something that would make Fred die with envy, then by god, I’m gonna bring it home.”

“Alright. I trust you as usual. But since you’re here, I want to go over a couple of things with you for this grant so I can get it out Friday.”

The two women moved on to other things and fell into discussion about the future of projects for the museum and how to fund them.

---***---

“Cripes.”

The word was accompanied by a deep groan. Agent Marcus Pike sat back in his chair to rub his eyes for the third time in less than an hour. Some intern had dumped four boxes of case files in his office and was coming back with four more. And the intern was certain there was another half dozen.

When three art pieces were stolen in Canada last year, Pike had been notified as a courtesy from his Canadian counterparts. Which in and of itself wasn’t unusual, but the notes from the agents there stood out to Pike and he realized that the details match another case he had worked on earlier in the year. And further digging uncovered almost three dozen cases dating back almost thirty years that carried all the hallmarks of this most recent one. And more importantly – they were all still open.

He had taken his concerns and theories to the Art Squad chief, Agent Maria Luisa Armand, and with her blessing, assembled a crew to explore these cold cases. Maybe with new technology and eyes, they’d get the lead to solve them all.

The dull throbbing behind his eyes seemed to get worse and he leaned further back in his chair, trying to do some breathing exercises to reduce the pressure. He let his eyes go unfocused, letting the colored light reflected on his ceiling go blurry. The stained glass propped up in his office window had been a bit of an indulgence for him, but Pike never regretted the purchase and, in that moment, the colored streaks help bring some sense of zen that he needed.

A knock on his door forced him out of his zone and he sat up to see his partner, Brenda Carmichael, waiting at the door. He smiled when he saw her and she returned the gesture, coming in to sit in one of the chairs. The two had been partners for six years and together they had solved dozens of cases and thwarted twice as much.

“Do we have a plan, Carmichael?”

“Yep. Someone is coming to get these boxes and take them to Conference D, which I commandeered.”

“How did you do that?”

“Threatened to tell Harrison’s wife that he was spending big cash on that escort he’s seeing.”

“Ouch, a little low, don’t you think?” Pike laughed.

“God no. Harrison doesn’t ever play nice, so you can’t do it with him.” She waived her hand and laughed, her tightly coiled hair bouncing as if it was laughing, too. “Anyway, three junior agents are on the job currently preparing to create the timeline and pulling all the files. Two more are working to create point of contact lists for witnesses and such. And finally, I think Armand is putting on the coffee.”

“So where does that leave you and me?” He didn’t think he’d get such a big crew to do this. Must be a slow day in other departments. “I want Fitzbender on the NSAF search and follow up, though, before I forget.

“That’s fine. And we supervise.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it for now. Until we have more material to work with. So up off your duff and let’s get going.”

Pike smiled as he pulled himself out of his chair, grabbing his jacket and gesturing to Carmichael to leave first. If they could solve these cases, it would be the biggest win in the Art Squad’s recent history and Pike really wanted to bring those pieces home where they belonged.

---***----

“Robert, you know I love you, but you have some ugly stuff here.” Rosemary’s nose wrinkled at the stuffed monkey with murderous eyes staring at her from a box. The only place that creepy thing was going was in the garbage. She moved on to another open box, pawing through the items that were housed there, pulling out a couple of potentials.

“Yeah, well no accounting for taste, I guess.” Robert groaned as he leaned over and pulled open another box. He thought he had labelled all of them for the museum, but he realized three of them got mixed up in the junk pile. “God, how did I miss all these boxes. I’m sorry Rosie, I am usually better organized.”

“It’s not a problem, Robert.” Rosemary walked over with the contents of yet another box, a bounce in her step as she realized she snagged a two-hundred-year-old map of the area that Fred would have murdered her to get for himself. Her grin was almost feral at the idea that she one upped the old bastard. “Hey, question.”

“What?” Robert had moved on to a small box on his desk that had a post-it with Rosemary’s name on it.

“What’s with all the cleaning and giving away all of a sudden? The house wasn’t like this when I visited two months ago.” She wiped the sweat off her brow and turned to look at him. He was quiet and she took a moment to really look at him.

She knew from long talks that Robert had been living in the Saugatuck area since the 1990s. He had come from Chicago, declaring he needed a slower pace and his bookstore was a welcomed addition to the downtown area. He was highly philanthropic to causes he loved, like the Fort Jamison museum.

After her Pops passed away several years ago, she seemed to lean even more into Robert to fill the empty void and he did so gladly. As she watched him shuffle about, she grew concerned because he looked more frail than usual. The man had always been on the thin side, but he looked scarily thin and a thought skittered through her mind that sent a wave of sadness through her.

“Robert, are you sick?” There was no hiding the sadness in Rosemary’s voice. When he stopped and hesitated, she didn’t need a verbal answer from him. She walked over from where she was standing and placed her hand on his shoulder, turning him around. “Robert.”

He bowed his head and wrapped his arms around the younger woman as tight as he could, and she did the same. He began to cry on her shoulder, and it startled her, causing tears to form in her eyes. She silently rubbed his back in comforting circles as sobs wracked Robert’s body. They stood there a long time before he quieted down, but even then, Rosemary refused to let him go, hugging him close to her.

He was her friend and she loved him dearly, so if he were dying, it would devastate her. Robert made a move to pull back and she reluctantly let him go but held onto his arms with her hands to keep him close. His red-rimmed eyes crushed the broken pieces of her heart. He sighed.

“Rosie.” He took a deep breath. “I met with my doctor last week and I have stage four pancreatic cancer. He only gave me a few months to live.”

“Oh Robert.” The tears started up again and she threw her arms around him. They cried together a second time and the sadness enveloped them. As she held him close, her tears made her voice rough. “That’s what spurred this on, isn’t it?”

“Yes. But you’re the only one to know right now. I didn’t want to tell anyone else until you knew.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Well, for starters, this hug is pretty good.” He chuckled a little bit. “And get some of this stuff out of my house. And then just be my friend until the end.”

“Always.” She pulled back to look at him. “But it will be a cold day in hell before that ugly ass monkey comes with me.”

The tension and sadness were broken, letting them laugh a bit through their tears. They stepped apart and let themselves smile at each other.

“Let’s get lunch and come back to this stuff later. It’s too nice of a day to miss out on the patio.”

#Agent Marcus Pike #marcus pike x reader #marcus pike x oc #Pedro Pascal #pedro pascal x reader #fanfic #the mentalist

33 notes · View notes

daleisgreat · 4 years ago

Text

Getting Rowdy: The Unreleased Matches of Roddy Piper

A few months ago I covered the DVD set WWE released chronicling the ‘unseen’ matches of “Macho Man” Randy Savage. Today I continue that trend covering those lines of DVD collections with 2019’s Getting Rowdy: The Unreleased Matches of Roddy Piper (trailer). Like with WWE’s other ‘unreleased’ line of home videos, all the matches and segments featured in here have never been released on video before. With WWE already releasing a comprehensive three-disc DVD set to Piper with 2006’s Born to Controversy, that means we are getting a collection full of deep cuts here. This two disc DVD is compiled similarly to the Randy Savage set where we get original, newly recorded interviews intersperse with the archival content. The interviews are from Piper mega-fan, “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey which are mixed in with archived home video interviews with Piper for added context. There are six sets of Rousey interviews, and they are sporadically inserted throughout the collection which also features 19 matches, nine promos and 12 editions of Piper’s legendary interview show, Piper’s Pit. WWE has established that Rousey is essentially the endorsed successor to carry on the Piper legacy, with Ronda paying homage to “The Hot Rod” by rocking her version of Piper’s entrance attire and carrying on his nickname. With that in mind, having Ronda being the featured new set of interviews to draw from seems like a fitting choice to commemorate Piper’s career here and are nice ways to mix up this collection.

Ronda’s interviews are insightful on how she drew on Roddy for inspiration on MMA needing an antagonist, and how excited she was to finally meet him. I presumed she maintained a close relationship with Piper, and was surprised to learn in Rousey’s interviews here that she only met him once early in her MMA career when she got the blessing from Roddy to use his nickname and then a second time when she appeared on Pipers podcast, which was just a month shy of his death in July of 2015. Rousey went on to say one of her biggest regrets is not having a close relationship with him. There is a nice variety of the nine Piper interviews/promos included. There is a handful of the vintage Rock ‘n Wrestling era promos where Piper bellows out promos in front of a blue screen backdrop. A nice nostalgic bonus is a few vintage commercials where Piper maniacally shouts at you to purchase the latest WWE action figures. There are a few standout go-home PPV interviews here where Piper is on fire and by the end of them he got me just as fired up as Virgil for his upcoming WrestleMania match against Ted Dibiase, and on top of that is an especially intense promo with Bret Hart leading up to their WrestleMania VIII battle. There are three Roddy promos from his late 90’s WCW days, with a bewildering rant from a cell in Alcatrez and Hulk Hogan provoking Piper to cut loose on him and Bishoff in front of his son, Colt, standing out the most. These WCW promos have boisterous crowds capturing the high times WCW was riding at that time in the ‘Monday Night Wars.’

It is no surprise that Piper’s rougher, brawling style will not warrant many five star classics, but a fair amount of his 19 matches here have crowds eating up the chaos Piper is delivering. I have only seen a handful of Piper’s early NWA work before, so seeing a few more of his NWA matches unearthed for this set was a treat, and his match against Jay Youngblood is a smashmouth brawl that goes to a time limit draw, and I loved seeing Piper tag with Ole Anderson against Mike Davis and Buddy Landell. There are a lot of the big arena house show matches here that were previously televised only in local markets, and like a lot of those matches in other sets, usually feature good action until a hokey finish. That is the case here with a killer clash against Paul Orndorff in 1985 fresh into their rivalry, with the crowd going bokers for them until a double countout finish. Just as riveting is Piper’s match in this set against Rick Rude where the crowd is losing it throughout, but a lot of tomfoolery I will not even begin to explain transpires and is the catalyst for one of the strangest DQ finishes I have seen.

Piper teaming with Eddie and Blue-tista, looking like gold! Piper feuding with the nWo had the crowd on its feet! There are two matches on here against Mr. Perfect worth going out of your way to see. I know Mr. Fuji was an accomplished wrestler in the 70s, but never seen him in a match until this set where he is pummeled for a couple minutes against Piper until his fellow managers run in for the save. A lot of the latter matches in the back half of Getting Rowdy are quick TV matches with wonky finishes unfortunately, but for what it is worth, still draw rabid crowd reactions. There are two Nitro bouts included against Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage in 1998, but both bouts have several nWo run-ins that result in both matches being thrown out. I forgot about Piper’s brief 2003 run with Sean ‘O Haire, so it was nice to see those two again when Piper had a short encounter with Rikishi. The last match is an awesome impromptu bout against The Miz for $5000 of The Miz’s money, with Alex Reilly (remember him!?) as guest referee in 2011. I have zero recollection of this match, and even at a couple minutes long it was an absolute delight!

Getting Rowdy was jacked with 24 installments of Piper’s Pit, but WWE had quite a few more to draw upon from the vault with 12 more here. Some of the early ones in this collection that were a riot were where both Jimmy Hart and the Brooklyn Brawler ruthlessly provoke Roddy to giving them a a well-earned beatdown. There are a bunch in the second half of this set when Piper would periodically show up on RAW and SmackDown for a special Piper’s Pit. Two that really got me were one with John Cena where Piper does a tremendous job at needling Cena into living up to his then-current t-shirt slogan, ‘Rise Above Hate’ and another where Roddy moderates AJ Lee attempting to get back into Daniel Bryan’s good graces after costing him his WrestleMania match against Sheamus. I enjoyed this collection more than I anticipated. As I mentioned earlier, Piper was not known for his epic wrestling abilities, so I was not letdown from the wide range of match quality from the 19 matches in the set. There are a few matches that are hidden gems in here for what it is worth, but the real reason everyone should check out Getting Rowdy: The Unreleased Matches of Roddy Piper, is for the many unreleased promos and Piper’s Pit interviews. While he may not have been a five star wrestler, Piper was easily a five star entertainer, and that is readily apparent from beginning to end in this collection.

Those Piper action figure commercials are iconic, and this set is full of iconic promos I have never seen before where the Hot Rod made Virgil look like a million bucks! Past Wrestling Blogs Best of WCW Clash of Champions Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 2 Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 3 Biggest Knuckleheads Bobby The Brain Heenan Daniel Bryan: Just Say Yes Yes Yes DDP: Positively Living Dusty Rhodes WWE Network Specials ECW Unreleased: Vol 1 ECW Unreleased: Vol 2 ECW Unreleased: Vol 3 Eric Bishoff: Wrestlings Most Controversial Figure Fight Owens Fight: The Kevin Owens Story For All Mankind Goldberg: The Ultimate Collection Hulk Hogans Unreleased Collectors Series Impact Wresting Presents: Best of Hulk Hogan Its Good to Be the King: The Jerry Lawler Story The Kliq Rules Ladies and Gentlemen My Name is Paul Heyman Legends of Mid South Wrestling Macho Man: The Randy Savage Story Memphis Heat NXT: From Secret to Sensation NXT Greatest Matches Vol 1 OMG Vol 2: Top 50 Incidents in WCW History OMG Vol 3: Top 50 Incidents in ECW History Owen: Hart of Gold Randy Savage Unreleased: The Unseen Matches of the Macho Man RoH Supercard of Honor 2010-Present ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Scott Hall: Living on a Razors Edge Shawn Michaels: My Journey Sting: Into the Light Straight Outta Dudley-ville: Legacy of the Dudley Boyz Straight to the Top: Money in the Bank Anthology Superstar Collection: Zach Ryder Then Now Forever – The Evolution of WWEs Womens Division TLC 2017 TNA Lockdown 2005-2016 Top 50 Superstars of All Time Tough Enough: Million Dollar Season True Giants Ultimate Fan Pack: Roman Reigns Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe War Games: WCWs Most Notorious Matches Warrior Week on WWE Network Wrestlemania III: Championship Edition Wrestlemania 28-Present The Wrestler (2008) Wrestling Road Diaries Too Wrestling Road Diaries Three: Funny Equals Money Wrestlings Greatest Factions WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2017

#Wrestling #Rowdy Roddy Piper #ronda rousey #hulk hogan #paul orndorff #bob orton #mr. perfect #Rick Rude #the miz #daniel bryan #aj lee #Randy Savage #WWE #wcw #nwa #nwo

11 notes · View notes

morganaofcamelot · 4 years ago

Text

If Wishes Came True (Chapter 3)

Title: If Wishes Came True Chapter III: Killer on the Loose Pt.I

Fandom: BBC Robin Hood

Ships: Guy of Gisborne/Original Female Character, Guy of Gisborne/Marian of Knighton, Original Female Character/Original Male Character

Definately an AU - Sir Guy of Gisborne has served the current Sheriff of Nottingham for five years prior to the beginning of the first season, and is considered a part of the family, both by Vaisey and his daughter Valerie. The chapters are from Val’s POV, as she struggles to maintain her youthful innocence in a place that’s all too willing to steal it away from her, and navigate the intrigues of her father. [Many changes from the show, although the fic loosely follows season 1]

Important Note: English is not my first language, so I’d appreciate if you can point out any mistakes I make.

On AO3

Tumblr: Ch I, Ch II

Sir Guy found her standing against a wall, her hands folded in the most unladylike manner, her gaze far away. He crossed the courtyard with swift paces. It was too late, when she realized that he was walking towards her. “Valerie,” he said. “I’ve heard about what happened, are you alright? He did not hurt you?” his voice betrayed his concern. She sighed.

“Welcome back, Guy.” She said and turned to leave. Sir Guy was quick to grab her arm, not entirely ungently. His eyes shone with a strong emotion; anger, she thought. But is it directed at me?

“What happened?” he insisted.

Valerie recounted the last night’s events and the threat Huntington had posed both to her and her father. She fought the tears bravely, and they did not come. She spared a glance at his face; Sir Guy’s fury was palpable.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his hands on her shoulders. “I wasn’t there to protect you.” Come hell or high water, I will stand beside you and protect you until I draw my last breath. The vow he had made her years ago came to her mind. She had been a girl of only eleven, and he had been a man of five-and-twenty, recently anointed a knight, and recently brought into her father’s household. His black hair had been longer, then and he had let her brush them. Her father quickly took a liking to him, and Sir Guy returned it with much enthusiasm. Half a year later, he was a member of their family; the son Vaisey always wanted, and the big brother Valerie always wished for. “You are a sister to me.”

Valerie’s smile was bittersweet. “I know.” I wish you wouldn’t say it. Quickly changing the subject, before she said or did something she would later regret, she told him of another incident.

“I had an argument with the sheriff,” she said. Sir Guy raised an eyebrow.

“The sheriff?” he said, noting the spite in her tone. “It mustn’t have gone well, then. Tell me, maybe I can help.”

She smiled half-heartedly. “You are right on that front. I asked him to let me train with a sword, if only to protect myself. That man,” she said pointedly, “Would have killed us in a heartbeat. You of all people know, father isn’t as good with a sword as he once was. Age has taken its toll on him.”

“And he refused?” Sir Guy deducted. She only nodded in affirmation. “Sword fighting is better left to the men.”

Valerie sighed in exasperation. “But none of the men could stop Huntingdon!” She shivered as she was reminded of the cold-hearted glow in the man’s eyes. Sir Guy noticed and tried to soothe her.

“I could teach you a few things,” he finally said. Valerie looked up at him; he had that half-smile on his face, that she always associated with him. He means it.

Forgetting all sense of propriety, and the fact that she wasn’t actually related with the black-clad knight, Valerie hugged him tightly. She was tall, for a woman, but he was a giant; the top of her head barely touched his chin. He returned the embrace.

“But,” he said in a low whisper, “it has to be a secret.”

Letting go, Valerie promised him that she would tell nobody about this.

“Very well. I’ll meet you at the stables, when the bell strikes four times.”

***

She brimmed with an excitement for the rest of the day, barely containing herself from laughing out loud and raise the suspicions of her father. Oh, but he’ll be furious if he ever learnt of our arrangement, she thought with glee. Nothing could make her come down from the clouds right then.

True to his word, Sir Guy was at the stables when the bell signaled that four hours had passed since noon. The previous excitement in her, had now turned into a nervous reaction, when she realized that she was going to spend time with him, all alone.

“Are you ready for it?” He asked, offering a gloved hand.

She cleared her throat. “Yes,” she said, taking it. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” He led me in the far back, where the old stables used to be, now empty of people and horses.

He picked a short sword from a rack on the far wall, its blade dull and unthreatening. He handed it to me, and took a normal sized one for himself. “Now, stance is the most important thing. You learn to stand correctly, and you learn to defend yourself. He walked behind her and arranged her feet with his own. “You’re wearing breeches. Smart.” She couldn’t see him, but she was sure he was smiling. Her heartbeat quickened.

Satisfied with her lower body, Guy swiftly moved to correct her upper half. “This way,” he murmured with every little change he made. His breath was on the top of her head, sending involuntary tingles throughout the rest of her body. “Good.” He said at last, and moved to stand beside her.

He proceeded with demonstrating a basic defensive move, and made her copy it again and again, on her own. After some time – Valerie couldn’t tell whether it’s been a moment or a day since they began – Guy was on the offensive. He attacked her and she parried his blows, gaining more confidence with each blow she managed to block. He picked up the pace, and she quickly read into his intention, using the sword as an extension of her arm.

The bell rang. One, two, three, four, five times.

Sir Guy lowered his sword. “That’s enough for one day.” He said, placing the blunt blade on the rack. “You might feel your arms sore and heavy for a few days. Do not worry about it, it’ll be your muscles complaining for the sudden exertion.”

Valerie placed her short sword next to his. “I feel fine.” She said, dismissively. “When will we train again? Oh, and how did I do?”

The knight gave a half-smile. “If you keep learning so fast, I’ll have you replace the Captain of the Guard in a year.” It sounded like teasing, but she did do well on her first day. “We’ll reconvene on Monday, same hour.”

In three days. Valerie was over the moon.

“Run along, now.” He said, and Valerie rushed to do as she was bid, her heart beating wildly.

***

Sir Guy had kept his word; every three or four days he would meet her at the old stable for an hour of sword practice. And so the Spring Equinox had come and gone by with April on the heels, bringing bluer skies and happier attitudes. There had been no news of Robin Hood, as the men had taken to call him, now that he wasn’t the Earl of Huntingdon anymore. Sir Guy was given the title with little ceremony, and had welcomed them for a feast in his newly acquired manor. Valerie had never seen her father look more proud when he thought nobody was looking. It made her smile.

On the ninth day of April, however, things took a turn for the worse; a bailiff had been struck by an arrow in the village of Nettlestone. The lords of the shire had been called to a meeting in the castle. Valerie attended it, seated by her father’s side. Lady Marian was also attending it, standing by her own father, and Valerie watched her closely; she carried no hidden blade in her hair at this time, although she couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

“The villagers of Nettlestone have reported that the outlaw commonly known as Robin Hood had murdered Joderick, the bailiff.” Her father’s voice was low and calm. The lords were shocked and it showed in various degrees. “Well, this is a shocking matter, isn’t it? Even his beloved villagers lose their patience when their heroes start picking them off. What else was in that report, Sir Guy?”

Sir Guy’s voice was lower still. Valerie knew that he had worked with Joderick for a long time, back when the knight served as a tax collector. She had heard him speak fondly of him many a time. “They’re saying that Hood promised that he would prevent the eviction.”

The sheriff shook his head. “War had addled his brain, I’m not at all surprised. But I didn’t have him capable of murder. Maybe his current status as an outlaw have drove him mad.” He made a pause. Valerie recalled the night that man barged into the hall, thirsty for her father’s blood. The sheriff had told him that he thought him incapable for murder, back then. She begged to differ. “What do you propose?”

Sir Guy was the first to offer a solution – he was the sheriff’s man-at-arms and his enforcer. “I suggest we round all those who are helping Hood by not informing us about his whereabouts. He would have been caught by now, if not for their help.”

To Valerie’s surprise, Lady Marian spoke up, despite her father’s attempts to tell her to stop. “And have this practices ever worked before? Those villagers reported the crime, seeking justice.” Marian looked at the sheriff and Sir Guy interchangeably. But if Valerie was impressed by her bold statement, her father’s answer left her wondering if something had him possessed.

“I agree with you, lady Marian. This is not the correct way to go about this. Sir Marcus, do you have any suggestions?” Her father turned to the man standing a little further on Valerie’s right side. He was the Master-at-Arms, the man who took care of the castle’s security and the guards’ training.

The man cleared his throat, and spoke with absolute conviction. “This gives us a political advantage, my lord. Have every town crier announce what’s taken place at the village, make sure everybody knows that an innocent was killed.”

The sheriff nodded in agreement. “Ah, yes. He has given us the high ground; we should keep it. I like this idea. See to it.” Sir Marcus nodded. “Do not be fearful my lords, the culprit will be caught! Dismissed.”

Valerie stood up and followed her father. Sir Guy did, too, to whisper in the sheriff’s ear. “My lord, I still believe in actions rather than words. If I had the resources, I could hunt him down.”

Valerie kept her head down, feigning disinterest in their talk. “Very well,” her father said. “We shall do it both ways. But, be discreet about it.” His answer resulted in a smirk, and off Sir Guy went to put in motion the sheriff’s shadow operation.

Her father leaned to talk to her. “He likes some competition, this boy. I shall give it to him.”

Valerie’s smile did not touch her eyes. She just wished Sir Guy wouldn’t be hurt in the process.

***

The funeral of Joderick, the poor bailiff that was slain by Robin Hood, took place in the town’s square; lots of people had shown up to honor the man, nobles and peasants alike. Valerie stood beside Sir Guy, who was trying to look as impassive as possible. Valerie daren’t spoke to him, for she feared his grief went beyond words.

From her vantage point, she saw Marian sneak away through the gathered crowd, stealthily hiding behind a wall. Valerie made to move, to follow her, but she thought better of it and stopped. It wouldn’t do, to being seen leaving before her father ended his speech. She was a good girl. Lady Marian and her secrets can wait.

Later in the day, her suspicions of Lady Marian were all but forgotten. Valerie was informed by the steward that Sir Guy, before he went on his grand hunt, had requested that Marian stays in the castle, even though her father had decreed otherwise. Valerie gave her consent, and was intent on keeping a close watch on that woman.

After supper, her father worked on the documents, as Valerie read by the candlelight. A servant boy entered with a flagon and two goblets. The boy made the mistake of placing the plater on the wrong side, and the sheriff made his displeasure known by merely teasing the lad. He got up, and whispered something to him Valerie couldn’t hear, and then a whoosh.

“Argh” her father yelled. The boy was lying on the ground face-first, with an arrow protruding from his back. “Guards! Guards!” he yelled and walked over to her in panic. “It is Robin Hood!” he kept repeating.

Valerie was stunned. The poor boy! The guards barged in, with the Sir Marcus behind them. “My lord!” The knight took a look at the boy and paled.

#robin hood bbc #bbc robin hood #guy of gisborne #guy of gisborne x original female character #*mine

7 notes · View notes

martykatewrites · 4 years ago

Text

The Mummy: Chapter Two The Concession

She was surprised to find Ardeth-Bey drinking tea with her father on the patio. He had removed his turban and set it carefully on the table letting the little evening breeze blow through his black curls.

He saw her and smiled, "Salaam Alaikum," he said, looking beautiful and golden as he always did. He had recently trimmed his beard, allowing her a better view of his full lips and white teeth. Why did the man have to be so damn good looking? She asked herself for the hundredth time. She remembered the tall skinny boy who taught her to ride bareback and avoid being burnt by the sun. It was the fondness she retained for the companion of her childhood that kept her from hating him but the boy had grown up so unlike the man that he often tried her patience.

"Salaam," she replied and handed her father a manila envelope. "Here it is, your concession for next year. You're lucky we spread baksheesh to the right hands, there's a Swiss archaeologist named Bernard Bruyere who was looking to get it. Next year it may not be so easy."

"Oh, that wouldn't do, that wouldn't do at all," replied her father, but he only seemed to be half paying attention to her. He had been this way the past two weeks as if something was on his mind but he would not speak of it. He hadn't said anything to her about it, whatever it was, and it puzzled her. She and her father shared everything, they kept no secrets from each other, and now this.

"We won't be getting that concession for the Valley of the Kings, either. I heard that Carter cleared the corridor to the tomb he opened and found a sealed doorway at the end of it. He's waiting for Pierre Lacau's permission to open it, but I don't think he'll be patient enough to wait that long. Carnarvon is supposed to be coming for the official opening. If they find anything, if most of the tomb's contents are intact it will take years to clear it."

"Why don't you people just leave these things alone?" Ardeth asked, "Let whoever is in there rest in peace."

"Because if we don't, the looters will, isn't that right Father?" her father seemed to draw himself out of his reverie long enough to nod his assent, "What they don't want they just destroy. The artifacts in tombs are worth a fortune on the black market. There are unscrupulous collectors out there who don't care how an item is obtained. If we find something it will go to the Egyptian Museum, if a looter finds something it will be lost forever."

"Hmm," Ardeth nodded his head, "Then I suppose you archaeologists see yourself as the lesser of two evils."

"Something like that," she replied, for she did not disagree. It would be nice if artifacts could rest undisturbed in Egyptian soil, but for centuries none had. It was up to the archaeologists to win the race with the looters and preserve Egypt's heritage for posterity.

Her father rose and left the table, "I trust that now the two of you are adults you can be trusted to be left alone without fear that you will get into an argument and have to be separated." He kissed the top of Roma's head and disappeared into the house.

She poured herself a cup of tea from the old brass samovar and asked, "Ardeth, you never come to Luxor except for business I am curious as to why you are here."

"Your father asked me to come," he replied in his accented but beautiful English, "I do not care to come to Luxor but his message sounded urgent so I came."

"Maybe it is a good thing that you came. I am worried about Father; I have never seen him like this before. He's usually concerned about the concession; he's spent years excavating the workers' village and I thought he'd go to Cairo but he had me take care of it. He hates Howard Carter, considers him an upstart, but Carter has made a major discovery and Father does not seem to care. That's not like him."

"He seems to withdraw to someplace within himself and will stare at nothing for hours. I'm the one who's had to supervise the dig, oversee the workers, and make sure they are paid. This is so unlike him that I don't know what to think."

"I know you do not believe in magic, but it sounds like your father has fallen a spell." He drew a package of cigarettes from him robes, offered one to her then lit both with a lighter she had never seen before.

"But from what? Most of the articles in the village were removed by Belzoni and Drovetti over a century ago. We've found a few things and a lot of ostracons with drawings, scribbles, or sometimes records. There was nothing sacred about that village, ever, it was built to house the workers building the tombs in a place where the guards could keep an eye on them. These aren't tombs we're excavating but peoples' houses that were deserted when the Valley of the Kings fell out of use. What would there be that could possibly cast a spell on him?"

"But isn't there a workers' cemetery nearby? People died and their bodies would have to be buried somewhere."

She took a long draw on her cigarette, then exhaled. "Yes, there is, and some of the tomb paintings are quite lovely, almost the equal of the Pharaohs' tombs, but I've been in many of them and have never seen any sign of a curse. That's all nonsense if you ask me." She was quiet for a moment, then chose her words carefully.

"You know the stories your parents used to tell us, the djinns and monsters that have dwelt in this land before men learned to speak. And Father would tell us stories of the Pharaohs' tombs and the curses they would write on the walls warning against disturbing the contents of their tombs, well how much good did that do? Every tomb in this valley that archaeologists discovered has been empty. Their bodies were thought to have been destroyed until they found the mummy caches and that's only from the New Kingdom."

"Yet you are concerned that something is wrong with your father," he pointed out.

"Yes, I am, he is not himself and if I believed in curses I might wonder if one is affecting him, or if he has become possessed. And why are you here, you still haven't told me?"

"I do not know if it were anyone but your father I would not be. And you are right, I have known your father since I was a boy and he does not seem like himself. Whatever it is I am here to help both you and him."

Her father returned, carrying a rolled-up map. "I have a task for the two of you. The digging season is over and I must turn over my finds to Lacau at the Egyptian Museum. I have, ah, made some discoveries that I am fearful may be apprehended on the way by some less than scrupulous individuals. Therefore I will be transporting the bulk of my discoveries by boat from Luxor while I wish for you and Ardeth Bey to transport the rest by camel."

"Surely, sir," Ardeth interrupted, "You cannot be serious! To travel by camel from Luxor to Cairo will be a journey that may take weeks. I cannot allow you to put your daughter's life at risk."

"What makes you think I could not do it, Ardeth?" objected Roma, "The hot weather is only beginning. I have lived here all my life, I know the ways of the desert."

"But you are not equipped to make such a journey. Do you know how to find the wells of the tribes? How to negotiate their use? Such a journey will take a long time and will be hard on you, trust me. Sir," he addressed her father, "I am willing to take her by camel to Minya and catch the boat from there, but no further. My father has told me he can spare me right now. These are my terms—I take her to Minya but no further, I am surprised you would even consider subjecting your daughter to such harsh conditions."

"Very well," said the professor with a sigh of resignation. He had clearly not anticipated the answer he received but recognized the wisdom of Ardeth's words. The digging season was drawing to a close and the finds were being packed up for transport to Cairo. Workers would have to be paid and transport to Luxor arranged. All the little details that went along with an archaeological expedition had to be faced and he was in a hurry to get them done.

Busa came in with the houseboy, carrying fragrant dishes in metal containers that were set on the table. Ardeth's turban was tactfully removed to make room for the plate heaped high with flatbread.

Roma served herself a generous portion of lamb seasoned with coriander and allspice. "How could I ever go back to England?" she sighed, "I hate the food and it is so cold and rainy. It's not like we don't have cool weather here, but the rain comes with the monsoons, and then it's done."

"And the heat has never fazed you, as I recall," Ardeth laughed, wiping his beard with a napkin, "It always surprised me, sometimes I think you are more Egyptian than the Egyptians themselves."

After dinner, the houseboy cleared the table and the professor excused himself to go have a brandy and smoke a cigar. A decanter of whiskey and two glasses were set on the table then Roma waved away the servants.

She poured herself a generous portion of whiskey then asked, "Would you care for some? I think the prophet would forgive you, especially after the surprise Papa gave us."

Ardeth picked up a glass and the decanter, splashed some into the glass, drank it in one swallow, then poured himself another. He grinned, his smile saying, "Yes, I'll have that drink."

"Ardeth," she began cautiously, "I am worried about my father, he is not himself. He knows how long the trip to Cairo would take by camel, and though I was foolish enough to think I'd attempt it, that's something he never would have suggested in the old days. Why can't he just bring everything at once, that's what we'd normally do? And I thought he'd be more pleased with the fact we have our concession for Deir El Medina for another year, but he just seemed indifferent."

Ardeth lit two cigarettes and handed one to her. "What is it that you are not telling me?

"He's been disappearing at night and not coming back until daylight, then he falls asleep and sometimes has nightmares. I can hear him moaning and crying in his sleep. I have had to handle the supervision of the dig this year and that is something I've never had to do before."

"What is he doing at night that he cannot do by day?"

"I think he's been in the Valley of the Kings, looking for something. I've seen him trace the paths between Deir El Medina and the Valley, but he just brushed me off when I asked him what he was looking for." She leaned forward and placed her hand on his arm, feeling the muscles beneath his sleeve. "I think he's found something, something he's been looking for all season. What I don't know, but I have an idea."

"What, what is it?" he asked, the urgency plain in his voice, "What do you think he's found?"

And slowly she told him the story of the tomb robbers caches and how her father suspected there was unknown treasure hidden in the valley.

#Ancient Egypt #Valley of the Kings #Excavation #Cairo #tomb #the mummy #mummy #Luxor #Nile #archaeology #Rick O'Connell #Evelyn Carnahan

2 notes · View notes