#okay upstanding might be too much credit | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

refinedbuffoonery · 4 years ago

Text

Flawless (1)

A Heist/Ocean’s 8 AU // Masterlist

This story has been rattling around in my head for months now, and I’m so excited to finally share it with you! I’ve been describing this as an Ocean’s 8 AU, but it’s based more on the concept of the movie than the actual plot, although a few of the basic scenes are the same. Regardless, I have big plans for these girls. Content warnings for this fic are listed on the masterlist (link above).

*****

“Good morning,” the parole officer said. “Please state your name for the record.”

“Riley Davis.”

“Thank you. Miss Davis, the purpose of this hearing is to determine whether you are likely to break the law again if released. According to the record, this is your first conviction, and you have never been suspect in another criminal investigation. During your time in prison, you kept to yourself and were well behaved.” The man looked up from her file. “As you know, parole is not a right. Parole is an immense privilege, Miss Davis, one you should not take lightly.”

“I agree,” she said.

“Good. What would you do if released?”

Riley paused, thinking through her answer. “I would settle down, find a good job, fall in love, maybe have kids. I’ve learned my lesson, sir. It was a mistake. Now all I want is to lead a simple, happy life.” She placed one hand over the other, crossing her fingers on her covered hand.

He squinted at her for a long time, like he was trying to read her mind. Riley painted her face in remorse. After several minutes, the parole officer relented and, apparently satisfied with her answers, said, “Very well.”

Riley breathed a sigh of relief. By the end of the day, she’d be free.

The officer continued, “The following are the conditions of your parole. You will report to me, in person, every two weeks until your parole period has ended. You may not cross state lines without my express permission. You must find and maintain steady employment. You may not use drugs or alcohol, nor enter any drinking establishments. You may not possess firearms or other weapons, and you may not associate with other persons with criminal records. In addition, you must obey all federal, state, and local laws, and generally be an upstanding citizen. If you do not follow these rules, Miss Davis, you will find yourself back in custody. Do I make myself clear?”

Riley nodded. So close. “Yes, sir.”

Extending his hand, the parole officer said, “Congratulations, Miss Davis. You are now a conditionally free woman.”

“Thank you.” Riley shook his hand.

The rest was all a blur. One minute she was sitting in a cold, metal chair with her wrists cuffed to a table, and before she knew it, Riley found herself changing out of her atrocious orange jumpsuit and pulling on skinny jeans and her buttery soft black leather jacket. Wearing real clothes didn’t hide the fact that she looked like shit, but in that moment Riley didn’t care. She was getting out of prison.

After two years, one month, and four days, she was finally being released from prison.

Two officers walked her to the exit. Opening the door, Riley squinted in the bright afternoon sunlight. She found herself in one last cage of chain-link fences with coils of barbed wire arching over the tops, and Riley quickened her steps through the open gate in front of her.

A familiar face waited in the parking lot, perched on the back of a motorcycle. “Welcome back,” Nikki Carpenter said. The pair shared a conspiratorial grin.

Riley hadn’t known who the officers called to pick her up, but perhaps her best friend coming to take her home was the universe’s repayment for the last two years. Nikki handed Riley a helmet before putting on her own and swinging her leg over the sleek, white bike.

Riley started to put the helmet on and hesitated. She turned, looking back at the concrete cage she’d spent the last two years of her life in. Even though her sentence was only three years, the nagging voice in the back of her mind had reminded her every day that she might not make it out. Taking a shaky breath, Riley vowed to herself that she would die before finding herself on the wrong side of those fences and walls again.

Never again. No matter what.

Nikki must’ve noticed her hesitation, because she rested a hand on Riley’s shoulder. “You okay?”

Still facing the prison, Riley couldn’t form the words to respond.

“Hey. Thank you,” Nikki added softly.

Riley didn’t want to deal with the implications of that ‘thank you.’ Not yet. Finally tearing her eyes away, she said, “Let’s get out of here.”

*****

“God, I need a drink,” Riley said as soon as they entered Nikki’s cozy two-bedroom apartment. Located in the heart of downtown LA, it was on the top floor of her building, so Nikki wasn’t subject to loud overhead neighbors stomping and dropping things in the middle of the night, but the elevator moved at a glacial pace and descending twelve flights of stairs was a bitch. Riley preferred residences that were easier to vacate—in case of emergency or unfortunate run-in with the feds—but it was nice enough.

Nikki raised her eyebrows. “Isn’t avoiding alcohol a condition of your parole?”

Riley shot her a withering glare and strode into the kitchen. She opened the white-painted cabinet above the stove, revealing Nikki’s extensive stockpile of wine and hard liquor, and dug around until she found the mason jar full of moonshine hidden in the back. Taking a big swig, Riley held Nikki’s gaze, daring her best friend to try to stop her.

Nikki simply opened the fridge, pulled out some sort of leftovers, and put them in the microwave. While she waited, Nikki studied her. This is what it feels like to be an animal at the zoo, Riley thought as she squirmed under her friend’s scrutiny, crossing her arms over her chest. Riley took another big gulp of moonshine, letting the clear liquid burn her throat and make her stomach churn.

The microwave beeped. Nikki grabbed a fork and the food and held it out to Riley. Content to doom herself to the worst hangover of her life, Riley shook her head in dismissal.

“Eat,” Nikki commanded. She tugged on the waistband of Riley’s jeans. “You and I both know those weren’t mom jeans when you bought them.”

Riley blinked. She’d eaten less while in prison, but it never seemed like a big deal. But the way Nikki was looking at her...she might as well have turned into a skeleton. Suddenly self-conscious, Riley obediently traded her drink for the food—lasagna, she realized—and settled onto the couch.

After two years of cardboard-flavored prison food, the lasagna tasted like heaven.

Riley waited until Nikki was mid-gulp before announcing, “I’ve got a plan.” Her best friend nearly choked. “Want to help me get the gang back together?”

“What’s your plan?” Nikki ground out between coughs.

Riley grinned. “I figure it’s time we go on that little trip to Paris we’ve always talked about.”

Nikki shook her head. “Damn, you’re one crazy bitch, Riley Davis. You know that?” She paused, contemplating. “I’m in.” Handing back the moonshine, Nikki added, “But tonight, I say we get drunk and celebrate your freedom. Deal?”

“Deal.”

Thirty minutes in, they’d finished the whole jar of moonshine, and Riley’s head spun. She stumbled into the kitchen in search of water, suddenly grateful Nikki had made her eat a substantial meal before drinking.

“So,” Riley slurred. “How’s it going with that boyfriend of yours? The cute blonde one.”

Nikki groaned. “You mean the big fat liar? Fabulous.”

“So it all blew up in smoke.”

“You have no idea.” Nikki shoved a handful of popcorn in her mouth. “Anyway, I’m back to being single, but Sam and Desi are still as insufferable as ever.”

“Think they’ll get married?”

“No way. That’s just one more thing they’d have to deal with if they ever have to fake their own deaths.”

“On the contrary,” Riley drawled, “they should take out disgustingly large life insurance policies and then take turns faking their deaths every time they run out of money.” The idea sounded flawless to her drunk brain. “I’ll help them with their new identities for a cut.”

“How big?”

“Twenty percent.”

Nikki snorted. “Like they’d ever agree to that.”

Riley snuggled up to Nikki as they settled in to watch a movie, ducking under Nikki’s arm and using her boobs as a pillow. As Riley’s eyes caught Nikki’s laptop charging on a nearby table, her friend’s babbling about what chick-flick to watch faded into white noise. Riley’s fingers twitched. It’d been too long since she had the comfort of a keyboard beneath the pads of her fingers—since she felt powerful, the way Riley always did when armed with a computer.

Too long, in fact, since she’d had any agency at all. Riley banished the thought before Nikki could notice where her attention had wandered.

The movie turned out to be one they’d seen a thousand times, but Riley didn’t mind. Honestly, she needed the familiarity, not that she would admit that to Nikki. Even drunk, Riley loathed to reveal any sort of weakness, no matter how small and insignificant.

Nikki pinched her side. “You’re brooding. Stop it.” Riley grumbled, but she let the movie distract her all the same.

When the credits rolled, Riley glanced up at Nikki and found her friend already staring down at her as she rubbed Riley’s head. That caged animal feeling resurfaced. It was moments like these when Riley hated how well Nikki knew her, making it that much harder to hide everything going on in her head.

In an attempt to escape, she said, “I’m thirsty. Let’s celebrate.” Riley forced a giggle as she walked back to the kitchen, grabbing two wine glasses from the cabinet. Everything in Nikki’s kitchen was exactly where it was two years ago, the layout as familiar to her as her own. Did she still have her own? Riley was too drunk to remember what happened to the spacious penthouse apartment of a convicted felon.

“Riles, nooooooooo,” Nikki whined. “We are so drunk already. We cannot drink any more.”

“Relax.” Riley rummaged through the fridge, pulling out the milk and a bottle of chocolate sauce. She filled the wine glasses with milk, then added an ungodly amount of chocolate, giggling again when the bottle made a fart noise. Riley didn’t mix it very well, but she was too drunk to care. “Your chocolate milk, milady.” She held out the better mixed of the two, keeping the worse one for herself. Nikki accepted.

Riley held up her glass in a toast. “To freedom,” she said. “And doing whatever the fuck we want.”

*****

“Phone,” Riley demanded the next morning. Nikki handed hers over without even looking up from the scrambled eggs she was making. Riley unlocked it on the first try. “You haven’t changed your password in the last two years? C’mon, you know better than that!”

“My password is twenty-nine characters long! I don’t think anyone is going to…Wait you still remember it?”

Riley scrolled through Nikki’s contacts with one hand, the other busy stuffing her face with toast. “Obviously,” she said through a mouthful of cinnamon swirl bread.

“Damn,” Nikki muttered, turning back to her eggs.

Riley found the name she was looking for. Desi Nguyen. The call nearly went to voicemail before the woman on the other end snarled, “What?”

Riley couldn’t help her grin. “I’m out, and I’ve got a job.”

“Good for you. Let me know how long you last living the clean life.”

“No, you jackass. A job. You in?”

Desi didn’t even hesitate. “Hell yeah I’m in.”

“Great,” Riley said, “and since I’m assuming Cage’s mouth is too occupied to answer, tell her I say hello.”

“Fuck off,” Desi growled, but it came out just a tad breathless. She hung up before Riley could make a snarky comment about being right.

“So,” Nikki asked. She dumped the scrambled eggs on two plates. “Are they in?”

“They’re in.” Riley smirked, gratefully accepting her plate. She sat down at the kitchen table and resumed scrolling through Nikki’s contacts. Riley reached the bottom of the list, but the name she was looking for wasn’t there. Riley checked again to make sure she hadn’t overlooked it.

“Why isn’t Leanna’s number in your phone?” Nikki kept eating. “Nik,” Riley pressed. “Why don’t you have her number? What happened while I was...gone?” If Nikki noticed how she’d stumbled over the last word, her friend didn’t let on.

“Leanna got out. Got clean. She’s CIA now.” Nikki’s cold stare was clear. Do not ask me about this again.

“Oh.” Riley hadn’t seen that coming. “How the hell did she pull that off?”

“She’s good at making people disappear,” Nikki said matter-of-factly. “Guess she finally used her skills on herself.” There was more Nikki wasn’t saying, but Riley didn’t push her.

They ate their scrambled eggs in silence.

As she cleared their plates, Nikki said, “So tell me about this plan of yours. Are we really doing it?”

“If by ‘it’ you mean the heist of a lifetime, then yes. We are absolutely doing it.” Riley swung her feet onto Nikki’s now-vacated chair. “I had two long years to figure out exactly how to pull it off. All I need now is my team.”

Nikki raised an eyebrow. “Your team? Last I checked, the Five Eyes were our team.”

Rolling her eyes, Riley snarked, “Semantics.”

“Whatever.” Nikki was clearly upset, but Riley couldn’t bring herself to care. “I’m going to take a shower.”

“Don’t drown,” Riley replied automatically.

As soon as she heard the rush of water moving through the pipes, Riley snatched Nikki’s laptop. Once again, the password was still the same. Nikki took long showers, so Riley figured she had at least thirty minutes to find the information she needed.

Hacking into the CIA’s employee database was all too easy for someone like Riley Davis. She practically had the secrets of the universe at her fingertips, but Riley didn’t waste time snooping. All she cared about was one name: Leanna Martin.

#beth writes #flawless au #macgyver #riley davis #desi nguyen #nikki carpenter #samantha cage #leanna martin #macgyver fanfiction

42 notes · View notes

victorianoir · 5 years ago

Text

The Detective and the ManFatale, Part 4

Onward!!!! Part 4!!! The end of the ManFatale arc!!!! If you’re like “WTF is this?” you can read all of it by going to my MASTERPOST for The Detective and the Tech Guy. If you want to read this chapter on fanfiction.net, you can do that by clicking >THIS<.

Enjoy!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

He'd just had to steal a parking spot from a little old lady who was just barely able to see over her steering wheel, and he felt bad about that, he really did. But it meant he was able to catch up to Sarah fast enough to be able to see her enter the office building she'd told him about earlier.

Just like she'd said, the building was off of Melrose, in SoHo. But he didn't follow her inside. Instead, he moved behind a short palm that was planted in a courtyard off to the side, complete with benches and planters. He leaned against the trunk of it and stared at the entrance.

He was old hat at this now, after a few days of tailing that asshole Fake Cartwright. Robbie. Pfft.

Maybe tailing his girlfriend while she was working wasn't the greatest thing he'd ever done in their relationship, granted. And she would probably be so mad at him if she knew he'd gotten in his car and followed her as best he could without getting too close, knowing she was way too smart to let herself be followed as closely as he wanted to. He'd nearly lost her a few times even, but he'd gotten back on track eventually, not wanting to be directly in her line of sight because she was a damn detective and she knew what his damn car looked like.

But it scared him to death hearing her yell, the dial tone…Seeing those papers scattered over the floor as though she'd had the file in her hand when Not-Cartwright had broken in, grabbed her, and yanked her out. God, the things he'd been unable to keep himself from imagining on the way there.

And then when he saw she was safe, when he held her in his arms, having to watch her leave again to go someplace potentially dangerous, and with no cell phone, no way to contact him, or more importantly, the police. That mean Detective Casey guy. God, that guy was a jerk. But at least he'd be able to back Sarah up if she called him, if she was in danger.

So Chuck had done the only thing he could think of to make sure she was okay. He'd followed her. He did have a cellphone. And a vested interest in her safety, damn it.

And he was going to watch those doors like a hawk. If this Jerald Brown fellow wasn't the upstanding tech guru Chuck had always figured he was in spite of never meeting him face to face, Chuck would take him down himself. He'd played flag football in junior high P.E. He knew what he was about.

He waited, waited…waited some more…

Until he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He ducked back behind the palm tree as best he could and watched as the man he now knew wasn't Robert Cartwright strolled up the sidewalk towards the building, in his off-white suit, pale pink tie, suede shoes. A chill went through Chuck as the man stopped and took his sunglasses off, peering up at the very same building Sarah had just gone into to meet the man this imposter hired her to investigate.

His phone was in his hand immediately. He didn't have a direct line to Detective John Casey, but all he had to do was press three numbers.

There was no reason why this man should know what was happening in there. There was no reason why this man should know about this building in the first place, unless…well, unless he knew. Had he followed Sarah, too? Or had he followed Brown?

How did he know?

Oh God. God, Sarah didn't have her cellphone. And now he was going up the steps. If Chuck followed him, he wouldn't be able to stop him. This man was a seasoned criminal and possibly a killer. He definitely had a weapon.

God, he was opening the door.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?"

"There's a woman being attacked inside of an office. A man went in there and he's attacking her. He has a weapon." He gave the address, told the operator she needed to hurry, and he hung up again.

It killed him, absolutely destroyed him, to move away from the building. He felt like he was dying as he spun on his heel and sprinted back to his car. He was leaving her in there, alone, and he was so terrified he was on the verge of a breakdown. He was angry with himself, sick with himself, and still he got into his car, turned it on, and with only a half glance back at the building his girlfriend was currently inside of with an angry, potentially murderous conman, he sped away from her.

God, he hoped he was doing the right thing. He hoped to any deity that was listening that he was doing the right thing.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Sarah's hand twitched automatically, ready to draw and put this imposter on the ground with a hole in his chest, but before she could do anything else, there was a loud bang and the arm of her chair exploded in splinters.

She yelped and fell out of the chair onto the floor, holding her hands up, her life having just flashed before her eyes.

That had been an extremely precise shot, not meant to hurt her…a warning that he would hurt her if she gave him any sort of reason to. He'd just missed her but she had scratches on her wrist and the back of her hand from the splintered wood exploding next to her.

"Stand up, kick your gun over here, Miss Walker," he demanded coolly, the South African accent gone. His American accent sounded practiced, too, however. "And then keep your hands in the air. You move wrong and I'll shoot you between the eyes. I've got nothing to lose now. Don't think I won't shoot a pretty girl…"

Sarah stood up and carefully went into her holster, pulling her gun out, setting it on the ground and sliding it across the tile floor to the conman.

"You stand up, too, ya fat fuck," the imposter said to Brown, reaching behind him to shut the door as much as he could with how he'd broken the handle getting in.

The private investigator and ex-Pinkerton detective felt anger start to rise inside of her. Not only did this fucker take a shot at her, he was going around calling good men 'fat fucks' too? She clenched her jaw, unable to help herself.

"You think you're a big boy now that you have that gun pointed at us," she said, keeping her hands up. But God she could feel that knife at her hip, and the ones strapped to her thigh and her fingers itched for them. But the only safe thing to do was to throw verbal barbs at him, so she kept going. "You can insult Mr. Brown when you've got a gun trained on 'im, but I bet just a few days ago, you were kissing his ass, weren't you?"

"Who the hell do you think you are, bitch?" She narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Sarah Walker, private investigator. Without those legs, you'd be working at an Abercrombie & Fitch spraying perfume at teenagers."

She inwardly smirked. He might be a dangerous conman, and a smart enough criminal to have gotten away with his ruse for this long, but he hadn't done his homework apparently. He had no idea she'd been a Pinkerton detective. He had no idea whom he was dealing with.

"You picked the wrong P.I. to hire, Cartwright," Brown said, his voice a little shaky as he stood behind her, still at his wife's desk. "She's not just good at her job, she has a moral compass, and a nose for sniffing out criminal lowlifes."

"I did all right, didn't I? Who's standing here with the gun?"

"What are you gonna do?" Brown asked, seeming to gain a bit more confidence now. "Kill us?"

"Yes, actually. I am. Nobody knows we're here." That was true, Sarah thought miserably. Chuck only knew that she'd gone to an office building in SoHo off of Melrose. There were a handful of them. And he'd have no way of knowing if something bad was happening to her. God, she wished so hard for his paranoia, his idiotic jealous paranoia, that worried crease he'd had between his eyebrows…Please, Chuck… Maybe she could telepathically project terror at him and he'd feel something. They were close enough, emotionally bonded, weren't they? She'd never been so connected to anyone else in her entire life. Wasn't that how that weird crap worked?

Please, please, please, Chuck…

"What did you do with Cartwright?" she asked. If she could just get him talking, she could stall whatever it was he meant to do with them.

"I didn't touch the rat bastard. It wasn't me," he groused. "Wish it had been. He was a lousy piece of shit by all accounts, swimming in his money, an asshole to everyone, greedy."

"So he is dead, then. Who did it if it wasn't you?"

"He's dead. There was a storm, destroyed his boat probably. Found some wreckage where I was in Point d'Esny. Also found his body. Nobody else was on the beach so I took everything I could carry, took his body out onto the water, and dropped it with a bag of sand. Got rid of his boat altogether. Wasn't until a few days later I found out he was a Cape Town big shot. But he was a recluse, too. Nobody ever really saw him much at all. Perfect opportunity for me." He shrugged, and Sarah watched for any opportunity she might have to catch him off guard, but this obviously wasn't the first time he'd held a gun on someone. And she was sure this wouldn't be the first time he'd killed either…if it turned out he got that far.

And oh God, what would she do if he started shooting to kill?

"How did you even pull this off?" Brown asked.

"Easy. When the guy was alive and had less dead-bloat than he had when I found 'im, we looked pretty similar I guess. His IDs all worked long enough for me to forge new ones. Nobody asked any questions when Robert Cartwright showed up in Los Angeles for business. The checks all worked, the bank tellers all let me walk right in, the credit cards worked. I've made a fortune off of this guy, all because he was a shitty sailor."

He kissed the tips of his fingers.

"You're deplorable," Sarah said.

"Mmhmm. Deplorable enough to kill you two so I can get away with it all."

Brown cursed. "You aren't getting away with a damn thing!"

"I am. I've already destroyed any records that I was ever here. I've sold most of his African possessions, withdrawn every last cent I could from the banks. After I'm gone, they'll probably file a missing persons report." He chuckled and grinned a now twisted version of Alain Delon's smile. She wished she could apologize to the French actor for ever thinking he was similar.

This asshole wished…

ManFatale, Chuck had called him near the beginning of this damn job. She'd made fun of him then, but now she saw just how right he was. There was a good chance she was dying here today, in this office with the knitted pillows. Underestimating this bastard was her downfall.

"You don't think they'll dog your steps no matter where you go?" she asked then, starting to let anger overtake her fear. She liked anger better. It was better than giving in to despair, despair that she'd seen Chuck for the last time not an hour ago, climbing into his fuel-efficient car, after trying to make her take his phone. Maybe if she'd taken it, she could've secretly hit the emergency button on it.

What was he going to do?

What would he do if she died here today?

Oh, God…

No. Anger. Anger was better.

"I've covered my tracks."

"You haven't covered shit. The FBI, the CIA, the NSA, they've all got guys who find pieces of shit like you every single day. You aren't getting away it with no matter what you do to us," she hissed through her teeth.

The imposter angled his gun down suddenly and shot, sending a bullet clattering into the ground at her feet. She screamed and clasped her hands to her mouth, jumping away. He raised the gun and shot again, hitting the desk right next to her hip and she fell to the side, onto the floor. Brown knelt down behind her, a protective move, but this time the bullet that came from the imposter's gun was true.

Brown hit the tile hard, a hole in his shoulder as he cried out in pain.

Holy shit!

Now there was fear inside of her. Abject fear as she acted fast, grabbing Brown's hand and making him press it against his wound. "Just hold it…press down, you'll be okay…"

"Get up," the imposter growled at her, stepping closer. She ignored him as she tried to help the injured man. "I said get up!" he yelled this time, grabbing her by her hair and yanking her to her feet.

She heard sirens in the distance and she knew as his eyes darted to the side in momentary worry that this was her one and only chance to get herself and Jerald Brown out of here alive.

Sarah Walker, P.I. struck fast. She swung her left arm around, clamped her fingers around his wrist and pushed the gun away from her temple where he'd been holding it. He pulled the trigger, breaking the window behind her, and the sound of it startled him enough that she was able to bring her knee up and back and slam her heel right between his legs.

He yelled in pain as she snapped the arm that had the gun down across her knee, hearing the crack of his bone breaking and the clatter of the gun hitting the floor. She kicked it away as he fell hard onto his back and she crawled onto him, slamming her fist down into his face, over and over and over and over again until he put his non-injured arm up and begged her to stop.

Just then the door burst right off of its hinges, police officers racing inside.

"GET ON THE GROUND!" an LAPD officer barked, and in spite of the fact that he might not be talking to her, she crawled down onto her knees and put her hands behind her head. She didn't know who or what had brought the police here but she wasn't about to be shot for trying to explain right away when they were attempting to take control of the situation.

Once the yelling stopped and the police had clambered over to Brown who was still conscious but whimpering, an officer grabbed her by her arm and hoisted her up. "My name is Sarah Walker, private investigator. That man broke in while I was in a meeting with Mr. Brown and held a gun on us. He shot him. Tried to…tried to shoot me, too." She was breathless, and she realized that in spite of being in scenarios with guns, bombs, and other terrifying situations, this had been one of the closest shaves she'd had.

And she had a lot more to lose this time.

She had to press her lips together and blink a few times to keep the rush of terrified tears at bay.

"All right, miss. Just come over here and sit in this chair. Your name again…?"

"Sarah Walker," she murmured, trying to take deep breaths. "I own Walker Investigative Enterprises. I've-I've got a P.I. license."

The two officers exchanged flat looks. "A P.I., huh?"

This had been too traumatic for her to find the willpower to give them dirty looks for that.

"Get an ambulance here, we've got two men in need of medical attention," one of the cops said into their walky-talky. "One gunshot wound. Another with abrasions to the face, broken arm."

Sarah thought about how badly she wished she could've given him more abrasions to the face, and she thought maybe she was starting to feel more like herself now that the danger had abated. Though her ear was ringing bad from that gun going off so close to it.

"You're Sarah Walker, that's Jerald Brown…and who is this guy?" The cop gestured to Fake Cartwright.

Paramedics rushed in then, tending to Brown first and getting him lifted onto a gurney.

"A criminal," Sarah said. "If you look up Robert Cartwright, you'd find this man's picture. But he-he isn't Robert Cartwright."

"Huh?"

She explained the situation to them for the next three minutes, accepting the strong coffee one of them gave her, and the blanket the other one wrapped around her shoulders. She didn't know when she'd begun to shiver. And it wasn't from the cold.

As she realized she was just barely keeping from slipping into shock, suddenly there was a shuffling of people at the door and Detective John Casey was there, his hulking figure taking up the entire doorway practically. "Whatever she said about him, it's true," he said, pointing over her shoulder. "Cartwright's an imposter." He pulled his badge out as he walked into the room and flashed it at the officers. "I'll handle the questioning from here, officers."

They both nodded and moved away.

And that was when she looked up to see Chuck step out from behind the detective, his eyes finding her immediately.

"Sarah…"

"Chuck!"

She left the coffee and the blanket behind, surging to her feet just in time for his body to crash into hers, his arms so strong as they folded her up against him, so warm and safe and everything she'd needed the moment this had all ended.

Sarah felt her boyfriend's lips against her hair, and then her temple, and her cheek, and he just held her so tight. She didn't ever want to let go. Ever.

And she heard him curse, his hand coming up to brush over her hair. "Are you okay?" he asked finally. "Did he hurt you? I'll kill him."

"Maybe not the smartest thing to say in front of the LAPD, idiot," Casey grumbled from where he was standing over Chuck's shoulder.

She ignored him, though, burying her face in Chuck's neck and letting herself cry just a little. She'd been so scared she'd never see him again. So scared she'd never feel this. Or eat one of his waffles he made that were never thick enough or cooked as much as she wanted them to be because he didn't put enough batter in, and didn't leave it in the iron long enough. Because he was too impatient, like a little boy.

"I'm okay," she gasped out, trying to hold back still and not doing a great job of it. "I'm okay. I love you."

"I love you, too," he said immediately, holding her even tighter, pressing his lips against her temple and keeping them there.

She finally pulled back, letting him cup her face and kiss her properly, and then he kissed the remnants of the few tears she'd shed away. "What—How?" she asked.

"I…" He winced. "I was worried. Super, super worried. I had this weird feeling in my gut letting you drive off to this meeting with no cell phone or anything. So I…gah, I followed you. I know you—you probably…" He huffed at her impatient look. "You're right. Let's table that. I was waiting outside, 'cause I'm your man and I wanted to have your back in case things got cray. But then while I was waiting, I saw that fake-ass mother fucker walk up with his cheesy as hell B-List sunglasses and that shit-eating smirk, and I knew right away that you were in trouble." A smile began to grow on her face as she watched him start to get riled up now as he told his story. "I was going to run after him and strangle him or roundhouse kick him in the jaw or somethin' but then I figured I'd most likely get shot and you'd never forgive me if that happened. So I called 9-1-1 instead and got in my car to come find Cas—Casey—Detective Casey." He cleared his throat at the glare the older man sent him.

"You're insane," she breathed, swallowing another sob and throwing her arms around his neck, letting him lift her enough that her feet were dangling a few inches off the floor, and they stayed like that for long enough that Casey finally cleared his throat.

Chuck set her down and she resisted the urge to kiss him again, longing in her gaze as she peered up at him for a moment…And then she turned to John Casey and nodded.

"Yeah, well…S'a miracle we even got here when we did what with this moron driving like a fuckin' grandma."

"What?!" Chuck spun on his heels to face the LAPD detective. "That's not even true! I was going fast! Things were whizzing past my window!" He let go of her arm with one hand and mimicked swishing his hand back and forth past his head manically.

"Right. Sure. Walker, I'm gonna need you at the station. Your secretary here only gave me the highlights. He can't talk and drive at the same time." Casey turned and headed for the door.

"Are you serious right now?" Chuck asked, his pitch getting a bit higher. "Secretary? How many times do I—?" They both began to follow after him then, Sarah's fist twisted in Chuck's sleeve, pulling him along. "Oh. He's messing with me, isn't he?"

She heard the amused grunt from the cop as he pressed the button to call the elevator, and she saw the small smirk on his face. It made her feel so glad to be alive.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

It had only taken twenty minutes for Detective Casey to eject Chuck from the room where he'd taken them for questioning. She'd had to watch as he interrupted one final time—"Sarah, tell him about…"—then Casey's patience, which had been wearing thin already no doubt, snapped. He stood up, grabbed Chuck by his arm, and escorted him out of the room, shutting the door in his face.

She'd had to smirk inwardly at the cute, offended sounds of confusion that her boyfriend made until he was locked out on the other side of the door where he could no longer interrupt.

Casey'd finally sat down across from her again, and she'd told him every last detail she could, even letting him have the files she'd kept in her briefcase that she'd had during the meeting with Brown, in case he'd needed convincing.

"So what made you so sure of Jerald Brown that you ended up focusing most of your efforts on investigating your client, rather than investigating the guy he was paying you to investigate?" Casey asked, forty-five minutes into their meeting.

"Part of it was the fact that I spent three days tailing him, going through his background, his financial records, combing through his personal life, and I'd found absolutely nothing to make me think he was anything other than a good businessman, and a good man in general. Not that he was without faults, but none of it was illegal or reprehensible. No illicit affairs, no fraud, nothing untoward." She shrugged.

"And the other part?"

"Chuck insisted he was a commendable man."

Casey scoffed. "You took him at his word?"

"I always do," she said, holding her chin high. "He knows who is who in his own industry, and he's a commendable man himself."

"Don't get defensive, Walker."

"I did my homework. And on the other side, I had this guy who, for all intents and purposes, was very smooth, seemed to know just what to say to every question or comment I had during our meetings, and…this was the key…the more time I spent in these meetings with who I thought was Robert Cartwright, the more I got the feeling he wanted me to find something wrong."

Casey grunted, thunking a pen against his chin a few times, thoughtfully. Then he narrowed his eyes. "I get where you're going. Instead of wanting you to just check and make sure this potential future business associate was on the level, and being relieved when you kept coming back with confirmation that he was, Cartwright seemed like he was digging for some dirt on him instead."

"Exactly. It was sneaky. And it made me super suspicious."

"Hmng," Casey tossed the pen on the table and pushed his chair back. "Don't blame ya. That was pretty good work, Detective. Don't take this the wrong way," he started, which was always a stellar way for another person to start a statement, she thought wryly, "but I'm curious as to why ya didn't just take the money and let this lie."

Sarah crossed her arms and stood up from her chair, nibbling on her bottom lip. "I'm not that kind of P.I., Detective Casey. I want to make a living off of this P.I. business I'm building, but not at the expense of innocent people, and not to aid and abet criminals. I'm operating on the right side of the law."

"So no adultery cases, huh?" He grinned a bit lecherously and she glared at him.

"If someone comes in offering me the right amount of money to try to catch their partner with someone else, depending on the person and the case, I might accept. But what business is that of yours?"

"It ain't. Lighten up. Yeesh." He held his hands up defensively, one of the gestures that infuriated her the most when men did it at her.

"Is that all you need from me?"

"Yeah. But make sure to stick around for a week or so while we work on this case. We may need the FBI in on this if he's committed crimes like this before, and they'll be bringing the South African and Cape Town authorities in, I'm sure."

"I will," she said, getting up and walking towards the door. "Oh. Here." She came back and set all of the work she'd done down on his desk. "I'm sure you folks'll need this." He deserved the snarky smirk she sent him, and the look on his face told him he probably knew he deserved it, even if he wouldn't admit it out loud ever in a million years.

"Thanks. And uh…make sure you take care of that hand. Don't think I didn't see you trying to hide the scratches. Was that his face that gave you those?"

She looked down at the scratches on the back of her hand, and now on her knuckles from his face, just as Casey surmised. "Yes and no. His face, but also, he shot at the arm of the chair where I'd just been and the wood sort of exploded and caught me."

Casey winced. "You gonna be okay?"

"I'll be fine. Just a little home first aid is required. Nothing deep."

"Good." There was silence between them then as she nodded and went for the door. "Walker."

She stopped and looked at him over her shoulder, her hand on the doorknob. "Yeah?"

"We've got officers watchin' him now where he was admitted to the hospital, and when they've set that arm and gotten his face fixed up," she noticed a particular thread of pleasure in his smirk at that, "they're takin' him to his own cell here where I'll question him personally while we wait for FBI to send someone. That is to say…you did some damn fine work."

She smiled. "Thanks. Oh. Did Jerald Brown…?"

"He's gonna be fine. I'll email you where they took 'im if you want to visit tomorrow. He'll be kept at the hospital for a few days."

"Good. And yes. Please do. Thanks."

He nodded and she stepped out of the room, finding Chuck sitting a bit dejectedly in what she thought might be a perp chair at the end of someone's desk. Thankfully, whoever's desk it was seemed to be gone for the day.

She gestured for him to followed her with a flick of her head and a smile when he lifted his chin from his chest and met her eyes.

And she clung to him as best she could while still being able to walk to the elevator.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

She was quiet the whole ride back to her apartment, curled up in his passenger seat, having kicked her heels off and pulled her legs against her chest, her forehead leaning against the window as she gazed out on the late afternoon street.

And the sun had finally set, the sky still light out but darkening by the time he pulled into a parking spot in her apartment complex. They'd left her car in free street parking where she'd left it before her meeting with Brown a few hours earlier and they'd get it later, tomorrow most likely. She hadn't seemed as worried about it as she was about finally going home, so he'd promptly driven her from the police station to her place with no stops in between.

Now they sat in the comfortable warmth of his car, the engine off, silence permeating…

Until Sarah turned to look at him, smiling softly, and then she reached out and took his hand, not looking away for even a moment as she breathed a quiet, "Will you stay with me?"

He felt everything inside of him crumbling and never in his entire life had he ever wanted to protect anything or anyone as much as he wanted to protect Sarah Walker. Not trusting his voice, still shaken up from what had nearly happened, he nodded vigorously instead, and she smiled a bit harder.

They got out and headed up to her apartment, his arm around her shoulders the whole way, and he used his key to let them in, turning on the lights for her as she tossed her purse onto the entryway table and kicked off her heels again, shrugging her jacket off.

It was then that he saw her hand. There were bloody marks on the back of it, cuts on her wrist, and red welts with dried blood and most likely bruising underneath on her knuckles.

Nothing else mattered as he made a beeline for her and gently picked up her arm, cradling her hand and wrist in his comforting grip. "Sarah…"

"I know, I know…but it's fine. I've had worse."

"You've let this go for hours."

"I've had worse, Chuck. It's okay. I'll just ice it—"

He shook his head vehemently and pulled her through her apartment to the bathroom. "You have first aid?"

"You know where it is from where you burned yourself on the coffee pot."

"Oh…oh yeah. Um…remind me, though."

Seeing blood on her hand, her own blood, knowing she'd been hurt, knowing she could have been worse than hurt, was starting to catch up to him suddenly. And he was trying so hard not to let her see. He didn't want her thinking he was going to be a basket case about her chosen profession. That every little cut she got made him crazy and sick with worry. But this had felt like a big deal. A really big deal. And he had no idea what would've happened if the police hadn't shown up, if he hadn't called them.

"Hey," she breathed suddenly, and he cursed himself a little, knowing he'd let it all show on his face anyway. "Hey, look at me." She cupped his face and forced his gaze to hers. Her blue eyes reassured him immediately and he had to resist the urge to melt into her, hold onto her for dear life. "Chuck, are you spiraling because of this?" she asked, presenting her injured hand to him.

He nodded, putting his hands on her hips to keep himself steady.

Her good hand stroked his jaw and his eyelids fluttered. "Please don't. I'm okay."

"Help me maybe not spiral by telling me where that first aid kit is and I can clean you up a bit."

"It's right here, in the cupboard under this drawer." She shifted to bump her hip against the drawer she was talking about. "But…before you do that, would you mind if I took a shower?"

He shook his head and leaned in to kiss her on the forehead, a slow, long kiss. He understood the request at a deeper level, but he wouldn't say it out loud. She needed some time alone after everything. She'd almost been killed, watched Brown get shot right in front of her, and had cops swarming her, and finally the questioning at the station and being trapped in the car with him as he drove her home.

"Thank you. It-It'll be a quick one." She slid past him, dragging her fingertips over his abdomen as she went to the shower and turned on the water.

"Take your time, baby. I'll have a martini ready for you when you're done." On second thought, as she gingerly started to unbutton her blouse, he waited for her to realize he was still there and turn to meet his gaze before he said it again. "Take your time."

Understanding dawned on her features and her shoulders drooped a bit. He thought her chin might have quivered and he just turned on his heel and left before he was tempted to gather her up in his arms and hold her some more. She needed to be alone for a bit, though, so he went into her kitchen and started preparing a few martinis, two to start with, one for each of them. He didn't know how many of these she was going to need, but he'd make her as many as she asked for.

And he waited, enjoying the texts Ellie had sent him throughout all of this, the one about Clara pushing herself up to sit for a few seconds before falling again. The look she gave her mom like she didn't know if she should cry or not. It warmed him from the inside out. And he'd been so cold before. Unable to get rid of that terrifying sensation he'd had when he'd screeched to a halt next to the office building, seeing the police cars haphazardly parked, lights still blinking, the ambulance there, someone being wheeled into it…

He'd seen it was Brown, that he'd been shot, and he tried to tear into the building, only to have Casey and two other officers have to grab onto him and nearly take him down to the ground. When they got him to stop, Casey barked, "He's with me", and he yanked on Chuck's tie, pointing in his face with a "Slow down, kid".

That was all it took for him to gain control, afraid this detective might knock him out altogether if he didn't take a breath. And he let Casey take point, shaken to his core until the moment he stepped into the room and saw his very own detective sitting there, alive, no bullet holes in her like the man downstairs'd had.

He felt a chill go through him as he stood there peering out into the courtyard of Sarah's building, watching an older woman take down a few shirts she'd hung on a clothesline and toss them into a basket. Her tabby cat made a figure-8 around her legs in the meantime, finally following her inside as she hobbled up the steps and into the building.

Chuck let himself get lost in everything for a few minutes, going through all of the worst scenarios that thankfully hadn't happened. Sarah was alive and well, currently in the shower, washing off the remnants of her harrowing ordeal.

He'd heard everything that had happened to her in Mrs. Brown's office while she told the grumpy detective—before said grump kicked him out. He supposed he couldn't blame the guy for it, though, because he'd caught himself interrupting too often. No matter how many times he apologized, he never learned, and his punishment was sitting out by himself for the remainder of the conversation.

But Sarah had been shot at multiple times, and every time Not-Cartwright had purposely missed her, his intent being to scare her. That made Chuck Bartowski angry. There was an extra level of pathology to lord your power over someone in that way, terrifying them before you kill them, making them suffer… It made him feel so disgusted, and then he thought Sarah must have come into contact with psychopaths like this guy before in her line of work.

She was an incredible bad ass, the coolest, strongest person he'd ever met. And he was sure no matter how often she'd come face to face with these crazy assholes, it didn't make being shot at any easier to handle, especially when it was so cruelly done to terrorize her. By the shakiness in her voice when she'd told them about him shooting her chair and then at her feet, and finally at the desk next to her hip, before sinking a bullet into Mr. Brown, the man she'd been attempting to protect, Chuck could tell it had gotten to her. Genuinely.

Maybe he shouldn't announce it in front of the LAPD, but deep inside, Chuck wasn't sure he'd be able to hold himself back from murdering that guy if he'd had a crack at him when he first got into that room and saw Sarah there, her face so pale, the blanket around her shoulders, the bun she'd had in her hair when he'd seen her last half pulled out… He'd discovered later that the man had grabbed her by her hair and yanked her up to her feet by it.

Chuck thought he'd like to do the same to him, but instead he'd pull his spine right out with one hard yank. Mortal Kombat style.

"Thought I'd bring the first aid kit with me because I already know you'll refuse to take no for an answer."

He spun on his heel, letting the curtain fall back into place and cover the window to see Sarah had wandered in, her step light like a cat's so that he hadn't heard her come in. Granted he might've also been a bit distracted.

But then she set the first aid kit on the table and frowned deeply. "What's wrong?"

"Huh? Wrong?"

"You turned around and looked like a rabidly angry gorilla or something for a second."

He just shook his head and sniffed in amusement. "It's nothing."

"Chuck…"

"I was thinking about what he did to you, and maybe imagining myself doing one of the Mortal Kombat fatality moves on him. That's all." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged, slowly wandering over.

She widened her eyes. "I don't know what those moves entail but you said the word fatality, so that sounds a little serious, buddy."

At least that shower had made it so she seemed a little more like herself. Less shaken, more settled. The almost-unnoticeable shiver she'd had before was gone.

"It is. I have to be honest with you, Sarah. Part of me is angry with myself that I didn't just follow him and body tackle him into the ground then and there."

Her eyes flashed, concern and even a bit of frustration in her face. And then she put her hand on his chest, her fingers curling against his shirt as she shook her head. "Chuck, don't say that. Please never do something like that. He had a gun. He would've killed you."

He clenched his jaw and looked away.

"I-I'm not trying to make it seem like you're weak or incapable, baby. I'm really not. Just—Listen to me. I'm trained in combat, I have extensive training and years of experience using guns. I had a gun with me, as well as the knives I always have strapped to me. Hey, look at me. Please." She put her good hand on the side of his face and pulled his eyes back to hers. "I was nearly powerless in there. He had me, Chuck. If he hadn't slipped, let his guard down for that one second…" Her voice drifted off. "My point is that someone trained, like me, could have easily died doing whatever it is you might've done in that moment instead of what you ended up doing." She stroked her hand through his curls. "Which was the right thing."

"I know." He gently slid his hand around her waist and pulled her a little closer. "It just felt…terrible. Watching him go in there, knowing you were about to have him burst in on you. And knowing now what he ended up doing, that you were hurt and Brown was shot. What if I could've stopped all of it?"

"What if you couldn't have but you tried anyway and ended up being shot yourself?" Her eyes searched his. He couldn't come up with an answer to that. "What would I do, then? What would I even do if you were shot, Chuck? I can't even begin to think…" She let out a harsh breath, shaking her head. And he held her tighter.

"I ran away from you. I left you behind."

"You saved my life," she said in a much steadier voice, her features hard, willing him to understand. "What you ended up doing wasn't just the right thing, Chuck, it was incredibly brave."

He winced a little. "It didn't feel very brave."

"You could've let your worry for me, your fear, overtake you and you could've run after him, tried to stop him, and ended up getting all of us killed…but instead you called the police, knowing that they'd have more of a chance of stopping him than you ever would. And you went to get Casey involved, which…" She paused. "Why did you get Casey?" She blinked, her brow furrowed as though the question had just struck her at that moment.

Chuck swallowed thickly. "I was afraid they'd believe the wrong person unless you had someone they trusted vouching for you. And I knew Casey would be the perfect person to be there for that."

She beamed at him so suddenly that his heart felt like an insane amount of weight had been taken off of it. And then she hugged him tightly, and he hugged her back similarly. "You're brave and brilliant, Chuck Bartowski."

He felt so much pride in that moment, hearing how proud she was of him, how grateful she was, how impressed she was, in her voice, feeling it in the way she squeezed him, kissed his cheek.

"And you're a bad ass and the best, Sarah Walker. So I guess we make a good pair. Maybe I can be your assistant."

"No," she giggled, kissing his cheek again and then pulling back. "I will let you take care of me, though."

"Oh, gladly," he said with as much warmth as he was capable of, and then he gently pushed her to sit in the chair at the table and went to grab a bowl, putting some warm water and soap in it, then wandering back with that and a cloth in hand.

He scooted close to her and let her drape her hand over the bowl as he silently cleaned the cuts that didn't look so bad now that she'd showered. She only winced a little at the cuts on her wrist when he was gently rubbing ointment over them, and then he wrapped a light bandage around all of it.

"I look like the bride of Frankenstein's monster," she said with a giggle once he finished.

"She wishes," Chuck answered, watching as Sarah turned her arm a bit to look at his work. "What?" he asked when she gave him a quiet, searching look.

"You did a pretty good job here, actually."

That made him smile. "Listen, I grew up with a big sister who's wanted to be a doctor ever since she found out what a doctor was. Do you know how often I got wrapped up in bandages through all the years I spent under the same roof as her?"

She laughed. "Was it often?"

"Often enough." He chuckled. "She got better at it when she was actually in med school and I guess I picked up some things, little tricks of the trade. Don't ask me to stitch a wound shut, though, because I will faint."

Sarah snorted. "That's cute."

"Is it?" he drawled dubiously. He got up then and straightened his back, feeling a few pops, then put the bowl away, the bandages and the first aid kit, and when he came back out, Sarah had finished her martini.

She held the glass up towards him and pouted a little.

"Another?" he asked, receiving a smile in return. He chuckled and took her glass, leaning down to kiss her forehead, then went back to the kitchen to make her another. "Hey, you want a flavor in it this time? Maybe some lime? I saw a lime in your fridge."

Sarah was standing next to him suddenly—those cat-like silent feet of hers—and he nearly jumped. "Sorry. Didn't mean to sneak." He shrugged at her wince. "You just…You've never put flavors in a martini for me before. It's always just been a traditional, perfectly dry martini. What's gotten into my Chuck?"

"If you want me to make it like I always do, I can." He shrugged again. She was looking at him steadily, that look of hers that saw right through him. And he sighed. "It has nothing to do with the martini, but-but I guess today sort of put into perspective for me that you're not…"

"What?"

"Immortal. Indestructible." His throat was dry then and he looked away, swallowing.

"Did you…think I was? Like some kind of comic book character?"

"No. Of course not." He sniffed in amusement. "But what you do is dangerous and it's something I'm going to have to come to terms with. I hadn't before this because I guess I…haven't had to yet. But I have to now."

"Chuck, I'm okay."

"I know you are. So am I. We're okay. And that's not something that's gonna change, no matter how many ManFatales try to take you away from me."

Sarah smirked at that and gave him a side-eye. "No fucking way anybody is taking me away from you. And vice versa," she added, pointing at him a bit threateningly.

"I didn't just mean romantically." He chuckled. "I meant…uh…you know."

"Oh." She sobered significantly. "That, too. And yeah…maybe this time we can try some lime in the martini. I have some pineapple slices, too. Maybe some of the juice…?"

"Splendid idea," he said, giving her a warm smile. And they stood side by side as he prepared more martinis for them to enjoy.

They eventually found their way to Sarah's bed, stretching themselves out over it and leaning back against her headboard. She'd since fallen asleep, her harrowing ordeal earlier on in the day knocking her out soon after she curled herself up on his chest.

He just held onto her, looking down into her face. She looked younger when she was asleep, so at peace, without any worries to speak of. But then his eyes latched onto her wrapped hand and wrist that was slung over his chest and he frowned.

She was a private investigator. And as awesome as it was, as hot as it was that he was dating someone so damn cool, he couldn't let himself forget how serious it was, too. How serious it could be. He'd never want her to give up what she wanted to do, who she wanted to be, so that he had better peace of mind when she went to work, the way the boyfriend of an accountant might. His girlfriend wasn't going to stop being a private investigator, whether he was awful enough to want her to or not.

And so…Chuck Bartowski was determined instead to support her. To be here on the hard days like today. To protect her when she needed him to. To bandage her cuts, hold her, make her martinis, and let her fall asleep in his arms.

Because being with Sarah Walker, P.I. was so much better than being with some accountant who sat in an office all day. The worry, the nerves, the adrenaline, and even the fear, were all worth it because she was worth anything and everything.

This was her, he realized, looking down into her face.

These cases with genuinely bad dudes wanting to do her harm because she was good at her job, because she was working to take them down, were all part of what made her…her. The danger, the chase, the high stakes…that was all part of her.

He loved her.

That included everything that made her who she was. That included this. And those moments of fear, the danger…

No matter what this career of hers brought them, this wouldn't ever change. He was ready for the bumps and bruises he'd get in the meantime himself. He was ready for the hurdles and hardships ahead. He thought he was ready for just about anything.

Because this was their life now.

And he wouldn't trade it for the whole universe.

5 notes · View notes

musette-thornsong · 5 years ago

Text

Mighty Ducks: Who’s Safest?

Fatimah & Ratna are sisters who have always been at odds with each other sense they were kids. Ratna’s latest stunt with her team put Fatimah in position of distrust with their mother, ultimately causing her to leave home and avoid all contact with society. But fate would soon bring them together once again when world needs saving from an ancient prophecy. She hated the idea of being associated with anything from her past let alone criminals but decided to put up with for now. Throughout the whole ordeal, Ratna continued to deliberately push Fatimah’s buttons almost as if she was itching to get rise out her. It became apparent that she hadn’t changed in all that time nor did she feel any regret or guilt. But Ratna will suddenly come to regret her actions when she pushes Fatimah too far

One-shot parody

Warning: Mild language, intense situations

Words: 1,139

Fatimah, Ratna, Team StormScreamer, and the town Corenia belong to me.

Mighty Ducks villains belongs to Disney

Enjoy!

Just outside the town of Corenia, Team StormScreamer had just saved a part of Earth from a terrifying fate. But the ensuing chaos had left a lot of damage. And with their faces being recognized and held responsible for said damage, they were left with no other options.

Ratna: (sarcastically) Wow, who would have thought lightning could cause so much damage?

Reginald: (points out obviously) Pssh! Anyone. Everyone would know that…

Ratna: (cuts him of, annoyed) I was being sarcastic

Dragaunus: At least you didn’t try to heal one of those beasts

Miyuki: HEEEY!!!

Dragaunus: (shouts angrily) YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID!!

Fatimah: I think we have a few more pressing concerns to deal with (points the destroyed village)

Andrew: (nervously) Soooo, we can’t stay in Corenia anymore, can we?

Everyone: (confirms “no”) Nope. Absolutely not. Definitely not. No.

Fatimah: Right. So, guys? Against my better judgement, I have a proposal.

Dragaunus: (lights up at that very word, anxious to hear something completely different)

Fatimah: (holds little Anthony close in her arms) I say we gather up all the research from my bunker, go find the menace behind all this…

Dragaunus: Uugh…

Fatimah: Kick their asses and clear our names. Sound good?

Marcus: Not a bad idea.

Gloria: It’s a start.

Wraith: (bows before Fatimah) On behalf of the Saurian Overlords, we offer up our services to you, Lady Fatimah.

Chameleon: (bows down)

Siege: (bows alongside Chameleon) Yes, we shall travel with you, your Ladyship. Because we have no idea where we are in all this.

Fatimah: (blushes at the praise)

Andrew: (places a hand on Fatimah’s shoulder, smiling) We’ve got your back no matter what. What do you say, guys?

Reginald: Well, if it’s the only way we can see our families safe and sound and finally end this mess…Then count me in, Fatimah.

Fatimah: (smiles gently)

Gloria: Same here

Marcus & Miyuki: Ditto!!

Andrew: (looks to Anthony) What about you, little guy?

Anthony: (hugs Fatimah’s neck) I’ll go wherever Fatimah goes. I feel safest when I’m next to her.

Ratna: (rather snobbishly) Yeah…I’ll go wherever Fatimah goes because SHE feels safest when she’s next to ME

Fatimah: (hears the words “Safest when she’s next to me” echo as it got louder and louder along with her rage)

Hearing Ratna utter those very words had brought back all those unpleasant memories from her past. Her sister would either take advantage of her, take credit for everything she did, ditch her at any given moment, frame her for something she didn’t do, or blackmail her into doing something she wanted no part of. It went to show that no matter what Fatimah did to have a decent relationship with her, it will never be enough for Ratna unless she is miserable. She had managed to hold back a lot of her anger thus far. But after hearing those words come out Ratna’s mouth, this was the last straw.

Fatimah: (*anger restraint meter hits its boiling point*) *DING* You wanna say that again… Ratna…?

Ratna: (confused) Excuse me?

Andrew: (immediately notices the intensity and grabs Anthony out of Fatimah’s arms) Uh-oh…

Fatimah: (sternly) Yeah, repeat what you just said. About me feeling “SAFE” around to you?

Ratna: (nonchalantly) Well…I mean…yeah. (sputters) Fatimah, we’re sisters! We’ve known each other our entire lives. I’ve always had your back.

Fatimah: (slowly getting angrier) Really? Had my back? (chuckles) That’s funny. Question: Did you have my back when I DIDN’T want to join StormScreamer?

Ratna: (stammers) Well, uh…No…but…um-

Everyone: (looks on in confusion and shock of this sudden news)

Fatimah: (walks up to her staring her down) That’s right! you didn’t! And what did you do again? Hmm…was it…talk me like an adult? Heh-heh. NO. Hmm…was it asking me for help, like a FRIEND or SISTER would? Ooooh! I remember now. “FOUR DUDES AT A MININUM”!!! Am I remembering your threat correctly?!

Reginald: Now hold up now. What exactly is going on here? What is she talking about, Ratna?

Gloria: Yeah, cuz’ from what I remember, she told us you were begging to be a part of the team

Fatimah: (adamently) I NEVER wanted to be part of this group EVER!! I wanted absolutely nothing to do with anything that society would see as a form of terrorism which you all refer to as “freedom-fighting”!

Andrew: (confused) That doesn’t make sense. Why would Ratna lie to us? All the times you helped us out…

Fatimah: (blurts out angrily) Because that’s what SHE is!! A FILTHY LIAR who has NO qualms with using others to get what SHE wants!!! I never volunteered for anything. She forced me into this.

Marcus: What are you talking about?

Fatimah: (recalls her past) You remember that last raid I helped you guys with from 10 years ago?

Miyuki: Yeah?

Fatimah: (explains in full detail) Ratna insisted you needed an extra hand with that one and claimed that I volunteered. But in reality, she blackmailed me into becoming a patsy and taking the fall for you guys once the deed was done. Because if any of you got caught, you would have spent an eternity in prison. But if an “upstanding citizen” takes the heat, they get a slap on the wrist. I refused to be a part of her little scheme, but she said that if I didn’t do it or breathed even so much as a word , she would lose no sleep in throwing me under the bridge and framing for everything SHE’S ever done. My reputation would be completely tarnished, our mother and society would shun me, and I would spend the rest of my days in prison with some VERY intimate roommates becoming *metaphorically speaking* “an oasis to some very-VERY thirsty travelers” in ANY POSITION!!! Which is WHY I left home and remained a recluse here in Corenia for the last 10 years. (points to directly at Ratna) In hopes that I would never see you AGAIN!!

Everyone: (wretches in disgusts at this shocking revelation) UUUUUUGHH!!!

Reginald: (shouts loudly) RATNA!!! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?

Siege: (disgusted) We Saurians have done some messed up things. But you, Ratna? You’re an ANIMAL!!

Miyuki: (angrily) How could you do that!? And to your sister no less!?

Ratna: O-Okay, okay!! Hold on. I admit…I might have stepped over the line a little, alright?

Fatimah: (snaps completely) A LITTLE?! Blackmailing me and implying PRISON RAPE is A LITTLE to you?! (furiously) Oooh, Ratna. You are SOME PIECE OF WORK!!! Honestly, I don’t know why I’m surprised you’re this way! You’ve ALWAYS been like this! Maybe the reason you can’t act like a GROWN UP is because you can’t accept the fact that our father was a no-good, deadbeat criminal who ABANDONED us and left us to DIE!!!

Everyone: (stares in shock)

Chameleon: (breaks the silence) Holy shit…

#mightyduck #dragaunus #final fantasy 7 abridged #disney

1 note · View note

stahlop · 5 years ago

Text

Once Upon a Time 1x14 “Dreamy” Review

Reviews 1x01 1x02 1x03 1x04 1x05 1x06 1x07 1x08 1x09 1x10 1x11 1x12 1x13

I’m going to straight up be honest with everyone and tell you all that I really don’t like this episode. It had potential because Amy Acker was in it (Nova/Astrid) and I loved her as Fred from Angel, but this episode was not only horrible, but it changed up previous canon about Grumpy and dwarves in general and I just didn’t like it at all.

Summary: The annual Miner’s Day Festival is coming up. Mary Margaret and Leroy attempt to get people to buy candles so the nuns don’t lose their convent, but no one wants to buy anything from the town harlot and town drunk. In the EF, a newly born dwarf falls for a clumsy fairy.

Opening: The seven dwarves.

New Characters:

Dreamy (Grumpy)/Leroy: Oh, boy! Where to even start with this. Dwarves are apparently hatched from eggs and the ones all born from the same clutch are considered brothers who live and work together. And when they are given their axes it determines their names (which can change over time). The dwarf we’ve known as Grumpy in previous episodes hatches early due to some fairy dust that managed to only fall onto his egg, and he apparently had a vision of the fairy that dusted his egg, and because of this, the axe names him Dreamy, because his head seems to be in the clouds. A year later, Dreamy meets Nova, when she’s having trouble collecting her fairy dust and then almost loses it. Dreamy plays hero and saves it. Nova tells him her dream of becoming a fairy godmother and he tells ‘you can do anything as long as you can dream it.’ They embark on a very timid romance, as dwarves don’t fall in love (as we’re told repeatedly), and fairies aren’t supposed to fall in love either. Dreamy has to have the fact that he’s in love told to him by Belle, who just happens to be stopping by the tavern he and his brothers frequent. Belle also has to spell out to Dreamy that Nova wanted him to come see the fireflies with her, and wasn’t just talking about her love for them. Dreamy rushes to see Nova and he talks about getting a boat to see the world. Once the fireflies appear, Nova kissed Dreamy and they make plans to run off together. I’m sure that would work out well. Stealthy (aw, Stealthy) catches Dreamy trying to leave and wakes up their brothers. They don’t understand why he’s leaving, because dwarves can’t fall in love. Blue Fairy comes to visit and basically guilts Dreamy into breaking up with Nova by saying she’s ruining her potential if she runs off with him. When Dreamy meets up with Nova she has found a boat for them but Dreamy tells her it’s not love, just a dream. Nova is pleading with him, telling him she loves him. Dreamy tells her dwarves can’t love. That was way harsh, Dreamy. He then goes to the mines and breaks his axe with his angst. He gets a new axe that now names him Grumpy.

Leroy, meanwhile, is the town grump and drunk. Mary Margaret tries to get him to help her sell candles for the nuns, but he says the town hates the two of them so there’s no use trying. But his heart is warmed when he meets Astrid the nun, after she accidently dusts him with glitter. He gets her fairy lights running (not a euphemism). He tells her he’s always wanted to sail, she tells him ‘you can do anything as long as you can dream it.’ It seems to be love at first sight for Leroy, and Astrid seems pretty smitten, considering she thinks she’s a nun. So Leroy volunteers to help sell candles after he hears Mother Superior tell Astrid she spent their whole budget on helium and now the nuns won’t be able to pay rent. If the convent closes it will be closed and they will be reassigned, and then Leroy would never get to see Astrid again. Leroy pledges to sell all $5000 worth of candles. But of course, no one wants to buy candles from Leroy or Mary Margaret. They attempt to sell door to door (Leroy says maybe people will buy candles just to make them go away), but still no one is buying. If this is such a ‘tradition’, should it matter who is selling the candle? Would the townspeople really be so petty about Mary Margaret and Leroy that they wouldn’t help out the nuns? Leroy, so smitten with Astrid, lies and tells her that he sold all the candles. Mary Margaret is furious, but then realizes that Leroy likes Astrid. She comments on how he couldn’t have picked someone less available. He retorts about her going after a married guy (to be fair, the married guy did leave his wife eventually, it’s doubtful the nun will leave her devotion to God). Leroy vows to get the money. He attempts to sell his boat to Gold (well, says he can have the boat as long as he puts what he would pay him towards the nuns rent),but Gold hates the nuns so he won’t help Leroy out. Astrid comes by with a pie and discovers all the candles on Leroy’s boat. He goes to drink with Mary Margaret who reminds him he can’t have a relationship with a nun. Leroy tells her that Astrid was the first person to ever believe in him. He just wanted a good memory with Astrid and drinking won’t help the pain, only one thing will. It looks as though Leroy is going to jump off the roof but he tells Mary Margaret he would never do that because he might hurt someone. He finds a convenient axe and hits the transformer, effectively cutting the lights in the town and making everyone have to buy candles.

So we basically have two sides of the coin with Dreamy (Grumpy)/Leroy and Nova/Astrid. Dreamy cannot ‘love’ because he is a dwarf and they cannot love and Astrid is a nun so she cannot love.

Nova/Astrid: Nova is a clumsy fairy who dreams of becoming a fairy godmother. She is tasked with bringing the year’s supply of fairy dust to the Blue Fairy. Considering how accident prone she is, I find this an odd task for her, but okay. Blue let’s her know that she’ll get to do it on her own next year and Nova is disappointed because she was hoping to be a fairy godmother. And then Blue laughs right in her face. I mean, I know Nova isn’t the best fairy around, but that’s rude Blue. And then Blue calls Nova a dreamer, which makes it all the more fortuitous that she not only accidently creates Dreamy, but later falls for him. When Nova meets Dreamy a year later he helps her when she almost makes a mess with the fairy dust and then when it almost goes into the incinerator because of her clumsiness. Look, I get being adorkable, that’s how Amy Acker’s character was on Angel, but she is really over the top here. No other fairy that we’ve met is like this. They seem to be all business, and yet here is Nova who doesn’t seem to have a clue. I get why Dreamy likes her, because they are very similar, and he’s never seen a girl before, except in his dreams, but their relationship makes very little sense. Nova tells Dreamy about the fireflies, but he doesn’t get that she’s inviting him to come with her to see them. So, of course she’s thrilled when he does show up. Nova is sad looking over the town where the fireflies will be because she wants to be part of the world and not over it. Dreamy is in the same situation but under the world in the mines. So that means they should run away together. Nova says she’ll meet him after she delivers the fairy dust. And somehow Blue finds out about all this which ends with Nova getting her heart broken because Dreamy says he can never love her since dwarves can’t fall in love. Amy Acker was excellent in this part. She finally gets to live in the world by falling in love and her heart gets broken because of it. Poor Nova.

All the fairies have become nuns in Storybrooke. Interesting route to go there. I guess it makes sense because the fairies would have had their own community and they curse needed for them to all stick together. Astrid is one of the nuns, who is just as accident prone and clueless as Nova was and also seems to have a soft spot for Leroy after he gets the fairy lights working. She tells him he can do anything. She has inadvertently ordered too much helium for the Miner’s Day Festival and depleted their budget so now they can’t pay rent. By the end, Leroy has gotten the money and Astrid is happy and it looks like we’ll have a good friendship going until the curse breaks. Maybe she’ll be able to forgive him for breaking her heart then.

Character Observations:

Mary Margaret: Okay, I get that she had an affair with David and essentially broke up their sham of a marriage, but Mary Margaret has been nothing but an upstanding citizen of Storybrooke for as long as anyone can remember. Would the denizens of Storybrooke really turn on her that easily. And why is no one mad at David for his part of the affair? Stupid double standards. So Mary Margaret is trying to find volunteers for the Miner’s Day Festival because half her volunteers quit due to her affair. What? Would people really quit volunteering due to the volunteer coordinator having an affair? Is this what it’s like living in a small town where everyone knows your business? This whole thing is insane. She made a mistake getting involved with a married man, but he did leave his wife so as to not continue the affair, so give them both some credit. Argh! Leroy calls Mary Margaret the Town Harlot. Seriously? With the way Ruby dresses, Mary Margaret is the Town Harlot? With the way Whale flirts with anyone on two legs, Mary Margaret is the Town Harlot? Give me a break. So Mary Margaret is basically trying to get these candles sold and the only one in town who will help her is Leroy, who is also despised because he is the town drunk. Very judgy, this town. In the end, the town has to buy candles from them, despite the fact that Leroy kind of forced them to because he cut the power. And since they sell out, Granny lights Mary Margaret’s candle as a way of making amends for judging her last week and it seems the rest of the town forgives her too. And all is right with Mary Margaret again.

Blue Fairy: I don’t really have much to say about her except that she is a terrible leader. She laughs at Nova when she expresses interest in becoming a fairy godmother. And she later tells Dreamy to break things off with Nova because he’s limiting her at becoming something great. How about Nova makes up her own mind about what she wants to do with her life?

Emma: She is looking into Kathryn’s disappearance. Her theory of Kathryn’s car breaking down and hitching a ride to Boston or a bus station is nixxed when Kathryn’s suitcase is still in the trunk of the car. She believes David is innocent of any foul play because of her superpower, but she begins to doubt him when she sees the phone records Sidney brings her. She eventually has to bring David in for questioning and puts him in the back of the sheriff’s car in front of the whole town.

David: Seems to be oblivious to anything going on with Kathryn. Swears they haven’t talked since she left and is surprised when she is deemed missing and he could possibly be a suspect. Dumb, dumb David.

Belle: We get a glimpse of her at the tavern Dreamy is drinking at. She basically tells him that what he’s feeling toward Nova is love and to hold onto it. She says it’s the most wonderful and amazing thing, it’s hope, it fuels our dreams. And that it doesn’t last forever. This is obviously not too long after she left Rumplestiltskin’s but before she returns home or Regina gets her (still not sure which one happens, only that Belle is captive in SB).

Questions:

Why is Kathryn starting law school in February or March? It was Valentine’s Day a few episodes ago so we know it’s around this time, plus the cool weather (even though it looks like fall and not winter). Wouldn’t law school either start in September or January?

Why does Gold (Rumplestiltskin) hate the nuns (fairies) so much?

Why is Emma still believing everything Sidney tells her after the whole playground debacle?

How did Blue know about Dreamy and Nova’s plans? Is she all knowing? Nova never said anything to her that we know of.

Did Regina doctor the phone records to make it look like he and Kathryn had that 8 minute phone conversation?

Why did Emma have to bring David to the station in her car? Could he not have come in on his own accord?

What happened to Grumpy’s story about being in love with a woman who looked like a fairy but left him and he ended up in jail for buying a stolen diamond in 7:15 AM? This episode doesn’t jive with that story and Grumpy doesn’t seem the type to make up a story for sympathy.

Observations:

Dwarves are hatched from eggs, fully clothed and with a full beard.

Dwarves don’t fall in love.

The pick axe determines the dwarves name.

It looks like Belle has just been let go by Rumplestiltskin at this point and is drowning her sorrows about him choosing his power over her at the tavern.

All the fairies are nuns.

The couple Mary Margaret and Leroy try to sell candles to are reminiscent of the nursery rhyme ‘Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean’

Once Upon a Time Firsts:

Gold/Rumplestiltskin’s hatred of the nuns/fairies

Names:

Nova means new.

Astrid means beautiful and beloved.

I did not like this episode. The whole Dreamy/Nova storyline was very convoluted and the treatment of Mary Margaret just made me very angry.

Please leave comments and reblog!

@searchingwardrobes @thisonesatellite @justbecauseyoubelievesomething @laschatzi @profdanglaisstuff @mariakov81

#once upon a time #once upon a time rewatch #once upon a time 1x14 #once upon a time dreamy

5 notes · View notes

tomeandflickcorner · 7 years ago

Text

Star Wars: Episode Two- Attack of the Clones

And the prequel trilogy continues, and so does my ongoing Star Wars Reviews. The plot thickens (with some rather confusing elements) and an unfortunate romance subplot is initiated.

It’s been ten years since the events of Phantom Menace. And right away, we’re told a bit about Naboo politics. Turns out, even though Padmé was called Queen Amidala, it wasn’t actually a traditional monarchy. The person they call queen is actually elected for the position, with a new election being held every few years. In other words, they call her Queen, but the position is more like President or Prime Minister. Which is interesting, but slightly problematic. Because Padmé was 14 years old in the first movie. And she later states that she wasn’t the youngest person elected to be Queen of Naboo. What kind of governmental system is this, that you place a child in a position of authority?

Either way, Padmé is now the Senator of Naboo, as the previous Naboo Senator, Palpitine, became Supreme Chancellor of the Senate in the last movie. But there’s a new problem on the horizon. Lately, a bunch of planetary systems have expressed a desire to secede from the Galactic Republic. These Separatists are led by a man called Count Dooku. Because the Jedi are finding it difficult to resolve the issue on their own, the Senate is planning to vote on whether or not they should form an Army of the Republic to aid the Jedi.

As the movie opens, we see Senator Padmé has journeyed to Coruscant to attend the Senate meeting that will discuss the matter. She is against the creation of an army, as she feels that doing so will be declaration of war against the Separatists, which would only drive them further away from the Republic, and believes there should be a peaceful resolution to the conflict. But when her ship lands, a bomb explodes, mortally wounding everyone as they exited the craft. It turns out, however, that Padmé is still utilizing her old tactic of employing her bodyguards to act as decoys, and the woman who was caught in the explosion was one of those decoys. To her credit, Padmé is visibly grieved by the death of her friend who bravely risked her life and died for her, but her remaining entourage convinces her to get to safety.

So now that they know that there’s an assassin plotting to kill Padmé, Palpatine suggests that Padmé seek protection from members of the Jedi order. The problem is, the Jedi Council have their hands full with helping maintain peace within the Republic by doing what they can to keep the Separatist planets from seceding. Besides, Padmé is not interested in receiving more guards, as she doesn’t feel more security is necessary. Palpatine disagrees with her on that count and, in what I guess was an effort to compromise, suggests that Padmé seek protection from someone she already knows. Namely Obi-Wan and Anakin, who have apparently just returned to the area after dealing with a border dispute on Ansion. Padmé is still not happy about the matter, but she ultimately concedes to Palpatine’s suggestion.

As such, Obi-Wan and Anakin, who is now 19-years-old, are summoned to Coruscant to protect Padmé. Right away, Anakin admits he’s still got his strange fascination with Padmé. Even though they hadn’t seen or even contacted one another in a decade, and when they parted ways, they had only known each other for three or four days. Obi-Wan responds to this by instructing Anakin to control his feelings. This is obviously easier said than done, which becomes obvious when they meet with Padmé, who is accompanied by Jar Jar, who I guess has become a vice-senator of sorts to Padmé in the past ten years, acting as a representative for the Gungans, and Captain Typho, who pretty much fills the role Captain Panaka did in the first movie. See, Obi-Wan and Anakin were simply tasked with protecting Padmé in case the assassin made another attempt on her life. But Anakin starts running off at the mouth, announcing that they will do more and actually find out the identity of the assassin. Obi Wan sternly instructs Anakin to not make any attempt at acting outside their mandate. And it’s here that Anakin begins to become a bit unlikable. He starts becoming openly defiant towards Obi-Wan, directly asking him why he has to listen to him. Gee, I don’t know, Anakin. Maybe because he’s the Jedi Master who’s been charged with training you!? But the thing that really makes me raise an eyebrow at his behavior in this scene is that he’s acting out right in front of Padmé, Jar Jar and Captain Typho. While I realize there were scenes in Phantom Menace that showed Obi-Wan questioning Qui-Gon’s decisions, he at least had the decency to do this in private. He never openly acted like that in front of other people. Thankfully, after a bit of awkwardness, Obi-Wan manages to get Anakin to curb his attitude, instructing him to remember his place.

When night falls, Padmé heads off to bed while Obi-Wan, Anakin and Captain Typho’s squad stand guard. As they’re standing around, it’s established that Anakin has been plagued by nightmares about his mother. Whom he hasn’t seen since he left Tatooine with Qui-Gon. Okay, I get that the whole Jedi mandate states you have to let go of your past and all, but… you’re telling me that Anakin was not allowed to visit his mother at any point during the past ten years? I’m sure that all of Anakin’s Jedi training and duties were vitally important, but come on. Obi-Wan and the Jedi Council could have allowed him to his mother once in a while.

Of course, Anakin then returns his focus back to Padmé and his obsessive crush on her, which leads to Obi-Wan instructing Anakin to keep in mind that Padmé is a politician, and therefore can’t be trusted. However, Anakin disagrees with Obi-Wan’s general statement, as he isn’t interested in hearing anything negative being said about his long-lost 3 day crush. To back up his argument that not all politicians are corrupt, he points out how Palpitine seems like an upstanding man. (Oh, the irony). This conversation is eventually halted on the dime, as both Jedi instantly sense something amiss in Padmé’s bedchamber. Because the assassin had utilized a drone to slice a hole into Padmé’s bedroom window and release two venomous slug-like creatures into the room. Obi-Wan and Anakin charge in, killing the slugs before they can bite Padmé, and, upon seeing the drone that released the slugs, Obi-Wan launches himself out the window, tagging a ride onto the drone. Because I guess he thinks that doing so would lead him to the assassin.

This leads to this prolonged speeder chase through the futuristic city of Coruscant, with Anakin and Obi-Wan pursuing the assassin. They eventually catch up to her in some bar (where we not only get an ironic bit of foreshadowing with Obi-Wan stating that Anakin will be the death of him but this really funny bit about death sticks, a type of drug that exists in this universe, as well.) After apprehending the assassin, Obi-Wan and Anakin take her outside to question her. The assassin admits that she had been hired to kill Padmé by a bounty hunter. But before they could get her to state the bounty hunter’s name, the assassin is struck by a poisonous dart that kills her almost instantly. The two Jedi look up to see who fired the dart, only to see the bounty hunter in question flying off.

Here, the story splits off into two separate narratives. Obi-Wan takes on the task of identifying the origin of the dart that killed the assassin, which in turn might help them identify the bounty hunter that ordered the hit on Padmé. And the Jedi Council instruct Anakin to escort Padmé back to Naboo for her own safety. Yes, because that’s a brilliant idea. Let’s send the hormonal teenager off to be alone with the young woman he’s been crushing on. I’m sure nothing bad could possibly happen there. While Obi-Wan does tell Yoda and Mace Windu, the two leaders of the Jedi Council, that he has his doubts that Anakin is ready to go on a mission on his own, the decision still stands. As for Padmé, she is not at all pleased by the fact that she’s being sent back to Naboo. She’s worked too hard to try and put an end to the possibility that they’d create an Army of the Republic in response to the Separatist movement for her to not be there when the decision is made. But she realizes she’s not being given much of a say in the matter, so she relents, albeit reluctantly, and instructs Jar Jar to stand in for her in the Senate.

In the Obi-Wan subplot, he ends up meeting up with an old friend of his named Dex, who works at a local diner. We’re not given any context or explanation as to how Obi-Wan and Dex met, but it sounds like Dex once worked as a prospector on some other planet. Obi-Wan arranged this meeting because, when he had the poison dart tested by a team of Analysis Droids, he was told that the dart’s markings could not be identified, and that it was probably custom-made by a warrior from no known society. As Obi-Wan had hoped, Dex is able to identify the origin of the poison dart, announcing that it was most likely made by a group of cloners on a planet called Kamino. It’s briefly stated that the reason why the Analysis Droids couldn’t identify the dart was because they only look at symbols and therefore overlook the tell-tale cuts etched into the dart. (Obi-Wan also makes a comment about droids not being able to think. Which sounds a bit iffy, to me. Is Obi-Wan racist against Droids?)

However, when Obi-Wan returns to the Jedi temple to search through the archives, he cannot locate any information about the planetary system of Kamino. And when he examines the star charts, the coordinates Dex gave him show nothing but empty space. When he checks with the Jedi Librarian, she confidently tells him that if Kamino doesn’t show up in the Jedi archives, then it does not exist. It isn’t until Obi-Wan confers with Yoda, who is currently overseeing a lightsaber training sequence with a group of Jedi toddlers, that someone points out the obvious- that if Kamino does not show up in the archives, it means that someone purposely erased it from the star charts. (Kinda weird how they needed a toddler to point that out to them.) However, this explanation only deepens the mystery, as only someone from the Jedi order could have gotten enough access to the Jedi archives in order to erase the files on Kamino.

With Anakin and Padmé’s subplot, things are a little less interesting. It’s mostly just them exchanging dialogue, with topics ranging from Padmé’s childhood on Naboo to Anakin’s nightmares about his mother, how Anakin feels like Obi-Wan doesn’t have enough faith in him, etc. But, as one would predict, it gets to the point when Anakin starts to act on his attraction to Padmé. It starts with him kissing her, and eventually he starts declaring that he’s in love with Padmé and he’s hoping that she feels the same way.

Now I’m really sorry to go off on a tangent, but I really can’t stomach the whole Anakin/Padmé romantic subplot they created in this movie. Let’s think about it here. When Anakin and Padmé met, they were nine and fourteen respectively. And the cumulative amount of time they spent together was five days at the most. After that point, Anakin went off to train as a Jedi and Padmé stayed behind on Naboo, and they had no form of contact of any sort for ten years. And here’s Anakin, deciding that he’s completely in love with her. You can’t tell me this sounds even remotely like a healthy relationship. Especially considering the fact that, since Anakin is 19 now, Padmé is 24. That alone is probably a bit squicky. I realize that it’s only a five year age gap, but generally speaking, 19-year-olds aren’t as mentally mature as a 24-year-old.

Even if you could ignore the age thing, I pretty much have the same problem with Anakin/Padmé that I did with Christine/Raul in Phantom of the Opera. For those who aren’t familiar with that story, here’s a quick summation. Christine and Raul are childhood friends, but then their paths diverge and they don’t see each other for 10-15 years. When they do meet again, Raul invites Christine to supper, but she says ‘no, things have changed.’ And then Christine seems to fall in love with the Phantom. After that, Christine and Raul don’t talk or even interact with each other until the Phantom kills Joseph Buquet and Christine needs a shoulder to cry on. At that point, Raul is all ‘Christine, I love you!’ And I’m left wondering where that even came from!

To be fair, in the case of Anakin and Padmé, at least the movie actually shows them talking and interacting with each other. But even then, I have a problem with it. For starters, it’s the fact that Anakin has probably rarely interacted with a young girl other than Padmé. So his attraction to her seems more like an obsessive crush than real love, especially when he virtually starts to demand that she tell him if she feels the same way.

While Padmé does hold her ground by informing him that them forming a relationship wouldn’t be possible, as she’s a senator and he made an oath to uphold the Jedi code which forbids him to form romantic attachments, she still seems to be falling for him in turn. And I have no idea why she would like him in that way. Because Anakin seems very unlikable most of the time. For example, let’s look at the scene when Padmé is discussing the issue of the Separatist movement with Queen Jamilla (the new Queen of Naboo). When the subject turns to Padmé’s safety, he starts acting a bit high and mighty when Padmé begins to explain what her plan will be, stating that he’s the one in charge. Granted Padmé might have been a bit out of line when she talked over him by correcting Queen Jamillia’s attendant’s assumption that Anakin was a full-fledged Jedi, but even so. But the biggest red flag comes when they’re having a picnic of sorts while they’re off in the Lake Country, a remote area of Naboo, where they start discussing the political system and how it works. Anakin practically states that it might be better for the Republic to become a dictatorship instead of a democracy. Padmé seems to dismiss his comment as if it were a joke, but… is that really something to joke about?

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan has found his way to Kamino to continue his investigation. Upon his arrival, he is surprised to find that he was expected, with Lama Su, the Prime Minister of Kamino, giving him a warm welcome. It turns out that, ten years ago, around the time of the last movie, a Jedi calling himself Sifo-Dyas had come to the planet and placed an order for a Clone Army to be used by the Republic. Even though he is able to school his expression, it’s clear that this new information has floored Obi-Wan, as the Jedi Council had no knowledge of any of this. And Sifo-Dyas had reportedly been killed long before the Clone Army had been ordered. When Obi-Wan questions Lama Su, it’s revealed that the Clone Army had been cloned from a bounty hunter called Jango Fett. This obviously catches Obi-Wan’s attention, because he had been looking for a bounty hunter. He asks if he could meet with Jango Fett himself. When he’s brought to Jango’s room, they are greeted by Boba, Jango’s son. Or rather, Jango’s own personal mini-me. See, in addition to his sizable fee for being the original host of the Clone Army, Jango had requested one additional clone. One that would not be subjected to the same genetic modification that the other clones went through to make them completely obedient soldiers and would also age at a natural rate. That separate clone ended up being Boba, who Jango kept as a son.

Obi-Wan proceeds to ask Jango some questions. Has he been to Coruscant recently? And does he know Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas? Jango responds to Obi-Wan’s questioning as casually as possible, stating that he never heard of Sifo-Dyas and that he was recruited by someone called Tyranus. But it’s clear that the two are sizing each other up. Obi-Wan leaves the moment he’s done questioning Jango, but Jango seems to suspect that Obi-Wan is suspicious of him, for he immediately tells Boba that they’re leaving, instructing his son to pack his things.

Before leaving the planet, Obi-Wan contacts Yoda and Mace Windu back on Coruscant, informing them of his discovery, along with his suspicion that Jango Fett is the same bounty hunter that ordered the hit on Padmé. The two elder Jedi instruct Obi-Wan to bring Jango Fett to them for further questioning. But before Obi-Wan could do anything, Jango Fett appears in his full bounty hunter armor, attacking him on the spot. After a brief battle, Jango Fett and Boba attempt to get away, flying away from Kamino. However, Obi-Wan manages to track them down. Despite Jango’s best efforts at shooting Obi-Wan down upon realizing that he’s being followed, Obi-Wan is able to tail the two to a planet called Geonosis. This planet turns out to be the home base of the Separatists. Which include Nute Gunray and the Trade Federation, who are still in active service despite Palpatine and the Senate’s attempt to shut them down. While investigating, Obi-Wan discovers that the Separatists, with the assistance of the Trade Federation, are building a Droid Army. One so large that it will effortlessly overpower the Jedi and force the Republic to submit to their demands.

Upon learning this, Obi-Wan realizes he must warn the Jedi Counsil and the Senate. But since his long-range transmitter was damaged by Jango Fett, he cannot relay a message directly to Coruscant. So he decides to send the message over to Anakin, with the instructions that Anakin pass the message on. But as he’s sending the message, Obi-Wan is discovered by the Separatists and is captured.

While in the custody of the Separatists, Obi-Wan is approached by Count Dooku, the leader of the Separatists. Count Dooku was the one who had oversaw the creation of the Clone Army, going under the alias of Darth Tyranus. It turns out that Dooku was once the Jedi who had taught Obi-Wan’s late master, Qui-Gon. But Dooku and left the Jedi order because he lost faith in the Republic. Since then, he had been taking orders from Darth Sidious, the same Sith Lord who had organized the invasion of Naboo.

Qui-Gon is a large topic in Obi-Wan and Dooku’s confrontation. Obi-Wan, in response to Dooku’s statements that he wished the fallen Jedi was still around as he could have used his help, states that Qui-Gon would never have sided with the Separatists over the Republic and the Senate. But Dooku tells Obi-Wan that he shouldn’t be so sure on that, stating that, unbeknownst to the Jedi Council, the Republic was actually under the control of the Sith. He goes on to inform Obi-Wan of the existence of Darth Sidious, explaining how the Sith Lord had aided the Trade Federation during the Invasion of Naboo but had then betrayed them. That had led to the members of the Trade Federation seeking Dooku out. Obi-Wan, however, doesn’t seem to believe Dooku’s claims of the Senate being controlled by Darth Sidious and announces he refuses to join Dooku. Upon learning that Obi-Wan is unwilling to aid the Separatist movement, Dooku pretty much announces that he won’t make an attempt to free him.

Now, I’m a bit confused here, to be honest. Dooku states that he knows Darth Sidious was behind the invasion of Naboo, but he ultimately double crossed the Trade Federation, which led to them seeking his help. But Dooku is also shown to be taking orders from Dath Sidious, and has become his new apprentice, taking Darth Maul’s place. But… if he knew Darth Sidious had simply used the Trade Federation as pawns, why would Dooku ally himself with the Sith Lord? And why would he intentionally have the Clone Army manufactured to aid the Republic, knowing that they would be used to fight the Separatists that he is the leader of? What exactly does Dooku think the plan is here? (Granted, I think I know what Darth Sidious’ master plan is, but what does Dooku think it is?)

While all of this was going on, Anakin had found his nightmares involving his mother were getting worse. This leads to him suspecting something was very wrong. So, even though doing so is violating his orders to remain on Naboo with Padmé, he decides to journey back to Tatooine. Padmé, understanding how important this is for him, agrees to go with him. When they arrive on Tatooine, they head over to Watto’s place. Obviously, Watto doesn’t recognize the older Anakin. Until Anakin effortlessly fixes the machine Watto was trying to repair. Once he does recognize the young Jedi in front of him as the little boy he once knew, Watto is clearly pleased to see him. Admittedly, I rather like this scene. While Watto did keep Anakin as a slave, this scene made me think that he did have a certain level of affection for the boy. However, when Anakin asks about Shmi, Watto admits that he’d sold her to a moisture farmer named Cliegg Lars a few years ago. He goes on to inform Anakin that Cligg had eventually fallen in love with Shmi and proceeded to free and marry her. So Anakin and Padmé make their way over to the Lars household, where they are greeted by Cliegg’s son, Owen, and his girlfriend, Beru. They also are reunited with C-3PO, the Protocol Droid Anakin had been building before he’d left Tatooine with Qui-Gon in the last movie. C-3PO has pretty much been completed since then. When Anakin left Tatooine, he’d pretty much just been an exoskeleton. But now, someone had completed him by adding coverings. I wonder who it was who finished building 3PO, because it’s never stated.

Unfortunately, Cleigg, Owen and Beru have bad news for Anakin. A month earlier, Shmi had been out gathering mushrooms when the Tuskin Raiders had attacked and abducted her. Why they would abduct a random woman, I have no idea. Cleigg and the other moisture farmers had attempted a rescue, but most of them ended up dying in the attempt, with Cleigg losing a leg. Naturally, they weren’t able to organize a second rescue attempt, and as time went on, even Cleigg gave up hope, believing Shmi was most likely dead. Anakin, however, refuses to accept this and heads off on his own to find his mother. After a long search, he locates the Tuskin Raider settlement and quickly finds a badly injured Shmi tied up inside one of the huts. Anakin tries to untie his mother, but it’s too late, as she only has enough strength to look at her son one last time before succumbing to her injuries. Anakin’s grief of seeing his mother dying quickly shifts to utter rage, and he retaliates by turning his lightsaber on the Tuskin Raiders, massacring every single one of them. Anakin’s rage is so great, Yoda is able to sense it from across the galaxy.

Anakin brings his mother’s body back to the Lars homestead, where she is given a proper burial. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Padmé tries to console Anakin, who is still angry over the situation. He starts to announce that he feels that he could have been able to save her if he’d only been stronger and vows that he’ll one day become the most powerful Jedi ever, even strong enough to prevent people from dying. He even stats placing the blame on Obi-Wan, accusing his mentor of purposely keeping him from reaching his full potential out of jealousy. Now, I acknowledge that Anakin is obviously grieving and needs time to reach the final stage of acceptance. But I don’t think Padmé was much help here. Because I think she really should have done a better attempt at gently counseling him through his grieving by telling him that, while his mother’s death was a terrible tragedy, death was simply a part of the natural order of all things, and that preventing it was inadvisable. Then again, I suppose Padmé can’t be expected to be a therapist.

However, this is when the warning bells really start going off. Anakin announces that he killed everyone in the Tuskin Raider settlement. Including the women and children. I really don’t get how Padmé wasn’t alarmed by the fact that Anakin admitted to committing genocide without any ounce of remorse. I’m no expert, but that’s really not the kind of behavior befitting of a Jedi. Or anyone else, for that matter.

But there’s no time to dwell on this, because this is when R2-D2, who had been tagging along with Anakin and Padmé, rolls up, telling them of Obi-Wan’s message. Anakin heeds Obi-Wan’s request by sending the transmission on to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. But Padmé decides that they should also head off to rescue Obi-Wan, since they’re much closer to Geonosis. Anakin, doing the right thing for once, points out that he was instructed by Obi-Wan to stay put. But Padmé counters this by reminding him that he was tasked to protect her. Since she is going to Geonosis to save Obi-Wan, he’ll have to with her if he’s to uphold his duties as her protector.

So off they go to Geonosis. And when they arrive, we do get a rather tense sequence when Separatists Droids attack the pair in the middle of a Droid manufacturing factory. After that scene goes on for a while, Anakin and Padmé are also captured. The Separatists, while being egged on by Nute Gunrey, end up sentencing the two to death, and they’re both taken into a giant arena to be executed by means of large alien beasts: a mantis-like Acklay, a rhino-like Reek and a cat-like Nexu. (On a side note, I adore the design of the Nexu. I’d love to have one as a pet.) But before being taken into the arena for their execution, Padmé confesses her love to Anakin and the two kiss. Still don’t know what Padmé saw in him, though.

Upon being taken into the arena, they are reunited with Obi-Wan, who is to be executed alongside them. Before the three alien beast that are to kill them can reach them, however, they all manage to break free and start taking on one of the beasts. Obi-Wan battles the Acklay, Anakin, after a moment, manages to tame the Reek with the Force, and Padmé faces off against the Nexu, until Anakin and his Reek come to her aid.

And that’s when Mace Windu and the other Jedi appear on the scene, having had arrived off-camera. They had received Obi-Wan’s message and acted accordingly. An entire fight scene erupts. During the fight, Mace Windu ends up facing off against Jango Fett. This battle ultimately ends with Jango getting his head chopped off by Mace Windu’s lightsaber, with Young Boba Fett watching from the shadows. (We later see Young Boba Fett claiming his dead father’s helmet.) Also, we get an on-going attempt at slapstick humor with C-3PO. During the scene in the Droid manufacturing factory, 3PO had inadvertently fallen into the works, thanks in part to R2-D2 pushing him off a platform. During this battle scene, the whole thing continues, with 3PO’s head affixed to the body of a Soldier Droid, and vice-versa. There’s no real point to this, other than to show how utterly useless 3PO is. (I’m sorry, but outside of Return of the Jedi, does 3P0 ever contribute anything worthwhile to these movies?)

Eventually, however, the Jedi find themselves outnumbered by the Separatist’s Droid Army. But before they can be gunned down, Yoda appears out of nowhere, accompanied by the Clone Army from Kamino. Yoda and the Clones are able to help Obi-Wan, Anakin, Padmé and the surviving Jedi escape. But the fight is not over yet, and the Separatists and Clones continue their battle outside the Separatist’s stronghold. After a long battle scene, the Separatists decide to evacuate their base. But before they do so, they gather up blueprints for….a familiar looking space station, stating that they can’t let the Republic see what they’re planning to build.

Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padmé, however set their sights on Count Dooku. As they’re making their way to catch up to Count Dooku, Padmé ends up falling from the helicopter-like craft. (She’s okay, of course.) Anakin’s first instinct is to go back for her, but Obi-Wan eventually gets him to relent, reminding him of the matter at hand- they have a duty to stop Dooku.

They eventually catch up to Dooku and Anakin, headstrong as ever, charges in blindly. To nobody’s surprise, Dooku tosses him aside effortlessly, utilizing Force Lightning. This leads to a lightsaber battle between Obi-Wan and Dooku. But Dooku manages to even overwhelm Obi-Wan. Before Dooku can finish him off, Anakin, having gotten his second wind, comes back for a rematch, using both his and Obi-Wan’s lightsabers. During this fight, Anakin not only gets his lightsaber destroyed, but gets his hand chopped off. So now, both Anakin and Obi-Wan have been defeated. But before Dooku can do anything, Yoda suddenly appears on the scene. Here, it’s revealed that, much like Qui-Gon was Dooku’s apprentice, Dooku was once Yoda’s apprentice.

And it’s Master vs. Apprentice. They quickly decide that their fight won’t go anywhere if they simply rely on their mastery of the Force, as they’re pretty evenly matched in that regard. So they engage in a lightsaber duel. And it is awesome. Not to mention helps ensure Yoda’s place as my all-time favorite Star Wars character. While I suppose you might end up questioning why Yoda bothers with that cane of his if he can move like that during a lightsaber battle, I think it makes sense. The cane might be there as a reminder that you shouldn’t judge someone on outward appearance. It might be Yoda’s way of playing on the expectations of others. That or he can only go without the cane for short periods of time. There are people who can walk for short distances but still need wheelchairs because they can’t be on their feet for an extended period of time.

In the end, however, Dooku resorts to an underhanded method, causing a heavy pipe to fall towards Obi-Wan and Anakin. Yoda is forced to redirect his attention into stopping the pipe from crushing the two, but this enables Dooku to get away. So Yoda is left alone with Obi-Wan an Anakin, with Padmé and one of the Clone Soldiers arriving on the scene shortly afterwards. The Clone Soldier informs Yoda that the Clone Army has won the battle against the Separatists.

In the aftermath of the battle of Geonosis, the people of the Republic prepare for war with the Separatists. The Senate had been informed of the Droid Army the Separatists were forming and, in response, decided to award emergency powers to Palpatine, at Jar Jar’s suggestion, which allowed Palpatine to approve the use of the Clone Army against the Separatists. (There was an earlier scene when Palpatine pretty much coerced Jar Jar into thinking it was a good idea.) The situation is clearly devastating to Yoda, who announces that the Clone War has officially begun.

Meanwhile, Anakin, whose missing hand has been replaced with a mechanical one, has escorted Padmé back to her home on Naboo. Before he returns to Coruscant, however, they have a secret wedding ceremony, with R2 and 3PO as their only witnesses. Because they’ve apparently forgotten about Padmé’s earlier statement that it would be a bad idea for them to enter into a secret relationship. I guess their near-death experience on Geonosis made them rethink things a bit. Either way, I still don’t see why we’re supposed to be rooting for this particular couple.

Next week, we’ll be looking at the 2008 movie, Clone Wars. Which is a movie I haven’t seen before starting this particular project. Here’s hoping it’s good.

(Click here to go back to the directory)

#star wars #star wars review #attack of the clones #star wars franchise #star wars: attack of the clones

4 notes · View notes

streetlites · 8 years ago

Photo

I let my hands roam from her waist to her hips, pulling her ass flush against me while she grinds to the music. She laughs when I creep my fingers forward to her thighs, slightly pulling them apart, feeling the skin that’s been hidden under that deliciously short skirt. She looks back at me and I recognize that expression; I’ve got her going. Ah, fuck.

I want to ask her to go home with me but I don’t and, really, it’s the least he’d deserve for bringing us to this fucking club on a Thursday night when they don’t have the strippers here! But I’m an upstanding friend and I make sacrifices for those that I care about so instead of moving further up to see if her underwear matches her bra (that is to say, fucking none – my god!), I tell her to meet me at the bar upstairs if she wants free drinks and I make my way back up the stairs to where my buddies are sitting.

“Get the fuck out of my seat, bitch,” I tell the girl that’s been butting in to our conversation all night long, trying to get in Yulian’s pants. To his credit, he’s largely ignored her but the night’s starting to wear on and he’s checking her out a little bit when she brushes up against him now. It’s only a matter of time until he yields and lets her in.

Emilia is my friend, too, and I don’t want to be in the middle of her finding out that he went home with some random chick while I was around and I didn’t say anything. Besides, if she sees him and he still does it, then I’m off the hook, right? Also, she might want to have revenge sex and I… Okay, I’m not really a good friend to anyone, but I try.

“Guess who I got to feel up downstairs?” I ask, nudging Yulian in the ribs.

“That blonde you were eyefucking earlier?” He guesses, taking a swig from the over-priced beer they sell here.

“Nah, if it’d been her, I just would have taken her ass home and told you about it in the morning.”

“Okay, who?”

“Emilia!” I sang.

Yulian looks a little hurt, “That’s not fucking funny,” he complains.

Lobito picks his head up from the bar long enough to howl out a mocking, overdramatic, “Emilia!” He lets out a snicker and goes back to hugging his bottle.

Truthfully, we’re both more than a little annoyed that he’s been sulking over her for this long. I mean, I like Emilia, but Yulian used to be fun before he started putting his head up her ass. Plus, I hear she’s batshit crazy, like, she beat the shit out her ex and totaled his bike fucking crazy. And even then, he was still trying to get her to take him back. That pussy must be amazing.

“I’m not trying to be funny, she’s here,” I insist.

“Who’s Emilia?” The Clinger Bitch butts in.

“Chuckles, ain’t no one talking to you. Go away.” She huffs and says something about me being jealous but hovers just over Yulian’s shoulder anyway. She’s persistent, I’ll give her that.

“Even if she’s here, she’s not going to do anything with me. She said I was ‘suffocating’, Katz!”

“Oh my god, because you fucked up! Look, you’ve been crawling up her ass and she didn’t even say shit to you about it until you brought it to work with you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean, you guys were in an area where you were supposed to be doing something,” I cut my eyes back to the woman, who’s now dancing against him, I can’t talk around all these people, especially not around this bitch, “something dangerous, and you get rid of your backup because you’re jealous. I know Emilia can be an asshole, but you were in the wrong there. She was fine with you up until that point.”

“So?” he asks. I can’t believe this guy gets as much ass as he does, he’s completely clueless.

“SO, maybe you should have apologized? I don’t fucking know! What I do know is that she’s obviously more into you than she’s letting on.”

He runs his hands through his hair in frustration, “Should I call her? I should call her. Not tonight though, I’m too drunk,” he babbles. “I gotta take a piss,” he announces and gets up, Stage 5 Clinger moving to follow.

“Yulian!” I shout, “I’m serious! She’s here and if you go off with that bitch I will totally fuck your girl and brag about it in the morning!” He waves me off. “I’ll take your silence as consent! I fucking mean it, you dumbass!”

Lobito peers up at me, his eyes glassy, “You were just fucking around, right?”

I raise my hands in exasperation, “I keep saying I’m not joking! Why does everyone think I’m fucking around?!”

“Hah, she’s not going to go home with you,” he teases good-naturedly.

“You fucking watch. I can talk the panties off a nun!” I boast. If they run into each other, I hope I’m around to watch Clinger get clocked.

#ts4 #gameplay #ts4legacy #ts4 story #allison katz #gen 7: Fault Lines

43 notes · View notes

jasonindaredhood · 8 years ago

Text

Unforeseen circumstances (Jason Todd x Reader)

My addition to the DCExchange, now they’ve posted it I’m allowed to post it here too. Really hope you like it @maruthor , ❤️ (Btw anyone who sees this, check out her blog she’s amazing :) ) Happy Valentine’s day!

You remembered this particular Wayne son very well, the handsome young man with the devil-may-care attitude wearing a leather jacket at a formal event was memorable to say at the least… but you had never expected to meet him again under these kind of circumstances. You looked on, arms folded and still rubbing blood of your fingers as the man in your bed woke up. If nothing else you’d managed to stop the bleeding. Jason grunted, trying to block the light shining in his eyes with his hand. “Where the fuck am I?” “ And a good morning to you too, Jason.” His eyes focused on you as soon as he heard your voice. As expected, he attempted to sit up while reaching for the gun strapped against his thigh. “I figured you’d do that. I only let you keep it in case whatever brought you into this state returned, not so you could aim it at me.” In spite of your explanation you were still looking into the barrel of the gun pointed at you. He was obviously trying to size you up but his head was still pounding from the night before. “ Or to trick me into trusting you.” Based on what you looked like he just decided that under different circumstances he’d probably try to hit on you, but these were by no means those circumstances. What the hell had happened? And why did your face look strangely familiar to him? You sighed. Somehow you didn’t feel scared in the slightest, somehow you knew he wouldn’t harm you, even if he didn’t. “ Hey if it makes you feel any better, feel free to keep pointing. Might want to sit still though. You looked pretty beaten up.” “ Well, I’ve survived death so I can take a couple of flesh wounds. “ He sat up straight, only to prove a point. “ Now… who the fuck may you be?” “ I’m y/n. And before you ask I have indeed patched you up as well as I could. Thank god Google’s a thing.” He looked at the bandages around his side. “ Where did I pass out? You couldn’t carry me far.” You scoffed. “ Thanks. Somewhere near to my house after cursing over that nobody spoke ‘any fucking’ English. Then you proceeded by telling me it looked a lot worse than it was, asking me where the hell you were. “ “ Doesn’t answer how I got here.” You shook your head… as impatient as that night you met and likely as impulsive. You wondered if it had been the right call not to take his weapons from him. “ You actually walked into my room while I was supporting you. You told me you would’ve bought me a drink first but considering the circumstances… do you even remember what happened before you passed out?” He rubbed his head. “ Last thing I remember I was in Gotham. Now I’m…” “ Obviously not. Looks like someone invented a portal gun in real life. You’re in Asia.” “ Portal gun. Gamer?” You smiled. “ Sorta, not much anymore though. Never even played that, just some Skyrim and Nintendo at this point. “

You subtly tried to close down your laptop while speaking to him. “ Hiding something?” He sat up straight carefully while you looked at his weapon. “ Look who’s talking. “ “ That brings us back to the question of the day; why did you help me?” “ What was I supposed to do? Leave you out there in the cold, waiting for whatever the hell got you in this state?” “ Most people would if they found a bloodied up guy on their doorstep. I could be a serial killer, a madman,… It’s not safe to just bring a stranger into your home. You couldn’t even be sure that blood was mine.” “ I knew who you were.”

“ How the fuck did you know who I am? ” You gestured at the red batsign on a chair. “ Well, that thing, for one, would’ve been a dead giveaway. Before you flatter yourself, it was the only way to get to your wounds. Sorry for ruining the suit. Second, we’ve met before.” “We have?” You nodded, not surprised he wouldn’t remember. “ I was at one of Bruce’s parties, a friend dragged me along. We met there, you looked about as bored as I’ve ever seen anyone. ” He smiled. “ C’mon can you really blame me? There are more fun things to do then sit around and listen about some random upstanding citizens talk about their many accomplishments and look at you expectantly. “ “ So that’s why you ditched the party and drove off on your motorcycle? Your brother didn’t seem very amused. “ Jason chuckled. “Dick never seems amused.” He holstered the gun again. “ So you know who I am. You’ve seen my brothers before. And I’m in Asia you said?” “ Yeah.” “ Shit. How come your English is that good?” You shrugged. “Grew up in Australia.” He got up and walked around in the room, naturally his eyes darted from your violin to a pile of books on your desk. He picked some random books up and turned them around. “ Good taste. “ “ Haven’t read all of them yet. “ “ Too busy rereading other classics?” You smiled. “ Too busy writing. “ He gestured at your laptop. “ Was that what you were hiding earlier?” You nodded.

“ Well I’m up for being a proofreader if you need one. Least I can do after you offered me a place of refuge for the time being.” You shook your head. “ Thanks but no thanks. Not exactly trying to write the next Dante or Shakespeare work here. ” “ Well if you wanna talk books be my guest. “ You grinned. “ I just might take you up on that offer sometime. Want some food? ” Before he had the chance to answer a noise from outside drew his attention. “ JASON! JASON ARE YOU HERE?!” Another voice answered with “ Keep your voice down. We don’t know if we’re the only ones looking for him.” Followed by an annoyed grunt. “He could be anywhere.” “ So how do you feel about meeting my brothers again? “ “ They sound worried I’ll go get them.” When you arrived outside you found his brothers around the same place where you found Jason. They were trying to follow the blood trail and looked up at you. Each of the men wore a suit which somehow seemed to connect them to Batman. It made you put two and two together in no time. Dick was the first one to speak. “ Hey I remember you. Y/n? “ You raised your eyebrows. “ You remember who I am?” Damian looked utterly unimpressed at you. “ Isn’t this the girl Jason was asking Bruce about?” “ Yeah.” You were dumbstruck. What the hell were they talking about? Tim butted in. “ He was right, she is pretty. Why didn’t Bruce tell him anything about her?” “ Because he didn’t know anything about her she came with a friend.” “ Also Jason had left the party on his motorcycle… again.” You were trying very hard to take in all that had just been said. “ I have no idea what all that is about but if you’re looking for Jason, he’s currently in my room.” Damian looked slightly disgusted at what that implied, whereas Tim just looked impressed. Dick was the only one to ask for clarification. He seemed the most worried as well, whereas the youngest one just looked annoyed. “ Which condition is he in? “ “ He’s pretty beaten up but he’s talking again and pretending to be fine.” “Would you mind walking us to where he is?” On the way to your place, Dick was the one doing most of the talking. You explained what had happened, what you knew and he filled in the gaps that Jason couldn’t. They had gone after a group of bandits with a secret weapon which would be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Eventually the weapon was used on Jason and they had no idea what it meant until they had gotten one of the henchmen to talk. You noticed there was something he was still holding back. “ What do you still want to say?” “ Nothing.” “ Please give me a little more credit than that.” Tim smiled. “And she’s clever too.” Damian rolled his eyes at his brother. “ Is something going on between you and him?” “ Honestly, judging by what you just said you know more about me and him than I do. He said he didn’t remember me.”

“ It seems unlikely to me that he wouldn’t. You talked to him about something psychology-related right? You were trying to psycho-analyze some of the guests with him? ” You grinned. “I corrected him. Read a couple of books on psychology. It’s an interest of mine, not my profession though.” Tim laughed “Ah that explains why Jason likes her. Someone smarter than him. He likes challenges.” You opened the door to your room. Jason was standing up straight, still shirtless. Now your initial concern about him was gone you had a hard time not focusing on how ridiculously good he looked. “ We were worried sick, are you okay?” Dick asked. Damian immediately interfered with a “ Ehm, he was worried sick. Not me.” Tim shoved him against the shoulder. “ I’m fine. Thanks to her over there.” He looked at you while you got a little bit flustered. “ Yeah how about I over here get you guys something to drink. Take a seat, make your brother sit down. I’m no doctor, those wounds could open up again at any moment. I just tried to stop the bleeding.” Dick just shoved him back down on a seat while you headed to the kitchen. As you poured in some drinks and baked a couple of eggs you heard the boys talk. As usual, Dick first. “ We were worried sick about you! “ “ Relax, I’m alive. Honestly all this worrying is going to shorten your life span Dick. And as an ex-robin life expectancy is already shortened. We’d know right? ” He looked at Damian who nodded. “ How the hell did you end up with her? Is something going on?” Tim asked the questions that they actually wanted to know. The questions you actually wanted to know. “ No it’s pure coincidence that she’s here. But keep your fucking voice down, she doesn’t even know I remember her.” Damian laughed while Tim murmured. “ Well she does now.” “ You fucking told her? Good job. Well done. For fuck’s sake…” “ She took you in and you liked her before all this shit happened. You might as well ask her out at this point.” Jason sighed. “Not the dating type.” You decided it was high time to barge in. “ That’s unfortunate.” Both Dick and Tim tried to suppress a grin. “ Hope you’re the type to get food from time to time. It’s in the kitchen, help yourselves.” “ We’ll be waiting there, Jason. “ As Dick left he mouthed to his brother to ‘ask her’. Jason cleared his throat. “ So I’ve heard my brothers told you a couple of things?” “ They have.” “ In that case, want to come to our next party and ditch halfway with me? I’ve got an extra helmet and we could go wherever you’d like. Anything is better than one of those parties.” You grinned. “ I’d like that.” Jason smiled. She might just have been worth getting transported to Asia for.

#Jason Todd #Jason todd x reader #reader x jason todd #batfamily #dick grayson #damian wayne #Batman fanfic #Red hood #imagine #Jason todd imagine

142 notes · View notes

dcvalentineexchange · 8 years ago

Text

Unforeseen circumstances (Jason Todd x Reader)

( By @jasonindaredhood for the amazing @maruthor! I tried to make the reader match you. I hope you like it (and that I succeeded at that). Happy Valentine’s day! )

“ It seems unlikely to me that he wouldn’t. You talked to him about something psychology-related right? You were trying to psycho-analyze some of the guests with him? ” You grinned. “I corrected him. Read a couple of books on psychology. It’s an interest of mine, not my profession though.” Tim laughed “Ah that explains why Jason likes her. Someone smarter than him. He likes challenges.” You opened the door to your room. Jason was standing up straight, still shirtless. Now your initial concern about him was gone you had a hard time not focusing on how ridiculously good he looked. “ We were worried sick, are you okay?” Dick asked. Damian immediately interfered with a “ Ehm, he was worried sick. Not me.” Tim shoved him against the shoulder. “ I’m fine. Thanks to her over there.” He looked at you while you got a little bit flustered. “ Yeah how about I over here get you guys something to drink. Take a seat, make your brother sit down. I’m no doctor, those wounds could open up again at any moment. I just tried to stop the bleeding.” Dick just shoved him back down on a seat while you headed to the kitchen. As you poured in some drinks and baked a couple of eggs you heard the boys talk. As usual, Dick first. “ We were worried sick about you! “ “ Relax, I’m alive. Honestly all this worrying is going to shorten your life span Dick. And as an ex-robin life expectancy is already shortened. We’d know right? ” He looked at Damian who nodded. “ How the hell did you end up with her? Is something going on?” Tim asked the questions that they actually wanted to know. The questions you actually wanted to know. “ No it’s pure coincidence that she’s here. But keep your fucking voice down, she doesn’t even know I remember her.” Damian laughed while Tim murmured. “ Well she does now.” “ You fucking told her? Good job. Well done. For fuck’s sake…” “ She took you in and you liked her before all this shit happened. You might as well ask her out at this point.” Jason sighed. “Not the dating type.” You decided it was high time to barge in. “ That’s unfortunate.�� Both Dick and Tim tried to suppress a grin. “ Hope you’re the type to get food from time to time. It’s in the kitchen, help yourselves.” “ We’ll be waiting there, Jason. “ As Dick left he mouthed to his brother to ‘ask her’. Jason cleared his throat. “ So I’ve heard my brothers told you a couple of things?” “ They have.” “ In that case, want to come to our next party and ditch halfway with me? I’ve got an extra helmet and we could go wherever you’d like. Anything is better than one of those parties.” You grinned. “ I’d like that.” Jason smiled. She might just have been worth getting transported to Asia for.

#jason todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd imagine #red hood #red hood x reader #red hood imagine #dc valentine

45 notes · View notes

marvelandponder · 8 years ago

Photo

Seems Like a Silly Question, huh?

It’s not hard to argue that Spike is somewhat effeminate. He’s not a walking stereotype, and he’s got his fair share of more traditionally masculine traits, but the dude’s kinda dainty.

And that’s cool, so why am I asking about it? It’s not like it’s unusual, and if you start thinking about it, you get to some obvious answers: the target demographic are little girls, Spike is surrounded by lots of female role models constantly, he was raised mostly by Twilight (or Princess Celestia, although that still hasn’t been confirmed), high society like Canterlot tends to produce more prim and proper ilk, etc. Easy answers.

So... why ask?

Well, for starters, the same reason you might ask similar questions about Steven Universe. Stick with me here.

Spike Universe

Someone anonymously sent me an ask comparing Spike to Steven Universe, and the more I thought about it, the more apt that comparison became (thank you whoever you are, all credit for this section goes to you).

At first, it took me a second to see it, because the differences seem so substantial that I thought the similarities might only be superficial. Like I said in the ask, Steven’s had to deal with darker, more complex subjects, and, more importantly, for longer periods of time.

Spike’s come to terms with the loss of his home in a fire, for example, but we only see him grieving briefly. Essentially, if something hurts Steven, and/or changes his perspective on someone, it tends to have lasting effects because, well, Steven Universe is a story-arc and character-arc driven show.

But, aside from that, Spike and Steven have a lot in common.

Young boy growing up surrounded by powerful female figures

Doesn’t quite fit into either of the species/races they’re supposed to, but instead exists as a mix of both

Makes allies out of perceived enemies

Complex characters with a mix of feminine and masculine traits that tend to lean towards their more traditionally feminine side

All this, and the question still remains: why?

Again, stick with me.

The F Word

I couldn’t really talk about this subject without bringing up something that everybody’s got opinions on: feminism.

First off, because I know what the internet’s like, I should say I’m not about to argue you should change those opinions of yours---whether they’re positive or negative. For the purpose of the point I’m getting to it doesn’t particularly matter where I stand on it, so yeah, I encourage you to make your own decisions on whatever movements you want to investigate, and support or not support. You do you.

But, with that out of the way, back to Pony.

There is a legitimate reason to bring this up without taking a stance myself. Someone one else has.

Jim “Big Jim” Miller is a storyboard artist/supervisor and co-director of the show. He’s also done a few incidental voices, the most significant roles being King Sombra and Trouble Shoes. Plus, he joins the ‘cartoonists who are known for primarily wearing plaid’ club.

More relevantly, he’s gone on record backing up Lauren Faust, who considers herself a feminist, in saying Friendship is Magic is a feminist show, while talking about what it’s like the make a show for little girls:

"My Little Pony is fundamentally a feminist show. It's about girls. It stars girls. Girls are awesome. Get used to it. If you feel, as a man, that your gender is underrepresented in this program, welcome to what it must feel like every girl watching the millions of other shows about and starring boys.

Ideally, we wouldn't have to have conversations about the gender identity of shows. And to their credit, Hasbro has recognized the gender neutral appeal of FiM and started branding and marketing that way. But there is nothing wrong with watching and enjoying a show made for girls.

... And until the day comes where it doesn't matter who shows are made for, I'm proud to say I make a show for little girls."

Source (x)

So, maybe that’s our answer. Come to think of it, Discord’s foppish, Big Mac plays with dolls and dreams of being a princess, and Shining Armour, while mostly pretty manly, gets emotional at weddings. Really emotional.

Maybe it’s just because there’s not a lot of masculinity period in this show.

But hey, for the record, Rebecca Sugar, the creator of Steven Universe, wrote something similar (although not quite about any feminist aspect of the show) on the subject of whether Steven Universe is a boys’ show or not:

“My goal with the show was to really tear down and play with the semiotics of gender in cartoons for children because I think that’s a really absurd idea that there would be something radically different about a show for little girls versus a show for little boys.

It’s exciting to me to play with a lot of that language [”boys’” show or “girls’” show], because everyone’s very familiar with it but it really doesn’t make much sense. I used to really enjoy shows that were aggressively targeted to boys when I was a little girl and I know the same can be true the other way around, so why not have something that everybody can watch?”

Source (x)

And since I’m trying to stay neutral, I’ll say again we don’t need to get in arguments over different kinds of feminism, but we can at least acknowledge there’s some kind of feminism around here (or at least in Pony), that tries to build girls up without necessarily tearing anyone else down.

Why is Spike So Not Girly?

In general, yeah, he’s got some traditionally feminine qualities like his supportive, emotionally open nature, but for a while there, before Discord joined the Mane Cast (if a character gets their own episodes, their a member of the main cast, so CMC’s and Starlight included), Spike was our token little bro.

And despite being the butt of a few slapstick jokes, he’s not typically looked down on for being a dude or having manly qualities. He’s allowed to have his guys’ night and burp up scrolls when necessary, as stereotypical guy stuff goes.

The closest we come is in the comparison between fierce, warlike dragons and friendship-loving, sing-songy ponies. Spike’s initially told he isn’t like those other brutish dragons, but when he goes to hang out with them, he greatly enjoys himself up until they start getting into some morally wrong territory. He wanted a dragon role-model in his life, and just couldn’t find one. At which point, he starts to consider himself a pony.

Although, he does try to think of himself a “noble dragon,” he’s still far removed from relating to anyone of his kind.

Later on in the fandom-darling episode Gauntlet of Fire, however, it’s working with Princess/Dragon Lord Ember that ends up winning the day---Spike’s expertise in girly pony-like friendship-making ultimately make the difference, but Ember’s brute force and fighting ability helps, too.

What’s exciting is that Spike finally has a dragon friend he can relate to. That he can learn what it means to be a dragon without sacrificing the pony ideals he grew up on.

And in the dragons = dudes, ponies = chicks metaphor, it means the “brutish” ways he just had to abandon to stay morally upstanding in previous seasons can be embraced and better balanced with the feminine relationship-valuing (yeah, that’s totally a phrase people use: relationship-valuing).

I like this a lot because that’s how the show generally treats masculine qualities. Even when he was one, I don’t think Spike ever felt like the token guy---and not just because he can be effeminate, but---because in-universe there’s an acceptance and embracing of feminine traits without denying masculine ones.

For one, take a look at Spike’s heroes---or at least, who we can guess are his heroes. We know he’s had visions of being a strong, noble knight able to save a damsel in distress, but also loves to role-play as an absurdly powerful magician. You could argue I’m seeing things, but you know who those look like to me? His older brother and sister.

If Garbuckle there wasn’t Twi enough for you, what about “Princess” Spike? You might say ‘oh, calling himself a princess was just a gag for the audience’---and sure, objectively, that might be true, but in-universe, I mean, Spike knows what a prince is. Prince Blueblood exists. Instead, he chose to be a princess.

You can’t deny that he admires his older siblings, and this is perfect example of what I’m talking about: one the one hand, you’ve got the knight in shining armour, who rose up the ranks of the royal military guard. On the other, you’ve got the Princess of Friendship, who rose to that position not just because of her academic merit, but her love and compassion. As traditionally masculine and feminine role-models go, that’s pretty clear cut.

And, we get to focus primarily on Twi and stereotypically girly stuff like, I dunno, friendship or something---but that doesn’t stop Spike from looking up to Shining Armour, too. Embracing and, hell, championing the feminine side while also enjoying the masculine.

The coolest thing about that is, well, we never have to question it. I know that’s what I’m doing in this post, but only to really highlight how great it is to have this caring little guy look up to who he wants to, and be who he wants to be. No questions asked.

If you want more MLP editorials, I’ve got them here, and the last few right here (you can also check out the other Spike editorial I did that goes over more of his accomplishments):

*Spike, Twilight, and Top 10 Things to Look for in S7 Editorials

Year of the Pony

Header Image Only Possible Thanks to...

Canterlot Castle Background by Zapheroc

Guilty Spike Vector by MasemJ

Check out these talented artists and the kickass work they do! Always remember to give credit and check to see if it’s okay to use a specific vector, but feel free to browse and tell ‘em how cool their stuff is.

Let’s Hear it for the Boy!

#spike #spike the dragon #mlp spike #mlp #yearofthepony #my little pony #friendship is magic #mlp:fim #mlp: fim #mlp season 7 #pony #twilight sparkle #spike day #spike day 2017 #animation #analysis #editorials

23 notes · View notes