#over reading someone i could potentially agree with tripping over themselves trying to make Accidental Poetry On Purpose

[pokeysoda]

Tumblr user post about your opinion without using condescending flowery language challenge impossible

[shyrose57]

2: At first? No. Ran was the first one who noticed when something was off but Ranbob brushed it off as him being tired. Though when he saw that his brother was still acting that way he kept checking in, til "Ranbob" eventually snapped at him one day, scaring and hurting Ran enough to get him to stop. His parents and Lias and Memi also noticed, but Lias and Memi didn't ask as often because Ran told them not too, and when Memi asked Ranbob gently told her its ok and to not worry. Lias was hesitant to accept this but eventually did, with Ranbob promising to tell him if something was wrong, a promise he sadly broke. Ranbob was close to his family, especially his younger siblings, and loved to play and study with them. He had a lot of friends at first that he played games with and joked around with. Though after he started to get out under more pressure and the introduction of Dream he got distant, lost all of his friends (even though he still cared for them), didn't play with Lias or Memi nearly as much, started skipping dinners and not talking to his parents or Ran. And when Dream was mostly and fully in control, he stopped talking at all, and ignored everyone. Lias desperately tried to get him to talk but that just resulted in a harsh stare with a silent promise, Memi tried to hug him, which he then pushed her away, and when Ran tried one last time to talk to him, but "Ranbob" just punched him and walked away. When his parents tried one very last time to intervene, that's when it got fatal. The Gladiators where horrified at what they read, finding it hard to believe and making them sick to their stomach. Benjamin caught them reading it, though he simply sadly smiled at them and said, "I read it too. Its horrible isn't it? He didn't deserve to go through that. But we'll help him. We'll help him be free and be himself again, I promise you, and everyone else. We'll save him." They felt like they where staring at a ghost, it was unnerving, to see such a happy and young Ranbob, knowing what will happen to him that will wipe him clean of all happiness. And it felt disrespectful when they caught sights of Ranya, Seth, Lias, and Memi. Cause they never knew them, and now they where looking into the such happy and gleeful eyes of dead people who don't know the torture their son and brother is going through. (And that went for everyone)

3: This is literally Ran's mentally when it comes to being stabbed, "I've been stabbed multiple times before and I haven't died. Therefor, I am immortal." Yes he is :). He gets threatened with Benjamin because if Benjamin finds out he isn't eating or sleeping Benjamin will force him to eat every bite of a full meal and force him to go to bed, sitting next to him and reading to him until he falls asleep. Which sounds nice, but considering Ranbob doesnt want to "bother" them, its a threat to him. Raq will always cause problems, he's a expert tracker and because of that he's able to hunt the groups down. He often will pop out of nowhere and attack the group, chasing them down until someone turns around and attacks him. Often Ran attacks him by looking Raq directly in his eyes, causing him to flee. Cause even though Raq wants to get Ran, he knows very well if they make eye contact he will lose a battle no matter what he does, so its best to run and attempt to blind him at a later point. Ran his very happy to be on the road again, and if Ranbob wasn't there (who's keeping Ran on edge and preventing him from fully enjoying the trip, though its mostly just Ran doing it to himself), he would be non-stop talking and running ahead of the group. But even with Ranbob there he's happy to finally be moving again. 

4: The gladiators did not witness it first hand, rather they heard screaming and went to check it out, worried and alarmed. And when Ranbob went into the depressive state did Benjamin come over to them and explain what was going on and what was going to happen. When then Jackie offered to help keep Ranbob company while Grievous and Watson offered to go along with Cletus to find Ran. When they heard the scream Jackie was scared and nervous, Grievous was anxious and on edge, Watson was calm yet curious, and Ran was mad and on edge. And when they found out what happened, Jackie felt bad and sympathetic, Grievous felt sad and a bit guilty, Watson was sympathetic and felt bad for him, and Ran was pissed. 

5: Isaac and Benjamin just kinda accepted it and went "Yes he is like a lost puppy and we love him for that.", Charles was embarrassed and instead of responding properly he muttered out an excuse and left, cause he was not expecting to be confronted with Ranbob being like a puppy at all and didn't know how to respond, and Cletus just stuck his tounge out and blew raspberries. And Ranbob was just purely embarrassed. 

6: Actually first thing Ranbob got when he arrived to the fishermen house was wrapped up in multiple fluffy blankets and had a hot chocolate shoved in his hands. Also whenever he goes into a depressive episode or wants to go back the fishermen just bring out emergency blankets and quickly make either hot chocolate or tea and Ranbob loves it every single time. 

7: Ranbob is mixed, he loves it being back as it reminds him of such good times, but it also doesn't feel right when Charles says it because Ran was the one who made it. It only sounds right when Ran says it. Ran is angry that Ranbob is letting someone else call him Bobby (which he is also sad about), but is also mad that he's mad that someone else is using it. But he's also happy its being used again, and is happy to see Ranbob still enjoys it. Grievous of course notices it, but doesnt look into it, and so does Watson but he also doesn't ask about it, determing it to be something the brothers themselves have to talk about. 

8:Because if it was Porkius or literally anyone else, they wouldn't of helped and would've watched happily as the two fought, waiting until one fell and even encouraging the fight. But they also jumped into the area from the stands and Cletus specifically placed himself between the two, pushing Ran back and yelling at him (which rarely anyone does) when Benjamin then came up to try to calm the raging enderman down, while Charles checked on Ranbob, and Isaac kept look out for any sudden movements between the two so he could intercept the potential attack. Plus when Isaac saw the other group approaching he ran to meet them, asking if they knew Ran and when they said yes, quickly stating a plan to safely restrain Ran long enough until Ranbob was taken to safety. Then leaving Ran to the group, but also saying how he wanted to talk later. 

10: Sounds like the certain town just may be the ruins of the Greater SMP. So I'll probably have Wilburs Decendent (which I dont currently have a name for, if anyone has one please feel free to suggest one!) As a popular performer there and also the towns historian, so when our groups get there Wilbur is able to provide information about Dream, Ranboo, basically everyone and the history of the SMP. Most likely going be a part of the story when Ran truly starts to slowly believe that his brother didn't meant to do everything he did. 

11: Yep, he knows Ranboo used to have bad memory (not how bad it was, just that it was bad) but he's never read it because Mizu never had the actual book, it was only told in tales and stories that Mizu had. If that makes sense. Ranbob will get plenty more hugs I promise you, though that also means he gets hurt more. 

12: Kinda but also cause I enjoy writing angst. 

Ok ok here's some fluff: These all take place a good week or 2 (or longer) after Ran forgives his brother and the relationship gets better. Watson walks in on the two sharing a blanket and sleeping against eachother. With them leaning on eachother and leaving almost no space between them. Ran finally calls Ranbob Bobby again and Ranbob cries and hugs his brother tightly, Ran is shocked but quickly hugs back just as tightly. Ranbob gets to finally pull a big brother move and tease Ran about his "nerdy" habit of reading so many books, Ran tries to fire back that Ranbob literally picked a idol that requires you to be a bookworm but he simply shoots back that Technoblade also requires you to be a bookworm. Its been spotted multiple times of either Ran or Ranbob having their tail wrapped around his brothers wrist or leg, and the two aren't very far apart now. Jackie jokes about being replaced by Ranbob and being heartbroken, basically draping himself over Ran and whining while everyone else laughs at Rans distress. Ran and Ranbob eventually agree to merge their two hauntings, which is extremely rare and is the biggest sign of trust and love there is in enderman language. Ran reads to Ranbob one night after a bad relapse, which ends up soothing Ranbob much sooner than anything else. 

I also have a more mythical idea of fluff that probably wont be in the main story, but im willing to share it if you want. 

2: Only his family noticed? Dang, okay. I’m irrationally attached to his siblings now that they have names, and this only hurts me. Do the gladiators have any noticeable changes in behavior towards Ranbob and Ran after reading it? Also, who may Ranya and Seth be? I don’t believe I saw them mentioned earlier.

3: Technically, he’s right. He hasn’t died yet, anon, and he’s been stabbed multiple times, he could very well be immortal. I guess he should probably do his best to not get stabbed again though, I hear it’s kind of bad for you. 

Ranbob: *Not doing something he should do for his own health*

Benjamin: *Self Care But As A Threat(Gently)*

Ranbob:

Ranbob: *Does it*

Also, even though I acknowledge that Raq could be a genuine threat, all I can imagine are Team Rocket shenanigans. He keeps trying to blind him in various, complicated ways, and fails hilariously. One time he actually manages to do it only for Jackie to take him out or for him to turn around and accidentally look Ranbob straight in the eyes cause the poor hybrid was trying to knock him out without a fight.

4: Yikes, that must have been pretty scary, just hearing everything go down. If I may ask, what exactly happened with Ranbob? You said there was screaming?

5: Well, at least everyone’s come to terms with it. Ran uses people as tote bags, and Ranbob is the local puppy, and it is what it is.

6: Very good! He needs it! Also, do they just keep them on hand? Just-he looks a tiny bit sad and Benjamin pulls blanket and tea out of thin air and burritos him. 

7: Aww. But also, ouch. Oh well. At least we can get Ran eventually picking the nickname up again.

8: Oh? Interesting. Sounds like these guys are pretty quick on their feet. I can see why it’d impress the gladiators.

10: That? Sounds so cool? Oh, I really like that honestly, I can’t wait to see where you take that.

11: Neat. Is that where he got the idea for his diary, or? And why? Why must we suffer in order to take comfort from the kinder things in life? Why can’t Ranbob just have hugs without pain? 

12: Did you genuinely just admit to aiming for my feelings with that last one?! Anon, how could you! I’ve been injured! My heart, Anon! 

13: AWWWW. To all of this. So fluffy, and cute! Just what we needed, thank you! Also, more fluff, you say? Please share, we need all the fluff we can get.

Have a good week, Brothers Anon, and thank you for the lovely fluff, and equally lovely pain. I’m excited for more!

[husbandograveyard]

Family beach day - Shanks x Reader

One Piece of summer challenge - week 5

part of the challenge hosted by @doctorgerth​ & @laws-yellow-submarine​ I’m attempting all 11 weeks, 11 different prompts and 11 different characters! This one is a little different, because I am a SUCKER for domestic fluff and I just really needed to make this happen, cause well, I am allowed to write something self-indulgent every once in a while UwU. Enjoy some actual dad Shanks! 

Prompt: Sandcastles - Character: Shanks - Word count: 1.5K 

modern AU. 2nd person. female reader. Some swearing and some sliiiiggghtt suggestive themes if you squint a little. Very fluffy and domestic otherwise and very much still SFW! 

You frustratedly honked the horn multiple times. 

“Don’t cut me off you ass....absolute.... stupid person." Benn, in the passenger seat, chuckled at your choice of words. After Shanks had accidentally taught your four year old daughter the word 'dickhead', the two of you had decided to keep language in mind whenever your little angel was around. And right now she was in the backseat, counting cars with her dad, as you were trying to advance through traffic, as if everyone had decided that today was a perfect day for a trip to the beach.

Shanks and Benn were more often than not busy running their business and days off were rare. But this summer your red-headed husband had made a point out of taking a few days off, leaving the business in the hands of Benn, who now had a very rare day off that he had agreed to spend with your family. Your daughter had been asking to see ‘uncle Benn again’ and since it was summer and super hot, you had decided that a beach day might be the best way to get some stress relief for the two men, and a nice adventure for your toddler.

But unfortunately, the whole world had concluded that today was a wonderful day to go to the beach, and thus you were a little stuck in traffic, with the air conditioning not working as you wished it would and the road seemed to be filled with people driving for the very first time. It was frustrating you to no end, and Benn’s well-intended advice on where to drive or what to look out for was not received as well as it would be if you were more relaxed. 

One glance in your rear mirror made everything better: your daughter giggling in her car seat, excitedly pointing out things and telling her dad about all the things she sees, with Shanks replying to all her stories in pure amazement, asking questions and just generally making your  daughter feel like she was being the world’s best storyteller right now and it just melted your heart. 

After plenty of childproofed curses, aggressive honking and some more unnecessary advice from Benn you finally had made your way to the beach, and picking a spot close enough to the water that you could keep an eye on whoever stayed with your stuff, but not too close so you wouldn’t have to move too far when flow tide came around. 

You whipped out the sunscreen, putting a generous amount on your daughter’s arms, legs, shoulders and face before rubbing some on yourself and handing it over to your husband who just shot you some puppy eyes.  “y/n, my love, you know it gets a little difficult to reach my right side like this?” You chuckled at him, knowing after years without his left arm your husband was perfectly capable of applying sunscreen everywhere but his back, but he was just using it as an excuse to get a little massage from you. And who were you to say no?

‘Uncle’ Benn was already walking towards the sea with your daughter, excellent at reading the room, and left you for your little bit of quality time. You faked a deep sigh and rolled your eyes, but that went completely ignored or unnoticed by your other half, who was too busy enthusiastically already pulling his shirt over his head. You couldn’t keep the fake annoyed face any longer and laughed as you ordered him to lay down on the towel for a bit.

“Usually it’s the men giving the ladies a nice massage”, you joked as you squirted some cold sunscreen on his back, making him flinch a little bit at the sudden coldness.  “I never said I’d not give you one.” He relaxed the moment your hands started working the product into his skin.  “hmmmmm, I’ll keep you to that then” you chuckled. He was just about to retort with something that would probably be one of his trademark suggestive comments when two tiny -and very sandy- hands came to assist yours in rubbing the sunscreen on. Benn didn’t even look sorry as he said your daughter saw dad laying down and wanted to help get him up. You laughed even harder, at Benn, at your lovely darling who was now giving her father an unnecessary back scrub and the man in question, who was for sure pouting that his dirty talk would have to wait for a later hour. 

Benn watched your stuff, smoking and reading a nice book he brought along as the two of you too your daughter into the water, Shanks hellbent on teaching her to float already -”never too early to learn how to swim”- and your daughter giggling like crazy cause she was a natural, and the hand helping her float was mostly tickling her. 

After some time in the water, you went on to collect seashells, keeping the most pretty ones to spend a rainy day crafting something out of them. You had to physically stop your daughter from overfilling the bucket and nearly adding a jellyfish to it. You picked her up before she could grab the potentially stingy creature, which triggered some tears of course, like any toddler would cry for you not allowing them to hurt themselves, but the crisis was averted quickly by your husband and some ice cream. She nearly forgot about the bucket all together, and the three of you made your way back to your stuff for another round of sunscreen and dropping off the bucket when you noticed Benn was fast asleep, book on his face, probably to protect him from the sun. 

It was quite the funny sight, but you actually felt a little bad for him, he was probably beyond tired from overworking so much in Shanks’ absence. You quietly put your stuff down and led your daughter somewhere a little further so she could play without disturbing uncle Benn’s sleep.  “Let’s try and make a sandcastle okay?” 

You and your daughter spent more than an hour perfecting the sandcastle, Shanks watching with a grin on his face how you painstakingly tried to carve small windows in the towers, only for your daughter to try and help and accidentally reduce the tower to a formless pile of sand again. After about the third attempt, you were getting a little frustrated behind the encouraging smile you were flashing your daughter, and Shanks decided to come to your aid. He motioned your daughter over and started whispering something in her ear. The way she so eagerly nodded made you suspicious immediately. 

“Yes! Special Sandcastle!!”  

You narrowed your eyes at your husband, who just innocently told you you could finish the fancy castle in peace while the two of them would make an easy yet special castle. Of course, you were more interested in whatever that meant and followed them as they made their way back to where Benn was still comfortably snoozing. Shanks motioned for both of you to be very very quiet as he started piling sand on Benn’s legs. He must’ve been completely out of it, because he didn’t wake up. Your daughter started immediately helping, you’d almost never seen her so quietly playing, and you weren’t sure whether you should be scolding your child and manchild of a husband, or laugh quietly and help them out. You opted for the latter, but not before whispering to your favorite redhead that he’d take the blame when Benn woke up. 

“Only if you give me another one of those massages tonight”. 

He cut you off with a kiss before you could even protest or say something about using such a tone in front of your daughter. You decided to ditch the conversation and focus on burying Benn. 

The three of you had reached his shoulders in the making of your ‘extra special sandcastle’ when the soft snoring stopped coming from under the book, and your eyes widened.  “I swear to god, if this was your idea Shanks...”  “Yes! Daddy wanted to make an extra special Sandcastle!” 

You laughed, sitting back a little so you could deny involvement and gently removing the book from Benn’s face who was in between an angry glare and an amused grin, the latter mostly put on to not worry your daughter. 

“Uncle Benn is my favorite Sandcastle” “How about you help me get out of the sandcastle and then we can completely bury Daddy?” Your daughter nodded eagerly at ‘her favorite sandcastle’ who was already getting up and dusting the sand off of his form, and you saw Shanks get up in order to run away.  “Wanna help y/n?” Benn said as he picked up your daughter, ready to run after Shanks.  “Ehhh... I think I’m sitting this one out, someone’s gotta watch our stuff after all” You giggled as they ran off. 

You grabbed the book Benn was reading earlier and made yourself comfortable, grinning as you listened to the playful shouts that weren’t entirely acted from the members of your little family. A day to the beach had been a good idea. 

[notthatiwilleverwriteit]

I was re-reading the whole story and I've noticed a lot of moments where zhan punched or slapped jian and no one called him abusive but when he tian did it to mo in the past he always got hate. The thing I love the most about tianshan is that they're relationship is not the typical one and not "rainbows and sunshine" but I wouldn't call it abusive either. Where did this double standard come from?

Good evening, dear anon-san!

I have talked about physical violence, comedy, and toxicity a couple of times. Here are some asks that I think could be related to your topic:

HT as the discipliner?

ZZX and violence in the beginning

Is Tianshan (still) toxic?

Is Tianshan toxic, vol. 2?

I might repeat myself a little but I don’t think I have compared Zhanyi and Tianshan this way before. At least not in so many words. Also, for this ask, I’m going to call punches, kicks, and slaps just physical violence. But please don’t jump to any conclusions. In each case, I will be giving it context, so “physical violence” doesn’t equal “toxic abuse”. It’s just easier if I have some kind of quick way to refer to whenever the boys kick, slap, or punch each other.

“Where did this double standard come from?”

I wouldn’t call either Zhanyi or Tianshan abusive but I do think physical violence is different in nature when it comes to the respective relationships. So, I do see why people treat it differently when ZZX kicks JY from when HT kicks MGS. Because they are different, although they both serve their own purposes.

Context is the key here. I don’t think you should call anything abusive or toxic without a proper context which is exactly what makes all the difference here. This is also partly why I don’t think Tianshan is toxic or abusive. If you separate the physical violence of both Zhanyi and Tianshan from their contexts, they become seemingly similar. A punch is a punch.

Let’s take a look at Zhanyi at first. The comedy in 19 Days (especially in the beginning) is largely based on slapstick comedy. A form of humor that strongly exaggerates physical violence (either accidental or intended). Literally, when someone gets slapped, it makes us laugh. You can see this kind of comedy a lot in cartoons, comics, and anime. It’s not “real” violence; it’s merely a comedic moment that doesn’t have longlasting effects.

Doesn’t that sound pretty much like Zhanyi? Usually, this kind of comedic physical violence is built on JY’s crush on ZZX and him not always being able to hold back while ZZX is the one with stricter boundaries. JY, being the oblivious airhead in love that he is, often ends up getting uncomfortably close to ZZX or making some kind of pass at him or otherwise gets on ZZX’s nerves. ZZX gets embarrassed, bothered or annoyed, and all of us wait for him to explode in 3…2…1… (ch. 1, 4-5, 9-13, 23-24, 29, 30-31, 34, 62, 73, 86, 88, 92, 106, 121, 129, 137, 171, 206, 247, 253):

Even listed like that, ZZX’s physically violent behavior starts to look kind of bad. But if you remember to read them as a part of their context their meaning shifts quite significantly. Prior to those slaps, punches or kicks, JY had:

touched ZZX’s personal stuff without permission

suddenly kissed him on the lips

refused to get up

destroyed ZZX’s precious stuff by being careless

drooled on ZZX’s shirt

suddenly gotten in ZZX’s face and startled him

tried to hold ZZX’s hand while drunk

been pushy with physical affection

practically made love to ZZX’s blanket

been overall an idiot

suggested they took a bath together to save water

squeezed ZZX’s butt

nearly toppled ZZX over

wiped his snotty nose on ZZX’s shirt

jumped him

suddenly wrapped his legs around ZZX’s waist and locked him in an awkward position on top of JY

tricked ZZX with a lollipop he had already sucked on

suddenly flashed his dick when ZZX wanted to have a serious talk

told something embarrassing about ZZX to someone

and finally ripped his jeans while trying to feel ZZX up.

When you put the physical violence in all of that context, it suddenly becomes something else than ZZX being abusive towards JY. Especially when you’re familiar with the characters, what kind of relationship they have, and 19 Days as a publication. So no, I wouldn’t call the physical violence in Zhanyi abusive or ZZX an abusive character. We realize the bruises, bumps and bloody noses are there for a laugh and they’re “healed” by the next panel.

Besides for the comic relief, ZZX also seems to get physical if JY had made him worry (ch. 179, 181, 198):

In a way, that fits Zhanyi as well. ZZX is the protector and JY the one who’s weaker and yet often careless and oblivious. Giving JY a hefty slap in the head is a way for ZZX to take his relief out on something. Could he do something else instead? Sure. But I don’t think that still makes him an abusive character. It’s just an exaggerated way to show how worried he is about JY.

As far as my interpretations go, there has been one occasion when the physical violence in Zhanyi got darker (ch. 141):

Usually, when JY makes a pass at ZZX, it’s lighthearted and comedic in nature. They could have been brushed off as jokes and JY just messing around. That kiss was different, though. In his panic-hazed bout of seizing the moment, JY did something he had wanted to do for years. It wasn’t a joke anymore, and his unrequited love was suddenly there for both of them to see. ZZX’s reaction was more than expected, but the violence was different in nature. He wasn’t comedically annoyed but shocked and upset. However, even this occasion doesn’t come across as “abusive” to me. Rather it was about something that had been simmering under the surface for a long time suddenly bursting out in the open, raw, vulnerable and potentially destructive. By ZZX seemingly reacting the same as always, it was cleverly demonstrated how it wasn’t the same at all.

Now, what about Tianshan? HT and Tianshan are often called abusive and toxic. Personally, I can see where people who think so are coming from even if I don’t interpret HT’s character and their relationship the same way. There is physical violence in Tianshan - there’s no denying that - but again, it’s the context that matters and gives it a purpose, so to speak.

Whereas physical violence in Zhanyi’s case was mainly about comic relief, in Tianshan’s case it’s often about two strong-willed personalities clashing (ch. 138, 160, 222):

Where ZZX slapping, punching or kicking JY is funny to us, HT’s character uses physical violence to overpower and dominate MGS. And it’s rather easy to call that kind of behavior abusive - but again, the nature of it shifts when put into its context.

HT had to use force to get through to MGS who was blinded by his suspicions and distrust due to bad past experiences. Neither of them was wrong and had reasons for acting the way they did. HT needed to assert control to turn MGS’s direction around and make him listen. MGS wasn’t going to yield to mere words, and while HT thought his stubbornness was good and showed he had principles, MGS was still not to ignore HT’s orders. HT took control by force, but I do think it was unavoidable and in a way helped to create a sense of security and trust. In some ways, HT acted like a parent and set strict boundaries for MGS. But again if you take all of that context away, HT’s behavior comes across quite darker and abusive.

Of course, it’s possible some people interpret the physical violence in Tianshan as abusive even in its context. And I can kind of see where those people are coming from even if I don’t personally read the story the same way. Even if in context, HT still clearly used physical force and didn’t give MGS an option. The thing is, though, I don’t really have a problem with HT behaving like he did. For the most part, I’m not bothered by HT being physically pushy or MGS more or less resisting him. It’s one of the things that appeals to me in Tianshan. And if their relationships became drastically different in that sense, I would find it quite out of character for them. However, that also means Tianshan is most probably always going to come across as abusive to some people.

To summarize, I don’t think either Zhanyi or Tianshan is abusive but the physical violence in them is different in nature. And that naturally results in people viewing the seemingly same acts differently. Some people don’t have a problem with physical violence when it comes to slapstick comedy (although, I have seen people calling ZZX abusive, too) but they do think HT’s kind of physical violence is different and actually abusive. Again, I don’t really agree about Tianshan but the “double standard” makes sense because they’re not the same.

In a way, “abusive” and “toxic” are in the eye of the beholder. And we all have different levels of tolerance for it before it starts to change our opinions about the fictional relationship. And I don’t have a problem with that - we all have our taste and what appeals to us personally. However, I’ve come to found out that when people are quick to cry “abusive” at every turn, the context is often forgotten or ignored altogether. The bigger picture. The question of “why is this happening this way?”. “Toxic” and “abusive” have become moral high horses of sorts to make people feel good about themselves and, if possible, to guilt-trip others in the process.

Thank you for your question, dear anon-san!

[secret-engima]

Okay, now I'm imagining one of the 'verses that Zack-Noctis, Aerith-Luna, and Cloud-Prompto (+Ignis and Gladio) trip into, is an /FF7/ verse. When Cloud was just a cadet and Zack was /even more/ of a hyperactive puppy.

hgfdhgf TOTAL CHAOS.

Adorable Chaos.

Gonna just yet the ff7 timeline into the stratosphere because I Do What I Want for this. But basically this is a Happy Ending AU were Stuff Happened so that Gen never degraded/defected, Angeal never defected, Seph is mentally stable, and while Shinra is still a thing to be dealt with at least nobody is calling down meteors on anything else. Cloud is a little Cadet person who accidentally caught Genesis’s eye and so is not the Poet’s apprentice, and Zack is as hyper as ever.

...

-The five of them trip into the FF7 verse and we’ll make them teenagers and stuff for this, Noctis (15), Luna (19), and Prompto (15) all insta-recognize it and freak. Ignis (17) and Gladio (18) take their cue from the freaking and are very cautious. They don’t ask why the three know so much about this strange place or are so agitated but Ignis is Fussing and Gladio is ready to hit something. Luna softly says hey’ll just- have to avoid “everyone important” and the Astrals will undo this as soon as they can.

-Their luck being what it is, they are somewhere in the slums of Midgar and while killing monsters for gil to stay somewhere that isn’t an alley for the night (WHY DO THE MONSTER BODIES DISAPPEAR Ignis hisses the first time the monster he was inspecting for potential recipe material disappeared into thin air, leaving coins and junk behind), they hear someone else fighting monsters and having Trouble.

-Reacting on their Good Guy instincts, they race around the corner and find a Whopping Freaking Behemoth growling it’s way through a street way too small for it, chasing two someones that Noctis doesn’t really pay attention too in his haste to fling a fireball in the Behemoth’s face to slow it down. The beast slows and Cloud rockets by, his sword a flash of silver light as he hops up the dingy wall and somehow (Nif experimentation strength, adrenaline, and magic) beheads the thing in one massive strike (Gladiolus, watching from the entrance of the street where he’s guarding Ignis, Luna, and the people that Behemoth was chasing, quickly acknowledges his jealousy and lets it go, because Prompto is just Like That).

-Prompto lands on the dead body of the Behemoth and flicks the blood off his blade as he looks around (escaped experiment from the labs he’s betting, and the thought of it makes his blood feel very cold). Noctis nods grimly at him, coming to the same conclusion and reminder.

-Then, from the head of the alley, someone breathes, “That, was ... SO COOL.”

-Prompto, looking over Noctis’s head from his perch, goes dead white. Noctis knows what he’s going to see the moment he turns around but somehow can’t stop himself from looking anyway.

-Bright-faced and energetic, innocent in a way Noctis has never been able to fully pull off, is one SOLDIER Second Class Zack Fair, staring at the two of them with hero worship in his eyes as he dusts himself off and bounds past a startled Gladio to all but vibrate in front of Noctis and Prompto, “How’d you do that? You just- WHOOSH and SHING and it was DEAD. I didn’t think anyone but a SOLDIER First could do that!”

-While Noctis tries to wrap his head around himself (had he really been that hyper? No wonder Angeal called him Puppy), Prompto blinks past Zack (ghost ghost bloody-tired-ghost-rain-blood-steel-you-are-my-living-legacy-) he sees the second person standing there being fussed at by Ignis and almost loses his grip on his Fusion Sword.

-Cadet Cloud Strife is watching Ignis with a touch of hero worship in his own eyes as the older teen expertly applies a potion to the scratches and cuts, never letting on that he’s spotted the eerie similarities between Prompto, Noctis and these two strangers.

-Their attention is dragged back to Zack by his waving arms as he chatters a mile a minute, then rapidly snagged by the sound of approaching footsteps from the far end of the street, the direction the Behemoth had come from.

-Noctis already knows who is running around that corner. His nerve breaks and he BOLTS. Zack yips a protest as Noctis rushes by, Prompto on his heels, trying to escape before HE can come around the corner and see them. Gladio sees the look on his prince’s face and starts herding Iggy and Luna away-.

-Genesis rounds the bend in front of them the exact moment Angeal rounds the corner behind. Both of them having rushed to the scene to try to save their apprentices.

-Noctis can only hear static. It’s ... it’s different from seeing Angeal in his new body, his reborn self. This- this is a ghost of the man he adored and looked up to as a father, this is a perfect memory of the man he was forced to KILL. This is- this is ANGEAL. Noctis cannot deal.

-Ignis ends up doing all the talking on the group’s behalf while Zack makes things ... worse unintentionally by excitedly recounting the story of how Prompto one-shot the Behemoth.

-Genesis confirms it with Cloud.

-Both men, honorable in their own way, insist on paying for a Proper Hotel for the group as thanks, which means taking them above plate. Ignis makes up a story of how they are Hunters (which ... they are technically, just not in this world) and were just visiting the city when they heard the sounds of fighting.

-They get dropped off at the hotel and Noctis and Prompto spend a good hour sobbing in the bathroom over their respective ghosts while Luna hesitantly tries to explain why to Ignis and Gladio without ... SAYING why. After that, the group put their heads together to make a plan, because Noctis and Prompto are SURE that SHINRA will come sniffing around soon.

-By morning, Noctis and Prompto have composed themselves and gotten ... sorta enough sleep.

-Prompto is not surprised how, the moment the clock turns to “reasonable hour of the morning” there is a knock on the door. He is less surprised when he opens it to find a Turk on the other side.

-He promptly shuts the door again.

-He makes a rude gesture at Ignis’s back when the older teen sighs at his bad manners and opens the door to let the devil man in with a murmured apology and vague excuse that Prompto doesn’t handle mornings well. The Turk is Tseng, because of course it is, and he’s come to formally thank them for their assistance the other day in saving the lives of two of their employees (Read: here to investigate how a group of unknown teens showed up out of literal nowhere, how one of them used a fireball spell without seeming to have any materia on his person and how the twig-blond one-shot a Behemoth like a SOLDIER First).

-Ignis and Luna handle all the talking because Noctis is oddly quiet (afraid of being too like Zack), Prompto has gone straight non-verbal, and Gladiolus is a bit busy trying to keep his two friends on a sane keel.

-Tseng notices all of the interplay, but isn’t sure what to make of it. He notices the way the black haired one seems agitated in his presence and how the blond has flickering mako shine in his eyes as he folds in on himself and shuts down at the sight of Tseng’s suit. He notices he way Ignis and Gladio are neutral to him like true strangers would, but the gentle girl named Luna watches him with an old, eerie sort of knowing fondness.

-They are not what they seem, he thinks to himself.

-But what are they?

-Anyway long ficlet made slightly shorter, Tseng talks them into coming to the tower to receive a thank you gift from SHINRA and maybe give a demonstration to some of the cadets while they were at it, as a ... show and tell from an outsider perspective. They don’t have any choice but to agree, and Noctis shakes off his uneasiness to be a more muted version of energetic to help Prompto cope.

-The SOLDIER Firsts and their apprentices are there too, because of course they are, and Noctis slides into his element showing off for the cadets with Gladio’s help while Prompto spaces out at the nearest wall. Angeal comes over to talk to Noctis and thank him and stuff and Zack is already trying to acquire another blond buddy (Prompto slides back into non-verbal blank looks and is ... dimly surprised by Cloud coming to his defense with an innocent, “Take it easy, Zack, he’s shy.” before smiling. Prompto doesn’t remember smiling as Cloud. Not like that. Easy and friendly and innocent.)

-SOMEHOW. Genesis ends up picking a fight with Noctis. Because Genesis. Prompto, eager to burn off some tension, intercedes on Noctis’s behalf and ends up flattening Genesis in three moves.

-...Oops.

-Genesis gets up with a manic look in his eye and Sephiroth is staring like a cat that just spotted a bird. Angeal’s eyebrows are up to his hairline and Zack is “ooo”ing in awe.

-Genesis tries again, Prompto flattens him in five moves this time.

-Ignis steps in before a real fight can happen and politely excuses the group because they have places to be.

-Prompto has never been more grateful for Gentiana’s timing than the moment they step out of Shinra’s office and slide into the crowd. In between one heartbeat and the next, one shifting of the large, busy crowd and another, she arrives and whisks them home.

-The Turks have no idea how they lost the group of teens, but they never find them again.

[lurafita]

Captain Hydra/Spiderman

This was inspired by @anime-lover1717

I tried to post this in answer to the ask, but it wouldn’t let me set tags like that.

Here is the link to the original ask: I loved this ask

I must admit, I had to read up on the universe with Captain Hydra Steve, as I have always been very partial to Peter Parker’s Spiderman and hardly looked at any comics that didn’t feature him, which is why I knew basically nothing about this particular story line. So, as I tried to familiarize myself with the matter at hand, I came to the following conclusion: ‘This is one convoluted mess.’ Now, this might have been better understandable had I actually read the comic issues, and not just a summary of them. But fact is, the comic canon circumstances under which Steve becomes an agent of Hydra, as well as everything around that, including characters and alliances, was too complicated for me to work with in a story.

Which is why I played around with some facts, ignored some story lines, made up some other things, and pretty much fucked up everything.

So the Hydra in Captain Hydra’s universe is still unarguably the bad guys, but they are not the torture happy sadist Nazi evil dudes and dudettes they are usually portrayed as.

Also, while many instances here hint at things that have happened in the MCU, and while everyone is completely free to envision Peter however they like, this here does not strictly follow the MCU canon.

The universe in which Captain Hydra finds Peter, is referred to as Earth 108. This is not hinting at any existing universe in the Marvel comics, or the Cinematic Universe. It’s simply a play on Peter’s birthday (August 10th), because I’m lazy and unimaginative.

I Don’t Have A Title For This!

Good and evil, Steve knew, were more often than not, a matter of perspective.

If a man killed another man, he was a murderer.

If a man saved another man’s life, he was a hero.

If the man from both those examples happened to be one and the same, was he good, or was he evil?

Individuals and societies as a whole, have different parameters for being good and bad and that may or may not be applicable for others.

There was a quote that goes something like this, we judge others by their actions, and ourselves by our intention.

Most people's perception of morality, was subject to culture and societal norms. What was completely legal in one country, could get you a prison sentence in another.

If someone's actions didn't align with anothers' beliefs, it was just far easier to call them 'evil', 'bad', and label them a 'villain', than to try to understand their reasoning, or admit fault in one’s own logic and morals.

Another factor was time. Humans and the societies they lived in evolved over time, and so did their view on morals and ethics. What was once seen as right and just, was subject to harsh judgement two centuries later. Something that right now is seen as morally correct, might be found cruel or disrespectful in the far future.

In the end, the whole debate was probably more deep and philosophical than Steve had the will or patience to deal with.

What truly mattered, was that Hydra's plans for the world, and therefore, humanity, were something he not only believed in, but supported wholeheartedly.

In his opinion, a large part of the struggles that humanity faced, was due to the moral ambiguity and different social standings, different ethics and belief systems, that the various cultures and societies produced.

Countries forcing their citizens to endure wars for economic or territorial gain. Religious diversity causing hatred between two or more groups. Racism and nationalism abound.

There was no structure, no unity, no order.

It was the classic tale of the tower to babel. According to the story, a united humanity in the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating westward, comes to the land of Shinar. There they agree to build a city and a tower tall enough to reach heaven. God, observing their city and tower, confounds their speech so that they can no longer understand each other, and scatters them around the world.

Whether one was religious or not, the story taught a valuable lesson. Together, united, striving toward the same goals, adhering to the same rules, following the same leader, mankind could achieve great things.

And that was all that Hydra wanted. To unite humanity under their banner.

Countries couldn't wage wars upon each other, if Hydra held all of the worlds weapons.

The chasm between the rich and the poor could be reduced, if Hydra had control over the world market.

People who developed powers and abilities that separated them from normal humans could be trained, studied, helped.

Was it cruel to have taken young Wanda and Pietro from their parents those many years ago? Perhaps.

But the children had had poor control over their powers, and their parents had refused to take the help that Hydra had offered them. Now it was 20 years later, and Wanda and Pietro had not only fully mastered their powers, but they had also made many good friends and parental figures within the organization. The training was sometimes hard, yes. But it was never designed to torture. The scientists that studied people like Steve and the twins (and others like them), weren't sadists.

Mutants and mutates weren't subjected to body modifications (unless they themselves requested such, or they were a medical requirement.)

His best friend Bucky had survived the cruelties of war thanks to Hydra's experiments with the super serum. He had the use of both of his arms, thanks to the Hydra scientists who had built him a new one. Wanda could sleep without accidentally slipping into the mind of another, because the many tests she had had to undergo, had helped her understand and control her powers. Studying the way Pietro's body withstood the centrifugal forces when he sped up, brought the potential of many advancements in both the technological, as well as the medical fields. The rate at which Steve's body healed from injury, would one day pave the way for Hydra to cure illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, and possibly even AIDS.

And those were just some of the examples in which Hydra would change the world for the better.

However, change like this came with a price.

Howard Stark, who had refused to manufacture weapons for Hydra, had been one of those. His wife, unfortunately, collateral damage. As had been Wanda and Pietro's parents.

The so called 'heroes' that stood in Hydra’s way, needed either to be brought over to their side, or eliminated. Governments that couldn't be infiltrated, needed to be felled.

You had to break some eggs to make an omelet.

It wouldn't matter in the long run, because the end would justify the means.

While Hydra wasn't scared to use force to do what was necessary (and they already had, on multiple occasions), it would still be preferable to win the masses over. Make them realize that Hydra was not as villainous or evil as most viewed them. After all, if they only won through the subjugation of the whole world, they stood the risk of revolution.

Which was the reason that Steve had been sent out through the portal their scientists had created, with the help of alien tech, to search for allies for their cause in other dimensions.

He had already been successful a few times. One dimension had yielded a version of Anthony Edward Stark, that was just as brilliant, but far less morally uptight, as the one in Steve’s own universe. Another had reunited him with a different Natasha Romanoff. The redhead in his own world had, sadly, sided against him, and was raising a movement against their organization. Yet another trip through the portal had secured the services of one Wade Wilson, or as he liked to be called, Deadpool. An ex-US Military soldier turned immortal mercenary, who had become disillusioned to his states moral high grounds. He was an insane pain in the ass, but damn useful.

Still, non of the new recruits filled the criteria he was looking for. So the search continued. Until he stepped foot into the latest universe, coined by the researchers, Earth 108.

The first thing that surprised him about this universe, was their very own Hydra group. Steve had looked into them right away, hoping to have found possibilities for cooperation between their universes. But it became quickly apparent to him that, while on the surface this Hydra's goals and ideals might seem similar to Steve's worlds Hydra, there were some glaring differences in execution that couldn't be overlooked or tolerated.

Turning his attention away from the poor imitation of Steve's Hydra, he looked instead into 108′s heroes. What he found both disappointed and amazed him .

The disappointment rang loudest when he found this worlds James Barnes. Teamed up with Sam Wilson, formerly known as the Falcon, but having taken on the mantle of Captain America in this world, Bucky was- no. He refused to call this man Bucky. This version of James was a shadow of the man he called his best friend.

Sam Wilson was another disappointment, though not as much of a surprise. His world's Sam was an enemy to Hydra, too convinced in his own views of the world and too stubborn to accept any different.

Earth 108 had no natural mutants, only mutates. As it turned out, the Maximoff twins not only existed in this world, but also had roughly the same powers. Only the origin of those powers was different.

The Pietro of this world had died, and his sister was hardly seen by civilians, obviously she held no interest in using her gift to the betterment of the people.

There had apparently been a Steve Rogers, who had once worn the colors of Captain America and fought for his country. But the man had vanished, chosen the peaceful life of a civilian, over standing by his friends, and protecting those that needed him.

The Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff of this world had also perished, in some big battle that had been fought against an almost almighty being. Steve didn't feel too bad about it, though. After all, he already had secured the loyalty of their undoubtedly superior versions.

While other people with powers existed, not much was known about them, apart from a few appearances. Which told Steve that they hadn't really done anything worth of acknowledgment.

And then he found Spiderman.

Spiderman was a guy who dressed up in blue and red spandex (slight stature, narrow frame, lithe,  but finely muscled), and swung around the city of New York on white strings (“Synthetic spider webs.” Tony had told him, an excited, almost manic gleam in his eyes. “Those are biodegradable, synthetic spider webs, that would have decomposed before I could get them under a microscope, had you brought them to me only an hour later. The tensile strength of these things is through the roof! I have tried reverse engineering it, but there is something about it's components that apparently changes when mixed together, which makes recreating it without knowing the original ingredients pretty much impossible. I want that formula, Cap. And the guy who came up with it. What are you still doing standing around here like the worlds most boring historic statue? Get back to 108 and find out more about that spider guy!”)

So that was exactly what Steve did, and he spent days observing the vigilante hero and learning as much about the young man (the tenor of his voice and the way he talked led Steve to believe the guy was somewhere in his early twenties) as he could.

And that's where the amazement came in.

Now this, this was a hero.

Spiderman didn't choose who deserved his help and who didn't. He climbed up a tree to bring down a stuck cat for a little girl, with the same aura of purpose, as when he jumped recklessly into a burning building to get out the inhabitants the firefighters couldn't reach. He spent hours almost every night, jumping from roof to roof, traveling along the cities many streets and alleys via his webs, to look out for citizens in trouble.

The type of criminal he would take on likewise didn't matter.

Be it a mugger with a knife, a rapist who had drugged his unsuspecting victim, a group of bank robbers with automatic guns, or a mutated villain with delusions of grandeur, or just a simple thirst for revenge, Spiderman fought them all.

And that was perhaps the most fascinating thing about the man. Steve had only been shadowing the vigilante for little more than a week by this point (which was surprisingly hard, the man seemed to sense whenever Steve got too close, and had almost spotted his 'stalker' a few times), but he had witnessed enough to know that Spiderman had enhanced strength, speed, and reflexes.

It should have been easy for him to lay out his opponents. Child's play, really, to kill most of them.

But he didn't. Spiderman pulled every punch, held himself back on every kick. Let himself take damage when there was risk to the civilians around.

Many people didn’t see a distinction between ‘fighting a criminal’ and ‘saving a person’. It was one and the same, wasn’t it? If you fought a mugger, you saved the person they were trying to rob. If you fight a rapist, you save the person they were trying to rape.

But it wasn’t as easy as that.

In Steve’s experience, most ‘heroes’ were created out of a need for revenge. They went out and fought ‘the good fight’, in order to rid the world of those who tried to hurt others. They went out in order to stop crime, and to fight the villain, and to punish the unjust. Saving someone in the process, was a byproduct.

But for Spiderman, the opposite was true.

Spiderman wasn’t out to punish, or to hurt or kill the villains of this world. Spiderman didn’t take on the role of judge, jury and executioner.

Spiderman simply wanted to help others. If helping someone meant holding up a collapsing building, that’s what he did. If helping someone meant fighting a bunch of thugs, that’s what he did. If helping someone meant explaining to them how they could get to a certain part in the city, then that’s what he did.

Steve caught an interview that one of the news reporters did with the vigilante, just after Spiderman (or Spidey, as most of this city seemed to like calling him affectionately), had resolved a hostage situation.

“This is New York News, live on the scene with Spiderman, where the city’s beloved hero has just prevented what could have ended in many causalities. Spidey, what most of our viewers have been dying to know since you first appeared, what made you choose to throw on that skin tight suit and fight crime in the first place?”

It was interesting to note that Spiderman seemed both awkward and shy in front of the camera, but somehow also reveled in the attention.

“Uhm, actually, I think, that is... It’s not so much that I specifically chose to fight crime. Someone who meant a lot to me once told me that ‘With great power, comes great responsibility’. I have these powers, and I’m honestly not sure that I did anything to deserve them at the time, but it is my responsibility to use them for good. Well, at least that’s what I believe.”

That was when Steve knew that Spiderman was exactly what Hydra needed. He could be their poster boy, their front man, the image of ‘goodness’, that the organization lacked. Spiderman could win the support of the civilians, could soften them into accepting Hydra’s rule, while Steve and the others continued their work in the shadows.

There was only one problem.

Spiderman’s obviously stellar moral compass.

He brought the matter up with his team and superiors.

“Would you be able to make him more open to our way of doing things, Wanda?”

“Not without running the risk of completely changing his character. From everything Steve has told us about this man, these things are too deeply ingrained in his being to simply change them.”

“.. There might be a way...”

“Could you elaborate on that, Doctor Schmidt?”

“Well, there are several drugs used in the present to help victims that have been through traumatic events, by replacing the problematic memories with other, harmless, or even happy ones. They are used mostly in the treatment of PTSD in soldiers, or especially traumatized children, who have experienced high levels of abuse. My research team has been working on tweaking the effects of the drug for some time, and we are at a point where I’m positive that we could use it to manipulate a person’s perception of events. If, for example, we use the drug to plant the ‘fact’ that Hydra would never break the law, and he witnessed exactly that, his mind would erase the memory of it as it happened. He would simply be unable to retain the kind of information that would contradict what the drug had planted.”

“Why am I only hearing of this drug now? Wouldn’t that solve the problems we are having with bringing the people around to our way?”

“It’s sadly not applicable for mass distribution. The drug needs to be specifically attuned to the chemical and biological make-up of the person on who it is used. And it must be regularly administered to keep up its effect. So while it may work on one individual, it’s just not possible to manufacture it for hundreds of thousands of people.”

“Very well. What would you need to ‘attune’ the drug to Spiderman?”

“Any kind of organic sample will do. Blood, skin tissue, some hairs... Just anything that carries his DNA.”

“That should be easy enough to accomplish for you, Captain. And while you are at it, try to find out who is beneath the mask.”

“Yes Sir.”

It turned out to be easier than he thought it would be. Spiderman had fought a man with four mechanical arms who called himself Doc Ock. (Well, Spidey had called him Doc Ock, which hadn’t seemed to be sitting all that well with the man.)

While Spiderman had won, he had been wounded. The vigilante had managed to swing himself away from the place that was rapidly filling with onlookers, authorities, and emergency personnel alike, and had come to a painful stop in a dark alley a few miles away. It had taken Steve a few minutes to catch up with him, but once he did, he quickly crouched down in front of the crumpled form of the red and blue clad man, who was leaning weakly against the dirty wall, pressing a hand to his bleeding side, and breathing harshly through his teeth.

He flinched violently when Steve laid a steadying hand on his shoulder.

“Easy there, I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Cap... Captain... Rogers..? Sir..? I thought you... you were...”

Speaking was evidently hard, so Steve held up a calming hand.

“It’s a long story. Let’s get you some help first.”

He was about to reach over to scoop the slighter man into his arms, but was stopped by a hand on his chest and a rapidly shaking head.

“Can’t... can’t go to.... a hospi.. hospital... It’s okay... ‘ve got a... got a... healing factor... I’ll be fine... Just need a... a few.. “

Accelerated healing. Spiderman really was the perfect hero.

Steve nodded in order to appease the man.

“Okay. Are you sure your wound isn’t too much for your healing factor?”

Spiderman nodded.

“... Just need... to not bleed out... before it can... finish repairing the... damage..”

“Good. Let me help you with that.” He pressed his hand over the slimmer, smaller one that was covering the wound. It tore a pained, but thankfully short, groan from the hero’s lips.

“My instructor in the army used to say that we should be damn grateful if we feel pain, because that means we are still alive. Just keep breathing. You are doing good. Maybe we should take off that mask-”

He reached for it, but his hand was intercepted by a still surprisingly strong grip. He looked right into the masks eyes and spoke in a reassuring tone.

“Don’t worry, we are deep enough in this alley that no one will see. The mask might make it harder for you to breath under these circumstances, and I can’t imagine it feels very comfortable right now. No one will know besides me. Trust me.”

Steve was banking on the fact that his other version had been a well respected and trusted icon to the people of this world. Thankfully, it worked, and his hand was released from the now slightly shaking grip.

Steve had not been prepared for the sight that greeted him once he removed the mask, and he couldn’t help but stare for a few seconds.

Beautiful.

Spiderman was beautiful.

Chestnut curls, almond eyes, pale skin (though that could be due to the blood loss), soft features.

Gorgeous. Just utterly gorgeous.

“Uhm, uh,.. hey. I mean, hi. I... I didn’t really get the... chance to introduce myself,.. last time we met,... so uhm,... hi. I... I’m Peter. P-Peter Parker. I’m... I’m a big.. fan.”

He was blushing through his ramble.

Adorable.

It was too dark, and Peter was too exhausted, to discern the wide smirk on the Captain’s face.

“Hello, Peter Parker.”

It was so easy, after that first meeting.

Steve had stayed crouched before Peter and applied pressure to the sizable wound for a good twenty minutes, before the younger man had judged it safe to use his webs to spray the wound close. He was weak from the blood loss, so Steve had told him to stay right there, while he himself would go and retrieve the backpack with Peter’s civilian clothes for him to change into.

Still shaky and slightly trembling, Peter had gratefully accepted Steve’s arm around his slim waist, and had let the super soldier support him the whole way to his apartment. There Steve had carefully deposited him on his beat up couch, pressed a bottle of water into his hand, and fixed him a quick meal with the ingredients found in the fridge. (Which were pitiful at best. The state of the whole apartment actually left a lot to be desired in Steve’s eyes.)

He had stayed and watched as the younger man ate, refusing all offers of Peter to share the meager portion, and kept lifting up the shirt to check if the temporary bandage had been bled through. (And to covertly stroke over the skin surrounding the wound. And oh, it was just as soft as it looked.)

When the webbing dissolved about an hour later, Steve insisted on cleaning and bandaging the wound himself, which had Peter blushing and stuttering, in-between thanking Steve for his help.

He didn’t notice when the Captain held a small vial to the sluggishly bleeding wound, stealing a few precious drops.

Steve could tell that Peter had questions. Questions that he thought he would be directing at the Captain Rogers from Earth 108. But right then wasn’t the right time to explain things to the vigilante. So Steve again simply scooped the slighter man into a bridal carry (it had Peter blushing so delightfully), and took him into his bedroom. (The overhead light wasn’t working, the mattress was probably as old as Peter himself, and the blanket was thin and had quite a few holes in it. The rickety bed frame squeaked when Steve laid his light burden down on it, and he had a hard time masking his disdain at the blatantly poor accommodations the younger man lived in.)

“How good is your healing? Will you really be okay without seeing a proper doctor?”

The thought had crossed his mind to just whisk the younger man away, into his own dimension, to let him be checked over by Hydra’s doctors. But such a move might be counterproductive. Dr. Schmidt had told him that it would take a few days to code the drug to Spiderman’s genetic structure. Steve didn’t know how well acquainted Peter had been with his own Captain Rogers (though possibly not very well, remembering how Peter had said that he hadn’t had a chance to introduce himself to the older man before), and he hadn’t established himself as a trustworthy figure to the vigilante yet. So there was no telling how Peter would react to not only being in a different universe, but also enjoying the hospitality of a group that was considered the enemy in his world (and in Steve’s world as well, if one wanted to be technical about it).

They had the means to keep Spiderman at the base should things go awry, but if the younger man went into this already carrying a negative impression on either Steve or his group, the drug might not work as intended.

So unless Peter was in immediate danger from his injury, Steve would use the time he had while the scientists manufactured the drug, to earn the vigilante’s trust and affection.

Thankfully, Peter nodded.

“It’s fine. It’s not healed yet, and I will probably have to take it easy for about 2 to 3 days, but it’s gonna be okay. As far as I have narrowed it down, as long as I prevent dying, my healing will patch me back up. Sleeping will help, as will a good meal, though I’m gonna have to go shopping for groceries, I think...”

Since Steve had similar experiences with his own accelerated healing, he knew that it would take more than one good meal to satisfy the high metabolism and boost his body’s healing ability. And judging by everything he had seen so far, the super solider doubted that Peter had the funds for this.

Fortunately, this presented a great opportunity.

“Then how about this,” He smiled charmingly as he gently tucked the holey blanket under the narrow shoulders. “I’ll come by tomorrow morning with some nice breakfast, Then, depending on how well you feel, we will go for a little walk to catch some sun and fresh air. And after that, we will eat in that cozy little diner I found the other day. My treat.”

“No, Captain Rogers, Sir, I couldn’t possibly-”

A simple finger pressed to soft, plush lips, stopped the protest right away.

“Peter, I insist. And really, it’s more for myself than for you. I wouldn’t feel good if I don’t get to check on your wound, and make sure that you eat well. Also, please call me Steve. Captain and Sir seems far too formal.” (Though it might be fun being called that under different circumstances...)

As Peter tried protesting anew (stubborn little spider), Steve added

“Also, there is something I need to discuss with you. A favor, really. So, just take this as my thanks for your help.”

Peter frowned. “What if I’m not the right guy for the job?”

“You are.”

-

The next four days were a dream. Steve had gotten the blood sample back to his world, and Doctor Schmidt and his team had started on it right away. As promised, he had been bright and early at Peter’s pitiful apartment the next morning, with an assortment of breakfast food (courtesy of Tony’s wallet, who had managed to amount quite a bit of a fortune for Hydra in his free time, using only a computer).

The spider-powered hero took surprisingly well to being told about different dimensions and universes. (Steve had had to cut off the excited science-techno-babble though, as it frankly went right over his head.) “Well, it explains how you are here. No one has really seen Captain Rogers after the last great battle, and according to Sergeant Barnes, he is happily retired.”

Even when Steve told him about the Hydra in his world being the good guys, that they were their version of Peter’s world’s Shield, the younger man accepted his words as the truth without much complaint. Though a bit of the easy compliance was probably due to Steve mentioning how fascinated Stark had been by his webs.

“Stark? T-Tony Stark? You have a Tony Stark in your world? He... he is alive in your world?”

Well, the Tony Stark that was originally from Steve’s world was dead, but there was no reason to tell Peter that.

“Right, I heard about Iron Man’s death here. I’m sorry, Peter. Were you close?”

This could work in their favor.

“N-not exactly close... I wouldn’t say. Just. He figured out who I was, back when I started going out as Spiderman. I was still new to the whole hero/vigilante thing, and I ... I made some mistakes. He offered to take me under his wing, show me the ropes. He even made me a new and better suit!”

Steve frowned.

“He gave you that spandex suit?” That thing couldn’t even protect Peter from a harsh wind!

Peter’s expression fell right away.

“Uh, no. The suit he made me was... it was super awesome. Intelligent nano-tech with its own A.I. I named her Karen. But... after Mr Stark died... “

The Captain had laid a consoling hand on his shoulder.

“I understand, Peter. Listen, if you don’t think you can face Tony-”

“No, no. I want to help you, even though I’m still not sure why you think I’m a good candidate for that. And it might be, good? to see him again... I mean I know he isn’t the Tony Stark I knew, but... I will help you.”

“After you have fully healed. I will take you with me and introduce you to everyone, and when we are there I will be better able to fully explain everything to you. And Peter? Thank you.”

Steve made use of the time spent together to learn what he could about the young hero. Peter was 23 years old and working freelance for a big newspaper. When Steve inquired about college, the younger man awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, and confessed to not having pursued a higher education, due to not being able to afford it. “I mean, I was offered a few scholarships from different universities, but those only paid for tuition. I still needed to come up with the money for living expanses and some of the text books I would need on my own. And going to college, plus getting a job, plus being Spiderman... I would have liked studying, but I don’t regret choosing Spiderman over it.”

Steve learned that Peter was a genuinely nice and warm person, with a good head on his shoulders, and a huge soft spot for animals (dogs especially).

“It’s probably a good thing that my apartment complex doesn’t allow pets. I can barely scrape the money together to feed myself.”

Peter was a bit of a nerdy geek with a dorky sense of humor, and once he started rambling about something he felt passionate about, it could be quite some time before you got him to stop.

It was endearing.

When Peter had insisted on taking Steve sightseeing (and asking a seemingly endless series of questions about all the differences between the two versions of New York), and Steve had casually mentioned that he liked to sketch and draw in his free time upon seeing an artist in Central Park, Peter had looked at him with wide eyes and pure admiration.

“Can I see your paintings? I have no talent for art, but the way people can take a pencil or a piece of charcoal or whatever and just create amazing images, has always fascinated me. Though I don’t really get some of the styles that are just random lines and splotches everywhere, but sometimes you look at a drawing and it makes you feel things, you know? And I just really love looking at art sometimes, or watching someone draw. I can’t tell you how many hours I have spent binging Bob Ross. But you don’t have to! I totally get if you would rather keep it private.”

Just when Steve thought he couldn’t possibly fall for Peter any more than he already had.

When Dr. Schmidt informed him that the drug had been completed at the same day that Peter reported his injury fully healed, Steve couldn’t help the feeling that this must be fate.

Clearly, Peter had always meant to be in his world, with his team, by his side.

He convinced the younger man to leave his suit at home.

“It wouldn’t do for your fans to recognize you and follow us. They might think your Captain America has returned to throw Spiderman into a wormhole or something. And besides, Tony has been quite adamant about giving you a better suit. He doesn’t want to undermine your grief, but he said that if your Tony was anything like him, he would be positively devastated that his protege was running around in spandex.”

Peter, perfect thing that he was, agreed.

When the inter-dimensional portal closed behind them, the two were greeted by Steve’s team and Doctor Schmidt, who was holding a syringe. It was time for the final act.

Peter hadn’t noticed the doctor, nor did he really pay attention to the other persons in the room. His eyes were fixed on one Tony Stark. Said man grinned widely and stepped closer.

“Spiderman! Or do you prefer Peter when you are not suited up? It’s good to finally meet you.”

Needless to say, he was quite taken aback when in the next second, the younger man flung himself against the genius in a hug.

Peter’s voice was muffled from where his face was pressed into Tony’s chest.

“Sorry. I’m sorry. I know you are not him. And you are probably also not the hugging type. Mr Stark wasn’t, either. Just, just a moment... please.”

Tony wasn’t a man easily led by emotion or empathy, but this once, he made an exception. After all, Peter would become family soon. So the older and just slightly taller man returned the hug, and softly patted Peter on the back.

“It’s alright, kid. I get it.”

The brunette got a hold of himself shortly after, and apologized profusely, but Tony waved him off.

“Seriously kid, it’s okay.”

Somehow, the others managed to interject and introduce themselves to Peter. Wade naturally flirted with the brunette right of the bat, and while Peter blushed hard at the mercenary’s many pick-up lines (Steve did not appreciate the scene all that much), he also had a way of talking to the man that seemed to work very well with the hyperactive insanity that made up Deadpool.

“Peter?” 

Peter quickly turned to face the Captain. Which was when he finally noticed the older man in the lab coat, who was carrying a capped syringe in his hand.

“Peter, this is Doctor Schmidt, Hydra’s head of the medical department.”

Peter nodded in acknowledgement, but the sight of the syringe had him a little on edge, and he didn’t step any closer. Steve seemed to notice the source of his hesitance.

“Don’t worry, Pete, I promise it’s nothing sinister. I forgot to tell you beforehand, that’s on me. The thing with traveling to different universes, is that you are basically a foreign matter. It’s, uhm-”

Steve looked to the doctor next to him, hoping he would take over the explanation. They had gone over the story they would feed Peter to accept the drug two times, but Steve simply wasn’t a man of science and didn’t feel confident to deliver the words with the needed certainty for the younger man to believe him. Thankfully Schmidt took the hint.

“Are you familiar with the practice of organ transplantation, Mister Parker?”

“Yes. I mean, I’m no professional, but I know the theory and procedure behind it. Peter is fine, by the way, Doctor.”

Schmidt smiled kindly.

“Then you are familiar with the problems of transplant rejection, during which the body has an immune response to the transplanted organ, possibly leading to transplant failure. Which is something that modern medicine has found a way to prevent, through the use of immune-suppressant drugs.”

Peter’s eyes widened in understanding. (Steve loved how expressive Peter’s face was. How he could always tell when the younger man was working out a puzzle in his mind, and the exact moment when he solved it and his eyes would light up.)

“So another universe is like a different organism, and people traveling from one universe to another, are like donor organs, that get implanted into this new organism.”

“Right. What I’m holding in my hand, if we follow up on this analogy, is an ‘immune-suppressant’, that will prevent our ‘organism’ to reject you. The Captain has likewise taken this medicine every time he visited another universe, so I can assure you, it is completely harmless.”

Peter visibly relaxed.

“Yeah, no, I get it. I hadn’t even thought there might be something like this to consider with inter-dimensional travel, but it makes a lot of sense. Wouldn’t want to unbalance your universe with my presence here, or start glitching out of existence or something like that. Do you mind if I sit down for this? Not that I’m scared of needles or anything, but... yeah.”

God, he was cute. Steve couldn’t help the little chuckle that slipped out. (And he wasn’t alone. Bucky and Natasha were smirking, Pietro and Wade tipped their heads in sympathy to Peter, and Wanda and Tony were laughing lightly.)

“That will be no problem, Peter.”

The young hero didn’t worry when his spidey-sense tingled slightly as the needle came closer to his skin. His fear of needles was likely just feeding into the instinct.

It took only about two minutes for the drug to take affect. Peter’s pupils were blown huge, and he was swaying slightly in the chair as if drunk.

“We have estimated that it is safe to implant up to three new facts in the subjects mind. Say his name each time before you state a fact. List the facts clearly, so that his mind will have an easier time to categorize and save them away. Have him repeat the key fact after each time. Positive affirmation may help to anchor the new facts in his subconscious. It’s important that you keep eye contact with him during the whole thing.”

Steve nodded and crouched down in front of the drugged man, so that their eyes were at the same height. He carefully framed Peter’s face between both his large hands, and guided him gently to look directly at him.

“Peter.”

He saw how the almond eyes focused immediately.

“Fact 1: Hydra are the good guys. Hydra would never do anything bad. Say it.”

His voice came out slightly robotic, but grew in conviction with every word.

“Fact 1: Hydra are the good guys. Hydra would never do anything bad.”

Steve smiled and stroked his thumbs over Peter’s cheek bones.

“Good boy.”

Even though he was still a bit loopy due to the drug, the praise seemed to make him more attentive. What a perfect, perfect little spider.

“Peter. Fact 2: Hydra is your family. Everyone in this room especially, is your friend. You don’t want to go back to your own dimension, even if it means taking the ‘immune-suppressant’ every week. Say it.”

Peter repeated the words dutifully and Steve rewarded him with a soft kiss on his forehead.

“Good boy.”

The younger man smiled dizzily at him.

“Peter. Fact 3: You love me. You are in love with me. We are in a relationship. You love it when I touch you. You love it when I kiss you. You love it when I fuck you. Say it.”

“I love you. I’m in love with you. We are in a relationship. I love it when you touch me. I love it when you kiss me. I love it when you fuck me.”

This one deserved a filthy kiss on the lips. Steve smirked. Victory had never tasted as sweet.

“Good boy.”

-

They waited about an hour for the drug to wear off, before they tested the effectiveness of Peter’s conditioning.

The spider enhanced brunette stood close to Steve’s side, who lazily stroked a finger along Peter’s spine. It made the younger man shudder so deliciously.

Two Hydra agents dragged in a woman in handcuffs, who was shooting everyone in the room venomous looks, but stoically kept her mouth shut.

Peter frowned at the scene.

“What’s going on?”

“This woman broke into one of our secured bases, and was caught trying to hack our servers. We believe she was looking for a shipment of dangerous weapons we confiscated from a dealer a few days ago.”

At this the woman, who was a member of the resistance working against Hydra’s growing influence, scoffed.

“That what you are telling to feed the masses, Captain Hydra? Pathetic!”

Thankfully, Peter couldn’t see the venomous look his boyfriend gave the woman. When he looked up at him, Steve’s face had cleared of all hostility.

“So why is she here, and not in prison?”

“We believe she is part of a larger organization connected to the black markets. So we brought her here in order to hopefully get some Intel on that. Agent Harper, your gun please.”

As soon as the gun was passed over to the Captains hand, Steve shot the woman right between the eyes. She collapsed dead in the hold of the two Agents that had brought her in.

But Steve’s focus wasn’t on the enemy’s lifeless body, but on Peter. The younger man looked at the scene before, blinked once, and then turned to Steve with a nod.

“Okay. I’m sure you and Bucky will get her to talk in no time. I should get going now, I need to make myself familiar with this version of New York, and Tony said he has a suit ready for me. Wade offered his services as tour guide.”

He grinned brightly and stood up on his tip toes to press a small kiss to the corner of Steve’s lips.

“Have fun, darling. And remember, if Wade gets too handsy, web him to a wall somewhere.”

Peter laughed. Steve would never get tired of hearing that sound.

“You are sexy when you are jealous. Tell me what you find out from her when I get back. Love you.”

“Love you too, sweetheart.”

A quick kiss goodbye, and Peter was happily jogging out of the room to meet up with Deadpool and get his new suit from Tony.

Steve watched him go with a satisfied smile on his face, before turning to the agents.

“Dispose of her body. And inform Dr. Schmidt and his team that the test was successful.”

__________________________________________

The End.

[scribeofmorpheus]

The Rebel Queen (iv)

Chapter Four: Convergence

Pairing: Poe Dameron x (OFC) Princess Calista Ordell

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist | A03

Words:  | Warnings: More ramblings of a delusional fanfic writer…

A/N: Finally our two protagonists meet... just not how you#d envision it.

Taglist is open

Epilogue | About Thesmora

Hyperspace...

Poe took his holo-call in the privacy of a storage room. General Leia’s face was a portrait in blue as she filled him in on what new intel she had gathered.

“Maz got in touch again. Your contact has arrived on Takodana. She’s a member of the House of Ordell. And seeing as there are only three members of that house remaining, I’m assuming it’s the young princess, Calista.” Leia’s face lit up in a half-smile as she remembered something. “I met her once. When she was just a child. She was so shy, unlike her mother and father. Always clinging to the coattails of the admiral like he was some boulder keeping her from being swept away.” She lifted her head, her eyes set back on Poe.

Poe shook his head when he realised she was waiting for some form of confirmation that he knew about what she was speaking of. The name didn’t ring any bells.

Leia explained further, “They’re royalty. They govern over a small planet situated close to the Outer Rim. Thesmora.” She said the planets name as though it would mean something to him, but Poe simply ran a hand through his hair and shrugged with indifference. The General huffed at him.

“It’s a big galaxy,” he defended himself.

“Indeed it is,” she replied matter-of-factly. “It used to be a beacon of neutrality within the galaxy. However, Thesmora has fallen to infighting. Not much noise has been made about it considering how much confusion and fear the galaxy is in after the First Order fired their superweapon. Their skirmish has gone relatively unnoticed.”

“Maybe the people simply wanted to govern themselves?”

“No, I knew the late queen. We didn’t agree on much and she was as stubborn as a mule, but her subjects adored her. More importantly, she would have proven to be a great ally…” Something bothered Leia, the lines on her face becoming more prominent as she furrowed her brow in thought. “It’s curious. News of her death came to me around the same time I received correspondence from her. It can’t be a coincidence. “

Poe lingered for a while, feet kicking the air.

“Speak your mind Commander,” Leia urged, having noticed his reaction.

“Are you sure this was all worth it?” He slumped onto a box, a sigh escaping his lips. “I don’t doubt your reasons for sending me on this mission. I just can’t help but wonder if I was the right choice. I’m trying to see things your way, but I’m flying blind here. And that’s the worst feeling for a pilot to have. Especially the pilot you chose to lead this expedition.”

“You’re afraid it would all turn out to be a waste of time,” she said it as if she had the power to read his thoughts. “Have faith, Commander. I had sensed something before Maz had contacted me. She felt it too. And now we discover that a potentially powerful ally is in need of assistance… Call it fate or coincidence, matters not. What matters is that the Resistance is hobbling on one leg as it is. If we hope to survive, we have to be willing to take risks. Even if those risks seem to be fools' errands.”

“Those are large hopes to place on a princess of a homeworld that is currently too busy fighting its own war to care about the one being waged against the entire galaxy, General.”

“I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.”

“And my orders?” he asked.

“I am transferring a data packet to your terminal. Hand it to the princess. And only the princess. It’s time we took direct action.”

The terminal stopped the projection and Poe was left alone with his thoughts. Then he heard Paige call him over his terminal, “Uh, hotshot, mind coming back down here. I’ve gotta pull us out of hyperspeed and I’m afraid I might rip us to shreds if I accidentally press the wrong button.”

Poe smiled as he left the cold, compressed space of the storage locker and made his way to the cockpit which was filled with the noises of several alarms and flashing lights.

 "Easy does it, Tico, don't want to jostle us around on landing," he cautioned as his new second mate retracted the landing gear sloppily. Her arm muscles strained to keep the ship in alignment and he could tell she wasn't ready for this particular task just yet. He flicked a few switches, turned more dials and pressed several buttons. The landing controls had been transferred to him and Paige audibly sighed, wiping the sweat off her brow. A shake settling in her bones more freely now.

"I could’ve handled that," she made light of the situation after Poe had set the ship down in a clearing surrounded by tall, canopied trees.

He chuckled, unbuckling his seat belt and pushing his chair backwards, "Sure you could've." It was hard to tell whether he meant to be sarcastic, sincere or teasing, but Paige seemed to take it lightly.

"I just thought you were getting bored since I did all the flying this time," she wore a smug smile.

One of his eyes twitched, "All the flying?"

She playfully punched his sides as they made their way to the rear of the ship, "Is someone's ego hurt?"

“It’ll take more than that, I assure you,” he shot her a warm smile as he pressed the door’s side panel and light flushed through the cooling ship.

Paige took a step back from the encroaching light, face scrunched up in a tight squint. She had yet to habituate herself with the constant changes forced upon the human body during intragalactic travel. Poe recognised that squint, he had worn it many times when he first started flying through hyperspace. It was always accompanied by vertigo, nausea and a flash of white spots that bombarded his vision. During his worse trips, he’d even experience the regular bout of muscle spasms. Years of flying had trained his body to become acclimated to the abrupt changes in environment that came with travelling through hyperspace. It was a discipline that came with the territory. Being a passenger was one thing, piloting under intense conditions and forcing your mind and body to stay lucid and responsive was a whole other ball game. Lucky for Paige, Poe hadn’t noticed any uncontrollable shaking… yet.

“Shut your eyes. Take three deep breaths and focus on your feet while walking. Your inner-ear should balance itself out. If you start to shake, ride it out, it’s worse when you fight it,” he offered his advice while she tentatively took a step forward and regretted it because she hissed away from the light in lightning-quick movements.

“Ughh, why does piloting make you feel worse after?” she groaned as she tried her luck one more time.

Poe chuckled, “It’s a small price to pay for conquering the stars.”

“Commander,” one of his men saluted behind him. It was a young lad with freckles dotted all over his nose and cheeks. His bright-eyed manner adding no hardness to his fresh face. Poe guessed he wasn’t a day older than him when he first started flying for the New Republic.

Poe extended his hand and was met with an enthusiastic handshake, “You’re new. I don’t think I saw you board the ship. What’s your name?”

“Ah, yes. This is my first official mission. I usually work in engineering. It’s an honour, sir,” he rambled, a flush of embarrassment and excitement turning his skin almost the same shade of red as his curls. “I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself earlier –since you were flying and such. I just… wanted to offer my assistance.” He fumbled with his hands until he decided fisting them into his overalls was the more convenient thing to do.

Paige tittered behind Poe’s shoulder and he had to bite his cheek to keep from doing the same, “I didn’t get your name?”

“It’s Cors, sir. Zeeke Cors.”

Paige’s voice took on a high pitch, “Wait, the Zeeke Cors? I thought you’d be… older.” She sounded impressed.

Poe turned to her, his brows raised by half a millimetre, “Am I missing something.”

“Oh, it’s nothing, sir. Just a fluke that stuck and made me sound like some big wig with big brains and a little too much luck on his side,” he beamed. “Frankly, I’m just a guy who was in the right place at the right time.”

“He’s being modest,” Paige scoffed. “He managed to sneak aboard a First Order ship and sabotage its flight controls preventing it from pursuing a resistance medical vessel back to D’Qar. No one would have known he did it either, if they hadn’t found him passed out in the galley with the capacitor fused into his palm.” She turned to the young man, finger pointing to his arm, and then continued: “Didn’t they have to give you a prosthetic?”

He untucked his left hand from his pocket and rolled up the sleeve, “Nah, just grafts. My injuries were somewhat exaggerated by my crewmates. Makes for a more interesting story. At least, that’s what they tell me.”

The hero type, eh?

He took a step forward, glancing around as though someone might be listening in, “Between us, the ship was empty. The troopers had already disembarked when I snuck in through a maintenance hatch. The pilot and second mate didn’t even notice me because I was in a crawl space the entire time.”

Poe tucked his arms around his chest, “How’d you know about the crawl space? Ever worked on a First Order ship before?”

Zeeke shook his head, “Nope. I just have a knack for fixing things. Besides, most ships are designed the same. My brother works on Canto Bight as a…” he paused for a second and decided to let that detail slide. “Anyway, he showed me some blueprints once. The Hutt’s pay a lotta credits for any info they can get on ship designs. Makes for good saboteuring. That’s what they say, anyway.” He shrugged awkwardly before stuffing his hands back into his pockets. “So, what ‘dya say to having an extra pair of eyes tag along? I make a good spotter.”

From how he held himself, Poe would have figured Zeeke to be a little too nervous to have on a mission, but after hearing the strange twang in his accent and the types of words he used, he wasn’t so sure nervous was an accurate assumption. Wiry was perhaps a better description. He mulled over the short boy’s proposal for a long minute.

Paige was the one to break the silence, “Aww, come on Commander, cut the kid some slack. How many chances do you think he’s had to visit Takodana? Hell, it’s my first time here too. And by that count, it means only one of us knows the lay of the land. An extra man watching our backs doesn’t seem so bad.”

“Twice,” Zeeke added.

“What?” Paige hummed in confusion.

“You said ‘how many chances do you think he’s had to visit Takodana?’” he held up two fingers in a V. “Twice. Which means you’d have two people who know the lay of the land on your team. I also have a good memory. Remember most things on the fly. Makes me a terrible sabacc player.”

“Because you always lose?” she cocked her head to the side.

“Because I always win. And the house didn’t like that…” his attention drifted momentarily before he shook himself back to the present.

Paige opened her mouth, probably to inquire about his two prior visits or his penchant for sabacc considering he seemed unlike the usual type that would wind up at a pirate haven –not once, but twice– and also partake in high stakes gambling. Poe interjected to wrap thing up. They’d spent long enough just standing there.

“Why not,” he agreed. “Tell the others to stay ready in case we need to make a quick and loud exit. Maz will try and keep things civil, but you never know.”

“Great!” he rolled on the balls of his heels like a kid building up confidence to ask a question. “Do I get a blaster?”

Paige and Poe exchanged a look before they both nodded, but not in a way that said yes. “No,” they said simultaneously before they made their way to Maz’s place beyond the dense tree line, Zeeke ran after them once he relayed Poe’s orders.

 “What do you think a princess looks like?” Paige whispered in Poe’s direction as they scoured the riff-raff populating the hot and stuffy make-shift cantina. “I mean, I know the General used to be a princess but then… you know, Alderaan went all kablooey. I’ve seen images of the queen of Naboo before, but if someone dressed like that was in here, they’d stick out like a Tusken Raider on Hoth.”

Zeeke chuckled, his voice drawing the attention of several lurkers who had kept their sights trained on them since they arrived. That small action seemed to tell those unfriendly faces that they weren’t intimidated in the least, despite being relatively new faces in this establishment. The staring masses seemed to be satisfied with Zeeke’s show of confidence and they went about their business as usual.

He sure was good at reading a room, Poe thought. That could come in handy.

“I’ve seen a few princesses. Most of them always wear fancy dresses with too much jewellery. The kind of too much that means they aren’t in the least bit worried about losing one of their eight rings. Heck, I once saw a prince wearing so much jewellery I mistook him for a woman,” Zeeke told Paige. She found his slip up amusing. “Don’t laugh, it was an honest mistake. Besides, if you’d seen him, you’d be thrown for a loop too.”

Paige poked his side with a large grin, “What, did the handsome prince fluster you?”

Zeeke scoffed, “No. And he wasn’t handsome.” He stuck out his thumb close to Poe’s chin. “Poe is handsome. He was… beautiful. Hence the reason I mistook him for a princess.” His words came out nonchalantly like he was telling Paige water was wet.

Paige snorted loudly, a laugh braced behind her palm as she tried to hold back her laughing fit.

“Well, I guess all we have to do is look for a beautiful man who wears a lot of jewellery,” Poe teased with a half-smirk.

Zeeke mouthed a ‘Ha-ha’ before he tapped on Poe’s jacket discretely, “Actually, I think I’ve spotted them.” He nudged his nose towards a table in the back placed in a poorly lit area with five people sat around it. At first glance, they would seem to blend right in, but upon a more thorough observation, Poe noticed they were more guarded than most of the people inside this cramped space.

Sat in the farthest right corner of the table was a tall, stout man with a gut protruding over his belt. He wore a small sleeveless jacket that looked ridiculous on his frame. It was probably too small for Poe’s shoulders. Perhaps Paige or Zeeke would have fit into it better. Beside the large man was a Jawa sitting on top of stacked crates. His arms waved around energetically as some of his Jawaese made its way to Poe’s unfamiliar ears. Listening attentively was a woman in mechanics overalls. Her posture was slumped and her face marred by dark rings under her eyes –a blaster holstered at her thigh. She wasn’t unattractive, but sitting beside the much more poised and stiff looking woman dressed in purple, she was easily overlooked. The woman in purple and black was probably the princess. The scary, tall man with his right arm in a sling, casting a deformed shadow over the table, was probably her bodyguard. Though, Poe wondered what good he was to her right now considering his battered state. And as though he had sensed their presence, the man with the dark storm-filled eyes looked over at Poe, a grim line pressing his lips together until they turned near-white. Poe shuddered on reflex.

 “So, what now?” Paige asked.

Poe’s fingers smoothed over the data disk he had downloaded Leia’s data packet onto. A hesitancy in his actions as he squared his jaw and let out a breathy sigh. “I guess, now we talk to a princess.”

“Boy, tone down that confidence, why don’t you,” Zeeke jested.

“Are you certain that was the whole message?” Koa inquired in a hushed voice.

Calista’s fingers dipped and ran over the ridges and snaking twists of her newly braided hair, the umber ends reminding her a little too much of her aunt’s signature colour. With distaste, she tossed the heavy braid behind her, feeling it swing and tickle her lower back. “That was all it said,” she replied finally.

“It makes no sense,” Odhen grumbled, as was his usual manner of speaking Calista had discovered. “Why send us all the way out here to find your friend if his half of the message simply lead to co-ordinates in the middle of nowhere? There’s no star, no planet, no planetoid… nothing’s in that quadrant. Except black.”

Everyone turned to Mokk-Toh hoping he would provide them with more answers, but he had been silent ever since she had found him in that cave, lost and despondent. Calista feared that he wouldn’t ever truly recover from the news of Lenora’s death and that worried her. She had always suspected they shared a strong bond, maybe even one that proved to be of an intimate nature, but she had never witnessed more than kind words and trusting gazes shared between them while in their presence. And right now, all she had was speculation. That made her feel… conflicted. Calista was good at reading people, but not when it came to her family. And never when it came to Mokk-Toh. He was an impregnable fortress of secrets and silence. A statuesque sentry, ever on watch.

Mokk-Toh ignored their inquiring gazes, he was too preoccupied with staring at a group of strangers who had just walked into the stuffy space. It was for good reason too, because now those three strangers were walking towards them with purpose. Their leader, a man in a dusty brown jacket, caught Calista’s eye. He looked like a man with a mission. She couldn’t help but notice how kind his eyes were, even if his jaw was set tightly and his shoulders were squared in an intimidating manner.  

Calista’s gaze wandered down to the point of contact between Mokk-Toh’s less accurate right hand and his swords frayed hilt. She cleared her throat discretely and he eased up immediately. So did Koa. It seems their pendulum had found a new addition. Now they were a singular organism. A cluster of nerve endings fused together to form a synapse.

The man in the brown jacket kept his hands freely visible at his sides, his blaster clipped firmly in place by his holster. He wanted them to know he wasn’t a threat. Though, Calista also noticed that he was gravitating towards Koa, like she was the authority head at their table. She bit back a humorous smile as he stopped a meter short from Koa’s seat.

“Princess Calista of House Ordell?” he seemed unsure of his own voice, but he still kept his shoulders square.

Odhen hid his snigger behind a loud cough, sending a wink in Ton-Ton’s direction. It went unnoticed. Or so she thought until she saw the young kid with the ringlet curls hold up his finger towards his leader’s back to try and tell him something. The woman with the woolly hat pushed his hand down and muttered something at him with nervous eyes.

Koa cocked her head to the side, staring at the three strangers with an impressive poker face. She stayed quiet, deciding it would be more beneficial to see how things played out. For some reason, he took her silence for admission.

“The name’s Poe Dameron,” he offered as he pulled up a chair and joined their table without permission. “This my second mate Paige,” he pointed to the woman behind his left shoulder. “And this is Zeeke.” He pointed to the boy over his right. “General Leia Organa sent me… with this–“

He pulled out a data disk and slid it over the enamel textured table.

Odhen’s smile vanished as soon as he heard the man speak, his brows growing heavy again. Ton-Ton spoke to him, though not as loudly as his usual choice of expression. The boy with the ringlets –Zeeke– lifted his chin slightly at the sound of Jawaese. Calista wondered if he was familiar with the dialect.

Calista opened her mouth to say something when Poe spoke over her, “I’ve been sent here to bring you back with us… to our base.”

“Why should I trust anything you say?” Koa stared him down.

The smaller woman, Paige, gulped in place of Poe.

Poe ruffled his hair and rubbed his hand over his scruff growing just below his nose, “Look, princess, I’m just following orders. I was told you needed my help. Here I am.” There was a slight petulance to his tone that made Calista chuckle softly. Koa and Mokk-Toh didn’t find his tone of voice as amusing.

Zeeke bent side-ways towards Paige and whispered something into her ear. Suddenly her eyes went buggy as she turned her focus to Odhen, her mouth pried open by whatever it was Zeeke had told her. The burly pilot was made aware of the woman staring at him by the crude way in which Ton-Ton had jabbed at his resting palm. With a pained snarl, he retracted his hand and stood off the stool.

“I’m heading to the Somnambulist, gonna make sure she’s all fuelled up. If you see Maz, don’t tell her I’m here,” he said as he pulled Ton-Ton behind him in the red trolley.

Calista, Mokk-Toh and Koa all hummed in unison as they watched their pilot stride away. What ensued next was a series of rapid fired back and forth between Koa and Poe. Both of whom grew more and more annoyed by the others arrogance, impatience and reluctance to back down. Calista had tuned them out as she stared at the data disk under Poe’s palm. It looked to be the same make as the ones she and Mokk-Toh had been entrusted with. That couldn’t have been a coincidence.

Calista tried to speak for a second time, but it was Mokk-Toh who spoke this time, “We need to leave.”

“Do you sense something?” Calista asked in their native tongue.

Mokk-Toh gave a rigid nod as he trained his eyes up, not to the ceiling, but beyond. His good arm reaching to massage the tender flesh of his formerly dislocated left shoulder. “Now,” he advised.

A crackling noise moved through the structure, a tingle lining every metal structure. Zeeke pinched his muscles to stop the cramp that had been triggered in his two fingers bending unnaturally.

“What was that?” Paige asked.

“It felt like a pulse,” Poe replied.  

“We’re too late…” Mokk-Toh said.

 Calista scurried after the panicked Mokk-Toh as he rushed out of the cantina and made his way to the spot where the Somnambulist was parked. Koa and Poe were right on their heels, the two of them still locked in a heated battle of words.

“I must insist you and your people return with me, you’ll be safer there,” he argued.

“No place is safe in the galaxy right now,” she bit back.

He sighed, “Look, you’re my mission and I always complete my mission.”

“You’re going to be sorely disappointed then.”

Without warning, a gust of strong winds blew through a brush of dense trees and then a hot, blinding flash of light devoured a sector of the forest and left nothing behind but the thrum of the earth quaking beneath their feet and ash where trees used to be.

“By the stars… Poe,” Paige tugged on his brown jacket. “Isn’t that where…”

Poe forced his spit down with a rough bob of his Adam’s apple, “The Rose One…”

Calista’s eyes narrowed when she felt Mokk-Toh’s grip grow stone cold and then let go of her wrist. He unfastened the knot that held his sling in place and his bones groaned and popped in agony as he stretched it free. Dark bruises and fresh cuts marring his skin.

He unsheathed his sword and his voice turned dark, “He’s here.”

Automatically, she reached for her blasters handle.

 “Who?” Zeeke turned to them, worried and afraid –though valiantly keeping his wits about him.

Mokk-Toh’s glazed over, “Versengen.”

Then, as if on cue, an ugly, droning ship glided through the air and set itself down a few paces in front of them. The doors peeled back and out of the darkness, the bounty hunter emerged.

“I told you, I’d find you.” the masked hunter’s voice was distorted. “And look,” he tilted his head as far as his restrictive armour would let him. “You’ve got friends.” His laugh sounded like someone choking on marbles. “Hello… Calista. You look so much like your father…”

My father? She wondered. What does he have to do with any of this?

Shivers prickled at her tired flesh as another ripple of unnerving laughter filled the air. Calista’s stomach grew tight and her chest felt hollow when the burning odours in the air filled her lungs. There it was again… despair.

 To be continued...

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