#the trailers use the old engine too which is why it looks better there

[nikki-handholder]

maybe it's just me, but if the devs weren't going to go back and fix 3 years' worth of items, lightings, and filters, then they shouldn't have forced an engine update that screws over all of that. like we the players were paying because we liked and wanted to use the old things.

[fantasticmoonsalad]

Caitlyn and Jinx parallels - and the conclusion they hint at

I think (and other people have guessed this too) that Caitlyn will lose an eye by the end of Arcane.

This is why. Spoilers for Arcane S2 Act 1 below (and some stuff from the trailers)

To me, the way that the show is currently portraying Caitlyn and Jinx points to this conclusion. It's pretty obvious to everyone that the two characters have been set up to be narrative foils. Jinx, from what I've seen in trailers for Arcane Season 2, will become a symbol to the people of Zaun, representing revolution from the Piltovian elite who have been abusing them for countless years.

Jinx's character represents the best of Zaun -- the ingenuity of the people there can be seen in the way she builds and creates devices from Piltovian scraps. She is also capable of incredible violence, the sort of acts of revolution that are necessary to induce change.

By the end of Act 1, Caitlyn has become a symbol of Piltover. She comes from an old, wealthy family, one that changed the very foundation the city was built on through their wealth and engineering.

Through these parallels, we can guess that when other characters describe or say things about Jinx or Caitlyn and the power they have as symbols, there is a double meaning -- they also apply to their foil.

Take this for example. Salo is talking about Caitlyn, about the power and prestige her name gives her. But is he?

When I first watched this scene I was struck by how ambiguous the wording is -- it took a few viewings to realise they were speaking about Caitlyn. Ambessa mentions that Caitlyn "overpowered" Salo in the council chamber when she stormed up and laid out her plan for a strike force. But we, the audience, know of another girl who overpowered Salo (and the other councillors) in their chambers.

The dialogue is foreshadowing what will happen around Jinx -- the way her actions and name captivate Zaun and the movement that will grow around her.

But why do I think this leads to Caitlyn losing an eye?

The episode before, Smeech - a chembaron, arguably a member of the closest thing Zaun has ever had to their own council (which is like... yeeesh) says this to Jinx:

When we think of a long-range type in Arcane, who do we think of?

Jinx is also technically a long-range fighter, but she's much better at close-up scrapping than Caitlyn, who almost gets her ass kicked by Sevika (and probably would have if not for the Hexcore glitch).

Caitlyn losing an eye would be devastating as she is a long range sharpshooter who relies heavily on her vision. Smeech's moment with Jinx was the part that convinced me this was going to happen.

There's other stuff, too, if you apply the "using the other foil as foreshadowing" rule.

Jinx's classic "who, me?" look also has her showing one eye.

And obviously in the poster, Caitlyn has literally put pins in Jinx's eye. Not worried about that rebounding at all Cait?

There's more. Caitlyn at her most reprehensible (gassing the Undercity) has one eye.

The Caitlyn doll Jinx made has one eye (I think, it's hard to tell).

This is a bit more of a long shot, but when Caitlyn thinks she sees Jinx at the old arcade in Zaun, she flips and shoots the figurine.

We get a quick shot of her eyes beforehand.

Don't you think the pupils kind of look like dartboards? Like targets?

I think Caitlyn is going to get very injured in her quest to get Jinx. Everything she throws at Jinx has managed to rebound at her. Even using the tunnels her family built and unleashing the Gray on the gangs of Zaun got Uno-reversed on her -- Jinx just blew it up to the surface (with her own flair, of course).

Vi even says it out loud, comparing Caitlyn to Jinx - the thing that pushes Cait over the edge and past the point of no-return.

Also there are a lot of profile shots of Caitlyn in the intro and the show that only show one eye.

[absolutebl]

This Week In BL

May 2021 Wk 2

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Lovely Writer Ep 12 fin - that was a long arse final ep, but solid performances. I liked that we focused on the fallout amongst the side characters. (Very clever of them to depict Chap with Tae, his Y-Destiny pairing. Especially as both actors are slated for new BL roles with different partners again, The Tuxedo and You’re My Sky.) The camera certainly enjoyed wallowing in Sib & Gene’s separation, but that’s an Asian drama for you. They like to DWELL. (Frankly, I like a bit of wallowing myself.) I thought the inclusion of the “actual” writer at the very end thoroughly unnecessary. I don’t think they had to beat us over the head with the 4th wall meta quite that much. Still, this is probably one of the best BLs we’re getting from non-GMMtV Thailand this year. RECOMMENDED 

Y-Destiny Ep 8 - (Thurs) I found the first half uninteresting but once Casper the Friendly Gay showed up it was fine. The ghost reminded me a bit of Fuse from MIR. 

Close Friend Ep 4: (Just One Life) - is it just me or is Talay insanely charismatic? Anygay, the director got ahold of a drone for this one and would like us to KNOW ABOUT THAT FACT. Look, I just don’t think YoonLay have great chemistry but this was alright, cute enough. 

Fish Upon The Sky Ep 6 - This was a better installment than we’ve had in a while. I like the obsession vs love explanation from Mork, insightful if creepy. Meen & Duean are okay, I guess. A bit annoying. Everyone in this show is a bit annoying. But the wipe toothpaste then wipe eye crud got to me. Toothpaste in the eye, yech! And then I was all, oh that’s basically this show: toothpaste in the eye. It just reviewed itself. (Also why do they keep switching aspect ratio between the two pairs? It’s like they were filming with two completely different camera types... oh. ah. Weird, GMMTV usually doesn’t make mistakes like that.) 

Call it What You Want Ep 6 fin - I skipped to the last ep on this, I told you I do that sometimes to find out what happened. So CIWYW ends happy for the main couple, but trigger warnings on: eating disorders, suicidal thoughts, depression, mental abuse, and a few other things. If you don’t mind your BL dark, gritty, self aware, and honest then you should be okay with this show. But if your preference is for fluff, then there are other fish in the sky. Speaking of... 

Nitiman Ep 2 - Giving me My Engineer vibes. This is OLD school Thai uni BL. I kinda feel like it was meant to come out in 2018, the gap year that was, but I am SO GRATEFUL we’re getting it now. Pay TF attention FUTS this is how you redeem a tsundere uke. Also I love that Bboom is just a terrible flirt and the football match twist was great. I love this show.  

Top Secret Together Ep 1 - it’s out there but no eng subs. It’s an office set romance with multiple couples all tangential to one building. A bit stilted and low production values but I’m intrigued. I hope we get subs... eventually.  

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 9 - gets the safe sex gold star for lube + condoms AND a verse discussion? Not to mention asking for sex advice from queer fam? Is this a first in BL? Might be. (I still think it’s weird that product placement hasn’t jumped on the lube bandwagon, too slippery perhaps?) I like the embezzlement drama. I always enjoy good outside conflict playing to setting, and this is the kind to be easily resolved in next week’s finale. What a roller coster this series has been. 

Papa & Daddy (Taiwan) Ep 5 - I LOVE THIS SHOW. A heartbeat after i thought, “they better address what he’s doing to the girls he’s dating,” they did it. Clever scripting that. The messaging is gorgeous, the idea that pride and media coverage and knowing about a changing world can broaden minds and lead to acceptance was basically Taiwan making a case for itself paving the way for marriage equality in Asia. Genius. 

Most Peaceful Place 2 (Vietnam) Ep 1 (AKA 4) - dropped with subs and improved production values, someone is learning (or got more dough). The younger brother’s drama is a bit confusing, but I am here for cute boyfriends being cute boyfriends together. And I love that they took the seme’s previous pair (from Nation’s Brother) to be the faen fatale, very crafty of them. Even though it’s not a trope I like, there’s great chemistry all around. 

My Lascivious Boss (Vietnam) Ep 6 - I weirdly love this show, okay? I’m just hoping Long has known Minh’s secret all along and is playing a reverse long con cat & mouse game, waiting for Minh to tell him the truth. Because that would be THE BEST. I could do without the faen fatale but ya can’t have everything. (I’m so glad it’s not the standard 6 ep arc, MOAR!!!) 

Gossip 

Rumor is GMMTV Thailand started shooting Baker Boys (here’s the teaser trailer). This is a remake of Antique (AKA Antique Bakery) a 2008 Korean movie (you can watch it on Viki) which is a remake of Antique (a 2001 Japanese series) with is an adaptation of wildly popular manga Antique Bakery. Knowing the plot I’m not sure this will qualify as BL. I’m still predicting Lee gets his first gay kiss in this series from Singto. More details about this series here. 

Breaking News

Love Area release pushed out, reportedly due to C19. (source DramaCool) 

Be Love In House: I Do (Taiwan, of course, with that title) got a new softer trailer (no subs). It drops next week, May 19, 2021 on Viki. All the information I have is here. 

Tangential to BL 

Two BL-adjacent shows, both from Taiwan. 

I’m watching Love is Science? on Viki which has a het foundation, but it’s a good one. There’s a BL side couple who are on an enemies to lovers slow burn trajectory; featuring a disaster bi slut meets elegant bad ass super gay. So there’s THAT. The mains are an older career woman and the sweet boy from her distant past who has pined for her for years. (He is the softest sweetest service sub you ever saw.) Props to Taiwan for a seriously underused het dynamic. As usual in Asian rom coms the straight boy love interest is a Perfect Cinnamon Role (yes I’m looking at you True Beauty & Love O2O) but I find Taiwan’s version more palatable than Korea’s or Mainland China’s. It’s not finished yet but... RECOMMENDED. 

Starting this week is Love Outlet a 50 (?!) episode show about a mall that sells relationships. It is supposed to have a main gay romance, but it might be a side dish. Very little else known about it. Coming to Line TV.

Honestly, I’m at the point where if Taiwan makes it, I’ll probably watch it. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed later than actual air date for International accessibility reasons.

Starting:

Be Loved In House: I Do (Taiwan) 

Golden Blood (Thailand) we think, like Love Area this may be delayed due to surging C19 cases 

Love Outlet (Taiwan) we think 

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

[axwalker]

CREEP 3: You're just like an angel

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC  (Lexie O’Brien) Book TRR

Synopsis: Drake is a hurt, angry teenager. After being rejected by Lexie, he spends two years bullying her until he discovers the horrible truth behind her rejection. 

MASTERLIST HERE

In this chapter: Lexie gets to know more about the boy hiding behind the monster. 

A/N: This is Lexie’s POV. We’ll be in Drake’s head in the following chapter. 

A/N 2: Thank you to my beautiful prereader @burnsoslow​

Your suggestions made all the difference! LOVE YOUU ❤️

A/N 3: Thank you to @mskaneko​ for the edit that closes this fic. It’s gorgeous! I love youu ❤️

Words: 5,108 🙈

WARNINGS: Parental abuse, domestic violence, toxic love, abuse, bullying. 

THIS IS NOT YOUR USUAL MARSHMALLOW DRAKE. He was abandoned as a boy, he’s tortured and he doesn’t know how to express love. 

This is a dark love story. If you think this might trigger you, PLEASE do not read it.  

ALL MY FICS ARE 18+

TAGS ON THE COMMENTS --As this is darker than usual; I’m only tagging the people who commented in the previous chapters. If you want to get on or off the list for this fic; please do not hesitate to ask!!

LEXIE

Watching Drake put my duffel bag on the back of his motorcycle, my pulse is getting out of control on my neck. This is happening. I’m leaving home. I’m getting out, and I’m never coming back. And Drake Walker, my tormentor, is helping me. He actually defended me. The fact that I’m being helped by the person who called me a future trophy wife this morning makes this moment even more surreal. He’s had this tormented expression on his face for the last half an hour that’s stupidly making me want to hug him or make him feel better. For what, though? I don’t know. I don’t owe him anything, and still, I have this pressing need to wrap my arms around his neck and tell him everything will be okay. 

When it comes to Drake, my emotions have never been truly logical. One second I hate him, and the next, I’m whispering his name in the darkness of my room, my fingers sawing against the wet cotton of my panties. My feelings for him are incredibly confusing…but I know asking him to back off was the right move. Even if I secretly miss his presence everywhere I turn. In my unstable world, there was something comforting about knowing he would always be there. Watching me. Hating me. Wanting me. That last part was never in doubt. He’s made that clear many times. That if I wanted, he would “give me a nice long hate-fuck in the back of his trailer.” And he’d always say, “No one has to know, baby,” in that deep, hoarse tone that keeps me up at night. Makes me shove my fingers down the front of my panties and struggle to breathe, sweating through my covers to an orgasm. I’m having those particularly sexual thoughts when he looks over at me, and I don’t quite manage to hide my lust. His movements slow, a dark eyebrow arching as he fixes on my mouth, my breasts. I’m a real hot mess right now. Beaten and bloody, but there’s no denying he’s still attracted. It’s always there in the rise and fall of his chest, the clicking of his jaw. The tenting of his jeans. How many times have I turned in class and—avoiding his gaze—locked eyes with his jeans instead? At least that’s one thing us poor fuckers have going for us. We know how to fuck.

 Well, if I thought sympathy was a strange emotion regarding this boy, jealousy is even more confusing. Why should I care that he’s been with other girls? Obviously, he must have been with hundreds of girls to get good at sex. It’s none of my business, is it? I’m almost rid of him. And I don’t want to be jealous. Still, when he holds out his hand to help me onto the bike, I ignore it with a raise of my chin and climb on myself. You’re almost rid of him, Lexie. Get a ride and say goodbye. Unfortunately, I may have been a little overenthusiastic in asking to be taken to a motel. I’ve never been to one, but I know a credit card is required—and I don’t have one of those. Nor do I have enough cash in my wallet for more than one night. I need to figure out an alternative plan fast. Still looking damned tortured, Drake places his helmet on my head and gently buckles the chinstrap. Swallowing loud enough to hear over the passing cars. Helmetless, he brings the engine to life, the vibration so exhilarating; I wrap my arms around his middle on reflex.

I can feel taking a deep breath. “Lexie…” He can’t see me, so I give in to the impulse to press my cheek to his leather jacket, absorbing the warmth and his smell, earthy and so masculine. 

“Yes?” Drake clears his throat, his voice even more profound. “My dad left me a cabin a few towns over. Near Portavira lake.” He pauses. “It’s very rustic, but I’ve been fixing it, so it’s clean, and it has a bed and some supplies. I could take you there. You’d be safe.” 

It’s dangerous to start accepting more favors from him, but what choice do I have? My father made sure that I’m helpless. He did it with my mother and now me. Isolated us from everyone who might be a friend. I’ll accept his offer, but only because here and now, I promise myself I’ll find a way to help myself in the future. To leave my father and his house of horrors in the past. Maybe it can’t be done entirely alone. Maybe accepting help is the only option. That doesn’t mean I’m forgetting the way he treated me. Yes, I’m attracted to him but I also hate him. He’s made my life miserable for two years and I won’t let him --or myself, forget that. Maybe he’s hiding right now but I know Drake--as my father, has a monster underneath. His monster might not slap me or make me bleed but that doesn’t mean he’s not dangerous. Poisonous words can hurt as much as one well-delivered blow.  

“Okay,” I say, feeling him relax. “Thanks.” I’ll accept his help for now and leave as soon as I can. 

He responds by turning on the engine of the bike again. That’s when I hear my father yelling my name from the back door of the house. His hands are tied behind his back, and he’s limping, blood coming out his nose. 

“Alexis Jade O’Brien! You get your ass back here right now, or you’ll never be allowed back! You’ll be dead to me!” 

He has to be joking; he’s been dead to me since the first time he hit me. I look back at the pathetic old man with every ounce of rebellion I have. Baring my teeth, I give him the middle finger and dismiss him. Forever. 

“Good girl,” Drake murmurs a second before driving away. I don’t look back a single time. We drive for half an hour. After twenty minutes on the highway, the trees grow denser and denser, the road deserted. We don’t pass a single car on the way to the cabin, which comforts me when I should be worried. Shouldn’t I? I can’t allow the last two years of em2otional battle to mean nothing. To melt away in the face of tonight’s act of kindness. I meant what I said. I need Drake to leave me alone. To release the hold he has on me. I’ve cut one negative force out of my life tonight. The last thing I need is a replacement. But as I grow tired against his strong back, his woody and manly scent lulling me, encouraging the trust he doesn’t deserve, I worry leaving him might be easier said than done. Especially when we arrive at the cabin, and he lifts me off the bike, cradling me to his chest like I’m made of crystal, a moment too long before settling me onto my feet. It’s hard giving up his warmth, but I push off his chest, creating distance between us. He watches me back away like I’m breaking his heart. 

“There is a shower inside,” he says quietly. “You can finally get the, uh…” He blows a breath. “…the blood off.” The sun sets as we stand there. It’s nothing like the light of the night we kissed. This time it's brighter, more intense. It must be the higher elevation. 

“You’re not hurting anywhere else?” 

“I’ll be fine.” Why is he breathing so fast? “What’s wrong, Drake?” 

“What’s wrong?” He fights through a humorless laugh, sliding his hand through his hair. “Where do I start? Most urgent is…I know you’re going to want me to leave you here alone, and I don’t think I can. Look, if you want to lock the doors, I’ll sleep outside on the ground, Lexie, but please don’t ask me to go.” 

He’s right. I was going to tell him it’s OK to go back to his trailer. There was a convenience store with a payphone a mile down the road. If there is no working phone in the cabin, I can still make calls, if necessary. I’m not sure what my next move will be, now that I’ve run away from home. But I know I’ll never be able to think with a clear head as long as Drake is around, looking at me like that. “Drake…”

 “It’s just that once I leave, I know that’s it. You’re going to shut me out again. And this time, it’ll be your choice.” He paces away, still raking his fingers through his hair. “I deserve to be cut off. Fuck, I know that. Believe me when I say I hate myself right now, but if there was something I could do to make up the last two years to you, even just a little—” 

I shake my head. Nothing can make up for the two years I spent loving him while he tortured me. There will be nothing between us. 

“I understand.” His fingers rake his hair one last time. “You can go in the cabin. I’ll sleep outside; that way, I’ll be sure your—father won’t be back.”

Despite myself and my better judgment, I worry about him. “Outside? It’s cold and dark; I can go to a motel.” At least for one night, I’ll figure out what I’ll do after tomorrow. 

“No way. Look, I won’t be able to sleep anyway. Just go inside and try to rest; I’ll be fine. I’m used to it.”

Used to what? Sleeping outside? “Isn’t there a couch or something?”

He shakes his head. “The cabin was in ruins until six months ago when I started working on it. There’s only one bed, but there’s a rug next to the fireplace. Please don’t leave. I—I need to know you’re safe.” 

I know Drake would never abuse me physically. I might be naïve, but I just know he would never do it. And as much as it’s difficult for me to understand why I feel safe with him here. Still, I have to be smart, my instincts tell me to trust him, but my instincts have been wrong about him before. 

“Does the room lock?”

“It does with a bolt that can’t be opened from outside. But you’re safe with me, Lexie. I swear.”

It’s his miserable look that makes me decide. “Okay, if it locks, I can stay here.”

We go inside, and he leads me to his room. When my bag hits the floor next to his bed, I get even more nervous. I just left everything I know behind me and have no idea what’s coming next. School will be over in a few weeks, but I can graduate earlier, thanks to my credits. I’ll need a job, save some money, get an apartment and apply for college in Cordonia. It’s overwhelming. 

I don’t want to cry in front of Drake. I don’t want to show him I feel weak, sad, and pathetic, but something inside of me suddenly breaks, and before I can’t do anything to stop it, I’m sobbing.

Drake is sitting on the bed in a second, and he’s pulling me into his lap, trying to calm me down. “Shh Lexie, it’s okay. Cry all you need to. I’m here. It’s okay,” he repeats in a litany as he rubs my shoulders, kisses my cheek, then my nose. Why do I feel so safe with him? Why, after everything he put me through, do I want to be here with him more than anywhere else? 

“Let it all out, Lex. You’re so strong, baby.” He takes a cloth handkerchief from his pocket and uses it to gently clean my tears. The piece of fabric seems so incongruous in his rough hands that I can’t help but smile a little. 

“Is this yours?”

He shrugs. “My dad collected them. After he died, my mom gave all his stuff away. This handkerchief is the only thing I have left of him. And this cabin.”

“I’m sorry, Drake. I don’t want to ruin it.”

He smiles. “Ruin it? Impossible. If anything, now it's even more special to me.” 

The softness in his eyes looks so sincere it scares the hell out of me. I can’t let myself forget who Drake really is. I stand up from his lap and put my bag on the bed. 

“I’m really tired; I’d better go to bed.” 

“Okay … can I just look at your wounds?” he asks as he inspects my face. “You have some nasty cuts,” he adds, his fist clenching. 

When I nod, he takes my hand and leads me to his bathroom. The room is as simple and modest as expected. Block walls, no tiles on the floor, no curtain on the shower, and an old toilet. A million years away from the white marble bathrooms in my house. 

He follows my gaze and blushes. “I’m sorry. This is not what you’re used to. I—uhm, I’m slowly putting it together when I have time and some money. I’m good with my hands.” I look at said hands, and there’s no doubt he’s good with them. They look big and calloused. Capable and rough but so gentle with me. I want them all around my body. As if he had listened to my silent demand, he grabs me by my waist and sits me on the counter next to the sink. My legs part on instinct, and he puts himself between them. We don’t talk for two long minutes until he opens the faucet and wets a towel. 

“I just got the water running this week; Come on.” Gently --almost reverently, he washes and cleans every cut, every injury. Softly he brushes his thumbs over my face. He doesn’t speak as he does, but there’s a tension between us. A raw feeling that has always been there. 

“Tell me about yourself,” I blurt out, desperate to break the moment. 

“There’s not much to say. Sorry, Lexie!” he exclaims when I wince. “Does this hurt?”

“A little. I. need a distraction. Why do you live alone? I know your dad is –uhm, gone, but where’s your mom?”

“Gone too.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry, Drake.”

“Don’t be. She was a bitch. She died in a car accident two years ago. She was living in Texas back then.”

“I don’t get it. Two years ago, you were here in Cordonia.” 

“Yeah, she left me after my dad died. Took my sister and left me here. Reminded her too much of my dad, she said.” 

I remember Jackson Walker. Everyone in Portavira does. He was Liam’s dad's bodyguard and died protecting him. But that was five years ago. If his mom left just after his passing, that means Drake has been living by himself since he’s thirteen years old. It can’t be.

Drake turns around and opens a box in the corner of the room. When he turns back, he’s holding a Band-Aid. 

“I keep these around. Construction can get nasty sometimes. Come here, Lex.” He cups my chin with one of his big hands while he cleans a cut next to my eyebrow. His touch is leaving goosebumps all over my skin. I hate to be this affected by him.  

I clear my throat to avoid the embarrassment of talking in a squeaky voice. “So, who were you living with?”

“No one. My aunt got custody when my mom left, but her husband didn’t want kids. He made her choose between him or me, so I’ve been living on my own since I’m thirteen.” My heart breaks then. Not only at the fact that he had to live by himself when he was still a child, but at the way he says it. Matter-of-factly. As if it was the most normal thing in the world that his mother, his aunt, and his uncle abandoned him. As horrible as my dad is, I’ve never had to fend for myself. And my mom loved me so much. If cancer hadn’t taken her away, she’d be here fighting for me. Drake has no one. I can’t help the tears glistening in my eyes. “Hey! Don’t cry, Lexie,” his thumb moves from my eyebrow to my cheek as he wipes the tears off my face. ”I prefer to live by myself than go to a foster house. And Leona checks on me now and then.”

“If your mom died, where’s your sister?”

He takes a deep breath but doesn’t pronounce a single word for a few minutes. Finally, he clears his throat and speaks. “Savvy was with my mom in the car. She died too.” 

I want to say something. Anything. But I can’t. Nothing seems like enough. Sorry is such an empty word—a stupid cliché. I’m horrified at my own muteness, so I do the only thing I can think of. I hug him. At first, he just stands there, his arms hanging at his sides. But soon, I can feel him giving in, his heart beating hard against my chest. He encircles his arms around me, wrapping me in the tightest hug possible. I don’t know who’s comforting whom anymore. I only know that I love being here, and I hope it’s giving him a little solace, this hug.

 It doesn’t mean I’ll forgive or even forget what he put me through, but no one deserves to go through that kind of pain alone. 

“I’ll be outside, Lexie,” he says when he finally lets me go. “If you need anything, anything at all, just call for me, okay?”

“Wait!’ I yell, so he turns around. “Are you really going to sleep on the floor?”

He shrugs. “I don’t mind. I just want to make sure you’re safe,” he hesitates as if he’s going to add something important. “Good night, Lexie.” 

“Wait,” I feel my cheeks redden just thinking about what I’m about to propose. “You can sleep here, I-I know you won’t hurt me.”

“Never,” he says, a determined look on his face. “I would never hurt you that way, and you have no idea how much I regret how I’ve treated you in the past. But I’ll be okay sleeping outside. I know you’ll feel better sleeping here by yourself.” 

I can’t deny that. I meant what I said about trusting him not to hurt me, but I can’t forget what he did either. “At least take this pillow and the blanket. I’ll manage with the pillow and the cover left.” He hesitates, so I insist. “Please. I won’t be able to sleep otherwise.”

After taking them and giving me one of the saddest smiles I’ve ever seen, he closes the door behind him and leaves me alone in the room. I lie on his bed, incapable of sleeping. The pain in his eyes when he told me about his little sister haunts me all night long. 

The following day I toss around in bed, confused and angry at myself. I can’t have feelings for Drake Walker. I can’t forget the insults or the anger in his eyes, the hurt that his words caused me every -single time. I just can’t. I hate what happened to him. I genuinely do, but iI have to think about myself. Denying that I’m attracted to him would be preposterous. Our chemistry is strong and undeniable, and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Maybe that’s it. Perhaps I just need one night with him, so I can move on with my life. Get him out of my system.

When I finally leave the bed, I find a note under my door: Went to buy some groceries, be back soon. DW

I go to the room where I assume he’s going to build the kitchen. For now, there’s only a more-than-a-few-years-old microwave and a cooler. I open the cabinets, but there’s barely anything there. 

Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door. I feel my heart slamming in my chest; if it’s my father, I have no means of defending myself. I’m about to escape through the back door when a woman’s voice starts yelling.

“Open up, Drake. I’m not in the mood today.” 

I open the door because the voice sounds familiar. I recognize Leona, the principal’s assistant. And I know she’s related to Drake.

Leona arches an eyebrow when she sees me. “Ms. O’Brien, what on earth are you in my nephew’s cabin? Does your father even know where you are?”

“I’m 18. I don’t have to tell my father where I am.” I answer in a much bolder tone than I feel.

She shrugs, clearly uninterested. “Well, I brought this to my nephew. Tell him I want those signed by next week. We’re not going to lose thousands of euros because of some dumb nostalgia.”

She hands me a big manila folder, I take it, but she doesn’t let go. “Maybe you’re the one who can convince him.”

“Convince him about what?”

“His father Jackson left him this piece of land, but it isn’t worth a dime without cattle or money to invest in it. But, a couple of months ago a big company approached us, they wanted to build a landfill here. Drake refuses to sell. He thinks he’s going to honor his dead father by rebuilding this old piece of crap, but he will never have the money to do it.” 

“Never.” The deep voice that comes from the entrance startles us both. “This was my dad’s dream. He wanted a ranch, and one day this place will be one,” Drake says, “I told you already, Leona. I won’t sell; I don’t care how much they’re offering you to convince me.”

“I’ve never denied that they’re offering me a commission for the sale, Drake. But I still think it’s the best move for you.” Leona leaves the papers on the table, turns and leaves the cabin. 

“You love this land?” I’m genuinely curious. 

He slowly nods. “It’s all I have left of my dad. He’s the only person that ever gave two damns about me.”

“That says more about your family than about you, Drake.”

He looks directly at me. His gaze doesn’t leave mine for a long minute. I want to get closer to him, to touch him. Not only to offer some comfort but because my body reacts to him in the wildest way. Just standing next to him in the kitchen, I feel my heart beating faster, my hands trembling harder, my sex getting wetter. The response he gets from me is maddening. And it’s making me insane. There’s no freaking way in hell; I’m going to have feelings for Drake Walker.

“I- I need to take a shower. I’ll eat later.” Without giving him any time to respond, I run to the bathroom and shut the door. I open the shower and get inside, desperate for some release, anything that’ll take my mind off him. His stupid perfect smirk and deep eyes. That voice of his, intense, soft, and deep at the same time. Those big hands, calloused and capable. Hands that I just know would know precisely how to touch me. Before I realize it, I’m coming as quietly as I can. Sadly, my relief only lasts a few minutes, my body needs him --Drake Walker, and no substitute would do. 

When I come out, he’s waiting for me with a hot cup of coffee and a couple of white chocolate-strawberry muffins---my favorite kind. 

We eat in silence, but I don’t feel the weight of it as I usually do. Ours is a companionable silence. 

After breakfast, we decide to take a hike next to the lake. A bit of exercise and the lake’s breathtaking landscape might be exactly what I need to stop thinking about my father and the confusing feelings I have for Drake. 

“I think I need a job. Do you know how I can get one?” I hate that I’m so spoiled, but I’ve never lifted a finger in my life. I have no idea how I can get a job. 

“Uhm sure. Here in Portavira?”

“Actually, I was thinking of moving to Cordonia city after graduation. “Drake stops walking for a second. “It’s too late to enroll for next semester, but I can get a job and start college next year.”

He finally starts walking again and nods slowly. “What do you want to do?” 

I blush. My dreams don’t include being famous or rich. All I want is a good, quiet life. Falling in love, having a family. Doing a job I’d enjoy and traveling as much as possible -even if it’s on a low budget. “You’ll think it’s dumb.”

Drake looks at me. “I swear I won’t, Lexie. There’s nothing you can say that I’ll find dumb. It’s just not possible.”

“I love books. They offer you new worlds. They allow you to escape and be someone else for a few pages. You can never be alone when you’re reading a book. I’d love to have a job where I would be surrounded by books. Maybe become a librarian and then open a bookstore one day.”

Drake nods but doesn’t reply. I knew he would find my dream stupid.

“I know it’s not much-“

He stands in front of me and tilts my chin until our eyes meet. “It’s amazing, Lexie. I was just thinking how great you’d be at it. Remember the top 5 assignment for Mr. Daniels?”

Of course, I do. Mr. Daniels, our English teacher, asked us to make a list of our five favorite books and recommend them to the class. 

I nod. “Yeah”

“Well, I read all the books on your list. I checked them out of the school’s library and fuck, I loved them all. Especially the one from that Krakauer guy.”

“Into the Wild?”

“Yep. I really enjoyed it. The way that guy Christopher reinvented himself spoke to me.” He holds my gaze. “You’d be an awesome librarian, Lex. You would also be an amazing writer. I remember that short story you wrote for Mr. Daniel’s class. The one about the lonely girl and how she traveled through time with her mind. You have no idea how much I loved it.”

I can’t believe he remembers that story. We had that assignment more than a year ago. “I’ve always wanted to write, but my dad thinks my stories aren’t good enough.”

“Your father is a dick. Your stories are amazing.” 

He looks at me in a way that makes my knees weak. The intensity in his eyes is overwhelming, so I feel it again. The connection with him. The desire. Maybe the only way this would go away is if I give in to it. 

“There is something you can do for me,” I say, surprising myself. As soon as those two words are out of my mouth, though, I know there is something I need from Drake. 

And he’s the only one who can give it to me. “Get you out of my system.” 

He stands still as a statue. “What?” 

“Get yourself out of my system.” It starts to rain, and it makes me speak louder, feel bolder and freer. “For two years, you provoked me, insulted me, stalked me, bullied me…” He makes a frantic sound, his eyes slamming shut. “And yet, I still—I still can’t stop thinking of your hands that night in my garden. How big and warm and rough they were. I can’t stop imagining you taking off my clothes. Even the ugliest things you’ve said to me, I imagine you saying them in my ear while you…while we…” 

Drake falls toward me a step, clutching the center of his chest. “Lexie—” 

“Please, get yourself out of my head. One night together. Okay, Drake? So I can get on with my life knowing fantasy was way better than reality. That I built up some unrealistic idea of what we’d be like together that we can’t possibly live up to.” My throat closes. “Get me on the road to forgetting you. Please.” As we walk, I can see the mixture of devastation and hope in his eyes. 

“And what if reality lives up to the fantasy?” 

“It won’t,” I say fast, with conviction. It couldn’t possibly live up to it. And yet I suck in a nervous breath when he crosses the divide between us, every cell in my body craving him. Fight or flight. In a matter of moments, he’s gone from wounded animal to determined predator, the rain causing his dark hair to hang low over one eye, dripping, his hands ready at his sides. 

“Are you so sure, Lexie?” 

Damn my hesitation. “Yes,” I whisper. “You’ll prove me right in one night. I can move forward without feeling like I’m leaving something behind.” 

“What if your fantasies come true tonight? Could we ever move forward as…as an us?”

 I can’t believe what he’s suggesting. “There can never be an us, Drake. Not after everything that’s happened. I’ll never change my mind about that.” I shake my head. “How can you think I would?” 

“Maybe I think if I want it hard enough, it’ll come true.” 

“It won’t,” I whisper, starting to ask myself if I’m making a mistake. Opening myself up for even more heartache and pinning for this man than I’ve already lived through. It feels like a lifetime’s worth. “One n-night.” 

“No backing out from this point on?” My heart beats urgently. 

“No backing out.” 

He’s silent so long; I’m not sure he’s going to respond. And then, all at once, he reaches me in two strides and scoops me up into his arms. I realize he’s going to bring me into the cabin, “I’ve been studying you for years, Lexie O’Brien. I’ve been hanging on to your every sigh, every expression, and mood. Years. If you don’t think I’ve obsessed weeks of my life away over how you’d like to be fucked, baby, you’re sorely mistaken.” We reach the house in a matter of minutes, and he doesn’t stop; he just keeps going until we’re in his room. And oh God, I have made a severe miscalculation. Because Drake’s showing me exactly what’s always been in my heart and mind when I thought of us together, it’s my fantasy come to life, the two of us wrapped in the arms of the other. And as he turns me, urging my legs around his waist, his ravenous mouth bearing down on mine, I realize I might never recover from this. 

[guardianofrivendell]

Guarding Your Heart - chapter 4

Modern!Fíli AU written by @laurfilijames and @guardianofrivendell

Summary: Bodyguard AU: Lucy gets dragged into her father’s past against her will and is possibly in danger. Fíli gets assigned to her as her bodyguard. He doesn’t want to be there, she doesn’t want him to be there either. But then things get serious and in turns out Lucy is indeed in danger.

Warnings: gunfight, description of an anxiety/panic attack and we’re so sorry, but no half naked Fíli this time... (yes, really, we can’t believe it ourselves)

A/N: Chapter 4! Lucy and Fíli are on the run, the story is really picking up! Thank you so, so much for all the lovely comments and reactions to the previous chapters! 

GUARDING YOUR HEART MASTERLIST

Laurfilijames masterlist Guardianofrivendell masterlist

This was it. This time it was official.

Lucy wasn’t very fond of motorbikes to begin with, but now she officially hated them. Why couldn’t he drive a car like a normal person?

Fíli had been driving his bike as if someone was chasing after them, which was of course very likely even though she tried not to think about that too much, but that didn’t mean she would’ve appreciated it if he respected the speed limits for one. Ever since they left her condo her stomach had been in her throat, her eyes closed and her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, terrified she would fall off every time he took a turn.  

He still hadn’t told her where they were headed. Not that they could maintain a conversation with the way he was driving, she could hardly hear herself think over the noise of the engine and the tires on the asphalt.   

After what felt like almost an hour, Fili finally slowed the bike and pulled up to a long driveway that seemed to be leading to the middle of a field. Where the hell were they going? 

If he didn’t look out, the bike’s tires would get stuck in the mud and then what? Lucy didn’t feel like trying to dig it out when they were on the run. She didn’t even know how exactly they got compromised, for all she knew Fíli had received a serious threat or this could be all based on a hunch. It wasn’t like he was telling her anything...

And then her eyes fell on an old, small, has-definitely-seen-better-days rusty trailer, hidden beside a treeline leading into a forested area. The upcoming sun made the scene a little more inviting, giving it a warmer look, but it was still an old trailer… 

It was secluded, there was no doubt about it, but just this first glance at it made her miss her condo already. 

Fili eventually slowed the bike to a complete stop when they were a few yards away from the trailer and put the kickstand down with his foot. 

He turned his upper half to glance back at her and mumbled through his helmet. 

“This is home for the foreseeable future.”

“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but what is this place?”

Fili chuckled as he worked at unbuckling his helmet, having lifted his visor up so she could hear him more clearly. 

“It’s my cousin Nori’s trailer. He works for EPIC as well and his home functions as one of our safehouses. No one is going to look for you here.”

Now that she could believe. But wait… if this is his home, that means he lives there too?

“You’re telling me there’s going to be three of us holed up in that tiny camper?” Lucy asked in alarm. Just having Fili in her condo with her made it feel a lot smaller, and this trailer was a fraction of the size.  Maybe she could convince him to go back to her place, who knows, the danger could be gone by now.

“You’ll survive, I promise,” he smiled, getting used to her antics by now. “He’s never here much anyway and will probably make himself scarce if you have anything to do with it.”

Lucy smacked him on his shoulder and started to carefully swing her bad leg over the bike using him for support, when Fíli noticed some movement in the trees behind the trailer. 

He reached behind him, placing his hand on her thigh to stop her as he stared intently at the area where he thought he saw someone. 

“What is it?” Lucy mumbled through her helmet as she began taking it off. 

“Leave your helmet on,” he warned. 

“Why? Are we not going inside? It looks like it’s about to rain and I don’t feel like getting wet.”

“Something’s wrong,” Fíli said, eyes trained on the trees. “I can feel it.”

“Okay mister Psychic, whatever you say,” she snickered, unaware of the seriousness of the situation.

The terrain between them and the trailer was muddy and completely open, so he couldn’t sneak up to the trailer and do a sweep of the area just to be sure. And there was no way he was leaving Lucy with the bike by herself, she would be a sitting duck. 

Which was exactly what they were now, Fíli realised. They were standing too much out in the open.

His eyes scanned the area to see if there was somewhere he could hide the bike and Lucy, when the growing light bounced off something in the bushes and caught his eye. 

Fíli knew exactly what it was and his body reacted accordingly. They needed to get the hell out of there.

He yelled at Lucy to hold on tight and close her eyes, and as soon as he felt her arms wrapped around him he gave full throttle. Fíli made the bike turn at the same time, the rear wheel spinning in the mud creating a roost of dirt in the air to help disguise them momentarily. Lucy screamed, not expecting the sudden manoeuvre and held on to Fíli so tight she was convinced he couldn’t breathe, but what took her breath away was the sound of gunshots. 

Lucy had never heard a gunshot in real life before and didn’t see the shooter, but she’d seen enough action movies to know what they sounded like. 

And now she wished she never did. Fíli was doing his best to get them out of there as fast as he could, but she would never forget the sound of bullets flying past her. The fact that she could hear them through her helmet and over the noise of the bike made her aware of how terrifyingly close they got to her and Fíli. Every single muscle in her body was tense and she expected the sharp sting of a bullet hitting her at any moment. 

Fíli wasn’t doing much better. 

As soon as he saw the reflection of the morning sun hitting the barrel of the gun, he shifted into survival mode and had only one thought on his mind: get Lucy out of here alive and unharmed.

He heard her scream and her grip tightened around his waist when he took off, and as he heard the gunshots he wished he could have switched their positions so he could shield her with his own body while they raced away. With her sitting behind him, she was entirely exposed to being shot. 

So Fili did what he could and pushed his bike to its limits, which wasn’t easy on the dirt road, but as soon as he reached the tarmac again he gave full throttle to put as much space between them and the gunman as quickly as possible. 

This wasn’t the first time in his life he was taken under fire and it wasn’t going to be the last one either. But that didn’t mean it didn’t affect him every time it happened. His mouth was dry and he kept thinking about Lucy. She was still clutching onto him, which at least gave him some reassurance. 

His heart skipped a beat when Lucy’s grip loosened all of a sudden. No! Was she hurt? 

He had felt her body bump against his when they took off but he thought it was from the jolt of the bike… 

He grabbed her left arm that was now resting on his thigh and wrapped it around his middle again to remind her to keep a firm grip. “Come on Luce! You’re fine, you’re alright,” Fíli muttered, more to himself than to Lucy. You have to be okay...

After a few agonizing seconds, her right arm followed and he felt her squeeze his stomach. 

Was this her way of letting him know she was okay? He tried to look behind him to check up on her but the bike immediately swayed as a result, eliciting a cry from her which brought him back to his senses. She was fine.

Fighting the urge to pull over to make sure she was uninjured, he kept driving with no destination in mind and his thoughts all over the place. He couldn’t drive back to her home, the safe house was out of the question now, and the other safe house their company had was all the way on the South Island. 

He couldn’t believe they’d been compromised a second time. 

Everything was going horribly wrong and it had him desperate to figure out why. 

This was supposed to be an easy assignment, a simple walk in the park! And thus far things have never gone so wrong for Fili on any of his missions. Not even the ones where he knew he had a good chance of being killed in action, no, he came home without a scratch because he was EPIC’s best guy. So what was so different about this case? 

After driving for a little over half an hour, Fili decided they were far enough from danger to take a break and pulled into the next petrol station. He needed to call headquarters for further instructions and fill up the fuel tank, but most of all he was very anxious to check if Lucy was really okay. She hadn’t moved a muscle in the last half hour and he started to get seriously worried.

He shut the bike off and reached back to grip Lucy’s thigh. 

“Are you alright?” he asked and she nodded to him when he looked over his shoulder at her. Relieved she wasn’t injured at all, Fíli removed his helmet and slicked his sweaty hair back on his head. What a day and it wasn’t even 10 o’clock yet...

Lucy’s hands were trembling when they tried to undo the fastens on her own helmet. She must be terrified, Fíli thought. 

He managed to dismount from the bike without knocking her off of it in the process and reached to undo it for her.

“Here, let me.”

He pulled the helmet off of her head, revealing her usually soft features now tainted with fear. Without thinking he cupped her cheeks in his hands to force her to look at him, worried she was going into shock. 

“Luce? Hey, it’s okay,” he spoke softly, rubbing her cheeks with his thumbs, “You’re safe now, I promise. I’m sorry that happened, I—,”

“It’s okay, I’m fine,” she shook her head to dismiss his worries, “I know none of this is your fault.” She cast her gaze down to the side, avoiding his eyes and her brows knitted tightly together. “Who was that anyway?” 

Fili dropped his hands from her face and rested them on his hips, sighing heavily. 

“I don’t know. But I need to find out. Why don’t you head into the shop and get us something to eat and drink,” he suggested, pulling cash out of his wallet and handing it to her. “You’ll be safe in there.” 

“You’re not coming with me?” she asked, looking warily at the small store that was attached to the petrol station. 

“I need to make a call.”

“Okay,” Lucy said, a little hesitant, standing from the bike before she limped into the store. 

Once Lucy was out of sight and safely inside the petrol station, Fíli found a nearby trash can and kicked it hard, now beyond the point of anger for driving her straight into danger. 

What if she got hurt on his watch? He ignored the pain in his chest at the thought, blaming it on his fears of ruining the whole mission. There was yet to be an assignment he hadn’t successfully accomplished and he would make sure this wasn’t going to be the first one. Fili vowed to keep her safe and he intended to keep that promise.

He pulled out his cellphone and was about to call headquarters when he suddenly thought better of it, what if his phone was somehow being traced?

He opened the back and tossed the battery on the ground, stomping hard on it with his boot as he snapped the SIM card into pieces with his fingers. 

Collecting the remnants of his phone, he tossed them into the garbage and walked over to the pay phone. 

“Hello?” Kili’s voice sounded from the other end and Fíli was relieved to hear it was his brother. To be honest, he was nervous to tell Thorin things went wrong again. Not that it was his fault there was a gunman waiting for them, but Fíli couldn’t help feeling responsible somehow. So hearing his brother answer the phone instead was a big load off his mind. 

“Kee, it’s me.”

“Fee? Where are you calling from? Wait, is everything alright?”

“Not particularly, no. We went to Nori’s as planned but someone was there waiting for us.”

“Fuck, are you serious? Are you okay?”

“Yes, physically we’re fine. Lucy is a bit shaken up, which is understandable since she got shot at. The important thing is we got away in one piece. Nori wasn’t home though so please warn him before he goes back there.” 

“You got it. Where are you now?”

“We’re at some petrol station, I’m not giving you a location just in case. I’m trying to figure out where to go from here.”

Kili was silent on the other end. 

“Kili?”

“I’m thinking!” 

Another minute had passed and Fili still couldn’t come up with anywhere reasonable to go, but Kili soon broke their silence. 

“I got it! The cabin!”

“The cabin?” Fili repeated, a bit taken aback.

“Yes! I mean, none of us have been there for years aside from Uncle Thorin and Bilbo, and no one else knows about it. It’s remote and you can’t find it on any map. It’s perfect.”

“And far.”

“Yes, but far away from people who are trying to kill your girlfriend.”

Fili ignored that comment and thought over the suggestion instead. It just might work. 

Kili was referring to the Durin family cabin. The same cabin they hadn’t been to ever since their father died. Fili knew going back there would bring back the memories and feelings he worked so hard to bury deep inside of him, but right now it seemed like their only option. 

“Okay. Good thinking. We need to get going if we’re to make it before it’s too dark. I’m leaving it up to you to fill Uncle in and please don’t forget to warn Nori!”

“I won’t, don’t worry! Everything will be fine, brother. Be safe and I’ll see if we can maybe send Dwalin down with supplies soon.”

“Thanks Kee,” Fili slammed the phone down and exhaled deeply, hoping this would all turn out okay. 

Now to break it to Lucy that she’d be sat on the bike for the rest of the day. 

He could see her through the window, chatting and smiling to the older gentleman behind the counter while looking over the options of crisp flavours. Although she had a smile on her face, he could tell by her body language how terrified she still was. 

A few minutes later, Lucy walked out as Fili finished fueling up the bike. He had his sunglasses on and it almost seemed like nothing had happened. How could he stay so calm while she couldn’t stop trembling, Lucy wondered. 

“So now what?” she asked quietly, looking down the road and Fili figured she was keeping an eye out for the person who tried to shoot them. 

“Now we are going to my family’s cabin.”

She simply nodded and pushed the dirt around with her foot as she thought, her brows furrowed. “How far is it?”

“It’s a long drive, but right now it’s our only option,” he looked at her intently, sensing she still didn’t quite know what to make of the situation. “Luce, are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” she answered quickly. A lie. 

“Okay.” Fíli decided not to pry any further, she’ll break down eventually and he would be there for her when that happens. It may sound harsh to simply skip over her emotions right now, but they really needed to get a move on. “We need to get going then, it’s going to take us the rest of the day to get there.”

Lucy’s head whipped up in surprise at this, and all Fili could do was shrug and give her a playful smile. “You might like the bike by the end of it.”

“I somehow doubt that.”

He took a few tissues from the dispenser on the side of the pump and cleaned his hands.

“Did they have much of a selection of food in there? We should bring some stuff with us since supplies won’t be coming for a couple of days,” Fili explained.

“Not really, just the usual convenience junk.”

“Well, it’ll have to do. Come on, let’s go make some poor choices.” 

Fili held his hand out for her to take and walked into the store with her. The friendly clerk greeted them warmly and it made Fili hope that one day Lucy would be able to walk freely anywhere she pleased without the worry of having to look over her shoulder. 

She was right though, the selection of food was pretty slim. They stood together before the rack of crisps and display of various chocolate bars and cookies as Fili took off his sunglasses and scratched his head. His stomach was growling, he hadn’t eaten anything since dinner the night before and looking at what was in front of him he knew he would barely get by. Lucy on the other hand was happily filling her arms with various snacks. She reached for a pack of oatmeal raisin cookies and Fili scoffed. 

“Really? You like those?”

“What? These?” she questioned, holding up the bag to confirm.

“Yes, they’re horrible. I mean… Raisins? Come on, at least try to be a real cookie and have chocolate chips.”

“I’m sorry, have you actually tried them before? Because they’re the best,” she gave him a small smile before continuing, “I’ll prove you wrong. You’ll love them by the time I’m through,” and she added 3 more packages to her stash. 

They stepped up to the counter to pay, and Lucy carried on another conversation with the shop owner. Fíli was still holding on to her hand, hoping it would give her some kind of comfort. It seemed to work, looking like she was distracted from reality for the moment and Fili was happy about it.

Until a man walked through the door and eyed them suspiciously. Lucy had stopped speaking mid-sentence and swallowed hard.

“Let’s go,” Fili said, placing his hand on the small of her back and guiding her out of the store while keeping tabs on the man who he didn’t think had anything to do with their situation, but he could never be too careful. 

*

“Come on, Jasmine, you know you want to,” Kili drawled to the receptionist for the umpteenth time that week, trying to convince her to give in and go on a date with him as he leaned against her desk and gave her his undeniable grin. 

“Kíli, I can’t,” the blonde receptionist pouted. “I can lose my job if I go out with you.”

His grin grew even wider if that was possible and he wiggled his eyebrows at her. “I promise I’ll make it worth your while…”

This was the first receptionist to refuse his advances and he honestly didn’t know how to feel about that. When she started a few weeks ago she acted like everyone else did, flirty and giddy, but not anymore…weird. So he continued to give her puppy eyes and his best attempts at persuading her, but was interrupted by Thorin. 

“Kili.” 

He nearly jumped out of his skin, not having heard his uncle approach from the front door behind him. 

“Christ’s sake, Uncle!” Kíli gasped, clutching his chest while Jasmine hurried across the counter to deliver the morning mail to Thorin. He quickly went through it before he locked eyes with Kíli again, who was still casually leaning against Jasmine’s desk. 

“What are you doing? Don’t you have reports to finish?”

“Uh, yes, I was just about to make an update on Fíli’s case actually. He called me about 30 minutes ago.”

“About what? Did he get to the safe house without any issues?”

“Not exactly. Someone was waiting for them when they arrived and opened fire. So they had to relocate. I called Nori to tell him so don’t start panicking, everyone is fine!”

Thorin sighed and ran a hand over his eyes. Leave it to Kíli to deliver such bad news in the most nonchalant of ways. 

“And I came up with the wonderful suggestion of having them go to our cabin instead!” Kili continued proudly, still pleased with his quick thinking of what would undoubtedly be the safest option for them. 

“Kili! Enough!” Thorin hissed, grabbing his arm and dragging him away from the main lobby toward the elevators. “You need to be careful with what you say in front of others.”

“Oh come on! It’s just Jasmine. She’s not paying attention to any of that. She’s only interested in getting in my pants.”

Thorin rolled his eyes. “Yes, we all saw how well that went. Let’s go to my office and then you can repeat everything Fíli told you.”

“Hey, it’s me,” Jasmine said quietly into her phone from her desk. Kili and Thorin had just left the lobby after discussing details of the case, and she thought they would like to know of EPIC’s next plan of action. “I just overheard that they’re headed to some kind of cabin. I’m trying to find the exact location, I’ll let you know as soon as I have it. I don’t think you’ll have any issues taking him out there.” 

“Perfect. I hope you’re doing a better job than Bolg did, he let them get away this morning. It seems like we’re underestimating the little soldier. Maybe it’s time that I go after her myself.” 

*

The drive to the cabin took far longer than expected due to Fili constantly changing up his route in order to confuse any potential followers, which meant they also had to make a few fuel stops. 

It was getting dark, and he knew Lucy was exhausted by the limp way she was now holding onto him versus her usual tight grip. 

The driveway leading to the cabin never looked so inviting as it did today when Fili finally spotted it between the trees. 

Even though it had been years and years since Fíli visited, everything felt as familiar as if he was here just last week. 

From the narrow driveway hidden between the bushes with the crooked mailbox that definitely had seen better days, to the swing he and his brother broke when they were little that somehow never got fixed. He got the same excited jitters in his stomach as he always did when he spotted the cabin by the lake, although now the feeling was mixed with grief and melancholy. 

Fìli parked the bike underneath the carport, more than content to have finally arrived. He shook out his hands once he shut off the bike, the vibrations from the handlebars still radiating through them and up his arms. He was sore. 

Lucy took her helmet off and looked around them. It seemed peaceful and undisturbed. She hadn’t noticed another house or cabin for a few kilometers either, which meant they were completely secluded. 

And also away from any help if they weren’t safe. 

She carefully dismounted the bike, her legs feeling like jelly and her butt completely numb. 

“This seems nice,” she said, noticing Fili wasn’t speaking yet. 

“Yeah, it is,” he replied softly, and she didn’t miss the crack in his voice, which made her wonder what this place meant to him. 

“I need to check the perimeter and inside before you go in. Stay here, okay?” 

“Yeah, sure,” Lucy agreed, seeing a weariness in his eyes for the first time since he arrived at her door. 

She stayed beside the bike as promised, stretching her limbs slightly as she waited. It was getting cold and considering the late hour, it was also difficult to see her surroundings in the heavily wooded area. 

Her thoughts began to get the best of her, and each time she heard a bird call out or the branches and leaves rustling around her, she felt herself getting more and more anxious by the second and panic started to slowly take hold of her. 

Normally Lucy would find peace in a place like this, admiring the beauty that nature was offering her, but now she couldn’t help but think of someone hiding and waiting to make their move to hurt her. Every sound she heard was a possible threat and she expected someone to jump out at any moment. 

Her arms were wrapped tightly around herself and tears pricked her eyes. Her breathing quickened and although she knew she had to remain calm, she couldn’t help letting her body take over. Would she ever feel safe again? 

By the time Fili returned she was shaking and fully sobbing, barely keeping herself on her feet. 

“Lucy!” he panicked, running over to her and gripping her shoulders. He ducked his head to meet his eyes with hers, trying to figure out what was wrong. 

“I’m sorry, I’m fine,” she lied again and rubbed her trembling hands across her cheeks to make the streaks disappear. 

Her emotions finally caught up with her, Fíli realised. She was stronger than he gave her credit for, he’d expected her to break down at the petrol station. 

“I know you’re not fine, Luce. And that’s okay… Hey, look at me-,” he instructed when she averted her eyes from his once more, placing his hand on her chin to turn her head back toward him, “Look at me. I promise you’re safe, okay?”

She nodded in agreement and leaned slightly into his touch when he brushed his thumb over her cheek to remove another fallen tear. 

“I’m never going to let anything happen to you.” 

Somehow his words made her continue to cry, and he pulled her into a hug, knowing the full extent of the terror she was experiencing. “It’s okay. Just breathe,” he soothed her, gently rubbing her back until the sobs died down.

“Come on, let’s get you inside.” 

Fili pulled away from her and turned to walk toward the illuminated cabin, halting when he didn’t hear or feel Lucy following him. 

She stood there frozen, seemingly unable to move, and it prompted him to intuitively scoop her up in his aching arms and carry her inside like he’d done so many times before.

The door creaked as he pushed it open with his shoulder and Fíli made his way over to the bed standing in the corner of the cabin. He placed her down gently and sat beside her, rubbing his hand over his face. He was exhausted, but knew he would be awake all night to be sure they weren’t in any more danger.

“Fíli?” He met her equally tired eyes when she called his name. “Are you okay?” Lucy asked him this time, her voice strained from crying. 

He sighed, the weight of the situation and being in this cabin starting to get to him slightly. 

“I’m fine,” he glanced over at her and gave her a weak smile, patting her arm as he stood, “Get some rest, Luce.”

*

He didn’t think he would ever return here. 

Fíli was lying on the old, brown leather couch, unable to fall asleep. Not that he was supposed to, he was determined to keep an eye on Lucy, but if he was asleep, he wouldn’t have to think about the reason why he stayed away for all these years.

Everything in the cabin reminded him of his father. Of happier times. Thorin and Bilbo made some adjustments over the years, they got rid of some furniture and did some redecorating but it didn’t matter. It still felt the same.

He could see his younger self playing with his brother in front of the fireplace, his dad telling them scary stories which Fíli knew could never happen but kept him awake at night anyway. 

How he promised his dad to always watch over Kíli, no matter what. He remembered how serious his father had been about family, how everyone looked out for each other. And Fíli kept his promise, looking out for both his mom and little brother. He wondered if his dad would be proud… Or disappointed that he followed in his footsteps and joined the army.

The longer he thought about it, more and more memories came rushing back, making his head spin and his chest ache. With a grunt he sat up, his arms still sore from the long drive and the adrenaline leaving his body, and he looked over at Lucy’s huddled form, trying his best to focus on her. 

She was safe. He kept his promise to her. 

But they got too damn close. The fact that neither of them got hurt during the shooting wasn’t because of his fast reflexes or his great driving skills, it was mostly because of luck. And since when did he count on being lucky? 

He prided himself on taking everything into account while on the job. On every mission, every stake-out, he considered everything. There were no surprises, always a plan B and a safe way out. 

So what the hell was going on with him now? 

It wasn’t his fault the gunman was waiting for them, he knew that. But he blamed himself for letting them get compromised at Lucy’s place. 

He should’ve been more careful, more strict with Lucy who was taking his rules too lightly at the time. 

Was he letting his emotions take over? This was exactly the sort of mistake that got you in trouble or worse. It became his father’s downfall and he swore he wouldn’t make the same mistake. He won’t make the same mistakes.

He let his head rest in his hands for a few moments before he got up to do another check on the windows. 

“Fili?” Lucy quietly called out from the bed, having heard him walking through the small cabin. 

“Mm?” he hummed from where he was ensuring the locks were secure on a window on the other side of the room. She should’ve been asleep long ago.

“I can’t sleep,” she paused, and he could sense her hesitation through the dark, “I’m scared.”

There it was. It didn’t surprise him. She should be scared after everything that happened today. He just didn’t know what else he could do about it.

“Would you mind lying with me?”

Oh. 

He rubbed the itchy stubble on his face, thinking how this could possibly cross a line in them having a professional relationship versus something more. A few minutes ago he had sworn not to make the same mistakes as his father and here he was genuinely considering doing what she asked him. 

“I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked,” Lucy stammered with embarrassment, bringing him out of his thoughts. 

He crossed the room to the bed, and without saying a word he climbed in beside her, opening his arms for her to rest her body in. He let go of the breath he’d been unknowingly holding and allowed his hands to relax against her back.

“Thank you,” she mumbled against his chest and within minutes she was sound asleep. 

Fili lay in the bed he had countless times before as a child, snuggled up beside Kili to keep warm on cold nights like this, only this time it was with Lucy. 

The exhaustion he felt was crippling, and he was fighting to stay awake. He could only remember a handful of times he had to force himself to not give in to the temptation of sleep, his eyelids heavy and his body warm from the weight of her against him almost forcing him to succumb. 

Instead of surrendering to sleep, he went over  the events of the day again. How could this innocent and kind-hearted woman who dreamt softly in his arms be the target of such horrible violence? Fili found himself no longer thinking of her as his task, his client to protect and defend. Of course she still was, but during these past weeks she became so much more to him. Someone tangible instead of statistics on a piece of paper, someone with real feelings and emotions whose life was being ripped apart before her eyes because of something she had nothing to do with. 

Lucy let out a contented sigh in her sleep and Fíli had to resist the urge to pull her even closer to his chest. That would definitely be crossing a line. 

He remembered how he felt when he thought she was injured after the shooting. It was a feeling he didn’t understand. Of course it was normal for him to feel worried, he was supposed to protect her, keep her safe, so if she had turned out to be shot, that would mean he failed his mission. 

But it hadn’t been just fears about failing a mission… he was afraid for her. 

He didn’t want anything to happen to her, not because it was his job, but because he didn’t want anything to happen to her. To Lucy. 

And that was new to him.

Maybe he’d spent too much time with her? How long has it been, a few weeks? They were getting used to each other, getting comfortable even. It would certainly explain why he felt differently towards her now. 

They were starting to become more like actual roommates. Maybe he had let his emotions take over...

But right now he didn’t need to worry about her. She was safe.

Freed from the sleazeball called Chad. Far away from the cartel and from any danger. Far away from the outside world even. She was safe, with him.

Those thoughts turned out to be enough to let him lose the battle against sleep and Fili closed his eyes.  She was safe.

A/N: Let’s hope the cabin will be a lot safer for Lucy so they can have some peace and quiet!

Guardianofrivendell permanent taglist: @roosliefje @kata1803 @entishramblings @artsywaterlily @sleepy-daydream-in-a-rose @marvelschriss @kumqu4t @dark-angel-is-back @the-fandoms-georgie @lathalea @xxbyimm @sokkasdarling @katethewriter @aredhel-of-gondolin @starry-cookies @elvish-sky @moony-artnstuff @kirenia15 @hey-its-nonny @vicmackeybullshxt @moarfandomtrash​ @beenovel​ @cassiabaggins​ @shethereadinghobbit​ @justfollowtheroad​ @laurfilijames​ @fizzyxcustard​ @anjhope1​

Laurfilijames permanent taglist: @guardianofrivendell​ @midearthwritings​ @cassiabaggins​ @lilith15000​ @trishthedishofreis​ @linasofia​

Guarding Your Heart taglist: @enchantzz​ @the-poldarkian​ @linasofia​ @magravenwrites​ @thespiritoflife​ @wishingtobeinadifferentuniverse​

[aggressive-positivity-network]

Okay, so you said I could send an ask for headcanons about the childhoods of some specific merc(s)... I think I would really like to read your headcanons about Soldier’s and Engineer’s childhood :)

Thanks in advance and I hope your well.

Ooooh…I’ve been waiting for this! And thank you for being specific and not just saying “the rest of them.” Sometimes I get overwhelmed with nine specific mercs to write for. Your specifics are much appreciated.

****************

Soldier:

Soldier doesn’t talk very much about his childhood - whether it’s because something happened or he just doesn’t remember it, no one can tell. It’s nowhere in his file, either…he refused to do anything except tell fantastic tales of a fictional youth.

However, in a rare streak of almost lucidity, he spouted off the entirety of his younger years, much to the team’s surprise. Usually, if anyone asked directly, he changed the subject.

But now he described everything in vivid detail. And, with a bit of research from Miss Pauling, everything fell into place.

Apparently he had been born in a small military town in Georgia. His father was overseas, leaving he and his mother alone in their small yellow house.

In order to make ends meet, his mother worked at a nearby factory, mostly leaving Soldier to fend for himself and the house.

“Can you be a big, strong soldier like daddy for me?”

Soldier would always agree, finding his own food, his own entertainment, and his own friends. No matter what happened, he never bothered his mom. If anything, his job was to protect her.

That’s why, when his stomach started hurting and his arms and legs ached, he said nothing about it.

When he forgot the chores he was supposed to do and even the names of his friends, he didn’t bring it up.

When he felt tired all the time and some days could barely get out of bed, he just chalked it up to laziness like his mother did.

It turns out the factory they were next to was polluting the water next to the house with dangerous amounts of lead, which soon overcame Soldier’s immune system of steel.

He could barely remember anything anymore, and he became more and more distraught every day. Sometimes he would forget where he was and run outside, then get lost in the woods, only coming back once he remembered where he was supposed to be.

Soldier began to wear one of his father’s old helmets after his mom commented on his red eyes and the dark circles around them. He didn’t want to worry her. Besides, it helped bring back a few memories if he ever got lost again.

Finally, it got to the point where he didn’t even remember his mother, or his promise to her. He began to wander farther and farther away from home.

One day, he didn’t come back at all.

Out in the world with not a single memory to his name, Soldier wandered far and wide. He usually slept in barns and old, abandoned houses, cut off from most people.

Occasionally, he would find a family that wanted to “raise him as their own,” only to turn him away after finding him too difficult to care for.

He had frequent nightmares, ate little due to his unresolved stomach issues, and could barely walk ten feet without forgetting where he was going.

If he accidentally wandered into the same house twice, he would be chased out with either a broom or a gun - usually the latter.

He became “the demon child” in some counties, and “g*psy kid” in others, due to his long, unkempt hair, hidden eyes, and odd habits.

It even got to the point where Soldier couldn’t sleep on anyone’s property because he would be actively fought off like a wolf or a bear.

His only pleasure was an old movie theater that, as he recovered from his lead poisoning, remembered the location of and frequently snuck into.

The only thing that played were romance movies - which, like many children, Soldier hated - and war movies, which he watched over and over again with starving eyes.

Because of these movies, a single memory from his mother’s house came to him. A woman, tall and muscular from hard labor, giving him a shiny badge to hold, asking him to be a strong soldier like his father.

And thus began his life-long dream of becoming a military officer.

He trained according to what he knew from the films…which was mostly running, doing jumping jacks, and occasionally rolling around in the mud.

This only served to distance him further from his fellow human beings, but he didn’t care. Soldier had a mission, and he was going to do it well.

But the biggest change was his hair.

He had started cutting it off with sharpened rocks, but he was always saving up coins he found for a “proper army cut.”

Finally, he had quite the collection in a dirty mason jar, and marched into the barber shop in his town to ask for a haircut.

The manager was appalled, and at first refused, but Soldier stood his ground.

“Civilian, I’ll have you know that by denying a soldier with a haircut, you are denying America one of its best fighters! I can’t curdle the enemy’s blood looking like a hippie!”

After a short yelling match that, of course, Soldier won, the manager decided it would be in his best interest to comply.

He walked out of that shop with no hair on his head, but a huge grin on his face. Next stop, the ranks.

Soldier went from draft office to draft office, applying for and being denied entrance to the army for his obvious lack of mental stability.

This is when the personal retelling ended, since Soldier became very upset by the memory of his recruitment failures, but Miss Pauling concluded that he just bounced from state to state until Mann Co. found him, quote, “sitting in an alleyway, eating army draft paperwork while sobbing uncontrollably.”

Engineer:

Engineer also never really talks about his childhood, but both Medic and Spy (Spy knows everything about everyone on the team) know that’s for a good reason.

He grew up in a trailer community near an almost ghost town in Texas.

His father was an abusive car mechanic with a mean streak a mile wide and a shop full of failed inventions. His mother wasn’t any better - she was bitter and reclusive, only really coming out of her room to pick a fight with her husband.

However, what Engie lacked in family, he more than made up for in friends.

He had a rag-tag, Rugrats-esque team of pals from all walks of life: Rhapsody, the daughter of a struggling porn star; Tom, the son of two farmers wiped out by blight; Cici, an adopted girl that could barely walk into her trailer without a black eye and a string of slurs; Quinn, the nervous child of a single mother that serves as guidance to the other kids; And Fred, who didn’t seem to have any family, but had become a greaser big brother to all of them.

Together, they explored the desert near the trailer park, pooled their resources to feed and support each other, and used their individual strengths to get through each day.

Engineer, whom everyone affectionately called “Big Dell,” snuck parts from his dad’s workshop for his own creations.

By the time he was twelve, he could make a small, running engine for the soapbox cars his friends frequently raced.

No toy, piece of clothing, glasses, or tool was out of his line of expertise.

One day, though, upon finding that some of his parts were missing, Engineer’s dad gave him a terrible beating that broke a few of his fingers and left a huge gash near his eye.

Since then, he refused to fix, make, or even touch a tool.

He wouldn’t tell anyone what happened, but they could make a pretty good guess, since they knew where the scraps and parts had come from.

The whole group was furious with Engineer’s dad - their Big Dell was funny, smart, and was more loving than every family member they had combined. Even Quinn was red in the face.

They wanted to break into his dad’s workshop and destroy all of his inventions, just to teach him a lesson, but they knew Engineer would take the fall for it.

Instead, they rummaged through trash cans, searched their toy chests, and looked under their trailers to find things Engineer could use.

They waited until his birthday to unveil the massive pile of supplies they had stowed away.

Engineer immediately dropped to his knees and began to cry, and everyone else dogpiled him for a huge hug.

As the creme de la creme, they gave him a pair of welding goggles - the same welding goggles he wears to this day, having modified them so they still fit his growing body.

With his healed fingers and renewed spirit, he made each of them a gift: a toy car for Rhapsody, a skull ring for Fred, a full set of candle wax crayons for Cici, a chewable necklace for Quinn so they wouldn’t chew on their collar, and a mini-planter for Tom.

But Engineer was given the greatest gift - confidence in his own abilities and that he can be and was appreciated for more than his services.

This gave him the drive to build bigger and better things, which his friends happily assisted in creating.

Engie’s best memories are with that motley crew of scrawny, beaten-up kids.

But, as he became a teenager, the abuse grew worse by the day.

He was often kept in his dad’s garage to fix cars in sweltering heat and with nothing to show for his work except threats of what would happen if a customer complained.

His mother finally grew bitter enough to pick on him, wondering aloud and pointedly if she had made a mistake by having him, then immediately contradict herself by wailing in his arms about how she’s the most awful mother in the world, and how she would be gone soon, and then nobody would have to deal with her anymore.

Engie grew more and more distant from his friends as they either moved out, ran away, or, in Rhapsody’s case, died.

He thought of just shutting the garage door and turning on a car a couple times, but he would always return to his memories of the hidden cave of goodies his friends had collected or the many inventions they had helped him build.

It just wasn’t worth it.

On a night when his depression and self-doubt was especially bad, he decided to build a personal invention for the first time in years - a small, robotic chicken made out of bent gears and empty oil cans.

He worked on it for a few weeks, but made the mistake of leaving it on a work table once it was finished.

Engie came to work the next morning with his dad ready to chew him out. But, before any finger could be lifted against his son, he was interrupted by a sweet older couple that was having their tires replaced.

“Now, Ethan, ain’t that just the cutest thing you’ve ever seen in your life?”

“Hm?”

“That there chicken statue over there! It looks like it could very well get up and start peckin’ for worms, don’tcha think?”

Engie looked at the couple, then at his dad, then at his chicken. He slowly lifted it from the table and turned the key.

It started to slowly lean forward, then took a few steps on it’s long, spring-loaded legs. The neck went down, and the chicken’s rusty beak began to scrape at the pavement.

Now he had the husband’s attention.

“Didja build that yourself, son, or did your daddy help ya?”

Engineer looked at his dad for a split second before answering.

“My own sweat ‘n blood, sir. My daddy says I should stop wastin’ time on ugly thing-a-ma-jigs an’ put my hands to somethin’ worth doin’.”

The man smiled. “Well, this ‘ugly thing-a-ma-jig’ shows real skill. We could use somebody like you, once we train you up a bit.”

“Now hold on a damn - !” his father interjected, but was silenced with a cold stare.

“We’ll put ya through a state-of-the-art school, then put ya straight inta the work force. You can build whatever you like…and you’ll have a lot better materials than rusty tin. Whaddaya say, son?”

Engineer just nodded, and the man grabbed his hand and shook it.

“We’ll keep in touch.”

Engineer left that trailer park at age seventeen, leaving his fuming father and drunken mother behind.

He only stopped to visit Rhapsody’s grave before embarking on his new life.

There is still a stone plate with a message carved into it next to the headstone. If you brush off the leaves and dig out the moss, you can see Engie’s parting words:

“A friendship with you and the rest of the gang is the greatest thing I ever built. -Big Dell”

[tigerkirby215]

5e Sona, the Maven of the Strings build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Shilin Huang. Made for Riot Games.)

(Shit meme by yours truly.)

Revealing my Champion Mastery just to say that I play a lot of Sona. Don’t flame me for playing Seraphine and Yuumi I swear to god, and I have no idea why Teemo is in my top 10 highest mastery champs ngl.

Anyways you have no idea how happy I am as a Sona main that my girl is now top tier. I came to League of Legends from Overwatch (yes really) and I used to main Lucio in OW along with some of the more “techy” characters like Symmetra and Torbjorn. (Came to OW from TF2 where I mained Engineer and Medic.) Sona was a natural fit for me as a champion who was both easy to play and very similar to Lucio. It also helps that I joined the Rift during the single most engaging meta to ever grace this game. I was kinda too shit to play Janna but the Ardent Censer meta is also why I have such a high mastery on Lulu tbh.

But enough about my history with League: Sona! Honestly when I think of an archetypical support Sona pops into my head a lot sooner than Soraka: a champion based on empowering their teammates in as many ways as possible with heals, shields, movement speed, and CC to hold the enemy team down. I’ve always loved playing her because she feels like much more of a macro oriented character than other supports, with team-wide support as opposed to keeping one person alive like Soraka or Yuumi or focusing on CC like Morgana and Nami.

I’m going to build most if not all the champions eventually but man I am happy to tackle Sona now. She’s always been on my mind as my main but it was pretty difficult to think of how to make her. I think this build is good enough though!

Wow that was much longer of an intro than I’m used to. You can really tell which champions I’m excited for lol.

GOALS

Everything in harmony - Sona boosts everyone on her team with her songs as they fill the air.

Triple time! - Sona’s ability to boost her whole team into a good position is always beneficial.

Crescendo! - Fun fact: Sona’s ultimate is canonically extremely painful as she forces you to contort your limbs against your will. Why is Sona needlessly macabre? Well remember that Riot also wrote Volibear as an Eldritch old god.

RACE

Sona is Human but if you want to be cool you can make her a Kalashtar for resistance to Psychic damage and advantage on Wisdom saves. Regardless we’re going to be making what’s known as a dollar store Kalashtar with Variant Human. Increase your Charisma by 1 as well as your Constitution because we kinda don’t need much else. You also get proficiency in one skill of your choice which will of course be Performance, and a language which you can pick as you fancy: you won’t be speaking it anyways lmfao.

That’s because “Only you can hear me summoner; what masterpiece shall we play today?” Grab the Telepathic feat to complete this dollar store Kalashtar package. Increase your Charisma score by 1 and get a 60 foot telepathy to speak while being mute. You also learn the Detect Thoughts spell and can cast it once without using a spell slot. "Did he want... four autographs? I don't understand."

ABILITY SCORES

15; CHARISMA - Charisma is tied to performance and all the other stuff a Demacian noblewoman is expected to be good at.

14; DEXTERITY - Something something medium armor; even if you wear a dress there’s no reason you can’t have some padding beneath it!

13; STRENGTH - Hey this isn’t something something medium armor!

12; CONSTITUTION - Sona may be squishy in League but I value not dying more than good skill checks honestly.

10; WISDOM - Speaking of not dying: Wisdom saves are more common, and Insight is more useful than most Intelligence skills.

8; INTELLIGENCE - We had to dump something so unfortunately Intelligence gets the short end of the stick. You may have studied under the illustrious Buvelle family but most of those lessons were music classes.

If you want a better stat array going 13 / 14 / 12 / 10 / 10 / 14 with Point Buy is perfectly viable, and if your DM is cool enough to let you multiclass without Strength then you’re more than welcome to dump it.

BACKGROUND

There’s two obvious backgrounds that fit Sona: the first is Entertainer for proficiency with Acrobatics and a skill of your choice (since we already took Performance lol.) You also get proficiency with Disguise Kits and your Etwahl! (That’s what Sona’s instrument is called btw.) Your background feature By Popular Demand allows you to play any stage once. "Some, just the once.” You can perform in exchange for a place to stay, and when you do so the local people will remember your wonderful performance!

But making an Entertainer Bard is kinda cliché, no? If you want to lean into Sona’s Demacian heritage go for the Noble background. This gives you proficiency with Persuasion and History as well as a gaming set of your choice: unfortunately Tellstones isn’t an option (unless your DM decides otherwise!) so a Dragonchess Set will do well enough. Oh and you get another language that you won’t speak: fun! Your Position of Privilege makes it easy for you to arrange meetings with other important people, and the commonfolk will be kind and cordial with you.

(Screenshot from the Tellstones: King’s Gambit trailer by Riot Games.)

I personally opted to go for Noble when making this build, but if you want to choose Entertainer go right ahead! Backgrounds don’t affect too much overall and it’s up to you (and your DM) to make your own Sona!

(Artwork from League of Legends Wild Rift. Made for Riot Games. RIOT PLEASE UPDATE MUSE SONA ON PC I’M BEGGING YOU!)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - BARD 1

I mean what else did you expect? Bards get proficiency in three musical instruments of their choice: a Lyre is the closest you’ll get to Sona’s Etwahl, though a Dulcimer is also pretty close. I’d also recommend grabbing a Lute since most magical instruments come in Lute variety.

You also get proficiency in 3 skills of your choice like Perception to watch wards, Insight to watch people, and Athletics for a bit of Tenacity to break out of grapples. (As well as potentially grab some people yourself! Although Acrobatics is also perfectly fine for escaping grapples.)

As a Bard you can boost your ADC with Bardic Inspiration, letting them add a d6 to attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws. You have a number of these equal to your Charisma modifier and they come back after a Long Rest.

But of course the main reason to play a Bard is to do Demacian-banned Spellcasting! You learn two cantrips from the Bard list like Vicious Mockery for some diminuendo, making it harder for the enemy to hurt your allies while also cutting them down to size. (I don’t know if your DM will let you slap your Etwahl angrily and then point at them judgingly, but you may have to break your vow of silence every now and then.) You can also learn Prestidigitation for all sorts of general magic stuff that you really shouldn’t do in front of anyone important.

You of course also learn 4 Bard spells like Cure Wounds and Healing Word for the atypical healing spells, Dissonant Whispers for some Hymn of Valor damage, and Detect Magic which you’ll likely be expected to cast as the designated support. *Sigh* Always gotta buy wards.

LEVEL 2 - BARD 2

Second level Bards could be called a Jack of All Trades, as you get to add half your proficiency bonus to any skill you aren’t proficient in. This means even if your ability scores are bad the skills you don’t have proficiency in are still good enough! You also get Song of Rest, letting your allies recover an extra d6 of health during Short Rests. And if you have Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything  Magical Inspiration will let your allies add their Bardic Inspiration to the damage or healing of a spell they cast!

And finally you can learn another spell: against as the designated support you’re expected to take Identify.

LEVEL 3 - BARD 3

Third level Bards get Expertise in two skills: Performance is an obvious must and Persuasion would probably be good as well.

But more importantly you get to choose your Bardic College and if you want to both shield your allies and speed them up look no further than the College of Glamour! That’s because Mantle of Inspiration grants 5 temporary hitpoints to a number of creatures within 60 feet of you equal to your Charisma modifier (which can include yourself by the way!) Additionally those creatures can move up to their movement speed as a reaction without provoking opportunity attacks, making this a great tool to reposition an ally who’s caught in a dangerous position!

You’re also capable of creating an Enthralling Performance: if you perform for at least 1 minute, you can attempt to inspire wonder in your audience. At the end of the performance you can choose a number of humanoids within 60 feet of you who watched and listened to all of it, up to a maximum equal to your Charisma modifier. Each target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by you.

While charmed in this way, the target idolizes you, and speaks glowingly of you to anyone who talks to them. They also hinder anyone who opposes you, although they avoid violence unless it was already inclined to fight for you. This effect ends on a target after 1 hour unless they take any damage, you attack it, or it witnesses you attacking or damaging any of its allies. If a target succeeds on its saving throw the target has no hint that you tried to charm it, and you can use this ability once per Short or Long Rest.

Finally you can learn second level spells like Hold Person, for a one-man version of your ultimate.

LEVEL 4 - BARD 4

Ah the first of many Ability Score Improvements. You may have noticed our deliberately uneven Charisma modifier: that’s because I’m going to be taking the Fey Touched feat for +1 to your Charisma, the Misty Step spell (for Flash, of course), and the Gift of Alacrity spell from Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount for a Song of Celerity! Accelerated movement? I concur.

You can also learn another spell as well as another cantrip! For your cantrip take Mage Hand for help warding those hard-to-reach areas, and for your spell take Lesser Restoration, because yeah it’s also your job to buy Mikael’s. *Sigh.*

LEVEL 5 - BARD 5

5th level Bards get a Font of Inspiration that lets their Bardic Inspiration come back after a Short Rest as well as a Long Rest. That’s good because your Bardic Inspiration increases to a d8, which also boosts your Mantle of Inspiration to grant 8 temporary hitpoints!

You can also learn another spell like Hypnotic Pattern: while it won’t do any damage and your allies can’t hit the dancing enemies it’ll still be the best recreation of your ultimate for now.

(Artwork by Katie “TeaTime” De Sousa. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 6 - PALADIN 1

I hope you weren’t expecting this to be a pure Bard build, because then I’d just be building Seraphine again! Grab your something something Medium Armor as well as a shield (well technically you need both hands free to play a musical instrument) it’s Paladin time, master of auras! 

Paladins get a Lay on Hands pool equal to 5 times their Paladin level for some more healing. You can touch a creature to give them any amount of health from your Lay on Hands, or use 5 hitpoints from your Lay on Hands pool to neutralize a poison or disease affecting them. You also get Divine Sense to locate any Celestial, Fiend, or Undead as long as they’re within 60 feet of you and not behind total cover. Don’t worry it gets a lot more exciting later.

LEVEL 7 - PALADIN 2

Second level Paladins can choose their Fighting Style and you’re still more of a mage than a warrior, so Blessed Warrior will give you two cantrips from the Cleric list that use your Charisma! Guidance is an obvious must for a support and Toll the Dead is a great option if you want to go full AP.

Should you have options for attacks to target enemies who have high Wisdom? Yeah probably: Sacred Flame might be a good choice.

Of course cantrips also imply more Spellcasting! You can prepare a number of spells equal to your Charisma modifier plus half your Paladin level (rounded down) which is currently a freaking lot of spells. Let’s just go down the list, shall we?

Bless is great to buff your team and make them harder, better, faster, and stronger.

Command is a mostly harmless Enchantment spell that will force your foes to do as you, well, command. I’d argue “dance” is a reasonable Command.

Protection from Evil and Good is never bad to have in your back pocket in case you’re fighting either Kayle or Fiddlesticks.

And Shield of Faith will let you boost your ADC’s survivability with Ardent Censer!

I know you can prepare more spells but there isn’t much I want from first level of Paladin. I am contractually obligated to mention that you can also turn your spell slots into a Divine Smite if you hit an enemy with a melee weapon, but you aren’t really going to be using weapons in this build. That’s right boys hop aboard the caster Paladin train!

LEVEL 8 - PALADIN 3

Third level Paladins get to choose their Sacred Oath and Oath of the Watchers may seem weird but it’s really good at defending your allies. That’s because you get two different Channel Divinity options: Abjure the Extraplanar works similarly to the Cleric’s Turn Undead feature except it affects Aberrations, Celestials, Elementals, Fey, and Fiends.

Watcher’s Will meanwhile lets you choose a number of creatures you can see within 30 feet of you, up to your Charisma modifier. For 1 minute, you and the chosen creatures have advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws. This means that in a party of 6 this ability can give your whole party advantage on all mental saves, which is huge for keeping everyone alive against nasty casters! See? Demacia can use your magic!

Speaking of magic you get Alarm and Detect Magic as Oath spells. (Might want to swap Detect Magic from your Bard list with Mass Healing Word ty Tasha’s.) You can also use Harness Divine Power to regain a spell slot equal to half your proficiency bonus a number of times per Long Rest. And you get Divine Health, because you don’t take a sick day to stop complaining about Seraphine.

LEVEL 9 - PALADIN 4

4th level Paladins get another Ability Score Improvement: cap off that Charisma for maximum AP scaling!

(Artwork by Kelly Aleshire & Esben Lash Rasmussen. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 10 - PALADIN 5

5th level Paladins can finally prepare second level spells! As a Watchers Paladin you get access to Moonbeam as well as See Invisibility, both of which are very good for dealing with incoming gankers.

You can also prepare spells like Aid to boost your allies’ HP, Prayer of Healing (ty Tasha’s) for some out-of-combat healing, and Warding Bond for a Knight’s Vow.

Oh and you get an Extra Attack, which sure would matter if you were actually using weapons.

LEVEL 11 - PALADIN 6

6th level reasons get the main reason Sona’s a Paladin: Aura of Protection! All your saving throws are increased by an amount equal to your Charisma modifier, which is a full +5 currently! But what’s special about this ability is that it also applies to your allies within 10 feet of you, letting you give out auras a plenty to keep your allies safe!

You can also prepare another spell but again: not much I really want. So we’re going to be waiting a little while longer once again.

LEVEL 12 - PALADIN 7

7th level Watchers Paladins get Aura of the Sentinel, or as I like to call it: Song of Celerity. When you or any creature of your choice within 10 feet of you roll for initiative, they gain a bonus to initiative equal to your proficiency bonus. While this may make positioning a little difficult (everyone’s going to have to huddle around you) this ability guarantees that you can speed up all your important allies to make sure they get their powerful abilities off!

LEVEL 13 - PALADIN 8

8th level Paladins get another Ability Score Improvement or a Feat. You may have noticed your uneven Constitution score: grab good ol’ Resilient Constitution for a boost to your health and even more insurance on your Concentration checks. With your Paladin aura and proficiency you’d have a +12 total to your Constitution checks currently, meaning that if you take 24 damage or less you won’t even have to roll for Concentration!

LEVEL 14 - PALADIN 9

You are probably the only Paladin who cares about spells, so it’s nice that you get 3rd level spells now! Watchers Paladins get two very strong third level spells: Nondetection will help you deward and keep your allies safe from enemies that may try to sneak a peak at you, but Counterspell is the true best choice to stop danger from befalling your allies. What’s very good about Counterspell is that as a Bard you get to add Jack of All Trades to the skill check, meaning it’s far easier for you to deny an incomming spell than any other spellcaster! “Mages have enough problems without you.”

Of course you can prepare some more spells like Aura of Vitality for Aria of Perseverance, and Revivify for an ADC’s Guardian Angel. But having access to spells like Remove Curse, Dispel Magic, Crusader’s Mantle, and even Daylight on the Paladin spell list are all extremely useful to be able to prepare. Remember that you are doing yourself a disservice by not taking time to think about what the best spells to prepare would be for your current quest. "Every note is important."

(Artwork by Kelly Aleshire & Esben Lash Rasmussen. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 15 - BARD 6

Now that we’ve got all our auras it’s time to go back to Bard for Mantle of Majesty! As a bonus action, you cast Command without expending a spell slot as you take on an appearance of unearthly beauty for 1 minute. During that minute you can cast Command as a bonus action on each of your turns without expending a spell slot. Additionally any creature charmed by you automatically fails its saving throw against the command you cast with this feature. You do have to concentrate on this feature (like a spell), and once you use it you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.

You can also learn another spell but there isn’t much I want from the third level of Bard, really. Oh and you get Countercharm which is awful and I hate it, but since you didn’t take a 10th level in Paladin I suppose you have to use it. Spend an action to give allies advantage on their saving throws against charms and fears, I guess.

LEVEL 16 - BARD 7

7th level Bard; 4th level spells. Freedom of Movement will let you help either yourself or an ally with Mikael’s Crucible, and Dimension Door is great to get into lane fast, or back to base fast!

LEVEL 17 - BARD 8

8th level Bards get another Ability Score Improvement, and if you don’t like the look of something something Medium Armor then the Eldritch Adept feat might be able to help. Take the Mask of Many Faces invocation to be able to cast Disguise Self at will to change your skins as you please.

Could you have taken this earlier? Absolutely. Are there better invocations? Yeah probably, but by level 17 you can make some of your own choices. Build your own Sona: this is merely a guide and you can make your own choices.

Speaking of own choices: take whichever spell you want at this level. There’s plenty of great ones for a 4th level Bard and I can’t recommend anything in particular to you. Every musician has their own style, and it’s up to you to find your own!

(Artwork by Yan Li. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 18 - BARD 9

9th level Bards get to pretend that increasing Song of Rest from a d6 to a d8 by total level 18 is helpful.

You do get access to 5th level spells like Mass Cure Wounds, which is like Mass Healing Word but better! "Harmoniously."

LEVEL 19 - BARD 10

10th level Bards get Expertise in two more skills: Perception is an obvious must to watch over your wards but beyond that? Honestly pick your poison with whatever skill you want since by level 19 you can make your own choices. (Though my personal choice would be Athletics to hopefully give some more safety against grapples.)

But of course the main boon of reaching level 10 in Bard is the Magical Secrets! ...I’m afraid I’m going to have to disappoint you again: there honestly aren’t any spells in particular I want as Magical Secrets. Sure I could recommend spells like Haste or whatever but are they really going to be that great by total level 20? To be honest even the spells on the Bard list like Animate Objects, Greater Restoration, Hold Monster, Rary's Telepathic Bond, Scrying, and Synaptic Static are very good (although I’d sooner replace some of your old spells with them.)

Again I know this is supposed to be a “guide” but most people won’t hit level 19 anyways, so I don’t think it’s that bad for me to recommend you take your own steps to make your own Sona. Hell, build some AP if you want! I know I would!

LEVEL 20 - BARD 11

Our final level is the 11th level of Bard and I’ll be honest: it’s just to add Otto's Irresistible Dance to your spell list. It can only affect one person but it’s still your ultimate by total level 20.

Oh and you were supposed to get a cantrip last level. Uhhhhh I dunno take Mending lol.

FINAL BUILD

PROS

The rhythm connects us all - You have dozens of spells to keep your team alive and active during a fight, not to mention that all your Paladin auras and abilities really help them give 110%. It’s worth mentioning that Gift of Alacrity combined with Aura of the Sentinel is a d8 + 6 to an Initiative roll, which will almost always guarantee that whoever you want to go first will be going first!

A true masterpiece should celebrate living - Despite your somewhat weird level split you maxed out the only stat which matters for you: Charisma. And woah holy shit turns out Paladins are really good with maxed out Charisma! +5 to all saves means even your lowest save is a +4, and the saves your proficient in vary between +13 for Dexterity and Constitution (both very common!) and a whopping +16 save on Charisma!

Curtains up; I'm ready - Jack of All Trades also does quite nicely to help your middling skills. Even though I dumped most of your mental skills you’re still proficient enough that you won’t be completely helpless when caught off guard. And when you’re in the zone with Persuasion or Performance you are easily the best girl around!

CONS

Don't make me get off stage - It was my intention to recreate Sona’s positional gameplay with this build but it does present some gameplay issues when trying to maximize your effectiveness. Where do you position yourself as a character who’s still primarily a squishy caster despite your good saving throws and AC? Can you give everyone in your party support, or are they too spread out to get value out of your 10 foot range auras?

Quiet, please! - You have a damn good concentration check, but what do you concentrate on? Not only do you have a ton of spells but they all scale very good with levels and you have spell slots that go far higher than your maximum level spell. It can be hard to choose what to do with those 7th and 8th level slots.

The world is cruel... Until that changes, I'll never stop playing - One of many “meta” problems with this build was my choice to focus almost entirely on support. Sure Toll the Dead is a great damaging cantrip but your only two damaging spells are Moonbeam and Dissonant Whispers. Again: you don’t have to follow my build point-for-point and while you’ll be flamed in League for building Sona full AP I don’t think your friends will mind if you take some damaging spells.

But if you can’t tell it was really hard for me to come up with those downsides. With the exception of the positional requirements a Bardadin is a very strong build and Sona is a very strong support. Boost your teammates with your own amazing power and make sure everyone’s alive and jamming! Your power may have been forgotten over the years but no one’s ever upset to have a great support at their side. And remember: Seraphine may be in K/DA but you’re in Pentakill, and you have your own label! No one can replace DJ Sona!

[noladyme]

La Cuervo - Chapter 12

She is used to the biker-life, having grown into a woman in the familiar embrace of SAMCRO. A bad decision and a gun-shot later, she gets whisked off to Santo Padre, and put under the protection of another club. What is supposed to be a short stint in the Mayan headquarters just north of the border to Mexico, turns into something more; when la quervo begins to develop feelings for el angel - and he seems to return them in kind...

TW: violence, blood, drug use, alcohol, smut, fluff, angst

In the spirit of "The Crown Princess of Charming", this is a story about O.C. Nina and Angel Reyes. It is obviously non-canon, as characters who have passed on on Mayans M.C. are present in it, and others have been excluded completely. Nina is written as a cis-female, but I have tried to keep her race and looks as ambigous as possible. Should you find any of this story offensive, please let me know.

12.

She stepped out of the trailer the next morning, freshly showered and made up. The sun was blaring down from a cloudless sky, but in spite of her determination to make the best of a shitty situation, it was still difficult to enjoy the beauty of the day. She went in to the clubhouse, and was met Chucky; holding out a mug of coffee at her. “It’s good that you’re still here”, he smiled. “Yeah…”, Nina said quietly, before leaning forwards, and planting a chaste kiss to his cheek. Chucky immediately blushed, and rushed out of the door, to go open the office.

EZ had set up a couple of plates for them, with donuts and orange juice. “Gaby’s been busy with school…”, he said apologetically. “How very dares she?”, Nina gasped in jest. They sat down, and began their usual morning banter. It felt almost like a normal morning, save the murky cloud of gloom from Nina’s breakdown the night before hanging over them.

Coco and Gilly came in to the clubhouse, and the smaller biker immediately walked over to her, and put a hand on her cheek, before bending down to press a kiss to the top of her head. He didn’t say anything – he didn’t need to – but his gesture was welcome, and Nina gave him a half smile. “I’m good”, she replied to his unspoken question. Coco nodded, and Gilly squeezed her shoulder. “How is Camille?”. “Healing. But she’s not talking about what happened to her; probably too scared. Creep went down earlier this morning to check on her”. Nina’s smile widened. “Creeper’s in love…”, she said. “He’s probably just horny”, Gilly muttered.

“I hope that’s just it. That chula is too clingy…”, Coco said. “Coco! She just had her ass beat by a complete psycho…”, Nina said. “I can feel bad about that, and still think she’s annoying”, Coco shrugged. “She’s one of those girls whose so desperate to belong to an MC in one way or another, she’ll fuck anything in a cut, and do anything to be let into the family. Like she gets off on the patch in itself". “That’s harsh”, EZ said. “You didn’t hear her talk, boy scout”, Coco said. “I love your bike, Coco. I’ll do anything for the club, Coco. Don’t take off your cut when we fuck, Coco… Fucking loca”. Nina scowled at him for a moment, but Coco seemed steadfast in his opinion, and disregarded her chiding eyes. The four of them sat for a few moments, and talked about nothing and everything; before the men had to get to work around the yard. Nina went into the front office, and put on the oversized Romero Bros. shirt. She spent the rest of the morning taking calls, and filing paperwork.

In the afternoon she finally had a few moments to relax with a book, before she needed to restock the shelves and fridges of the clubhouse. It felt good to keep busy – it kept her mind of her shitty situation – but her foot seemed to be more busted from her kicking the barbell than she’d thought, so having some time to put her feet up in the trailer was a welcome break. She’d left the door ajar to let in some fresh air. The tiny fan she’d nabbed from templo – which Bishop hadn’t complained about her taking, probably feeling guilty about whoring out her old man – was not strong enough to work against the heat that would stream in, if she’d left it completely open. She’d taken the picture of Abel and Thomas, and set it next to the small framed picture of the Reyes family on the beach, that EZ had set up again; after he’d thought he had the trailer back.

She recognized the sound of Angel’s bike rolling onto the lot. He wasn’t alone, as she heard Daniella’s voice once he turned off the engine. “Baby, I’m just saying; don’t you think it’s weird that she just dropped out of nowhere from up north?”, the blonde said. “What are you saying?”, Angel asked. “Why is she here?”, Daniella replied. “Does it matter? I’m not with her anymore, Dani”. Nina peeked out between the blinds of the small window over the cot, and saw Angel putting an arm around Daniella, and placing a short peck on the corner of her lips. Daniella giggled, and tried to pull him in for a deeper kiss, but Angel seemed to get distracted by something else, and went to hang his helmet on the handlebar of his bike.

Unable to sit by quietly, Nina put down her book, and stepped out of the trailer. She shot a hard look at Angel, who managed to keep his cool demeanor; but she saw a ghost of something resembling pain in his eyes. “Hi, Nina”, Daniella smiled overbearingly. “I heard you felt under the weather last night. How are you doing?”. “Dani…”, Angel muttered. “I’m great. I finally got rid of that case of the clap Angel left me with”, Nina replied. “Just some friendly advice; you can get it in your throat as well…”. Daniella’s eyes widened. “Right… You probably knew that already. Was it a present from you?”. She walked by them, and onto the porch to go into the clubhouse. “Are you gonna let her talk to me like that?”, she heard Daniella snarl at Angel. “I’ll talk to her”, Angel muttered. “You better…”.

Less than a second after Nina had closed the door behind her, Angel slammed it open, grabbed her arm, and pulled her with him towards templo. His expression was angry, and Nina saw Daniella smile smugly at her as they went. She went to sit by the bar with Riz and Hank, who looked confused at the situation. Once inside the dim room, Angel pressed Nina against the wall next to the door; keeping them out of sight of the people in the bar-area. He pressed his body against her, and grabbed the back of her head; before devouring her lips in a deep, passionate kiss. Nina tried her best to keep quiet from the pleasurable signals Angel’s lips were sending to her groin. She pressed her hands against his chest, and made him step back. “I’m sorry, cuervo”, he whispered, his eyes almost desperate. “Fuck. I hate this”, Nina whispered. “Me too…”, Angel replied. “I gotta set you right… She needs to think…”. Nina nodded. Angel frowned deeply, and pressed a short kiss to her lips, before his voice boomed at her. “You don’t talk to her like that! What the fuck is your problem?”. In spite of the plan, Nina was too proud to just stand by. “Fuck you, Angel…”, she roared. “Watch your mouth”, he growled in reply. He kissed her again, and Nina gasped against his lips. “What are you gonna do? Smack me around?”, she said. “Don’t fucking tempt me…”. He blew out a deep breath, and pressed a final kiss to her lips, before kicking the chair by the door, creating a ruckus. They nodded at each other, before Angel stomped out of the room, leaving her behind.

Nina took a long moment to calm down. She was flustered, as a strange mix of anger, pain – and if she was being honest to herself, horniness – rushed through her veins. Finally, somewhat settled, she went back into the bar-area, and got behind the counter; looking appropriately chastened. Angel was stood next to Daniella, looking every bit the returned champion, and without a word, Nina set down a beer in front of him. Daniella very obviously ignored her, and focused on running her hand up Angel’s chest. Nina wanted to barf at the sight, but managed to keep her lunch down this time. Hank raised a brow at her, and she shook her head slightly, before beginning to fill the fridge. Riz got behind the counter, and squeezed her hand covertly, before handing her a cigarette, and taking over her task. “Go take a break”, he said shortly. Nina gave him a thankful smile, and went back outside.

She sat down on the steps, and blew out a deep breath. “I deserve an Oscar…”, she muttered to herself, and lit her smoke.

---

Spending the evening serving beers and drinks to the club members, her “ex” and his date wasn’t the easiest task. EZ had apparently been told to keep his distance from her, while Daniella was around; to make it clear how unimportant, and last week’s news Nina was. This left her behind the bar alone, and the friendly banter she was used to from the Mayans was limited. Angel and Daniella left at around 10 pm, and Nina sighed in relief as she saw them close the door behind them. Having to look at Angel laying it on thick while flirting with Daniella, made her want to scream. It was beyond any kind of petty jealousy she’d felt in her life before. Daniella wasn’t just touching something she wanted; she was touching what was hers, and Nina couldn’t do anything to stop it.

Bishop came up behind her, as she was cleaning some glasses at the end of the night, and patted her shoulder. “Let the prospect do that. Come sit down”. She quietly followed him over to a table, where Taza and Hank were seated. Bishop sat down across from her. “Palo’s been in touch. He says the attack on Camille was all Sala”. Nina frowned in confusion. “I pressed him a bit”, Taza said. “He swears her attack had nothing to do with Gael’s death”. Nina scoffed, and chuckled sarcastically. “Sure. That’s why they left her in one of your tunnels”, she said. “We’re not saying we believe him”, Hank said. He pushed a packet of smokes towards her, and she took one, letting him light it for her.

Nina sat for a moment, going over everything that had happened the night of the party, and the day after. “Daniella was acting weird when she came by the other day”, she said. “She seemed surprised I was here”. “She probably was”, Taza said. “So far, everything points towards her being the snitch; but we still need to know how much she’s been sharing with the Vatos. That’s why Angel needs to…”. “Yeah, I got it… But that’s how he found out she wasn’t me…”, Nina sighed. “She called him after she saw me; and then all of a sudden, Camille gets dumped where they know you’ll find her… He was trying to send a message. He got the wrong woman; but he knows I’m here”. “Palo claims that he doesn’t suspect us of hiding you, and that we’re still at peace”, Bishop said. “But what about Camille?”, Nina asked. “She’s innocent in all this”. “Vatos Malditos are paying her recompense for the beating at the hands of one of their members, plus something on the side for us; as a show of good faith”, Taza said. “Because she’s part of the Mayan family”, Nina muttered. “And they aren’t supposed to touch family…”. “I don’t know if I’d call her family. She’s mostly been spending her time as a human condom for whoever she can get her hands on. I think even Riz tapped that, before she climbed on the Coco-train��, Hank said, a slight smile on his face. “And now it’s Creeper”. “Nina, you’re still safe here”, Taza tried, having figured out what she was actuallytrying to say; but Nina just shook her head in irritation.

She leaned back in her seat, and let out an exasperated sigh. “This is bullshit… We know they took her because they thought she was me. Why is Palo stalling?” “Possibly to get more info on Mayan business before he makes his move. If he can take out us and get you at the same time, that’s two birds with one stone”, Bishop said. “He wants our business with SAMCRO. He doesn’t suspect they have anything to do with his primo’s killing”, Hank said. Nina took a deep huff of the smoke. “Does SAMCRO know?”, she asked, and blew out the smoke. “I’m calling Chibs once we’re done here”, Bishop said. “But I think you know where their allegiances lie”. “With the Mayans”, Nina said. “With you, mija”, the president said. Nina looked down, feeling her cheeks burn. “SOA wouldn’t go back on their deal with you… They’re loyal”. “Yeah, they are… But us taking you in has only sealed that deal even more”, Bishop said.

Nina took a moment to let his words settle. “And Daniella? What’s gonna happen to her?”, she finally asked. “For now, nothing”, Bishop said. “Angel’s going to treat her like a queen; and hopefully she’ll slip up, and tell him about her deal with VM. We might even be able to use her to give them false leads”. “And me?”, Nina said. “You do what you’ve been doing up until now… Except Angel”, Bishop replied. Nina shot him a dirty look. “For now…”, Taza added. Bishop looked like he would have rolled his eyes, if he wasn’t too proud for gestures like that. “Look, I don’t care what you two do when this is all over, but we can’t let anyone outside the club know you haven’t split. That includes hangarounds who might talk to the bitch. Keep it in your pants”. “Yes, sir”, Nina muttered, and got to her feet. “Anything else I need to know? Or do I just go put on the chastity-belt you’ve probably had forged for me…?”. “Yeah”, Bishop said, almost in a growl. “We’re gonna have one of us here each night, to keep an eye on the place”. “And me, I’m guessing”, Nina said. “You make it sound like I grounded you”, he said. “Didn’t you?”. Bishop frowned at her, but Nina simply turned around, and left the clubhouse.

“I like that kid”, she heard Bishop mutter, just before she closed the door behind her.

---

There was a quiet knock to the trailer-door, just as Nina had finished getting ready for bed. Outside stood Angel, with a look on his face, which Nina recognized immediately. “Daddy says I’m not supposed to let you in”, she said, a smile ghosting her face. Angel stepped inside, pushing her backwards, and closing the door behind him. “Papi says he doesn’t give a fuck”, he growled, and attacked her lips. He turned her around, and pressed her against the door; leaving no room between their bodies. His presence invaded her senses, and as he moved his lips down her neck, Nina winced.

“You smell like her perfume…”, she said. Angel stepped back, and brushed his thumb across his lower lip. Nina’s eyes were hard, and her heart was beating a million miles an hour. She grabbed the collar of his flannel, and sniffed it. “It’s your shirt… Take it off”. Angel looked confused for a second, before a fire lit in his eyes, and he quickly shrugged off his cut, and opened his shirt, yanking it off, and leaving him in his beater and jeans. “What else do you want?”, he asked with a ragged voice. “I want to know what you did with her”, Nina said. “I didn’t do anything. I just took her home…”, Angel said. “No, before all this… what did you do with her that makes her want you so much, that she’s willing to sell out me and the club for you?”.

She pushed him backwards to sit on the cot, and straddled his lap. Not wearing anything other than panties and a top came in handy, as her core rubbed against his hardening bulge. It was all she could do to not moan, and grind against him. “I don’t know…”, Angel almost whispered. Nina took his hand, and placed it against her left breast. He stroked his thumb against her hardening nipple, over the fabric of her top. “Did you make her come?”, Nina asked. Angel looked almost offended at her words. “Ma’, I don’t fuck a woman without making her come…”. “No? Then; what did you do? Did you touch her like you do me?”, Nina said. She moved her and down between them, palming Angel's bulge; and he responded by letting out a short breath, and swallowing thickly. She leaned in to put her lips to his ear. “Did you have her on her knees in front of you, as you drank a beer, and let her suck your cock?”. Angel didn’t reply, and Nina sat back again. “Nina… I’m…”. “You did…”. “Mami, it’s a powermove… I was just trying to…”. Angel was flustered, and in spite of Nina’s angry expression – or perhaps because of it – he was growing harder by the second. “Did you eat cereal off her skin, before fucking her senseless?”. “No. That was only you”, Angel said. “And thanks for the compliment”. He tried for a sly smile, but Nina drew her lips back in a sneer. “Was she ever in your bed? In our bed?”. He shook his head, and cupped her face. “She was never in the house… ever”.

Nina pushed his hands away, and got on her feet. “Did you lick her pussy?”. “No”, Angel whispered. His eyes were earnest. “What? I can’t hear you”, Nina said. Angel stood up, and stepped over to her; towering over her, and placing a hand around her throat, to hold her in place. His face was less than an inch away, and his expression was hard. “No! I didn’t lick her pussy. I only do that with women I’m serious about!”. Nina nearly crumbled in front of him; all of her anger and need for control washing away. “But… You tried to, the first time we…”. “Yeah. I did”, Angel growled.

Suddenly, his lips were on hers again, and she melted in his arms. Angel put his arm around her, and turned her around, to make her lay down on the cot. He tugged her panties down, and threw them somewhere behind him; before he pushed her legs up, and instantly dove to the apex of her thighs. Angel’s tongue made a languid stroke between her labia, before he let it dip just inside her opening. He lapped at her wetness, while his fingers found her clit, and began rubbing circles on it. There was no gentleness. Angel was like a hungry beast, and Nina was like the first meal he’d had in weeks.

The smallness of the cot didn’t leave room for them to both lay on it, and Nina had to put one foot on the table to make room for Angel’s shoulders between her thighs. Nina felt herself beginning to shake. “Fuck… fuck, Angel!”, she gasped. “When I’m good and ready!”, he growled against her heat. He thrusted two fingers inside her, and moved his mouth’s focus to her clit. He suckled at it as if life itself came from that tiny spot, and his fingers curled back and forth inside her; drawing her closer to her undoing. The thumb on his free hand began probing at her back entrance; pressing and making her sphincter work. It was overwhelming and so, so good. Nina grabbed on to Angel’s head, simultaneously wanting to push him away and pull him closer. She began whimpering, and her abdomen began convulsing, as the most intense orgasm she’d ever had washed over her. Everything went white, and Nina cried out an almost pitiful yelp.

Before she had a chance to come down from her high, Angel got on his feet and undid his jeans to let himself spring free; and then – with no gentleness – moved Nina so he could sit down on the cot. He pulled her on top of him by her hips, and pressed her down onto his cock. “So… fucking… tight!”, he growled, as he finally bottomed out. “Move!”, he demanded. With shaking legs, Nina pressed her knees into the mattress, and began moving on top of him. Rutting to get as close to him as possible, Nina desperately searched Angel’s lips for a kiss, which he willingly gave.

Angel took a firm hold of her neck, and each time she lowered herself he let out an almost angry grunt. “I love you”, Nina gasped, as once again he entered her further than she’d ever felt anyone before. Angel instantly froze. His eyes were wide, and he looked at her like she’d just told him the most unbelievable thing in the world. “You… what?”. Nina felt her cheeks beginning to burn. “I… love you, Angel”. “Me?”. He laughed in disbelief, and Nina bit her lip to keep from grinning. “Te amo, querida... I fucking love you!”, Angel said, and grabbed the back of her head, to attack her lips in a passionate kiss.

Angel snuck out of the trailer a few hours later. All bikes save Angel’s and one more were gone, and as he kissed Nina goodbye in the doorway, Hank came out of the clubhouse. He looked at them, and shook his head. “Alright, Romeo. Get the fuck out of here, or I’m calling Bish”, he said. Angel pecked her lips one more time. “Say goodnight, Nina!”, Riz called out. “Goodnight, Nina”, Nina grinned, and went back inside the trailer, closing the door after her.

---

The next few days went much like that one had. During the day, Nina was quiet, and pretended not to feel sad about being ignored by both Angel and the rest of the Mayans, whenever any non-patch was around – which was pretty much always, as there was always some hangaround or other in the clubhouse. Daniella made an appearance each night, throwing herself into Angel’s arms; and shooting smug glances at Nina.

The first three nights – where first Coco, Creep and then Gilly had watch – Angel showed up at the trailer just after midnight, and they spent a few hours together. They didn’t just have sex; they’d also talk and share stories from their lives. The more Nina got to know Angel, the more the words; I love you, made sense. She was beginning to understand how he’d become the man she’d fallen for. His Mayan brothers knew he’d come by, but kept their mouths shut; up until the fourth night, where Riz caught Angel giving Nina a goodbye kiss in the doorway of the trailer. The next day, Bishop tore both Angel and Nina a new one; and in the evening, Riz found himself taking a beating from Angel in the cage. Daniella was there, cheering Angel on. He’d apparently told her he caught Riz checking her out, and needed to show him who she belonged to. After that, there were no more night-time visits.

The pda between Angel and Daniella – mostly coming from the latter – was painful beyond belief to watch. The blonde would crawl onto his lap whenever she could, and she had no shame in going in for a kiss, any chance she got. As far as Nina saw – and she couldn’t avoid seeing it – Angel didn’t respond in kind, but accepted the kisses with closed lips, and sly smiles.

One night, after Daniella had shown up in an outfit that resembled a bikini more than a top and shorts, and a bright, sequined purse – which, when she opened it, revealed a none too easy to hide pack of condoms – Angel managed to get her to take a ride home from EZ, by telling her he was needed at the table. It wasn’t a lie, as they had a run in a few days, but none the less, he looked relieved when she left. The rest of the Mayans left after about an hour’s meeting, but Angel and Bishop didn’t come out of the room with them. Nina was around the corner, out back; so, the two men didn’t see her, when they finally emerged from templo. It was the presidents turn to take watch on the lot that night. “I can’t keep this up, man”, Angel said. “I’ve been laying it on thick, but she’s more interested in my dick, than wanting to talk about what happened that night”. “Then fucking sleep with her!”, Bishop said. Nina almost dropped the tray of glasses she was carrying. “I’m not doing that!”, Angel said. “Why? You usually don’t have a problem with bedding pretty girls”, Bishop replied. Nina gently sat down the tray, and went to stand by the doorway, to better be able to listen. “Because of Nina… I can’t do that”, Angel said earnestly. “Angel…”, Bishop began. “I fucking love her, ok? I love her…”. There was a moment of silence before Bishop spoke again. “Good… That’s what I wanted to hear. God knows that girl could do better; but for some reason, she seems to care about you, and she deserves to be treated right”. Nina couldn’t stay hidden anymore, and walked out of the back room. “Then let me end it with Daniella”, Angel said.

“You can’t…”, Nina said. Both men turned to face her, looking surprised at her appearance. “Not until you have the information the club needs”. Angel stepped towards her. “Querida; treating you like I have… It’s killing me. You don’t think I see the look on your face when she…”. “It hurts…”, Nina said. “And it’s hard to keep reminding myself that it’s not real. But if Daniella is feeding Palo with information; if she gives me up… It’s not just me who goes down, it’s the entire MC. You said it yourself; it’ll be war”. Angel clenched his jaw, and his brows were deeply furrowed. “I’ve been taking three showers a day for the last four days, to wash that bitch of me. I don’t want to do it no more”.

Bishop sat down at a table, and gestured for them to join him. “What do you have so far?”, he asked. “Like I said in there… She talks about how it’s weird that Nina suddenly showed up. That I shouldn’t trust her”. He lit a cigarette, and took a huff from it, before handing it to Nina. She gave him a soft smile, and accepted the smoke. “That’s all? She’s not a rocket scientist. She must have let something else slip”, Bishop said. “What about that night with Sala?”. Angel rolled his eyes in annoyance. “She just said he lost interest, and spent an hour making me tell her how it was his loss; and that she was a hot piece of ass”. Nina chuckled slightly. “What about what you’ve been feeding her about us?”, Bishop said. This was news to Nina. “I told her about the run the day after tomorrow. We’ll know when we know”.

Nina coughed up some smoke. “Wait, what? You told her you’re meeting up with SAMCRO?”. She continued coughing, and Angel took the cigarette from her; and reached for her pocket, where he’d obviously noticed she’d been keeping her inhaler. Nina slapped his hand away. “I’m fine!”, she growled. “Are you trying to get SAMCRO in trouble?”. Bishop shook his head. “There’s no trouble, Nina. Reaper knows the VM might show up, and they’re ready for a fight if it comes to it. But most likely – if they do come – it’ll just be to check what kind of business we’ve been doing together. And we’ll be able to confirm that Daniella’s the snitch”. She blew out a deep breath. Bishop was right – again – but she still didn’t like it. Angel placed a hand at the back of her neck, and gently massaged it. He was trying to calm her, and succeeding slightly. “We got the Sons back, and they have ours. We’ll be fine”, he said.

Bishop looked between them, and sighed. “Look, I’ll close up here. No one’s around; so, go… Netflix and chill, or whatever it is you people do”. Angel looked at him confusedly, while Nina’s heart jumped in glee. “Bish…”. “Go! Before I change my mind”, Bishop said. “Don’t let outsiders catch you coming out of the trailer in the morning”. At this, Angel got on his feet, and more or less dragged Nina out of the door by her hand.

They hardly made it to the trailer, before Angel had his lips on hers. He pressed her against the side of it, and had his knee between her thighs. Nina was giggling at his frantic attempts to open the trailer door, while he simultaneously tried to open her bra under her top; when the sound of a trashcan falling over, made her jolt. “Racoons. There’s a shitload of them around here”, Angel said. He finally opened the door, and smacked her butt. “Get in there…”.

They spent the rest of the night in each other’s arms again; back in their own little bubble of bliss.

---

tags: @doloreschanal

[kookie-doughs]

Y/N L/N AND THE HALFBLOODS

Percy Jackson X Reader

-Y/N L/N met Percy Jackson and everything was now ruined.

CHAPTER 16: Mini Elvis

The war god was waiting for us in the diner parking lot. "Well, well," he said. "You didn't get yourself killed." "You knew it was a trap," Percy hissed. Ares gave me a wicked grin. "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV." Taking the shield from Percy I shoved it at him. "You're a jerk." Annabeth and Grover caught their breath. Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back. "See that truck over there?" He pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner. "That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas." The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back, which I could read only because it was reverse-printed white on black, a good combination for dyslexia: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS. Percy said, "You're kidding." Ares snapped his fingers. The back door of the truck unlatched. "Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job." He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to Percy. Inside were fresh clothes for all of us, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bag of Double Stuff Oreos. Percy said, "I don't want your lousy—" "Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover interrupted, giving him his best red-alert warning look. "Thanks a lot." I could see Percy gritting his teeth. It was probably a deadly insult to refuse something from a god, but I also didn't want anything that Ares had touched. Reluctantly, he swung the bag over his shoulder. I looked back at the diner, which had only a couple of customers now. The waitress who'd served us dinner was watching nervously out the window, like she was afraid Ares might hurt us. She dragged the fry cook out from the kitchen to see. She said something to him. He nodded, held up a little disposable camera and snapped a picture of us. Great, I thought. We'll make the papers again tomorrow.

I imagined the headline: TWELVE-YEAR-OLD OUTLAWS BEATS UP DEFENSELESS BIKER. "You owe us one more thing," Percy told Ares, trying to keep my voice level. "You promised me information about our parents." "You sure you can handle the news?" He kick-started his motorcycle. "They're not dead." The ground seemed to spin beneath me. "What do you mean?" "I mean Percy's mom was taken away from the Minotaur before she could die. She was turned into a shower of gold, right? That's metamorphosis. Not death. She's being kept. As for yours, I saw them myself. Upstairs with the big guys. Why do you think you're causing one of the biggest uproar up there? They're refusing to tell who your parent is. No matter how much cut." He smirked. "What...?" Percy and the others must've seen something as they all held me back. "What are they doing to them?" I could feel the ground shake as Percy's grip on me tighten. We'll save them... calm down. Not the hero. Us. So calm down. "Calm down Y/N." Percy whispered. The ground stopped shaking and took a deep breath. "I will make you all kneel." I said. He looked at me confusedly. Then he shrug it off then laughed, "Oh yeah? can't wait, kid." Percy gripped my shoulder. "You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues." Behind his sunglasses, fire glowed. I felt a hot wind in my hair. "We'll meet again, Percy Jackson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back." He revved his Harley, then roared off down Delancy Street. Annabeth said, "That was not smart, Percy." "I don't care." "You don't want a god as your enemy. Especially not that god." "Hey, guys," Grover said. "I hate to interrupt, but ..." He pointed toward the diner. At the register, the last two customers were paying their check, two men in identical black coveralls, with a white logo on their backs that matched the one on the KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL truck. "If we're taking the zoo express," Grover said, "we need to hurry." I didn't like it, but we had no better option. Besides, I'd seen enough of Denver. We ran across the street and climbed in the back of the big rig, closing the doors behind us. The first thing that hit me was the smell. It was like the world's biggest pan of kitty litter. The trailer was dark inside until Percy uncapped Riptide. The blade cast a faint bronze light over a very sad scene. Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three of the most pathetic zoo animals I'd ever beheld: a zebra, a male albino lion, and some weird antelope thing I didn't know the name for. Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and the antelope had each gotten a Styrofoam tray of hamburger meat. The zebra's mane was matted with chewing gum, like somebody had been spitting on it in their spare time. The antelope had a stupid silver birthday balloon tied to one of his horns that read OVER THE HILL! Apparently, nobody had wanted to get close enough to the lion to mess with him, but the poor thing was pacing around on soiled blankets, in a space way too small for him, panting from the stuffy heat of the trailer. He had flies buzzing around his pink eyes and his ribs showed through his white fur. "This is kindness?" Grover yelled. "Humane zoo transport?" He probably would've gone right back outside to beat up the truckers with his reed pipes, and we would've helped him, but just then the trucks engine roared to life, the trailer started shaking, and we were forced to sit down or fall down. We huddled in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying to ignore the smell and the heat and the flies. Grover talked to the animals in a series of goat bleats, but they just stared at him sadly. Annabeth was in favor of breaking the cages and freeing them on the spot, but I pointed out it wouldn't do much good until the truck stopped moving. Besides, I had a feeling we might look a lot better to the lion than those turnips. I found a water jug and refilled their bowls, then Percy used Riptide to drag the mismatched food out of their cages. He gave the meat to the lion and the turnips to the zebra and the antelope. Grover calmed the antelope down, while I used my knife to cut the balloon off his horn. Annabeth wanted to cut the gum out of the zebra's mane, too, but we decided that would be too risky with the truck bumping around. We told Grover to promise the animals we'd help them more in the morning, then we settled in for night. Grover curled up on a turnip sack; Annabeth opened our bag of Double Stuff Oreos and nibbled on one halfheartedly; I tried to cheer myself up by concentrating on the fact that we were halfway to Los Angeles. Halfway to our destination. It was only June fourteenth. The solstice wasn't until the twenty-first. We could make it in plenty of time. On the other hand, I had no idea what to expect next. The gods kept toying with me. At least Hephaestus had the decency to be honest about it—he'd put up cameras and advertised me as entertainment. But even when the cameras weren't rolling, I had a feeling my quest was being watched. I was a source of amusement for the gods. And it wasn't helping knowing they're hurting my parents. Here I was risking my life for them and what are they doing? "Hey," Percy cooed, "We'll save them. No matter what. I promised you that." "Okay." Percy pulled me closer until I was resting on him. Annabeth cleared her throat. "Hey, sorry I wasn't much help back at the park... I could've helped getting you guys out... It's just..." She shuddered. "Spiders." "Because of the Arachne story," I guessed. "She got turned into a spider for challenging your mom to a weaving contest, right?" She nodded. "Arachne's children have been taking revenge on the children of Athena ever since. If there's a spider within a mile of me, it'll find me. I hate the creepy little things." "We're a team, remember?" Percy said. "Besides, Grover did the fancy flying. All we did was grab the shield." I thought he was asleep, but he mumbled from the corner, "I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?" Annabeth, Percy and I laughed. She pulled apart an Oreo, handed me and Percy a half each. "In the Iris message... did Luke really say nothing?" I munched my cookie and thought about how to answer. The conversation via rainbow had bothered me all evening. "Luke said you and he go way back. He also said Grover wouldn't fail this time. Nobody would turn into a pine tree." Percy answered. In the dim bronze light of the sword blade, it was hard to read their expressions. Grover let out a mournful bray. "I should've told you the truth from the beginning." His voice trembled. "I thought if you knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me along." "You were the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia, the daughter of Zeus." He nodded glumly. "And the other two half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp..." Percy looked at Annabeth. "That was you and Luke, wasn't it?" She put down her Oreo, uneaten. "Like you said, Percy, a seven-year-old half-blood wouldn't have made it very far alone. Athena guided me toward help. Thalia was twelve. Luke was fourteen. They'd both run away from home, like me. They were happy to take me with them. They were... amazing monster-fighters, even without training. We traveled north from Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us." "I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp," he said, sniffling. "Only Thalia. I had strict orders from Chiron: don't do anything that would slow down the rescue. We knew Hades was after her, see, but I couldn't just leave Luke and Annabeth by themselves. I thought... I thought I could lead all three of them to safety. It was my fault the Kindly Ones caught up with us. I froze. I got scared on the way back to camp and took some wrong turns. If I'd just been a little quicker..." "Stop it," Annabeth said. "No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either." "She sacrificed herself to save us," he said miserably, "Her death was my fault. The Council of Cloven Elders said so." "Because you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind?" Percy said. "That's not fair." "Percy's right," Annabeth said. "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you, Grover. Neither would Luke. We don't care what the council says." Grover kept sniffling in the dark. "It's just my luck. I'm the lamest satyr ever, and I find the two most powerful half-bloods of the century, Thalia and Percy." "You're not lame," Annabeth insisted. "You've got more courage than any satyr I've ever met. Name one other who would dare go to the Underworld. I bet Percy is really glad you're here right now." She kicked me in the shin. "Yeah," I said, which I would've done even without the kick. "It's not luck that you found Thalia and Percy, Grover. You've got the biggest heart of any satyr ever. You're a natural searcher. That's why you'll be the one who finds Pan. I mean, you found me despite my scentlessness... is that a word?" Percy muffled a laugh. I heard a deep, satisfied sigh. I waited for Grover to say something, but his breathing only got heavier. When the sound turned to snoring, I realized he'd fallen sleep. "How does he do that?" I marveled. "I don't know," Annabeth said. "But that was really a nice thing you told him." "I meant it." We rode in silence for a few miles, bumping around on the feed sacks. The zebra munched a turnip. The lion licked the last of the hamburger meat off his lips and looked at me hopefully. Percy didn't take long to fall asleep. Annabeth rubbed her necklace like she was thinking deep, strategic thoughts. "That pine-tree bead," I said. "Is that from your first year?" She looked. She hadn't realized what she was doing. "Yeah," she said. "Every August, the counselors pick the most important event of the summer, and they paint it on that year's beads. I've got Thalia's pine tree, a Greek trireme on fire, a centaur in a prom dress—now that was a weird summer...." "And the college ring is your father's?" "That's none of your—" She stopped herself. "Yeah. Yeah, it is." "You don't have to tell me." "No... it's okay." She took a shaky breath. "My dad sent it to me folded up in a letter, two summers ago. The ring was, like, his main keepsake from Athena. He wouldn't have gotten through his doctoral program at Harvard without her.... That's a long story. Anyway, he said he wanted me to have it. He apologized for being a jerk, said he loved me and missed me. He wanted me to come home and live with him." "That doesn't sound so bad." "Yeah, well... the problem was, I believed him. I tried to go home for that school year, but my stepmom was the same as ever. She didn't want her kids put in danger by living with a freak. Monsters attacked. We argued. Monsters attacked. We argued. I didn't even make it through winter break. I called Chiron and came right back to Camp Half-Blood." She wouldn't meet my eyes. "Please. I'm not into self-inflicted pain." "You shouldn't give up," I told her. "You should write him a letter or something." "Thanks for the advice," she said coldly, "but my father's made his choice about who he wants to live with." We passed another few miles of silence. "Luke actually told me about you two coming to camp already." "Really?" She looked at me amazed. "You two must've gotten close fast." "Well, I don't know. I feel like I had to talk to Luke. Like I had to be there for him. The same with Percy." We have to be there for both "You're not wrong. I'm not sure how I'd be without your help." Percy yawned. "Yeah, I wouldn't have been able to handle him." Annabeth glared at him. I laughed, "I think you two are cute." Both of them blushed and said some excuse to disprove me. Which then turned into them showing off who's better than who. "If I'm dating anyone it'll be Y/N!" Both of them huffed and glared at each other. I shook my head and smiled. At least I've gotten new friends out of this. "So," Percy trailed off. "If the gods fight," he said, "will things line up the way they did with the Trojan War? Will it be Athena versus Poseidon?" Annabeth put her head against the backpack Ares had given us, and closed her eyes. "I don't know what my mom will do. I just know I'll fight next to you." "Why?" "Because Y/N will and whether I like it or not you're my friend, Seaweed Brain. Any more stupid questions?" "That's all Mr. Peabody." "Shut up, Droopy." I felt her rest on my shoulder and she fell asleep. "Am I that comfortable?" "Yeah," Percy laughed as he rested on my lap. I had trouble following their example, with Grover snoring and an albino lion staring hungrily at me, but eventually I closed my eyes. ~~~ I woke with a start. I was second one awake. Grover was talking to the antelope. "Morning?" "Everyone had the Y/N privilege except me?" "You fell asleep first." I stroked both Annabeth and Percy's hair, which unfortunately woke up Annabeth. "Sorry about that." "It's fine." She yawned. She brought out some Oreo and handed me one. Until the truck stopped. "They're checking the animals aren't they?" Annabeth froze. I shook Percy's shoulder. "The truck's stopped," I said. "We think they're coming to check on the animals." "Hide!" Annabeth hissed. She had it easy. She just put on her magic cap and disappeared. Grover, Percy and I had to dive behind feed sacks and hope we looked like turnips. The trailer doors creaked open. Sunlight and heat poured in. "Man!" one of the truckers said, waving his hand in front of his ugly nose. "I wish I hauled appliances." He climbed inside and poured some water from a jug into the animals' dishes. "You hot, big boy?" he asked the lion, then splashed the rest of the bucket right in the lion's face. The lion roared in indignation. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," the man said. Next to me, under the turnip sacks, Grover tensed. For a peace-loving herbivore, he looked downright murderous. The trucker threw the antelope a squashed-looking Happy Meal bag. He smirked at the zebra. "How ya doin', Stripes? Least we'll be getting rid of you this stop. You like magic shows? You're gonna love this one. They're gonna saw you in half!" The zebra, wild-eyed with fear, looked straight at us. There was a loud knock, knock, knock on the side of the trailer. The trucker inside with us yelled, "What do you want, Eddie?" A voice outside—it must've been Eddie's—shouted back, "Maurice? What'd ya say?" "What are you banging for?" Knock, knock, knock. Outside, Eddie yelled, "What banging?" Our guy Maurice rolled his eyes and went back outside, cursing at Eddie for being an idiot. A second later, Annabeth appeared next to me. She must've done the banging to get Maurice out of the trailer. She said, "This transport business can't be legal." "No kidding," Grover said. He paused, as if listening. "The lion says these guys are animal smugglers!" "We've got to free them!" Grover said. He and Annabeth both looked at Percy, waiting for his say. "Percy, open the lock." I snapped at his face. Outside, Eddie and Maurice were still yelling at each other, but I knew they'd be coming inside to torment the animals again any minute. He grabbed Riptide and slashed the lock off the zebra's cage. The zebra burst out. It turned to Percy and bowed. Grover held up his hands and said something to the zebra in goat talk, like a blessing. Just as Maurice was poking his head back inside to check out the noise, the zebra leaped over him and into the street. There was yelling and screaming and cars honking. We rushed to the doors of the trailer in time to see the zebra galloping down a wide boulevard lined with hotels and casinos and neon signs. We'd just released a zebra in Las Vegas. Maurice and Eddie ran after it, with a few policemen running after them, shouting, "Hey! You need a permit for that!" "Now would be a good time to leave," Annabeth said. "The other animals first," Grover said. I cut the locks with my knife which wasn't as easy as what Percy had done. Grover raised his hands and spoke the same goat-blessing he'd used for the zebra. "Good luck," I told the animals. The antelope and the lion burst out of their cages and went off together into the streets. Some tourists screamed. Most just backed off and took pictures, probably thinking it was some kind of stunt by one of the casinos. "Will the animals be okay?" I asked Grover. "I mean, the desert and all—" "Don't worry," he said. "I placed a satyr's sanctuary on them." "Meaning?" "Meaning they'll reach the wild safely," he said. "They'll find water, food, shade, whatever they need until they find a safe place to live." "Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?" I asked. "It only works on wild animals." "So it would only affect Percy," Annabeth reasoned. "Hey!" He protested. "Kidding," she said. "Come on. Let's get out of this filthy truck." We stumbled out into the desert afternoon. It was a hundred and ten degrees, easy, and we must've looked like deep-fried vagrants, but everybody was too interested in the wild animals to pay us much attention. We passed the Monte Carlo and the MGM. We passed pyramids, a pirate ship, and the Statue of Liberty, which was a pretty small replica, but still made me homesick. I wasn't sure what we were looking for. Maybe just a place to get out of the heat for a few minutes, find a sandwich and a glass of lemonade, make a new plan for getting west. We must have taken a wrong turn, because we found ourselves at a dead end, standing in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino. The entrance was a huge neon flower, the petals lighting up and blinking. No one was going in or out, but the glittering chrome doors were open, spilling out air-conditioning that smelled like flowers—lotus blossom, maybe. I'd never smelled one, so I wasn't sure. The doorman smiled at us. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?" I'd learned to be suspicious, the last week or so. I figured anybody might be a monster or a god. But my knife wasn't glowing so... I figured. Besides, I was so relieved to hear somebody who sounded sympathetic that I nodded and said we'd love to come in. Inside, we took one look around, and Grover said, "Whoa." The whole lobby was a giant game room. And I'm not talking about cheesy old Pac-Man games or slot machines. There was an indoor waterslide snaking around the glass elevator, which went straight up at least forty floors. There was a climbing wall on the side of one building, and an indoor bungee-jumping bridge. There were virtual-reality suits with working laser guns. And hundreds of video games, each one the size of a widescreen TV. Basically, you name it, this place had it. There were a few other kids playing, but not that many. No waiting for any of the games. There were waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food you can imagine. "Hey!" a bellhop said. At least I guessed he was a bellhop. He wore a white-and-yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts, and flip-flops. "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key." I stammered, "Um, but..." "No, no," he said, laughing. "The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, loom 4001. If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the hot tub, or skeet targets for the shooting range, or whatever, just call the front desk. Here are your Lotus Cash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides." He handed us each a green plastic credit card. I knew there must be some mistake. Obviously he thought we were some millionaire's kids. But I took the card and said, "How much is on here?" His eyebrows knit together. "What do you mean?" "I mean, when does it run out of cash?" He laughed. "Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay." We took the elevator upstairs and checked out our room. It was a suite with three separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, sodas, and chips. A hotline to room service. Fluffy towels and water beds with feather pillows. A big-screen television with satellite and high-speed Internet. The balcony had its own hot tub, and sure enough, there was a skeet-shooting machine and a shotgun, so you could launch clay pigeons right out over the Las Vegas skyline and plug them with your gun. I didn't see how that could be legal, but I thought it was pretty cool. The view over the Strip and the desert was amazing, though I doubted we'd ever find time to look at the view with a room like this. "Oh, goodness," Annabeth said. "This place is ..." "Sweet," Grover said. "Absolutely sweet." There were clothes in the closet, and they fit me. I frowned, thinking that this was a little strange. I took a shower, which felt awesome after a week of grimy travel. I changed clothes, ate a bag of chips, drank three Cokes, and came out feeling better than I had in a long time. Search and find them Huh? Look for them and warn them I came out of the bedroom and found that Annabeth, Percy and Grover had also showered and changed clothes. Grover was eating potato chips to his heart's content, Percy looked like he was having a headache, while Annabeth cranked up the National Geographic Channel. "Percy you okay?" "Yeah it's just.... All those stations," he told Annabeth, "and she turn on National Geographic." "It's interesting." "I feel good," Grover said. "I love this place." Without his even realizing it, the wings sprouted out of his shoes and lifted him a foot off the ground, then back down again. "So what now?" Annabeth asked. "Sleep?" Percy and I looked at each other and grinned. We both held up our green plastic Lotus Cash cards. "Play time," I said. I couldn't remember the last time I had so much fun. I came from a relatively poor family. Our idea of a splurge was eating out at Burger King and renting a video. A five-star Vegas hotel? Forget it. I spent most of my time playing and... looking for someone I think. I bungee-jumped the lobby five or six times, snowboarded the artificial ski slope, and played virtual-reality laser tag and FBI sharpshooter. I saw Grover a few times, going from game to game. He really liked the reverse hunter thing—where the deer go out and shoot the rednecks. I saw Annabeth playing trivia games and other brainiac stuff. They had this huge 3-D sim game where you build your own city, and you could actually see the holographic buildings rise on the display board. I didn't think much of it, but Annabeth loved it. Percy was playing with Grover. I'm not sure when I first realized something was wrong. Probably, it was when I noticed the guy standing next to me at VR sharpshooters. He was about thirteen, I guess, but his clothes were weird. I thought he was some Elvis impersonator's son. He wore bell-bottom jeans and a red T-shirt with black piping, and his hair was permed and gelled like a New Jersey girl's on homecoming night. When he saw me he gave a smirk and invited me to play a game of sharpshooters together and he said, "Groovy, man. Been here two weeks, and the games keep getting better and better." Groovy? Later, while we were talking, I said something was "sick," and he looked at me kind of startled, as if he'd never heard the word used that way before. He said his name was Darrin, but as soon as I started asking him questions he got bored with me and started to go back to the computer screen. I said, "Hey, Darrin?" "What?" "What year is it?" He frowned at me. "In the game?" "No. In real life." He had to think about it. "1977." "No," I said, getting a little scared. "Really." "Hey, man. Bad vibes. I got a game happening." After that he totally ignored me. I started talking to people, and I found it wasn't easy. They were glued to the TV screen, or the video game, or their food, or whatever. I found a guy who told me it was 1985. Another guy told me it was 1993. They all claimed they hadn't been in here very long, a few days, a few weeks at most. They didn't really know and they didn't care. Then it occurred to me: how long had I been here? It seemed like only a couple of hours, but was it? I then tried to move, but I bumped into a girl. "I'm sorry!" She said. "Hey, no prob." "Oh... uhm... No prob?" "I--- No problem. Say Uh... I kinda lost track of date. What's the year again?" "Huh? It's 1930. Okay, I'm sorry I have to go. I'm looking for someone." Everyone is important in our story "Did you say something?" I go by Y/N L/N, you'll find the one you're looking for at the zombie shooting game. I left her alone and confused. I didn't know why. But I knew now this place is wrong. I tried to remember why we were here. We were going to Los Angeles. We were supposed to find the entrance to the Underworld. My parents... for a scary second, I had trouble remembering their names. I had to save them. I found Percy first. "There's something wrong." We said at the same time. "Years?" He asked. I nodded. We then looked for the others. We found Annabeth still building her city. "Come on," Percy told her. "We've got to get out of here." No response. I shook her. "Annabeth?" She looked up, annoyed. "What? "We need to leave." "Leave? What are you talking about? I've just got the towers—" "This place is a trap." She didn't respond until I shook her again. "What?" "Listen. The Underworld. Our quest!" "Oh, come on, Percy. Just a few more minutes." "Annabeth, there are people here from 1977. Kids who have never aged. You check in, and you stay forever." "So?" she asked. "Can you imagine a better place?" I grabbed her wrist and yanked her away from the game. "Hey!" She screamed and hit me, but nobody else even bothered looking at us. They were too busy. I made her look directly in my eyes. I said, "Spiders. Large, hairy spiders." That jarred her. Her vision cleared. "Oh my gods," she said. "How long have we—" "I don't know, but we've got to find Grover." We went searching, and found him still playing Virtual Deer Hunter. "Grover!" we both shouted. He said, "Die, human! Die, silly polluting nasty person!" "Grover!" He turned the plastic gun on me and started clicking, as if I were just another image from the screen. I looked at Percy, and together we took Grover by the arms and dragged him away. His flying shoes sprang to life and started tugging his legs in the other direction as he shouted, "No! I just got to a new level! No!" The Lotus bellhop hurried up to us. "Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?" "We're leaving," I told him. "Such a shame," he said, and I got the feeling that he really meant it, that we'd be breaking his heart if we went. "We just added an entire new floor full of games for platinum-card members." He held out the cards, and I wanted one. I knew that if I took one, I'd never leave. I'd stay here, happy forever, playing games forever, and soon I'd forget my parents, and our quest, and maybe even my own name. I'd be playing virtual rifleman with groovy Disco Darrin forever. Grover reached for the card, but Annabeth yanked back his arm and said, "No, thanks." We walked toward the door, and as we did, the smell of the food and the sounds of the games seemed to get more and more inviting. I thought about our room upstairs. We could just stay the night, sleep in a real bed for once.... Then we burst through the doors of the Lotus Casino and ran down the sidewalk. It felt like afternoon, about the same time of day we'd gone into the casino, but something was wrong. The weather had completely changed. It was stormy, with heat lightning flashing out in the desert. I ran to the nearest newspaper stand and read the year first. Thank the gods, it was the same year it had been when we went in. Then I noticed the date: June twentieth. We had been in the Lotus Casino for five days. We had only one day left until the summer solstice. One day to complete our quest.

Previous |Masterlist | Next

Taglist?

@gayer-than-the-gayest-gay @the-natureofme @booknerd-3000 @katara720 @ynfics

[penguinwithitsarseonfire]

I Was too Scared to Jump In

Part 3 | See the Full Series Here

Pairing: 13th Doctor x Reader

Word Count: 4,953

Warnings: None

Summary: After Jack notices some stolen glances from across the console room, he decides to ask the Doctor about her feelings for you. It results in a bump in the head and some hot chocolate in the dead of night.  (This is technically a sequel to Mosaic Broken Hearts but can be read as a standalone)

A/N: I was in a bit of a slump for this series because I did not plan this far ahead, and then that trailer came out and I was like huh. right then. and then this happened. Enjoy??? I scrapped using pronouns for this one because they’re still weird to write, so let me know if any dialogue is clunky!! Much love everyone ❤️✨

The Doctor hadn’t planned for a quiet day in the TARDIS, it had just sort of… happened.

She was doing some basic maintenance in the console room; a service on the brakes and acceleration, and was lost in her own world of wires, motor grease, and the buzz of her sonic.

She was somewhat aware of you, Yaz, and Ryan sitting by the steps, playing a game of Jenga. There were periodic moments when something would topple, the three of you would cry out, and the Doctor would know a round had finished. Jack was sitting on the steps above them, casually talking with Graham – well, that’s what the Doctor assumed, she wasn’t paying attention, and she wasn’t one to eavesdrop. That would be rude.

The secondary connecting wire to the clutch sparked, and the Doctor gazed it down with narrowed eyes. No matter what she did, it just didn’t seem to want to do what she wanted. 

She poked her head out from the console and pulled her mask off so she could see her friends better.

She had been right, there you were, with Ryan and Yaz, playing Jenga. She eyed Jack and Graham, who, as she had suspected, were idly watching the game and chatting among themselves. The Doctor zeroed in on Jack. He knew the TARDIS operating system, in the past, he’d helped her out on more than one occasion.

Jack was watching the three of you as he spoke to Graham. He cocked his head to the side as he watched Ryan, as if trying to discern the tactics Ryan was using.

In the game, it was your turn, and you eyed the tower with immense concentration, shaking Ryan off when he tried to psyche you out. The Doctor watched you for a moment, your fingers danced over a middle piece high up in the tower, and your prodded at it experimentally. The piece budged, and you gently dislodged it. You took it out and placed it on top of the tower, before poking your tongue out at Ryan.

The Doctor wanted to join in, she wanted to run over and ask how you were all going, how you were going. She wanted to soak up as much of your time as she could, try to shatter some of those absurd boundaries she had finally worked out she had.

But she was doing maintenance work, and if she left it, she’d forget what she had been doing

Jacks eyes locked on to the Doctor’s, and he gave her a small, cocky, smirk. He nodded down to the three of you, then back to the Doctor, who could only roll her eyes. She knew what he was insinuating, what he had kept suggesting ever since he had sauntered onto her ship.

It wasn’t even that she didn’t want to admit it, she had long made her peace that she loved you, at this point, it was as innate to the Doctor as breathing. But Jack made teasing suggestions, as if the Doctor’s feelings were common knowledge, and she wasn’t ready for it to be common knowledge yet-

She wasn’t ready for you to know it yet.

“Jack, could you come down here a mo’?” She asked, pointedly ignoring his expression as he not-so-subtly wagged his eyebrows whilst nodding over to you. “You’ve got experience with this.”

Jack raised a surprised eyebrow but didn’t complain. He patted Graham on the knee and stood up, sidestepping the three of you on the floor.

You looked up away from the game for a moment, shooting the Doctor a small smile. The Doctor tried – and, admittedly, probably failed, to hide her blush. It was one of those smiles that the Doctor saw you give to monuments, to the birthing of civilisations, to the majesty of the stars, and, to be given that smile too? It was amazing.

She smiled back – probably an awkward amalgamation which more likely resembled a sneer than a smile, but you seemed to brighten to it. The Doctor wasn’t good at emotions, or expressing them when she really meant them.

Jack cleared his throat, which was how the Doctor realised he was crouched down beside her. “What’s up Doc?”

The Doctor hummed, tearing her eyes away from you, over to him. He was giving her a knowing smirk and the Doctor almost rolled her eyes again. She gestured to the wire, which was still letting of haywire sparks. “It’s for the gears,” she explained. “It’s not wanting to stitch itself back together-“

“Have you tried sonic compulsion?” Jack asked.

The Doctor hummed. “That was the first thing I did,” she waved her sonic in the air. “But there’s no give. So I-”

“What about engineers tape?” Jack suggested, and he poked the wire experimentally. It sparked and he hissed, sticking his finger in his mouth. “We could then go to the Medusa Cascade and get some proper supplies.”

The Doctor sighed. “I’m not sure we’ll be able to land whilst she’s like this,” the Doctor said. “Which was why I was thinking-”

“Have you tried asking the wire on a date?”

“-If you hold it down then,” the Doctor did a double take. “What – no. Why would I..?” Her eyes flickered to you, who was talking animatedly with Graham whilst Yaz took her turn in Jenga.

“No reason,” Jack gave her a shit eating grin and he sat down cross legged beside her. “What did you want to try?”

The Doctor huffed, and pulled down her goggles. “I need you to hold the wire and the artron accelerator, you know where that is.”

Jack hummed, and shimmied himself so he was lying on his stomach, arms outstretched so he could hold the two respective items.

“Hopefully with the artron accelerator stabilised, the secondary connecting wire to the clutch should finally give,” she gritted out the final words as she stuck her sonic at it, putting in all her energy into repairing the wire.

It began mending, tendrils from the base of the wire reached out to its counterpart, and the Doctor watched as the wire began to stitch itself together.

There was a beat, a moment where the only thing the Doctor could hear was the whir of her sonic, and the repair of the wire.

Then Jack said, very softly. “So, Y/N.”

The Doctor screwed up her face slightly, but remained concentrated on what she was doing. “What about Y/N?”

Jack was silent for a long moment, long enough for the Doctor to believe that he had dropped it. The wire continued to stich itself together, and the Doctor watched as the little sparks turned into energy that spurred it along.

Jack then spoke. “When’re you going to tap that?”

The Doctor tapped her sonic against the wire, purposely misunderstanding him. She hummed speculatively. “I don’t think that did much help.”

Jack scoffed. “Alright then, play that game. You knew exactly what I meant.”

The Doctor eyed him disapprovingly, which probably didn’t come across because of – well, because of the massive goggles hiding her eyes. “It’s derogatory.”

“Ah, this is the sort of banter I missed,” Jack gave her a cheeky grin. “Like the good old days, talking about a plucky young human you’re in love with and everything.”

The Doctor chewed her lip at that, turning away from him and pooling all her attention on the wire. In the background she heard you cry out triumphantly. A small, pleased smile ghosted across her face at the sound. She was glad you were happy.

Jack sighed. “Okay, so I see that approach isn’t working. I’ll do what Graham suggested then.”

The Doctor turned to Jack suddenly. “What Graham suggested? What do you mean – does he know?”

Jack’s defeated look grew into a grin as triumphant as the one the Doctor assumed you were currently wearing. The Doctor deflated, instantly realising what he had done. He said one, single word. “Gotcha.”

The Doctor ground her teeth and turned back to the wire, furious that her old friend knew her so well, that he had so easily managed to trick her into revealing – however subtly, her feelings for you. She wasn’t ready for her fam to know, which, by extension of Jack being here, automatically included him.

So what if the Doctors eyes lingered on you a little bit longer than the others, or that she looked for your approval more often, or that her hands ghosted over your person whenever she was allowed the opportunity. It wasn’t of any consequence to any of you, not yet.

The Doctor wanted to hold her love for you close to her, let herself work it out, work out what she needed from this, from you. She couldn’t do anything until she worked that out, it wouldn’t be fair to her, and it would be completely cruel to you. You deserved better than that.

No, the Doctor wanted to go in completely prepped, completely ready.

So Jack? Saying these things? Doing these things?

It was throwing the Doctor out into a loop.

“Aw Doc, I didn’t mean it like that,” Jack said, and he nudged her shoulder. “I’m sorry okay, I’m just teasing.”

The Doctor gave him an unconvinced look, but the drama was probably lost. Again – the goggles.

Jack sighed. “All I’m saying,” he said, his tone measured, like he was talking down a scared wild animal. “Is that it’s clear Y/N loves you back, is all.”

The Doctor’s mind went haywire. That you loved her back. Out of all her fretting, all her worrying, she hadn’t even gotten to the part where you could return her feelings. She had predicted, once she realised all the kinks and details so she could actually do right by you, that she would… woo you.

But you loved her back?

The Doctor stumbled backwards, knocking her head against the console. She winced, throwing her hand to her head as her screwdriver clattered to the floor. She could hear a ringing in her ears, and her vision went spotty. The rest of the world swayed around her, and she tried to concentrate on it, find something she could pinpoint to ground her.

Her body was doing… a thing. She couldn’t articulate it. It was a shock thing, wasn’t it?

“Woah Doctor,” Jack cried, and there were suddenly hands on her shoulders, and then another on her jaw. The hand there felt safe, like a grounding presence. The Doctor felt herself latching onto it.

Jack spoke, but the words were lost to her. Something about being okay.. and her goggles? Surely that wasn’t right.

“Oh Doctor,” there was a second voice in the distance, but the Doctor’s mind was rattled. She couldn’t place it straight away, her mind still working through what Jack had said.

Then, like clockwork, her brain puzzled it together.

“Are you okay, here – wait, can I take off the goggles?”

The Doctor pulled her goggles off above her head, and blinked against the sudden light. Jack was hovering above her, his face pulled into concern. His voice swam in her ears.

“That was a bit of a nasty bump, Doc. You okay?”

There was another face above Jack’s, floating against the warm glow of the crystals. The Doctor forced her eyes to focus. It was you.

“Oh,” she said. “Hi Y/N. Fancy seeing you here.”

You snorted, but your face was pulled into worry. “Yeah, you too,” you were crouched down beside Jack, and the Doctor realised that the hand on her jaw was yours. She had been leaning into it, and the Doctor tried not to freeze up as she realised. It would most definitely set off the wrong idea.

She slowly detangled herself from you and Jack, and eyed the wire. She groaned, scrunching her face in protest. It had fallen apart during the Doctors… incident, and she would need to start all over again.

“Doctor,” by your tone, it sounded like you were repeating yourself. “Are you okay? That was really sudden.”

The Doctor stared back at you. You reminded her of a European renaissance painting, all glowey and ethereal, like you had wandered straight out of a Caravaggio painting. She waited another moment for her brain to reboot, focusing on the way your eyes shone in the low light.

She rubbed against the spot on her head that she had bumped, it was low, near to where her head met her neck, and she cursed that that was the part of her brain she had been using to focus on her conversation with Jack.

“I bumped against the part of my brain that was focusing on something difficult,” she said. “And the shock knocked all my systems out for a moment. That’s all, I’m fine now,” and then, as an aside. “I should reshuffle which part of my brain focuses on what. I’ve got three brain stems, might as well use ‘em.”

She ducked down to retrieve her screwdriver, and felt the hot white feeling of awkwardness creep up on her. How embarrassing! She’d temporarily passed out because she had been talking about you with Jack and had accidently knocked herself on the head.

“Hang on,” she heard a third voice, Ryan – and had everyone come over? “What do you mean three brain stems? You’ve got three brain stems?”

The Doctor popped back up, grateful for the distraction. “I can separate the hemispheres in my brain,” she said, and Graham pulled a face that could only be described as his ‘what’ face. “Means I can multitask.”

“That’s mad,” Ryan breathed out. “That’s like, proper alien.”

“Well the Doctor is an alien,” Yaz said, absorbing the information just as easily and quickly as she always did. “Makes sense that she’s got different biology beyond the two hearts thing.”

“Are you okay though?” You asked again. “That was a bit scary.”

“Came out of nowhere,” Ryan agreed.

The Doctor scratched behind her ear, and scrunched up her face. She was embarrassed. You were sitting right there, you face full of concern, and she’d done the Time Lord equivalent of tripping up the stairs. “Yeah, peachy. It happens more often than you’d think. Normally there isn’t an audience though.”

Jack’s face grew in understanding. “Oh,” he breathed. “Is this like Thornian-”

“Exactly,” The Doctor said loudly, because she did not need her fam to hear that particular story. She didn’t need you to hear that particular story. “Like I said,” she turned back to the rest of her friends. “I’m just a clutz.”

You screwed up your face, unconvinced. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

The Doctor nodded dumbly, her hearts skipping a beat or two. The Doctor wanted to reach out and touch you, to memorise the lines your face made as you pulled it into various shapes. “Yes. I promise.”

Later, when the rest of the fam had gone to bed, Jack sat opposite her in the TARDIS kitchen, laughing at her.

The Doctor glared at her microwave, which had short circuited and exploded because she had forgotten that, of all things, you couldn’t put metal in them. It was basic, fundamental science, physics 101, the stuff they teach school children, and all the other anecdotes Jack was currently rattling off.

“I’m happy to boil some milk on the stove,” Jack said once he had finished laughing. “It’ll take a bit longer, but we’ll still get our hot chocolate.”

The Doctor waved towards the stove, inviting Jack to go ahead.

“How is everything in here?” Jack asked, as he started rummaging through cupboards to find a pot. “Same as when I last saw it? Minus the fresh paint, that is.”

“Dunno,” the Doctor said. “I don’t really use the kitchen. Take out’s easier.”

Jack made a little ‘aha’ moment when he found a pot. “Normally is,” he replied, and he placed the pot rather delicately onto the stove. He turned it on and poured the milk into the pot. “Do you have chocolate, or just the powdered stuff?”

“Pretty sure I’ve only got the powdered stuff,” she replied, but she stood and began rummaging through the pantry. In the back of one of the shelves, behind mounds of dry pasta and biscuits from the town called Christmas, sat an old chocolate powder container. There was a fine sheen of dust on it, and the Doctor wiped it off. She eyed the use by date, and her heart clenched. 2008.

Donna must have been the one who put it here.

She gripped her free hand against the shelf. There it was again, that awful, reeling sense of heartbreak, coming back full force when she thought of anyone she had once loved. It settled quicker than it once did, becoming the dull throb that normally only sat in the back of her mind.

“It’s a couple centuries old,” she said, returning to Jack and sticking the powder to his side. “But it should still be alright,” she grinned at him, but he only frowned at her.

“You do that a lot,” he commented, and he stirred the milk so it wouldn’t stick to the pot.

The Doctor chewed on her lip for a moment. She was scared to ask, scared that Jack would reveal something too intimate, see too far into her soul, something he was so good at doing. It wasn’t fair, really.

Still though, she asked. “Do what?”

“You smile,” he said. “But it doesn’t really seem like you want to.”

The Doctor slumped into her seat. He hit the nail there.

“You did it earlier today,” he continued, and the Doctor winced. “Back when you hit your head – which, pretty dramatic, even by your standards.”

The Doctor screwed up her nose. “It wasn’t like I was acting.”

“Oh no,” Jack said. “I know that. Of all people, you know I know that. I’m just saying, we were talking about, or well, rather, not talking about a certain someone, and then you bumped your head by the exact part of your brain having those thoughts? Causing the spasms?” Jack gave her another shit eating grin. “I don’t know Doctor, perhaps it’s telling you something.”

The Doctor puffed out a strand of her that had fallen into her face. “I think it’s telling you to stop talking.”

“Is every face of yours like this? Or is it just because of me?” Jack asked, but he was still grinning.

Her past face, the face that had met Jack, would probably have had a witty answer. In hindsight, the Doctor could have seen that face, with its big ears and smart mouth, saying ‘It’s all just for you’, but this face, her current one, with her blonde hair and affinity for rainbows, didn’t have a clue.

“I don’t know Jack,” she groaned, and rubbed a hand down her face. “Maybe? I’m not good at talking in this face.”

Jack snorted. “Yeah, you made that obvious when you decided to hit your head rather than talk about your feelings.”

“I didn’t choose to do that,” The Doctor protested. “It just happened.”

“Hey, hey, I know,” Jack defended. “I’m just saying, lucky coincidence.” He stirred the milk again, and the Doctor watched it froth and bubble. “Do you want to talk about it now?”

The Doctor considered it for a moment. She knew that she was the only one who could work out what she needed, if she would actually be good for you – if you actually loved her back.

But talking… talking was important, she needed to get better at it, she knew she did.

So she sighed, and went to the cupboard that she was pretty sure stored some mugs. She stood on her tip toes, cursing the height of everything around her, and managed to grasp two mugs. They were plain, and the Doctor was grateful for that, she didn’t want to find anything else that held memories.

“Yeah,” she said, and she placed the mugs on the bench next to the hot chocolate powder. “I think I probably should.”

Jack gave her a delighted, if surprised, smile. “Yeah? Oh I love that. Doctor, I think that’s character growth.”

She gave him a small, wry, smile. “Well, I did tell you I upgraded.”

The milk bubbled and Jack took the pot off of the heat. He carefully poured it into the two mugs, and the Doctor distributed a generous helping of powder into each one, stirring vigorously.

“So,” Jack said. “Y/N.”

“Y/N.”

“How long’s that been going on for?”

The Doctor hummed, contemplating the question. “Are you asking when I realised it was love? Because that wasn’t too long ago, but honestly, I think I’ve always loved Y/N.”

“You’re not scared of the word ‘love’,” Jack noticed, and he took a sip of his hot chocolate. “That’s new.”

The Doctor snorted. “No, I am. It’s just… well, it feels right. Nothing else does, but loving Y/N? Yeah, that feels right.”

Jack nodded and began walking out of the kitchen, the Doctor followed. They meandered through the hallways of the TARDIS, with her softly thrumming beside them. Jack brushed his hand against the wall, a small smile on his face. “I’ve missed this,” he said, and his voice sounded full of wonder. “It’s been so long.”

“It has,” the Doctor agreed, and she took a small sip of her hot chocolate. It was warm, and there was a slight hint of peppermint in it. It was nice.

The TARDIS was feeling kind tonight, because she easily lead them to the console room. The Doctor had parked over Kasterbos V, a star that was just being born. According to the Doctor’s calculations, it would end up becoming this star systems sun, but she had never travelled here before, so she didn’t quite know for sure.

They sat on the threshold of the TARDIS, dangling their legs into deep space, and watched the burning, bright fires of the tiny star dance and throw themselves into the air, slowly forming a giant which would warm billions for the millennia to come.

“So, Y/N,” Jack said, and the Doctor sighed. She had almost forgotten what they had been talking about.

Almost. You took up too much of her thoughts to forget it completely.

The Doctor hummed, offering Jack a moment to continue.

“If ‘love’ is the right word,” he drummed his fingers against the mug, as if trying to work out how to say what he was thinking, or, rather, knowing him, if he should say what he was thinking. “Why haven’t you said anything?”

“You don’t know I haven’t said anything.”

“I’ve seen how Y/N looks at you,” Jack countered. “Doesn’t know anything.”

The Doctor let out a breath. Jack was right, of course. You didn’t know how the Doctor felt, she’d been doing her hardest to make sure you wouldn’t know.

“It’s complicated,” the Doctor said, after a moment. “There’s a lot to consider.”

“Ah,” Jack said, and he took another sip of his hot chocolate, a small smile of satisfaction forming. “So you’re stalling.”

The Doctor spluttered. “What? I am not.”

“You are,” Jack repeated. “I’ve seen you do this before, and we all know how that ended.”

The Doctor huffed, ignoring the pang in her hearts at the mention of her, that wonderful girl from another life, another century. “This is different.”

“Of course it’s different,” Jack agreed. “Rose and Y/N aren’t the same person,”

The Doctor tried to protest, it was so jarring hearing a name from so many lifetimes ago. Sometimes she forgot just how long ago she had met Jack, and how old the two of them were now.

“You’re going to love them in different ways,” Jack continued. “Hell, I bet you still love Rose,” the Doctor gawked, but Jack ignored her. “Just like you still love Martha, and Donna, and me, as well as how you love Graham, Yaz, and Ryan today,” he said it in the most matter-of-fact way, as if this was a fundamental truth. “That doesn’t make your love for any of us any less, or your love for Y/N any less.”

The Doctor worried her bottom lip slightly, and she stared out at the star. She refused to make eye contact with Jack, no one had ever said something like that before, she hadn’t even said it to herself.

It was true though.

“Sometimes,” Jack spoke again, and his voice was softer. “I think you just get so immersed in that great big head of yours that you lose yourself in all the what-ifs, and you don’t see what’s right in front of you.”

“I know what’s right in front of me Jack-”

“Then why won’t you say anything?” Jack questioned. “Why don’t you march right up to Y/N and say exactly how you feel?”

The Doctor flailed. “Because Jack! I-”

What could she say? That she was terrified that she wasn’t right for you, that she would only hurt her, and then, eventually, when you were gone, it would only crush her? That she couldn’t be what you needed, that she couldn’t fashion herself into someone that you could be in a relationship with?

The Doctor waved a hand in the air, and saw Jacks pained face staring back at her. She slowly sat her hand back down, ghosting it over her mug.

“I just said my inner monologue out loud,” she said slowly. “Didn’t I.”

“Jeez Doc,” Jack ran a hand over his face, and it was all the confirmation the Doctor needed that she had said everything out loud. “When was the last time you were in a relationship?”

The Doctor puffed out indigently. “I’ll have you know I was married for several centuries.”

Jack let out an amused sound. “I know,” he said, and he rubbed over a spot on his wrist. “She bought my vortex manipulator.”

The Doctor gasped, and her fascination over learning this new information, for a moment, let her forget the heartbreak that came with thinking about River. “That’s where she got it.”

“Uh huh,” Jack took a sip of his hot chocolate. “But that doesn’t count, it not like that relationship was exactly linear.”

The pang came in, that dull throb that reminded her of why she had River’s picture on that old desk of hers, why the Doctor still kept that diary near her in her bedroom. “That’s true.”

The pain subsided, as she knew it would. The Doctor had been mourning River since she had met her. By now that loss was like an old friend.

“Let me give you some advice then,” Jack said. “Something that’ll shatter your worldview.”

The Doctor raised a sceptical eyebrow. “There’s not a lot that can do that.”

“Listen to me Doc, no one knows what they’re doing. No one goes into a relationship knowing exactly what they need, knowing exactly what they can do for their partner, or knowing the end result – and, y’know what? No one should know.

“Relationships are hard work, they’re about compromise, they’re about a give and take, and, through it all, you need to understand that your partner isn’t perfect, and they’re going to make mistakes. Just like you will too. You balance each-others best qualities, and your worst qualities.

“The point of relationships is that you care about one another to do what’s right. Sometimes what’s right is to make it work, to help one another and support one another. Sometimes what’s right is to let the other go.

“But I don’t think you should let Y/N go before you’ve even tried. That’s not like you Doc, I didn’t even know it was in your vocabulary.”

“What,” The Doctor said, focusing on the last thing Jack said so she could try to process the rest of it. “Try is definitely in my vocabulary. It’s my M.O, my middle name, if you will. The Try Doctor – no, wait,” she scrunched up her face. “That makes it sound like my first name, oh-”

“Then try, Doctor,” Jack said. “C’mon man, what’s holding you back?”

The Doctor froze mid-speech.

What’s holding you back?

The Doctor thought about your smile, soft and warm in the orange glow of the TARDIS’ crystals, a smile that seemed to be reserved just for her.

“I’m scared,” she spoke in a small voice. “I’m scared of how much I need Y/N. I’m scared of what I’ll do when I lose-”

There was a hand on her knee, and the Doctor realised she had curled in on herself – when had that happened? She forced her body to relax, and went back to dangling her legs out of the TARDIS.

Jack looked at her, truly looked at her, like he did when he had first decided to split apart from her, so many years ago, when they first fought daleks together. “We all are, Doctor,” he gave her a small smile. “What is it you always say, about fear? It’s a superpower isn’t it? Keeps you alive.”

“I’m not worried about being alive right now.”

“No,” Jack agreed. “But that doesn’t make you fear bad. It tells you that you care, that you want it to work out with Y/N. That’s a good thing.”

The Doctor looked at Jack, almost desperately.  “What do I do then?”

Jack smiled at her, as if the answer were clear as day. “You do what you always do Doc, you take a leap of faith.”

A leap of faith?

Could she do that?. For you, she reckoned she could do just about anything. Which was the terrifying thing.

But maybe Jack was right. A give and take, a compromise, a balancing act.

A leap of faith?

The Doctor hardened her resolve. For you?

She could do that.

Tag List: @fictionalhoomanofnowhere​ @dreamer7black​  @fabulouspotatosister​

[solalunar-eclipse]

Scars You Can’t See - Chapter 8

Chapter title: Countdown

Word count: about 3500 words

Author’s Note: I tried to make this one slightly more light-hearted, but we’ll see if that worked out! Also writing fight scenes is difficult.

First | Previous | Next

...

At this rate, it was honestly a miracle that Tails hadn’t had to buy a new carpet yet.

Thankfully for Sonic’s sanity, his little brother’s determination to preserve their house meant that he’d been given lots of free rein to run around outside whenever he felt like leaving. He’d also been given fewer chores lately, as Tails knew from experience that Sonic did not thrive on order and routine like he did.

It had been three days since their visit from G.U.N. and their last contact from Omega- and Team Dark in general. Though he never said as much, Sonic was really having an issue with the fact that Tails had gotten to contact his friend twice by now, while he hadn’t heard from Shadow in ages. He tried his best not to worry, but it had just been such a long time since he’d spoken with the other hedgehog.

And Omega had said that Shadow was struggling...had practically had to relive one of his most traumatic memories….

Sonic decided that he didn’t care about any of the hybrid’s usual thoughts about expressing emotions or vulnerability- the second he got to see Shadow for real, that guy wouldn’t be able to escape the hug he had coming. The hero was practically determined to drag his friend (because they were friends, no matter what Shadow might say) to a therapist, too, since Chaos knew the guy needed it.

The blue hedgehog slowed down considerably and began to stalk through the forest instead, trying to get the majority of his anger out through his legs and movement. It wouldn’t do for Tails to see him like this…

Sonic’s thoughts circled back to how his hands were tied by what he’d promised Shadow- the hybrid had been so insistent, but now Sonic regretted agreeing not to go after G.U.N. Truthfully, the only reason he hadn’t broken his promise already was because while Tails was an incredibly clever and talented person, he could never forgive himself if the young fox got hurt. Otherwise, he would absolutely have long since blasted into G.U.N.’s headquarters, grabbed the commander by the front of his military uniform and told him in no uncertain terms that he had better stop hunting Team Dark and he’d better do it immediately. The hero had had enough of his friends suffering while he was forced to sit safe at home and wait.

His phone buzzed then, pulling him out of his tangled web of thoughts. Tugging it out of his windswept mess of quills, he saw that it was Tails calling and of course picked up immediately.

“Yeah, lil’ bro, what’s up?” he asked, hoping that most of the frustration had left his voice by now.

“Uh, Sonic?” the fox said, sounding pretty tense himself. “Since those agents came to our house a couple of days ago, I managed to hack into G.U.N.’s main server and now I can see some of what they’re doing- mostly where the organisation's sending people and all that.”

“Epic!” Sonic cheered. He began to wonder- could they use this to help their fugitive friends?

“Well, yeah, it would be...except that they’re sending an entire squad to our house. Like, right now.”

His grin froze in place. A squad of soldiers? The hero almost felt a grim sort of delight in that- finally, he’d be able to vent some of his frustration on the organization that had caused this whole mess. He hoped the house would remain standing, though. Tails had built it around a tree from scratch and was really proud of it. 

Sonic decided he’d work that out once he got home, and just a moment later, a sonic boom exploded across the landscape as he took off. 

…

Once the hero arrived at home, the duo began to set up the house’s various defense mechanisms- since they were a) very famous, b) hated by one of the most powerful supervillains in the world and c) one of them was an engineer, it was only natural that the house would be at least as well defended as a high-security bank vault. Sonic practically bounced around the house as he helped activate certain parts of their machinery, nervous tension running high. G.U.N. wasn’t going to be pulling any punches this time, he was sure of it.

Tails, by contrast, was absolutely calm. The fox was ridiculously mature for his age, and Sonic suspected that he instinctively knew by now when he needed to counteract his elder brother’s wild energy. Once everything was set up, the two built a makeshift barricade as a last resort at the front door, and waited.

Thankfully for Tails’s sanity, it didn’t take long for the trucks to arrive. 

As the three trailer trucks parked outside his house, ten soldiers poured out of each one, while several technicians began to set up some sort of weird-looking prototype laser device. The fox laughed for a second at the sight of it in a way that sent a few chills down Sonic’s spine. His brother could be downright terrifying at times.

Tails scoffed. “Please. That laser doesn’t have the power output to break my shields….wait.

“What the heck?”

The four technicians had begun to hook up the laser to- of all things- one of Eggman’s old power cores that he usually used in his bases. 

The young engineer tugged at his tails in frustration. “That’s so dumb! Sure, it might boost the laser’s strength, but there’s at least a twenty percent chance it’ll blow up in their faces! A small machine like that wasn’t made to withstand the amount of power it takes to charge an entire Eggman base!”

Sonic blinked and looked at his brother. “Those aren’t bad odds….”

“They aren’t good ones, either! I’d never let someone use a creation of mine with a one in five chance of failure. It’s just embarrassing! And it shows how far behind their engineers are!” Tails’s fur was fluffed up in outrage and irritation.

The hero almost laughed. “That’s what you complain about first? Not the fact that they’re gonna try and blow up our house?” he asked, his tone light. He snatched up the fox and rushed them both away from the front door as a precaution- that was definitely going to be their first target.

Sonic pushed Tails into the highest room in the house, before launching himself out the window and curling up into a deadly sphere of razor-sharp spikes. He vaguely heard one soldier yell something in a panicked voice, but didn’t pay much attention to it. He slammed into the ground, still in a ball, and tore off towards the laser cannon at top speed, leaving a cloud of dust behind him as he went. 

Irritatingly, the soldiers’ gunfire spattered all around the cannon, making it impossible to tear the thing apart. Sparks flew across the ground as Sonic careened around it before jumping up into a running stance and taking off in their direction. The air snapped around him as he broke the sound barrier and landed a furious kick on one of the trucks, denting the heavy steel and flipping it onto its side.

Sonic stumbled as a loud explosion rocked the ground, but kept sprinting after a glance assured him that Tails’s shields had held against the blast. The hedgehog smacked one man’s rifle out of his hand, the sheer speed of the blow bending it in half (and was almost certain he heard a distinct ‘why do we keep fighting this guy with guns?’) before he moved on. 

A dozen soldiers were on the ground either unconscious or groaning in pain by the time someone thought to radio for reinforcements- which they’d apparently had on standby ready to be helicoptered in. The blue blur wasn’t sure whether this high estimation of his fighting skills was something he should be proud of...or not.

The fur prickled on the back of Sonic’s neck as a humming noise filled the air.

A moment later, he threw himself to the ground as a red-hot laser carved a wide arc above him, slicing through the area where his midriff was a few seconds ago. He heard a faint yell of outrage from inside the house above all the noise, and stuck out his arm for a quick thumbs-up to Tails. 

A couple of seconds later, one very familiar and well-used earpiece landed in the dirt next to him as the laser swung back across the battlefield to refocus on their shields. Sonic shoved it into one blue ear before running up the side of the second truck and backflipping to land behind several soldiers. “Miss me, guys?” he asked smugly, before smirking and delivering several well-placed blows to said soldiers’ kneecaps that left all three doubled over on the ground. None of them had even seen him as he moved, which was really a testament to Sonic’s skill.

Tails’s voice crackled to life in his ear as he sent another person flying. “Awesome job! By the way, they’ve already fired the cannon three times, so either their luck is going to be great with this next one, or else…”

The cannon’s shot breached the shields, but Sonic noticed as he ran that its casing was burning red-hot, and- 

A shockwave blasted out from the cannon, making all four of its attendants fly into the air, yet in the seconds before they hit the ground, Sonic had time to:

Heave a lengthy sigh at their overestimation of the cannon.

Decide that even if they were working for G.U.N., a life was still a life.

Run around and safely place all four of them inside of a truck...

And avoid the explosion as it tore up the ground within a ten-foot radius of the machine.

(The hero had known for quite some time that being the fastest thing alive meant that he could do some really cool tricks.)

Dirt exploded in all directions, leaving a crater and a smoking lump of metal on the ground. Unfortunately, though, the house’s main defenses were down, and any second now, the helicopter would be there with enough soldiers to take out the rest. And his little brother was still inside...

As though he’d heard the hedgehog’s thoughts, Tails’s voice crackled to life through the speaker. “Sonic! The reinforcements are almost here- we can’t take them all, even if I come out there!”

“Not happening, pal, not unless you’ve got your mech.” Sonic insisted, putting on his ‘big brother’ voice. “Hey, wait- where’re they going?” he asked suddenly, watching as the remaining soldiers retreated to take cover behind one of their trucks. That wouldn’t really help them, but Sonic knew that they knew he couldn’t take the whole organization on by himself.

“They’re waiting it out until the rest arrive...but we won’t be here by then.” Tails said, sounding confident.

“And why’s that, pal?” He folded his arms, keeping one eye on the soldiers.

“Because-” and here Sonic suddenly heard a loud roaring noise coming from the back of the house, “-we’re going to get out of here!”

That was when the Tornado soared directly over their heads.

The G.U.N. soldiers certainly tried to shoot the plane down, but of course, they couldn’t keep up with Tails’s expert flying. Bullets embedded themselves into nothing but trees as it flew away into the forest, a blue streak taking off after it at top speed. Sonic kept up with the red biplane easily, just waiting for the right moment to...there!

He launched himself off a particularly well-placed branch, flinging himself high into the air before landing perfectly on the wing of the plane. “Alright, Tails,” he yelled, trying to make himself heard over the roar of the engine, “where to now?”

The kitsune winced and tapped his ear. “Earpiece, remember?” he asked, and Sonic cringed, realizing that he had forgotten what it was like to wear the little speaker while on the Tornado.

“Ahah, gotcha.” he said sheepishly. “So?”

Tails sighed, but not in an irritated manner. “Angel Island- nobody can find it if Knuckles wants to stay hidden. I called him up while you were out front and he said we could crash there.”

“Oh, sweet!” Sonic said happily. “It’ll be like a sleep...over…”

He trailed off weakly, suddenly remembering their home. “Sorry about the house, pal...I know ya worked hard on it.” The hero ran a hand through his quills, unwilling to meet the other’s eyes.

“It’s okay.” Tails said bravely. “I brought a few things-” he gestured to the backseat- “including all my blueprints, so I can always build us another. And besides…” here he leaned forward, catching Sonic’s eye, “home is wherever we are, so long as we’re together.”

The blue blur quickly nodded before looking down pointedly at the biplane’s wing, hoping strongly that Tails didn’t notice that his eyes had begun to glisten just a little more than usual.

(He did, though.)

…

Knuckles was happy to see them, of course, if a little less obviously so than usual due to the circumstances that had forced the two into this situation. The guardian immediately began to move the island to a new area where it would be hidden from view, while Sonic and Tails just relaxed and looked through the various items that the latter had thought to bring: a spare pair of shoes for Sonic, a toolbox and the aforementioned blueprints for Tails, plenty of food for the three of them, and of course lots of important technology.

As Tails left to go check on Knuckles, the blue hedgehog stretched out on the grass and heaved a deep sigh. What he’d give to know how Team Dark was doing right now…

…

Two days later, he found out.

The very moment that the team released the video, all three inhabitants of Angel Island sat down to watch it on Tails’s screen. The fox had been constantly monitoring the Internet for anything about the other team, especially their social media, so of course he was alerted the second anything came up.

Before they started the video, the hero had been vibrating with energy. 

By the end of the section about the ARK, he was completely still, his eyes as wide as they could go.

Tails paused the video there, as the massive wave of responses was already starting to flow. Sonic blinked back to reality to discover that his nails had nearly torn holes through his gloves- that was how tightly he was clenching his fists. He rolled his shoulders, trying to get the tension to leave his body, but he couldn’t stop thinking.

How in the name of Chaos did Shadow watch that?

They agreed that Tails would watch the rest while the other two stepped up to support their friends, and support they certainly did. Both of their tempers were running hot, and more than once the fox, glancing over their shoulders, had to remind them that caps lock was not going to be helpful right now.

Not long after Team Dark had stopped responding to questions, Sonic and Knuckles sat back down to view the other part of the video. They watched in shock as the peace and power of that meeting was violated, people arrested just like that, and yet neither of them had heard anything about this event.

Immediately afterwards, the latter got right back onto his phone and started typing out absolutely vicious responses to some of the more ridiculous conspiracy theorists. His violet eyes were narrowed in anger as he tore into their ideas- while he might not be able to convince the people themselves, he could hopefully stop more from being sucked in.

Sonic, meanwhile, just lay half on his side in the grass for a minute, trying to restrain the urge to scream. Why hadn’t he done more damage to G.U.N. when he’d had the chance? Why hadn’t he been able to see that this ran so deep?

Sonic turned his head to the side to look at his brother. “Tails?” he asked, trying to keep his voice under control. “Where’s Team Dark gonna go next, d’ya think?”

The kitsune frowned. “I don’t know...but if I had to guess, they’re probably trying to figure out how deep this whole problem goes. That’s what I think we’d do if we were in that situation, at any rate. To find that kind of stuff, though, they’d have to head straight to Central City and hack directly into G.U.N.’s mainframe...which would be incredibly risky on a good day.”

Sonic shot upright. “What if they are gonna do that next?”

Tails shook his head vehemently. “After running away from the entire organization for so long? That’d practically be a suicide mission! Even if they somehow managed to escape with the information, G.U.N. would be able to hunt them down in no time!”

The two brothers stared at each other. “But that sounds like them….doesn’t it.” Tails sighed, looking down at the grass.

“Knux!” Sonic yelled, rushing over to where the guardian sat. “We have to hang around Central City, man. If the team’s gonna head anywhere, it’ll be there. And if they’ll be in that much trouble by the time they get out of there, we have to be there to pick them up.”

Knuckles leveled him with a stare so flat it put sheets of paper to shame. “Sonic. Literally three days ago, I helped you guys escape G.U.N. and we have been hiding ever since. And now you want me to move my island, with the last ruins of my tribe’s temple and my Master Emerald, within reach of an organization that would give anything to be able to take it all for their scientists to look at.

“No. Way.”

The hedgehog widened his stance. “Knuckles.” he began, stabbing a finger at the ground for emphasis. “Literally ten days ago, Team Dark escaped G.U.N. all by themselves and have been on their own ever since. And now you want us to leave our friends, and remember, your girlfriend at the mercy of that organization, for the sake of a giant rock.

“Yes way. Absolutely.”

Knuckles scowled and blushed, avoiding Sonic’s stare after that mention of Rouge. “I guess….if we stayed away from the city itself and out of sight….”

Tails decided that this was a slightly safer moment to chime in. “I’ll try and monitor the airwaves in the area- we can move away if we think they’ve noticed us!”

“All of this is assuming that they’re even actually there.” the echidna replied, seeming slightly irritated at being outnumbered. 

“It isn’t the most logical place for them to go.” Tails agreed. “It’s ridiculously dangerous, and G.U.N. probably knows that. But, it’s also their most powerful building, which means that it’s going to have all of the more recent files there.

“While this video is some damaging evidence, it’s not nearly enough to permanently damage their standing overall...they definitely have the cash to sneak out of this level of bad press. A bigger release- now that we know this isn’t a one-time event- is definitely the best way to deal with them. And what better way to do it than to find all their super-secret files at the source?”

Sonic sighed. “Plus, I’ve got a feeling G.U.N.’s gonna underestimate that team’s habit of suffering to save others.” His shoulders sagged slightly at the thought, but he felt a little bit of the weight lift off of them when Tails leaned against him slightly with an understanding look.

The echidna watched them sympathetically for a moment before remembering that he was supposed to be arguing against them. “Well, why don’t they just go back to whatever place they busted first? That sure wasn’t in Central City.”

Sonic rolled his eyes. “It’s ‘cause they’d be expecting them there, knucklehead. Never return to the scene of the crime. That’s what they say in all the TV shows, right, Tails?”

“Well, while this is not a TV show, Sonic, you’re right.” the kitsune said, sighing. “That’s another reason for them to go to Central City.

Knuckles gave a mixture of a sigh and a growl, stalking back to the altar where the Master Emerald floated. “Fine. But if this goes south, I am blaming your-” he pointed a vicious finger at Sonic- “spiky butt for all of it.”

The hero grinned at his friend in a way he knew got under his spines, and was rewarded with a huff and another grumble. Yet the island still began to move, shifting eastward from the center of the country towards Central City. 

Hold on, guys. Sonic thought, feeling properly hopeful for the first time in over a week. We’re on our way.

[ask-marcus-cally-and-ari]

Only Human

Chapter 15: Ride or Die

The trio had been allowed to wander while the Freaks discussed their next plan. Marcus, for his part, went looking for a cot or a bed. “I’m so f*cking tired.”

“We have a few spare beds in the medical ward,” a nearby intern piped up, looking up as Marcus passed her desk.

“Thanks.”

“My nephew talks about you a lot,” the intern added. “Jackie Ruez?”

“Our small forward. Nice guy,” Marcus smiled, sitting down. “I remember he didn’t know much English when he first started.”

“You and your friends tutored him, right?”

“That was all Cal. I just taught him basketball and Ari taught him how to paint.”

“He’s been painting a lot these days. “He went through 10 packs of watercolors in just three months.”

Marcus chuckled. “I remember swapping his acrylics with finger paint as a joke. He chased me all through school that day. I probably deserved it.”

“So that’s why he came home with paint all over his hands.”

“I had to wash my hair for an hour to get it all out.” Marcus smiled, and then sighed, a look of tiredness no teenager should have had on his face.. “...look, can you just... just tell him I’m okay?”

“Of course.”

“The last time I got in trouble, it was some kids from a nearby school who jumped me. My teammates tracked down each one, took some bats and metal pipes, and put them all in the hospital. In one night. I don’t want them doing anything like that now. They could get hurt, and on my mama, I bet those *ssholes would turn them just to f*ck with me.”

“You know, if you wanted you could ask Colonel Dyson to put them under HECU Protection. It’s like Witness Protection, just with a lot more security.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

The intern nodded and picked up the nearby phone. “Do you want to call him yourself or do you want me to put in the request?”

“I’d like you to do it. I want to call my team.”

“There’s a phone in the break room over there.” The intern gestured down the hall to Marcus’ right.

“Thanks.”

---

“Man, this sucks! Marcus is who-knows-where being hunted and we can’t do sh*t to help!”

A young teen, no more than 14, grumbled sourly to himself while kicking over a box of wood chips in an abandoned warehouse. Another kid, a few years older than him, looked up from their phone.

“I got a lead a few hours ago. From what I can gather, it looks like he was heading to HECU Headquarters. I don’t know if they’ve made it there yet, though.”

“What can we do? These are, like, supervillains! And we’re just teenagers!”

“We could track them. Cally has a bunch of brainiac friends. Get them together and have them start looking for those *ssholes,” a tall boy, likely 17, suggested.

“Maybe we should get some of Ari’s friends, too,” another kid added.

“Yeah. The more, the better.”

The kid with the phone sat up and started briskly typing away. “Guys, you’re not gonna believe this, but it looks like Marcus has some Freaks of his own. You guys know Spyper and Intelligent Heavy, right?”

“I think so. Didn’t Spyper get his head chopped off and put on someone else’s body?”

“Yeah, he got his body swapped around with Sny.”

“Hey, Wilson. Start finding more good Freaks. The more join up, the more chance Marcus has of getting through this. Have the brainiacs help.”

“I think Marcus is way ahead of us. I found some security footage of the road outside HECU Headquarters and just take a look at who’s with him.” Wilson showed the other kids the footage, where a handful of Freaks accompanied the Trio inside, including Count Jester.

“He got the clown with him?” a younger kid piped up.

“Apparently. Now all he needs is us-” 

Ring! Ring!

“Huh? My phone!”

“Who is it, Jackie?”

“Unknown Number. Should I answer it?”

“Answer it, but don’t say anything. If it’s spam, they’ll hang up if they don’t hear anything.”

Jackie did. “Hello?”

“Jackie? It’s Marcus. Are you okay?”

“Marcus!” Jackie gasped. “Are you in HECU? We’ve been looking all over for you!”

“Yeah, I’m at HECU. Your aunt says hi.”

“Aw. How long have you been at HECU?”

“Jester teleported us here about an hour ago. Apparently they were tricked into holding us for the guy who wants to kill us, but that’s been sorted out, and they gave me a pet, so we’re cool now.”

“...I’m sorry, what?” 

“Yeah, everyone trying to kill us is working for one dude.”

“Yeah that doesn’t sound bad at all,” Jackie winced.

“Tell me about it. Anyway. I’m calling to ask you not to do something stupid.”

“Whaaaat? Psh, nah, we’re not gonna do anything stupid. Right, guys?” Jackie said with a snide grin, winking at the rest of his team.

“You worry too much, Quinn. Chill.”

“Yeah. Rest easy, we’re not gonna pull some sh*t.”

“Alright. Stay safe out there. And don’t go near any emo Snipers you see.”

“Sure thing, man.”

Jackie hung up, still grinning. “So. Who’s ready to hunt an emo Sniper?’

“I’ll get the others. Viktor. Does your family still have all those weapons?”

“Yeah. Which ones do we need?”

“As many as you can get. Especially long-range. We did tell Marcus that we wouldn’t approach the f*cker, so sniping is the way to go.”

“There’s nothing quite like exploiting a loophole,” Viktor grinned, heading out of the warehouse.

The other boy nodded and dialed a number. “Hey, Olga? Gather the brainiacs. We know where Marcus, Cally, and Ari are.”

“Wait, really!?”

“Yeah. A buncha Freaks are trying to kill them.”

“WHAT!?”

“Yeah. Apparently”

“Holy sh*t... Alright, what do you need help with?”

“Hacking. We need you to track down as many Freaks as you can.”

“On it.”

“And get Ari’s friends. We need numbers.”

“Gotcha.”

Hanging up that call felt heavy, like the life-changing moment it would be for everyone involved.

“Should we have anyone over at HECU to keep an eye on Marcus?”

“No. Then they’d know what we’re doing and try to stop us. We gotta stay off the radar. Wear masks. Disguise our voices. Make sure nobody can identify us.”

“I had a feeling we’d need these!” another kid shouted from the bottom of the warehouse, pulling along a rack of all black disguises.

“Hey, you’re the theater kid, right? I knew you were useful for something.”

“Yep! I had these costumes ready for awhile but we never needed them. UNTIL NOW!”

“Awesome. Guys, get home. We’ll meet back here tonight.”

“Alright. Nobody die overnight!”

“Don’t jinx it.”

The theater kid knocked on the side of the warehouse on their way out.

---

“Thank you all for coming. As you know, a bunch of superpowered *ssholes have decided to kill our friends, and we, the students of Dade City High, cannot allow this to happen.”

As the student body president spoke, Viktor handed weapons to everyone in attendance. 

“You are being given weapons now. If you do not know how to use them, Viktor will teach you on the way.”

“What’s the current plan of attack?” A younger student piped up among the crowd.

“We go to HECU. Its location is confidential, but our hackers have found it. We also have a van we stole from a junkyard and fixed to be our ride. You know, to make it harder to track.”

“How are we all gonna fit in one van?” Another student called from the back of the crowd.

“Like sardines.” 

“Also, I have a trailer. We can use that for training and extra space,” added a rich kid.

“Couldn’t we just use an old school bus?” One of the engineering students pondered. “Wouldn’t take much to jumpstart it, and nobody would be suspicious of a school bus going through Evo City.”

“From Dade City? That’s two states away,” put in a chess club student.

“What about an activity bus? It’s not uncommon for students to go on field trips that take them across state lines,” another engineering student added.

“That works. You two go steal it. We can take both.”

The engineering students nodded and gathered up their bags before leaving for the school’s parking lot, their bags clinking with metal on the way out.

“Did everyone pack some clothes and supplies?”

“Yeah, but why not electronics?”

The rich kid spoke up again. “I got a cheap phone plan. Everyone gets a phone. This way our parents can’t track us.”

“And they can’t be tracked by anyone else, can they?” a skeptical student inqueried, looking their phone over.

“I was kinda hoping you tech whiz guys could take care of that,” the rich kid replied sheepishly.

The small group of tech students all glanced at each other before sharing a collective nod. “Give us 10 minutes.”

“Good.”

“What do we do once at HECU?”

“Find out where our friends are. By force if necessary.”

“And if any hostile Freaks show up while we’re doing that?”

“Why do you think I’m giving you weapons?” Viktor deadpanned, holding up his own gun.

“Ask a stupid question,” the class clown teased.

“I mean like, one of the really bad ones. Like Painis. I don’t even think our weapons would work against him.”

“Probably run. Or run him over.”

“Let’s pray that Freaks like Nightmare Medic or HOOVYDUNDY aren’t part of this whole thing.”

“Hmm... hey, I just remembered. I have an aunt that works at HECU.”

“Uh... who are you?” the student body president asked.

“Melissa James.”

“Oh no,” the student body gasped in unison.

“...is that bad?”

“Are... are you related to Anita James, by any chance?”

“Yeah! That’s my aunt! She taught me how to build bombs. And tasers.”

“Holy sh*t! You’re related to a mad scientist! THE mad scientist!”

“Yeah, she’s a bit... eccentric. But the point is, she could be our in. And get us better weapons when we get there.”

“Isn’t she under constant surveillance though? I heard she blew up HECU twice in the last three months. That’s not something you just leave unmonitored.”

“In the same three months, she built a weapon that can level cities, a teleportation device, an army of attack microbots, and a shield generator. We could use those against stronger Freaks.”

“Would she even let us use them?”

“She’s a mad scientist who needs her weapons tested, and I hear her boss won’t let her give them to HECU soldiers. I’m not worried.”

“Well…”

“What choice do we have, Todd? Do you want them to kill Ari? Or Marcus? Or Cally? We’re desperate, and beggars can’t be choosers.”

The student sighed. “Alright. Give her a call.”

---

RING! RING!

“Hello?”

“Hey, Aunt Anita.”

“Oh! Hi, Melissa! How are you?”

“Not good. My friends are in danger. I think you may have seen them. Marcus, Cally, and Ari?”

Anita paused, lifting her pen off her notepad. “...yes, they just came in earlier today.”

“Some friends and I are coming to help him out, and we were wondering about using your weapons to do it.”

“Hmm... Come around the back of HECU. I’ll keep the door unlocked for you.”

“Heh... thanks, Aunt Anita. Also, could you maybe not tell those three about this? We told Marcus we wouldn’t do anything crazy, and if he finds out we’re doing this, we’re gonna get our *sses kicked.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“Thanks.”

There was a nod, and Anita, the mad doctor who sent people running with a smile and a wave, hung up.

[starrprincesss]

July 14th 2021 - Immersed in Thought -

Today, like most days, was an especially hard day to get out of my head. Everyday I find myself trapped in my head, trying to fully understand the things around me, and why it is that I am the way I am. I try to decode everything, to look beyond and then come to center, ultimately fulfilling the goal of liberating myself and in turn find healing. But the truth is, it is quite toxic to want to be perfect. To want to be your own therapist, that is why you have a therapist Elizabeth. Yes you are meant to be introspective and cognitive of the world around you, to want to be a better person, a better friend, sister and daughter, yes that is all true. But when it becomes something that tires you, that exhausts you without comprehension. It is not good. I would like to spend one day outside of my head, I would like to walk through a medley of daisies or a trail of tall evergreen trees and not think a single thought, to just exist in the moment. To not feel compelled to think beyond it, to think deeper into it. A wise man once said, "Ignorance is bliss" and too that I tip my hat. For all I wish is to one day just enjoy life without having to break it down to its last atom. To sit in splendor. You know that easy feeling, the feeling you get when you look at a sunset or the stars at night, it's that feeling that I am chasing.

Lately I've been wishing to paint, to create really. I keep thinking about an idea I have for a short film, I can see it in my head. I play it for myself when I'm sitting at my desk, I can see it all in front of me. My hands yearn for a camera, for actors and sets to unfold my desires. I've been wanting to write the script, but I just sit on the couch and watch the world go by me, I am torn between never doing enough and feeling exhausted by doing too much. Which in turn shifts me to "treat" my self, to realize that life is not fleeting and that time is not real, so relax, take it slow. But then just as that settles in, like an old machine fervent about not giving up, the engine starts again, and it goes, kicking and screaming and you wonder how much it has left before it shuts off again. That's how I feel, and it's not good to feel this way. I wonder if anyone else feels this way too? If they feel like their life is on a treadmill. Let me paint a little picture for you, but just before, this is for you, it is to stir whatever lies in your head, maybe there's a real meaning, or several, or maybe there isn't anything at all, just an opening for interpretations. You decide.

The amber light floods your room, from the window you left ajar, a breeze touches your skin. Your eyes flicker like the dying lightbulbs you refuse to change, you keep hitting them once a week, maybe the delight in knowing they'll light up again from your touch is your connection to it, your reasoning for not buying new ones. The day has gone by quickly, you wish you could tell it to slow down. But it's still the morning, what's the rush? You walk out to sit under your favorite tree, the tree of life you call it, the tree where it all started. Mornings like these come easy to you, they feel like a thousand people hugging you. You remember that night, it felt like you could feel everything, you were so in tune with with yourself but lost from reality. It was only until your head hit the pillow at 7 am that you realized you couldn't go to sleep, and that the night had ended and there you were, back to square one. But don't let it get you sad, moments are meant to come and go, nothing lasts forever remember. Little trailers of long forgotten memories tap at your window, they delight you and confuse you all at the same time. Hold onto now, please, keep your head out of the past, you tell yourself. But you feel like you can't control it, like it has it's own timer, one that is out of your reach. My mother used to use her old timer a lot, it was a tiny black circle thing from the 90s, it was a timer, alarm clock and radio all in one. And she would play classical music for me when I was a child and couldn't go to sleep. But in fact it made it worse, I would stay up longer just to listen to the music, the scores would beat through every bone in my body and I felt so alive. I would listen to the melodies until they seemed to blur in my ears, and the lights would dim, and I would close my eyes, slower and slower until I couldn't keep up the fight. And in my dreams the songs would form clouds, I'd see myself running in a forest, I'd see myself floating and dancing. But then she'd wake you up, and the lights were on again, and so was life, another day you thought, it felt so fast. And now you look at the pomegranate tree ahead of you and think the same thing. But you thank the heavens for this life and all the fruits its given you, even if fast and jumbled, there was meaning to everything, and there always will be. Wait for me, for I'll meet you soon, faster than we both expect.

[abalonetea]

Just Keep Breathing: Chapter One

I was partnered with @the-dot for the @originalfictionbigbang! Thank you for working with me, Dot! 

Here is the first chapter! I’ve split the first 10k words between four chapters, and will be posting them all in a masterpost in just a moment!

Summary: It’s the height of storm season and everyone in Hi-Banks, Florida is getting ready for the bad weather. It should be a year like any other - but on the tails of a national pandemic, a new disaster strikes. More than one new disasters. So many disasters that Eddie Carver would like to put some of them back, thanks. He’s just a down on his luck guy living in the local trailer park with his boyfriend. He’s not interested in dealing with the revival of an old murder case - which he knows nothing about, thanks -, the storm season of the century, or…zombies?

Yeah. Absolutely not interested in the zombies.

This black-comedy follows the inner workings of a small town as they band together to survive, and the young man - reckless, mean, angry, written off b the big city folk come to look into a cold case - that might hold all of societies survival in his hands.

Forget about society. Eddie’s only interested in keeping his friends alive.

Chapter One – Hi Banks Florida

“ - increased reports of unprecedented aggression all across New York City. This is following in the wake of Mayor Alex Grand’s assault on his wife. These attacks have increased nearly ten fold in the wake of the recent vaccine’s release, prompting many to wonder if the vaccine was released too soon – should more tests have been done? Could this be a side effect of it? We have reached out to the head of the FDA, Doctor - “

The television goes to pure static, a hissing crackle of black and white fuzz. Eddie groans. “Seriously? I was watchin’ that!”

“Guess you ain’t watching it now,” says Carson, draping himself over the back of the couch. He curls an arm around Eddie’s chest, pinning him against the back of the couch. “You should be at work, anyway.”

“Penny don’t got work for me today.”

“Then you should be out working on the truck. I’m sick of walking to the docks.”

Eddie rolls his eyes. He shifts, leaning up and wrapping his own arms around Carson’s neck, tugging until his boyfriend is leaning down enough that Eddie can kiss him. “I can’t fix the truck ‘till we get a part mailed in. Penny let me use the work account.”

“Bullshit,” says Carson. “You just don’t want too.”

“It ain’t bullshit. It’s, uh, truth shit.”

“Wow.” Carson shakes off Eddie’s grip. “You worked hard on that one, huh? Whatever, don’t work on the truck. I’ve got actual work to get too.”

Eddie twists, pulling himself up so he can drape over the back of the couch. “Gonna rain today. Take an extra shirt.”

Carson says, “sure, I’ll put it in the truck so it stays dry. Oh, wait.”

And, okay, so Eddie kind of deserves that one. The truck hasn’t been running for almost a week now. This isn’t the first time that it’s stopped working. Carson bought it straight out of the local junkyard five years back, and it’s pretty much held together with duck tape – literally – and chewing gum – which might be the next step.

Eddie really is waiting on the part to come in.

The problem is that he sort of forgot to order it until yesterday.

Drooping, Eddie makes a disgruntled sound. “I’ll see if I can’t fudge it, okay? Just, I dunno, don’t get hit by lightning. The storm’s supposed to be nasty.”

“Great.” Carson shoves on one boot, then the other. “So we’re going to have no power tonight.”

“I’ll fill the tub.”

“Summer sucks ass.”

“Florida sucks ass,” corrects Eddie.

Carson thinks on it, then bobs his head in agreement. “Yeah, okay. Let’s go with that one.”

“You gonna be home for - “ The television bursts back into being with a crackle of too loud sound. Eddie swears.

The woman on TV reads off, “ - no official links between the two. Gerald Harbrinks has been arrested today for the most bizarre case of armed robbery the county has ever seen, in which he dropped his gun and instead chose to bite the cashier - “

Eddie mutes it. “Sorry. One’a these days we need to get actual cable.”

“Yeah, when toads fly,” says Carson. “You doing dinner?”

Eddie thinks about what they have in the pantry. Not much, but probably enough to throw at least half a meal together. He’s better at cooking and coming up with things than Carson is. “Yeah. You going to be back before dark?”

Carson shrugs. “How should I know? They never tell me anything. I might not even have to stay if it rains.”

“Babe, if it rains, they’re gonna make you stay out of spite, and you know it,” says Eddie, because the guy who runs the docks is kind of an ass.

Carson grunts. “Thanks for the reassurance.”

“No problem.” Eddie shuts the TV off all the way and finally pries himself up off of the couch. “So, dinner, unless we lose power. We’ll have to hit up Red’s. He’s got that grill or whatever.”

He sways his way over to his boyfriend, plasters himself against Carson’s front and schmoozes his way in for a kiss. Carson curls an arm around him for a moment, then makes a face. “Come on, man. I gotta at least get down there before the rain starts or I won’t make shit.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” says Eddie. “Get outta here. Don’t get drowned or nothing.”

* * *

Hi Banks, Florida is the sort of place you’re born into, you slog through, and then you die in. And mostly, the people are okay with that. Why leave a good thing, right? Or maybe it’s more that the people born into Hi Banks just have a hard time getting together the chance to leave.

The trailer park is on the backside of town, filled up with old mobile homes and trailers parked up on cinder blocks. The paths between homes flood any time it rains and Eddie makes a point of sloshing his way through the puddles until the inside of his sneakers are soaked and his stained up jeans are covered in mud. Splash! Slosh! Splat!

The Calloway’s have added a new pick up truck to the collection of cars sitting out front. Eddie would bet it’s like the rest of their vehicles and the engine doesn’t actually roll over. Not that he can say too much on that front, considering his own truck.

If there’s any chance that he can trick the thing into running, he needs another quart of oil and – well, it is his fault that Carson’s going to have to walk home in the rain later, so Eddie figures he’ll pick up a box of swiss rolls while he’s out. Swiss rolls are Carson’s favorite.

Sweets in general are his favorite, but whatever.

So he sloshes his way through the trailer park and out onto the long, main road that cuts through the center of town. If you keep going long enough in one direction, it will take you to the highway. Keep going long enough in the other, you’ll hit the swamps.

There’s just the one commercially owned grocery store in the whole town. The parking lot is mostly empty, which isn’t a surprise considering it’s the middle of a Monday, and also about to cut loose. The wind’s started to pick up and everything, clouds dark and violent overhead. Eddie scurries into the shop, muttering a brief ‘hey’ to Annie Green when he passes her counter and heads towards the back.

Fitz is curled over the meat case muttering under his breath to himself, which is less unusual than it sounds. Eddie opts not to wave at him, and instead just goes for the cake aisle. It’s so picked over that it’s ridiculous. There aren’t any swiss rolls so he grabs the oatmeal cookies instead.

No doubt that the milk and bread aisles are already empty, to go with the alarmingly small amount of paper product. Up at the check out, he asks Anne, “you seen Roy come in yet today? He owes me ten bucks.”

“Nope.” The machine beeps when Anne scans the box of cookies. “Is Ftiz still back at the meat? I swear, he’s been in here for an hour.”

“Yeah. Maybe he’s stocking up on it.”

“Even Fitz isn’t stupid enough to stock up on meat right before we’re due for hurricane season.” Anne holds out her hand and Eddie fishes a crumpled five from his back pocket to pass over. “You talk to him?”

“Nope.”

Anne heaves out a sigh. “Great. Guess I can walk back and deal with it. If he’s drunk - “

“If he’s drunk, call his wife. She’ll have his ass for drinking that much this early in the day.”

Anne snorts. “Yeah, she will.”

Eddie shifts from one foot to the next, peering out the glass front doors. It’s still raining hard outside. “You think this is gonna light up any time soon?”

“Supposed to rain all evening. I’m surprised that they haven’t canceled work at the docks,” says Anne.

“Ugh. Great. Just, double bag them, I guess. I have to walk back in this.”

Anne doubles the bag and Eddie steps back out into the deluge. He’s soaked in a matter of minutes.

* * *

“Fucking Hell!” Eddie shakes himself off as he steps into the trailer. He fumbles around in the dark for the first few minutes, stripping out of his sodden clothes and down to his equally sodden boxers. Still swearing, he drops the bag of soaked oatmeal cookies onto the counter and flips on the light switch for the kitchen.

Nothing happens.

Eddie swears louder.

There’s the sound of something shuffling about from the bedroom. Eddie grabs the natty tea towel off the front of the stove handle and uses it to wipe off his face. “That you, babe?”

No answer. The shuffling sound gets closer. Eddie rolls his eyes and attempts to pat himself dry with the hand towel. It has a mixed amount of success in actually accomplishing anything.

“I got you cookies. They should be dry. Cause of the plastic and stuff?”

Still no answer. Eddie mutters under his breath. Fine, he’ll just have the cookies himself.

He pops open the plastic wrapper and pulls out a handful of them, carrying them over to the couch – where he finds Carson stretched out, massive headphones in, and a blanket pulled down over him.

“What the Hell, man.” Eddie kicks the couch base. “Move your legs.”

Carson grumbles and slides his headphones out. “When did you get back?”

“Like, five minutes ago. I went to get you cakes, but they didn’t have none.” He passes Carson a cookie instead. “You could’ve said something when you came out of the bedroom.”

Carson squints at him. “What are you talking about?”

Something in the bedroom is knocked over. CRASH. Eddie jerks, spinning around and squinting into the dark of the trailer. “So, uh, that’s not you.”

“Of course it ain’t me,” says Carson. He shoves the blanket onto the back of the couch, swings his legs over the cushions, and leverages himself up. There’s a bat by the front door. Eddie grabs it and passes it to Carson, because he’s tiny and Carson’s not.

“Chicken,” mutters Carson, but he doesn’t look thrilled to have to go deal with this. “We got that flashlight in the kitchen?”

“Batteries are dead,” says Eddie.

“Great. Storm season, and we’ve got bad batteries.”

“Pretty sure that’s not a hurricane breaking stuff in our bedroom, babe.”

Carson shoots Eddie an unimpressed look. “No duh.”

They make their way to the little off shooting bedroom, Eddie tucked close to Carson’s back. It’s at least still early enough in the evening that wane, yellow light creeps in through the nearby window. Carson presses a hand to the door, pulls in a deep breath, and shoves it open.

What happens next happens fast: there’s motion from the over turned bedside table. Carson swings with the bat, effectively smashing their lamp to pieces. The neighbor’s fat, orange tabby cat gives an indignant hiss and jumps onto the bed, then out through the nearby busted window. There’s glass all over everything, from the lamp and the window, and rain has blown in from the storm soaking the bed and the table in equal parts. The carpet nearby squishes loudly when Carson takes a step.

“Oh,” says Eddie. “Window’s broke.”

Carson drops the bat onto the ground. “That’s it. We’re going to Red’s.”

[storm-driver]

*jumps into here* Alright, uhhhhh "Number 3. What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)" I am curious and want to give you one of those questions. PS. I love you 💙

(ilu2 fluffles <3)

oh god there’s plenty of these, but because this is a fandom blog, ill stick to KH ones

I want to recapture that entire sequence where Sora goes to save Aqua and Ventus in KH3. ‘Cause I had ideas for the structure of that whole sequence that might help that emotional impact and pacing feel way better. 

Below the cut because I got a “little” extensive about it 

First of all, the beginning of KH3 is so fuckin’ misleading when it says someone that’s close to Aqua would have to be the one to take the dive and save her. Because that ends up not happening at all, and Sora just does it himself when the plot calls for it. You can argue that it was Ventus’ heart inside Sora that made that possible, but there was zero indication that Ventus had next to any impact on that whole sequence. If he did anything, he was the one that was initially pushing Sora to go to the Realm of Darkness in the first place. But that’s the extent of Ventus’ intervention in Aqua’s situation. 

I initially thought that Sora was going to take the Master’s Defender (Eraqus’ Keyblade) to Castle Oblivion and get Ventus out himself. At least, that’s what I believed when I started playing and remembered the scene from the first ever KH3 trailer where Sora found that old Keyblade on the beach. But that Keyblade was instead used to find Aqua (don’t know...how or why he needed that Keyblade to get to Aqua when all he was missing was a way to get to the Realm of Darkness, but whatever). 

I think towards the end of development, when the writers were done with the Disney worlds and were ready to finalize all the end-game stuff, they might’ve been rushing it. Because the amount of padding out there is in the Disney worlds compared to how little padding there is at the end of KH3 is an EXTREME difference. It’s a mistake that happens often in video game development, especially with big, hyped up titles like this one that have undergone delays and various system changes over the years. 

(In case anyone didn’t know, KH3 was more than likely being developed on Square Enix’s Crystal Tool engine back during 2010-2013, which was proved to be a poor choice when FFXIV crashed and burned using that engine. Which is more than likely why the game was switched to a new engine and development seemed to slog on. This is also the reason FFv13 got so heavily delayed and then switched to a new engine, as well.) 

But getting into the actual writing portion, I’ll put a disclaimer saying I don’t consider myself to be a better writer than KH’s team. I write for self-indulgence and entertainment purposes, and definitely not for continuity or even logical reasons. 

So while I disagree with the writing team’s decision to backend all of the story into the final quarter of KH3′s playtime, I’m not gonna change that in this situation. For instance, I feel the story would’ve flowed better if Aqua was saved sooner, between Disney worlds. And then Ventus was saved just a little sooner than canon, before the final Disney worlds. And then they all went to war after the completion of the final Disney worlds. 

BUT, I’m not changing that. Consider everything that’s happened up to the end of San Fransokyo to be the same in this scenario. 

So how would I have tackled it? Oh, so you’re approaching me?

Sora finds the Master’s Defender on the beach, where Aqua left it a year ago when she fell back into the Realm of Darkness. Something snaps in him and he recognizes it to be Master Eraqus’ Keyblade, despite never meeting the guy. 

He takes it back to Yen Sid’s tower and asks what that could all mean. Yen Sid informs Sora that it is indeed Eraqus’ Keyblade. Theorizing that if it didn’t disappear along with Eraqus, it may mean that it was in Aqua’s possession after he was struck down. And so it could very well be a means to save her and Ventus. 

Sora isn’t really sure what to do after that, but he has this Keyblade now. And he feels a very strong connection towards it and the possibility of saving Aqua and Ventus. It’s almost like his heart is tugging on his sleeve and telling him to go somewhere. Like there’s a voice, muffled and distant, screaming at him to get up and get moving. Aqua’s in danger without something to defend herself. We have to go save her now. 

He stands up after a moment of silent contemplation, on the steps outside Yen Sid’s tower. Just like the sleeping boy did over a decade ago, he raises the Keyblade and opens a gateway to another world. Donald and Goofy ask Sora what he’s doing and how he even managed that. But Sora doesn’t respond and bolts inside, leaving them to chase after him. 

He finds Castle Oblivion on the other side, but doesn’t recognize it. He laments that this place doesn’t look like it used to, before Donald and Goofy drag him out of his daze and ask what this place is. Sora says he doesn’t really know, but he feels something important dragged him here. That muffled voice in the back of his head starts to get a little more clear. But he still can’t tell who it is.

As he walks in the castle doors, the voice gets louder and he starts to see things that never happened to him. Much like Roxas had experienced when he first stepped into Castle Oblivion, one of the hearts inside Sora is starting to react. He sees memories of Terra and Aqua. Of Vanitas and Xehanort. People he’s seen before but long before he ever met them. At first, Donald and Goofy try to get him out of the castle. But Sora stubbornly refuses to leave and starts plowing towards the doors at the end of the hall. He’s about to shove the doors open when that voice is finally clear enough to hear. And it’s asking him to use the Keyblade. 

The memories start to subside and he realizes that they’re Ventus’ memories. He raises the Master’s Defender to the doors in front of him, unlocking the castle’s hidden door and revealing what Axel had been searching for: the Chamber of Waking.

(Side note, this was another minor disappointment I had, with the Chamber of Repose and Chamber of Waking hardly mattering in the final stretch of KH3 and post-game story. I really wished it have been more relevant rather than just a storage room for a body and some broken armor+Keyblade).

He paces around the throne, staring at Ventus’ sleeping body and the strange design of the room. He comments that Ventus looks exactly like Roxas, maybe Donald and Goofy can ask about that, too. But before he can openly query about it all any longer, the Keyhole on the back of the throne begins to light up. And Sora raises the Master’s Defender to the lock. 

The white walls of Castle Oblivion have vanished and now the Land of Departure stands where it once stood, broken windows and crumbling pillars, dilapidated walls and rusted chains strewn across the environment. But it’s a castle that Sora feels he can recognize. That Ventus must be able to recognize. 

Sora stares at Ventus’ sleeping body and wonders what he could even do to help, not yet realizing that he never lost his Power of Waking. But taking him back to Yen Sid would be better than leaving him in the castle, now exposed for other people to find him. Sora starts to pick up Ventus’ body, pulling him over his shoulder with Donald and Goofy’s help to get him to safety. 

They don’t even get past the stairs of the thrones before someone waltzes in the front door and openly remarks that this is where Ventus had been hiding the whole time. Vanitas takes advantage of the unfavorable predicament and immediately starts attacking. Sora, carrying Ven’s limp body, is completely unable to defend himself and the two are sent sprawling across the throne room. Before Vanitas can go in for another strike, Donald and Goofy jump to Sora’s defense and start yelling at him to get up. 

Sora, as he was in Monstropolis, is crippled by Vanitas’ presence and how Ventus’ heart is reacting to him. He still tries to get up and fight, but is significantly weaker than expected. He rushes past Donald and Goofy, Keyblade dragging across the floor in his hands, and haphazardly swings it out at Vanitas. But Vanitas easily backsteps and strikes Sora again, putting him on defense and leaving him helpless. 

He’s still desperately trying to attack Vanitas, feeling some anguish and anger towards the boy, despite these feelings not originating from Sora himself. But he’s still too weak, too encapsulated by this utter rage, to put forth a real fight and gets knocked back again. He’s struck hard enough to send his body hurtling across the room and crashing back down into the floors, sliding to a stop in front of the thrones. 

Sora can’t get back up. He’s too weak, but he’s desperately trying to grab his Keyblade again. All he can see through blurry eyes is Donald and Goofy trying to fend off Vanitas. He reaches out for them, telling them to run. But the image of Vanitas hurting them, hurting his friends, is too much. Combined with the severe pain from Ventus’ heart, Sora passes out with a loud thump from his heart.

He can hear a voice talking to him, saying that they have to wake up. Sora asks what he can do, to which the voice responds to use the Power of Waking. Sora laments that he never got it back, but the voice, Ventus, reassures him that he never lost it. He remarks that Sora never lost his power, it just needed some time to find its way back to him. Bolstered by this vote of confidence, Sora appears above his own Station of Awakening, finding Ventus’ heart hidden beneath it. And he uses his Keyblade to awaken Ventus’ heart. 

Vanitas has easily beaten Donald and Goofy, and he’s standing over Sora’s exhausted body. Ventus’ heart resting inside, ready for Vanitas to take back. Vanitas, all too eager to reclaim what he knows is his, prepares to stab Sora with the Keyblade. 

But something feels different. He looks down at Sora, realizing he can’t feel that light inside him. There’s traces of it, but Ventus isn’t there anymore. He’s staring at Sora, confused. Ventus was just there, what could’ve-

There’s hardly a second to react before someone is screeching Sora’s name. Vanitas whips his head around to catch sight of Keyblade hurtling towards him, barely managing to guard the hit from Ventus’ weapon, the child holding it staring at him drenched in rage. The powerful burst of energy from both halves of Ventus’ heart clashing sends shock-waves across the throne room. Donald and Goofy, both tossed to the side by Vanitas, marvel at the sight. 

Ventus skids back across the floor, still on his feet, standing in front of Sora’s body. Vanitas is still standing as well, the two staring at each other. It’s a long, uncomfortable moment, neither daring to move lest the other react and punish for it. But then Vanitas breaks away and starts running towards the entrance to the castle. 

Ventus yells at him to get back here, ready to chase after, before he’s pulled away by the sounds of Sora stirring on the ground behind him. The anger melts away completely and Ventus turns back to Sora, watching him slowly sit up. Donald and Goofy rush past Ventus to help their friend and heal him. Ventus stares at Sora, recognizing his face.

Sora looks up at makes eye contact with Ventus. They’re caught staring at each other, each wondering why the other looks the way they do. But Ventus breaks the silence and asks if Sora is okay. Sora says yes. Ventus feels relieved and holds out a hand to pull Sora back up, and the two greet each other for the first time. 

They can hear the doors to the castle opening, remembering who they’re letting get away. The four run after Vanitas out into the broken courtyard, finding the world mauled from the dark storm and a dark corridor that Vanitas must’ve escaped through. Ventus is distraught to find that his home was destroyed, only fueling his anger more towards Vanitas and Xehanort. In further blind anger, he rushes through the dark portal to follow Vanitas. Sora panics and runs after him, but the corridor closes before Donald and Goofy can follow. 

The portal leads them to the Dark Margin, where Vanitas finds himself unprepared to find another Guardian of Light, Riku, fighting a mass of Heartless. Sora and Ventus follow just after, both single-track targeting Vanitas.

Riku is still fending off the Heartless and Aqua’s dark form, but finds himself staring at Ventus, recognizing “Roxas” and wondering how Sora managed to get him back.

Sora manages to get one good swing against Vanitas, cracking the helmet’s glass and threatening to reveal his face. But they’re caught unawares when Vanitas baits the Heartless swarm to attack them, too. 

Vanitas takes the moment of panic to slip away through another dark corridor, leaving Ventus, Sora and Riku to fight off the swarm of Heartless. Ventus is only strong enough to provide support, still weak from his decade of sleep. After enough fighting, Riku and Sora use their Keyblades’ strength that they discovered in the Sleeping Realm to destroy the Demon Tower.

Riku is left exhausted from the fight. Ventus goes to his aid, asking if he’s alright, which leaves Riku confused why “Roxas” of all people would care about his well-being. They’re both caught off guard when Aqua, tainted in darkness, appears and starts charging at them both. Ventus is stunted by the image of Aqua alone, completely unable to react aside from muttering her name. 

Sora dashes between them both, holding back Aqua’s Keyblade from striking. Ventus is paralyzed by the image of his friend having fallen to darkness, and the sound of her voice in such pain and despair. Sora fends her off, putting her on guard and buying Riku some time to go save Mickey. Ventus tries reaching out to Aqua, but she only says Ventus shouldn’t get involved. 

Sora and Ventus start to fight her, Ventus mostly providing minimal support, not wanting to hurt Aqua. He’s calling out to her the whole time, slowly drawing Aqua out and urging her to remember himself and Terra. Mickey and Master Eraqus. She’s slowly letting her guard down more and more, muttering things when Ventus keeps telling her about their past. Reminding her of their training sessions, of the Mark of Mastery, how she protected Ventus from Braig and freed him from Vanitas, kept him safe in the castle for over a decade. And she’s finally knocked out of it. 

The darkness lets go of her and she starts sinking into the waters. Without thinking for his own safety, Ventus dives after her, yelling her name and reaching for her hand. She recognizes Ventus and reaches up to meet him, both falling farther into the darkness. But before they can fall any farther, Sora has followed them down as well, and is pulling them both back up to the surface. 

Aqua wakes up on the shores of Destiny Islands, recognizing Sora and Riku. They’re both thankful that she’s okay, and Sora turns around and calls Ventus over. Aqua follows his gaze and sees Ventus running towards her at break-neck speed, practically tackling Aqua in a hug. He’s crying and smiling, clinging to her body and sputtering out how happy he is to see her safe. Aqua’s hugging him back, but she asks how and why the islands are in the Realm of Darkness. Everyone tells her that she’s in the Realm of Light, and she’s free from the darkness. Aqua starts to tear up as well, hugging Ventus tighter and saying thank you to everyone that saved her. 

YOU CAN PROBABLY TELL THIS IS INSANELY AMBITIOUS and very different from what actually happened in KH3. But god, I wanted Aqua and Ventus’ reunion to be so much more than it was. Over a decade apart from each other, I expected so much more emotion and especially some crying. I get that it kinda got saved for when they saved Terra. And the good morning scene was absolutely adorable with Aqua petting Ven’s head. But I just wanted more, y’know?

[slut-kiss-g1rl]

geostorm <3

FADE IN:

INT. COURTROOM

GERARD BUTLER is at a COURT HEARING... in the FUTURE!

GERARD BUTLER

It is the future. Natural disasters have become alarmingly commonplace. Hurricanes, mudslides, floods, you name it. The level of destruction is catastrophic.

RICHARD SCHIFF

To be clear, this is the FUTURE you’re talking about?

GERARD BUTLER

The nations of the world have finally decided to take action. So, pooling our resources, we’ve invested heavily in environmental research and clean energy, and cracked down heavily on industrial emissions standards-

(laughs and laughs and laughs)

Just kidding! We’ve built a giant orbital platform that shoots the bad weather with space missiles and space lasers, of course.

RICHARD SCHIFF

So you’re the genius who built the space station. But instead of just making you the chief engineer, which would make sense, we made you director of the whole multi-national program, despite the fact that you have no administrative skills or political experience and mostly get what you want by yelling at people and punching them in the face?

GERARD BUTLER

That’s correct, you useless government fucks. You can all lick my sweaty gonads.

(moons everybody)

RICHARD SCHIFF

You’re fired and we’re giving your job to your little brother Jim Sturgess. At least he can do a passable American accent.

GERARD BUTLER

Och, ye dinnae hae ta be a deck abote et!

INT. SPACE STATION

Engineer RICHARD REGAN PAUL is aboard the WEATHER STATION when he notices that somebody has stuck a SMARTPHONE on an important CIRCUITBOARD.

RICHARD REGAN PAUL

Oh crap, somebody’s sabotaging this hundred-trillion-dollar space program using consumer electronics! I better draw everybody’s attention to this and alert my superiors!

(falls down and hits head very hard)

Duhhhh I mean I should hide this evidence and tell nobody yessss.

He stashes the EVIDENCE, but shortly afterwards the CORRIDOR he’s walking through is SEALED and all the WALL PANELS START BLASTING OFF!

RICHARD REGAN PAUL

What the fuck? Why would we design them to be able to do that? What possible situation could arise in a space station when we’d need to get rid of the WALLS in a hurry? This makes no-

(spaced)

The SPACE STATION then proceeds to turn a bunch of VILLAGERS in AFGHANISTAN into SNOWMEN.

INT. WHITE HOUSE

JIM STURGESS is having a meeting with the movie’s entire supply of Oscar-nominated actors.

JIM STURGESS

So yeah, we kind of murdered a bunch of innocent people with a giant ice ray like Mr. Freeze, oops. We need to send up an international team of brilliant engineers to the space station to investigate what went wrong, despite the fact that there’s already an international team of brilliant engineers ON the space station.

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE ANDY GARCIA

No way, Jim. As the president, I can’t have foreigners touch this station which has been funded and staffed predominately by foreigners! We’ll send up Americans.

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE ED HARRIS

ONE American. I mean if we’re going to half-ass this thing, let’s half-ass it, y’know?

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE MARE WINNINGHAM

I am also in this scene for some reason.

JIM STURGESS

Ugh fine, let’s send up Gerard. It’ll take some doing though, he and I haven’t really gotten along in the vague amount of time since you gave me his job. Seriously, the timeline is super nebulous, it could have been anything between a week and five years.

ED HARRIS

I have faith you can convince him, Jim. As your father figure and mentor, you know I support you in everything, and if you ever need somebody you can implicitly trust-

JIM STURGESS

We get it, you’re the villain, whoop-de-doo.

(leaves)

EXT. LOSER SHACK

JIM goes out to see GERARD, who is hanging with his DAUGHTER.

JIM STURGESS

Hey bro, the space laser’s been acting up. Think you could pop up to space real quick and fix it? Thanks.

GERARD’S DAUGHTER

Dad, no! You can’t go back to space! It’s too dangerous! Don’t abandon me like this!

GERARD BUTLER

OH GOD NOT THIS FUCKING TROPE. Yeah, parents should never do work that takes them away from their families for any amount of time or puts themselves at risk, no matter how important it is. I’m a shitty father because I’m agreeing to go save hundreds of millions of lives, possibly including yours. Shut the fuck up, you little turd.

GERARD immediately storms off and goes to SPACE.

EXT. HONG KONG

Suddenly the movie remembers the CHINESE BOX OFFICE and cuts to HONG KONG, where DANIEL WU is heading home with some SHOPPING.

DANIEL WU

(looks around)

Aw fuck. A famous capital city in a disaster movie? This isn’t gonna end well.

Sure enough he drops some EGGS on the ground and they immediately begin to FRY!

DANIEL WU

Holy shit the ground is apparently as hot as a stovetop! You’d think this is something the people in the street would have noticed, but uh, I guess all our shoes are made entirely of thermally nonconductive silica fibreglass?

(jumps in car, speeds off)

And our tires too, don’t forget our tires!

DANIEL drives through the streets as the pavement CRACKS and FIRE erupts out of the SUPERHEATED PAVEMENT!

DANIEL WU

Damn, the space station must have done that! Not that we ever explain how geothermal energy could possibly be controlled by space lasers!

INT. SPACE STATION

GERARD arrives aboard the SPACE STATION to meet the team of ENGINEERS.

ROBERT SHEEHAN

Welcome, Gerard! I am an asshole. A smug, unlikeable asshole. The exact kind of jerk you’d think would turn out to be the saboteur. Which is kind of awkward, because I DO turn out to be the saboteur.

AMR WAKED

It’s okay, I’ll cover for you by red herringing as hard as humanly possible in every scene I’m in.

(lurks sinisterly)

ALEXANDRA MARIA LARA

Meanwhile I’m the station’s commander. I exist to be your sort-of love interest with whom you never get beyond meaningful eye contact, and to make you seem hypercompetent by standing around uselessly while you do everything important.

GERARD BUTLER

Okay then, now that everybody’s in position let’s get this 2012-but-with-weather/Gravity-except-stupid-and-with-more-explosions hybrid on the road! Bring on the barrage of gratuitous global annihilation!

ALEXANDRA MARIA LARA

Actually there’s nowhere near as much of that kind of thing as the trailers promised. But if you like scenes where someone stares at tiny gobbledegook on a computer screen and explains what plot points it discloses, we’ve got a buttload of that!

GERARD BUTLER

(puppy dog eyes)

ALEXANDRA MARIA LARA

Oh fine, here’s one to tide you over.

EXT. TOKYO

Giant hail in Tokyo!

INT. SPACE STATION

GERARD BUTLER

Ta! Now let’s look at that satellite that fried Hong Kong.

ROBERT SHEEHAN

Uh, oops, unfortunately that malfunctioning satellite got smashed beyond usefulness because the hydraulic arm which was holding it malfunctioned!

GERARD BUTLER

Fine then, let’s look at the surveillance footage from when Richard Regan Paul got spaced.

ROBERT SHEEHAN

Um well we can’t see the footage of that wall malfunction because the footage has also malfunctioned.

GERARD BUTLER

Wait though, there’s still a useable recording in a leftover bit of wall that got stuck in a solar array panel! Let’s go for a spacewalk and get it.

ROBERT SHEEHAN

Sure thing WHUH OH while you’re trying to retrieve that malfunctioning bit of wall, your space suit has malfunctioned!

GERARD BUTLER

(bouncing off every part of the space station)

HEY YOU KNOW WHAT, I’M STARTING TO THINK THAT MAAAAYBE THERE’S JUST A SMIDGE OF SABOTAGE GOING ON.

ROBERT SHEEHAN

Damnit! Turns out that by the time you’re committing sabotage to cover up your sabotage to cover up your sabotage to cover up your sabotage, it starts to get kinda obvious what you’re doing.

(pause)

Nnnnnot that I have anything to do with that. Right, Amr?

AMR WAKED

(hovers creepily at the edge of frame)

ROBERT SHEEHAN

Exactly.

GERARD retrieves the DATA from the WALL FRAGMENT, but finds that he can’t ACCESS IT.

GERARD BUTLER

Oh crap, only a high-level government official could have restricted the data like this! That means that SOMEBODY extremely high-ranking is behind all this, but we don’t know who!

ALEXANDRA MARIA LARA

It’s Ed Harris. Everybody has figured this out already.

GERARD BUTLER

I have to tell Jim about this. But they might have bugged our comms, and my message may be intercepted by whoever the traitor is.

ALEXANDRA MARIA LARA

It is quite obviously Ed Harris.

GERARD BUTLER

I better use a code.

(calls Jim)

Hey there, Jim! Just thought I’d stop in the middle of this deadly crisis to randomly reminisce. SOMEtimes I think about that old WHITE porch we used to have at our HOUSE, where our pathetic inbred ASSHOLE of a father used to get FUCKED up on tequila and whale on US with a wrench. Glad that’s all OVER.

JIM STURGESS

A high-ranking government traitor? Why that could only be-

ALEXANDRA MARIA LARA

ED HARRIS, IT’S ED HARRIS YOU IDIOTS, THERE'S NO OTHER REASON FOR HIS CHARACTER TO EXIST

JIM STURGESS

-the president! America is soon scheduled to hand control of the space station over to an international committee. The president must be causing these disasters in order to retain control!

GERARD BUTLER

Right. Because after a fuckup of this magnitude, obviously the last thing people will want to do is remove the administrators responsible for killing everybody.

JIM STURGESS

And he’s not gonna stop with these penny-ante special effect showcases, either! He’s trying to chain a bunch of them together and bring on a geostorm!

GERARD BUTLER

You mean the tiny, ugly-ass sports compact from Isuzu?

JIM STURGESS

Not a Geo Storm, a GEOSTORM! A made-up, probably impossible meteorological phenomenon where it storms everywhere on the planet at once! According to our computers, this precise sequence of weather disasters - including the ones which the space station hasn’t caused yet - will lead to a geostorm in EXACTLY the nice, round timeframe of ninety minutes!!

GERARD BUTLER

Fuck! Fine then, let’s do an emergency shutdown of the station so it can’t frag the planet. This potentially apocalyptic orbital weapons platform DOES have an emergency off switch, right?

JIM STURGESS

Well, yes... but, ha ha, it turns out it can only be activated using the president’s biometrics. So if the most dangerous thing ever made malfunctions, it can only be stopped if you can get the president into the right specific room quickly enough.

(shrugs awkwardly)

Fortunately, I have been provided with a convenient secret service girlfriend who can grab the president for us!

ABBIE CORNISH

Okay then, I’ll-

JIM STURGESS

Plot devices don’t speak, honey.

ABBIE CORNISH

Then why does this movie have any dialogue at all?

INT. DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION

JIM and ABBIE go to find PRESIDENT ANDY at the DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION in ORLANDO. But first they run into ED HARRIS.

JIM STURGESS

Ed, thank god I ran into somebody I can trust! We need to grab the president so we can shut down this Bond villain-esque weather scheme.

ED HARRIS

Uh, okay. I have the president right here in this gun. Stand still so that I might fire him at you.

JIM STURGESS

Wha - YOU?! EVIL?!? DWAAAHHH?!?!?

ED HARRIS

Don’t patronize me. Anyway, part of my plan is to set off a giant lightning storm here and kill everybody in line of succession ahead of me, so I become president!

JIM STURGESS

Are you fucking kidding me? We’ve gone to the trouble of pointing out it’s an election year! Do you honestly expect an administration that ran an environmental program so badly that it KILLED THEM ALL to get reelected?

JIM and ABBIE grab ANDY and run for it! Then a fuckton of LIGHTNING starts DESTROYING THE DNC!

BYSTANDER

Man, those Russian hackers have really stepped up their game.

(incinerated)

ABBIE CORNISH

Quickly, we can get away using this SELF-DRIVING cab we just commandeered! Since I’m driving it there might seem to be no reason for us to point out that it’s a SELF-DRIVING cab, so I guess now the audience has already figured out we’re shortly going to be pulling some trick where it SELF-DRIVES. We’ll still act like we’re being clever, though.

ED HARRIS

Chase that cab, my suicidally dedicated minions! Meanwhile I will teleport to the road ahead of them, so I can set up a rocket launcher ambush! Nothing screams “accidental death” like getting blown up by a fucking rocket launcher. FIRE!

MINION

Uh, you sure you don’t want to wait until we can see who’s driving? Disregarding any possible self-driving tricks, cabs are pretty interchangeable and that could in fact be entirely the wrong car-

ED HARRIS

I SAID FIRE!

They BLOW UP THE CAB! But then ANDY appears and shoves a GUN in ED’S FACE.

ANDY GARCIA

That’s right, we sent the empty cab driving towards you at sixty miles an hour! And now here we are, having caught up to it on foot within the next twenty seconds. My legs are KILLING ME.

ED HARRIS

Come on Andy, you should still let the geostorm happen! My theory is that the massive catastrophe which is going to demolish the face of the planet will handily attack only our political enemies and we’ll be fine!

ANDY GARCIA

Goddamn, how is it that each new layer of your motivations is even dumber than the last?

EXT. EVERYWHERE

Meanwhile DIRECTOR DEAN DEVLIN looks under the COUCH and finally finds the movie’s MISSING DISASTER EFFECTS, and they all start happening at once! Ice storms in Rio! Fire storms in Moscow! Tsunamis in the desert!

GERARD BUTLER

Opposite weather, is it? In that case I’m guessing London is currently having a pleasant sunny day HEY-OOOHHH!

ALEXANDRA MARIA LARA

But we’re not doing so great here in space either. Somebody’s set off our self-destruct system, and the station’s gonna explode in [amount of time left in which the geostorm can still be averted + just enough time for a thrilling escape]!

GERARD BUTLER

Wait a minute, according some kind of plot mumbo jumbo, the only one who could have started the self-destruct protocol is... ROBERT! You little traitor, you’re working for Ed!

ROBERT SHEEHAN

Okay okay, you’ve got me, but SURPRISE I had a gun strapped to the underside of this desk and now you haven’t got me at all, HA!

GERARD BUTLER

What was your plan if I’d confronted you in literally any other room?

ROBERT SHEEHAN

Clearly I must have guns strapped underneath every surface in the entire space station.

(opens fire)

Aw yeah, no better strategy for staying alive than shooting bullets in a room which is separated from the vacuum of space by a single pane of-

ROBERT accidentally SPACES HIMSELF! The movie does not reveal whether, in his last moments of consciousness, RICHARD’S FROZEN, ORBITING CORPSE happens to collide FOOT-FIRST with ROBERT’S CROTCH, so one is forced to assume that it DOES.

INT. SPACE STATION STOPPING ROOM

Back on EARTH, ANDY arrives in the ROOM he has to be in so that he can turn off the SPACE STATION.

ANDY GARCIA

All right, we did it! I just used my biometrics to activate the thing, so now the world is saved! Right?

JIM STURGESS

Actually Gerard still has to get to another specific room on the station itself and press a big “YES” button for it to actually work.

ANDY GARCIA

OF COURSE. What was I thinking, we can’t let this emergency shutdown be activated merely by having the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED FUCKING STATES TURN IT ON WITH HIS OWN SPECIAL BODY SCAN. No, we need the extra, mega-secure step of having some engineer click “confirm”!

JIM STURGESS

Look, we wanted to do the president kidnapping scene but still give Gerard a big action climax, this was the only way.

In SPACE, GERARD and ALEXANDRA make it to the SPECIAL ROOM, shut down the SPACE STATION and SAVE THE WORLD!

ALEXANDRA MARIA LARA

Phew, and with one second left to go! That’s right, because we turned off the weather machine when we did all the bad weather instantly cleared up; but if it had gone on for even one more second it would have become a global superstorm which would have wiped out most of humanity. What a sensible premise!

GERARD BUTLER

Unfortunately while we were able to get everybody else off the station, there’s no time left for you and I to escape. But I knew this when I stayed behind. I may not have been a good father, but I hope my daughter can at least appreciate the sacrifice I made by dying in space in order to save-

ALEXANDRA MARIA LARA

Are you seriously copying Bruce Willis’s death from Armageddon?

GERARD BUTLER

Oh FUCK you’re right. Screw it, let’s just jump in a spare satellite and fly to safety then.

ALEXANDRA MARIA LARA

Hooray! I’m not even gonna ask why a weather satellite has room inside it for passengers!

They HOP ABOARD the SPACE EX MACHINA and fly away!

EXT. LOSER SHACK

Months later, GERARD, JIM and GERARD’S ANNOYING DAUGHTER are all hanging out and fishing.

GERARD BUTLER

Neat, our family’s come un-estranged! What a happy ending. Why if we keep the focus on stuff like this, and the fact that in Brazil the dog didn’t die, we can ignore the fact that millions of people just got horribly murdered!

JIM STURGESS

And the rebuilt space station is now in international hands as intended, and they’re gonna make sure none of this can ever-

GERARD BUTLER

Wait, what the fuck? They’re doing the space station again? After the last one turned out to be a city-destroying death ray which could be commandeered by a single nerd with a smartphone? That’s the least plausible ending this movie could have possibly had!

JIM STURGESS

Uh huh. Yeah, I’m sure in real life politicians the world over would instead start seriously committing themselves to environmental policy. Hmmm?

GERARD BUTLER

...Okay yeah this way’s more realistic.

---------------

>:(