#what we playin? || dash games
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@auditioheros âKYOKYOOOOO!!!! I love you, marry me, Iâll learn more about you that way!!!â

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So i ve done the main story in infinity nikki and im gonna stop playin now, before i squeeze the game dry of content and have nothing (new) to do on release.
Time for a lil review/thoughts post


I m not gonna review every single mechanic in the game, simply things that stood out to me or that i wanna talk about. I also wont add more images, i kinda want ppl to see the world for themselves... i ll share more when the game comes out tho.
There s a lot of text under this. Tldr, i like the game i think it's a solid, enjoyable experience with a good gameplay loop, the story isn't for me, and i'll keep playin of course. And u should try it too if ur device wont blow itself up tryin to run it.
Dress up
The bread and butter of Nikki games... it's good as usual. Game doesn't shy away from long skirts or coat tails or complicated ballgowns just cuz nikki can run and jump and dash now and i'm very happy bout that. There's some clipping issues once in a while, but it's nothing major and the clothes we do have in the game are lovely. There s an evolution system for some of the sets, which makes em a diff color.... usually they can evolve once, but i saw Three extra evolutions for one of the UR sets and that scares me. Bcs to evolve them u have to craft the suit again. So u have to pull 4 copies of a suit to max it out..
Combat
Game's definitely succeeding in its quest for being cozy. There's no real stakes, combat isn't difficult in the slightest but i do welcome it- super simple but it's pretty fun regardless. The boss fights were surprisingly creative and fun for what they are, it's just unfortunate that you have to do them more than once or twice (crafting mats)- but they do change what the boss does so it's different depending on what mat u are farming for... and u can claim double or triple or however much stamina u got-le of the mat after u complete it once. So that s rly nice.
Exploration
I actually think it's really really good. Again this isn't a difficult or complicated game, not yet i guess... but with the major goal being "get new clothes" and "take pretty pictures maybe", the open world feels actively engaging to participate in. There's collectibles everywhere, little challenges you can do that are diverse but quick, styling battles, collecting everythin from animals fur to bugs to fish, and allll of this brings u closer to that never ending goal of woo more clothes.
However even if a challenge doesnt give you a blueprint, it's still just. Really Nice to exist in this world. It's very whimsical, as expected of Lilith, and the world has a combination of realism and cartoon artstyle that is just soso appealing to me. It's genuinely how i would've imagined miraland to look in 3d. Shame it's not the same miraland we know..
Story
Hmm... silly is one word i could use for it. Cute also. The story isn't doin anythin bad per se, and i did start skippin dialogue near the end w the pieceys because i want to keep at least Some part of the story for the game's release... but i get the gist of it, and it s just not my thing.
It feels like a story made for children, and it definitely would get a G rating. Easy and simple to follow, there's moments of tension or sadness sure but with the antagonist bein a literal babie lookin cutey fairy with a grown man's voice, or the creatures that i'm interacting with are a bunch of. Fuckin weird lookin big eyed balls of fabric that look closer to plushies than somethin Alive... it's all so silly and dramatic sometimes i can t help but cringe.
Part of it is a me problem, if u just open ur heart and free urself from the cringe the story is fine. It's just a little too kiddy for me and i so desperately hope it won't stay like this forever. My prayers might be answered though, there's a whole war beyond the borders and we have refugees around... shit's lookin bad for Umbrosa.
Other things i noticed that i liked:
The effect on nikki's skin when it's raining, she actually has water dripping down her face... its so cool
Momo capes are actually kinda neat ngl. Especially cuz the fucker follows u around everywhere, at least i can bedazzle him
Npc models look really good im a fan. They do suffer from "everyone is very beautiful" syndrome, which makes some of the npc villains look/sound ridiculous, but they have kid-teen-adult-elderly versions of models (i never see teen models in these games! Its cool!) And some body variation. The grandmas look so lovely i cry
The dark skin tone is really dark, and it looks quite nice and natural.
The lighting engine in this game is just rly good in general. God bless UE5
The edges of the map where there s forest, which u obv cant go thru, the forest is made to be darker, thicker.... i m a huge fan of this idk y. It's not just *invisible wall in front of an open field* nopee cant go there lets explore that area later tee hee. And it looks good to boot.
Camera function is p robust, has more options for changin brightness/saturation/contrast etc which i feel Shining Nikki lacks.
Some of the creature designs are so good man i looove themm <3.... the pieces are awful tho. Ok creature design is a hit and miss sometimes but the stray hatty? Peak. All the weirdy fashionable animals? Peak.
Bein able to quick switch thru ur saved sets while in the overworld is real neat
Oke that was it. Bye
#infinity nikki#if i was a reviewer i d put more effort into the presentation of this game but#im not and its 4 am so
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âYouâre a diseaseâ. âYouâd know. Didnât you start the plague?â
Homer takes a wild swing at Severen who leans back away from him, dodging the blow, but overbalancing his chair, spilling himself out of it. Splayed on the floor, the cowboy rolls his eyes as Homer over zealously laughs at his expense.
âEat it up, cause itâs the only thing youâre gettinâ aânight!â Declaration made, Severen sits up and makes to grab his elder. Homer barely succeeds in dashing back out of reach, feeling the close swipe whisk through the air between them.
Homer is usually not one for physical games, especially ones involving the renowned cheat, yet he remains engaged. Staying just out of grasp, he taunts Severen, who becomes more and more agitated when unable to get a grip on the smaller creature. It is difficult to tell if one is indulging the other in these antics; holding back just enough to keep them slightly less than equal. Regardless, it is ended by Severen frustratedly tackling Homer in a bear hug. He digs his rough knuckles into the mess of dirty, chestnut hair, giving the boy-thing a searing noogie. Homer thrashes his legs wildly, kicking one of the table legs. The table jostles violently, nearly tipping the objects upon it, earning the roughhousing miscreants a sharp bark of reproach from Diamondback.
âHey ! Knock it off !â She snaps, they desist, Severen releasing his quarry who jumps to his feet and dusts himself off; giving Severen a sharp kick in the ribs.
âWe was only playinââ the younger of the two grumbles from the ground, massaging his side. He catches the blondeâs narrowed glare and doubles down with an aggressive scowl.
âSeveren, ainât you already grown? Werenât you raised by the time we met?â Before the addressed can answer, Jesse interjects. âOnly thing that raised that boy was hell itselfâ he says lighting the end of a cigarette. Itâs subtle, but he shoots Severen a half smirk of allegiance that drops as soon he pulls the cigarette away to exhale.
âAlrightâ, the Savage One huffs, rising up and straightening his jacket, âI can tell when I ainât wantedâ. He gives those gathered a dirty look and heads for the door. âIf you could tell that, you woulda left hours agoâ, Homer retorts, the soft lilt of his boyish voice adding a scathing edge to his words. Severen glares over his shoulder at the youthful seeming creature, curling his lip in a snarl. He grabs the knob of the door, ready to throw it open, pausing just a moment.
âNeed anythinâ while Iâm outâ
Even when playing at being a suffering martyr, it is impossible to shirk his self appointed duty. They each played a role, an irreplaceable part of a united whole. It was what gave them strength, it was what made them invincible.
âNo, enjoy yourself Severânâ. The Silvered One speaks without facing his longtime companion. They say more in quiet ways to one another than out loud. Theirâs is a language that goes unspoken, a mutual understanding that is simply known.
âDonât be out too longâ Diamondback issues her customary warning, always the sameâ if not phrased a little differently for each. Twisting the handle, Severen opens the door a crack before Homer gets in the last word.
âYou owe me a new bookâ.
He dumps the two uneven halves of the ruined text onto the coffee table by the couch he has slumped on. âYa?â Severen mutters, glancing at the object that had instigated their row, âonly if you admit that was a clean kick!â He ducks out the door just as Homer hurls the mangled book at him, the heavy thump followed by Severenâs muffled laughter on the other side.
If he hadnât believed there was a chance that the indolent cretin would make good on his delivery, Homer would have been more genuinely upset. Not that he wasnât currently, but there was a part of himâ hard as it might be to admitâ that knew even as insufferable as the cowboy could be, he owed everything to having been taken in by him and Jesse. That was something he would put up with a thousand Severenâs for. It meant everything to him to have a family again, to be wanted by others. Accepted, maybe lovedâ though none of them spoke in those words.
For the most part, they didnât need to. Love was something most admitted to, but they intrinsically knew the bond they shared. There would be nothing to gain and all to lose were it severed. They were pieces of a whole that knew no endâ would never know one. So squabble as they might, as families often did, there was no parting ways. Should theyâcould theyâit would be an eternal suffering, perhaps more than that. It would be a death undying. A wound that would never heal, never finish bleeding, one that would be suffered endlessly. It would be better to die alongside the others.
âYou want in on this?â Jesse called out from the table.
The repetitious sound of shuffling broke through Homerâs reverie, the eldest of them having gotten lost in his thoughts. Blinking, he stares back at the two remaining, noting the calculating ways in which they watch. They think they are the only ones who are perceptive of their âchildrenâsâ emotions, but they too are studied. No action goes unnoticed by any.
âSureâ, he agrees, rising to take the seat offered, listening to the soft shush-shush of the plasticized paper sliding over the tableâs surface. He had nothing better to do now, his book a ruin after the show off sliced his spur through it, but he knows it is more the despondent look upon his face that caused the two to call him over.
Homer is aware that he has never quite overcome the overwhelming loneliness that plagued him over the decades he spent on the streets. They have tried to show him patience and companionship, none of it is ever quite enough. He doesnât know if it ever can be. There is something more he feels he needs. A perfect piece to bridge the gap he feels inside. He doesnât know if one even exists. Sometimes heâs not sure he wants it to. When one has lived with a particular horror for long enough, it becomes its own strange comfort. Were he to reckon with the vestiges of his past, be whole on his own, would he even need this family then? Would they still be a family were he to have his ownâŚcompanion?
He must have been drifting again, because he feels The Pale Oneâs cold fingers wrap around his wrist. She gives him a gentle squeeze and Homer responds with the minutest of grins, sliding his cards toward himself. He doesnât need to ask what they are playing, itâs always poker with Jesse. Diamondback can sometimes coax the boys into Hearts, or Gin Rummy, hell even Severen took a shine to dice, but Jesse always stuck to one game. At a glance, Homer slides two cards to Jesse, Diamond passing back one. Dutifully, he deals them back fresh cards and they silently study their hands.
âCan I get oneâa those?â Homer asks Jesse, putting his Jack by the Queen. Jesse slips another cigarette from the pack and lights it off his own, handing it over as he mulled over his five cards.
âYou sure you shuffled these?â Diamondback mutters, her comment seeming calculated, but she of all is the hardest to read. Maybe it was her time as an actress, or perhaps a side effect of her own turning, but neither man can get a good take on if she is bluffing or not. Casually, she tosses in a handful of change, poker chips in short supply. Homer looks at what is piled beside him and matches, though he has a needling feeling that he probably has the worst hand of the three. He takes a long drag on his cigarette and lets the smoke drift from his mouth.
âRaiseâ Jesse informs them, tossing in a stack of silver. âBullshitâ Diamondback laughs. Her lover gives her a lopsided grin, and Homer can see a slight awkwardness to it. Diamondback catches the same mistaken tell. They each double down to force him out, but Jesse isnât ready to be cut short. The card game turns from one of skill to a game of chicken.
And ends with Jesse crashing.
âShitâ he grumbles, âI foldâ. Both the boy and the blonde laugh, Homer not even upset about losing his small stash to Diamond, the two merry in their triumph against their leader. It is then that the game is interrupted by the sound of the door reopening.
None had expected Severen back so soon, but there is no doubt of it being any other. Still, Homer sees Jesseâs hand hover near the holster at his hip, caution was never a thing to lose.
The first sound is laughter, loud and boisterous. It has three sources. One of which is indeed their formerly haughty protector, yet he is not the first through the door. It is a middle aged woman who looks fit for the honky-tonk, her friend, dressed similarly follows closely behind. Neither notices the others in the room at first, too busy sharing furtive glances at the man who has led them here. He must have put on quite the show, as they seem truly smitten. Slowly, the women quiet into giggles as Severen closes the door behind him and they catch the faces staring back at them from the table.
The lock clicks.
âOh, we didnât know you was with someoneâ, one of the women uncomfortably titters, it is clear she was expecting they would be getting Severen alone. The other tries to save face by acknowledging the one she assumes is a child.
âHi there sweetie, youâre up awful lateâ. Homer doesnât answer, just exhales a plume of grey smoke. The womanâs smile drops, her hands clutching her purse strap.
âGee, maybe we best better goâ the lady closest to the Savage One says, resting gaudily painted nails on his shoulder. âMaybe itâs a little past all our bedtimesâ. âAwh câmon darlinââ he croons, passing his fingertips over her cheek to cup the side of her face in his palm, âweâre only just gettinâ startedâ.
He curls his fingers into her hair, close by the root, then yanks it into a tight fist. The sudden shock of pain causes her to jerk and stumble, clinging onto his arm to keep from falling. Her reliance on him is a mistake, he leverages it to push her to her knees, other hand wrapping around the womanâs throat.
Her horrified friend is too bewildered to act. She looks to Homer. It is his experience that adults often think that the presence of a child assures them safety. For what harm would one allow around one so innocent?
It is a naive thought, one he is happy to rid her of. The boy-like creature rises from his chair, slowly walking over to where she is still hunched, jaw slack in disbelief, and jabs his cigarette out in her eye. She wails loudly, but he does not care for her suffering. Homer bites into her cheek, blood burbling up around his teeth. The volume of her scream rises and she strikes at his head, but none of her halfhearted attacks dissuade him. Her friend harmonizes with her own shriek of terror, Severen getting his own teeth wet by the sound of it.
There is a change in the womanâs position and Homer releases his hold. Backing up, he realizes that Diamondback and Jesse have come to either side of the victim, restraining her arms so they each may also have a taste. He gives a small smile, having no issues with sharing. It would be too much for him to finish anyway, and the three feed in silent appreciation.
Severen, on the other hand, makes a mess of his chosen prey. She is bent backward, head at an extreme tilt, his mouth to the womanâs exposed throat, having nearly decapitated her with his wide, deep bites. His loud gulps can be heard over their own, and the three know he is only beginning his carnage. Eventually, the two women grow still, what life they had to give consumed by the monsters amongst them.
Once finished, Jesse and Diamond retire to the bathroom, seeking privacy to clean up, though other activities are likely to take place. It leaves Homer with Severen. The latter is messily licking his fingers and picking skin out of his teeth, looking like he could still go for more; even though the woman he had been dining on is in a ruinous state.
âYou canât do anything simply, can you?â Homer asks, though his only answer is a shrug he fairly expected. Severen never seemed to feel the need to explain any of his actions, whether controlled or reckless. He was a being of pure motivation, and little recourse. Homer nearly respected that, though he doubted he could ever fully disavow the underlying disdain he felt for his fellow immortal.
âDid you even get me a book?â He sighs, disappointment rife in his tone. Severen had never yet broken a promiseâeven one unspokenâ to him, but when in the midst of finding targets to sate himself (and his fellows) it was more than believable that the gluttonous brute would have forgotten. Severen snags the bag that had fallen to the floor during his attack, and tosses it to his companion. Homer cocked a brow, doubting the contents therein could have anything of interest. Should the woman have indeed been carrying something that could be deemed literature, it would most likely have a shirtless man and a bosomy seductress on the cover. His surprise was truly genuine to see a rather thick volume of collected short works by Herman Melville.
â I dunno if itâs any goodâ Severen admitted, âbut you got your book.â With that he got to his feet and tossed himself onto the couch. Homer could not help the genuine smile on his face, earlier musings resurfacing.
On his own he had led a desolate existence, one that knew only the struggle of basic survival. This pack, this family, though frustrating at times, had shown him what their life could be, the true joys of the night. Something other than hiding in shadows. Severen caught Homerâs absentminded grinning and frowned, suspicion written on his face. â What ? â
Homer didnât answer, instead he crossed over to sit on the other end of the well worn sofa and cracked open the text; leaning back deep into the cushions. âWhatâre you grinninâ about?â Severen persisted, but Homer ignored him, turning to the first written page and letting the words roll over his mind. He was happy here, content, if not fully satisfied. Perhaps none of them were completely fulfilled. Not entirely, yet the things they were lacking were minor in spite of everything.
Homer could cope, at least he thought he could, for now, if not forever.
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âIM A HORRIBLE FRIENDDDDDD!!!!â Cue the tears.
â Â wow, couldn't even get a six?? and you call yourself my best friend... sorry, man, title's gotta go to mina now. â are they serious? are they kidding? who knows!
ft. denki kaminari, @chxrgebxltmeltdown
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Pop Smoke - PTSD (Official Audio)
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Survivor guilt or survivor's guilt (but also survivor syndrome, survivor's syndrome, survivor disorder and survivor's disorder) is a mental condition that occurs when a person believes they have done something wrong by surviving a traumatic or tragic event when others did not.
My PTSD startin' to kick in so I gotta get high
Uh, uh, ay
My PTSD startin' to kick in so I gotta get high
Trey shot that nigga out my car so now I gotta get low
I ain't no city boy 'cause I love my bitch
Nigga, but that don't mean that I don't love my hoes
Niggas tried to smack me up so now I'm raising hell
Don't try and dap me lil' nigga you are not my bro
Trey shot that nigga out my car so now I gotta get low
They know we bend blocks, welcome to the party
Dot on the head of his only daughter
Then I dunk her head in that holy water
Niggas shootin', we gon' shoot back
Sittin' at the table like Tha Carter 5
They know I'ma do ya
Aimin' for medulla
Cooler than a cooler
Shoota with a shoota
AK on my shoulder like I'm Malcom X
'Cause I ain't goin' out like I'm Martin Luther
Nigga open up the door nigga I know you home
It's a hundred Crip niggas standing on ya lawn
Give up that cheese, give that Provolone
And I ain't talkin' on the phone 'cause I ain't playin' with 'em
I got a K for the cuz if he hit you
If I call Nappy Blue he comin' to get you
Call Dread, that's the new Tom Brady
'Cause he be sendin' shots like it's missle
My PTSD startin' to kick in so I gotta get high
Trey shot that nigga out my car so now I gotta get low
I ain't no city boy 'cause I love my bitch
Nigga, but that don't mean that I don't love my hoes
Niggas tried to smack me up so now I'm raising hell
Don't try and dap me lil' nigga you are not my bro
Trey shot that nigga out my car so now I gotta get low
They know we bend blocks, welcome to the party
Niggas always talkin' hot and runnin' they mouth
Until I kick down they door and run in they house
Have they mother on the floor with the gun in her mouth
Like what's that shit up on the net that y'all was talkin' bout
I put that on my son that I'ma take it there
'Cause where you come from and where I come from I ain't playin' fair
My lil' homie died and I ain't drop a tear
I just roll a spliff and put it in the air
I'm big 092 niggas know I'm woo
I look a nigga in his face like, "Who you talkin' to?"
I need 25k or I ain't walkin' through
I need 25k or I ain't walkin' through
I spent 20 on my wrist and 20 on a chain
I be spoiling myself so I could ease the pain
Digital dash I be switching lanes
I was sitting on the bench but now I'm in the game
My PTSD startin' to kick in so I gotta get high
Trey shot that nigga out my car so now I gotta get low
I ain't no city boy 'cause I love my bitch
Nigga, but that don't mean that I don't love my hoes
Niggas tried to smack me up so now I'm raising hell
Don't try and dap me lil' nigga you are not my bro
Trey shot that nigga out my car so now I gotta get low
They know we bend blocks, welcome to the party
GERVAIS
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i hav created a godly lil treat combo.
grab a piece of sandwich bread (idfc what type so long as its the off-the-shelve sliced soft shit. honeywheat is prob better, but all We hav is butterbread. put an F in the chat, beastie)
get a spoonful of cool whip (how loaded u make ur spoon is Up To You, but no less than like 3/4 of a normal spoon amount or else ur playin a weak fool's game) n smear tht shit across ur bread slice.
get out thy ground cinnamon. put a few dashes on there. not a palsy sprinkle mind u. get like 3 solid taps on there. smear THT shit across the aforementioned cool whip. it should turn v light brown at this point. VERY light brown tho. like. barely tinted.
(4 maximum enjoyment n Perfecto texture, peel off the crust n eat tht underwhelming shit 1st. dunk in extra cool whip if u want or make Sure 2 spread some on those parts when ur initially smearing the stuff on so the crust doesnt just taste like fuck all.)
BADA BING BADA BOOM u hav a soft fluffy lil treat.
#i remembered tht fruit sandwiches exist in japan but none of the fruit in our house is rly fit 4 tht n whatnot but i was like i bet u#the cool whip would match Rly well w the v good spongey fluffy texture of sandwich bread anyway so i grabbed some cinna 2 elev8 it#delete later
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tickets for ; jujutsu kaisen characters reacting toâŚ
playin now ; your cracked phone screen
(for reference your phone screen looks like this đ¤¨)

cast list : gojo satoru, fushiguro megumi, nanami kento
gojo satoru ă
- yay matching phone screens!!!
- this bitchâs phone literally looks like heâs taken it to bungee jumpin
- no idea how he can still use it without cutting his hand but weâre not questioning that ���
- fixing his phone? getting a new one? el em a oh he has better places to spend his girthy thick voluptuous stack of cash on
- people look at you two in horror when you pull your phones out but he thinks itâs because of you twoâs dashing looks đ
- im not kidding like a cracked phone screen rlly does things to someone if i were runnin at someone and they pull out a magnum cracked phone i would turn the other way
- iâm like 90% sure yâall use your phones as a weapon because how the fuck did it get that cracked
fushiguro megumi ă
- having lived with gojo heâs used to it by now
- but he definitely judges you when you pull out your phone
- side eyes you n all that
- heâs a bitch about it too going like âdamn that screenâs more fragile than your egoâ every ten minutes
- avoids your phone like its the damn plague bro what did my screen do to you đż
- tries his hardest to convince you to buy a new one because he literally cannot bear to see that phone suffer any more
- i donât blame him some of you are throwin your phones across the room like its a one man game of hot potato and youâre playin with a nokia
nanami kento ă
- confused
- how the fuck did you crack your phone that much do you fight godzilla on ur way to work???
- lectures you (but wouldnât we all like that đł)
- will not touch your phone w a ten feet pole heâs that petty
- of course his phone is pristine how else would he survive
- offers to buy you a new one but you decline outta pure spite
- that phone is hanging onto a thread let it go
- looks at you horrifiedly whenever you swipe your finger across that screen
- hes sure that one day youâll stab yourself with that glass because what the fuck why would you scroll so casually with that nuclear weapon of a phone đ
(rip this is my first time trying my hand at writing please excuse my lack of comedic talent)
#jujutsu kaisen x reader#megumi fushiguro x reader#nanami kento x reader#gojo satoru x reader#jujutsu kaisen reactions#sr: jjk#gen: reactions#zemontag
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Did this for my other blog, now have one for Denks <3
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Bestie i was literally trying to ignore genshin impact afraid i was going to become addicted to it (bcuz it seems really fun) but ever since I've seen u post about playing it i was like "fuck it, it sounds fun I'm playin it rn" so i downloaded it but I'm too scared to open it bcuz if i become too obsessed I'd have to say goodbye to all the shows n animes i watch bcuz i most likely will be playing nonstop so i can progress n learn more about it, cuz that's what i do to every single game i play lmfaođđ
If I'm not mistaken it is a multiplayer game so I'll get my friend to play it with me so we can waste precious time togetherđâ¨(n bcuz i love annoying him lol)
JHBSDJHFV i promised cat id play w her and plus i feel like its the one fandom missing from my collection LMAO i have like pretty much all the fandoms under the sun on my masterlist đ
except maybe csm and blue lock BUT i rly wanna watch the animes for those but i started blue lock bc all my moots have been talking about it a lot lately on dash and i was like ... ok fine BUT CSM im waiting for the anime
BUT i feel u bc i deadass spent the whole day playing genshin đ rip all my writing wip SOBSS
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A Family Affair | Euro 2020 Football Fanfiction
hey besties!! here is part 8! Part 8 see's Amelia in a change of colours, her friendship with Jorgi explored more, an awkward Chelsea player and a cheeky Villa boy. Please enjoy & send me your thoughts! Love always, Steph xx
Part 8. | parte otto
word count;Â 1569 writing tools; third person until dashed line, first person thereafter. next update; Wednesday 11/08 5pm AEST. Updates are three times/week (Monday, Wednesday & Friday)! tags (as requested by users); @footballffbarbiex @obsesseds-world @abysshaven link to fic masterlist here
Landing in the rarely-sunny but always wonderful London town, Amelia was swiftly picked up from the airport by a man in a blacked out Mercedes van and driven away to her new club-appointed accommodation in the royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The 24 year old couldnât help but feel a sense of home resonating through her body. Yes, Italy was also her home for the last 3 years, but there was something in the air in London that really made her believe that this is where she was meant to be.
Whilst happy that her quintessentially-British townhouse was a mere stones throw from Stamford Bridge and her family home just on the other side of the park in Holland Park she was still a 30+ minute commute, without traffic & one way, from Cobham. Beggars canât be choosers, at least this way she was close to the hustle and bustle of London City, as well as her family and old friends.
A few days had passed since her talk with Fede, her swift departure from bella Italia saw only a small gathering occur at her apartment with some of the juventus boys on the eve before her flight. Constant check-ins from La Cosa Nostra whatsapp group chat, of course the word had spread to the rest of the Italian national team before she had even returned home from Fedeâs place, meant that she was never left alone to her thoughts for too long.
Keeping the promise he had made when she phoned to tell him the news, Jorgi was knocking on her front door at 7:30am the following Monday morning, ready to drive the both of them to Cobham for Ameliaâs first full day of work. He was the only person who knew she was taking this offer, other than the professional staff at Chelsea FC who had to organise her contract, so it was very much a nerve-wracking drive to the suburban training ground.
âSapevo che stavi bene con il blu Azzurri, ma il blu Chelsea è un'altra benedizione che mi è stata conferitaâ (i knew you looked good in Azzurri blue, but Chelsea blue is another blessing bestowed upon me) Jorgi exclaimed as she opened the door to his car and slid in, having stopped right in front of her house in a no-park zone.
âMorning Jorgi, Thanks so much for picking me up - iâll sort out a car this weekend i supposeâ
âIt's not a problem, I'm only a couple of streets away anyway so it's not out of my way.â
The pair caught up on the past couple of weeks without each other, speaking on the Fede situation and Ameliaâs feelings. The best thing about Jorgi was how he was able to see both sides of the story. He valued Amelia's opinion and feelings as much as his long-time friend, Fede. He knew how hard it was for both parties to come to an amicable separation & he was making a mental note to call his italian pal to thank him for letting the girl go.
Ameliaâs first day at Cobham was heavily administrative, spending a lot of time sorting out paperwork, meeting the team of staff she would be joining, getting her uniform, sorting out her office. After a quick bite to eat with the head analyst, Paolo (she just couldnât seem to escape the Italians altogether), she collected her leather bound notebook and followed her colleague to the first team wing of Cobham. Whilst she was strictly working with the first team, she had expressed interest early on & stipulated it in her formal acceptance, that she wanted the opportunity to work with the academy players and the freedom to dip into the talent pool of Chelsea youth, to assist in perfecting her tactical plays.
She couldnât deny that the blue of her uniform was the perfect shade to bring out the blue in her more-often-than-not grey eyes, she felt comfortable in it, she felt part of the team. Pushing open the door ahead of them, Paolo stood to the side like a true gentleman and gestured to Amelia through the door first.
______________________________________________________________
Walking in, I noticed that the scene in front of me was similar to the first time I met with some of these players. With their backs to me, facing the front, listening to every word that Tuchel was saying to them. I snuck in, stood to the side and waited for my introduction which came very shortly after.
âI want you all to meet the new tactical analyst that the club has appointed following a very successful european campaign this past summer, Amelia Whiteâ Thomas directed towards me, and just like that, a slight bit of deja-vu settled in as i watched 30+ sets of eyes turn to look at me. Some were happy to see me, some were polite and offered a small smile, and just one set looked a little shocked and very guilty.
âI trust you all will treat her with the respect that you show me, Paolo and all other members of this professional staff. We had to fight tooth and nail for this girl to join us and I canât express how lucky we all are to be learning from her.â Tuchel dismissed his team, Jorgi pushing through the chairs to get to me.
âAmelia! What a surprise! Why didnât you tell me about this!â Jorgi rushed over to me and wrapped me in a hug that I didn't return. Less than impressed with the boy's antics and sarcasm.
âOh be quiet, you drove us both here today.â I spoke with a smile and rolled my eyes.
âAlways the trouble maker Jorgi!â Mason Mount spoke from behind him.
âAmelia, nice to see you again! Canât believe you didnât tell us in the group chat!â Mason continued as he greeted me hello.
âHaha yeah, it all happened very quickly & to be honest, my decision wasnât final until a couple of days ago. I had a few opportunities and I had to weigh up my options, Chelsea were willing to go a bit above the other clubs so it became obvious. Besides, someone once told me I would look good in the Chelsea blueâ That someone also being the person who avoided my messages, and who is currently avoiding my eyes.
Later that evening.
âAs if I deserved to know you picked the blues on sky sport?â Jack questioned the girl over facetime that evening, keeping their friendship tradition alive and cooking together.
âIt all happened so quickly Jack, I was in talks with a few clubs and there was a bit of a tussle and negotiation stage and then I just had to pick one. Chelsea offered me the opportunity to foster the youth team talent and no one else was willing to cross-contaminate their professional staffâ Amelia hurried down the phone, afraid that she hurt the brummie ladâs feelings.
âCalm down Mils, it's fine! Iâm only playin wivâya. Iâm happy for you - and me too, now I can come visit ya and have a place to stay in the cityâ He joked back to her. Jack had a certain way of calming the girl down, he reminded her a lot of Fede. He could read her before she came to terms with her own thoughts and feelings.
âAre you trying to tell me that you, with all of your friends and all of your money, need to rely on little old me for a place to stay in the city?â The joking tone went back to normal with the two flirtatious friends.
âNo, I'm just saying that I'm happy youâre in the city. Ya know, itâs only a 2 hour drive. I could easily come down on a Friday after training and be back before a Sunday gameâŚâ
â2 hours is far too long to be in the car just to spend the day with meâ
âThat's where youâre wrong, it would be two nights and one whole day. Besides, 2 hours in the car is better than having to fly to get to you. I was prepared to do the latter anyway before your big move back to Londonâ Oh did her heart swoon inside her chest, a quick blush spread across her cheeks and a little chuckle left her lips - unable to find the right words to say back to him.
Amelia knew the dangers of the situationship, this was exactly how it happened with Fede. She couldnât help that she was naturally playful and flirtatious, she often didn't know she was doing it. Normal conversations to her often appeared like a hardcore flirt-fest to anyone who happened to be around the girl. She didnât want to cross that line with Jack, she knew better than to do that, especially with how she hurt Fede in the end. She didnât know where she was going to be in a few years, nor where he was going to be.
What she also recognised in the older lad that Fede also possessed, and she would be surprised if he didnt considering he is a professional football player, is that he was determined. Too determined that sometimes it was more about the chase and the challenge, rather than the aftermath or the reward. She knew Jack wouldnât give up on her and would always be there for her. Was it bad that she enjoyed it?
Part 9. | nona parte
#tumblr tags#football imagine#football fic#jadon sancho#ben chilwell#mason mount#declan rice#ben white#jack grealish#tyrone mings#kyle walker#ben chilwell imagine#jack grealish imagine#mason mount imagine#football one shot#tyrone mings imagine#x reader#a family affair fic#steph writes#stephspurs#italian national team#jorginho#federico bernardeshci#jorginho imagine#bernardeschi imagine#juventus fic#juventus imagine#italy nt imagine#england nt imagine#three lions imagine
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Verse 1: Trippie Redd & Juice WRLD}
I just got a million bands today, 'Bout to go and spend a bag, blow them bands today, yeah, 'Bout to spend a hundred grand today, Lot of blue face hundreds, it's a blue band parade, yeah, Huh, grrah, shootin' out the Hummer today, I'm in a bad mood, so I feel like dumpin' today, yeah, I'm a bad move, I'ma dump at his face, Keep the toolie by my side, feel like Ratchet & Clank, yeah
{Verse 2: Juice WRLD & Trippie Redd}
Shoot out the Wraith, stick up, I need everything in your safe, nigga, huh, I'm with them gravediggers, we gon' dig your grave, nigga, huh, Pop molly at the rave, nigga, Chains on me, no slave, nigga, huh, We been in the cave, nigga, We done fucking made niggas, uh, Take your chain, nigga, What the fuck you claim, nigga?, 1400/800, bitch, I'm talking gang, nigga, We not the same, nigga, Big 14 Great Dane, nigga
{Verse 3: Juice WRLD}
Fuck what you claim, nigga, feel like the KKK, We kill you, then we hang niggas, Do that the same day, Pull up in the all grey, black Mustang, In the streets, I was hustlin', Run up on me, gun bustin', Uh, that's your best friend, that's my main thing, Uh, she give me titty, Tity Boi, 2 Chainz, uh, Get to the nitty-gritty, boy, new stains, uh, Pouring Prince up in my cup, no Purple Rain, I'm throwin' bands, I'm throwin' hands, and I ain't throwin' shade
{Verse 4: Trippie Redd}
Jumping out the bat cave, just like Bruce Wayne, Kickin' shit like Liu Kang, my plug PalupĂŠ, Big racks on us, blue thangs, Big blues, no clues, yay, Your bitch like to choose, ayy, But that's your boo, ain't it?, Take a flick, uh, licky on my dick, uh, On my blick, uh, while I take a shit, uh, And a piss, uh, sing to that bitch like Kiss, uh
{Verse 5: Juice WRLD}
Oh that's your bitch, huh, R. Kelly, I may just piss on her (Skrrt), I'm in a 'Rari, You make me mad, mad, I may shoot up your party, That lil' bitch she bad, but she fake, she a Barbie, But she still know to ride me like a fucking Harley, Ask me if I love her, I responded to her "Hardly"
{Verse 6: Trippie Redd}
Jumping off the top rope on that bitch like Matt Hardy, Why the fuck your pussy ass in here? This a gangsta party, "What? What? What?" Like I'm Playboi Carti, Got my robe on in this bitch, it's a PlayBoy party, That bitch hella plastic, that bitch just like a Barbie, Playin' games with all these hoes, this just like Atari, Kicked up, my feet up, sippin' Hennesy on a Safari, With a bunch of white bitches, and they all like, "Trippie Redd, you gnarly", Viral, iCarly
Verse 7: Juice WRLD}
She on the webcam, like Carly, That's your girl, I'm sorry, She was off the molly, Uh, I'm in the trap, I'm whippin', I got your auntie on my dope, She told me she ain't have enough money for them rocks, My dick up in her throat, I'm goin' hard, L.O.L. to the bank, no joke, You run up on me, you leapin' frog and you get croaked, Uh, huh, you know, Me and Trippie at a show, fuckin' these bitches after our show, Full of shit like I'm an A-hole, cash flow, All the way turnt up on these hoes, Roscoe Dash, uh
{Verse 8: Trippie Redd}
In Forgiatos, drillin' shit like Chicago, This semi-auto, pop his ass like a bottle, Sippin' Moscato, boolin' with bunch of models, Beat yo ass, beat yo ass (Beat it, beat it), Taekwando, Like a light, like a light, bitch, I shine, ho, I'm getting paid, but you will not get a dime, ho, yeah, Yeah, side bitch with some micros, Balls deep in that bitch, ball like Michael, ayy
{Outro: Trippie Redd}
Aight, we done bitch, you know what I'm sayin'?, Big 14, big hundred, 1400, 800, 9999, Know what I'm sayin'?, 150 ra-da, Know what I'm saying?, Gang, gang, gang, Huh?, Ha!!!
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Hi! Before anything else, I just wanted to say that I absolutely adore your writing! So the scenario I had in mind: Arthur gets severely injured on a job and reader gets really protective (She also gets extremely angry angry at whatever happened/whoever caused it. Tbh it was probably Micah). She then cares for Arthur day by day until heâs better. He says he doesnât want to be fussed over but in reality he secretly likes it.
Thanks for sending this, Anon, and thank you for the compliment! 𼰠Fluffy Arthur is my favorite Arthur (I would fucking die for this man!)Â
Masterlist
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You donât like the look on Micahâs face. Not one bit. Then again, youâve never trusted the slimy man leading you and Arthur down the muddy road of Valentine. Heâs so damn arrogant and he always acts like his plans are going to go as smooth as butter, but then they almost always end in gunfire. Thereâs just something about him you donât like.Â
Arthurâs by your side too, but if heâs as nervous as you are, he doesnât show it. He and Micah trade some snappy remarks. Theyâve never really liked each other, that much is obvious. Arthur holds your hand lazily, something he always likes to do when youâre both out and about. You squeeze his hand, wanting to let him know something doesnât feel right. He squeezes back.Â
âJust relax, cowpoke,â Micah simpers, walking slightly ahead of the two of you. âThis doctor's dim. I went and talked to him earlier, scoped the place out. This jobâs on the level. You and your girl just go in there, rob whatever heâs got hidden in that back room, and get out. Easy as pie.âÂ
âIf itâs so easy, why didnât you rob him when you was scopinâ the place?â Arthur retorts.Â
âBecause I was playinâ injured, cowpoke. Besides, heâs likely to go snippinâ to the sheriff, what with him being next door. I ainât so dumb as to rob the sheriffâs neighbor without someone to back me up.âÂ
Arthur sighs. âWhy do I get the feelinâ this is gonna end in us shootinâ our way out of this damn town?âÂ
âBecause thatâs how Micah rolls,â you say, making sure he can hear you. âI ainât ever known anyone so keen to trade bullets.âÂ
âIt ainât gonna be like that! You both act like I go around, asking people to duel,â Micah growls. You roll your eyes. With Micahâs record, he might as well be doing that.Â
Micah leads you over to the doctorâs office. Then, leaning on a pillar holding up the building, he looks around, feigning innocence. âAâright, Y/N, you go and hold that doctor down. Arthur, go get the backroom. Should be easy. Iâll keep watch here, make sure no one suspects anything.âÂ
âWhy donât you go rob the backroom and Iâll keep a watch on the street?â Arthur says.Â
âBecause itâs my job, Morgan, I get to call the shots. Now do this quickly before someone sees us three lookinâ too chummy out here.âÂ
Arthur mutters something but goes inside. You go in a second later and immediately pull out your pistol, aiming it at the doctor. âWhat you got in that backroom?â you growl.Â
The doctor, his face pale, licks his lips and raises his hands. âN-nothinâ, I swear. Just aâŚ. A friendly card game for folks willinâ to pay higher stakes.âÂ
âWell why donât we drop in on these high-payinâ folks?â Arthur says. He gestures with his revolver for the doctor to lead the way to the backroom. The doctor knocks on the metal door and a slot opens, revealing a pair of eyes. You and Arthur hide as to avoid being seen.Â
âJ-just me,â the doctor says. âI brought some food and whiskey for you boys.âÂ
âEh, itâs only the doc.âÂ
The door opens and you grab the doctor by his collar and shove him down into his exam chair, pointing your gun at him so he canât run off to tattle. Arthur heads into the room and thereâs immediate yells and a gun goes off. You hear something heavy fall, but youâre sure itâs nothing. Arthurâs more than capable of taking care of himself. That is until you hear someone inside laugh and say, âWe got âim, boys! Arthur Morgan himself!âÂ
Quickly, you smash your gun into the doctorâs head, knocking him out, then you dash into the room. There, youâre met by four OâDriscolls and a saloon girl. Arthurâs on the ground, sitting against a wall, a dark circle on his lower left side blooming wider. Heâs groaning in pain, the gun knocked from his hand lying beyond his reach.Â
Before the OâDriscolls can point their guns from Arthur to you, you pull your trigger, taking them down with such speed it surprises even you. The saloon girl screams and backs into a corner.Â
âDonât shoot!â she pleads.Â
âArthur!â you whimper, ignoring her and going over to him. As you lean down to inspect him, he suddenly grabs your pistol and aims it at the saloon girl, who had managed to get a hold of one of the corpseâs guns. He shoots her and she falls.Â
âOh, Goddamn it, Arthur!â you say. You unbutton his shirt and see a bullet wound below his ribs.Â
âIt-itâs nothinâ, darlinâ.âÂ
âDonât look like nothinâ. Come on.â With enormous effort, you help Arthur up to his feet. Then you haul him to the doctorâs exam chair, push the doctorâs unconscious body out of it, and plop Arthur into it.Â
âOkay, honey, stay with me. We gotta get this bullet out.âÂ
âIâm fine, sweetheart. Just⌠letâs get out of here. That sheriffâs an idiot, but even he mustâve heard them gunshots.âÂ
âIâll be quick, Arthur. Just hold still.âÂ
You run around the room, gathering instruments and bandages. You find a set of long, thin tongs, the perfect shape to do the job. Removing a bullet is a nasty business. You had it done once when youâd been shot in the leg years ago. It was one of the most painful things youâve ever endured.Â
After gathering your things, you scour the doctorâs shelf up front. Micah peaks in.
âWhat the hell is taking so long? I talked the sheriff down since you couldnât manage to keep things quiet.âÂ
âShut the fuck up, Micah. Arthurâs been shot. Just keep an eye out, make sure no one gets nosy.âÂ
He rolls his eyes and leaves the room again. After hunting through the shelves, you come along a bottle of something labeled as aspirin. Youâve heard of this stuff, it was recently discovered to be a pain killer. You grab it and a bottle of unopened whiskey and go back to the room.Â
You shove several pills down Arthurâs throat and then pour some alcohol onto his wound. He yells out in pain, but then you instruct him to drink it.Â
âArthur, this is gonna hurt like nothing else. But we gotta get this thing out,â you say sympathetically, holding the tongs.Â
Heâs sweating profusely, but he nods and grips the arms of his chair. You work the cogs of the chair so it leans back, giving you a better angle. Then you go to work. Itâs excruciating pain for him and you apologize as tears leak from his eyes. You pour more whiskey on the wound as you work, but you have to dig a bit to find the bullet. Finally, you grab it and pull it out. He gasps as you hold it up.Â
You quickly bandage him up, though youâre not satisfied with the job. Now thereâs the problem of hiding his bloodied shirt so you can get him out of here. You help him to his feet and lead him to the front room and then quickly dash out to the horses, ignoring the blood on your hands. After retrieving his tan coat, you help him slide it on and then out to the horses. Micahâs waiting next to them, clearly impatient.Â
âSo much for me beinâ the one who starts the gunfire,â Micah growls.Â
âShut the fuck up before I put a bullet in your head,â you snarl. It takes all your strength to help Arthur up into his saddle, but heâs a trooper. He does his best to act normal as you all walk out of town, but itâs clear heâs in a lot of pain.Â
As soon as heâs in Horseshoe Overlook, you walk him over to his cot and he plops down into it. He pants heavily and you put your hand on his chest, sitting down by his side.Â
âEasy, honey. You can rest now.âÂ
He grabs your hand, comforted by your presence. Slowly, you undress him, flinging his ruined shirt to the side. After closing the flaps of the tent so the others wonât see him lying half naked in his bed, you rejoin his side.Â
****************************************
Over the next couple of weeks, you care for Arthur, hardly letting him leave his cot. He keeps pleading with you to stop fussing over him, that heâs an adult who can care for himself, but he loves it. He loves how protective youâve gotten over him. Hell, Micah isnât even allowed on this side of camp anymore. Heâd probably have better chances of fighting off a cougar than you. Even Sean knows not to come over and rib Arthur for being laid up, even though he means it all in good fun.Â
Every day, youâve gone out to collect fresh herbs from the surrounding area that will help with his pain. Not only that, but you usually bring back a rabbit or a turkey, some kind of small animal. Instead of giving them to Pearson though, you cook them over the scout fire and give Arthur as much as he can eat. He complains that heâs going to gain more weight than heâd like, but he secretly likes that youâre doing it.Â
Every night, he pulls you into his arms, stating you canât go around being strong for the both of you all day. You love cuddling with him like this, hearing his heartbeat beneath your head, his warm skin against yours, his fingers tracing your scalp or back.Â
Of course, sometimes these evening cuddles lead to further activities, but you never let him be the dominant one. Usually heâs the top, but when heâs laid up like this, you wonât let him. Instead of being disappointed, he finds it incredibly sexy how you take control of things. He definitely intends to let things go this way after this.Â
Hosea comes up to him one day while youâre out collecting herbs. Heâs one of the few people who can safely walk this close to your tent without fear of getting their ass kicked. He takes a seat next to Arthur, whoâs writing in his journal.Â
âThat girl eased up on you yet?â Hosea asks.Â
Arthur smiles softly. âNo. Honestly I donât think she intends to until this is barely even a scar anymore.â He gestures down to his bandages.Â
Hosea lets out a soft chuckle. âSheâs tough, that girl. Iâve never seen Dutch so afraid of talking to someone before. Pretty sure sheâs the only thing preventing him from coming over to you and begging you to get out there and âmake us some moneyâ.âÂ
Arthur laughs. âDutch is scared of her, huh?âÂ
âYou would be too if you saw how she looks at pretty much all of us. Iâm surprised Micahâs still sticking around, honestly. She, uh, clocked him in the jaw the other night when he made it sound like you messed up in that doctorâs office.âÂ
âI did mess up, Hosea. I wasnât prepared enough. I just thought itâd be some ranchers who got more money in their pockets than most folk in that town. I didnât expect those damn OâDriscolls.âÂ
âIt ainât your fault, son. But youâll be fine. Hell, you ainât allowed to be anything else with that girl looking after you.âÂ
Arthur chuckles again. âSo she really gave Micah a good one, huh?âÂ
âOh yes. Heâs got this big olâ bruise on his face now. Like I said, Iâm surprised heâs still in camp when sheâs here.âÂ
âHosea, I uh, I been thinkinâ. I wanna marry her.âÂ
Hosea sits up straighter. âYou sure? I know how your last engagement went, Arthur.âÂ
âThat was completely different, Hosea. I was young and dumber then. This ainât the same. Y/N ainât Mary. SheâsâŚ. Sheâs far better, and she makes me feel like I ainât just a killer and a bad man. I⌠I donât know how to describe what I feel about her, Hosea. All I know is if I donât ask her, itâll be the biggest regret of my life.âÂ
Hosea smiles and puts his hand on Arthurâs shoulder. âWell, Iâm happy for you, son. Being married was the best thing I ever did, and Y/Nâs a special woman. Youâd be a fool for not asking her.âÂ
Just then, Hosea looks up to see you coming over, your hands full of herbs. He waves to you, in which you return it. He gives Arthur a curt nod and heads off.Â
âHey, sweetheart,â Arthur says, closing his journal. You return the greeting and sit down by his feet, getting your things together to start grinding the herbs up.Â
âHold on, sweetheart. Before ya get busy, come here.âÂ
âWhy?â you say, looking up at him.Â
âJust come here. Please?â he says, holding his arms out to you.Â
With a soft smile, you get up and crawl into his arms, letting him fold them around you and hold you close. He kisses your head softly, never wanting to let you go. He wants to ask you right now to be his wife, but the timing feels wrong. He wants it to be special, wants you to know how much he adores you.Â
âThank you, darlinâ, for everythinâ you done.â
âOf course, Arthur. Iâd do it all over again if I needed to.â You place a soft kiss over his heart that makes him almost swoon. He knows now that he will never stop loving you.Â
Just as heâs about to say something, Strauss comes over and interrupts. âHerr Morgan, I have another job for you.âÂ
âWhat is it, Strauss?â he asks, pinching the bridge of his nose.Â
âI lent money to a fellow named Downes. Thomas Downes. I need you to reclaim the debt. Beat him, if you must.âÂ
As quick as lightning, you leap up and glare at Strauss. Arthurâs told you how much he loathes this sharking business. Youâre tired of it too. Itâs a foul business and one you want him having no part of.Â
âIf this moneyâs so important to you, Strauss, why donât you go get it yourself?â you snarl.Â
He looks at you haughtily. âBecause, Y/N, people are happy to take money from a man like me, but less willing to give it back.âÂ
âWell then maybe you need to grow a damn spine for once and do your own damn dirty work. Either that or find another way of making money for the gang. One with less⌠filth.âÂ
âI am the one feeding you and the other women in camp-â he begins but you shove him so hard he takes several steps back.
âBullshit! How many days have Arthur spent out there slaving away to bring down animals and sling âem back to camp? You ainât feedinâ no one but yourself! How many folks have we all robbed and stolen from, while you just go out peddling a few bucks here and there. Youâre a sad, lyinâ, miserable sack of shit who has no place here! No get out of my sight before I put a bullet in your skull!âÂ
Strauss, his eyes wide and his lizardish lips parted, starts heading away from you quickly, his tail between his legs. As he scurries off, you scream at him one last time.
âAnd if you ever tell my man to get your damn money back, Iâll throttle ya, is that clear?âÂ
He doesn't respond but you know he heard you. After letting out a long sigh, you turn back to Arthur, whoâs looking at you surprised.Â
âWhat?â you say.
He swallows. âDamn, darlinâ, that was-âÂ
âLong overdue?â you say.Â
âNo, well yes, but I was gonna say that was one of the sexiest things I ever seen.âÂ
You blush and smile at him.Â
âYou got anymore of that energy left in ya?â he says, his eyes sliding down your body.Â
âWhy?âÂ
ââCause I was thinkinâ you better close these flaps and show me what else you got.âÂ
With a giggle, you do as he says. Then you take him so hard Arthur will never forget this afternoon. In fact, he will hold onto it for many years and on the days when he needs you physically but you arenât around, heâll use it to help relieve the pressure while being alone.Â
As the two of you go at it, he wishes again to ask you to marry him, but youâve got him groaning and panting so hard he can barely work out two words. One thing is clear to him though: not marrying you will be the dumbest thing he could possibly do.
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OKAY WHERE. DO I EVEN START W YOU HOWL. literally adore you..... one of my closest friends @ this point n i really do think it's you + cal n cloud that have made this last year so great..... u kno i love your writing n your art n you have such an incredible skill in analyzing ur charas and making them so much more than whats given in canon.... you give so much to people and u do it so freely i LITERALLY CANT? TELL U HOW NICE IT IS TO HAVE U BACK ON TUMBLR CUZ HONESTLY ITS JUST NOT THE SAME HERE W/O U.... THERE'S SO MUCH MORE LIGHT N LOVE ON THE DASH N SO MUCH MORE FUN N U REALLY JUST MAKE IT SUCH A BETTER TIME HERE FOR EVERYONE.... i rlly do hope we get 2 stay friends for a long ass time bc yall mean so much 2 me. all the late nights on call and playin games and gettin on each other's nerves...... would lay down my life for u if ur swingin i am 2 KISSES U A MILLION TIMES
FINALLY FINALLY I CAN ANSWER THIS  .... INAD ILU SO MUCH..........WHEN I RECEIVED THIS ASK MY HEART GREW THREE SIZES !!!! THIS MADE MY DAY N I LOVE U IâM GLAD I MET U I CANT IMAGINE NOT HEARIN U BURP IN MY EAR REGULARLY <3
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Our Darling, Clementine
*Spoilers!*
Louis teaches AJ how to play a special song on the piano to cheer Clementine up, and they add their own twist to it. (AJ loving Clem so much n wanting to make her happy + dad Louis cause Louis and AJâs relationship is my reason for living.)
 âThe words are kinda sad⌠I donât know if I wanna sing that one to her.â
âWell, we could always change the words,â The older boy suggested.
âI donât know⌠Sounds hard. Iâve never made a song before.â
âWell, luckily you just so happen to be sitting next to the greatest songwriter in the world.â Â
~ Â AO3 Â ~ Â FF Â ~
AJ squinted his eyes open when the sunlight flooding into the bedroom shined over his face. He propped himself up on an elbow and yawned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with his fist. The little boy fixed his eyes on the older girl in the opposite bunk.
Clementine was still asleep, which he was actually grateful for. She had been in so much pain the past couple days. Ever since she woke up from the impromptu amputation, he could see it on her face. AJ saw how she winced every time she made the slightest movement and the grief on her face when she looked at what remained of her left leg. Despite her efforts to hide it - to be strong for him- he knew. He wanted to tell her to stop, to stop trying to be tough. He wanted her to know that it was okay for her to be hurting. He wanted to be strong for both of them, so that she didnât have to be.
But above all, he wanted her to feel better. He wanted her to smile- a real smile, not one of those fake, consolation prizes sheâd been giving him lately. No. He needed her to smile. AJ hopped off his bed, heart filled with a newfound, burning determination. He will make her feel better.
He studied the room, wracking his brain for ideas. His eyes caught the desk; he could draw her a picture. No. It wasnât enough. He drew pictures all the time, and this had to be special; it had to be⌠Spectacular - the new word he learned from Louis yesterday. AJ gasped and perked up as the memory gave him an idea. He could ask Louis what he should do for Clem. The older boy never failed to come up with spectacular ideas. AJ giggled, proud of the expansion of his vocabulary.
He ran up to the window and stood on his toes to peer out at the schoolyard. He grinned when he caught sight of Louis. The teen was sitting at one of the picnic tables with Violet, seemingly playing some card game with her, and judging by the exasperated expression on the blondeâs face, she wasnât happy with how it was going.
AJ glanced at Clementine and smiled at her. âJust wait, Clem. Iâm gonna make this the best day ever.â
_
âLouis!â AJ shouted to the older boy as soon as he exited the dorm building. Louis looked up from his hand, smiled and gave him a little wave, which the younger returned.
âHey, little man. Wanna play?â He shouted across the field as he held up the deck of cards.
The little boy beamed and dashed over to the table.
âHey, Violet,â AJ greeted the girl beside Louis and peered at the cards strewn between the teens. âWhat are you guys playing?â
âBullshit: The Game, apparently,â The girl grumbled, throwing her hand down and glaring at Louis.
âHey, just cause youâre bad, doesnât mean my game is,â Louis feigned offense.
âYour gameâs not bad, itâs fucking terrible.â
âWe can play Go Fish instead, then.â The boy picked her cards off the table and shuffled them back into the deck.
âGo Fish? How creative.â
âHey, donât be knocking Go Fish. Itâs a Goddamn classic.â
âWhatâs Go Fish?â AJ interrupted the banter. He hopped onto the bench beside Louis and smiled up at him. âI wanna play.â
âSure you can handle it? Itâs the hardest game known to man. It gets intense, âspecially when youâre playinâ with this sore-loser,â The older boy motioned to the girl across from them with a smirk.
âMore like hardest game known to two-year-olds,â Violet snorted.
âI can,â The youngest affirmed with a single, serious nod.
âConfident. I like it.â The older boy gave him a lopsided grin, and the smile returned to AJâs face at the praise.
âAlright, hereâs what you gotta do,â Louis dealt out the cards - seven to each player. âLook at the cards you got, but donât let us see. You have to make pairs of the same number by asking us if we have one of the numbers in your hand. If we donât have it, we say âGo Fishâ, and you draw a card. Person with the most pairs at the end wins. If you already have a pair now, you can just put it down.â
On cue, Violet boasted a pair of fives to start off the game and looked at the older boy smugly.
âI donât have any.â AJ frowned at his hand.
âThatâs ok. Watch, Iâll go first.â Louis turned his gaze to the blonde. âDo you have any nines?â
âNope,â She shook her head.
âNo, Vi, you have to say Go Fish,â Louis protested.
âWhy?â
âItâs the rules. Game isnât called âNopeâ; itâs called âGo Fishâ. You wanna be disqualified?â
âYouâre ridiculous.â She rolled her eyes but complied, âGo Fish.â
âThank you.â He drew a card and winked at AJ, who giggled. âYou try.â
âOkâŚâ He glanced at his cards then up to Violet. âDo you have any twos?â
Much to AJâs excitement, she handed over a two, which he proudly stacked with his on the table.
The older boy couldnât help but beam at his elation. âNice one, AJ! Show her whoâs boss!â
Violet narrowed her eyes at Louis. âYou guys arenât just gonna keep asking me, right?â
âOh, shit, good idea, Vi.â The teen turned to AJ and whispered loudly, âLetâs gang up on her, man.â
âOk!â AJ laughed.
âNope. Not doing it.â The girl threw her cards onto the table.
âHey, I was just kidding,â He said before facing AJ and sneakily mouthing, âI wasnâtâ.
âThink Iâve exceeded my Louisâ-card-games quota for the week.â
âKilljoy,â He teased as he gathered up her abandoned cards.
âFuck off.â
With the enthusiasm dying down, AJ remembered why heâd come out there in the first place. He handed Louis his stack of cards to add to the deck.
âLouis, can you help me?â He peered up at the teen with an eyebrow raised.
âMaybe,â The older shrugged, still focused on shuffling the cards. âWhatâcha need?â
âWell, Clemâs been sad,â AJ told him, making Louisâ smile give way to a pained expression.
âYeah. I⌠Iâve noticed.â
âAnd I wanna make it better,â The little boy said and sat up straight.
âMe too, buddy.â
âI wanna do something special for her, but I donât know what, and youâre really good at making her smile, so I need you to help me decide.â
âWhy donât you draw her a picture? She loves those, right?â Violet suggested.
âShe does, but I already thought of that, and I do it all the time, so itâs not enough. I need something... spectacular.âAs he spoke the last word, the boy put his hands up with fingers flared out and made a rainbow motion with his arms.
Louis laughed out loud while Violet rolled her eyes.
The blonde scoffed and shook her head with a smirk. âOh my God, you spend way too much time around this idiot.â
âHey! Iâm being serious,â AJ asserted and shook his head. âDonât laugh.â
âOh, I- uh- Iâm sorry.â Violet looked down and rubbed the back of her neck. The trio fell into an awkward silence.
AJ stared at Louis, who was deep in thought.
âYou wanna play her a song?â He suddenly blurted out.
âWha- how? Like on that music machine?â The boy was confused; that wasnât very special. Theyâd been playing her music for days. Maybe Louis didnât really know anything...
âNo, on the piano.â
âBut I donât know how.â
âIâll show you. Itâs not that hard.â
AJ absolutely lit up with glee and started bouncing up and down in his seat. âReally?â
âYeah, just lemme know whenever you wanna start. Iâll-â
âNow! Right now!â The boy jumped off the bench, nearly losing his footing and flopping to the ground.
Louis chuckled. âGo ahead.â He nodded toward the direction of the music room.
âIâll be there in a minute.â
_
AJ was intimidated to say the least as he gawked at the giant instrument in front of him. There had to be at least a hundred buttons, maybe two hundred. He couldnât be sure. He was starting to not believe Louis saying it wasnât that hard to play.
The boy sat on the bench, hesitantly lifted his hand and hovered it over one of the keys. He pushed it down, flinching slightly at the loud note that reverberated throughout the room. He pushed another, then another, then three at once. AJ giggled and continued increasing the number of keys pushed down until he ran out of fingers. His fear of the piano quickly vanished as he became determined to press every single one.
AJ stood up and spread his arms as wide as he could; then, he lowered his body down onto the piano. The instrument screamed a thousand notes, effectively mimicking the sound of a quickly approaching train. The little boy was overcome with laughter as the roaring echoed off the walls.
âAh, the obligatory pressing of all the keys at the same time.â
The sudden voice from his right startled AJ off of the piano. He sat back in the bench and glanced sheepishly at Louis, who was leaning against the door-frame with his arms crossed.
âSorryâŚâ
âYouâre good.â Louis entered and sat beside him, flashing him a goofy grin. âI do that at least once a day.â
AJ laughed. âReally?â
He smirked, spreading his arms and lowering himself onto the piano just as AJ had. The piano hollered even louder than before due to the older boyâs longer arms reaching more of the keys. They both lost it laughing.
AJ wiped his eyes while he tried to catch his breath. Louis sat back down and stretched his fingers across the keys to form a real chord. The sweet sound filled the room- a stark contrast from the prior chaos. He continued playing a random string of notes until AJ had sufficiently calmed down.
Louis slouched back and smiled at the younger boy.
âSo, any song in particular you wanna learn?â
AJ thought for a minute. He didnât know many songs- or any really. Well, he knew the one Disco Broccoli song Clementine taught him, but it was kinda dumb; he wanted a pretty song to sing for her. He searched his head until he came upon a certain memory - when Louis met her. He didnât know the name of the song Louis sang or many of the words, but he remembered the smile on her face when he sang it to her - the kind of smile he desperately wanted to see her wear again.
âWhat about the Clementine song - the one you sang before. Remember? She said she loved it.â
âHow could I forget?â He said, more to himself than to AJ.
âCan you play that one?â
Louis nodded before placing his hands back on the piano. âYou got it.â
âOh, my darling, Oh, my darling, Oh, my darling, Clementine You are lost and gone forever Dreadful sorry, Clementine.â
Lost and gone forever? AJ didnât like the sound of that. He wasnât so sure he liked that song very much anymore⌠Clementine wasnât gone, and he didnât ever want her to be. He didnât want to make her more sad, and he felt like the content of the song would do just that. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the ground.
âLight she was and like a fairy And her shoes were number nine Herring boxes without topses Sandals were for Clementine.â
AJ made a face. Now that part just doesnât make any senseâŚ
Louis repeated the chorus again, bringing the frown back to AJâs face. Gone forever. He hated that line. That line represented his worst nightmare. It was like whoever wrote the song wanted to hurt him, and that made him mad.
Louis stopped playing when he noticed the distressed look on his face.
âDamn. My singing really that bad?â
AJ shook his head, still staring at his feet. âNo. Itâs just⌠I donâtâŚâ He looked up at Louis with knitted brows. âI donât like that song anymore.â
âWhatâs wrong with it?â
âThe words are kinda sad⌠I donât know if I wanna sing that one to her. I donât wanna make her sadder.â
âWell, we could always change the words,â The older boy suggested.
AJ raised a brow at the idea. He liked the tune of the song; it was pretty, and Clementine seemed to think it was too. It was only a few words that irked him; he didnât have to reject the whole song. He liked the idea of changing it- of making it about his Clementine. His Clementine wouldnât be âlost and gone foreverâ; sheâs tough and the absolute greatest. However, the task of changing the song seemed daunting.
âI donât know⌠Sounds hard. Iâve never made a song before.â
âWell, luckily you just so happen to be sitting next to the greatest songwriter in the world.â He lifted his chin and grabbed the sides of his jacket.
AJ grinned. âYou really think we can?â
âDefinitely. You wanted it to be special, so whatâs more special than writing her her own song?â
Louis stood up and headed for one of the bookshelves in the room. He picked a random book off the shelf, opened it, and ripped out a page with minimal text on it. He picked one of the many pens off the floor and scribbled on the paper to test it.
âAlright, weâre in business.â Louis returned to his spot on the bench. âWeâll do the words first; then, Iâll show you how to play it, and weâll practice.â
AJ nodded, satisfied with the plan.
Louis pressed the pen to the page and began to write out the original song to reference its rhythm.
_
After half an hour, the song still wasnât finished, and AJ was getting antsy. He knew it was gonna be hard⌠He wasnât good enough with words to really help Louis write the song, so he just told the older boy what he wanted it to say: how awesome and strong Clementine is, how sheâs protected him and made him âsuper-duper smartâ, and how she was still awesome - even with one foot. After giving Louis his lengthy list of requirements, he had taken to pacing around the room and trying to find interest in the objects he found tossed about. His eye caught the side of the piano, where he noticed something carved on it.
âYou⌠su-suck at play-ing?â He turned to Louis. âWho wrote that?â
The teen looked up from the paper. âI donât know; didnât see it happen. Itâs been there forever, though.â
âWell, itâs mean. I donât think you suck. Youâre good at it; I wanna be as good as you.â
Louis smiled in response before turning his focus back down to the page.
The boy returned to the piano and looked over Louisâ shoulder at the in-progress song. He couldnât make sense of the writing; it was all over the place with many lines crossed out, and Louisâ handwriting was very curly and impossible for the young boy to read.
AJ groaned. âIs it done yet?â
âAlmost. Just a couple more lines.â
AJ plopped onto the bench with a huff. Heâd been saying that for the past ten minutes.
He went back to studying the piano, and noticed another carving. This one was more ambiguous; he wasnât sure what it could mean. C + L? He hoped it wasnât another malicious one; he didnât like that someone would be mean to Louis.
âWhatâs this one mean?â He tapped Louis and pointed to the carving.
The teen followed AJâs finger until his gaze landed on the markings. He stared smiling at it for a second before turning to AJ.
âStands for me and Clem. Â Itâs our names in a heart; we did it the night the raiders came.â
âWhy?â
He shrugged. âJust something people do when they love each other.â
AJ nodded. âSo you love Clem?â
âI do.â
âI do too.â AJ was silent for a moment. âWhy didnât she ever make one of those with me?â
Louis chuckled. âItâs different.â
âOh⌠Why?â
âDifferent kinda love, little dude.â
AJ scrunched his face in confusion. He didnât know there were different types of love.
The older boy noticed his puzzled expression and continued, âYâknow⌠like a âlike-likeâ love?â
âOhh.â The little boy raised an eyebrow at him. â...Is that why you do that weird thing with your mouths?â
Louis turned red and laughed awkwardly. âUh, yeah⌠Itâs called kissing, and itâs not weird.â
âWeird to me.â
âFair enough.â He shook his head and breathed out another laugh. âWell, think I know what the last line should be now.â
AJ lit up. âDoes that mean itâs done?â
âSure is.â Louis jotted the final line down and handed the page to the younger boy. âWhat do you think?â
He stared blankly at the curvy letters on the paper. â...I canât read it⌠ But itâs great! I think sheâll love it!â
Louis snorted and took the song back. âGlad you believe in me, but you gotta know the words if youâre gonna sing it to her.â
âOh, right⌠Can you read it to me?â
Louis nodded and pointed at the first group of lines. âThis verse is gonna be your solo.â
âSolo?â
âYeah, youâre gonna sing it by yourself.â The teen proceeded to read the verse to him.
AJ loved it; it was exactly what he wanted. Louis even put the words âsuper-duper smartâ into the song like he asked for. AJ was convinced; the older boy really was the greatest songwriter in the world. However, the thought of singing without Louis to back him up was a bit intimidating. What if he messed up? What if his voice was bad? He shared these concerns with the teen, who immediately dismissed them. Louis said that it didnât matter. It didnât matter if it was âas good as Broadwayâ - whatever that meant; Clementine would love it anyway because it would be coming from him. AJ knew this was probably true, but he was still a little nervous.
Louis continued reading the song to AJ one verse at at time. He pointed out that the third verse was gonna be his solo, which relieved the little boy. He wouldnât be the only one singing some of the lines alone. Louis continued reciting the song, and AJ lit up at every line. The song was everything he could have hoped for.
âWell? Whatâcha think?â Louis finished and looked to the younger boy expectantly.
âItâs awesome! Itâs⌠Itâs spectacular!â AJ threw his arms up, earning a laugh from the boy beside him. âI canât wait to show her!â
âJust need to add the piano; then, we can go get her. Itâs a pretty easy song, so shouldnât take too long for you to learn it.â
AJ looked at the piano then back at Louis. âThereâs so many buttonsâŚâ
âYeah, but you only need these ones.â Louis dragged his finger across seven of the keys in the middle of the piano, playing a simple scale. âIâll play the lower part.â
âThereâs two parts?â
âYup. âSpose to play the high part with one hand and the low with the other, but you can just focus on one since itâs your first time. Your part sounds just like the song when youâre singing it.â
AJ tapped a couple of the keys heâd be using before smiling up at the teen. âOk. Which one first?â
Louis grabbed AJâs hand and guided it into position. âFirst three notes are G. Thatâs this one.â The teen pointed to a key and prompted AJ to push it three times; he complied then looked to the other for further direction.
The teen continued showing AJ the notes for the next line and telling him their names. AJ followed the boyâs instruction and slowly attempted the notes corresponding to the first couple lines of the song. He fumbled a bit during his first few tries, but with Louisâ encouragement, he eventually got it perfect. He grinned when he noticed the familiar melody begin to take shape. Â
âWoah.â AJ smiled up at his teacher. âThatâs so cool.â
Louis beamed. He was beyond elated that he finally had someone to share his love of the instrument with. Everyone else acted like it was a waste of time. He couldnât stop grinning at the little boy as they continued playing the verse piece by piece. AJâs enthusiasm was refreshing; every time heâd successfully play a line, heâd bounce up and down or do a little dance. They practiced each line individually until the little boy was able to play them all together. When AJ finally played the verse through without a single error, the most delighted grin overtook his features.
âNice!â Louis held his hand up for a high-five which AJ happily gave. âYou donât even need me; youâre a natural.â
AJ giggled. He was incredibly proud of himself; he couldnât wait to see Clementineâs reaction.
âAnd guess what?â
âWhat?â
âRest of the song is just that for all the verses. That means you just went and learned yourself an entire song.â This time, the teen put both of his hands up for a double high-five.
AJ slapped his small hands against the older boyâs. âReally?â
Louis nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder. âYouâre the next Mozart.â
âHuh?â
â...Never mind,â He chuckled. âLetâs put this thing together so we can go give our girl a show.â
âYeah!â
The boys spent the next hour mashing their rewritten lyrics and piano melody together. They practiced over and over, determined to get it absolutely flawless. Clementine didnât deserve anything less.
_
âClem! Clem!â AJ burst into their bedroom, panting. He dashed over to her bedside and stood bouncing on the balls of his feet beside her.
âWoah, whatâs up, kiddo?â Clementine propped herself up on an elbow.
âYou-you gotta come! We have a surprise for you! A really really big surprise! Youâre gonna love it!â
âSlow down, AJ. We?â
AJ glanced behind him and frowned when he didnât see Louis standing there. He ran back for the door and peered out into the hallway, looking left and right. When Louis finally turned the corner, AJ waved him over.
âLouis! Hurry up!â
The older boyâs laughter echoed down the hall. âIâm goinâ.â He popped into the doorway and grinned at the girl inside. She gave a small smile in return.
âSo whereâs this big surprise?â
âWe have to take you to it.â
Her eyebrows raised then furrowed as she frowned. âI⌠I canât get up, AJ.â
âThatâs why Iâm here.â Louis butt in. âWhich method of transportation would you prefer: piggy back or bridal style?â He knelt down beside her bed.
Clementine rolled her eyes and pretended to ponder her options for a minute. It probably wasnât the greatest idea to leave her bed yet as she still had a lot of healing to do. However, she was going crazy staring at the same ceiling, the same walls, the same view from the window for all hours of the day. The idea of getting out- of going anywhere else - was too appealing.
âHmm, how âbout you get on all fours, and Iâll sit on your back like a horse?â
He shrugged and breathed out a little laugh. âMight break my back, but⌠Whatever you want. Itâd be a noble sacrifice.â
âOh, canât have that. Guess Iâll settle for bridal.â
âGood choice.â He winked, and she snorted.
Louis slid an arm under her knees and scooped her off of her bed. Clementine winced and let out a little squeak of pain when her injured leg rubbed against the mattress.
âSorry.â Louis hugged her tighter, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, mustering up a pained smile.
AJ instructed her to close her eyes which she hesitantly did when the boys insisted that it was essential to the surprise that she not know where theyâre going. She tightened her grip on Louisâ shoulders when he started walking, and tried to pay attention to his movements in an attempt to gauge where they were headed. Left out the room, then right a few feet down. Were they going outside?
Her thoughts were confirmed when she heard the creak of a door and saw the blackness of her vision flash red as the sun hit her face. Louis made his way out the door, careful not to knock her against anything. A light breeze tickled her skin, and she smiled, thankful to be outside again after being cooped up in her room for days. The fresh air filling her lungs and the warmth radiating off the boy holding her lulled her into a sense of peace. She lay her head against his shoulder and relished in the feeling.
âLouis!â
A furious voice caused the girlâs breath to hitch, and she shot her eyes open.
âWhat the Hell do you think youâre doinâ?â Louis faced the direction of the cry and found Ruby glaring at him. âShe needs to be in bed.â
âNo, Ruby! Weâre doing something really important!â AJ protested.
âI donât care. She needs to rest and keep it elevated. Why would you ever think that you could-â
âItâs ok.â Clementine interrupted. âIâm fine. I needed out of that room, anyway.â She smiled softly. âItâs nice out.â
âBut your-â
âItâs just gonna be for a second!â The little boy pleaded. He couldnât let the plan fail when they were already this far along. He knew Ruby was just trying to look out for her, but she didnât understand how important this was. âPlease.â AJ widened his eyes and pouted up at her. Louis and even Clementine mirrored the boyâs pleading expression. Â
The redhead groaned and clutched her temple. âFine. Five minutesâŚâ She held up a hand to represent the number. âAnd be careful.â
AJ grinned gratefully and nodded. âClem, close your eyes back!â
She obeyed and rested her head back on Louisâ shoulder as he continued walking. The crunch of grass underneath his feet soon gave way to the click of his boots on concrete. Another door opened, and she was inside again, and soon, she was being lowered down into a chair.
âDonât open âem yet,â Louis told her.
She heard him walk away a short distance then a soft creak as he sat down. She raised an eyebrow when her ears caught the hushed giggles of the boys.
âShh!â
Clementine let her eyes flutter open when she heard the first note of a song on the piano; theyâd brought her to the music room. She looked to the piano to see Louis and AJ sitting on the bench together, both with a hand on a part of the instrument. AJâs voice filled the room:
âWhen I was scared, you would be there And youâd teach me all the time Now Iâm super-duper sma-art All cause of you, Clementine.â
Of course, Clementine recognized the melody instantly, but the words were unfamiliar- different. Louis joined in, and the boys sang the second verse together:
âOh, our darling, Oh, our darling, Oh, our darling, Clementine Listen closely, while we tell thee The sweet tales of Clementine.â
Louis looked straight into her eyes with the goofiest grin as he sang the third verse solo:
âWhen you came here, we were-enât sure But you got here just in time Helped us wreck those stupid raiders Like a badass, Clementineâ
They sang the rest of their song together:
âOh, our darling, Oh, our darling, Oh our darling, Clementine Thought we lost you but youâre still here Youâre the strongest, Clementine
âWe know youâre sad, cause of your leg But please trust us; youâll be fine You will always be the coolest Youâre still awesome, Clementine
âOh, our darling, Oh, our darling Oh, our darling, Clementine Youâre the bravest; youâll get through this And weâll help you, Clementine
âYouâre so lovely, such a beauty With sweet golden eyes that shine And the smile of an angel Show it to us, Clementine.
âOh, our darling, Oh, our darling, Oh our darling, Clementine Youâre the greatest; like no other, How we love you, Clementine.â
The boys both took their hands off the piano and looked to the girl in the chair beside them. Her hand was over her mouth, her eyes glossy. She blinked a few times and a tear escaped, cascading down her cheek. AJ was worried for a second. Why was she crying? Clem never cried. Did she not like it? Did he mess up? The little boy looked up at Louis with a panicked expression. However, the teen didnât look worried. He was grinning from ear to ear.
AJ returned his gaze to the girl. âClem?â
Clementine removed her hand from her lips, revealing the biggest, realest, smile AJ had ever seen her wear. And in that instant, all his worry was washed away. She was happy. She was really happy.
She choked out a laugh and wiped her eyes. âYou- you dorks.â She sighed and extended her arms to the boys. AJ hopped off the bench and ran into her arms; he gripped her as tightly as his little arms could. He began to feel a stinging at his eyes as they threatened to burst with tears as well. Seeing her so happy⌠It was the best thing ever.
Clementine pulled back a bit and  âHow did you⌠When did you do this?â She choked.
âThis morning. Louis taught me how. He helped me write the song so itâs about you. We⌠We wanted to make you happy.â
The girl looked to the older boy, who smiled lovingly at her. He slid off the bench and joined them at the chair, kneeling down and putting an arm around Clementine.
Her breath hitched, and she cleared her throat. âWell, you did it. Y-You did.â She sniffled and wiped at another stray tear. âYouâre such a sweetie.â
âAnd you are too.â She turned her gaze to Louis, pulled him into the hug, and planted a kiss on his cheek. âThank you.â
Louis returned her kiss, and AJ latched onto her and nuzzled his face into her neck. Â âWe love you, Clem,â He mumbled against her.
Clementine sniffled and held onto her boys tighter. âI love you guys too.â
#Im?? So proud of this one?#is this how people#with actual healthy self-esteems feel??#twdg#twdg spoilers#twdg fanfiction#fanfiction#twdg fanfic#twdg AJ#twdg louis#clouis#twdg clouis#my writing
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Conquer your fear! - Part 1
"Verena, get back here!"
A string of giggles escaped the small tiefling whose tail was nearly as long as they were tall. The tiefling dashed this way and that through the caravan, gigging every time the woman called out for them.
"Verena!"
The small body collided with another, causing the other to stumble as the tiefling fell backwards to land on their butt. A shout went up as the person the child had ran into yanked the tiefling back up and out of the way of the cart.
"Watch where yer playin', ya damn brat!" the driver barked.
The small body cowered in the protective embrace of a body not much bigger.
"Soren? What'chya got there?"
"Don' know, da'," the body holding the tiefling offered. "Ne just ran into me."
"Verena! There you are!"
The little tiefling flinched as rough hands pulled nem away from the other and a started cry escaped the little form. "Shush, Verena," came from the parent, chastising. "I'm so sorry Stoick. Is Soren alright?"
"I'm fine." The little tiefling looked over, meeting the curious gaze of a human child that was barely older than the tiefling child. A small voice in the little tiefling's mind spoke of how the human's eye color was wrong somehow. The human child didn't seem to notice or didn't care as it offered a hand like all the grownups do to strangers. "I'm Soren."
"Go on, Verena. Shake neir hand like a good boy."
The tiefling's lavender tail came around, a splotch of pale coloring like a paint splatter discoloring the tip. Said tip pressed into the offered palm and despite the chastising from the adults, Verena thought it was worth it to see the laughter that broke out across Soren's too grown up face.
"We'll be heading east at Alnrich."
Verena's tail slowly fell from its perked posture even as he felt Soren's body go tense under him. They were trying to sneak through the caravan as young children do playing whatever game they had made but they had heard Soren's dad and Verena's parents' voices drifting towards them in the night and had gotten curious. Soren had crouched at the back wheel of one of the wagons while Verena clung to his back still smaller than the other.
Verena buried his face into Soren's hair. It smelled of smoke and earth and held a comfort that made his heart ache at losing. His tail followed his emotions and wrapped securely around Soren's waist. The other rubbed comforting circles into the tail against neir stomach but didn't move.
"So soon?" Verena's mother asked.
There was a scoff from his father. "Let them leave if they want, Ilma. It is not our place to convince them to stay."
A rumble of a chuckle came from Soren's dad. "Soren will most likely fight me. We've stayed too long and ne's grown attached to Verena and the others."
"Is that such a bad thing?" Verena's mother asked.
"Whether it is or isn't doesn't change the fact that we have stayed too long. We will part ways at Alnrich."
"May the tides bring us back together."
Verena's mother added at the end of his father's words, "And may the winds bring you peace."
"Thank you, both of you."
"Hang on tight, Ren."
Verena jolted as Soren's sudden voice but did as coaxed. Soren dashed away from their parentals and deeper into the trees. They didn't go very far - they were still within the light of the main campfire - but it was far enough that if they didn't talk overly loud, they'd have privacy. Soren pulled at Verena's tail and hand, a silent sign to get down and in front of nem.
"I don't want you to go," Verena choked out, doing his best to keep his voice down. He pressed his face into Soren's chest and felt himself relaxing at the warmth he always found there.
Soren's arms, just as warm, wrapped around him. "I don't want to go either but Dad says its important to keep moving until home finds us."
Verena pulled his face away enough to look up at Soren, making his yellow eyes as big and watery as possible. "But isn't this home?"
Soren smiled. It was soft and left Verena thinking it was too grown up to be on Soren's face. "I think Dad wants a house that doesn't move, with fields and animals to tend. I don't think he ever wanted to be part of a traveling caravan."
Verena's arms tightened around Soren; his tail had hooked around Soren's left ankle. "What about you? Where do you wanna be?"
Soren shrugged. "With Dad. He's all I got left."
Something bitter and hot shot through him. "But what about me? I'm your family too."
That grown up face Soren had gotten so good at wearing fell away as hot tears - they hurt when they touched Verena's cooled skin but it was nothing the tiefling couldn't stand - streaked down the other's face. "But I can't leave my Dad. Verena-"
Something broke inside the little tiefling as whatever was supposed to follow his name was cut off by a vicious sob. Verena pulled at Soren and wrapped himself as best he could around the bigger kid. Soren held on, heat rolling off the other in a way that terrified Verena without him understanding why.
Stoick was the one that found them like that. The man's bushy face softened at Verena's pleading gaze and welcomed the gentle touch to his head as Stoick's other hand went to Soren's back. "Come on, kiddo. It's bedtime."
"Don' wanna go," Soren spat out into the mingling of their bodies.
"I know. But it won't be forever. Just a for now. Ok? You'll see Verena again."
Something like ice shot through Verena. He knew that wording. He glared at Soren's dad with all his might even as Soren pulled away enough to look up at neir dad. "Promise?"
Stoick smiled. Verena's hold on Soren tightened. "Promise. Come on, kiddo."
Every fiber of Verena's being was calling Stoick a liar as he let Soren slip from his grasp.
"Ren?"
Yellow eyes snapped away from those he was sitting with to lock onto a pair of eyes on a human face that weren't quite right.
"Do I know you?" he found himself asking even as the strings bit into his fingers; he was clenching the neck of his lute like it was a lifeline. His vision blurred only to clear when he blinked.
Why was he crying?
"Ah, sorry," the human with the off eyes offered. "You looked like an old friend of mine I haven't seen in years."
"Someone named Ren?"
The words were past his lips before he could stop them. There was something deep within him that was begging this human to say no, to say-
"His full name is Verena, but last I had seen him we were nothing but tots."
He choked on a sob, curling in on himself as his free hand snapped to his mouth. His tail with its pale tip came up and around, like it could add another layer of protection from whatever was pulling at him, drowning him in grief.
He heard his companions shout his name, knew this stranger knew his name now, but he couldn't face nem, couldn't even look at nem.
Someone tried to approach him.
He stumbled out of his chair, the lute slamming into his gut painfully. It didn't stop him from turning and fleeing the inn.
He didn't expect to find a temple. It looked lively despite the state the temple itself was in. It looked old, probably more ancient than anything else he had ever seen, but where he would normally be drawn in by the possibility of learning its history, he turned away at the thought of interacting with anyone. Instead, he slowly made his way over to the pond while staying within the trees.
He shouldn't be surprised he had been followed but neither footfall sounded familiar.
Turned out one of the footfall belonged to the human with the off eyes. Behind nem was one of the human's companions - the one with the interesting staff - but the companion didn't approach like the human did.
"Can I join you?"
He turned away, tail wrapping around him on the ground as he did so.
For a moment, there was silence. He relished in it for as long as it lasted and nearly drifted off before he felt warmth at his back. There wasn't any pressure of a human hand on his back but he knew there was one there, a few inches above his thin shirt. Why had he taken his gear off again?
"Your hair's longer than I remember." A breath. "But, then, that's to be expected. It has been almost twenty five years."
He couldn't help the snort that escaped him. "Then how do you know I'm you're friend. I'm probably too young to even have been alive twenty five years ago."
"Because I remember the pattern of your tail; the paint splatter of pale that colored the tip and stretched up the length of your tail." His tail tightened around him. "Because I remember your laugh even if its deepened from age, I remember how strikingly pale you looked standing next to your parents with lavender skin so soft it seemed almost incomplete with the pale patches." That hand that had been hovering high between his shoulder blades pressed into the back of his neck. "And I remember how small you had been when you first ran into me from among the wagons."
The hand was unnaturally warm but it pulled at things he couldn't remember. He leaned into the touch as a different sob pulled at him, bitter and sad and tired. "But I can't even remember if I had parents, let alone my childhood." He offered this strange human - so warm and familiar and strange - a tight smile. "How am I supposed to remember who you even are if I don't know who I am?"
The human smiled gently at him. "Then we'll start anew." The hand left the back of his neck and he swallowed down the urge to whimper. The human offered a hand to shake. "I'm Soren."
"I'm Soren."
He looked over, meeting the curious gaze of a human child that was barely older than he was. A small voice in his mind spoke of how the human's eye color was wrong somehow. The human child didn't seem to notice or didn't care with a hand offered like all the grownups do to strangers.
"Go on, Verena," a voice he couldn't remember but ached from hearing coaxed. "Shake neir hand like a good boy."
He didn't want to. He didn't trust any of the others of the caravan - the other kids skittered away any time he had wandered too close - so he went with the better option. He brought his tail around, a splotch of pale coloring like a paint splatter discoloring the tip. Said tip pressed into the offered palm and despite the chastising he knew was coming, Verena thought it was worth it to see the laughter that broke out across Soren's too grown up face.
He sucked in a breath, fumbling away from the strange human even as he realized his tail had moved on its own accord. The pale tip of his tail was stark against the strange human's palm and despite the joy he saw flicker across the strange human's face, he yanked his tail free. He wondered if the glimpse of disappointment was his own reflected back at him as Soren pulled on a mask of patience, hand still extended.
He swallowed thickly and reached out, giving a firm handshake even as he trembled. "Verena."
"How long have you been playing?"
Verena looked up as Soren settled beside him. Their two parties had been traveling together for over two weeks now and this was the first time Soren had sought Verena out when he was alone. Verena shrugged. "Long enough to have it ingrained into every fiber of my being," he offered easily enough. "Still don't remember much of my history despite..."
The last two weeks - the reasons why the two parties were now tangled and how memories weren't always the most pleasant coming back - went unsaid.
Soren hummed, as if ne understood.
They sat at the edge of the camp together, backs to the fire, and Verena suddenly had an inkling of why Soren was there. "I thought Soala was joining me for first watch."
Soren shrugged. "Apparently Aelfwyne needed her for something so I got volunteered."
He found himself raising an eyebrow at the other. "Why didn't you say no?"
Another shrug. "Soala was taking third watch for me in turn so I didn't think much of it till after the fact."
"Ah."
Silence stretched between them broken only by Verena's unconscious plucking of the lute strings.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when an unnaturally warm hand wrapped around the top of the base of his tail. He brought the lute up between them like it was a weapon he could use to beat Soren back but all he was met with was a surprised expression on the other's face. Regret quickly overtook the surprise and Soren pulled back, hand leaving Verena's tail. "Sorry."
Minutes passed before Verena finally relaxed enough to ask, "Why'd you do that?"
He gained Soren's gaze. Those off colored pupils regarded him for the brief moment before, "You looked like you needed some warmth."
"But my tail?"
Soren looked back to the group. "None of my companions have one so I hadn't really thought it would be any different than touching your shoulder, or arm." There was another shrug. "It was also bare skin. The rest of you is covered in fabric." Verena had taken to wearing his long sleeves but it was more out of keeping Soren's eyes off his markings than anything else. He gained a sigh from his silence. "Look," Soren explained, "I just did. There was no thought to it, no purpose other than wanting to give you some warmth. Figured best way was direct contact and I apologize for my lapse in judgment."
Soren stood up and started to move away.
It was then that Verena realized he really had been cold because now the chill of the night was touching him where Soren's warmth had been instead.
"What are you?"
His eyes snapped wide at the blurted words, a shiver of something coursing down his spin when Soren stops and half turns to look at him. But instead of the hate or rejection he expected to see, curiosity and patience greeted him from Soren's expression. He was growing to hate the latter. "A fire genasi. Why?"
"A what?"
"Fire genasi." Soren approached again but didn't sit. "Half human, half genie. Fire just happens to be the element trait I took on from the world."
"Would explain why you're always unnaturally warm."
Soren chuckled. He frowned, not liking the sound. It seemed sad. "I try and keep it as normal as I can manage but sometimes emotions or situations make it difficult."
His tail patted the spot Soren had been sitting at. "You were keeping the chill of the night away," he explained at Soren's raised eyebrow.
The fire genasi chuckled and sat back down. Conversation was slow to return but it did, making their watch short.
"Soren!"
His voice cracked on the name as fear threatened to choke him. Something brushed against his mind, something that wasn't physical, something he couldn't see nor touch, and as it brushed by it left him feeling like it took something with it but he couldn't think of what.
"Verena!"
It was soft, faint, and echoed off the walls like a whisper.
"Soren!" he screamed again, but he wasn't sure why he was screaming it. What even was it? Was it just a word or did it have meaning? Was it the customary response to 'verena'? What even was 'verena'?
He gave out a cry that turned into a sob as part of the ledge broke and tumbled into the darkness below. "Someone! Please!" he shouted, fear choking off anything else he may have shouted as he pressed into the wall as best he could.
"Verena!" His head snapped up and met a pair of eyes that looked off on a human face. Behind the stranger was a gaggle of people of varying races. "Shit," the human spat, the cuss echoed in different ways by those behind nem. "Verena, look at him." He found himself meeting the human's strange eyes. "Verena, I need you to trust me and step off the ledge."
"What?!" It was strangled and sharp and ricocheted off the walls oddly.
The human's face twisted into something painful. "Please, Ren," Ren, Ren, Ren, "you have to do this on your own. We can't come out to you."
"Why not?!" Another chuck of the ledge fell away and his leg slipped over the edge. "I can't!" it was high, reedy, followed quickly by a sob.
"We can't do this for you, Verena!" the human shouted back, voice strained as weapons were drawn. "Only you can conquer your fear! You're the only one that can get yourself out of its clutches."
"Soren!"
The strange human was thrown back by some force he didn't see. The human slammed into a few behind nem but those in the back were able to keep everyone more or less on their feet. One of the companions was already placing hands on the strange human's chest, magic dancing from those nimble fingers.
Something curled at the edge of his vision like it was about to strike and he knew with absolute certainty that if he let it spring forward, they would all die.
Whoever they were, they would all die.
He leapt at it as some noise ripped itself from his throat, magic turning all of his pale, swirling markings green.
It didn't matter who he was or who they were. He wasn't going to let them die.
[part 2]
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LOT/CaptainCanary fic: (I Donât Believe in) Destiny (ch. 10 of 11)
Leonard Snart is back, finally pulled from the timestream where he's spent the last four years. But he wasn't alone, and the repercussions of that will echo through the Legends, the Time Bureau, and beyond.
And maybe, just maybe, they'll bring everything around full circle.
You can also read here at AO3 or here at FF.net.
---
Ch. Ten: Every Game We Played
The Legends arenât there. Not yet, anyway.
Ava stares out the viewscreen of the bureau mother ship as they come in over the wreckage of the Vanishing Point, blasted and silent and dark. Thereâs no sign of the Waverider. To her right, Druce is stone-faced, looking down at the wreckage of his pastâand future?âhome.
The blast of the exploding Oculus wellspring hadnât wiped out everythingâwhich doesnât seem to make much sense; wasnât it a freed supernova?âand thereâs enough surface there to make the stand Druce wants. Thereâs even the ragged shell of a building around what Ava believes was the wellspring.
She bites her lip. Leonard Snart had caused this. But given all sheâs learnedâŚ
âAll hands brace for landing,â intones the pilot of the mother ship, a woman Ava had known by another name who now calls herself Liri Lee. Druce had gotten to so many of the bureau, so many people who believed they deserved more, knew better, because theyâd been, for a while, custodians of time.
Itâs true. Even with good intentions, power corrupts
Still, Ava rips her mind away from that. She braces, as directed, for landing. And she controls her expression as all those on the bridgeâŚ10, in addition to her and DruceâŚlook to the Time Master for direction.
Druce scans them, then nods regally.
âI must go to the wellspring,â he announces. âThere, to await the enemy. The othersâŚkeep them away.â His gaze hardens. âAnd you will be rewarded.â
The others donât look at Ava, their supposed director, at all. They salute Druce, as does Ava, slightly belatedly.
Game time.
*
The bureau has already landed at the Vanishing Point.
Sara, looking out the viewscreen of the Waverider, takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Sheâs not naĂŻve enough to believe that Ava isnât there, given the presence of the bureau mother ship, but sheâs trying not to think about it.
Leonard, to her right, glances at her. He doesnât say anything, though, and Sara doesnât pursue it.
Mick, to her left, mutters something under his breath. âWell,â he says, âTime Bastards are here. OK. Everyone clear on how weâre playinâ this?â
Theyâve talked and talked about it, but it really all comes down to something too simple to even be called a plan.
John snorts. âThe usual,â he says cynically, leaning against the holotable. âChaos. While handsome there,â he nods to Leonard, âstrolls through it all and goes for the wanker who started this.â
Sara rolls her eyes, forebears to mention that he really doesnât have to be hereâheaven knows Johnâs prone to wandering off on other businessâand admits that he has a point.
âYeah,â she acknowledges. âThatâs essentially it. Gideon, would you pull up the info on the Time Bureau agents we know are in on this?â
Names and faces flash on the screen. Saraâs seen all the data before, but she studies it intently again, considering abilities and matching them with the teammates around her.
One, whom Mick had known as Walker Gabriel, is a bull of a man, and Sara knows thatâshould he become a Time Masterâheâll be an enforcer and hunter not unlike Mick had been, just much higher up. She already knows that Mick has called dibs on facing him, and sheâll respect that. It seems like thereâs bad blood there.
The others: Hand to hand. High-tech combat. A touch of supernatural ability or more. Weapons expertise. High versatility.
In an uncanny way, Sara thinks, they really do mirror the Legends. Is this really how it was always meant to be? Legends vs. Time Masters, again and again and again?
âVersatile, my ass,â Charlie mutters from behind her. Sara glances around in time to see her cracking her knuckles. âIâll show that minger whoâs versatile.â She gives Sara a wolfish grin.
Sara grins back; itâs better than worrying. She pulls the viewscreen back to its view of the wreckage of the Vanishing Point and then glances over at Leonard.
âYou ready?â she asks, trying to sound confident.
She expects snark in return. But Leonardâs eyes are cool and serious. He gives her one sharp nod, his gaze still on the viewscreen, on the place where heâd diedâŚor theyâd thought he had.
âYes,â he says, voice low, intense. âItâs time.â
She doesnât think he means the punâbut with Leonard, you never can tell. Sara reaches out and takes his hand, squeezing once, then lets go. Theyâd said what they needed to say to each other, last night.
And it is, indeed, time.
*
Druceâs people are waiting for them. Sara, bo in her hands, in full uniform, leads her own people toward them. She doesnât look around to see when Leonard ghosts off on his own. She keeps her eyes forward and on the enemy.
The woman at the front of that groupâŚit isnât Ava. Itâs a tall redhead, whoâs watching them with equal parts wariness and what seems to be disgust. Sara, for now, resists the urge to glance around, looking for blond hair.
She flourishes her bo and reaches for cool confidence with a side of attitude.
âWell,â she tells the scowling woman, the one Mick had identified as Liri Lee. âFancy meeting you all here.â
The woman laughs. âYou are under arrest,â she says bluntly, coolly. âLegends? Agents of chaos, more like.â She nods sharply, looking around at them. âIâll never understand why we just didnât put you down like the mongrel dogs you are. Time was ordered and controlled untilâŚâ
Mick interrupts her. âYeah, yeah, yeah,â he says, staring over her head at Walker Gabriel. âLess talking. More fighting.â
And he brings his heat gun up and fires.
Well, itâs not how Sara might have chosen to start all this, but it works. The other woman leaps out of the way, Gabriel roars and charges Mick, and the fight is on.
Sara whirls as Lee turns for her, blocking and feinting at the redhead. She hears the other Legends engaging the other would-be Time Masters. And she counts as she glances around: one, two, threeâŚ10 total, looks like.
No Druce. But she doesnât see Ava either.
Where is she?
*
The shell of the Oculus wellspring building is just thatâŚa shell. Leonard strolls in like he owns the place instead of his terrified dash from last time, but his heart is thudding so loudly in his chest that it seems far louder than his own footsteps.
On some level, his own body remembers what happened here. The fear, the anger, the regret, the salt and sweet of Saraâs kiss. Staring at her as long as possible, trying to take her image with him into the night.
And then Druce. One last bit of defiance before it all went away.
This time, the Time Master waits for him here. Leonard can see his figure on the platform where the device that harnessed the wellspring stoodâstands. The man, whoâd worn regular, if nondescript, clothing of the time while heâd held Leonard captive at the Time Bureau, is now back in the sort of robe heâd worn before.
And heâs watching Leonard approach with an expressionless faceâbut furious eyes.
Ah. Itâs nice to know heâs managed to piss off the Time Bastard again. Leonard slows just a little, adding a touch of swagger, a smirk touching his lips. Racing heart or not, heâll be damned if heâll show anything other than insolence.
He halts at the far end of the bridge over to the device, studying Druce. Waits until the other man decides to speak...and then promptly beats him to it.
âWell,â he drawls, folding his arms, âseems we wound up here regardless.â He tilts his head. âToo bad itâs not gonna go the way you think itâs gonna go.â
The words appear to infuriate Druce even moreâjust as Leonard wants. His eyes flash, and he takes a few steps toward the other man, almost involuntarily. Leonard can now see the large knife in his hand. A killing weapon; a gutting one. Peachy.
âYouâŚâ Druce starts.
Leonard inspects his nails. âYes,â he says curtly. âMe.â He lifts his eyes, then, letting ice fill them. âAnd Iâm gonna win this time, too.â
His taunting is working. Druceâs face goes hard, rage spilling over into features and body language. He takes another few steps toward Leonard.
âYou are nothing!â he cries at Leonard. âDo you know how old I am? What I have seen? I walked the streets of ancient AthÍŽenai; I have dined in the halls of the lords of the future. The man named ChrysĂłs brought me forward from my homeland and I became his better. IâŚâ
âDonât care,â Leonard cuts in nonchalantly. (Though heâs kind of wondering about this âman named ChrysĂłs.â) If Druce gets just a little closer, heâll be able to get a hand on him and start this whole thing. âYouâre stillâŚâ
âFreeze!â
Leonardâs heart contracts, mostly for Saraâs sake, but he doesnât take his eyes off Druce. âSeriously?â he yells, however, at the sound of Ava Sharpeâs voice. âYouâre using cold puns? At me?â
He can see the blond woman moving in from his leftâŚand, then, the glint of light off the gun in her hand. Crap.
Druce smiles smugly. Heâs still just a little too far away for Leonard to lunge for.
âDirector Sharpe!â he says, raising his voice. âExcellent timing!â The tone dips as his eyes bore into Leonardâs, and he takes a step backward. âThe release of energy should happen as close as possible to the device and the wellspring as possible. But I donât have to be the one who kills himâas much as it would be gratifying.â
In his peripheral vision, Leonard sees Sharpe move closer. He takes a reluctant step out onto the bridge, toward Druce, who takes another step back too. Then Druce turns, moving closer to the center of the platform, trusting the bureau director with his back. Heâs that sure of her.
Leonard hears Sharpe draw in a quiet breath, and he dares a swift glance at her. The bureau directorâs face is still and thoughtful, and her demeanor isnât nearly as committed to her course as heâd figured.
SoâŚhe rolls the dice. He transfers more of his attention to her, even as Druce raises his voice, saying something else. Sara had loved this womanâstill does in a way, heâs sure of it. Thereâs got to be something there.
âSure you wanna do this?â he says very quietly.
Her eyes flickerâand Leonardâs suddenly very sure heâs right. He gives Sharpe a tiny nod, and just like that, theyâre on the same page.
âSara truly was telling the truth,â Sharpe says quietly. âAll of it.â
âPretty sure she wouldnât lie to you,â he says just as quietly. âSara takes care of the people she cares about. Sheâs lost too many of them.â
Ava nods, as Druce, realizing something is happening, turns back toward them. And then, in a lightning-swift move, she shifts, turning the gun on Druce.
The Time Masterâs jaw drops.
Leonard watches as he struggles with whatâs just happened. The look on Druceâs face is priceless, disbelief and horror and anger warring with each other. Anger wins.
âYou were supposed to be one of us!â he roars, spitting mad. âA Time Master! You idiot! Youâve thrown it all away!â
Sharpe retorts, but Leonard is suddenly hearing words spoken not so long ago.
Find a crack in whatâs supposedly meant to happen.
Ava Sharpe had, after all, become a Time Master, in the way things went before. Now, she wouldnât be one. Because of her own decision, her own choice--the things that all time turns on.
One little crack is all you need to start it.
âDo what you need to do,â Sharpe tells him, voice controlled. âIâll make sure no one else interferes.â
âGot it.â
Thereâs no more point in waiting. Leonard takes three swift steps toward the incensed Time Master, whoâs still staring at Sharpe. And almost before Druce realizes it, Leonard grabs his arm. The other man tries to pull away, and it would be just a bit too easy to fall.
But Leonard closes his eyes, lets the temporal energy surge, and then twists.
*
When Leonard had worked his smaller time tricks back at the ship and outside Salvation, Sara hadnât felt anything. John and Nora had said they could sense a flicker of some sort of energy, and Charlie had described a sort of unnerving feeling during some of the bigger surges of time. No one else had noticed.
But when something happens at the Vanishing Point, even as the Legends are still facing off with Druceâs people, everyone feels it.
Sara thinks it feels a little like the bottom dropping out of the worldâor her stomach, maybe both. She stumbles, catching herself, even as things feel like they start to whirl around her. She hears her team cry out around her, and tries to look, but everythingâs blurry.
And then itâs done.
Saraâs stomach tries to revolt, but she controls it, drawing in a steadying breath, grip tightening on her bo, and looks for the team. Predictably, itâs the more magical members of the group whoâd felt the discharge of energy the most. Noraâs down, but Rayâs standing over her, ready to defend her. John looks a little worse for wear, but heâs on his feetâmore or less. CharlieâŚwell, Charlieâs on her hands and knees, throwing up.
And thereâs one of Druceâs Time Bureau people headed right for her.
Sara yells, feeling like her voice echoes oddly, and runs toward her teammate even as Zari whirls and does the same. The manâsomeone named Ryder, Mick had saidâglances her way, raising a weapon, and Sara crashes into him, grappling briefly before she disarms him and lays him out on the ground.
Thereâs a noise behind her, though, and she whirls, realizing belatedly that sheâs still a little dizzy. The woman Liri Lee is right on top of her, andâŚ
And then Lee goes flying, knocked away by the burst of some sort of energy. Like the stun guns the bureau agents sometimes use, Sara thinksâŚand then blinks at the person whoâd wielded it.
âNeed some help?â Gary Green grins at her, incongruous in his thick dark glasses and dark suit, there at the Vanishing Point.
âWhat?â Sara manages, glancing around. Garyâs not the only one. Other bureau agentsânot the ones answering to Druceâare helping the Legends whoâd been most affected by the time surge and facing the renegade bureau agents.
âWe kinda stowed away,â Gary tells her. âDirector Sharpe didnât like that Druce picked all the people on the mother ship. I, uh, got a group of the ones she trusts most together.â He gives her a lopsided smile, obviously proud that heâs one of them. âThought we might be needed.â
Hope rises in Saraâs heart. âAnd where is she?â
He glances toward the wellspring
*
When Snart had grabbed Druceâs arm, theyâd both suddenly glowed with a blue light so bright that Ava had taken a few steps backward, lifting an arm to shield her eyes. Things seem to spin, and then she sees a surge of energy down in the wellspring channel below.
She has just enough time to worry about thatâa scaled-down supernova, Druce had saidâwhen the light freezes, sort of, flickering in place. Controlled and steady, she thinks dizzily.
Is Snartâthe man who destroyed the Oculusâcreating it after all? She can barely see their shapes in the radiant energy by the Oculus device.
It surges again. Ava closes her eyes.
When she opens them again, both men are gone. Vanished into the light.
*
Itâs kind of nice to know that after all those years of developing concentration and attention to detailâfirst to spite Lewis by becoming a better crook, then because of his own pride and love of a challengeâitâs all coming back to help him now.
Leonard will admit that this is a far greater challenge than most, though. He has to use the temporal energy to keep himself, Druce, and the device and channel for the wellspring the only things that are hurtling back through time, or he could age the others here out of existenceâwhich doesnât bear thinking about. And Druce, once he gets over his stunned surprise at what Leonardâs doing, tries to take over, but Leonard mentally strongarms him away.
Iâll show you willpower, asshole.
AndâŚthere. So long ago. The moment the supernova was born, and a shipâa sphere?âhovers not so far away. Leonard wonders, but this is not a point when he can hesitate.
He takes a deep breath andâŚstops time.
The supernova fills the wellspring. The device glows. The Oculus exists once more.
And Leonard takes himself and Druce into the timestream itself.
Itâs blue, all blue light and nothingness. Theyâre surrounded by it. Leonard, watching, see Druceâs eyes widen withâŚfear?...before the other man controls his expression.
âThe Oculus,â the Time Master breathes. âYou destroyed itâŚand then you created it. Symmetrical.â And then he chuckles, giving Leonard a knowing look that turns his stomach.
âAh,â he says. âAfter all, youâre still the pragmatic one. And while I donât know precisely how Ms. SharpeâsâŚchange of heart...will affect things now, there is room for one more member on the High Council. Is that what you want? BecauseâŚâ
Leonard laughs in his face.
âNope,â he tells Druce. âWeâre just here to make sure you donât find ways to do this again.â He pauses. âSomeone called it âbreaking the chain.â Doesnât matter if it happened before. Itâs not happening again.â
The Time Master blinks at him, clearly surprised. âBut it has happened,â he says fervently. âIt must happen. Or you would not be here, I would not be there. Those so-called Legends, they would not be here. Time is a lineâŚyou may move back along it, or forward, but you canât just split it off.â
Leonard thinks of âwibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuffâ and the web of Hypertime that Mary had described to them. âNope,â he says again, folding his arms. âIt stops here.â
Druceâs eyes narrow. âAnd how, Mr. Snart, do you presume to do that?â
Leonard smirks at him. âNot me,â he corrects. âThem.â
The blue light brightens. Druce puts a hand up, looking almost frightened again. Leonard watches as the light takes a vaguely humanoid form, and the very same feeling of presence heâd felt while trapped here before.
Theyâd tried to help him cope, then. He knows that now. And heâs pretty sure he knows why. Heâs been in juvie or jail or prison plenty of times himself.
The timestreamâŚTime ForceâŚregards Druce, then glances back at Leonard, who nods to them.
âGo ahead,â he says. âHe deserves it.â He looks back at the Time Master, smirking. He might be more or less a good guy nowâŚbut that doesnât mean he has to be nice.
The other man stares at him. âButâŚyouâŚâ
Leonardâs smirk grows. âYouâre the one that imprisoned them and used them,â he says, looking back at the humanoid Time Force. âIâm the one who freed them.â He pauses. The figure of blue light takes a step toward Druce, who tries to back away but canât. âWhich one of us do you think they feel kindlier toward?â
Druce looks like a man facing his worst nightmare. âBut you created the Oculus!â
âDoesnât mean itâs controlling anything this time aroundâŚor ever again.â
And then the Time Force reaches out and grabs Druceâs arm, much like Leonard had earlier. Light flaresâand they both vanish. Leonard feels a surge of power as the other manâs own store of temporal energy goes back to where it came from.
Itâs all rather anticlimactic, really.
Leonard lets out a long breath, then glances around, trying to work out how heâs going to get home. He has power hereâŚmaybe he always willâŚbut that doesnât mean he wants to stay. Heâs spent enough of his life in the timestream.
He only wonders a moment, though. Thatâs when the light brightensâŚand a humanoid figure appears there again. This time, though, theyâre choosing to appear much more lifelike.
Leonard smirks a little. âSo,â he drawls, studying the Time Forceâs chosen form, âis this a way of pissing off the competition in the realm of...hmm...humanoid personifications of abstract concepts? By borrowing the form of the other guyâs representative?â
The entity studying him in return looks just like Barry Allen, at the moment, although theyâre wearing a blue suit instead of a red one, and their eyes are nothing but blue light. They donât respond, but they donât seem ill-disposed toward him. Fortunately.
âSo,â Leonard tells them, driven for once to fill the silence, âthe Oculus is still a thing. Or a thing again, I donât know. But no oneâs gonna be controlling you with it now.â He eyes the avatar. âI kind of get the impression you wouldnât be as easy to control anyway, now that youâre more awake and aware.â
The Time Force studies himâŚand then smirks. Itâs not quite an expression Leonardâs ever seen on Barryâs face before, although heâs pretty sure heâs seen it in the mirror. Then, the being reaches out and takes his hand.
And with the gesture comes a question, asked directly into his mind.
Itâs all Leonard can do not to jerk his hand away.
âNo,â he says firmly. âSorry, but no. I have...a lot of things to do. A life to live. But I donât want forever.â
The entity that had just offered him immortality in the role of their caretaker inclines their head. Then they tilt it inquiringly, another clear question.
âOK, there are a few things I wouldnât mind changing,â Leonard concedes. âIf you donât mind.â
When the Time Force indicates that they donât mind indeed, he carefully opens his mind and lets them see, getting a prompt affirmative. Then the avatar lifts their blue-light eyes to Leonardâs and smiles again, stepping closer, a clear suggestion in their posture.
Time to go home.
Well, since Allenâs now married, he might as well enjoy this while he has the chance. Leonard closes his eyes against the light as Time-Force Barryâs lips touch his, warm, soft, and crackling with energy.
And then heâs falling into that light, again.
*
Ava feels like she can still see the afterimage of the blast on the inside of her eyelids when she hears someoneâSaraâcalling her name. She turns, watching the other womanâand some of the other Legends, plus the familiar sight of Gary and her other most-trusted agentsârunning toward her.
She waits uneasily for them, but Sara doesnât hesitate. When she reaches Ava, she pulls the bureau director into her arms, hugging her soundly, spinning her around until Avaâs breathless.
âThank god youâre OK,â Sara says, staring at her. âYou are OK?
âIâm fine, Sara, Iâm fine.â Ava reassures her. She starts to speak, to explain her change of heart, to apologize for not listening before, but Saraâs looking at the center of the wellspring now, and her face is still. Frozen.
Before she can speak, though, Mick Rory reaches them, scanning the area, his face a study in conflicting emotions.
âSnart?â he barks. âWhere is he?â
Ava spreads her hands out before her. âHe vanished. He and Druce,â she says helplessly. âNeither one of them has reappeared, although that did.â She finally turns and studies the light in the wellspring and the device atop it. âThey brought it back anyway. The Oculus device.â
âItâs not like it used to be,â Sara tells her quickly. âOr, at least, it wonât be if Leonard did what he planned to.â She studies it, biting her lip. âButâŚâ
Her voice trails off. And Ava canât think of a damned thing to say to her.
*
Itâs obviousâŚat least Sara hopes it isâŚthat Leonard had indeed broken the chain. Theyâre all still here, after all. Theyâve won. And Druce is gone.
But Leonard is gone too.
Sara stares into the wellspring as if it holds answers. But it didnât last time, when it was blowing up around her, and it doesnât now. But what ifâŚ
She turns, holding her hand out to a startled Ava. âCan I borrow your time courier?â she asks urgently. âMaybeâŚmaybe heâs stuck again. Maybe we can get him out.â
The other woman blinks at her. âWell, yes,â she says, starts to remove the device, âbutâŚâ
âBlondie, itâs not the same.â
âBut we have toâŚâ
âSara!â
They all turn, and Sara focuses on the figure at the entrance to the wellspring building. Itâs Gideon, whoâs been part of the Waverider during all this, now back in her humanoid android form.
Even from here, Sara can see her smile.
âYouâre needed back on the ship!â the AI calls, amusement and relief in her tone. "Thereâs something there you need to see!â
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