#wtf how is he recovering from such severe wounds so quickly?

[potpourri-of-ecclecticism]

Time is such a fleeting concept in the HOTD universe because… how long has it actually been since Rook’s Rest? Like, how the hell is Aegon recovering so quickly? Wasn’t he out of action for nearly a year in the books? I have no clue how long has it been on the show since he sustained FIRST THIRD DEGREE BURNS and FREEFALL from the heavens. I’m mind blown - someone explain this timeline to me I’m sitting over there.

[stealingpotatoes]

I am OBSESSED with your Desmond lives AU!! I want Shaun and Rebecca to be able to give Desmond all the hugs, I want Desmond to be able to choose to be an Assassin, to be able to help save the world again. Also, I am very curious about how you would resurrect Desmond, because I’ve had similar thoughts on such an AU, but I currently stick it near the end of Valhalla with the stuff that happens there. If you ever feel like expanding on it, I'd be super excited to see more!!!

first of all, AH THANK YOU!!! Yes those are ALL points that are very important to the Des Lives AU! Second of all, thank you so much for this ask in general!!! I was hoping someone would send an ask like this so I’d get an excuse to talk abt the AU more lmao XD!! I made this AU back in March last year, so there’s no Valhalla stuff in it, and it’s set right after/ during the Odyssey DLCs. 

The long story short for my Desmond Rez (rezmond, if you will) is “shroud of eden, abstergo, and some Isu bullshit”. The long story long, however, is uh- you know what? I’m going to use this opportunity to explain the vague story I worked out last year -- but dw, I WILL get to the full ressurection explanation I thought through. However... I’m gonna have to tell the story in smaller parts because I’m lazy and can’t be bothered to write the whole thing out right now. So rez comes later and not in this post. 

also uh-- before we start: I’m going to apologise for like… everything about the way I wrote this. It’s sort-of half fic, half that-way-your-friends-colloquially-tell-stories-that-you-can’t-keep-up-with. Mainly the latter. If you can make sense of this babbling, well done.

 Anyways, without further ado, welcome to:

POTES TRIES TO EXPLAIN HER DESMOND (SORTA) LIVES AU: PART ONE

On the 21st of December 2012, Desmond Miles dies. 

It’s not for nothing -- his sacrifice saves the entire world from a solar flare -- but he is dead. big ripz. The Assassins, his family, do not manage to recover his body. Abstergo gets it first. The Assassins hold a funeral as best they can. They mourn (all in their own ways), they keep fighting (for his memory), and they try to move on (they can’t). 

On the 21st of December 2012, Desmond Miles died -- so when he shows up in a city in October 2018, almost 6 years later, it’s a bit of a shock for everyone. What’s even more of a shock is the fact he’s glowing like an Isu and has some abilities he DEFINITELY didn’t have when he died.

So Desmond wakes up in the middle of some city in he doesn’t know where (yeah ok i just never really worked out where the secret lab would be), with 1. no idea of how he got there and 2. no idea why his arms are glowing like that. He doesn’t get much time to think about it because then there’re a load of Abstergo goons with guns surrounding him. Des may have no idea what’s happening, but he knows one thing: when u see an Abstergo, it’s on sight. So he’s fighting them -- which is admittedly not fun or easy when you’re in the middle of a road and only have your fists as weapons. It’s not going well and then someone definitely manages to shoot Desmond which is very bad -- but then Des feels some very weird (but not unfamiliar) feeling and when he looks up from the bullet wound, every one of the Abstergos are on the floor???? He doesn’t think to check if they’re dead, just legs it out of there lmao. 

//

Elsewhere, in an Assassin safehouse in an undisclosed location (can you tell I just didn’t think about the geography of anything), Mr Shaun Hastings is chilling on a balcony after a mission well done. Good for him. Then Rebecca Crane (queen ilu) yells “Shaun?” from inside. 

“Rebecca?” 

“Come inside. Now.”

Shaun immediately does so because he assumes it’s important or they’re under threat. “What happened? Have we been compromised?”

Rebecca doesn’t answer. 

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Shaun says, mostly joking and with a little smirk -- though Becs looks spooked. 

“Desmond’s alive.”

Shaun’s not smirking anymore. “What?”

“Desmond’s... he’s alive.”

“What are you talking about? Are you high?” he’s totally about to look at her eyes to see if they’re all dilated and druggy. 

“No Shaun, I mean it!” Becs harshly shoves her tablet into his hands. 

Shaun doesn’t really know what he’s expecting to see when he looks down at the screen. What he’s not really expecting to see is Desmond Miles, who’s been dead for six years, fighting a load of Abstergo people -- while lined in Isu markings (also he’s not wearing a shirt forgot got to mention). ??? But wtf??!?! Desmond’s dead. That’s...

“It’s security camera footage from [the city]... About two hours ago.” Rebecca then swipes through more footage with shaky hands and explains that Des very violently burst out of an Abstergo facility in the city with glowing eyes and light leaking out of him (almost like an Apple of Eden). Then the glowing eyes and shining lights shuts off abruptly and Des is standing in the middle of the road looking very confused at his precursor-ass arms and chest. But Shaun is barely listening to what she’s saying and barely even looking at the screen. 

“Where did you get this?” Shaun asks with a hollow voice, not looking up. 

“The Initiates.” (bc who else)

Shaun looks at it again, then at Rebecca, and he’s mildly aware of the fact he’s slightly tearing up; “That’s fake. That can’t be him. He’s dead, Becs. We both saw the…” They both saw the autopsy footage the ac4 researcher got from Abstergo -- or at least, tried to watch it; they shut it off as soon as Shaun ran to the bathroom to throw up and Rebecca quickly joined him. They spent the rest of that night crying and drinking way too much. 

“He died.” Shaun concludes firmly. 

And so Becs is all like “yeah but what if he didn’t?? We need to find him. We need to investigate this.” There’s a determination in her eyes and Shaun knows he’s not going to be able to convince her to drop this -- not that he would. Desmond might be alive, and there is no way they’re going to leave him again. 

They’re both standing there in pure shock and confusion, not saying anything. 

Rebecca’s comm device lights up and starts buzzing, snapping them out of their general ????-ness. Becs goes to her desk to grab it, glances at the caller id and then shows it to Shaun. It’s William Miles. 

The two of them share a Look. They know what he’s calling about -- what else would it be? There’s a stilted moment of neither of them doing anything before Rebecca finally accepts the call. “William?” 

“How quickly can you and Shaun get to [city]?” William sounds shaken -- probably the same way Rebecca and Shaun are -- which is a very weird way to hear the Mentor of the Brotherhood sound. He’s seen the footage, hasn’t he? 

“In a few hours,” Rebecca replies. 

“Good. You need to get there as soon as possible.” 

Everyone’s silent for a few moments. 

“Is this about Desmond?” Rebecca asks. Dumb question. 

There’s a pause. “You’ll be briefed on the ground.” And then he hangs up before Shaun or Rebecca can yell at him.

This is all moving very fast. Shaun and Rebecca share another look. Guess they’re going to [city].  ???

// 

Fast forward several hours and Rebecca and Shaun are in The City [might just have to make the city london bc it’s the one city i actually know well -- however for plot reasons we’ll see later, a swiss city might be better… moving on!]. They get to an assassin base and meet up with Galina Voronina and 2 local assassins. Idk if you’ve read the comics, but to sum things up quickly, Galina and her team were investigating and then ended Project Phoenix -- so Galina now really wants to find out if the whole Desmond thing has anything to do with that. 

Galina also wants to help Shaun and Rebecca get their friend back. They’re her friends, but equally she just lost one of her teammates to Abstergo (while ending Phoenix like 2 months ago, in the comics) and is uh- idk how to say it but she wants to help Shaun & Becs who have a chance to get their lost teammate back.

What follows is cool gang-gang trying to track down any trace of Desmond. You’d think it wouldn’t be hard to find a person who literally glows, but Desmond’s had centuries of Assassin training and knows how to hide lol.. which is making the Assassins’ job harder lol. 

What’s making it even harder is the Assassins know they have to be quick because they know Abstergo is gonna be looking for Desmond too -- and they have way more resources and stuff. That being said, they’re also currently dealing with the fact one of their building and a decent amount of their guards just got absolutely mullered by weird-glowing-desmond. 

The third issue with their entire thing is that they have no idea what they’re going to find when they find Desmond -- or if he even is Desmond. Is he going to be the man they knew but with weird powers? an Abstergo isu-clone? evil? they don’t know, and so they know they’ve got to be wary with him. 

The Assassin gang spend some time (a couple of days at the very most) trying to track Desmond down. Rebecca is using all the tech she can get her hacker mitts on to find a trace of him and equally throw Abstergo off Des’ trail. 

Soon enough, they get a solid lead -- don’t ask for the specifics, i don’t know them. But they get a lead, and it winds them up in an abandoned apartment building or also abandoned building site or something (a building in the city where there aren’t any people, basically). 

Galina scans the place with Eagle Vision and she’s like “There is something very strange about this place.” (someone?) But she doesn’t see a person-shape anywhere. The 5 of them are hopeful but somewhat on edge. 

They go about searching for any sign of Desmond. Galina’s pretty sure her Eagle Vision is just… Messing Up A Lot lol. Like something’s trying to heck with it. So she’s not quite sure it’s working correctly when a load of red figures appear somewhere below them. 

She becomes a lot more sure when the red figures come into sight and START SHOOTING AT THEM! IT’S ABSTERGO!! CRAP! they found them!!

The assassins get down and a really cool fight scene w them vs the Abstergos in the building/ building site starts playing out. Woo Shaun and Rebecca electro-hidden-blade moments!! The fight splits the squad up and Shaun and Rebecca are away from Galina & the others -- but they dispatch the Abstergo guards near them.

They’re about to radio in that they’re all okay/ check if Galina & co are also good when they hear a slightly-too-loud footstep. They whip around to see an Abstergo guard aiming right at them, too far for either of them to get him before he shoots them. crap crap crap.

They would have been shot -- if someone hadn’t come up behind the Abstergo guard and snapped his neck (ouch). 

The Abstergo drops to the ground, revealing the person who saved them and… Shaun and Rebecca stare in shock. 

They’re both looking at Desmond Miles. 

Desmond Miles, who is very much alive (and wearing a hoodie that is 100% stolen). And… with a load of glowing yellow lines on his face. But it’s Desmond -- it’s Desmond for sure. Holy shit.  

Desmond doesn’t seem so shocked, only relieved to see them. Then his expression turns into serious confusion; 

“What the fuck is happening?”

///

ok sorry leaving it there for now! hope you enjoyed what is here will continue soon

[buzzybeesinlove]

“ you’re bleeding— how long have you been hiding this?! ” Bumbleby where Blake hides a unsurvivable wound for prompts!

since two people asked for this prompt, hope it’s okay i just combine them like this! i know the anon asked for blake to say it to yang but i just thought it’s be easier to combine these two asks. so sorry for taking like several days to get around to this one, i really wasn’t sure how i wanted to write this prompt but i think i like the idea now.

thank you so much for the prompt, but “unsurvivable”? you’re gonna make me cry writing this huh

i hope you both enjoy though thanks again <3 under the cut!

TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH , BLOOD AND INJURY (and yes, i did cry writing this thanks so much wtf)

It was chaos.

Atlas was falling apart - literally, and they had barely no time to react to it. Grimm burrowed into the ground and Salem’s monstrous Whale Grimm parked itself right on Atlas’ doorstep, more and more Grimm pouring out and flooding the city.

Yang’s group had tagged along with the Ace-Ops, albeit reluctantly, to return to Atlas to help deal with the invasion. Once they arrived, it didn’t take long to reunite with her team at Schnee Manor, after dialing Ruby to confirm where they were.

There were a lot of hugs, a lot of relieved smiles and happy tears, especially from Blake and Yang as they held each other, whispering into each other’s ears about being worried and hoping they were okay.

But the serenity didn’t last long - Salem continued to advance and the team had no other choice but to defend, and now, Yang found herself inside a fucking Whale Grimm on the edge of Atlas and her team going head to head with Salem’s minions.

Blake and Yang, amongst the chaos, somehow got broken off from the rest of their team. That left them to deal with Tyrian and Mercury, and Salem nowhere to be found inside this monstrosity as they battled, dealing blows back and forth as best they could.

Tyrian cackled maniacally as he advanced on Blake, and although Yang had to dodge a roundhouse kick from Mercury, she did so and shot to Blake’s side, allowing her to grab Gambol Shroud and spin around, using Bumblebee to whack Tyrian in the face.

He stumbled back a little, but continued to laugh in that dark, evil way of his.

“I got this!” Blake called to her, and Yang wanted to protest, wanted to back her up in this - Tyrian was unpredictable, unhinged and there was no telling what he would do to her. But Yang had her own battle to deal with, and Mercury reminded of that with a swift kick to her side, causing her to grunt with pain and whirl around to face him, blocking a few more hits.

“Remember how we fought at Beacon?” Mercury said darkly, smirk on his lips when Yang’s eyes flashed with anger in response. “How you attacked poor old me, unprovoked-”

Yang growled and shot forward with her gauntlet, reeling back and swiftly landing a punch into Mercury’s side, leaving him stumbling back and wheezing a little as a result. He recovered quickly and began spinning and kicking, but Yang was smarter - stronger this time, and she blocked and dodged every hit. She grabbed onto one of his legs and flipped him over onto the ground, right on his back and stepped over him, grabbing a fistful of his shirt.

“I remember you framing me.” Yang growled in his face, and he simply smirked at her, but she put an end to that by knocking him in the face with her forehead, leaving him unconscious on the ground.

A cry from behind alerted her to Blake, and she whipped around, seeing Tyrian’s tail wrapped around one of Blake’s arms, Gambol Shroud clattering to the ground. Yang’s heart sank and she shot forward, catching Tyrian off guard with a swift punch to the side of his face.

He cried out in pain and stumbled over, his tail unwrapping from Blake and allowing her to hold onto Gambol properly again. He was soon up again, and the partners stood next to each other, readying their weapons.

She saw Blake stagger a little in the corner of her eye, but before she could ask if she was okay, Tyrian giggled and sprinted towards them with his weapons drawn, maniacal gleam in his eye.

He threw his little blades at them simultaneously, but Blake and Yang blocked them easily. He flipped over them and caught them in an instant, his tail wrapping around Yang’s arm in the process and causing her to stumble.

“Yang!” Blake shouted, and Yang grunted, struggling against the tail’s grip. Tyrian laughed again and sent her flying away, her back hitting the wall of the inside of the Whale. She fell down and let out a painful sound as she hit the ground, breath being knocked out of her briefly.

“Oh, itsy, bitsy, bees. Hehehehe.” Tyrian giggled as he blocked Blake’s hit to his side, her blade just missing his skin. “So weak, so helpless.”

He threw a kick to Blake’s face, but she used a copy of herself to dodge out of the way and round behind him, raising her blade to stab his back. Yang got herself up as she saw Tyrian block the hit with his tail, and once Blake was staggered, he wrapped around Gambol and shoved it back into her.

“Blake!” Her name was wrenched out of Yang’s throat, rough and desperate as she saw her partner be thrown away, just as she was. She scrambled to her feet just as Tyrian stood over Blake, his tail outstretched, about to plunge it into her body.

Yang yelled and shot over to him, ramming into his back and sending them both flying, barely hearing the cries of pain over the thrumming of her heart in her ears as Tyrian flopped onto his back, grunts of pain escaping him.

Yang shook herself out of it and desperately got back up, Tyrian still on his back, and began wailing punches on him, some boosted by Ember Celica and others just her raw energy. He became so bloody and bruised that she didn’t recognise him, and despite his efforts to raise his tail or fight back, Yang activated her semblance and punched down on his mechanical tail, burying it inside the fleshy ground of the Whale, trapping him for the time being.

Yang’s chest heaved for several seconds before she calmed down, her semblance deactivating. She immediately looked over to her partner, but found that she was already up and about, looking a bit broken and dishevelled, but relatively okay.

Yang rushed to her and enveloped her in a hug, closing her eyes tightly and cupping the back of her head. Blake chuckled weakly into her ear, but Yang felt tears prick her eyes.

“Thank Gods you’re okay.” Yang breathed out shakily, and Blake hummed, her one arm circling around her back in an attempt at a hug.

“It’s okay.” Blake replied, which Yang thought was a weird response, but shrugged it off and pulled away from her, letting out a soft smile.

“We need to find the others.” Yang said, and Blake simply nodded, and with a little help from Yang due to her staggering a little still, they limped through the several winding corridors of the Whale, searching for their team.

It took them several twists and turns, with Blake growing heavy against Yang’s side every ten steps, but Yang brushed it off as tiredness and sore muscles from their fight with Tyrian. She eventually heard sounds of fighting not far off from them, and quickly sped up, Blake whimpering in pain as she did so.

“I’m sorry. Don’t worry, we’ll be with them soon.” Yang tried to reassure her, and Blake winced, but ultimately tried to smile at her and nod her head.

They came across an open door that lead into a larger room, mostly devoid of anything minus the rest of the gang finishing up their fights, and Yang was even relieved to see Oscar was there, too, helping Ruby fight Cinder with his cane.

As Blake and Yang stumbled into the open room, Yang attempted to pull away from her to get into the fight, but the minute she did, Blake collapsed into her side, startling her and making her whip her head over to look at her. Blake’s amber eyes were dimmed, looking dull and grey instead of vibrant and although Yang could hear the sounds of the fight retreating, her team clearly overtaking their enemies, all Yang cared about was Blake sinking to the ground next to her. Yang knelt down at her side, eyes and movements frantic.

“Blake?” Yang spoke with a shaky, scared voice at the sight of her partner. Blake coughed slightly and looked up at her from the ground, shaky smile on her bloody lips.

“’m sorry.” Blake wheezed, and Yang whimpered at the broken sound, gathering Blake up in her arms. She quickly glanced around the room to assess the situation, and was relieved to find that her teammates and friends were okay, their enemies laid out on the ground in heaps, defeated for now.

Ruby and Weiss looked over at her cradling Blake and their eyes widened, rushing over, followed by Ren, Jaune, Nora and Oscar as well.

“Blake?” Weiss said in a strained voice, falling to her knees on the other side of her. Ruby followed suit and knelt beside Weiss, Blake’s eyes half-lidded as she looked up at everyone.

“Blake, wha-” Yang started, but she quickly clamped her mouth shut when she realised.

A bloody, red patch was seeping through Blake’s pristine white coat and Yang’s heart ached, it fell to pieces as she ripped open the coat, a gasp escaping her lips at the sight of a gaping hole through her leather suit, just near her heart and mountains of blood seeping out.

“Blake... Blake, you're bleeding. How long have you been hiding this?!” A lump formed in Yang’s throat as she flicked her eyes up to Blake’s, her amber orbs almost closed. Blake’s throat bobbed and she weakly reached out to Yang’s hand, and Yang enveloped hers in her own, squeezing tightly.

"Fight with-with Tyrian..." Blake said around coughs, and Yang held onto her hand like a lifeline, squeezing desperately.

"Blake." Yang said, heart constricting painfully in her chest. "Why didn't you say anything?!" Her voice was firm, but desperate and tears formed in her eyes at the weak smile her partner offered her, and an equally weak shrug.

"Too late." Blake replied weakly, and Yang shook her head immediately. She shot her eyes up to her other teammates, and both Ruby and Weiss' eyes were welled up with tears, their hands locked together with Blake's other hand at her side. Yang sucked back her sobs and looked to Jaune next, eyes wild.

"Jaune. Come on, your semblance..." Yang trailed off when Blake squeezed her hand again - much weaker than the last, and she ignored the crestfallen look on Jaune's face at the situation before looking back to Blake, her eyes looking straight up into hers with major difficulty.

"His tail- it... it-it got me before-before you knocked him away." Blake struggled to get it out, her breaths becoming more staggered and painful, and Yang felt tears stream down her cheeks, shaking her head at what her partner was saying.

"No, no, no, I- I got there in time, I shoved him away." Yang's tears were flowing freely now, a few of the droplets slipping from her face and onto Blake's, whose tears also travelled down her cheeks, mixing in with hers.

"... Hit... Hit me as you shoved him." Blake's voice was gradually getting softer, and Yang wiped furiously at her eyes before leaning over Blake, gathering her up in her arms and laying her in her lap, heartbeat and eyes wild and full of despair.

"It's okay, it's okay." Yang chanted, her hand shaky as she tucked stray hairs behind Blake's ear and looked down at her. She glanced at everyone else, their faces broken and tears easily flowing down everyone's faces. She looked to Jaune, and he looked back at her with a look that suggested she wasn't going to be happy with what he said next.

"I-I don't know... I don't..." Jaune stumbled over his words and Yang tightened her grip on Blake's frail body, eyes flashing red and hair igniting just slightly.

"Jaune." Yang growled through her teeth, and he knelt quickly, hands shaking as he held them over Blake's body, clenching his teary eyes shut and channelling his aura as best he could.

"Yang."

Blake's voice was a quiet rasp, now, and Yang shook her head as she looked down at her. Blake smiles shakily up at her and weakly reached up, her fingers briefly brushing her cheek before falling back down, the movement too much for her. Yang sniffled and glanced back to Jaune, who was trying his best, but Blake's aura wasn't being amplified, nothing was happening and her heart shattered into a million pieces.

"Why isn't it working? It worked for Weiss!" Yang yelled in dismay, and she shot her eyes to Weiss, who snapped her eyes up to her in return, with Ruby wrapping an arm around her partner to comfort her. She saw Jaune open his eyes and look to her, so she glanced his way, his expression downtrodden.

"He must- must have had... Something on his tail, maybe it's rejecting me." Jaune replied, and Yang's ears started ringing, her heartbeat drumming in her ears.

It wasn't happening. It wasn't, no, Blake would be fine, they'll pick her up, get her to a proper healer, she'd-

"Yang."

It was Ruby this time, and she whipped her head to her sister across Blake's body. Her silver eyes were cracked and marred with red from her overflow of tears, and she and Weiss reached over to her, laying a hand each on her arms. They looked at her like this was the end and trying to keep it together for her, her partner and best friend and... and...

And something else that she never got to explore, dying in her fucking arms and she felt her stomach flipping and turning and sizzling anger beneath the surface and fatigue and weakness seeping into her bones.

Blake's breaths were few and far between, now, and everyone around her was expecting what was happening next. Blake rasped in her arms, the blood continuing to drench through her clothes and onto Yang's hands, her own clothes, the floor. It was everywhere and filling her vision and she couldn't take it, couldn't deal with the downright terrible ache in her heart when she flitted her eyes back to Blake's, which were fighting to stay open as she looked up at her.

Blake cracked her bloody lips open.

"Please kiss me." Blake wheezed, and Yang was momentarily startled at the request, but the desperation in Blake's weak voice and the remaining light in her eyes caused her to act, no thought or hesitation about it when she leaned forward and sealed their lips together.

It was weak - it was metallic in taste and not the passionate, beautiful, desperate kiss she always imagined with her. There was barely any pressure from Blake's end, but she was still there, she was there and their lips slotted together softly as if they had finally found their home and Yang sobbed into her mouth, Blake swallowing up a few of them despite the addition of the salt of Yang's tears. Despite the circumstances, her body still warmed from head to toe at the feeling of Blake's lips finally on hers after all this time, and stars danced behind her eyes when Blake managed to weakly lick on her bottom lip, but pulled away shortly after, her body practically limp in Yang's arms.

Yang's body shook as she stared down at her, the tiniest smile at the corner of Blake's lips.

"I couldn't..." Blake trailed off to cough. "Couldn't go... Without finally kiss- kissing you." Blake's eyes fluttered shut, and Yang made a noise of protest, reaching up to cup both of her cheeks.

"Blake." Yang called to her desperately, and for just another moment longer, Blake's eyes opened a crack. Yang pressed their foreheads together and looked directly into her eyes.

"I love you." Yang breathed out, and Blake's breath hitched just slightly but Yang couldn't tell if it was in response to her confession, or if the act was becoming even more difficult for her in these last moments.

Blake's throat bobbed as she swallowed and she flicked her eyes over to everyone else in the room, reaching out a hand weakly to Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, Ren, Nora and Oscar. Everybody knelt down next to her, Ruby and Weiss laying their foreheads against the side of Blake's head, while Yang remained pressed against her forehead. Jaune, Ren, Nora and Oscar laid their hands on her arm, and Blake shuddered out a few breaths, looking around at them all before returning her eyes to Yang.

"I love you too." Blake said. "So much." 

Yang held her against her, the rest of their friends pressing close to them both as Blake's breathing began to dissipate, began to sound barely there and just as she drew her final breath, she said:

"I'll-I'll miss... You dorks... So much." She wheezed out, her eyes sliding shut for the last time. "I love... You all..."

And she slumped in Yang's arms.

Yang screamed. She wailed, and pressed her close to her, but nothing changed. Blake remained the same, and even as the rest of the gang gathered around her and comforted each other, that fact remained.

She was gone.

And Yang was left alone, again, and her heart seized in her chest as she sobbed.

"You said you wouldn't break your promise." Yang finally said, soft and broken against Blake's forehead, and whether the others heard her or not, she didn't care. She didn't care if her sobs alerted other enemies, she didn't care about the faces on everyone else. She didn't care.

She sat. And she sobbed.

All the while her heart shattered into pieces.

[ckret2]

Heal Our Wounds

Long after the titan fight in Boston, Serizawa wakes up in a hospital bed, recovering unusually fast from radiation burns he only vaguely remembers receiving. Monarch immediately drowns him in love and attention.

Mark and Madison drop by to share a gift—and some of their post-Boston worries.

Has it really been two and a half months since the last fic, wtf. Anyway this is part of an ongoing series of post-KOTM almost-everybody-lives AU oneshots. If you don’t wanna read the others, all you need to know is that Serizawa survived and nobody knows how/why (answer: because I wanted him to), and Ghidorah's been chilling with Rodan and possibly dating him. Links to the other fics are in the source at the bottom of this post.

###

The first thing Serizawa noticed as Mark and Madison came into the hospital room was that they both had dark rings under their eyes. Serizawa was getting used to seeing his friends and colleagues like that. But they both smiled and their tired eyes lit up when they saw him.

He returned the smiles. "So! You've finally made time to visit me, eh?" he said chidingly, as if they'd just dropped in on him and not as if Mark had scheduled this visit a week earlier.

Madison immediately ran up to him for a hug. Mark reached out for her, mouth opened to warn her back; but Serizawa held up a hand to prevent Mark's protests. "It's fine," he mouthed to Mark over Madison's shoulder as he hugged her back.

"Wow," Mark said. "You're looking better already. A lot better."

Serizawa nodded and shrugged at the same time. "The doctors say I've been very fortunate," he said. "I think Gojira had a hand in it."

He wasn't sure Mark bought that, but Mark had the grace to keep his mouth shut and just tilt his head indecisively.

"How are you feeling?" Madison asked as she stood up.

"A little sore," Serizawa said. "But mostly tired. I've been recovering well, though."

Madison circled to the other side of Serizawa's bed so she could sit in the guest chair next to him. Mark followed her, but leaned against the bedside table. Serizawa really did have to ask the nurses if they could bring some more chairs into the room. Since he'd been cleared to receive visitors, his room had become a nonstop parade during visiting hours: Monarch staff and their families, government officials and sometimes their translators looking for advice on how to deal with their respective nations' new gigantic residents, various journalists and reporters interviewing him on current events and his involvement in the mass awakening of the titans...

And everyone seemed to start out with the same question: "I know you've told everyone that you don't remember how you made it from the bottom of the ocean all the way to Boston," Mark said hesitantly, "but...?" He shrugged questioningly. "I mean—anything? Weird dreams? Things you heard while you were unconscious...?"

Serizawa shook his head. "Nothing. I don't even remember the bomb going off. The last thing I recall is getting out of the submarine and seeing Gojira. And then waking up in a hospital, burning."

"Huh." Mark let out a long sigh, mouth twisted in confusion. "Well—whatever happened down there—and whatever's making you recover from your burns so well—we're all glad for it.”

"Gojira," Serizawa said again firmly.

"He's probably right, Dad," Madison piped up. "I've been reading about the effects of titan radiation. It starts out like radiation burns, but something about it makes organic matter heal a lot faster instead of just... breaking it down."

"Really," Mark said skeptically.

"Really! It's the same thing that makes plants grow back so fast in the cities that titans have been through! The research has been out for like three years, Dad," Madison said, rolling her eyes.

"There's a great deal we don't understand yet, but—what Madison says is true," Serizawa said, trying not to smile too broadly. Madison had always been such a precocious child, always talking about whatever interested her. For the longest time it had been insects; recently it had been camping and survival techniques—something that only in retrospect Serizawa realized was so worrisome. He was glad to hear her talking about science again.

"But we're not here to talk about that," Madison said quickly, practically squirming in her chair with obvious eagerness to move on to the next topic. She gave her dad a pointed look.

"Right!" Mark took off a satchel he'd slung across his body and opened the flap. "We—'we' meaning Monarch, basically—wanted to give you a 'get well soon' gift. Rick mostly put it together, but we all contributed the pictures."

"Pictures?" Serizawa asked.

"Of your new friends," Mark said, suppressing a smile. He pulled out a tablet, scrolled through it a moment, and offered it to Serizawa. "From all over the world. I'll email it to you, but we wanted to show it to you in person."

Serizawa took the tablet. When he noticed Madison leaning over the bed to watch too, he held it out farther to allow her and Mark to watch. It was a slideshow, the first slide of which said in large letters, "GET WELL SOON!!" and in smaller text, "from Monarch and the titans."

He swiped to the next slide.

Godzilla stared back at him with eyes crossed and snout smooshed up to the window of Castle Bravo.

Serizawa laughed.

He swiped through the notes and images, pausing to read the well-wishing messages from Monarch agents and their allies—some close friends, some he'd only spoken to once or twice—and to examine the pictures and clips they'd put together for him.

A video of Rodan dramatically bobbing and headbanging in time to a Spanish song. An attached caption mentioned that after recording Rodan bobbing to over twenty different songs and sending them to a comparative psychologist in California, they could definitively say that Rodan was actually meeting the official definition for "dancing"—deliberately moving in sync with the beat of the music—and he was better at keeping the beat than parrots, one of the few other categories of non-human dancers.

Several pictures showed Kraken hanging out next to various Monarch ships, mimicking the ships' paint jobs. In some of the pictures, he even displayed unintelligible lines across his head that looked like attempts to copy the text and symbols printed on the ships' sides.

The Chen twins included a selfie of themselves and Mothra, as well as a message they said was translated directly from Mothra herself: a sincere wish for Serizawa to either get well soon or have a smooth reincarnation if he didn't, and a thank you from both her and Godzilla for saving Godzilla. Apparently Godzilla thought of Serizawa as "the flashy human." (Serizawa had to pause to wipe his eyes before continuing to the next slide.)

Pictures of Behemoth moving heavy objects around for humans with patient amusement. A photo of "Quetzalcoatl" half obscured by the sea with a brief message informing Serizawa that, in action, Quetzalcoatl appeared to more closely resembled myths about a creature called "Manda." Poems, with an apologetic note that they were better in Arabic, that one of the Monarch agents at Outpost 75-B had written about Mokele-Mbembe.

A short note from Admiral Stenz that wryly said, "Even the Navy is having to adjust to your new friends," followed by an image of Ghidorah reclined on an aircraft carrier like a vacationer on an inflatable pool lounge.

From the corner of his eye, Serizawa saw Madison flinch. He looked up at her; her face had gone blank, but there was a terrible fear in her eyes. Mark put a hand on her shoulder.

Serizawa turned off the tablet and set it down on the bed. "Perhaps I should look at these when I don't have visitors."

Madison's gaze dropped. "I'm gonna..." She slipped out of her father's hand and circled around Serizawa's bed. "Gonna get a soda. M'thirsty."

Mark reached out for her. "Maddie..." But she'd already disappeared down the hallway. He sighed, sank down into the seat she'd vacated, and ran his fingers through his hair.

Serizawa let the silence settle for a moment before he quietly said, "She's been through a great deal."

"Has anyone told you that she got up close and personal with the Three Stooges? They saw each other. They interacted."

Serizawa shook his head, sitting up a little straighter. He'd heard that she'd made herself quite the hero—sneaking away from Jonah's terrorist gang with the ORCA; single-handedly breaking whatever control Ghidorah had over the titans; luring Ghidorah, Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan to Boston where they could settle their differences. It had been clear just how much danger she'd been in; but he'd never imagined that danger.

"She says she was as close to him as..." Mark looked out the window and pointed, "as that tree." The tree was near enough that Serizawa could see how the surfaces of individual leaves curved and rippled. "He looked directly at her—all three heads. He tried to kill her. Blasted..." Mark tried to pantomime with his hand in front of his mouth. "Blasted that lightning of his."

A chill ran down Serizawa's back. He'd known Madison since she was born. The thought of her ending like that, incinerated by an enraged titan...

"She's changed so much," Mark went on. "She's having trouble sleeping. She's sullen, she's so serious... Even the sound of the air conditioning coming on makes her jump. And I don't know how much of that is everything she went through, how much of it is whatever—whatever eco-fascist brainwashing Jonah put her and Emma through, how much of it's just her being a teenager..." Mark trailed off helplessly.

There was frustration in his voice and guilt in his eyes.

"I—maybe I'd know if I'd—been around. If I'd seen her often enough to know what she's like."

"You're around her now," Serizawa pointed out. "You cannot change your past actions, but you can support her now when she needs you."

Mark nodded reluctantly. "I just... wish I knew how."

That was where Serizawa's sage advice ran out. His child rearing experience capped out at entertaining agents' kids with titan stories and pocket watch jokes in fifteen-minute bursts of babysitting. "Have you... looked into therapy?"

"I'm her father. I should be able to help her through this myself," Mark insisted. He shifted his position uncomfortably. "And everyone's booked up."

Serizawa tisked.

"But Maddie's... she's strong." Mark sounded like he was repeating something someone else had told him, not something he quite believed himself. "She'll pull through this."

Serizawa could remember all the times over the past couple of years that Emma had boasted about what a strong young woman Maddie was developing into—a boast that, knowing what he knew now about what Emma had been training Madison for, was more chilling in hindsight. He wondered if Mark had been visiting Emma in jail to talk to her about Maddie.

Strong or not, though, facing down a titan attack and being responsible for saving the world was an astounding weight to put on anyone's shoulders, much less a twelve-year-old's. Pile enough weight on even the strongest structure, and eventually it buckles.

Mark muttered, "I can't believe he's still running around."

Serizawa didn't have to ask who. Mark's gaze was aimed at the tablet's black screen.

"If that thing was dead, maybe... I don't know, maybe Maddie wouldn't constantly feel like she has to watch her back. Like she's afraid he'll come back and finish the job."

Serizawa shifted to sit up higher. "I understand how your daughter's pain must pain you too," he said. "But that's no reason to condemn a living creature to death."

"It's not just that. He's dangerous, you know he is." Mark held up a hand before Serizawa could say anything else. "I know, I know—I should be making peace with the titans. I have with most of them. I don't think I'm at the point where I'd invite Godzilla to my birthday party, but he's on my Christmas card list."

From what Serizawa understood about American Christmas card customs, he was pretty sure that making someone's list was faint praise.

"But Ghidorah? He's not like the others. The others just... accidentally flatten human cities. To them it's like stepping on an anthill without looking. Ghidorah is that sick kid who holds a magnifying glass over an anthill. He's evil. Even you've felt it!"

Serizawa couldn't argue with that. He had seen Ghidorah up close in Antarctica—seen the way his eyes darted about, picking out humans across the ice so he could crush them. He'd seen the malice in Ghidorah's gaze. He'd seen the rage, too—a fury that had smoldered for eons, a fury that was older than the human race. He'd seen the light flashing off Ghidorah's eyes and teeth as he'd singled out Vivienne and devoured her.

But was what he saw in Ghidorah's eyes so different from the rage he'd seen in Mark's eyes when Mark had set foot in a Monarch facility for the first time in years, when Mark had snarled that all titans must be executed? Or the cold malice in Emma's eyes when she'd declared from the safety of a terrorist's bunker that human civilization had to be scoured from the Earth? If either of them had been Ghidorah's size, would Mark have been any kinder to Godzilla or would Emma have to Boston? Serizawa had his doubts.

There was no anger that wasn't somehow inspired by pain, by suffering, by fear. Even though Serizawa could still see Vivienne disappearing into Ghidorah's jaws over and over when he closed his eyes, there was some part of him that wondered what it was Ghidorah feared so deeply. And for that, Serizawa pitied him.

"You yourself called Ghidorah a false king," Mark went on. "You know he doesn't belong on this world."

"That is true," Serizawa said. "But he could belong. There is room enough on our world for him to find a place he fits."

"Wh—" Mark leaned away from Serizawa, blinking in disbelief. "How does a false king fit in on Earth?!"

"By learning to act like a citizen, instead of a conqueror."

"I—Wh—You don't think he's going to just do that, do you? Out of the goodness of his big, lightning-spewing heart? Before he floods the planet, or—or challenges Godzilla for leadership again?"

"What has he been doing since Boston?" Serizawa thought he already knew—although he wasn't currently working, he was receiving regular reports from several outposts, mainly from people who thought he'd enjoy hearing them—but he wanted to hear the answer in Mark's own words.

"Well, he—he's been skulking near Rodan's volcano, mostly. Throwing any trailers or tech we try to so much as get on the edge of the volcanic rock back into the village. He's been learning Rodan's language—did you know Rodan has a language—?"

Serizawa nodded. "I'm subscribed to Dr. Flores Rosales's YouTube channel."

That almost got a smile out of Mark. "Of course," he said. "Rodan's even been teaching him... more complicated calls. So the next time he tries to take over, he's going to be able to give the other titans direct orders. And he's been exploring the planet. Learning the landscape. Playing with our weather—he diverts entire hurricanes like they're nothing. He turns over tanks like they're toys. Experimenting with human technology—our technology. Studying how we work."

Serizawa nodded again, absorbing that analysis.

"Getting a better understanding of our planet," Mark concluded. "He's going to be better prepared the next time he attacks it. The longer we wait, the more prepared he gets."

Serizawa took a moment to process that, collect his words, and then reply carefully. "I can understand how his actions appear to you," he said. "And perhaps that is what Ghidorah is doing—studying us, toying with us. But when I look at those same things, here's what I see. Ghidorah has found a home—perhaps a temporary one, perhaps more permanent. He's established the borders of what he feels like is his territory, and when we respect his boundaries, he has respected ours. He's learning to communicate with his neighbors through words instead of through violence. He's shown us that his species sings—that he understands art. He's shown us he has a sense of humor. He's discovering that the earth is covered in unique, fascinating places, and that humans aren't playthings to torture and kill but inventors and engineers. He's made a friend—a friend whose lessons and advice he will sit and listen to, a friend whom he goes to great lengths to protect from discomfort, and a friend who he seems to care for."

Mark also took a long moment to think over Serizawa's words. He was growing a little bit, Serizawa thought. If they'd had this conversation before Boston, Mark would more than likely have steamrolled over Serizawa's interpretation and clung to his own—as he had with so many other opinions he'd had for so many years. Maybe discovering he was wrong about Godzilla had made him a more thoughtful person. Or maybe he was just working to be more respectful because Serizawa was in the hospital—time would tell.

Finally, Mark said, "A 'friend' who he fights with. All the time. Rodan clawed his wing up pretty good in Antarctica."

"And then kept him warm through the night, stayed near him for the next few days, and reactivated a volcano that's been dormant for four thousand years to give him a place to rest. I don't think it was a fight fueled by hatred," Serizawa said. "Have you been watching Rodan's language lessons as well?"

"A few. Not as many as I should," Mark admitted. "It's hard to look at—I mean—Ghidorah tried to kill me and my daughter."

Serizawa nodded understandingly. He had just about gotten used to the sight of Ghidorah curiously ask Rodan to clarify what the word "many" meant, and even at that Serizawa still sometimes instead flashed to a memory of Vivienne's last moments. "You should ask Xochitl if she has transcripts," Serizawa said. "Ghidorah and Rodan squabble over which fights 'count' and 'don't count' like two children trying to cheat at a board game. They see their battles as play."

"Huh," Mark said. "Like...?" He didn't finish the question.

Serizawa gestured encouragingly at Mark to continue. He had a feeling he knew where Mark had been heading.

"Well." Shrugging self-consciously, Mark said, "You know the joke theory that Outpost 56-B's been putting forward."

An amused smile broke out across Serizawa's face. "That Rodan and Ghidorah might be...?"

"Courting," Mark mumbled, shaking his head in disbelief. "That what we're seeing is courting behavior. Or—or dating, are they intelligent enough to date? I mean, Ghidorah's building radios..."

"I think there's some potential to the theory," Serizawa said, still grinning. "Outpost 56-B has collected some very compelling evidence. It's not conclusive, but it's certainly suggestive."

"Suggestive." Mark shook his head again and rubbed his eyes. "There's no way they're reproductively compatible."

"Not all couples are. Either in the animal kingdom, or in our own species."

"So, is that the bet you're wagering?" Mark asked. "You think we shouldn't try to kill Ghidorah while we still have a chance because if he decides to settle down and make a big fiery nest with Rodan, he won't destroy our planet?"

Serizawa sobered up. "No," he said. "I think we shouldn't try to kill Ghidorah because his behavior suggests he no longer wants to kill us. It suggests that he is trying to leave conquering behind and trying to behave like a fellow citizen of our planet—cooperative, respectful of the other species he shares the world with, communicative with his neighbors despite the massive language barriers. If that changes, through Mothra we can call Gojira for help. If it doesn't change... then if Ghidorah is seeking redemption, I think we should let him seek it. Whatever his motive may be."

Mark thought that over, lips pursed. Finally, he said, "I hope you're right. You've been right about a lot of other things, but..." He sighed.

It would take Mark some time to accept. That was understandable; Serizawa saw no need to rush him. Ghidorah had directly threatened Mark's family, after all. But Godzilla had ultimately helped cause far greater harm to the Russell family—harm that couldn't be healed with time—and Mark had made peace with him. If Ghidorah's recent behavior really was indicative of a change, Serizawa was sure Mark could eventually make peace with Ghidorah, too.

For now, though, Serizawa should probably lighten the mood. A bit of humor creeping back into his voice, Serizawa said, "But, if it does turn out that what we've been observing on Isla de Mara is courting..."

Mark gave Serizawa a wary look. "What?"

"Do you remember what you said when we were trying to figure out why Ghidorah was heading toward Isla de Mara?" Serizawa asked.

"Oh no." Mark buried his face in a hand, but not before Serizawa got a glimpse of him fighting back a smile. "Not you, too. Nobody's let me live it down."

"You said he wanted a food, a fight, or a..."

"I know! What about it?"

"Well, then." Serizawa sat back, shrugged permissively, and said, "Let them fuck."

Mark huffed.

The conversation drifted to how their respective extended families had weathered the attacks and the corresponding changes to their daily lives, to Mark's tentative plans to balance getting back into Monarch against keeping Madison away from any active outposts, and to Serizawa's goals for once he was back on duty. Serizawa planned to return to work as soon as he was allowed out of the hospital.

"And to visit all of them," he said firmly, "the moment the doctors allow me on an airplane. If I can't take a plane, I'll ride a boat."

 Mark chuckled. "All of them? Even the mean ones?"

"No such thing," Serizawa said confidently. "Maybe hurting, maybe distrustful of humans—or maybe so far removed from our cultures that they don't yet recognize humans as feeling people—but not mean."

"So you gonna go open up diplomacy with the titans on behalf of humanity?" Mark asked. "Go say 'hi' and have a little chat like you did with Godzilla?"

Serizawa smiled. "If they'll let me."

Madison finally came back in the room, smiling shakily but clearly calmer than when she'd left. She didn't have anything from the vending machine. Neither Serizawa nor Mark commented on it.

"Afraid this is leaving with me," Mark said, picking up his tablet from the bed. "But I'll email you the slideshow. They let you have your phone in here, right?"

"I have a new one." His old one had been with him during his meeting with Godzilla. It hadn't shared Serizawa's miraculous survival. Rick Stanton had helped him get all his old data out of "the cloud" onto his new phone, and once he had his photos back he liked his new phone better. It was bigger.

"We'll come back as soon as we can," Maddie said as she leaned in for a hug, then looked to her dad for confirmation.

"Of course," Mark said, nodding, "unless you manage to talk your way out of here before we find time to come by again."

Serizawa grinned. As much as he might want to, he probably needed to be able to walk out the door by himself before he could go. "If you don't come see me before I get out, I'll come see you." He had a whole list of people he needed to visit.

The last thing Mark said before he left was, "Get some rest. You've still got a lot of recovering to do."

On more than one level. "I will." Glancing between Mark and Maddie's tired faces, Serizawa said, "So do you."

###

(Do you guys know how long I've been waiting to write Serizawa saying "let them fuck"? Like half a year. Anyway so the “titan radiation heals injuries instead of making them worse” is, obviously, a lot of BS and Not How Radiation Works, but it’s consistent with KOTM’s “titan radiation heals nature and grows plants!!” and with Legendaryverse’s overall lack of people getting severe radiation burns from being so close to confirmed-radioactive kaiju all the time. If canon’s gonna act like kaiju have some made up form of Magical Healthy Radiation, okay, I’ll roll with that.)

(Replies/reblogs are welcome and greatly appreciated! Check the “source” link below for my masterlist of KOTM and Rodorah fics, as well as my AO3 and Ko-fi links.)

[ticklikeabomb]

The Language of Limbo  - Part 6

Pairing : Chris Evans x Plus Size Reader ; Marvel Cast x Plus Size Reader

Warnings : Language ; Angst ; Drinking problem ; mention of throwing up ; fluff

Word Count : 2k

The shooting began 3 months and a half ago and you were all entering the last week of the shooting. Today's shooting was special because you would finally shoot the scene at the mansion where you received the 'good' news to be part of Marvel. The production rented a private jet and you all flew to Los Angeles to debut the end of the production. You took a seat and saw everyone look at the seat beside you, without actually sitting on it. You were accustomed by now, to their little looks and didn't mind it, if it would benefit you in being left alone and in peace. You took place at the end of the engine, hidden from everyone but unfortunately your seat had a prime view to the people on the other side who were none other than Rebecca and Chris, all lovey dovey, cuddled together. By cuddled, it was more like Rebecca was stepping on Chris' space with her tight across his lap. He kept his hand on her leg but from his facial expression you clearly could see that he was being oppressed by her presence. His eyes locked with yours once in a pleading mode and you just turned your head at your right indifferent, looking at the clouds. The waitress asked you if you wanted something to drink and you whispered to her to bring you the strongest thing she had in store. Her eyes widened but didn't question it further. She came back with a glass and the bottle. You thanked her before stopping her hand and indicating her to leave the bottle. That's when she was about to question you but you didn't let her the chance and said, "I'm afraid of highs and planes. Please? It helps." It technically wasn't a lie but the wound was much deeper. She eventually left the bottle and you in peace. You hid the bottle and took it discretely everytime your glass emptied.

"You should go easy with that", whispered RDJ beside you. You rolled your eyes before turning to the source, who was already occupying the seat next to yours. You fake smiled at him but he kept a firm and worried expression. "I don't like planes", you replied. He chuckled before asking you the one question you were avoiding. "What about on set? Mixing it with coffee, if we could call that a coffee. Being completely wasted. I still don't know how you managed to keep it neat during the scenes but once the directors would yell 'Cut', you would stumble on your feet." You laughed, a mix of amusement and pain. "What can I say? I guess I'm a good actress then", you replied sarcastically. You didn't stop there. "Apparently I'm so good that I managed to turn everyone against me without knowing why. Well I have an idea how but I'm afraid there's a better player in here", you said while glaring at Rebecca with a look full of hatred. He followed your gaze and his suspicions were cleared. "I knew she was shady. It's just that vibe of hers and concerning you, I'm not against you." This time you couldn't contain your laughter to the point that several other actors turned their heads to you.

"Pff such a freak", commented Rebecca. That's when you lost your cool. "Hey Rebecca why don't you chock on a dick and leave me the fuck alone? Oh wait, I'm pretty sure you already do that." Your comment made some gag and Elisabeth laugh. "Oh you find that funny? At least I finally got a reaction from YOU", you said towards Elizabeth whose smile faltered and bowed her head. "Y/N that's enough. Your behavior has been anything but kind and professional. I -..", stated Chris but you cut him with a laugh. "You still here?", you told him in sarcasm not really bothering to get an answer. "And ohh by the way I'm still waiting for that thank you note regarding your bday present but I guess I'm not worthy to receive that from the one and only Captain America, the most righteous man on Earth", you continued between giggles, the liquor getting the best of you. "Ohhhkayy, come on", said RDJ while helping you stand up and leading you to a more seclude place. That's what you thought but he led you to the bathroom. "Wtf are we doing here?", you asked in confusion. "Kneel and throw up !", he said with a firm tone. "What?"

"You need to get it out of your system. Either you kneel and do it yourself or I'm helping you", he stated with his arms crossed. "Just because your RDJ doesn't give you the right to-." He stepped closer, "Y/N, I'm trying to help you here. I know what's like to be prisoned by those demons and trust me, it will end you. Not only physically but especially mentally. If you're not willing to do it for yourself, I'm doing it for you because I believe in you. I believe in your talent, I believe that you were the one for Y/C/N and I BELIEVE IN YOU." His words shot daggers in your heart and you couldn't contain your tears. You fell to the ground, holding yourself tightly while bitting on your lip to not yell your pain and frustration out. He sat beside you and embraced you in comfort. "I know, I know", he kept whispering until you calmed down. 

You stepped closer to the toilets and before doing what you were about to do, you advised Robert to leave. "Nope, I'm staying with you. You don't need to be alone anymore." You nodded weekly and a few silent tears streamed down, while you tried to purge the booze from your system. Robert stepped closer and held your hair off your face while looking away. Once you were done, he mentioned he was just stepping outside to get you some water and aspirin. "Robert? Could you please text Aaron through my phone and tell him I need him, with a red cross emoji. He'll know what that means", you whispered with a raspy voice, shame and pain flashing in your eyes. He nodded, "Of course Y/N." "Thank you, for everything !" He nodded and exited the bathroom. 

"Is everything alright with Y/N?", asked Hemsworth and Scarlet while they stood outside the bathroom. The fifty year-old only had to give them a knowing look for them to understand that it wasn't. Before he walked away to get the water, he looked both of his colleagues and quietly said, " You can do and believe however you want but I'm not giving up on Y/N and I surely wont stand on Rebecca's side." His words triggered the others insecurities and they sighed. "I've been thinking about this shit show for days now and talking with Hiddleston put some perspective in my mind and from now on I'm standing behind Y/N !", commented Hemsworth before leaving Scarlet and take his designated seat.

The actress not knowing what to do, walked to her seat and took her phone out. She typed frantically and showed it to Elizabeth who was standing beside her.

Lizzie's face turned crimson and she clenched her jaw, still not facing Scarlet. The actress retrieved her phone again before typing away and shoving it back to Elisabeth's lap.  

Lizzie took a deep breath before finally replying.

Scarlet kept pushing on Lizzie. She needed to know the truth, she needed to know if she's was being a jerk to you, if she was an accomplice of some kind of vendetta against you, ruining your life in the process.

Lizzie grabbed the phone tightly, typing furiously and silent tears sliding down her face in shame.

Scarlet's face paled at the last message. She looked up at the actress with widened eyes and saw her quickly clean her face so that no one would see how upset she was. Scarlet closed her eyes and shook her head in anger and disappointment, upset she was mislead by an outsider. Scarlet saved the draft preciously as prove material.

You exited the bathroom, sat down on your seat and drank on the water along the aspirin, Robert gave you. "Thanks", you mumbled. "Here take this and try to rest a little. There's 3 hours left until we land", he said while handing you a cosy blanket. You nodded and turned around, facing the window and trying to forget about how you fell so quickly in an abyss. You were woken up 3 hours later by Scarlet slowly shaken you and calling you. "Y/N? Wake up we've arrived", she sweetly said. You woke up with a terrible headache and frowned when you saw her shyly smile at you. "Scarlet? Why are you here with me, I mean waken me up?", you mumbled while cracking your back. She squeezed your hand tightly and looked deeply into you soul. "I'm so sorry. For showing you the cold shoulder and for my behavior. I hope you find the strength to forgive me", she said with a cracking voice. Your eyebrows raised, taken aback by this sudden change but saw the sincerity emanating of her. You nodded not being able to turn her off, not after seeing and feeling how truthful she was but also because it wasn't in your nature. "Yeah ok, I forgive you." She let out the breath she was holding and leaned forward embracing you. You awkwardly hugged her back still not recovered from your hangover but glad that things were looking forwards for once.

You arrived at the Studios and settled down in your new trailer, feeling like some drummer was doing the performance of his life inside your head. You took another aspirin before crashing once again on the bed and falling asleep. Because you've been early to bed, you woke up along with the sunshine. You cleaned yourself and headed out, enjoying the magnificent star rise and the sky switch his color pallet from orange to blueish. "It's beautiful isn't it?", the voice you came to love commented. He placed himself next to you and impregnated himself with the scenery in front of him. "Yeah all these colors. It is indeed beautiful." Mason chuckled before replying, "Oh the sky? Nah I was referring myself to something else. Someone else." A sad expression crossed your features at the mention of him liking someone that wasn't potentially you. Every day since you started the production you grew closer and closer to the point that so did your feelings. His next comment caught you out of your thoughts. "Yeah it's such a shame that the one I'm fond of is so oblivious about my feelings for her." You nodded still with that small sad expression that caught his attention. He smiled and said, "She's in a rough place at the moment but I will stand beside her, no matter what." You turned your face to him, shocked and not completely believing he was referring to you from the beginning. His hand caressed your cheek and looked in your eyes. "Having a chance to be with her, even the slightest, is worth the wait." You hand reached his and when you were about to drop a small kiss on it, someone cleared his voice harshly. Mason broke the contact and stepped slightly back. He gave a deadly look to Chris (Evans) who dared to interrupt his intimate moment with you. Chris clenched his jaw, upset. "May I talk to you Y/N?", he asked firmly and giving a deadly look back at Mason. You took a deep breath before answering, "I'm sorry Chris but can it be for later. I'm in the middle of something important." You didn't gave him the opportunity to reply back and dragged Mason along with you for breakfast. Chris clenched his fists, annoyed that you turned him off for Mason.

* gif not mine, credit to owner* * screens are mine*

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[missmudpie]

On Cliffhangers: Ones that Work, and Ones that Drive You Over the Edge

Wednesday night was a long night of TV watching in the Mudpie Household.  In addition to the Season Finales of Arrow and The 100, it was also the two-hour finale of Survivor.  Needless to say, it was hard to get out of bed Thursday morning.

Since then, I’ve been thinking a lot about Arrow and The 100 - things that I liked, things I didn’t, but mainly I’ve been mulling over their endings.  Both ended with cliffhangers.  Both ended with the fate of the vast majority of the cast unknown and in peril, with the central protagonist facing the world alone, save for the company of a child.  And yet, only one really worked for me. 

And that was The 100.  

For the past two days, I’ve been thinking a lot about these endings, about cliffhangers in general and, more specifically, ones from other shows that I’ve really liked.  I’ve mentioned several times that writing is how I process things, so here we go - Cliffhangers: When they work, and Why the don’t.

(Warning: spoilers for Arrow, The 100, The Hunger Games, The West Wing, Battlestar Galactica, Alias, Lost and Grey’s Anatomy ahead.)

First things first - What is a cliffhanger?  TV Tropes defines it as:

A Cliffhanger ends [...] with some or all of the main characters in peril of some kind and the audience is made to wait for the outcome. [...] Typically the longer the viewer is made to wait, the larger the seeming peril. Indeed, this can be a Downer Ending to the part just finished — although many apparent perils and catastrophes are not as serious as they appear. It is a rare Cliffhanger that will cut back simply to watch 'em fall.

Which we all pretty much knew, right?  We all know this; it’s part of the common language of media and stories.  Small ones occur every episode, usually right before a commercial break.  Larger ones, with greater and graver consequences, occur at the end of the season.

But I wanted to start here because I wanted to be exact about the type of cliffhanger I’m discussing here.  Every show has to end its season with some type of tease, some thread left unresolved or the start of a new problem, to keep viewers invested during the long hiatus.  But not all of these are what I would call true cliffhangers.  One of the best ways I can think to explain this difference is to look beyond TV.  The Hunger Games (the novel) ends with (SPOILERS) Katniss and Peeta returning home to District 12.  This chapter of their story has ended, but the book ends with the feeling that there’s more to tell - specifically, what will the ramifications of their defiant win be?  It completely wraps up the main thread of the book (surviving the Games) while hinting at what is to come next.  To me, this isn’t a cliffhanger.  Catching Fire, the second book in the series, however, does.  Again, SPOILERS - In CF, Katniss wakes up to discover she’s been extracted from the Games by a burgeoning rebellion, her home has been bombed out of existence, and several of her friends - including Peeta - are now being held hostage by the Capital.  

This isn’t the ending of a chapter.  This is a gut punch.  When I read the first book, I was intrigued but able to wait a few days before starting the next book.  When I finished Catching Fire, I immediately started Mockingjay - at 11pm.

That’s what a cliffhanger is to me.  It’s an almost visceral reaction to what you’ve just seen or read.  There is no peace, no easing of the tension.  A cliffhanger leaves you with a knot in your stomach, and the only way to ease that feeling is by getting your grubby hands on the next book or episode immediately.

For this reason, I don’t classify some of my favorite season finales as cliffhangers.  They successfully end the main narrative thread of the season, and end with intriguing set-up for the next season, but there’s not that, again, visceral gimme gimme feeling.  Probably the greatest example of this is Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Season Five finale, The Gift.  This is, of course, the one in which Buffy dies to save her sister, her friends, and the world.  It’s a beautiful, tragic ending that somehow isn’t undercut by the fact that we all knew Buffy was returning next season (albeit on a different network).  (Unpopular Buffy opinion: Sometimes I wish Buffy had ended with Season Five, not because I hated the next two seasons, but because the ending of The Gift was such a beautiful moment that did cleanly wrap up Buffy’s narrative - even if it did end in death.) . Season Five ends with our heroine dead and buried - but it’s not a cliffhanger, for me.  It’s the ending of a chapter of her story, but it is, again, a clean ending.  Likewise, I’m not sure I would classify the Season Two Finale, Becoming: Part 2 (my other favorite episode) as a cliffhanger, because it, again, cleanly ends a chapter of Buffy’s story (Angel is sent to a demon world, moments after regaining his soul) while hinting at a new story arc (just where is Buffy going on that bus, and how will she return).

Alias knew well how to deliver the kind of gut-punch finales I associate with cliffhangers, from Season One’s “Mom?” to Season Four’s “My name isn’t Michael Vaughn.”  But nothing could top Season Two’s The Telling.  After a brutal fight against her dead roommate’s secret doppelganger (”Francie doesn’t like coffee ice cream.”), Sydney passes out - only to wake up on the streets of Hong Kong.  Her boyfriend, Vaughn, comes to help - only to reveal he’s married, and Sydney has been missing for two years.  It’s the kind of WTF time-jump moment JJ Abrams would use again in the Season Three Finale of Lost, Through the Looking Glass, in which it’s revealed that the bizzaro flashbacks we’ve been seeing throughout the episode are really flashforwards, and that at least some of the castaways have made it off the Island.  

Both Lost and Alias’ cliffhangers work because they raise more questions the more you think about it.  Where has Sydney been?  How did Vaughn move on so quickly?  Where are the rest of the castaways?  How, why and when were some rescued?  Those who binged these series have it easy.  These episodes were followed by interminable summers for those of us who watched live.

These and other cliffhangers ended with the fate, whether past or present, of the protagonist uncertain, but alive.  Others put the actual life of the protagonist or other main character in jeopardy and doubt (See: Battlestar Galactica’s Season One, Kobol’s Last Gleaming Part 2, in which Adama is shot point-blank by an activated Boomer; Game of Thrones’ Season Five, Mother’s Mercy, in which we end on Jon Snow bleeding out in the, well, snow.).  For some shows, though, leaving the fate of just one character unknown isn’t enough.  For these shows, nothing less than putting the entire main cast in danger will do.  I’ve always referred to this as pulling a Moldavian Wedding, but TV Trope has another name for it: the Bolivian Army Cliffhanger, so named for the final scene of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, in which our heroes find themselves surrounded by the Bolivian Army and decide to shoot their way out.  The odds are insurmountable, yet the action ends before we know if they lived or died (spoiler: they died).  In the Bolivian Army Cliffhanger, the majority of the cast is stuck in a situation - be it a shoot-out, a plane crash, or massive explosion - that puts all their lives at risk.

The tension in the Bolivian Army Cliffhanger comes from wondering who lived and who died.  And it’s the answer to that question, in my mind, that determines whether the cliffhanger is successful or not.  You need to trust that the writers and the show will follow through with the promise made that not all of the characters you care about are going to make it out alive.  I repeat: not all of the characters that you care about are going to make it out alive.  If the show doesn’t follow through with that promise, it can feel like a cop-out.

That’s exactly what happened in Dynasty’s fifth season finale, Royal Wedding.  This is the Moldavian Wedding I referred to earlier.  In it, most of the cast was gathered at the wedding of the Moldavian prince, when revolutionaries stormed in and opened fire.  The season ended with everyone wondering who was still alive.  The answer: Everyone.  Okay, not everyone - a boyfriend and a girlfriend died, but no one from the main cast.  That’s not good storytelling; that’s a cop-out.

You can contrast this with The West Wing’s Season One finale, What Kind of Day This Has Been, in which gunmen open fire on the President as he’s exiting an event.  We hear the shots, we see various characters go down, and the episode ends with Secret Service shouting, “Who’s been hit?  Who’s been hit?”

When we return in the Season Two premiere, In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, it almost seems like we’re headed into cop-out territory - Bartlet is safe in the car, his daughter Zoey is puking in another car but fine, Leo is accounted for, Sam and CJ are alive and well at the scene.  And then the President starts slurring his words and bleeding from the mouth, and a gunshot wound is discovered - right about the time Toby finds Josh slumped against a low wall with a bullet to the chest.  Both eventually recover, although Josh has PTSD that is addressed over the next few seasons, and all the uninjured characters deal with survivor’s guilt in their own way.

This Bolivian Army Cliffhanger works, unlike Dynasty’s, because it’s revealed that there were actual stakes involved.  True, no one died, but The West Wing wasn’t a show about people dying (until the end of Season Two; RIP Mrs. Landingham).  The answer to the question, “Who’s been hit?” was two of our beloved main characters - two people we cared about - the event was not forgotten in the next episode, but instead impacted and changed these characters in real and lasting ways.  In this, it’s comparable to the Season Eight Finale of Grey’s Anatomy, Flight, in which a large hunk of the main cast is in a plane crash.  Lexie dies, and the fate of everyone else is unknown until the Season Nine premiere, Going, Going Gone, which occurs after a time jump and reveals everyone is still alive, except - Christina has moved to Minnesota and can’t get on a plane because of her PTSD, Derek’s hand hasn’t recovered yet, affecting his ability to do surgery, Arizona had to have her leg amputated, and Mark has been in a coma this whole time and is taken off life-support by episode’s end.  Once again, characters we cared about were affected and changed in ways that will carry through throughout the rest of the series.

Which now, finally, brings me to the Season Finale of Arrow, Lian Yu, which is almost a textbook definition of the Bolivian Army Cliffhanger to the point that, when it happened, I literally said to my husband, “This is the Moldavian Wedding all over again.”  (And to which he responded, “Can we watch Survivor now?”) . And it just didn’t work for me, at all.

For the Bolivian Army Cliffhanger to work, you need to have a deep emotional bond with the characters involved, and this is where Arrow first falters.  

The Arrowverse has some great examples of fathers’ love for their children - biological, foster or found.  Joe West is the epitome of this, loving Iris (the child he raised from birth), Barry (the child he fostered) and Wally (the child he discovered as a young adult) equally and fiercely.  When Wally was introduced as Joe’s son, I had no trouble understanding and relating to Joe’s instant love for that boy, because the show has already showed us exactly the type of father Joe was.  Likewise on Supergirl, it was easy to see the depth of affection J’onn J’onzz has for Kara and Alex; the three form a found family unit and will do anything to keep each other safe.  My point is, if either of these men were in Oliver’s shoes, with one of their kids in danger, I would have been in tears.

With William, honestly - I couldn’t find it in me to care.  Because William is still a plot point at this point.  We have not seen Oliver be a father, although we got a glimpse of it Wednesday night.  But I don’t know William, and he’s tainted by his parents’ lies.  I don’t yet care about William, so the choice Oliver had to make did not resonate on an emotional level.

Likewise, there are a number of characters on Lian Yu who I like, but whose deaths would not devastate me - namely, Curtis, Dinah and Rene.  Again, I don’t have anything against them; they’re fine as supporting players, but not essential to my Arrow-viewing pleasure.  And if them leaving meant no more side storylines about custody hearings or talking over the smartest person in the entire Arrowverse, if their death meant more screentime for a certain former Army Ranger - then yeah, I’m good with their deaths.

There needs to be tension in the Bolivian Army Cliffhanger, and there just isn’t any here.  There needs to be faith that the show won’t cop out and save everyone, and I just don’t have that here.  Look, Arrow has a problem with the followthrough.  It kills off its central hero and then brings him back with penicillin tea.  Hell, Arrow already pulled a Bolivian Army Cliffhanger back in Season Three, This is Your Sword.  Remember the episode ending with everyone in the cast dying in a prison cell?  Remember the reveal that they survived because Malcolm had secretly inoculated them with handshakes, and then Barry pulled a Deus Ex Machina and flashed them all back to Staring City?  Because I do, and I have little faith that Arrow is going to offer up a better explanation for why everyone survived here.

Again, the characters you care about have to be in danger.  We know Felicity, Diggle and Thea are not going to get killed off-screen (or even on-screen), so there’s no tension there.  Lance could die, but I really doubt he goes like this; I think if he goes, he gets a hero’s death and a goodbye scene with Oliver.  Malcolm died off-screen, but come on - he’ll be back midway through Season Seven.  Slade could go, having redeemed himself, and while I would be sad to see him go, it would be a fitting end to his character.  I don’t see how the show kills Nyssa.  That just leaves the Newbies and Samantha, and honestly Samantha’s death would anger me the most because 1) It would mean Oliver becomes insta-dad and I don’t see how the show adjusts to having a preteen around full time and 2) it would mean they killed of the reddest of red shirts instead of someone with a stronger connection to the audience.  

Of course, no one has to die for the Bolivian Army Cliffhanger to be successful; see, again, The West Wing.  But the event does have to change them; it needs to continue to affect them.  And since Arrow is a show with penicillin tea and micro-implants, I have trouble believing that this won’t be forgotten by 5x05.  And that, for me, is why the Arrow finale didn’t quite stick the landing.

The characters you care about have to be in danger, and since I know my faves are safe, there’s no tension, just anger that the show thinks I’m dumb enough to spend my summer worrying about Digg and Felicity’s fates.

Meanwhile, The 100 finished its fourth season with probably its best episode to date, an almost-in-real-time race against the Death Wave to get the remaining Delinquents (and a couple Grounders) launched into space, where they planned to spend the next five years surviving on reclaimed water and algae until it was safe to return to Earth.  The other half of the cast was safe, for the moment, in an underground bunker, where the 1200 people had enough oxygen and resources to last five years.

Of course, just about everything went wrong in getting the Delinquents back into space.  Clarke had to sacrifice herself; Bellamy, in a moment that echoed the Season One Finale, had to decide to launch without her.  The episode ends with Bellamy, Raven and the rest having made it to the Ark, safe for the moment, while Clarke seemingly succumbs to radiation.

Except - that’s not how the episode ends.

Instead we jump six years and seven days into the future.  Clarke is alive, the Earth has recovered - and she hasn’t heard from anyone else since Praimfaya.

Again, as with Arrow, the fate of the vast majority of the cast is unknown.  And yet I’m not angry about this like I am with Arrow.  Unlike Arrow, I care about pretty much every character on The 100, and so any of those deaths are not going to feel like a red-shirt cop-out; they’re going to matter.  By doing a six-year time jump, the show has also changed the question.  It’s not so much Who has survived, but rather How and Why have they survived?  And the Hows and Whys give way to even more questions.  What has life been like on the Arc with only seven people?  What about life in the Bunker?  If 1200 could survive for five years, what does it mean that they’ve been down there for six?  Have babies been born?  Has the Bunker resorted to the draconian measures of the first Arc, or have the learned?  When we left, these people were all teenagers; now, they’re in their mid-twenties, and Bellamy is close to 30; how has that changed them?  

Oh, yes - And what the frak is that mining ship doing there???

This was a true cliffhanger, a visceral feeling, a gut punch.  What the hell happens next?  Why isn’t January already?

A good cliffhanger leaves you wanting, nay, needing the next installment now.  You need to know if Adama will make it, you need to know who among the President’s Men and Women were shot, you need to know how and why your people survived a second apocalypse.  It leaves you in suspense.  

Both Arrow and The 100 ended their seasons on a cliffhanger, but only the latter succeeded.