#young woman yells at cloud [positive] more at 11

[queen-virginia]

I managed to catch a fair bit of Mark's commentary stream on ISWM and I just.... I am so floored by and in awe of the love that went into this entire project. He and Amy have so much care and passion for what they've done, and it was such a joy getting to see them share stories about what happened on set! Talk about the VFX and practical effects that were used! Elaborate on Chica mishaps! It's wonderful and gives me so much hope for the future of online creative projects, on Youtube or otherwise, and excited to see Mark is going to go from here. 🥺💖

[fandomsonrequests]

𝖆𝖓𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖘𝖊𝖑𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓..? [𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖙 11]

fandom: ATEEZ

characters: prince! park seonghwa

reader: fem! knight

word count: 3.6k+

summary:  It was time for another Selection. No- not a Selection for a bride but rather a well-trained knight to keep Prince Seonghwa safe after a failed assassination attempt. You, a blacksmith’s daughter, manage to make it to the elite group of knights worthy and skilled enough to protect the crown prince after months and months of training. This alone catches Seonghwa’s eyes- in more ways than one

a/n: part 11!! whew- i think its almost halfway? im sorry if the series is taking too long ;^; but thank you to those as well to whoever enjoys this so far! i really appreciate it! <3 

taglist: @iwanttohitmyself​ @minihongjoong @i-purrple-u @taetae123094 @jeonartemis @barcelona-sergei  @theoinkypiglet @sparklychangbin @krystal-cole @mangotexts @tooweirdforyou 

↞previous  ♛   next↠

The skies today were as blue as the crystal seas as fluffy white clouds filled the heavenly bodies. The sun peeks over The Capitol, basking the townsfolk in its bright but warm rays. The city village teemed with life as people went about their business. 

Today was actually a good day. But not for the delegates- today was the day of elimination.

The small dining hall the young delegates ate in was quiet. No one said a word, if they did it was done in tones no louder than a whisper. Only the ear-piercing sound of utensils scraping against the ceramic plate was heard along with the occasional clinking of mugs against the wooden table. 

The atmosphere was thick with tension. Each one of these young people felt as if they were Atlas, bearing the weight of the world on their shoulders. No one and nothing could ease them of the uncertainty on whether who gets to stay or not. Even the cockiest person among you was quiet.

You on the other hand felt as if the weight was doubled. You didn’t know how you would be questioned regarding the chapter you had painstakingly read. You had wasted so many nights and lost so much sleep over that you could only hope you didn’t fail whatever task Hae-seong had in mind. 

Breakfast passed by quickly and you soon found yourself lined up by the courtyard. Haeseong stood in front of you as Byron, and a few other knights, stood by the duke’s left. A rack of training swords was soon rolled in, the inanimate object seemingly taunting you. You knew the final exam was about to take place. 

“Delegates,” Haeseong called out in his annoyingly nasal voice. “Today is the day of elimination. We’ve reviewed your grades from training and academics and unfortunately, half of you are going home.”

A few gasps erupt from around you. You could feel your palms sweat with anxiousness and the fabric of the uniform seemed to itch more. You tighten your hands into a fist, silently praying that you’d pass this first set of eliminations.

“This just proves how incompetent you people are.” Haesong continued to earn a disappointed sigh from the large man beside him. 

“Nevertheless, it didn’t mean you didn’t try your best,” Byron interjected and sent a tiny glare to the duke who brushed it off nonchalantly. “Anyway, as your final exam- you’d be partnered off randomly to duel with the training swords.

“And for safety precautions, we shall be putting each of you in light armor.” 

You tense at that. Though you weren’t helpless when it came to swordsmanship- you weren’t sure if you were good enough either. Nevertheless, you just hoped you’d make it far. You glance to your right to see Siyeon’s lip quivering with nervousness. Your fingers discreetly tangled with hers, receiving a grateful squeeze of your hand in return. You send her a small smile to encourage her. Although she was still tense, she had relaxed a bit and had steadier breathing.

As you were all being suited up for the exam, a few of the royal court had come to watch. Among them were two of Hae-seong’s sons- the eldest who was a couple of years older than you and his youngest son who was only eighteen. You’ve seen them around the castle a few times. The younger, Minjae, was a bit spoiled but respectful nonetheless. He could be a little boisterous but you chalked that off to his teenage hormones. 

The eldest, on the other hand, Beom-seok, was just as nasty as his father or not worse. Not only was he prideful or an elitist, oh no- he had no respect in general. He would eye some of the female delegates like they were pieces of meat and pick on the castle servants when he walked around. What was worse is that whenever no higher-ups in the court were around, he’d strut along the palace as if he owned the place. He was disgusting but not many seemed to care because of his charming looks and stature in life. He had a strong jaw, a sharp nose, and fierce eyes. But his aura was just so repulsive not many really stayed friends with him. 

You saw him whisper to his brother as he glanced over at all of you. The pair snickered but the younger seemed to do so just to get his brother to shut up. Beom-seok must have been spewing some hateful stuff again so you chose to ignore him. Instead, you glance up the large window of the palace in the middle of the courtyard, hoping to see the prince. 

Seonghwa managed to plague your thoughts often ever since he had met you. He was just so different than you imagined- you didn’t think you’d grow fond of him in the way you do with your friends. You hoped that you do succeed in becoming his bodyguard because that way, you could still maintain your friendship with him.

As your gaze lands on the window, you see the prince looking down at all of you with interest. But beside him was Lady Ayeong, looking as ethereal as ever. A gentle yet curious smile was settled on her delicate lips as she surveyed over all of you. You found it hard to believe that an angel like her was the daughter of the devil. 

Seonghwa’s eyes meet yours and he sends you a subtle wink. You roll your eyes in amusement but nodded your head at him before focusing your attention on the knight in front of you to start donning the armor for the final exams. 

“Is it really this serious that light armor is needed?” Ayeong asks Seonghwa, looking up at him with a concerned glint in her eye. 

The prince merely nodded but gave her a reassuring smile in return. “Don’t worry. No one gets seriously injured during these. It may hurt but nothing that could kill.” 

Once you were all settled with the armor and the weapons, you were all ushered to the side as Byron called out two people’s names to duel. One was Julian- a city dweller with a flamboyant personality. His bouncy auburn hair glinted under the afternoon sun as he strolled up to the middle. His confidence was outstanding, it was his biggest asset. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be his biggest downfall either. 

The other was Gahyeon. You and Siyeon, as well as other folks from Trelark, sent her silent cheers. You all watched as both delegates took their positions across each other, arms raised and weapons held firmly in their hands. 

This was it.

Everyone watched earnestly as Gahyeon struck first, clashing her sword against Julian’s. The sound of wood on wood was heard throughout the courtyard. Several cries rang out and the nasty sound of splinters cracking soon joined in. 

By the end of the first duel, Gahyeon ended up with her back flat against the cobble and the wooden sword pressed to her chin. Julian was panting heavily and looked like he could collapse at any moment. Gahyeon proved that if she was going down, she was going to do so with a fight. 

Hae-seong says nothing, just dismissing the two and making them return to their spots in the line. “Julian wills the duel!” Byron announces before calling up the next two. 

Several more pairs came up. Some of the cockiest delegates had karma coming and lost the duel. Others surprised you like the quiet girl, Ursula, from the farming village in the South. She generally kept out of everyone’s business and was shorter than the average woman your age but she was quick on her feet and managed to take down her much bigger opponent pretty quickly. 

You were still marveling over Ursula’s assassin-like skill when Byron called your name. You snap out of your thoughts and head over to the middle where your opponent was already waiting. It was one of the bigger boys from the mining villages. You gulp nervously as you take your training sword from Byron and face your partner. 

You could feel your palms clam up and your heartbeat rapidly against your chest. The two of you assumed duel stances, swords in hand, waiting patiently for the signal to start. By this time, more of the royal court had come out to watch. You saw two young men that often accompanied Seonghwa stand off to the side. Maybe they were his friends but their presence just added some pressure to you. 

You inhale deeply and let out a shaky sigh right before Byron gives the signal. You make the first move, dispelling all your nerves with a short yell and bringing down your sword against your opponent’s. You managed to catch him off guard as he stumbled with his weapon, clearly not anticipating your strength. 

And for a short moment, you felt a bout of victory— that was until he pulled back his sword and swung at you. You stepped off to the side and blocked his blow, the force of the impact shot up your arms and to your shoulders. It was a rather harsh one, leaving you to grit your teeth to keep them from chattering. 

You step back when he swings at you again and you retaliate by blocking it off and swiftly following up with a slash near his middle. He narrowly avoids your move, hopping backward to do so. Your movements came right after the other, adrenaline pumping through your veins. You could practically hear your heartbeat thrum in your ears. Dust kicks up around you as you advance towards him, giving him blow after blow. Your opponent was left to defend rather than attack, his bigger stature causing himself to slow down at your faster movements. 

You felt confident that you’d win this duel. That is until Hae-seong calls out your name and distracts you. Your foot hooks against your ankle as you mean to step forward, causing you to trip. Your opponent takes this moment to swing his sword at your foot, making you fall onto your front. Several gasps were heard around you along with a ferocious cry. You look up to see your opponent actually bring down his sword against you. 

Luckily, you manage to roll away in time and the training sword lands against the spot you were on. “Are you crazy??” You exclaim. That blow could’ve killed you. You stumble back onto your feet, now weaponless as your sword had fallen out of your grip when you tripped. Your opponent takes a moment to kick away your sword and advance towards you.

You dodge another swing from him, shifting your feet to help you avoid him. “Aren’t you going to stop him?” You ask Byron and Hae-seong. The former remains silent but there’s a glint of sympathy in his eyes. The nobleman on the other hand simply grinned and shrugged.

“This is part of your test, _____. Remember the book I made you memorize? Well, I decided to quiz you— right now. I want to see how focused you really are.” He sneers. His eldest son laughs at his father’s words, making your blood boil. 

You eye your sword that was only a few steps away. Your opponent wasn’t an idiot— he knew what you were trying to do; he was doing everything to keep you from getting it back. But you were determined and stubborn as a mule. 

“First question, ______,” Hae-seong calls out as you step to the side and dodge another hit. “Name all seven kingdoms and what each are known for,” 

“The Nessa Empire: the kingdom near the sea,” You start out, trying your best to focus on the man in front of you while answering correctly. “Our kingdom of Sarem: the kingdom of the earth; the Kingdom of Velaris..” You continue on with the list and successfully manage to answer his questions.

This goes on— Hae-seong throwing question after question at you while you respond correctly- much to the duke’s annoyance. Of course, you would stumble every now and then, fatigue slowly creeping up on you, but you push through it. And finally, you see an opening. 

Your sword lay a couple of steps away and your opponent was far enough for you to reach over and grab it. You briefly glance over to the weapon and keep your gaze trained ahead of you. You patiently wait for Hae-seong to ask you another question, slowly inching towards your sword.

“Final question,” The nobleman huffed, trying to get you to mess up. “Sarem takes pride in our trade in grains and precious stones; true or false?” 

You almost answered “true” but you remembered what the prince had said the first night you met. 

“Don’t believe everything that book says— especially the part about how our kingdom trade works. It says something about grain or stones but that section is terribly inaccurate.”

You thought it was nasty on Hae-seong’s part to pull that trick out on you but you didn’t pay any attention to that. 

“False!” You answered just as your opponent was about to bring his sword down on you.  You rushed to pick up your own and swing it up to block his strike. This caught him off guard, allowing you to kick your foot out under him and make him lose balance. He falls flat against his back and you scramble to kick his own weapon away, pointing your sword against his throat. 

Byron takes this as a chance to end the duel seeing as both of you were tired. Your turn went longer than anticipated. “_____ wins this duel.” He announces, earning a few applause from the bystanders. 

You almost collapse to the ground in relief as victory floods your system. Thank the heavens. You helped your opponent up and gave him a bow of your head to which he responded in kind. You were still pretty banged and up and bruised since he got more hits in but it was all worth it to be able to make it past this final exam and to see the annoyance on Hae-seong’s face. 

It was obvious he hoped you would mess up but at least he knew to give credit when it’s due, even if it hurt his pride. He turned his pointy nose up and waved the two of you away to return to your spots and allow other delegates to go. “Moving on—“

You plop down onto your original spot, Siyeon shaking your shoulder excitedly. “You killed it!” She cheers quietly, grinning from ear to ear. “I’m so proud of you, Yellow.” 

“Thanks, Wolfie.” You reply, giving her hand a squeeze. 

You tear your gaze away from your friend and up to the window to where Seonghwa and Ayeong were watching. From your spot on the ground, it was clear that he had the brightest smile on his face.

“Her fighting spirit is commendable,” Ayeong praises, referring to you. She turns to her husband to be with a curious tilt of her head. “Don’t you think so?”

The prince felt his chest swell his pride, a warm feeling running through his veins. Though you two had met recently, he felt as if he was your friend for his whole life. He couldn’t help but feel proud of what you had achieved today. He nods in response to his companion. “I couldn’t agree more.”

The final dueling exams ended late into the afternoon. It felt exhausting to watch and go through- after all there were 20 pairs that had to go through this. Despite that- tensions were still high as everyone anxiously waited for their results. 

Some looked hopeful while others remained dejected. It was clear to some that they were convinced that they would be eliminated; regrets of not trying hard enough during the first few days due to their reluctance flooded their thoughts. Only hushed whispers and silent sobs were heard through the courtyard as everyone let their frustrations out.

Amihan scoots over to you as she clutches her splinted hand to her chest; she had fallen down during her duel causing her wrist to be sprained. Her face had dejection written all over it; it was far from her usually laid back look. Raviv follows behind her like a concerned mother hen, brows furrowed. 

“I think I’m going to be sent home,” She admits quietly to your group, eyes glazed over with tears that were threatening to fall. Both you and Siyeon immediately move to comfort her, taking her hands in yours. “I should’ve tried harder,” 

“Ami, you did your best. That’s what’s important,” Siyeon says as she comforts the older girl. “You’re such a fierce fighter Amihan. Maybe you’d pass.”

You nod in response as you offer your friend a comforting smile. “Just shout it out to the world and think of it, it's sure to happen.” 

Amihan only shrugged in response but thanked both of you nonetheless. She sat back on her heels and sighed, looking down to her palms. “Thank you for comforting me… but think it’s useless either way. I’m injured so I can’t go on with training.”

“Maybe they’ll excuse you,” Raviv interjects and settles a hand over her shoulder. “Please don’t be so down on yourself, Ami..”

Before any of you can say anything more, the duke clears his throat and catches all of your attention. He had a roll of parchment in his hand, most likely containing the list of all delegates who made it past the first half of elimination. Right now, there were fifty of you, twenty females and thirty males. All that could change after tonight. 

“I shall now be announcing the delegates who passed.”

Tension rises and a pregnant silence fills the atmosphere. It was absolutely suffocating. You could feel your heart beat erratically against your chest as you laced your fingers with both Siyeon’s and Amihan’s hands. You didn’t want to go home— not when you were this far. The weight of the pendant your father gave you seemed heavy against your chest, a constant reminder of why you were here in the first place. 

“Abel,” Hae-seong started listing out. One by one, a name was called followed by a deep sigh of relief. Stifled tears and quiet sobs were soon heard when the duke failed to call their name. 

One of those unfortunate ones was Amihan. When Duke Hae-seong continued on with the list, the names now starting with B, your heart fell. You look over to your friend who had a resigned yet accepting look in her eyes. You couldn’t believe it. Your friend was no longer going to be with you. 

“Ami..” You mutter quietly, chest heavy with grief. She only smiles at you, cupping your cheek and brushing away a hair that stuck to your face.

I’ll be okay. She whispers to you before doing the same for both Raviv and Siyeon. You felt numb. It was such a short time since you’ve known her but you’ve created a deep bond with her since your stay— it would be hard to see her go. 

The names went on and luckily, you, Siyeon, and Raviv was still safe. For a moment your solemn thoughts turned into relief. At least you were safe, you were still in the game. You still had the chance to win this thing. 

“That’s all, you are now dismissed. You may return to your rooms. To those who were eliminated, we thank you for trying your best,” Hae-seong drawls out, oddly chipper. Maybe he was just glad that he didn’t have to deal with any more “brats.” “A carriage awaits you tomorrow morning so I suggest you start packing up.”

Usually, the walk to the rooms would be lively and full of playful banter. Now it was just glum and filled with frustrated cries. Whispers of comfort floated through the air as the group parted ways to head to their respective rooms. But before Raviv could part with the rest of you, he walks over to Amihan and gives her a tight embrace. They exchange a few words, only whispered between the two of them, before separating ways. 

You and Siyeon were on either side of Amihan’s side as you walked down the hall, trying to make the most of your last moments with her. Your friend had long stopped crying, her tears turning down to sniffles. She was quick to accept her fate. 

“Well, at least I got to live in a palace for 2 and a half months.” She jokes in hopes to lighten the mood. “Even though it was a short period of time, I’m glad I was able to make friends with you two…”

She turns to both of you, pulling you to the side to allow others to enter the room without blocking the way. “I’ll miss you both.. better write to me or else I’m coming back here to hunt your asses down.” 

She managed to pull some laughs out of you and Siyeon before bringing you into a group hug. It was a bittersweet moment and none of you could stop the tears from falling. It was kind of cathartic to be able to cry after a long while, even if they were grieving their separation from each other. It was Amihan once again who pulled herself together and straightened up. 

“I hope one of you wins. And I know one of you will.” She says with such conviction in her voice it was hard to not believe her. 

As you help her keep her things for her leave tomorrow, you couldn’t help but allow this moment to fuel something within you. You had another person to fight for, and that’s exactly what you needed. If things were hard now, they were surely going to get harder. 

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 11: In Dreams (originally posted on March 29, 2021)

AN: Hope you all packed your bags dear readers, cause we're gonna go on a real trip. One of my initial ideas for Alternate Future was with the addition as Aquamarine as a more major antagonist, we'd also have a mini-character arc about Peridot blaming herself for Steven's capture at the end of Season 4 even years later, which I felt was kind of a waste of possible character development for the little nacho. Regardless, it's time I finally see it through myself. And trust me, I'm really gonna put Peri through the wringer.

Synopsis: Steven's dream powers start acting up when he and Peridot want to watch TV.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven, Stefan

Shelby Rabara as Peridot

Johnny Hawkes as Cookie Cat, Rodrigo

Marieve Hernington as Jasmine

Della Saba as Marine, Aquamarine

--

The night was dark as Steven strolled through Beach City on his way home after a long day until he heard music. Racing to the beach house, he discovered that colorful flashing lights and loud music were coming from inside the house, and that got him super excited.

"All right!" Steven gasped cheerfully. "Now that I've saved the universe, I finally get to party!" When he raced to his front window, Steven could see all his friends inside dancing the night away. Garnet, Amethyst & Pearl, Lars and the Off-Colors, Lapis, Bismuth & Peridot, Connie, even Onion was breaking it down. Before he could join the fun, however, the door and windows suddenly vanished, leaving behind an empty wooden wall. "Huh? Hey guys, let me in! This isn't funny!"

"STEVEN!" a booming voice echoed from above. When Steven looked up, he discovered that Obsidian's head was replaced with a giant Cookie Cat looking down on him with a taunting grin. "NOBODY NEEDS YOUR HELP! SO WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?!"

"What?!" Steven cried before the porch opened up like a trap door under him, forcing the boy to fall through the sky screaming.

--

"STEVEN! STEVEN!"

A little voice broke Steven out of slumber and back into the real world in his bedroom. "Why do I keep having these dreams?" he mused to himself. "Are they telling me something?"

"STEVEN, OPEN UP!" the voice cried out while pounding on the door.

"Peridot?" Steven began to recognize the green Gem's nasally voice as he walked downstairs and let the former Kindergartener in.

"STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN!" Peridot chanted, beetling in place while holding popcorn and drinks. "Today's the big day! Did you tape the premiere?!"

"What premiere? I have no idea what you're talking about." Steven said coyly.

"But you promised me!" Peridot whined, not realizing that her half-organic friend might be joking.

"Oh, you mean the premiere of the reboot of the classic Great North teen camping drama Camp Pining Hearts that I recorded," Steven revealed as he pulled out a VHS tape. "on this very tape?"

Peridot gasped at the mere mention of the show she had awaited for so long and began squealing excitedly. "Yes, it's finally here!"

"THE RETURN OF CAMP PINING HEARTS!" the pair declared joyfully.

--

Steven and Peridot raced upstairs to watch the Camp Pining Hearts reboot when Steven realized someone was missing. "Hey, where's Lapis? I thought she was a big fan of CPH as you are."

"Oh, she declined to attend our viewing because she feels this reboot will be an abomination." Peridot answered as she sat down at the foot of Steven's bed. "You know that United Defenders of the World show? She really likes that too, and that's gotten a reboot much like Camp Pining Hearts, but she doesn't like how that is so dark and depressing because apparently, it's more adult. I mean, come on! Can't we go one minute without any intense violence or Mangolin yelling so many nasty wo-"

"What, she's not coming because one show clouds her judgment of another?" Steven rolled his eyes at Peridot's explanation while putting the tape into his VHS player. "That's a little silly. But I'm glad you were still able to come because I've been having these weird dreams lately. Like, are any of them real or-"

"That's not important Steven!" Peridot shut her fellow fan's mouth. "Now press play already you monster!"

Steven chuckled for a bit before he started the tape, and the theme song for the Camp Pining Hearts reboot began to play while two attractive young actors were credited for the roles of its leads, Jasmine and Rodrigo. Steven excitedly ate popcorn while Peridot waved a Great North flag around as the show began.

--

Fifty-two minutes later, the credits finally rolled, and Steven & Peridot were left stunned, silent, and disappointed.

"L-Lapis warned me, and I didn't listen." Peridot quivered in shock.

"W-what?" Steven added, just as horrified. "What…."

"WHAT HAVE THEY DONE?!" the pair roared in unison.

"What is with that Rodrigo guy?!" Peridot began complaining and clawing at her face. "He has no charisma! He is clearly inferior to the old cast!"

"And can we just talk about the cinematography?" Steven added just as furiously while Peridot got up and marched towards the TV.

"They changed all the characters, and I don't care about any one of them!" Peridot threw a tantrum and began venting by picking up the set & slamming it to the ground. "How could this happen to us?!" she began to cry her eyes out on the television. "Camp Pining Hearts was my escape when I first arrived on Earth, when my whole world was nothing but chaos!"

"CPH brought us all together." Steven comforted his green friend, though he was sobbing as well.

"And now, just look at this nightmare!" Peridot yelled with a hand to the TV screen when it stopped showing the Camp Pining Hearts reboot. Instead, it began playing Steven's dream from last night. "Wait, Steven, when were you ever an actor?"

"What? No, they didn't!" Steven exclaimed as the dream continued on television. "Is this my dreams?" When Steven watched himself fall from the beach house in his dream, the TV then switched back to Camp Pining Hearts. "Whoa! My dream powers must be messing with the TV signal!"

"How in the world is that even possible?!" Peridot raised an eyebrow at this revelation, but it also gave her an idea. "Wait just a second. Steven, you realize what this means?!"

"I should start wearing a tinfoil hat?" Steven asked, unaware of what the little genius had planned.

"No!" Peridot answered. "If we use your dream powers on the TV, we can make our own Camp Pining Hearts! We'll reboot the reboot!"

"Reboot the reboot?" Steven realized and excitedly stood up. "Peridot, you're a genius!"

"I know." Peridot smugly declared.

"Plus, it would be really fun to fix something small this time." Steven said before Peridot wrapped a lime-colored arm around his neck.

"This shall be the beginning of Peridot & Steven Productions!" Peridot triumphantly declared.

"Yeah!" Steven added, and then he fell from Peridot's grasp.

--

Later that day, Steven and Peridot were now standing in front of a whiteboard detailing all their plans for fixing the Camp Pining Hearts Reboot, bouncing more plans off each other in regards to shipping.

"So Peridot, you think Jasmine's endgame should be Khaz or Rodrigo?" Steven asked Peridot while looking at a web of pictures of the characters from the reboot.

"It seems the characters are trying to railroad us into a Jasrigo relationship, despite turning everyone else into complete jerks just because they don't agree with-" Peridot began, but then she started getting irritated. "Gah, these characters have no chemistry together! It's like they're being shipped just because they're the leading man and woman!"

"Just can't get into Rodrigo, eh?" Steven asked his writing partner.

"He's just so passive and quiet, it's positively irritating!" Peridot yelled. "He has none of the old cast's personalities that made them so memorable!"

"Sure he may be really quiet and soft," Steven assured Peridot. "but what if we try to do something with his social anxiety and peanut allergy despite them not being connected to the larger story, like make him a foil?"

"A foil, you say?" Peridot raised an eyebrow at Steven's idea. "Okay, I'm listening."

"I got it!" Steven declared before he sat down in front of some pencils and paper and began to draw. "I call him Stefan." He began explaining while drawing. "He's a hunky lifeguard friend with nice muscles that everyone likes and wants to hang out with. His popularity is both a blessing and a curse, yet always makes time to help his buddy Rodrigo boost his confidence." He handed his final drawing over to Peridot, which turned out to be a sketch of a more muscular Steven.

"So he's like your self-insert!" Peridot beamed at her friend's work. "I like your ideas, Stefan!"

--

As night fell, Steven got back into bed with a bowl of chili in his lap while Peridot inserted the tape into the VCR player.

"Uh, why are you eating at bedtime?" Peridot questioned Steven's choice of a bedtime meal.

"Oh, you mean my chili?" Steven replied, gesturing to the chili in his hands. "I read that eating spicy stuff before bed makes your dreams super vivid."

"I appreciate your initiative, fellow creator." Peridot grinned at Steven's idea while he continued eating his chili.

"Thanks, Peridot." Steven thanked Peridot before putting the bowl on his nightstand and tucking himself in. "Okay, good night."

"Good night Steven. But remember," Peridot said as she started whispering into Steven's ear. "action-orientated storytelling."

--

"Hey Jasmine, I hear you love birds." A tanned, muscular version of Steven said flirtatiously to a cute brown-haired girl examining a bird perched in her hand.

"Sure Stefan." Jasmine giggled cutely.

"Well, a little birdie told me downstream that there's a special island somewhere 'round here." Stefan replied, leaning against a tree and giving Jasmine a wink while pointing offscreen. "I hear it's full of rare specimens."

"Did you hear that?" Jasmine gasped elatedly. "Thank you so much Stefan!" Stefan responded by giving Jasmine another wink.

Meanwhile, Rodrigo was by himself at a campsite reading an instructional book on how to date when Stefan came racing to him.

"Rodrigo, I've got terrible news!" Stefan exclaimed, catching Rodrigo's attention. "Jasmine's in danger!"

"Wait, what?!" Rodrigo did a double-take in response.

"She's headed for that island full of dangerous birds!" Stefan revealed, propping one foot on a rock and dramatically pointing to the river nearby. "But if we go downstream, we can surely save her!"

"Okay Stefan, you're the best!" Rodrigo shouted. "Let's go save Jasmine!"

The pair raced for a pair of canoes docked close to the campsite and began rowing through the river to rescue Jasmine.

"Thanks for telling me Jasmine was in trouble Stefan, you're such a great guy." Rodrigo complimented Stefan.

"You're welcome Rodrigo." Stefan replied gratefully. "You're pretty great yourself, y'know, great enough for Jasmine to like you."

"You really mean it?" Rodrigo asked eagerly.

"I can tell by the way she looks at," Stefan began, but then he started getting sidetracked by Blue Diamond with the body of a dolphin, a gargantuan pineapple with Yellow Diamond's face on it, and a pair of White Diamond's feet right next to the fruit. "you? Huh?"

"Stefan, is something the matter?" Rodrigo asked Stefan, or rather Steven, who had now replaced Stefan in the dream.

"Oh no, not again!" Steven began panicking as he started to glow pink yet again, not knowing how things ended up like this.

--

As Steven woke up in his bed, he found Peridot standing at the side of his bed, looking very excited at how the experiment went.

"Oh my stars Steven, you did it!" Peridot cheered excitedly. "You just fell asleep and started turning pink, which started happening in the dream! Here, I'll show you!" She then ran over to the TV and began playing Steven's dream again. "Our script, our story, it's on the television and it's wonderful!" she kept on praising. "Not sure what you were going for with that bizarre imagery towards the end but I'll admit, seeing Yellow Diamond's face on a pineapple made me laugh."

Amid Peridot's eagerness, however, Steven then started to get drowsy again.

"Steven, are you okay?" Peridot asked with concern.

"Sorry Peri, just feeling a little off." Steven assured her. "Maybe eating that chili wasn't a great idea."

"Yeah yeah, don't believe everything you read online and all that." Peridot japed. "We got none of the money in the world, and all the time in our hands. Hey, I've got a great idea of my own! Picture this, a mysterious young woman with a teardrop tattoo on her face arrives at the camp because she wants to kidnap Stefan for her own dark designs. But before she can succeed, Pierre from the original Camp Pining Hearts comes in to save the day!"

"Uh, okay then." Steven replied awkwardly while trying to make himself comfortable. "But you're right, let's pull off a do-over. We can try as many times as we want until we get it right."

"Less talking, more sleeping." Peridot pushed a star-shaped pillow into Steven's chest and forced him onto his mattress before pulling his eyelids down.

--

Every time Steven went to sleep, he was back to canoeing with Rodrigo to rescue Jasmine. And every time, Rodrigo was replaced in his canoes by some very unexpected characters.

The first time this happened, Rodrigo was suddenly replaced by Dogcopter, of all things. As Dogcopter flew off using the propeller on his back, Stefan reached out to the flying canine before Steven awakened with bags under his eyes.

The second time, Rodrigo's place was taken by Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. The three Gems then flew away from Stefan just like Dogcopter did, and Stefan cried out for them before Steven woke up yet again, and the bags were starting to get darker.

The third time, Rodrigo didn't disappear. Instead, he started getting more unnerved as Spinel's massive Injector was present in the background, and Stefan was suddenly replaced with Steven as a baby.

Suddenly, a young woman with a teardrop tattoo on her face, just like what Peridot had described, snatched the baby Steven from the canoe with a maniacal laugh before Pierre, who now looked like he had green-lensed glasses and triangular hair, boldly stepped in and stood up to the woman.

Steven once again woke up, his baggy eyes now at their darkest, while Peridot just sighed in defeat.

--

The next morning, Steven sat down to some cereal and milk in the kitchen when Peridot suddenly appeared with a big stack of papers in front of her. "Uh, what's all this?"

"I've concluded that a script just wasn't working!" Peridot proudly announced. "So I've decided to take a more visual approach and made a whole series of storyboards for us to use! Besides, I've seen tons of cartoons use more storyboards than scripts, for better or for worse."

"You made all of these in one night?' Steven gasped in amazement at the triangular Gem's feat while looking through the storyboards.

"Duh, I'm good at everything!" Peridot bragged. "Now please study these in preparation for tonight."

"Hey, I got a question." Steven said while putting out one of the storyboards that featured the same tattooed woman from his dream. "Who's this girl, and why does Pierre look so much like you now?"

"Uh, that's Marine, Pierre's new arch-foe!" Peridot answered, awkwardly twiddling her fingers and looking in every conceivable direction. "She is totally not based on anyone we've met before."

"Are you sure?" Steven asked suspiciously while flicking through more storyboards featuring Marine. "Cause her haircut and location of her tattoo kinda reminds me of Aq-" Suddenly, he stopped to discover a new storyboard of Stefan having a romantic moment with Jasmine. "Wait, why is Stefan kissing Jasmine?"

"It's perfect!" Peridot yelled eagerly. "Right as Rodrigo is about to save Stefan from this reverse damsel in distress situation, he discovers that Jasmine got to him first, and they're already kissing too! Imagine, Jasmine defying gender clichés to save Stefan, unaware that they're stroking the fires of Rodrigo's jealousy!"

"I can't do Rodrigo this dirty!" Steven objected to the idea. "It's not only a betrayal of the friendship we gave him and Stefan, but it's also poor romantic drama too!"

"Whoa, take it easy Steven, they're just characters. No need to become so addicted to their love lives!" Peridot tried to excuse herself. "This is a story, and a good story needs conflict!"

"No, I still don't want to do this!" Steven declared angrily, startling Peridot before she came to an understanding.

"Look Steven, I can see you're pretty worn out from last night." Peridot said sadly as she began to get up and walk away. "Let's just scrap the whole project."

"What?" Steven replied in shock.

"There's really no point in continuing if it stresses you out that much." Peridot sighed as she grabbed the door handle. "Besides, I got classes to teach at Little Homeworld anyway."

But when Peridot was close to opening the front door and leaving the house, a flash of pink convinced Steven to change his mind. "No, wait!" he exclaimed, stopping the little Gem in her tracks. "I'll do the scene."

"Really?!" Peridot turned back with a cute smile and stars in her eyes.

"Anything to make you happy." Steven replied wearily. Though he was happy that Peridot was happy, he let out a heavy sigh as he was forced to put his friends before himself yet again.

--

"Oh no, that dastardly Marine has Stefan captured!" Rodrigo cried as he quickly rowed downstream to save his dear friend. "Jasmine said she's going to help him, but I haven't heard from her since!"

But just as Rodrigo finished his sentence, he finally found Stefan and Jasmine safe from harm, while Marine was left tied up beside them.

"You won't get away with this Stefan!" Marine yelled before she noticed Rodrigo, and had another fiendish idea in the works. "Hey Rodrigo, look! Your best friend's a cheater!"

"What?!" Rodrigo exclaimed, staring straight at Stefan and Jasmine kissing passionately. "Stefan, how could you?!"

"Rodrigo, this isn't what it looks like!" Stefan cried to Rodrigo in Steven's voice, but he wasn't there. And neither were Jasmine and Marine. And right before Stefan was a very angry-looking Connie. "Connie?"

Suddenly, Connie began to grow into the size of a giant and then turned into Obsidian. Stefan meanwhile was turned back into Steven as the Connie-Obsidian hybrid raised a foot and lowered it to crush him.

--

Steven then woke up in his old room wearing his old pajamas. Just like in the real world, Peridot remained by his side watching the television, but she was eerily silent, a far cry from her usual smug and loud yet cheerful nature.

"Peridot, my dreams are going nuts!" Steven informed Peridot while getting out of bed and walking over to her. "First everyone disappeared, then Jasmine turned into Connie, and she tried to squish me which is how I ended up here!" However, Peridot said nothing and continued facing the television. "Peridot?" Steven asked as he grabbed the green Gem's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

When Steven turned Peridot to face him, her visor and gem were now filled with SMPTE color bars and her expression showed no emotion at all. Steven's old bedroom abruptly vanished, and his PJs turned into his normal clothes as he noticed Peridot emotionlessly marching towards the beach house from the dream he woke up from the previous day. "Peridot!"

"Oh, poor little Steven." A familiar bratty voice called to Steven as he chased after Peridot. From the clouds came Aquamarine, still as haughty as ever and now in possession of her wand once more. "Don't you see? It's all her fault that I kidnapped you, that you had to learn all those horrible things about your mother! And yet not once did her blatant betrayal ever come up again."

"You don't know Peridot like I do, you little twerp!" Steven yelled at Aquamarine as he gained on Peridot, who was about to open the front door. "She's changed ever since we first met. She once tried to kill me like every other Gem who's ever antagonized me, but now she's become so sweet and funny!"

"Oh please, just because you like her now doesn't mean you should completely forget about all the ways she's harmed you." Aquamarine taunted before she restrained Steven with a tractor beam, but his iron will allowed him to resist as he tried to stop Peridot.

"Please Peri, don't go in there!" Steven strained from resisting the tractor beam and reached out to Peridot. "I still really want to hang out with you!" Just then, the floor disappeared beneath Steven and Peridot just like in the earlier dream. Peridot seemingly floated in midair while Steven leaped to the edge of the porch and continued reaching out to her, as the front of the house turned into color bars as well. "We always had something to fix together! The Cluster, the Diamonds, Spinel, but I don't know how I can be anyone's friend without something to fix!"

"Why can't you just surrender already?!" Aquamarine yelled as she tried to reel Steven in like a fish. "Your suffering is all because of her, and she's felt so worthless because of you!" Unfortunately for her, the tractor beam broke and the small, flying Gem was catapulted away from the pair. "We'll meet again brat!"

"I-I just can't do it anymore!" Steven cried to Peridot, unaware of the dream version of Aquamarine's failure to catch him. "I'm just so tired, and now I'm even trying to fix something in my dreams!" He soon started to cry as he got closer to Peridot. "I'm sorry I can't do this for you! Just please don't leave me!"

Peridot remained stoic as Steven kept on grasping for her. "Don't…leave."

The dream ended just like a VHS tape being removed from a VCR before a muffled voice began calling for Steven.

--

"Steven? Steven!"

Steven was suddenly shook awake with tears in his eyes, and he discovered Peridot leaning over him crying just as much.

"I saw everything Steven, and yes, it is true!" Peridot admitted sorrowfully. "A good reason why I was using your dreams is because I never got over how you were kidnapped because of me! I was so worried the other Gems would declare me a traitor, but they never bothered to bring it up. You know what, we don't have to do this anymore!" Steven then gave her a tight hug. "I don't care about the show anymore, or Rodrigo especially! I just want what's best for you! I'm such a clod!"

"It's okay Dottie, it's okay." Steven comforted his green pal. "I kind of knew something was up when you first mentioned Marine and Pierre, but I didn't know you've bottling this up for so long."

"I know, it's so unhealthy of me." Peridot wept. "I just needed something to vent with, so that's why I wanted to spend time with you. It's okay if you don't want an excuse to hang out anymore."

"But I do want to keep hanging out." Steven assured Peridot. "With or without all this trauma. We're friends, right?"

"I guess you're right." Peridot smiled sadly.

"You still want to watch CPH together," Steven offered. "even if it's terrible?"

In response, Peridot took off her visor and began wiping some tears, shedding the mask she had kept up for her entire stay. "Of course."

--

"How could you lie to me like this Rodrigo?!" Jasmine yelled crossly at her love interest while Steven and Peridot laughed as it all went down. "I bet you just can't help being an awful person!"

"You just buried a dead body Jasmine, and you're getting mad at Rodrigo for cheating at cards?!" Peridot cackled, pounding her fist on the floor. "Some protagonist you turned out to be! Oh my stars, this show is the worst!"

"This show is the best." Steven smiled contently before the pair leaned up against each other with smiles on their faces.

--

Like I said, wasted opportunity for more Peridot development. And yes my friends, that United Defenders of the World show was a total middle finger to dark & edgy teen drama reboots of family-friendly properties with fans of all ages. It happened to Archie, it happened to Winx Club and it's even gonna happen to the Powerpuff Girls soon. But I'm getting off topic, this was a pretty fun chapter to write since I love Peridot so much and she has an incredible dynamic with Steven. Speaking of green Gems, next chapter goes into original territory once again as we finally shine a light on a corrupted Gem that's seemingly been erased from existence come Future. That's right Nephrite, come on down!

[warpriest-writings]

Chapter 1: Fenrir the Unchained

   

    Slowly it came back to him, first came the awareness of breathing. Then the cold pressure beneath him, the damp stone and the drips of cool water from the stalactites, surely the senses returned to the wolf as he awakened from an ancient deathlike slumber. Fenrir began to yawn but his lazy exhale quickly turned to a sharp yell of tremendous pain! On legs that were not yet ready to support him the stumbling beasts thrashed out, trembling as he shifted to the upright form of man and with shaking hands he gripped the source of his suffering pulling it from his canine snout and threw it hard against the cave wall.

    Fenrir fell to his knees as his transmorphism finished into the mannish shape, trembling as blood and foam ran down his chin. Shaking horribly for sometime Fenrir finally found the strength and stability to reach up and feel his wound, thankfully already closing. He tried to scream out, but his throat was parched and rough and the meager noise he uttered hurt him terribly. Water, his thoughts screamed, and he fell over as he moved towards the sound of dripping. His face splashed into the shallow water, he slurped and his tongue swept against the stone.

    He felt the rush of water down his rough, dry throat into his empty stomach. It felt cold and overwhelming, “Ffff, huff, father.” He pushed himself up by his elbow, “Father, help!”

    Something felt wrong, very wrong, “Odin, Odin where am I? Answer me, tricky bastard.”

    Slowly Fenrir pushed himself into a sitting position, his head pounded and he grew dizzy, his vision blurred not that he could see much in the utter blackness of the cave. Even with his limited sensory awareness he knew his hands were shaking though he could barely feel them. He tilted his head back, inhaling as deeply as he could, the cave was stained with the stench of his blood and bile though, however faint, the wolf smelt fresh air and it was invigorating. 

    Why am I in this dingy cave? Fenrir thought, did the gods bind me in that silly ribbon and dump me to rot? The Wolf rubbed under his chin, a thinning scar remaining still, he stepped over to where he tossed...whatever it was. In the darkness he knelt down and tried to feel for whatever pierced him, “Gaaahhh!” he cried out and stuck his sliced open thumb into his mouth. “Foul razor,” he reached down, more carefully this time, “Cut me like I’m a pork sausage.” It was a sword, he realized. “Aesir craft?” he muttered then growled.

With renewed purpose Fenrir rose cautiously on unsteady feet, he paused, squinting in the dark the wolf rested his hand on the wall as he step by step walked into the daylight. 

    Fenrir wolf held up his hand to shade his eyes from the light, though swift moving clouds held the sky overcast, the light was harsh compared to the utter darkness of the cave. Still the fresh air brought strength back to the weakened wolf, he tilted his head back and inhaled deeply as his eyes widened, “Why am I on Midgard!”

    Growling low, “Heimdallr, lower the Bifrost, that I may return to the god village!”

    The sky remained as it was, “Heimdallr Odinson, Gold toothed and Turner! I know you can hear me, Heimdall!”

    Fenrir howled and pushed over the nearest tree, “Lower the rainbow bridge, coward!” he fell to his knees as he breathed heavily, a stick from the tree he thrashed fell on his head prompting a sigh from the godly beast, “The gods are toying with me.”

    Several miles to the east, in a small town in rural Wisconsin, dawn had just broken the long February night, muffled expletives spoken under the breath of dog owners taking their hounds to relieve themselves, the snow reflected the light of the sun in the clear sky. All seemed so mundane to young Riley, whose large fluffy brown coat was almost worthless in the advanced cold of the Wisconsin morn. 

    “Morning, Riles!” Called out Kevin, whose apartment was just across the hall from her own, “Just a bit chilly this morning for a walk, dontcha think?” he laughed though Riley wasn’t sure at what.

    It was cold, oddly cold even. Maybe not for February in general, but it was supposed to be a decently temperate 25, 30 degrees and it was currently five degrees and getting colder. “Uh, yeah, pretty brisk.” 

    He nodded, “Oh hey, I need to go grocery shopping today, want to share a cab into town? I just thought it would be cheaper for us both if you needed to get stuff too.” Kevin offered.

    “Oh, uh, yeah that sounds good. I could use some stuff.” 

    “Great, I’ll call it for 11:00?”

    She pulled out her phone, 9:42, “Uh, yeah that sounds good. I’ll see you then” Riley zipped her brown coat up more for emphasis and began walking off. Her mind abuzz with rushing thoughts that she so desperately hoped the rituel of a short winter walk would put at ease.

    The Asgard wolf crossed into the threshold of the mortal town, he knew it was Midgard by the smell of mortals, not by trees as tall as the fangs of Jormungandr, the eldest in all the realms, or the massive herds of grazing beasts. Just...the scent of humans burning his nose.

    In the mannish form, his feet sunk into the fresh snow, more of the blustery frozen stuff landing by the moment. Hard wind striking him as he took his steps deeper into the Man village, the roads were very oddly wide he thought as obnoxious unhorsed or oxen drawn carts swerved around him, blaring volatile honking screeches at him. 

    His stomach growling, the Wolf growled at it, “Oh be quiet, you’re the reason we’re in this mess.” Eat a human, he considered. “No, Thor doesn’t like it when I do that.” Eat Thor, he pondered.

    As the wolf bemoaned silently, the flurries grew thicker, and the bite of the wind harsher. Hearing footsteps in the snow Fenrir stopped, glancing over to the woman in a brown coat looking down absently as she walked, right into him. 

    She jerked in sudden alarm, slipping and nearly falling, were it not for Fenrir reaching out and holding her up by the arm. “Ohmygosh, I’m so sorry.” She looked up and her eyes widened, the color draining from her cheeks.

    “You should take shelter, this storm is not fit for man nor god.” Fenrir said, releasing her arm and continuing to walk, his stomach growled again and he knew he ought to find shelter himself, and a lot of ale. 

[lisinfleur]

T&T - Chapter 11: The Dance of the Tides

Author’s Notes | Everything that has a beginning has an end. Every living thing is fated to die. It’s the natural course of life. Words | 2365 ⁑ Warnings: Mentions of death, blood, some ANGST.

Every light comes from the darkness and without its counterpart, the light would be unable to exist. This was a lesson Ivar had to learn the worst ways possible: from the darkness of his father's death came the light of his dawn as a leader; from the darkness of his worst mistakes, came the knowledge that made him stronger.

From the darkness of Brynjar's end would come the light of his rebirth...

Yet, that was a moment he tried to postpone as much as he could. However, despite all the efforts Atli and the healers of the kingdom placed in keeping the king's life, it seems his heart was only waiting for the serenity of a good heir to succeed his crown so he could finally rest.

The old king's health declined quickly. Iliana was heavy-pregnant yet when the king asked his men of trust to be called and Ivar knew it was time to say goodbye to another of his greatest friends in this lifetime.

One by one, the men closest to the king were called near his bed, receiving gifts of gold from their king and his last words of gratitude and blessings. Not a single one of them left the room without paying their respect to the man their king was seeing as a foster son, someone they knew would be their king from now on.

"Hail King Ivar," something Ivar listened to dozens of times that night.

The last ones to come inside were Atli, Iliana, and Ivar himself.

There was sadness in Atli's eyes: Brynjar had been his king throughout his whole life and he was a boy when his father took him to attend to Brynjar's father's burial. Now, he spent the whole day preparing what Brynjar himself had ordered for his own. It was easier to understand the tears he saw in his father's face when the time came to bury his king. Now it was Atli's time to pass through the same.

"You did nothing wrong, my friend," Brynjar's hoarse voice sounded serene as his eyes landed over Atli.

His words closing even more the young man's throat.

"I could have done better," Atli said, causing the old king to giggle in his bed.

"Boy... What can we do against fate?" Brynjar said, silencing Atli who knew the answer to that question. "When the time comes and the gods call, there is nothing a simple mortal can do against it. The thread ends for each and every one of us. Death comes for each one of us. Everything that lives is fated to die and the time came for me such as it will come for you all one day. Mourn me not, Atli, my friend. For I had a good life, I made my name great, and after my departure, my fame shall speak about me. And if the gods decide I have a place among the Einherjar for the battles I fought in my life, then may my voice speak about your name, my dear friend. And if the golden doors remain closed after my departure, then, may your voices speak about my name someday."

Atli bowed in respect and Brynjar's eyes turned towards Iliana and Ivar. The old man smiled. Brimir, son of his blood, shamed his name and stained his legacy. But Ivar somehow got a place in the old man's heart and there he was: the son Brynjar asked so bad the gods to give him, the good wife he asked Brimir could someday find... The grandson he wouldn't know, unfortunately.

"My wife named my son," he mumbled when Ivar came to sit by his side, holding the old king's hand. "I wasn't here when Brimir was brought into this world: the war claimed my attention the same way it did through a huge time of his life. But I wouldn't name him Brimir... You said you wanted to name your son after me, as a way to bond our lineages..." Brynjar said, trying to clear his throat, make his low voice more audible.

And Ivar nodded along with Iliana who was fighting her tears back into her eyes. The old man was weaker. She knew the time was coming.

"Name him Vali," Brynjar mumbled, smiling. "I know it's a boy. I can feel it when I look at your queen, boy."

"Powerful and strong," Ivar said, recognizing the meaning of that name and smiling back at the old king.

"It was the name I wanted for my son. Then may it be the name of my grandson to come... For you, Ivar, you were the son I asked the gods to have. You became the son of my heart. Take my blessings, my lands, my legacy, boy. And use it to recover what is rightfully yours."

"I will," Ivar mumbled.

Few words in his mouth since his blues were teary. Brynjar was pretty much a friend, but he also figured as a father for Ivar and it was the third time he was saying goodbye to a father figure like that.

First, Ragnar, his blood.

Then, Floki, his teacher.

Now, Brynjar, his friend and hope.

The old man's fingers pressed Ivar's hand in a weak grip Ivar answered with a stronger one. And Brynjar smiled, looking at the younger man in front of him.

"Pour some mead for me. Feast and drink in my honor. But do not mourn me tomorrow, Ivar, my son, my friend. Cause my legacy is safe and I'm happy to leave it in your good hands. I did everything I wanted in this life, I lived everything I wanted to live and built everything I wanted to build. Now, I wanna rest. Now, it's your turn, Ivar. Make your father proud. Both of them."

Ivar nodded, feeling the grip of Brynjar's hand relaxing slowly.

Brynjar took a deep breath, smiling at Ivar one last time.

"Ah, son... There is nothing better than lay your head on your pillows and carry no regret when you close your eyes."

One last sigh and the eyelids of the old king closed itself to never be opened once again. Brynjar relaxed completely and Ivar felt the weight of losing his father one more time clenching the heart inside his chest - the old man was dead, but there was a smile in his face.

Not like Ragnar, Brynjar went to his grave without regrets or resentment, with the tranquil expression of a man who did everything in his life and was certain his legacy was well cared for.

The sea of those lands saw a flaming boat one more time that night and once again as a king, Ivar sat on the throne that was once occupied by his friend and now, belonged to him.

Iliana by his side in the second throne Brynjar had ordered the blacksmiths not long ago. Their hands holding one another, their thoughts far away in time as the feast in Brynjar's honor was being celebrated like the deceased king had desired.

The hall remained opened for a whole moon. Earls from all the earldoms came to reinforce their oaths of loyalty to the crown now in Ivar's head, all of them invited to stay for Ivar wanted to speak to them at the end of that period.

It just served to have the house full when the first sounds of Iliana's labor could be heard from the Hall of the Thrones.

Unlike the few women Ivar had ever heard, Iliana wasn't screaming. Instead, she grunted and growled in such a strong voice that it could be heard outside the king's room through the hall where the Earls were all reunited around the table, waiting for the news about the new heir to be born. Inside the room, Ivar was drinking with Atli by his side - anxiety and fear in the king's trembling hands holding his cup Atli was preventing him from filling too many times.

"Calm down, my friend. Everything happening here is normal, the midwives here are the most competent of our kingdom. Your child and wife are in good hands," Atli tried to calm his friend down.

But Ivar couldn't stop looking at the bed where Iliana was once again curling herself against the rounded belly in another grunt that sent cold shivers down the king's spine.

"What if my child is like me, Atli?" Ivar poured his fear looking into his friend's eyes. "Everybody said mother yelled in pain when she was giving birth to me! They said it took hours from her! Almost a whole day! What if..."

"'What if' is too much of a vague thing to put your thoughts into, my friend. All women yell in pain when bringing life into this world. This is part of their burden such as protecting them is part of ours. Nothing is out of the normal so far, but tell me, my friend, didn't you live your life? Aren't you a man like me, like all the others? Even better, sometimes? Stronger, good-minded... If it is the gods' will that your child will be like you then may it be strong and wise as you are. May it be intelligent and astute like its father! Stop thinking bad things, my friend... Look," Atli pointed as the midwife positioned in the middle of Iliana's legs. "Your child is coming into this world," he mumbled in Ivar's ears, over his shoulder, as the young king was looking at the bed where his wife was making the hugest efforts to put his child out of her belly. "Bless it, Ivar. This is your work in this scene: your child will come to your hands after nine moons into your wife's belly. Don't you want to receive it with clean hands and blessings?"

Ivar's mind was clouded. Iliana's pain was too much for him but at the same time, there was the midwife, announcing his child was already coming.

"I can see the head, my queen, be strong now!"

"It came right," Atli said, bringing some tranquility into Ivar's heart. "The child turned properly. It will be quick now."

"Oh, gods!" Iliana moaned.

And so, Ivar saw when she almost sat at the bed, looking at him. Her face was changed into such a fierce expression, her eyes full of strength when she tensed her body completely, grunting between her teeth as everything on her was focused on a single task.

He could remember himself. His growls in battle, the tension of his muscles, the strength, the pain. That was Iliana's battle. She wasn't a warrior like him but her heart was full of fire like his own and for a moment, Ivar lost himself looking into her eyes, seeing once again all the reasons why he fell in love for that woman so deeply.

Atli's pat in his shoulder woke him up from the trance his thoughts threw him into. His friend was smiling; a strong cry invaded Ivar’s ear.

"It's here, my friend," Atli said, smiling.

And Ivar saw when Iliana fell back on the bed, panting in relief. The midwife coming closer to deliver her the child she brought against her chest, ignoring it was covered in blood and screaming, still connected to her by the umbilical cord the midwife held, calling the king.

"Come, my king. Your son awaits," she said, smiling.

Atli pushed Ivar's back a little, stimulating his friend to move towards his family.

"Go, Ivar. You must separate him from his mother and chant his first blessings."

Ivar was almost slowed, stunned by the sight of a dream happening in front of his eyes. The midwives finished cleaning Iliana, covering her, and Ivar came closer as the others slowly went away, giving him and his new family some space. He took the cord in his hand, feeling as it was yet throbbing with life. His eyes looked at the perfect child slowly ceasing its cry over Iliana's chest as she opened her dress, allowing the newborn to suckle from her breasts full of milk. The cry ceased completely and for a long moment, Ivar observed that scene in front of his eyes.

How many times did he dream about that moment? How many nightmares he had, thinking it would never come?

Iliana's warm hand touched his face, showing his senses it wasn't a dream. She was real, their child - healthy and big - was also no dream. It was happening.

They were waiting for him.

A single tear rolled down Ivar's cheek as he forced the teeth against each other, biting and parting the cord, rolling the remaining to rest over his son's belly. A beautiful boy, big, even burly! Ivar's fingers touched the child slowly, feeling its face, its arm, sliding through its body, touching its perfect legs. Ivar giggled when the boy kicked reflexively, probably feeling tickles from his touch on the sole of his small foot.

Another tear came, stubbornly wetting his face.

Iliana, on the other hand, had her tears rolling freely over her smile.

"Our beautiful Vali is here," she said, remembering the name they had agreed to give their child.

"My child," he mumbled, looking at her. "Our child," Ivar corrected. "My most beautiful dream made flesh and bones. I couldn't be more grateful. I think there is nothing in this world I wanted more than this moment."

Iliana smiled, gently caressing Ivar's nape before he leaned his face to touch her forehead with his, kissing her mouth tenderly.

"You made me complete. You brought my dearest dreams into this world."

"There are many more to come, my love," she smiled.

More children, more dreams, Ivar smiled back.

And after chanting his blessings to his son's ears, he took his time, lying beside them, petting his family as if there weren't more than ten earls outside waiting for his news and words.

The whole world could wait. Ivar had fought his whole life for that moment and nothing would take it from him.

Even because, soon, he would have to leave them both: a new fight was coming.

And this time, Iliana wouldn't be able to be there with him...

Do you like my work? Support me!

Tagged ones:

|| @bluearchersstuff​ || @ivarswickedqueen​ || @directionlessbuthappy​ || @akamaiden​ || @bang-kim-bap​ || @cris101071​ || @elysias-temple​ || @alicedopey​ || @captstefanbrandt || @queen-see-ya-in-valhalla​ || @lol-haha-joke​ || @readsalot73​ || @rekdreams247​ || @slutforasoldier || @naaladareia​ || @laketaj24​ || @therealcalicali​ || @grungyblonde​ || @arses21434​ || @honestsycrets​ || @rabeccablake || @2thequietone4​ || @blackspiritshake​ || @vikingsbifrost​ || @wallabieswisher​ || @sincerelysinister || @lyanna-the-giantsbane​ || @chinduda​ || @isthat-tyra98​ || @xinyourdreamsx​ || @littledeadrottinghood || @thiahilmarsdottir​ || @queenbeeta​ || @notyouraveragegirl17 || @winchesterwife27​ || @gold-dragon-slayer​ || @mzliterarydreamer​ || @youbloodymadgenius​ || @alwaysbenhardysgirl || @marvelouuse​ || @tgrrose​ || @lif3snotouttogetyou​ || @lordsexmachine​ || @deathbyarabbit​ || @ietss​ ||  @hissouthernprincess || @thorins-queen-of-erebor​ || @aperfectly-imperfect-perfection || @didiintheblog​ || @choppedroadwolfathlete || @h-e-a-v-y-l-e-a-t-h-e-r​ || @heavenly1927​ ||  @jjlizz​ || @alexhandersenx​ ||  @ivarthebloodyking​ || @lauraaan182 || @alexisshoto​ || @letsloveimagines​

Want to be tagged? Ask me!

[werejusttouchingeachother]

SEOUL 2018 [August 10th, 4:27PM]

Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 T/W: angst - mentions of abuse, depression, suicide, cursing Words: 4171

It was almost two months later when you finally met Baekhyun again after the night he left New York. He’d been at the dorms and you’d felt more terrified than you had been when you first launched your boutique.

Manager had ushered you inside quickly, immediately making you feel awkward as your eyes met Junmyeon and Sehun who were sitting on the couch and watching something on the television.

“Y/N,” Junmyeon called your name in surprise as he quickly stood up, wide eyes exchanging glances with Manager behind you. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

“I don’t think anyone did, Hyung,” Sehun mutters, giving you a small smile. “Hi, Noona. It’s been a long time. I missed you.”

You smile fondly at that, tense shoulders loosening at his contagious warmth. “I missed you too, Sehun.”

“I’m mad at you, though.” He crossed his arms. “You never called. Or responded to my texts.”

You flinched, expecting this accusation from the youngest member who’d always had the most fun teasing you and who you knew would take your silent treatment the hardest—not when you’d spent days and nights sending each other funny memes and pictures of dogs with bad haircuts almost on a daily basis only to suddenly ghost him.

“Yeah, I just…” you trail off and shake your head, knowing excuses were in vain. “I’m sorry. I should have replied.”

Sehun blinks at your sincere apology, not having expected it and his face clouds over with worry at your seriousness.

“Sehun,” Jun says, nudging him. “You can catch up with her later.” He gives you a meaningful look as he asks, “Y/N, aren’t you here to—?”

“Yeah, I’ll go check,” Manager says, turning to your left in the direction of the rooms. You grab his arm to stop him.

“Does he…?” You trail off and Manager hesitates before nodding.

“I told him that you landed here today morning.” He pauses before saying, “I think he’s expecting you.”

You waited in the hallway then as all the members slowly filed out of their rooms, giving you polite formal smiles (Jongin, Yixing and Jongdae), wary looks (Minseok and Kyungsoo) or blatantly ignored your presence (Chanyeol).

You didn’t say anything. If any of them knew what had exactly happened, you were sure that it had to be Chanyeol.

All of them joined Junmyeon and Sehun in the hall, the farthest room from Baekhyun’s to give you as much privacy as they could within a dormitory. Bowing your head in thanks, you walk past Manager and head for the right door at the end of the hallway.

Taking a deep breath, you raise your hand and knock gently on the door. You can hear the silence of the usually noisy dorm and it doesn’t help the way your heart is pounding against your rib-cage, your stomach twisting with anxiety.

The door opens then and your breath catches as your eyes fall on Baekhyun.

His hair is dishevelled and his clothes are drabby, hanging off him in a way that you knew all too-well that he had been wearing them for a while. His cheeks are hollow and your eyes run over his clothes, growing frustrated when you realise they’re too large to figure out whether he’d lost weight.

“You haven’t been eating,” Baekhyun says, his tone flat and your eyes fly back up to his face in surprise. You feel your skin rise with goosebumps at hearing his voice after so long and your eyes sting with unshed tears that you have to forcibly blink back.

“I…” You clear your throat before raising an eyebrow at him. “Neither have you. Your face has grown thinner.”

“What is this, a competition?” He rolls his eyes, stepping away to let you in.

“If it is, nobody is winning!” You hear Sehun shout from the hall, making you roll your eyes.

“Sehun, shut up!” Baekhyun yells as he closes the door behind him. You bite your lip as you look around the familiar room that was almost a home to you at one point—a point that seemed entirely too long ago now.

“Did you wear lipstick? Or did you chew it all off?” Baekhyun asks, pointing out your usual nervous habit and your gaze shifts back to him as he sits in his gaming chair, opposite the bed that looked unusually tidy.

He hasn’t been sleeping.  

“Did you sleep at all this past week?” You shoot back, crossing your arms as you sit down on the bed and cock your head at the neatly made sheets. “Or leave that seat? How long have you been gaming in those clothes?”

“Why do you care?” Baekhyun snaps and you sigh, leaning back as you square your shoulders and remind yourself not to follow his childish antics.

“I didn’t come here to fight, Baek,” you start, trying to gather your thoughts. “I—”

“Y/N.” His voice is sharp enough that you stop, eyebrows rising as he inhales deeply before saying, “If you’re here to break up, just leave. I haven’t processed a lot since New York but I’m not numb enough that I can sit here and listen to you end everything. Being here in Korea must be killing you anyway so just leave and I’ll consider it the end. Let’s not make this any harder than it—”

“Shut the fuck up, Baekhyun,” you snap, eyes narrowed in disbelief as you gape at him. “Is that what you want to do? New York to be our last conversation? Just leave a two-years-long relationship like this?” You shake your head, holding up your hand to stop whatever he was going to say as you interrupted, “I’ll leave soon, don’t worry. As soon as I’m done telling you what I have to tell you.”

He falls silent, eyes watching you carefully and you take a breath before starting. “I told you something that night two months ago. Before you said that I shouldn’t be feeling that way. Something about my childhood. Do you remember?”

Baekhyun nods slowly. “You said that you’ve never been enough for your parents from when you were young. And I made you feel like that again, yeah, that’s burned into my memory, don’t worry.”

You shake your head, shooting him a look. “That first part, yes. The second part, no. This is what I flew out here to tell you, face-to-face. What I should have told you that night.”

Your teeth sink into your bottom lip as you take a second to muster the courage to say what you’re going to say. Baekhyun immediately notices your hesitation, his eyes clouding with worry at the obvious storm raging inside your mind right now.

It almost makes you smile—the fact that he could still read you like an open book. Despite all the pain, all the misunderstanding, all the conflicting emotions that were stirred up amongst both of you, he still worried about you, your thoughts, your nervous habits and your weight.

“My parents came from well-reputed families,” you started, leaning back against the wall. “It was an arranged marriage, a union that was more of a business deal than that of love. They weren’t chaebols or anything but they were well-off and had a long uninterrupted line of sons on my father’s side that always took over the business and carried it forward.”

Baekhyun’s face falls at this, already knowing where this was headed as you continued, “They wanted a boy. When I was born, it was more of a shock than anything. They tried a lot for a second child but my mother had some health issues and there were complications. So they were stuck with me and I was… never enough. I did everything they wanted me to do, always obeying their insane rules and never had any fun the way other kids did. I used to draw a lot from when I was a kid and they would rip my drawings apart, throw my colours away. I’d get into trouble if I didn’t do the homework or scored anything less than hundred on tests. I used to cry at school and my teacher told me that they do it because they love me, because they care. That most parents are strict so the kids will grow to be really smart.”

“So I studied hard. Began to buy separate notebooks to draw in and hide them where they wouldn’t find them. I lived by the rules they made, all through middle school and high school—it was always hell, I was always wishing to get away. I never even dared to like someone as a teenager because I feared what would happen at home if they found out. I didn’t have any friends because they discouraged it, said it was a distraction. They’d decided on the day of my birth that since I couldn’t take over the business, I’d follow the highest position for a woman—medicine. Their words, not mine. So then, I joined medical school and when I had to draw more bodies and organs than the clothes that went on it, I snapped. I had a phase where I stopped attending classes, where I failed all the exams and almost got suspended. It was a highly prestigious school so they called in my parents and they paid heftily to keep me at school, promising that I’d make up for it.”

You pause then, lowering your head and taking a breath since the next thing was particularly difficult to voice out loud.

“That was the second time my father hit me,” you say in a hoarse voice, clearing your throat before continuing, “The first time was in elementary when they found my doodles for the first time on my books. The teacher had sent a note to them, suggesting to join an art class because I drew more than I wrote notes and they beat me till I was black and blue. They told me that art was for idiots, that things like drawing, writing, acting and singing would never get me anywhere in life. After that was when I started my preparation for medical school. After I failed that too, I thought they would understand then or at least try. But they beat me again. And I thought I’d kill myself so, I ran away from home.”

You glance at him, smiling slightly. “That time we were at Tokyo, you were so surprised when I didn’t want to take pictures together under the cherry blossom trees. It’s not because I was cold that night—it’s because cherry blossoms always reminds me of that night I ran out in Korea. They were all I could see when I looked up and they were so pretty that it felt like they were mocking me. That was the first time I wished I could look up at the sky and see the Eiffel Tower, wish that I could be at Paris where I could draw freely and just live for myself.”

“And that’s when I realised that I was going to kill myself when I hadn’t ever lived. Not once, not even for a day, had I lived for myself. It was always for my parents and they never even appreciated my efforts or tried to understand me.”

You look up then, smiling although you couldn’t see him because your eyes were tearing up. “The only time that I lived was when I designed. I had nothing to lose. There was no one to please so I thought I’d fully meet the criteria of such a worthless disappointing child. I started dreaming about Paris and my boutique—I started dreaming of skies where I could look up and see the Eiffel.”

Baekhyun’s expression is unreadable but you continue, “You know the rest from here. I lied about going for classes and instead worked many part-time jobs. I saved up just enough money for one of the cheapest flights to Paris but it wasn’t enough, of course not. I got kicked out of school and I didn’t wait to get kicked out of home too—I used all the money I’d saved to move out instead and started working at Korea. Three years later, about the time all my friends were graduating from college, I finally had enough to go to Paris. For seven months, I struggled and starved and almost died because of how poor I was before my designs finally caught the eye of someone who saw my potential. I became his apprentice.”

You take a deep breath and grabbed the pillow from his bed, hugging it in your lap because your hands were shaking.

“I have a lot of issues with my parents, Baekhyun,” you state aloud, looking at him. “My childhood was traumatic for me and there’s a lot that I’ve been suppressing from when I was a kid. I’m insecure when people show me affection because I’m not used to receiving it, I have anxieties about whether they will leave so I think I should leave first because I always tend to think I don’t deserve whatever love I get. Seoyeon is a clear example of that as my only friend—the only one I’ve trusted enough to get close to me.”

“I moved out of the apartment after you left.” His eyebrows rise at this and you explain, “It felt lonelier when you were gone. It was too big and memories kept haunting me, I was always going crazy with my own thoughts so I decided to move into a smaller place.”

You paused then, inhaling softly as you felt your shoulders lighten like you’d just lifted a burden, one that had been weighing down on you for almost all your life. Feeling your heart race slightly because of the next thing you were going to say, you mentally prepared yourself for all the negative possibilities before continuing.

“I’m going for therapy,” you declare, watching his eyes widen in surprise at this. “Seoyeon told me that if I never deal with my past, it’s always going to affect any relationship that I have. I started almost as soon as you left and all these things I told you, Baekhyun, they’re-they’re just the surface of it. You know that I hate coming back to Korea even though you didn’t know exactly why. Same with the cherry blossom trees. There’s a lot more that I can’t tell you, a lot that I can only tell my therapist because it’s difficult for me to admit it openly, even to myself. But at the same time, these are the things I should have talked to you about, like you told me that night at New York. I let my insecurities get to my head and projected it onto you which was unfair.”

You place the pillow back and stand up then, looking down at him.

“I understand and accept everything you said that night,” you state, Baekhyun gazing up at you unblinkingly. "We don’t have to go public. We never do. I don’t care about that and I don’t think I ever did. The party that night, the way everyone was so welcoming… it made me question if I was even worth standing around such people. If I was worthy of your love and care.”

“And that is not your fault, Baekhyun,” you clearly enunciate, knowing he was going to interrupt with the opposite statement. “Those are just my fears stemming from my shitty childhood. Apparently my first instinct when shown love is to fight and then flee. But I know now that it’s not a matter of worth—you’ve only loved and cared for me, unconditionally, even when I’ve been closed off and so difficult.”

“I…” You trail off, heavy emotion weighing down on your chest suddenly and making you choke on your words as you hoarsely say, “I’ve only known darkness, Baekhyun, so when you shone down on me with all your light, I got blinded. I was an idiot and I fucked up something that was beautiful and the best thing that ever happened to me. But I can see clearer now for the first time in my life and I know better. And I know that I love you. So much that I am even willing to be mysterious Mrs. Byun X forever. No one has to know about us or me and I couldn’t care less.”

You take a breath then, meeting his gaze. “I’m opening the door again, Baek. And I’m giving you the same option I did last time except now, I can promise you that I do not care about being hidden and I also promise to try and fight my demons from wrecking what we have. If we have it again.”

Baekhyun blinks at you, pouty lips parted open as he gapes at you like a fish and you nod, stepping to the door slowly.

“You don’t have to answer right now,” you reassure him, forcing yourself to smile even though you were beyond terrified. “I know it’s a lot to take at once. Manager has the address of my hotel and I’m staying for a week. Or you can just text me, if you don’t want to see me. He has my number too.”

Baekhyun doesn’t say a word and you feel your heart crack slightly in your chest as you nod, biting down on your lip and turn to the door.

Swallowing heavily, you mutter, “Goodbye, Bae—”

You’re spun around by a death grip on your arm then, eyes widening as you look up at Baekhyun standing right in front of you.

“No,” he said, shaking his head as he dragged you back to the bed. He placed his hands on your shoulders and pushed you down forcibly, ordering, “Sit.”

“How can you leave like that?” Baekhyun asked, disbelief colouring his tone. “I didn’t even speak yet.”

You blink at his glare, stammering, “I mean-I just-I didn’t want you to feel pressured—”

“Y/N, it’s been two fucking months,” he snorts, shooting you a look. He retrieves his hands from your shoulders and lowers himself to the floor at your feet.

“You know that you can just sit beside me?” You ask, glaring down at him as a sudden memory flashes vividly in your mind. “Or back on that seat across from me?”

He shrugs as he sits cross-legged, looking up at you. The room’s light was right behind you and it shone down right on his face that made it look like he had stars in his eyes and you wondered if it was bright enough to hurt him.

“I want to look at you,” he says quietly.

“You’re sitting the same way you did that night,” you remind him softly, biting down on your lip.

His eyebrows furrow in confusion before he realises, eyes softening as he takes your hand from your lap slowly.

“I’m not leaving this time,” Baekhyun assured you gently, giving you a small smile as he played with your fingers. He raises his other hand to your face and tugged your lower lip loose from your teeth, shaking his head at you and giving you a warning look, the way he always used to whenever you kept gnawing at your lips.

He sits back and gives you a cheeky smile then. “Technically, I can’t. You came here to the dorms so I don’t really have anywhere to go from here—”

“I missed you,” you blurted, unable to stop yourself. His smile freezes at your words and you blink back the tears gathering furiously as you corrected in a softer tone, “I miss you.”

“Me too,” he murmurs, intertwining your fingers together. He grips your hand tightly and seems to struggle as he forces the next words out, “I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you. Therapy and dealing with everything from your past can’t have been easy. I should have been there, I shouldn’t have left—”

“Baek, no,” you grab his hand holding yours with your other hand, shaking your head vehemently at him. “It’s good that you did. I needed to get my shit together—about me, about us. I needed to do it, it was time.”

He looks into your eyes, voice meek as he asks, “Are you okay?”

You start to nod and he tightens his grip on your hand again as he repeats, “No, Y/N. Really… are you okay?”

You pause, swallowing slightly as you look down at both your hands. “It’s… a lot. There’s a lot that I’m remembering and reliving that I don’t want to. But that’s how I can make peace with it, how I can stop—” You take a shaky breath, choking as you finish, “—stop hurting myself. And stop myself from hurting you.”

“Oh, god, Y/N.” Baekhyun lets go of your hands then, wrapping his arms around your shoulders. You still at the sudden unexpected embrace and he pulls you down from the bed onto his lap, hugging you tightly to him.

Your entire body seems frozen as you find yourself on the floor with him, his arms clutching you tightly to him.

“Baek,” you whisper, practically trembling in his arms when you feel his warmth singe into your skin. He is as warm as you remember him and when his scent, your instant comforter, flooded your nose after missing it for what felt like forever—you’re almost ready to cry.

He pulls away to look at you, shaking his head as he whispers, “Please don’t cry, baby, it kills me.”

His hands cup your face and you close your eyes, leaning into his touch as you sigh softly. You open your eyes and almost melt when you see the way he’s staring at you.

It reminded you of Paris—the way he looked at you every night when he said ‘goodbye’ at the door of your hotel room, a gaze that lingered and that you were reluctant to break away from.

Despite saying it already, you repeat, “I miss—”

Baekhyun closes the gap between your mouths, his plush lips pressing against yours tenderly as he held your face in his hands. You closed your eyes, responding instantly while your hands fist into the front of his shirt, clutching him tightly as if you were afraid he’d slip away.

He kisses you back just as fervently, holding you gently as if he didn’t want to break you. The kiss tastes as sweet as the first, your heart thudding against your chest and butterflies erupting in your stomach as if it was your first time.

You pull away to breathe with your eyes still closed and he presses his forehead against yours, feeling your breaths intermingle. Your eyelids flutter open and his thumb wipes a stray tear that had streaked down your cheek.

“I missed you too,” he breathes, pressing another kiss to your mouth. He lingers before pulling away, lowering his hands from your face as his eyes meet yours with determination before muttering, “Fuck it.”

You blink. “What?”

“Fuck it. I love you. We’ll make it through this, through everything—my job, your past, everything. We walked into this thinking our biggest problem would be the distance and we’ve overcome that. It’s… it’s fine. I can’t lose you again, Y/N. These two months have been hell, I’ve just been going crazy in here.” Baekhyun takes in a shaky breath, grabbing your hands from his chest and staring at your joined fingers. “Hyungnim told me that you needed some space and I thought it was over so I broke down but then he told me to wait, that you just needed some time. I thought you’d made your decision and the reason you weren’t reaching out was because you didn’t want to… be with me anymore.”

You shake your head and lean forward, kissing him. “That’s not… you know I can’t leave you, Baekhyun.”

“Then don’t.”

You smile, nodding slightly. “I won’t.” You hesitate, biting your lower lip as you ask timidly, “Does this mean that you’re walking in through the open door again?”

He smiles then, cheeks puffing and eyes shining as he replies, “Well, you know what they say. Love is an open door.”

“Literally betrayed her and left her to die but okay, Hans,” you tease and he rolls his eyes.

“Fine.” He grins, releasing your hands and wrapping his arms around your middle, pulling you into his chest. “Then… oh, right. Paris. Love is your open arms.”

You roll your eyes teasingly, snorting, “Always so cheesy.”

“Shut up, you love it.” Baekhyun drops a kiss on the top of your head and you close your eyes, smiling at how much you’d missed the gesture—genuinely smiling with your heart feeling full for the first time in months. Your veins that had gone numb after so much time apart finally felt alive, filling with the ethereal golden rays as he basked you in his contagious warmth.

Your sunshine.

[am-i-right-marines]

My personal (slightly late) Day 2!

Day 2: Unidentified/ Instinct

“Bravo 7-Actual, Alpha 2-6.”

“Go for Actual, 2-6.”

“We’ve got unidentifiable contact at grid Charlie-3-Zulu-9. Alpha 2-Actual orders you to investigate. Over.”

“Copy 2-6. Moving. 7-Actual out.” Staff Sergeant Elliot Reynolds clicked off his radio channel and flashed a hand signal to his Corporal, who nodded and began passing orders to the rest of the platoon. Normally a Sergeant wouldn’t command a platoon, but their Lieutenant was dead.

All around him, he heard the slight grunts of Marines standing up and weapons clicking into position. After a moment, his Corporal returned and nodded at him. Nodding back, Elliot raised himself to a combat glide position and began heading towards his ordered position.

To his left, right, and rear, the twenty five remaining men of Third Platoon, Delta Company, 5th Battalion, 12th Marines spread out in two horizontal (in relation to Elliot) lines of twelve men, five meters between each man. The remaining man, the communications specialist who somehow survived the ambush that wiped out half of Third Platoon, was at the back of both lines.

The fifth man in the first line, Elliot took a position about a meter forward from his line, and he heard the gap get closed behind him. Moving quickly through the thick underbrush, he blinked into the limited HUD Marines had and activated his IFF tag for any nearby friendly forces. “Bravo Squad, with me. Sergeant Winters, you have tactical command. Spread out twenty meters north of our current position an intersperse yourselves with the bushes and rocks. Advance on my command.” Elliot ordered into his helmet mic, crouching in the onyx black night as he paused to give the orders over the radio.

“Lima Charlie.” His fellow Sergeant over the radio.

Leaves and grass crunched softly as heavy boots moved quickly over then to get into position. Elliot led his personal squad forward into the night, then suddenly: “Fifty meters, 11 o’clock.”

The seven marines dropped to a kneel and raised their weapons as the squad’s unofficial marksman called out the sighting. “Indentify.” The Staff Sergeant muttered into the night at his team member.

“Silhouettes, Sarge. Nothing concrete. Too dark.” The woman replied.

Elliot opened his mouth to respond, but he heard something crunch off to his right and his instincts suddenly screamed at him to move.

The Marine rolled forward as a plasma bolt flew through the air where he had just been. It was so close he felt the skin on the back of his neck heat up. Stopping himself at a kneel again, he raised his MA5B assault rifle and pulled the trigger, aiming at the blobby silhouette in the darkness.

His rifle opened up with an ear-splitting roar, spitting 7.62 millimeter bullets into the night. “Contact contact contact!” He barked into his radio as his rifle muzzle flashed.

In the half a second that had passed, dozens more plasma bolts flew at his squad from different directions. Then something else.... bullets. Why were the Covenant using bullets?

A plasma bolt zipping last his visor reminded him that now was not the time for introspection. “Winters, get up here!”

“Reynolds we’ve got contact too!”

Sure enough, several muzzle flashes appeared along the line that Sergeant Winters had set up the rest of the platoon.

Next to him, a younger Marine caught a bullet to the face and the boy collapsed in a shower of blood. “Squad on me! We have to get back to the others!” Elliot roared over the din of rifle fire, and then began an all out sprint back towards the rest of the platoon, firing at the shadows all the while. Every once in a while he’d hear the distinct sound of an Elite, Grunt, or Jackal succumbing to UNSC ordnance. That further reinforced the question: Why in the ever-loving fuck, were the Covvies using human weapons?

“Winters! We’re coming up on your left flank’s 10 o’clock!” The Staff Sergeant snapped into his microphone.

“Copy that!— Watch your right! —Check fire! Check fire left flank!” The Sergeant shouted back, cutting off mid-sentence to shout a warning to a fellow Marine.

Pink glows in the trees, some from Jackal shields, others from various weapons of armor let him know where the Covenant were in the night. He shouldered his weapon as he ran and let loose two five rounds bursts into the darkness, and was rewarded with an alien squawk as a Jackal’s head exploded into a pulpy mass.

A few more meters and bullets started flying at Bravo Squad, a second member caught three bullets in the chest-plate. “Blue, blue!” Elliot barked towards the cluster of rocks that fire had come from.

Two heads peaked out from behind it and one waved them closer. Glancing back at the fallen Marine, Reynolds saw she was fine, being helped to her feet by a second Marine. “C’mon! Let’s move!”

Elliot picked up his pace, only to watch a pink crystalline needle pierce the eye of the Marine who had waved them forward, and then detonate in a shower of gore; The unfortunate Marine’s headless body fell to the ground in a heap. “Get to cover! Now!”

Bravo Squad finally got behind the minor safety of the long line of boulders and thick shrubbery, and Reynolds left his Corporal in charge, sprinting down the line of Marines standing and kneeling while firing into the dark. “Winters! Sergeant Winters!”

The veteran turned around from where he was helping the SAW gunner reload. “Reynolds, we’re taking heavy casualties!”

“Where the hell is Alpha?!” Elliot shouted to be heard over the cacophony of roaring automatic weapons.

“Idle, dead, I don’t know! We couldn’t get a message out. Comm guy says everything but local frequencies are jammed.” His fellow Sergeant replied.

“The only thing we can do here is die! We need to fall back!” He yelled. His instincts were telling him this position was untenable.

“No, we can still do this!” Winters retorted.

“If I give you an order, it is the goddamn mission!” Elliot roared.

Winters opened his mouth to retort, only for a shout to register a ways down the thin line.

“They’re in the trees! They’re in the trees!”

Before either Marine could react, an Elite Minor de-cloaked and leaped down from a tree above them, energy-sword crackling to life.

The massive saurian warrior let loose a roar the was absolutely bone-shaking at this range, then swung his sword, bisecting Sergeant Winters in one clean stroke.

“Sergeant! Sergeant!” A young private shouted in panic.

“Take it down! Take it down!” Elliot barked, holding his trigger and pouring bullets into the Elite’s shield, which flared blue as it absorbed the damage.

The Staff Sergeant’s weapon clicked empty right as the Elite’s shield dissolved, and he had to dive to the side to avoid the deadly sword. As the Elite focused on the other Marines, Elliot quickly ejected his spent 60-round magazine and inserted another from his belt into the weapon and stood up, racking back the bolt with a simple flick of the wrist.

When he turned back the Elite, he found a second Marine skewered through the chest by the energy-sword of the Minor. “Corpsman! Corpsman!” Someone shouted.

Elliot growled, then dropped his rifle and let it hang from his strap, pulling out his K-Bar and charging the unshielded Elite. He slammed into the towering creature with the force of a speeding truck and dug his knife into the rib cage of the Elite. The alien roared in pain as he withdrew his purple blood covered knife, and he ducked under the sword swipe, stabbing it in the back, then stepping back when two fellow Marines each put a five round burst into its chest, sending it to the ground.

Sheathing his knife, he took up his rifle again and raised his voice. “Fall back Marines! Double time!”

One by one, they broke off their fields of fire and started running out of the forest. Every few seconds a Marine would catch a plasma bolt or a bullet in the back and collapse with a scream.

When they pierced the tree line and reached the open field that surrounded it, the remaining ten or so Marines all started running even faster.

Then Elliot heard something.

A quiet whistle.

His instincts screamed again and he dove to the ground. “INCOMING!”

All around him, his fellow soldiers all dropped to their stomachs with him. But they didn’t get obliterated by a heavy plasma bombardment. Reynolds looked over his shoulder.. and saw dozens of M145D Rhino artillery shells slam into the Covenant as they advanced out of the forest.

“That’s our stuff! It’s comin’ in from behind!” A Marine from the planet of Tribute shouted, his accent thick.

“Our boys! That’s our boys!” A female Marine shouted, pointing up at the sky.

Sure enough, two olive green D77-TC Pelican Dropships emerged from the clouds, each with spotlights on their noses and M808C Scorpions hanging from their rear overhang vehicle mount. Rocket pods on the wings of both Pelicans lit up as a Covenant Wraith tank emerged from the forest, and instantly got vaporized by four ANVIL-II missiles, two from each Pelican.

On the ridge a little ways behind them, engines roared, and then seven M-12 Warthog LRVs came flying over the ridge, each one carrying Marines, and headlights bright. A second later, dozens- no, hundreds of Marines came charging over the ridge on foot, shouting the UNSC Marine Corps battle cry: “Semper fi! Do or die!”

The two Pelicans dropped their Scorpion tanks to the ground, which both immediately opened up with their mounted machine guns and heavy canons. Following that, two nylon ropes dropped from the back of each Pelican... and then Marines started jumping out of the back of the dropships sliding down the ropes to the ground; Even as the Pelicans let loose more missile barrages and raked the tree line with automatic fire from their nose guns.

A Warthog zipped past the last few members of Third Platoon, blasting a Covenant Banshee out of the sky in a ball of purple fire with a gauss canon. A Scorpion swerved in front of a cluster of Marines and shook as a Fuel Rod canon blast slammed into the turret. That driver had just saved a dozen lives.

Reinvigorated, the Marines of Third Platoon, Delta Company, 5th Battalion, 12th Marines all reloaded their weapons and joined the fight.

Two B-65 Shortsword Bombers zipped overhead, dropping hundreds of pounds of heavy ordnance on the Covenant positions in the forest and tree line, sending a rousing cheer through the Marine ranks.

And Elliot’s instincts told him that no matter the situation, the UNSC Marine Corps would prevail.

“Semper Fi.”

[ladylillianrose]

Extraordinarily Star-Crossed a Max Richman/Zoey Clarke Fanfiction

A/N:Thank you everyone for all your comments and support! We are entering the last era before we make it to modern-day! @clarkemanotp​ and I really do appreciate all your love for this story! This tale truly is a labor of love!

Atlantic Ocean, April 1912 Chapter 1

Paris, France 1792 Chapter 6

Paris, France 1792 Chapter 5

Paris, France 1792 Chapter 4

Paris, France 1792 Chapter 3

Paris, France 1792 Chapter 2

Paris, France 1792 Chapter 1

Florence, Italy 1485 Chapter 6 

Florence, Italy 1485 Chapter 5 

Florence, Italy 1485 Chapter 4 

Florence, Italy 1485 Chapter 3

Florence, Italy 1485 Chapter 2

Florence, Italy 1485 Chapter 1

Greece 382 B.C.E. Chapter 6

Greece 382 B.C.E. Chapter 5

Greece 382 B.C.E. Chapter 4

Greece 382 B.C.E. Chapter 3

Greece 382 B.C.E. Chapter 2

Greece 382 B.C.E. Chapter 1

The Underworld

"What I don't understand is how you found yourself in this situation in the first place," Mo said, threading a rather large needle.

"Someone didn't meet me at our previously arranged time," Leif muttered.

"Where is he, by the way? You all are normally back by now."

"I heard something about him falling in love with a mortal. He's probably spending her last few years by her side," Leif explained.

"Awww, our little Tobin, all grown up and falling in love. You think it will make him more mature?" Mo grinned, holding his measuring tape to Leif's torso.

Leif snorted, "Not a chance."

As though summoned by their discussion of him, Tobin waltzed into the room. "Bro, what happened to you?" he gestured at Leif's headless body.

Leif's head rolled his eyes from its position on Mo's worktable. "Oh, this? It's nothing just a minor run-in with THE GUILLOTINE!!"

Tobin winced as Leif yelled at him, "I looked for you when we arrived in Paris. You were supposed to meet me at the docks on August 2nd! We got there and you were nowhere to be found!"

Leif's head frowned, "No, you were supposed to meet me there August 1st! And when you didn't arrive, I was arrested and beheaded under suspicion of being an English spy!"

Tobin couldn't help the snicker that escaped his lips, "So, what you're saying is that you got there ahead of me?"

Leif sighed, "Here we go…"

"No, seriously man. I'm sorry we got the dates mixed up. But really, it's nothing to lose your head over."

Mo chuckled as he began sewing Lief's head back onto his body.

"Must you continue?" Leif rolled his eyes, trying his best to ignore Tobin's antics.

"I've got one more joke, though it may go over your head!" Tobin collapsed onto the sofa laughing at his own wit.

"And to think you're leaving me alone with him," Leif groused at Mo.

Mo made the final stitch to Leif before responding. "It's my turn to offer my expertise to our young couple. Besides, have you seen the hats they wore then? I was not going to pass up a chance to snag one of them!"

"On the off chance that things go wrong this time, we may need to consider a new plan to break Aphrodite's curse," Leif suggested, inspecting Mo's handiwork in the mirror.

Mo and Tobin nodded in agreement.

"I hate to say it, but it may be time to talk to them," all three of them shuddered at the prospect.

"If and only if, things do not go well this time, do we involve them," Mo stated as he grabbed his bag. "I've got a good feeling about things this time around," he grinned at the other two and walked out the door.

"Sorry about all those jokes, bro," Tobin apologized to Leif.

Leif waved him off, "It's to be expected."

"I hadn't even thought of them before, they were all just off the top of my head!"

Leif groaned, "It's going to be an unbearable era!"

________________________________________________________________

Queenstown, Ireland April 11, 1912

Cordelia Haughey nee Murphy stood staring in awe at the large ship, her eyes wide with wonder at how something that large could even stay afloat.

"Excited, Delia?" her husband Andrew asked, as he smiled at her. Setting down their bags he wrapped his arms around her waist lovingly.

Cordelia sighed, enjoying the feel of his strong arms around her. She tilted her head and brushed a kiss along his cheek.

"I can't believe we're actually going to New York on that ship!"

"It's our chance for a whole new start," Andrew said, a slight frown marring his handsome features.

Reaching up, Corelia caressed his cheek, "Come now my love, this is our honeymoon. Don't let thoughts of the past cloud our joy."

Andrew's face softened, he kissed the palm of her hand, and lovingly ran his fingers along with her simple gold wedding band. "I'm sorry, my heart. I just wish…."

Cordelia nodded, "I know, love. I know."

________________________________________________________________

Their families had been against the match from the start. The Murphy's were a proud Irish family, rarely did they stray far from the land they had farmed for generations. Cordelia had been expected to marry a good Irish lad and settle to raise their family nearby, ensuring the next generation of Murphy's grew up near their roots. This was the way things had always been with the Murphy's, so why should Cordelia expect her future to be any different? But as soon as she met Andrew, she knew that fate had other plans in store for her.

Andrew Haughey had been sent by his father to investigate a small parcel of land willed to their client. Letters had been sent informing the landowners of his pending visit, but there had been no response, which explained the lack of a welcoming committee at the train station. Never one to be deterred, Andrew grabbed his bag and began walking down the dirt road. He had dutifully studied the map of the property in question, so finding the farm proved to be a simple task. He arrived at the farm, just as a young woman with hair the color of flames, stormed out of the chicken coop.

"Fine! Keep your damned eggs, you spiteful old biddies!" she yelled, giving the door a kick for good measure.

Andrew unsuccessfully tried to stifle a laugh, as the young woman turned, her cheeks flushed at her outburst being overheard.

"I'm so sorry, I had no idea anyone was nearby!" she apologized, refusing to meet his eyes.

Andrew smiled and waved off her apology, "I should be the one apologizing, I didn't mean to startle you."

She smiled and looked up at him for the first time, his breath caught at the piercing blue of her eyes. "I'm Cordelia Murphy," she said, introducing herself.

"It’s a pleasure, Miss Murphy, I'm Andrew Haughey."

"What brings you out to my family's farm, Mr. Haughey? Your accent places you a long way from home," Cordelia gestured for him to follow her towards the house.

"Well, I'm here to speak to your father about a small part of the farm that was left to a client of mine," Andrew explained awkwardly. "I had written to inform him of my arrival but…."

"I see," Cordelia frowned. "Do you have a place to stay, while you conduct your business?"

He blushed, "I must confess that I had not planned that far ahead. There was an inn not too far back that I'll see if I can rent a room at."

"Father has gone to the city for supplies and won't return for at least a week. In the meantime, you are welcome to stay in the farmhand's bunkhouse." 

Cordelia glanced at the attractive man next to her, hoping he would say yes. He was handsome to be sure, but there was something more that drew her toward him, as though their hearts already knew each other.

Andrew was taken aback by her offer, "I appreciate that, but I doubt that would endear me any further to your father if he learned that I was here with you alone."

Cordelia laughed, "Oh, I'm not here alone! It's almost impossible to be alone when you're a Murphy."

"Then where is everyone?"

"My mother just returned from checking on my brother's wife, she's nearing time for the baby to be born. They live just in that house over there," she pointed to a small house nearby. "Then there's my sister and her family who live in that one, just over the hill. And my younger brothers and sister still live with Mam, Da, and I in the larger house just here."

"You must all be very close with one another," Andrew observed, taking in how close all the properties were to the main house.

Cordelia smiled, "We are, though a moment or two alone wouldn't go amiss."

Andrew let out a chuckle and nodded in agreement.

Opening the door to the large house, Cordelia placed her empty egg basket on the bench and hung up her shawl.

"Mam?" she called.

"In the kitchen!" 

"You can set your bag right on that bench there. Take a seat, and I'll be right back," Cordelia headed in the direction of what he assumed was the kitchen.

Andrew wandered around the small living room, enjoying the warmth and coziness it exuded. He frowned as he imagined the look of disdain his father would have at such simple furnishings.

"Who are you?" he heard a small voice ask from behind him. Turning he saw a young girl, roughly 5 years old, staring at him in confusion.

He bent down to her eye level, "My name is Andrew Haughey, what's yours?"

"Norah Murphy," she stated proudly.

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Norah," Andrew smiled as he shook her small hand.

"You sound funny," Norah said wrinkling her nose.

He chuckled, "Ahh, that would be because I'm from a place called Scotland."

Norah's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to ask another question.

"Norah Claire!" a voice interrupted. "Leave our guest alone, and come wash up for supper!"

"Yes, Mam!" Norah quickly ran to the kitchen to follow her mother's instructions, nearly running into Cordelia in the process. 

"Come, I'll show you where you can get cleaned up. Then I'll take you to the bunkhouse after supper," she smiled at him. Andrew smiled in return, Cordelia's heart skipped a beat.

________________________________________________________________

By the time Cordelia's father had returned from the city, Andrew and Cordelia were smitten with one another. Andrew had sent a telegram to his father to tell him of his attachment, saying that he hoped when he returned home that it would be with Cordelia as his wife.

Robert Haughey was less than pleased with the news he received from his son. He replied immediately, stating that under no circumstances was he to bring some Irish farm girl home as his bride. He was to return home at once and Robert would send someone else to deal with the Murphy property.

Andrew was furious, how dare his father orders him around as though he were a disobedient child. He was an adult, free to love and marry whomsoever he chose.

Cordelia was facing a similar disagreement with her parents.

"I will not have my daughter marrying some Scottish lawyer, and running off to Lord knows where!" her father thundered. "You are a Murphy, it's your duty to stay here on our land, marry and raise a family!"

"But that's not what I want!" Cordelia cried. "That's what you want for me! I love Andrew, and he loves me! I'd rather be anywhere in the world with him than trapped here on this awful farm!" She stormed out of the house, racing across the field to the bunkhouse.

Andrew opened the door and Cordelia threw herself into his arms sobbing.

"Delia, what's happened?" he asked, concerned.

"They don't care that I love you and you love me, it's not what Murphys do. Being a Murphy means being trapped here on this godforsaken farm, never to have a moment’s peace," she bit out between sobs.

Andrew frowned, "My father shares a similar sentiment."

"What are we going to do? I won't give you up, not when I've just found you," she declared firmly. 

"Nor I, you," he replied, dropping a kiss on her forehead. 

"We could leave, together…," Cordelia suggested, quietly.

"Start a new life somewhere else?" Andrew mused.

"Yes! We could get married, and find a ship that's traveling far away from here, where no one knows our families! Just you and me, a fresh start!" Cordelia's eyes sparkled as she looked at him eagerly.

"I've heard stories about a ship leaving next month for New York. It's departing from Queenstown, I'm sure we could still manage to book passage on it!" Andrew explained, quickly warming up to the idea.

"Then what are we waiting for!" Cordelia excitedly peppered his face with kisses.

Andrew laughed, "Go pack your bags, my darling. Once everyone is asleep we'll leave, and when we board the ship in Queenstown, it will be as man and wife!"

________________________________________________________________

*BWAAAHHPP!*

The ship's horn blasted, pulling Cordelia from her musings.

"I do believe that's our cue," Andrew smiled at her, moving to gather their bags. Weaving expertly through the crowd, Cordelia followed him closely, practically jumping with excitement. This ship would take them to begin their new lives in New York. A whole new adventure awaited them on the other side of the ocean, and they would face it together. As they boarded the ship, Cordelia felt a weight lift off her shoulders. They were finally free. 

________________________________________________________________

A/N:

Andrew Haughey, a Scottish Lawyer (traveling 2nd class)- Max Cordelia Murphy, an Irish farmer's daughter, newly married to Andrew (traveling 2nd class)- Zoey Alexis Howard, an English singer and entertainer (traveling 2nd class)- Mo

[lysieblu]

When the Camellia Blooms

So I decided to do commentary this time. I usually have a lot to say when wacthing dramas but forget it all quickly.

Mild Spoilers Ahead

I’ve renamed the characters because auto-correct sucks if your first language isn’t Korean.

Oh Dong-Baek - Dongbaek

Hwang Yong-sik - Smiley

Choi Hyang-mi / Choi Go-eun - Clepto Waitress

No Gyu-tae - Tae or Gyu-tae

Hong Ja-young  - Baseball, baseball dude

Jo Jung-sook, Dongbaek’s mom - Mama bear

Deok-soon, Yong-sik’s mom - Ma dukes

Why is it that society can take anything and make it a reason to put others down. Humans ain't shit. Episode 6 “Girls like me are like the Emperor's New Clothes... Good guys cants see me.” Best quote of the whole drama so far. Clepto waitress, I love her. She was weird and I wasn't sure if she was playing old dude, Tae. But she was and kinda genius at it. Men help create the traps they get caught in. Is Dongbaek really going to die in the end because it really sucks as this sad girl narrative goes. Being an orphan and or single mom does not doom you. The society in which she lived did. She was a fighter and would always win. The fact that she made it so far in life despite believing the bs others were telling her and the shit she was telling herself is worthy of praise. Episode 7 Smart girl to keep a tab of bad behavior. I just wish she had a bit more confidence, petty, and bad bitch in her delivery. This self deprecating behavior is getting old now. But this kind of behavior can't be unlearned in a night. It's so frustrating. This is why I can't be a therapist. Get a grip bitch. (kidding I know how healing works) all you can really do is pour in the positive and hope it flushes out the negative. That's why smiley is good for her but God he's annoying. He may be good and all but he had def benefited from her lack of boundaries. The dead girl at the end is the Clepto waitress. She stole the bracelet from Dongbaek and thus why the dead body is wearing it. Go Gye-tae has something to do with the murders. He is too punk to do them himself. But he knows and is close to the murderer. The timing of the alarm at the aesticians office. Tae saved her  I think it's the handy man. Episode 8 Chief is looking really suspect. Clepto waitress has crossed the line to disrespectful. Is she really risking hurting Dongbaek to get baseball dude? I think extortion always been her MO. Mom was referring to her when she said watch who you trust. I don't think she's the killer but bitch is not innocent. Episode 9 I hate bitches. It's true that for some people who never grew the fuck up... Hate is their love language. Cliques need a common enemy to thrive and they are weak as fuck. It doesn’t help that Dongbaek never puts them in their place. Me and Dongbaek are the same age and had our kid about the same time. I don't think the killer is female. Unless that bitch is Ronda Rousey I would like to believe I can fight off a bitch with chicken wire. Chief is looking suspect as hell. Why is he always throwing Smiley off the track or avoiding the case. He knows something. I am by no means taking baseball guys side, however I do feel that both parents should be given the opportunity to be parents to their kid. It's unfair to not tell him about his child when he clearly wants to be a father. The scar can go both ways. You son can resent you for keeping this from his father. Pil clearly knows what's up. Dongbaek is growing up. In a way, this is a death flag. But I still don't believe it's her. Episode 10 There isn't a cloud in the sky. They are walking around without coats. And you expect me to believe that it's cold enough for snow. I still feel like Joker isn't a female but her mom is looking hella suspect. What if the connection between all the victims is Dongbaek. Maybe they somehow did her wrong and crazy momma bear was protecting her. But I really can't see her climbing out of a window. Plus the fire alarm.   Trust no one. A lot of people have said the "don't be a joke" line. I called it. That ending was more of a death red flag. So the dead lady is Clepto waitress. She probably died because she obviously owes debts. Dude in hair salon was creepy. But that is separate from joker. I know this goofy mug. I've seen it somewhere (Googling it) ah.. yes... Mr Smiley was in Midnight Runners, playing a cop there too if I remember correctly. Episode 11 A bunch of elementary school kids fighting over baseball. Me yelling at my TV: GET EM!!! Let me tell y'all. I would have been on that field lighting shit up, whipping everyone's ass. Little boy go get yo momma so she can get your ass beating. 😡 Chief is acting wonky. He knows something. What's with the mom? She seems so protective... Now? What about her dad? What if Dongbaek's parents are some crazy con artists who are protecting their daughter by killing off people who conned her? They are basically trying to tell her to "get a grip bitch!" Or "don't be a joke." And did you see her grab the belt and wrap around her fist? She knows what the fuck she's doing. (I want her on my team in a fight) Why is Dongbaek not questioning her lucidity? 🤔 Clepto waitress is the childhood friend.?!. 🤨 IT WAS THE FUCKING HANDYMAN!!! I CALLED IT!!! 🥳🙌🏾👏🏾 Yass bitches. I'm fucking brilliant. Hold on... let's not get ahead of ourselves. Episode 12 This shit just became an episode of 24 “Why try to live so hard?” Because if I live up to the narrative people create for me based on some societal BS explanation, they win. They can say, "see I told you all _______ are _______." Fuck your prejudices and stereotypes. The last thing I want to do is prove some asshole right. So many people want her dead they are trying to confuse me. Who the fuck is the joker?? Handy man's dad? Is he even alive? And this lack of boundaries is killing me. Dongbaek needs to put both those men in their place. Baseball needs to know he has no legal rights, period, if his name is not on the birth certificate. It would be the kids decision as to what his relationship with his dad is. She also needs to tell Smiley to get a fucking grip and that dealing with Baseball is part of being with her. These situations can coexist and it's frustrating to think otherwise. Mom dukes needs to chill. Her son has to make his own decisions and fuck-ups and she cannot fault Dongbaek for that. Life is hard, regardless. If it ain't this, it would be something else. Who lives an easy life?? Challenges build character. And I get it some things you can avoid. But they are grown in their 30s, who at this point does not come with baggage? And fuck you for trying to make me cry. I'm at work Episode 13 Is momma bear on drugs? Her behavior isn't totally out of the ordinary but maybe she goes away to trip and comes back. Lawd we all gon die together😮 They are teasing this story line so hard.  IDK who the joker is. I'ma stick to the handy man but everyone in this story is guilty of something and really it's like matching the crime to the person or the person to the crime. Who killed Clepto? Was it her enemies or the joker? What momma bear is up to? Who's the joker? Is the joker and cleptos killer the same person? What's handy mans deal? Out of all of clepto's enemies, I believe the only ones capable of killing her are Mr. Pimp, Jessica because she's desperate, or Momma bear because she's protecting Dongbaek. In which case, her death is separate from the Joker's killings. Episode 14 You think Smiley's mom may be jealous because no one took an interest in her with three kids? Hold... The ... Fucking.... Phone... It's handy man's dad??? Behind  every weak man is a mother (parental figure) who never held him accountable. I'm tired of grown people not acting like they are grown, kiss and have sex already... Damn. Oh so now they were meant to be? And did Momma bear really come for a kidney? Episode 15 There is a such thing as too much motherly love. This lady is fucking delusional. Her son has always been the type to run towards trouble. Does she really think his life would be easier without Dongbaek? Really? Go-tae is cleared. He was guilty but his crime is gambling. Jessica hit clepto with her car but someone delivered the final blow. Was it Momma bear? Or joker? I think Chief is cleared too. He was just operating out of fear. So hold up. Momma bear has been watching over Dongbaek her whole life. If Momma bear is lurking in the shadows of course she would run into someone else lurking in the shadows. Bitch. Episode 16 Laugh cry? Jesus Christ Dongbaek is stupid. A abandoned mall. Really? She's like a white chick in a horror movie. No don't go in there. Run bitch. 😔 Always take the fucking stairs. I can't. If she falls, I quit. Episode 17 They look like the fucking Power Rangers and I AM LIVING for this movement. Ordering me a track suit on payday. He gets it. He fucking gets it. "I know I made you be a mother when you wanted to just be a woman" 🥳 "We'll not only feed him, we'll wipe his ass if we have to" My bitch. 😂😂😂 If this shit ends with Pil going with his father, I quit. People and situations can peacefully coexist. What's with this all or nothing attitude? And this discarding of a previous family or kids. I see it a lot in these dramas and it's disturbing. Episode 18 Pil's in for a rude awakening but it's a lesson that his mom can't protect him from. His dad may have nice things, but he ain't shit. He'll be back. Damn even your kid thinks your weak. Or is he being mean? He did it for his mom. Funny.. he's assuming what she wants. Did she ever say that she couldn't marry Smiley because of him? Did Smiley say it? That Ma Dukes said it and it's unfortunate. He's too young to realize which opinions matter  Society sucks for making a kid feel this way. Fuck that shit. It just hit me. One of the underlying themes of this drama is parenthood,  more so motherhood. Dongbaek lacked boundaries, even with her son. Smiley's mom is delusional about her son and life in general. She relied on him too much, babied him too much. I don't think any woman would not have been good enough in the long run. The guilt of his father dying, she blames herself, a burden she should have never had to bare, and never fully healed. She projecting that onto Dongbaek. Dongbaek's mom is seeking redemption. She did what she thought was best for her kid. Jessica's mom put up with an asshole for the sake of everyone else and probably to maintain her life. She's learning that she doesn't want that for Jessica. That her own insecuries have transferred to her. Taeks mom is selfish as fuck and babied her son, never holding him accountable. Mother's think they know what's right for their kid, but a nice life from the outside doesn't guarantee a nice life from the inside. That nice lawyer could have treated your daughter like a slave. But it all looks nice to the neighbors. People have got to let "perceptions" go. Most of the time people with the "worst" past have the best character. The issue with it all is.. most mother's define themselves by their kids or husbands. Korea does it very literally. Then, when it all goes away; your kid grows up, your husband may die or leave, what's left of you? Who are you? Women are incouraged to be everything for everyone else but nothing for themselves. When we do, we are made to feel guilty or less than for it. Dongbaek needs to be away from him for while. How this is happening sucks but both of them have lessons to learn. If they don't live happily ever after I have wasted my 20 hours of my life. This is utter bullshit. I hope they're fucking with me. Episode 19 This would have played out differently if she had a daughter. This is literally why fuck boys are running amuck these days. Moms who use their sons (sometimes daughters) as substitutes for men and adult relationships. Boundaries. To love your dad so much even though he is a killer is unhealthy. Sik needs psyhological help. It sends the wrong message that you need to or have to take you parents (family members) bs just because they are parents (or family.) In hindsight, a red flag. I don't want Dongbaek to be a match. I don't want her to give her kidney. I don't like the idea of someone younger giving someone older an organ. Once you've passed 50 you have lived your life. The donor should be the same age or older and preferably on their death beds. Especially in Dongbaek's case. What if something goes wrong and Pil looses his mother and grandmother? You going to let that man-child raise him? I would never be okay with taking any organ from my kid. Episode 20 So it was the handy man? I was right bitches. And his dad is covering for him. Wow let it be known that Episode 7 I called it! He was framing his dad and playing everybody. Why didn't he kill Ma tho? Loving people and being kind-hearted is so fucking easy. Why do humans make it so hard?? I know these dramas are fiction but someone somewhere has lived a similar life. Where the fuck would I be if I didn't have an awesome mom and a loving family? Ongson feels like Stars Hollow. Them pants are rather high-waisted. That ended well. It had important lessons that I hoped someone learned from. Good story. Why I suspected the handy man? It's usually the character that can easily go unnoticed. He has access to the whole town, knew everyone and smart enough to cover his tracks. Everyone else was too obvious but the story did a great job of making me doubt my initial suspicion. Bravo. Low key miss clepto waitress. When she wasn't being a extortionist, she was a fun character.

[detroitbecomehummus]

Jacket Stains pt3|| Connor

Playlist  ||  pt1 pt2

Connor x Detective!Reader

Words: 2.2k

A/N: OOOOO boi this ended up a bit longer that I expected.

WARNINGS: Domestic abuse

Tags:- @thiriumhearts​ @lovestruckgavemefeels​ @chocolattaee​ @mini-satan-in-training​ @yeah—nah​ @waitforawonder​ @cat-ty​ @loopinmoon​ @roguewolfone​ @enchantinglawyerhorsellama @landofcrazyfandoms @allheart36 @piemeadows @coupedebanks @inspirationstod @poly-positive-sanders-sides @imjustapersonwithnopurposehere @dragonempress123 @tardisgrump @mikithekiki @layinglonely

You watched as the orange and pink hues swirl in the warm water. The citrus scents alone relaxed your muscles as well as eat away at your worries. You grabbed your phone and selected one of the more relaxing playlists to help create the best mood.

One step at a time you sat in the bath and turned off the taps, you let immersed yourself into the coloured and bubbled water. You closed your eyes to focus on the soothing sensation. The pain in your ribs, wrists and little cuts finally set in and became very real. You groaned squeezing your eyes shut thinking the pain will just go away.

The stub that is left of your right arm started to ache. You tried to ignore it, tried to think nothing much of it. But the more you thought about ignoring it the more it ached. You sighed in defeat yanking the prosthesis off and chucking it across the tiled floor. You massaged the remaining muscle scrunching your eyes. For a brief moment you could see the flames and needed to stop. You opened your eyes and stared at the orange tinted bubble bath. Maybe that wasn’t the best choice.

Ring ring

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” You groaned as you struggled to get out of the bath thankful for the shower mat. The pain was telling you to go back into the bath, but whoever was calling you had other plans. “What’s up?” You huffed leaning on your elbow over the sink. A shiver went up your spine as the water cooled.

“Hello detective, it’s Connor.” He greeted with a slight cheerfulness to his voice. “There is a report of domestic abuse near you. You are required to report to the scene.” You hummed in response.

“Okay, just give me the address and I’ll be there within the hour.” You said tiredly.

“I’m sorry if this is an inconvenience.”

“Don’t worry, it’s part of the job. I’ll see you soon.” You hung up resting you phone in the sink. You side-eyed the arm on the floor and begrudgingly picked it up but not attaching it.

After getting changed into your work clothes, personal items and your arm you sluggishly exited your apartment. You checked your phone for the address, luckily it was only a block away so you were able to just walk there holding your own hand.

The weather was starting to warm up again so the night air was only fresh but not cold. The small amount of stars were peeking through the clouds provided a small comfort and clamness to the usually eccentric nights that Detroit loves to show. You swung your arm pathetically, to onlookers they would've thought that you ripped an androids arm off but in fact it was your own- it did used to belong to an android but they needed a new one much like you did.

"Ah Detective! Connor is waiting for you inside. He's just trying to calm the father and child." An officer pointed you inside the rather run down home. You could hear the screaming at the front gate. Poor Connor, he must be dealing with this alone while he waited for you.

"Thank you officer." You nodded you head to them and anxiously walked onto the porch and knocked on the door. Rushed muffled footsteps made their way towards you and the door flung open to reveal a rather disheveled android with his LED red. You rose an eye brow and smirked. “Fun night I take it?" Connor didn't understand you sarcasm as it sounded like a legitimate question. At least he went back down to yellow.

"No detective, the mother is being rather... uncooperative. I need you to speak to her, please." Only then did he notice that you were holding hands with your detached prosthesis. "Your arm, do you need help putting it back on?" You shook your head with a tired smile and stepped into the chaotic home.

"No, my arm is just a little sore. Could you hold it for me whole I go talk?" Connor hesitantly nodded holding the arm with both hands and walked into the lounge room to sit with the victims. The father looked like a kind soul as he held his son, between the ages of 8-11. The father had bruises while the child simply look traumatized.

Dealing with these situations was probably the most difficult, especially when there was a young child involved. You came to a stop at the room in which an officer was barricading, he looked tired and annoyed by the woman's yelling. You understood why as she pounded on the door angrily tossing slurs back and right.

“Hello ma’am, my name is Detective (L/N) I need to speak to you.” The silence she let hang between you was the only answer you needed. You rolled your shoulders hearing a few satisfying pops and entered the war zone. “I only have a few questions for-” You were cut off as the woman chucked a book at your head, she just missed. “GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!” She screeched, her face red with rage. “THIS IS MY HOME!” She was out for blood. You ducked as she chucked another item at you. “Ma’am, I just want to talk to you.” You stated calmly. “YOU WERE THE ONE SCREWING MY HUSBAND!” She charged at you with claws bearing at you. You took a step to the side to avoid being cut to ribbons. “Please ma’am. Why are you abusing your husband and child?” Another attempt of attack was made onto you. You sighed taking a pair of handcuffs off of your belt, doing this with one hand will be difficult. “I’m sorry ma’am, you’re being difficult so I need to take you back to the station.” When she outstretched an arm your were quick to cuff it then twisted her arm behind her. You pinned her to the wall with your body. You bit your lip as you struggled against her, she simply chucked your body off her. “BITCH!” She shouted struggling to take the handcuff of her wrist. This was dragging on for too long, you needed to stop her. Hopefully you won’t get into too much trouble for doing this. “Ma’am, this is your last warning.” You slowly walked forward before finally headbutting her. Her body fell to the floor declaring that your idea worked. “Thank fuck.” You breathed getting down on the floor and cuffed her hands together. At least she’ll be someone elses problem.

With heavy steps you walked down the stairs and went into the lounge room. Connor looked up worriedly as he held your arm close to him. You gave a sad smile to the farther. “I’m sorry sir, I’ll be taking your wife to the station. She wasn’t being-” “Thank you.” He said with a trembling voice. “Thank you so much. I’m sorry-” “Don’t be sorry sir.” You quickly intervened. “You did the correct thing in calling us. I will personally be helping you from now on.” The father thank you over and over. “Please let me know or call me if you have any other questions.” You handed them a card with your phone number on it. The son looked like he had a question for you as his eyes glittered with curiosity. “Do you have a question?” You asked with a parental tone. “He asked about your arm earlier. I wasn’t able to, fully answer the question for him.” Connor said as his grip tightened on your arm. He knew you weren’t comfortable with the topic. “I fought of some very bad people to save a friend.” You said like you were telling an action bedtime story. “Like a superhero?” “Like a superhero.”

The child stared at your in awe. You slapped your hand on your knee and stood up. “Well as I said earlier, call me if you have any questions. Hope the rest of your night goes better.” You patted Connor on the back and urged him up.

The walk back to your apartment was silent as you frowned at the night sky. The stars were blocked by the clouds so you couldn’t smile at them.  “Would you like your arm back detective?” You snapped out of your gaze and looked at Connor. “Pardon?” “You arm,” He held it up into your view. “Would you like it back?” “Oh yes.” You shook your head. “Could you help me put it back on?” You stepped to the side to avoid the on coming people traffic. You rolled your sleeve up to reveal your scarred stub, only a quarter of your arm was left. “How does this work?” Connor noticed there wasn’t any straps or locks to put it in place, he wondered how it worked. “Oh, it’s just some sort of grip thing.” You point at the concave area where your arm was inserted. “The grip pad here can sense the electricity within the nerves and move my arm and fingers as needed.” Connor inspected the arm curiously as he placed it on you. “Are your legs the same?” He asked as he watched you wriggle your fingers to check that they still work. “They are.” Connor looked at your legs, but your pants covered them so he couldn’t see how much of them were android parts much to his disappointment. 

“You know what.” You said with a sudden stop at the stairs to the complex. Your arms swayed excitedly as you had a sudden thought. “The night is still young. I’m not needed at work until the morning. Let’s go to a park.” You declared out of nowhere. “A park?” Connor couldn’t help but smile as you became overwhelmed with a sudden giddiness. “Well not just any park really...” You curiously gazed around the street trying to remember which way it was until you found a familiar landmark. “This way!” You hooked your arm with Connor marching off to who knows where.

It was only a fifteen minute walk until you cam across a rather run-down looking park. It only a set of swings, a see-saw and a slide. The basics for a perfect park. You let go of Connor’s arm to go sit in one of the swings and started to sway yourself back and forth gradually going higher. “C’mon Connor!” You giggled feeling the fresh air blow across your face. “I don’t know how to... swing.” He admitted awkwardly as he stood in front of the second swing while he watched you enjoying the moment. You gradually let you skid to a stop. “I’ll teach you. Step one: Sit in the swing.” Connor shrugged his shoulders in a way like he was telling himself ‘That’s obvious’. “Okay, now lean back and stretch your legs out.” Connor did as you said and awaited your next instruction. “Now lean forward and tuck your legs underneath you.” You smiled as he completed the action, he seemed very unsure about this. “Now rinse and repeat.” You continued to swing watching Connor try to swing carefully.

After a few minutes he was swinging as high as you with his own little smile. “I see why you were so eager earlier.” He kept a close eye on his legs to make sure he was still doing this properly. “It’s fun and helps me clear my head. Especially after night like that... Still as hard as the first time.” Connor looked to the side as he picked up on the sad tone. You were swinging as happily as you were, yet your eyes showed how you truly felt. “But I know I helped that family... I just wish... they don’t deserve that. No one does...”

The android looked at the sky to see the sky clearing and the moon beaming down gently onto the both of you. “Looking back on my previous cases where it went wrong, I feel...” What did he feel? It was hard to specifically place the thoughts as he became shrouded with them.

“You couldn’t do anything about it. There was only so much you could do. Don’t dwell on the past, Connor. You know first hand how badly it can affect people.” Connor looked at you once more to see a gentle smile.

“Now.” You said to bring back the cheery mood there was earlier. “Only professional swingers can do this. Jump off the swing and land perfectly on the ground.” Connor tilted his head as he observed you focus on the timing of the swing. Calculating when and where to jump. When you did jump, something in him made him giggle and worry at the same time. When you jumped one of your legs popped off and caused you to fall to the ground rolling in the park bark.

Connor jumped off the swing with a slight trip but still ended up by your side. “Are you alright?” All you could do was burst out in laughter with tears pouring from your eyes.

“I’m fine.” You laughed again as you tried to sit yourself up but you fell down again as you kept laughing with the moment replaying in your head. “Couldn’t do that even if I tried. Could you get my leg for more, please.” Connor shook his head with your smile infecting him. The leg appeared to only go to the knee. “Thanks.” You sat up once you calmed down and stuck your prosthetic leg back on.

[christcrofts]

When I popped it up I thought, 'oh no, I'm gonna get yelled at.

"When I popped it up I thought, 'oh no, I'm gonna get yelled at.'"But in an instant, the emotions of Fillebrown and the rest of the Bernardians spun 180 degrees. 22 when two flight attendants got into a fist fight and the captain decided to land in Salt Lake City. And changed the name to Gopher Gone. They

oakley m frame ice iridium

really sweet. It took the Windblown less than an hour to strike their camp. Yet all men die, regardless.” Ser Barristan sheathed his sword and pulled Hizdahr to his feet. All sessions will be conducted in Spanish. I then told them who I was and all about it.. She could zapatillas de tacos futbol hear the catalog cercei aur turciadragons screaming as she led the boy back to the door, and see the play of light against the bricks, reflections of their fires. I woke up several times, and always saw Elena’s compassionate and anxious little face leaning over me. We would like to allow as many of you to ask questions as possible in our allotted time, so we would appreciate you limiting your initial questions to two. They process indigestible fibers and help keep bowel function regular. It was all my brothers and I could do to put them down before they slew us all.”. He saw no more of his father, nor the girl who looked like Arya, but a woman heavy with child emerged naked and dripping from the black pool, knelt before the tree, and begged the old gods for a son who would avenge her. It seemed to me that Masloboev knew him a good deal better than he had admitted to me. We have a few cirrus clouds streaming in from the south this morning but

scaun rulant inchiriere

the day looks more sunny than cloudy around here as highs push into the lower to mid 80s area wide. Graue: Students need to be able to identify themselves by knowing their full name and be able to identify their nike air max 102 essential white stuff. Exiles or the sons of exiles. Gerris handed him a torch. Ennis had served as CEO since 2009. The old man’s hands were the worst thing about him, Cat decided the next day, as she watched him from behind her barrow. Not baby nike trainers only is fiber great for overall weight loss (it fills you up so you don't eat as much), it also prevents constipation, which can cause your tummy to bulge, says Lawrence J. Then he removed the fetters around Asha’s ankles, rubbing the stiffness from her calves. The same is true of the current car, so BMW's newcomer has a tough task on its hands.The 7 Series has always been good to drive, too, and it faces a challenge from the sharp handling Jaguar XJ the British brand facelifted its flagship last year, with improvements across the board. Say you are allergic to peanuts as this is a common allergy. This page is best viewed in an up to date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. They'll have to place a bid with the AAC once a team or two leaves that conference.Talk of realignment has heated up during the offseason, moustiquaire lit 1 personne ikeaespecially concerning in the Big XII. This they would have precisely the same right to do that the clergyman and his brother republicans have to take all the earnings and possessions of their slaves. It remains to be seen whether his abbreviated season shorter because he started the season at Triple A Toledo will outweigh the dominant performances that have made him a strong contender for American League rookie of the year.. The mob seemed to be equal parts men and women. The Rev. In a brief report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Newport Beach maker of fingerprint identification systems said Robert Reed Rogers intends to retire "at the earliest practicable opportunity.". Northmen, free folk, queen’s men … “Form a line,” Jon Snow commanded them. I must keep going. His nasty, spiteful and suspicious-looking little eyes were lost in fat and seemed to be peeping through chinks. It creates the vibe in each venue and makes the shifts go by quickly.. Additionally, handy buckling straps keep the tarp folded away when in the open position.. “Aye. Her belly was empty, her feet sore and blistered, and it seemed to her that the cramping had grown worse. On the plus side, MICA had begun growing at that point of time, and Mudra was launching more offices and trying to shed the 'only Ahmedabad' tag (in fact, Mudra moved its head office to Mumbai in 2003 itself.)The first thing Kamath did was pick up Louis Gerstner's book, Who

bocanci grisport 480

Says Elephants Can't Dance? which was about IBM's turnaround and give it to senior colleagues. Bran only had to smile, do as he was told, and mutter “Hodor” from time to time, and he could follow Meera and Jojen, grinning happily, without anyone suspecting it was really him. Her enemies were accusing her of treason. Though the church did not allow black male members to be ordained before that year when the church head says he received a revelation to reverse the policy it did allow blacks and members of all racial and ethnic groups to be church members. This call was signed by about two hundred and fifty persons from different parts of the state, among whom was the Rev. Every new season brings a new style, and with the reign of jeans and casual wear, a breathtaking shoe separates the chic from the chaff.. Three former West Point stars, Owen Tolson, Caleb Campbell and Mike Viti, signed or were drafted.. The alliance has since grown to become the third largest, batteria ai polimeri di litio amazon after SkyTeam and Star Alliance. Bringing down a woman was not like to awe any northmen, if she knew the breed, and her worth as a hostage was less than naught. Today, surgical masks are designed to catch the bacteria coming from the mouth and nose. Today, Ambani leads Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, one of India's top three private sector business houses, with a $6 billion net worth. Where Farring seemed fierce in his devotion to his red god, Suggs was simply cruel. Having guards about her would no doubt help keep the black brothers properly respectful, the red priestess knew, but none of the men that Stannis had given her were like to be much help should she find herself in peril. Dave Ryan/The Enterprise less. You will not make Meereen rich and fat and peaceful. When Daenerys returned to her geci de fas dama scurte pyramid, sore of limb and sick of heart, she found Missandei reading some old scroll whilst Irri and Jhiqui argued about Rakharo. After a Gallatin, Tennessee, landing, there was a second flight the next morning. Lincecum two Cy Youngs. You may look with scorn on a father who admits himself that from prejudice and mercenary motives he urged his son to an evil action; for to desert a generous hearted girl who has sacrificed everyone to him, and whom he has treated so badly, is an evil action. Love is blind and all that. Years later, I would learn how much Papa meant to Trenton and how the funeral home was, arguably, the most important business in a small town. "Because you have people who were scared the economy was bad, they want someone to blame."Most Popular StoriesMost Popular StoriesMore>>Newborn dies of viral meningitis after kissNewborn dies of viral meningitis after kissUpdated: Tuesday, July 18 2017 5:04 PM EDT2017 07 18 21:04:54 GMTBaby Mariana Sifrit contracted viral meningitis caused by HSV 1 when she was 1 week old.Mariana Sifrit, the infant girl who contracted viral meningitis caused by HSV 1 when she was less than a week old, died Tuesday morning, her mother posted on Facebook.Mariana Sifrit, the infant girl who contracted viral meningitis caused by HSV 1 when she was less than a week old, died Tuesday morning, her mother posted on Facebook.Missing Swiss couple found frozen in Alps after 75 yearsMissing Swiss couple found frozen in Alps after 75 yearsUpdated: Wednesday, July 19 2017 9:42 AM EDT2017 07 19 13:42:31 GMTA Swiss couple who disappeared from their farm in the Alps during World War II have finally been found, 75 years later, mummified in a glacier.A Swiss couple who disappeared from their farm in the Alps during World War II have finally been found, 75 years later, mummified in a glacier.Montana sheriff denies accusations in recall effortMontana sheriff denies accusations in recall effortUpdated: Wednesday, July 19 2017 7:17 AM EDT2017 07 19 11:17:26 GMTPondera County Sheriff Carl Suta.

[no6secretsanta]

Of rats, dogs, and cinnamon stars

To @rest-in-bees from @scentedglitterpeace

——

5:30

*riing* *riing*

A high-pitched, annoying noise.

*Riing* *riing*

“Shion…”

A low, half asleep complaint.

*Riing* *Riing*

“uum…”

An equally low, even more asleep moan.

*Riiing* *riing*

“Shion, shut that damn thing off !”

A snap.

*Riiing* *BANG*

Shion opened his eyes, only to see his room in the dim artificial light of Lost-Town that had made its way through the window. The alarm clock was thankfully still in one piece, a beautiful hand still on it. The ecologist and now active member of the restructuration committee of New-06 putted a hand behind him, blindly searching for a contact whit the man he shared his bed with. He wasn’t disappointed when long fingers tangled with his, the arm that has came above him to shut down the alarm finding a place on his torso, a hot breath tickling his neck. The white-haired boy looked once again at the alarm. He still had time. Surely the town could do with him spending five more minutes under Nezumi’s arms. Feeling like he was in heaven, he closed his eyes.

6:12

Sighing, Shion opened once again his eyes. Slowly awaking, he looked at the red numbers on the alarm clock.

Holly Shit !

The white-haired boy bolted out of the bed. Well, tried. The strong arm that had lowered to rest on his waist kept him firmly in place.

“Nezumi,” pleaded the teenager, squirming under the arms of his mate, “let me go, I’m gonna be late”.

“Why ?” Came the short, still asleep response, “They sure don’t need you this early. Your first meeting isn’t until 9 anyway”

 “I…” the young man untangled himself from the arms on him, vaguely wandering why Nezumi always knew his whole planning “want to…” he kicked the cover aside, leaving a fair part to the other boy, “finish a report this morning.” He finally succeeded in getting out of the bed. “And anyway, I’m not arguing with you on this again.” Shion hurried himself in the bathroom, intending to take a quick shower and get dressed.

6:22

As the white-haired boy entered the kitchen, he was assaulted by the smell of freshly backed bread. His mother and Nezumi where already working by the ovens. How the former block-east resident has managed to get from lump on the bed to ready and alert in less than five minutes, Shion would never know. He took his coat and bag, ready to leave to his office when he heard his lovers’ voice.

“Shion.” The “Rat” gave him a gaze full of disapprobation. “Sit down and eat some breakfast”.

The scientific sighed “You know I don’t have time”.

The only answer was a clipping tongue.

“Shion.” Said the feminine voice of his mother. “Just take a seat, ok ?”

The teenager thought about arguing for four solid seconds, before sitting on a chair. No one could tell “no” to Karan. No even her own son. Especially not her son.

“You too Nezumi,” the beaker continued, “go and sit at the table, I’ll finish this.”

The raven-haired boy opened his mouth but one look from the older woman made him rethink his opinion and sit next to Shion. The ecologist grinned discretely. Yup. No one was arguing with his mother.

Soon, three mugs of tea and a pie Shion have never seen before where on the table.

“Kaki pie,” explained Karan, cutting three slices and sitting in front of the boys. “A costumer has a huge production this year and asked me if I was interested in buying him some, so I’m trying it.”

Shion took a bite. As usual, Karan’s food was delicious, even if it was the first time she made the recipe. But he really really didn’t have time for a long breakfast. He finished his food, and went back to gathering his stuff. He vaguely heard his mother tell something at Nezumi about a grocery run, and, as usual, the taller boy was ready and at the door waiting for him before he even had the time to put his coat on.

He bent to receive a kiss on the forehead from his mother, wishing her a good day, and promising not to come home too late. The boy smiled of the warmness of his lone family member touch while stepping in the cold air of the early morning.

6:52

New-06 was slowly awaking as Shion and Nezumi made their way through the streets, but the sun was nowhere in sight. Winter has made its way down the city a few weeks ago, covering everything with a thin film of ice. Shion sighed, his breath making a cloud in the December air. He had spent the previous winter in block-west, protected from the cold by an old heater and Nezumi’s body heat. So much had happened since. In just a year, the wall has fallen, taking No.6 with it. Almost a year ago, he had lost his best friend and had feared to lose the person he loved the most on the cold white corridors of the correctional facility. Almost a year ago he had killed a man. He was still having nightmare about every one of those things. But in the beginning of the spring, he had reunited with his mother, he had got the chance to introduce her to Nezumi.

And then… and then everything had happened really fast. While Nezumi was still recovering from his wounds, while he was still mourning Safu, he was asked to be part of the restructuration committee. The hard work had distracted him from his nightmares, even more when the boy he shared his night with had gone away. He wasn’t angry at Nezumi for leaving him for half a year. He knew this was something the other man had to do in order to be in peace with himself. It hadn’t made those month any less difficult. Without Karan’s kind attentions, and the constant energy brought by Inukashi, Shionn and the dozens of dogs that seemed to have settled down in Lost Town, he probably wouldn’t have been able to handle his work and keep smiling through this long summer. But, as the heat decreased, his loved one had come back. That was kind of ironic that on the morning of his 17th birthday, the boy he hadn’t seen until spring had knocked out on his window, muttering something about it not being as large as the one in Chronos, and him being taller than his 11 years old self. But then again, his boyfriend being an actor, he always had a developed drama sense.

He giggled hat the idea of a boyfriend. It was Inukashi who first used the world, and it had made him laugh at first. They were so so more than that. But the fact stayed: they did ‘boyfriend stuff’, so it that was how the dog keeper wanted to call them, it was fine by him.

“What’s so funny?” Asked Nezumi, efficiently breaking his thoughts. He took the other’s hand within his own.

“Nothing,” he said, his smile never leaving his face, “I was just thinking about how much the city has changed since a year ago.”

His only answer was a smirk. ‘The city has changed’ was an understatement, the truth being closer to ‘destroyed and almost entirely rebuild in just a year’. But both boys let this matter go, enjoying comfortable silence again, only troubled by the distant sound of shutters opening and the birds that had flew away from the park.

It was only when arriving in front of the restructuration committee’s working place that the white-haired boy realized the former block-west inhabitant had made all the way with him instead of just going straight to the store furnishing Karan. His smile widened at the idea. He turned his head toward the building, needing to go inside (he was already incredibly late) but unwilling to let go of Nezumi’s hand. His loved one gave their hands a small shake.

“You want to stay here smiling like an idiot, or go to work ?”

Shion sighed. As usual, the other teenager lacked delicacy. But when he tried to untangle their hands, he was stopped.

“Don’t I get to have a ‘have a good day’ kiss ?”

Shion stared for a moment at the grey eyes of his lover. Yes, they were on the streets, but there was practically no one in front of the building, and if it meant pressing his lips against Nezumi’s, he didn’t care if anyone saw them. He shorted the distance between their faces, and gave the other boy a soft kiss before whispering “have a good day”.

At the smile he saw on Nezumi’s face, he wasn’t the only one whose heart was warm despite the winter temperature.

8:07

Having took all the time he needed to gather the supplies needed by Karan, the bakery was already open when Nezumi reached it. A few costumers were in the shop, buying breakfast or lunch before their day. After living in the bakery and helping Karan four months, Nezumi knew perfectly what he had to do, so he just nodded to Karan his arrival, and went to the backroom, passing by Inukashi and Shionn’s room.

The little kid was up and playing with what he assumed was one of grown up Shion’s childhood’s toys, trying to put the right forms in the right holes, under the watching gaze of a big dog. He assumed Inukashi was supposed to watch him too, but the dog keeper was half asleep nearby, droning on one of their enormous brother. Books where everywhere in the room. Apparently, while he was gone, Shion had gone scavenging his place from all the books, and learning Inukashi didn’t know how to read, had took it on his own to teach them. And the former hotel manager was apparently a good student, reading shorts stories and images books all night… and falling asleep while on babysitting duty.

After stocking the groceries in the backroom, the raven-haired boy came back in the room to squeeze the younger teen’s cheeks, while yelling an overly enjoyed “Wake up, young prince !”. The dog keeper yelped, already in fighting position, yelling a few curses that Shionn could probably had gone without hearing. The young child focused his attention to the two humans, looking at them with wide eyes.

“Mi !” babbled the child, looking at Nezumi. While he was starting to tell more and more words, some content still stayed in his young mind. Nezumi was ‘Mi’, Karan was ‘Ma’, Inukashi was ‘Mama’ and Shion ‘Dada’.

“Yup, buddy”, the actor responded, his smile hypnotizing the big eyes of Shionn’s, “Good morning.”

The grey-eyed teenager took a book on the floor, confirming it was an image book before asking, “Wanna read ?”

He would never know who, between Shionn and Inukashi had the most enthusiastic reactions. With a smirk, he sat on the floor, a dog almost immediately circling him, and started reading.

Even if the story was simple and childish, the actor soon fond himself enjoying playing the characters. Usually easily distracted, Shionn was listening, interrupting only when asked to name the forms on the pictures. Inukashi opened and closed their eyes, sometimes breathing in the even so little rhythm of the story. Three dogs were sitting beside them, and Hamlet and Tsukiyo had settled beside his laps, Cravate probably still being somewhere in the bakery. The actor read, checking regularly on Karan to see if she needed his help. After a half hour of reading, he gave Inukashi the book, asking them to take one of the character.

At first, the dog keeper had been hesitant, but the hopeful looks on Shionn’s eyes made them took the book. The reading was slow, hesitant, and full of mistakes, and the acting almost as bad.

Yet, Inukashi reading to Shionn was one of the most beautiful things Nezumi had ever seen on his entire life.

10:12

Keeping a two years old kid focused on storytelling for two hours was something close to a miracle. But after all, thought Inukashi, while preparing themselves for their next line, Nezumi had always been a miracle maker. Still, Shionn’s patience was coming to an end when Karan entered the room. The older woman had taken the habit to walk with Shionn on the morning when someone could watch the shop for her.

“We were invited in Lily and her mother’s for lunch” informed Karan, “Is that okay with you ? You can take something from the bakery”

Inukashi didn’t know if they should laugh or be grateful. Even the old man how raised them had never shown that much affection and worry. To think that someone would worry about them having something easy to eat for lunch now that they weren’t a kid anymore was weird.

They watched Karan take Shionn in her arms. The little boy could walk a few meters, but was still light enough to be carried, and liked the woman’s arms’ safety.

“Ok” Stated Nezumi, getting up in one fluid movement, “I’m gonna go watch the store, don’t you have homework to do ?”  

Inukashi stuck out their tongue, but still put papers on the small table and got to work. They had started school around the same time Nezumi had came back, and frankly, they liked it. While there were still discriminations between former block west residents and former No.6 inhabitants, kids were usually more open minded, and Inukashi having dogs had soon made them a few friends. The classes weren’t really hard, since Shion had enrolled them in it mostly to catch up with everything they missed. Still, winter break meant homework, so the dog keeper started studying their books and papers.

Math was easy and unchallenging. Inukashi knew how to count from their time in block west, and soon they found themselves watching the bakery. Nezumi was giving food and smile to blushing costumers. If Inukashi had a strong theory about how 70% of the bakery success was due to Karan’s cooking, and 30% to costumers just wanting to buy something from Nezumi.

Noticing their stare, the ‘Rat’ turned and mouthed them ‘Go back to work’. Inukashi sighed and a dog came see what was wrong. Slowly, the dog keeper started smiling. There they were, surrounded by their canine family and human friends. There they were, when a year ago, they were ready to die in the correctional facility.

13:48

The dogs had just finished eating when Karan came back, putting a sleepy Shionn in his baby bed and kissing him in the forehead. She exited the room silently, Inukashi on her toes.

When she asked the dog keeper if they wanted to watch the store, star shined on the young teen’s eyes. With school, Shion’s reading lessons before, and the duty to take care of Shionn, they rarely had the occasion to help costumers in the bakery, while enjoying it. Kids and adults liked the dogs that were always near their sibling, and Inukashi had taken the habit to tell costumers anecdotes about their family and to describe with enthusiasm the food. While this didn’t make the costumers buy any more, they were all smiling when exiting the shop.

Karan had Nezumi bring the stuff brought this morning in the kitchen, and started to get everything ready.

“Cinnamon ?” asked the actor while entering the room with supplies “what are you trying to do ?”

Karan looked at him, a smile illuminating her face, “Cinnamon Stars. I found the recipe in one of your books, it was traditional Christmas food. I wanted to give it a try. Come on, let’s do it together”

Karan liked cooking. She always did. But cooking with someone was really different. And while she knew Inukashi liked to have their time alone with the dogs, and Shion needed his space, she also knew Nezumi loved to interact with other human beings. At least while he was living with them. Speaking of which…

“How long do you want to stay here ?” Asked the mother, not removing her gaze from her work.

“Am I bothering?” Replied the boy, with the exact same intonation.

“No !” Karan corrected, removing suddenly her hands from the food to look at her son’s lover. “No you’re not bothering at all, on the contrary !” Karan could never have said how happy she was that Nezumi had came back. Shion was well better since he shared his life everyday with the raven-haired boy, and Karan loved having the singer by her side to talk, cook, or more simply just being another presence in the house she never wanted to be silent again. One winter alone without Shion was more than enough.

“You’re not bothering,” she continued, calming down and resuming working on the cinnamon stars, half knowing the teenager was just messing with her when he asked the question, but still wanting to reassure him. “Just… I’m starting to know you.”

And she knew that Nezumi needed to move in order to be at peace. And she didn’t have the right to stop him from being happy, even for her own son. Deep down, she knew that Shion understood it too.

“I…” Nezumi stopped his hands movement for a few seconds, before resuming, “I don’t know. I’m happy here. I want to stay with Shion. With you all to be honest.” The actor sighed. Karan knew she had this strange power to make him open in a way even Shion couldn’t. “I could stay here and work in the bakery or I could try and find a job as an actor, or maybe a librarian or even a teacher… But somehow something is missing, and I can’t quite find out what.” Karan let a comfortable silence in the room while the young man was searching his words. After a while, he started talking again. “That might be selfish, but I don’t feel like I should have a role in No.6 rebuilding. That’s just not my city…”

“That is through,” Karan cut him suddenly. “Well, No.6 wasn’t, but New-06 is. And if you want to help with the rebuilding, you of all people have every right to give your opinion.” However, if you don’t want to, that’s not selfish. You have every right to do whatever you want.”

It suddenly hit her that maybe, Nezumi never such large possibilities of choices in his life before. He had always focused on surviving, and eventually saving Shion. Choosing what to do with his own life was new, as it was for half the population of New-06.

“It’s okay if you want to take your time,” She said softly, putting the first set of stars into the oven, “You can stay here as long as you want. You can stay here forever if you want to. You can go if you want to. Just remember that this is home. This is home and you will always be welcome in here. Even when I’ll be an old lady, even if the city changes three, five or ten times its name, even if one day you feel unneeded, you will always, always be welcome here.”

The former block-west resident sighed, avoiding looking at her. “You really are Shion’s mother.”

Karan let a small chuckle out at the remark. Understanding the meaning behind: both of them where saying stereotypical right out of a book speech that made Nezumi happy. Message received then. She kept her cooking work while smiling until the oven informed her that the biscuits where ready. After letting them cool for a while, she handed one to the boy. Nezumi’s eyes where shining with pleasure after he took a bite. Shion was right. Once one got to know him, the taller teenager really was an open book. Interpreting his reaction as the proof of a successful recipe, she kept cooking, wishing her household would always be full of those little things that made her live a paradise.

16:34

Shionn was half eating, half playing with the cinnamon star, looking around him with big, curious eyes. It was his first try at cinnamon, and he appreciated the taste, but the star shape was also funny, reminding him of his shape game. Nezumi and Inukashi were arguing about something pointless, and the three mice where trotting on the table, eating fallen scarps. All of sudden, the little kid heard a familiar voice from the shop.

“Hi mom ! I home early today…”

Apparently, Nezumi too had heard it, because as the conversation kept going on how was grown up Shion’s day, his smile widened. Inukashi looked at him, amused.

“You go meet him, you heartbreaker, I’ll watch the lil’ brat.”  And while the older teenage walked out, they added, clowning the actor “Bouhou, I haven’t seen him for a day, I miss Shion soooo much ! Seriously, how did you handle a Shionless summer ?”

That would have probably get the dog keeper a standing finger if Shionn wasn’t in the same room. Rolling their eyes, Inukashi turned toward the child.

“You don’t become like them, okay ? No soppy love stories, you understand ?”

Shionn just kept smiling and babbling happily.

21:38

Shion read for the hundredth time the same line, lying in his bed when Nezumi entered the room, efficiently distracting him. The taller boy removed his shirt, revealing his multiple scars. The burn mark on his back, one gunshot wound on his side, two on his shoulder, and multiple others, Nezumi claiming not even knowing their origin sometimes.

“What?” asked the actor, a smirk on his face, “I’m so beautiful you can’t keep your eyes of me?”

Shion huffed, putting the papers on the bedside table. “I can’t read that.”

In one fluid movement, the ‘Rat’ was near him. “You want me to read it for you ?”    

The white-haired boy let out a small chuckle. “You want to read me the economic plan on a new building ? Na, I just want to sleep.”

Nezumi let himself fell on the bed with a low “as you wish…” and stayed there, his face three centimeters from Shion’s. Karan had suggested buying a king size bed, since they were slipping in the same anyway, but somehow, sleeping on Shion’s one-person bed seemed to be the most natural option for the two boys.

The restructuration committee member lost himself in Nezumi’s moon colored eyes. He smiled with contentment when he felt his lover’s hand smoothing the red snake shaped scar on his face, stopping sometimes to play with his hairs. His surviving trophies. The proof of his victory on the fight between his willpower and a deadly virus.

Nezumi started humming a familiar song and Shion closed his eyes.

Everything would be all right.

——-

I hope you liked it and it was what you were expecting ! Sorry if there are any mistakes ! 

Have nice hollydays !

Violette

[fanfic-phoenix]

Chapter 1 - Operation Workday

Previous Chapter                                                                         Next Chapter

The train, for once in its sorry life, had been on time, and that was why Merlin had had to run for it - it was hardly his fault he’d planned for a five minutes delay!  Still, he seemed to be on time, even though he’d nearly dropped the brown backpack with his laptop inside and paused to shed the red scarf he’d chosen.  He stood a moment on the threshold of his new job; Camelot Shipping was a large grey building in the center of London, surrounded by other similarly large grey buildings, and held within it his new position.  Being a member of his Uncle Gaius’ tech department (a position that had taken a miracle to get so soon out of college - thank the gods for apprenticeships) meant that he was responsible for several jobs: keeping the place’s computers in tip-top condition; developing new systems; building new, high-tech bombs and guns and the like; occasionally hacking into rival computers.

If Camelot Shipping had been a normal company the idea of weapons and hacking might have alarmed people.  As it was, what with it only being a cover for Her Majesty’s Secret Service, it was just part of the job, even though Merlin had a few misgivings regarding being allowed within three feet of explosives.

A guard at the door, armed with a nerve-inducing gun, beckoned Merlin over and sorted him out with a pass, warning him not to lose it, else there’d be trouble (Merlin didn’t ask what sort of trouble that was).  What he did ask, however, was where the Head of Tech might be located.

“Gaius Myrddin?”

“Yeah, that’s him.”

The guard grunted in recognition and pointed to his destination.  Apparently, he wasn’t one for conversation.

“Hello?”

The office seemed deserted - Gaius had told him to arrive during the lunch break, so he’d distract as few people as possible - and his uncle, his new boss, was nowhere in sight.

“Hello?  Gaius?”

“Merlin!”

Merlin grinned and waved at the aging man who’d popped up with surprising ease from under a desk in the far corner, having been fiddling with some wires.

“You’re not meant to be here till eleven.”

“It is eleven.”

“Ah,” he peered at a clock on the wall, “so it is.  Well, put your bag over there, the desk should be empty.”  Pointing Merlin to an empty desk in the far corner (a slightly bruised old thing, with a mysterious scorch mark and copious coffee stains) he returned to what he was doing, cursing quietly when he realised he couldn’t read the labels.  “Come here then, I’ll show you what I’m working on and you can finish while I find my glasses.”

At 11:30 people flooded into the office, barely acknowledging the new kid.  Until, of course, he proved his worth by fixing what had been an unfathomable bug in the new surveillance system they were building.  Then he’d been surrounded by people telling him everything he needed to know.

“Don’t use the vending machine coffee, it’s disgusting.  Just make the pot, it’ll get used if you don’t finish it.”

“Alright.”

“Don’t mess with Morgana Pendragon.  No one except Uther’s got clearance to know what she actually does around here, but she’s bloody good at it.  I’ve seen her training and she could kill anyone of us from twenty paces.”

“Oh… ok…”

“I’d stay away from all the field agents if I were you.  They’re usually sleep deprived and heavily armed, and if something goes wrong they’ll find some way to blame the equipment, which is our department.”

“That hardly seems-”

“Fair?”  Those listening in sniggered slightly, “it’s not fair, but it what happens.  Agent Pendragon’s a nightmare for it.”

“Morgana?”

“No, Arthur Pendragon.  Adopted siblings.  But Arthur takes it out on whoever’s closest to him if his mission’s ended poorly.  It’s just lucky for us that it’s so rare for him to fail.”

“Yeah, he’s the best agent in the service.  Completely lethal.”

“So…  try not to get on his bad side?”

“Near impossible if you meet him, Merlin.  Just… try not to catch his eye.”

“MORRIS!”

Merlin’s head whipped around at the booming yell calling for one of his new colleagues.  Rubbing at the pain he was certain was whiplash, he searched for the source of the distraction from his work (which, admittedly, was only trying to organise the files on the new cloud storage, so he was actually fairly glad for something interesting); a blond man storming in with a scowl on his face.

“MORRIS!” he repeated, stalking towards the desk inhabited by a nervous looking Jonathon Morris, “you’re not all that bright, are you?”

“I- what, sir?”

“I said, you’re not very bright, are you, Morris?”  He was leaning on the desk now, nose nearly close enough to touch Morris’ as he spat out, “you endangered my entire mission!”

“I did?”

“Teach him a lesson.  Go on boy.”

Merlin hadn’t noticed the agents lingering at the door, but he saw them now, egging on the shouting blond man as he began raving and ranting about a bomb that had failed to go off; it was true then, that agents blamed their equipment.  Merlin winced at the look on Morris’ face - the poor sod was terrified - and considered intervening… everyone else was frozen solid, staring whilst trying to pretend they weren’t.  As the blond’s fingers danced toward the throwing knife Morris had on his desk, Merlin decided that really, this had gone on long enough.  He stood and ignored the collective intake of breath that filled the office.

“Hey,” he walked over, catching the man’s attention, “come on, I’m sure he didn’t mean to,” he took the knife away, placing it on the desk behind him.

“What?”

“You’ve had your fun, my friend.”

The man looked at him confusedly, “do I know you?”

Merlin stuck out a hand, “er, I’m Merlin.  Merlin Myrddin.”

“So no.”

“No.”  He retracted the hand; clearly, this agent was a prat.

“And yet you called me friend?”

“That was my mistake.”

“I think so.”

Was he fool enough to insult a pissed off agent?  Yeah.  He definitely was.  “I’d never have a friend who was such an ass.”  Merlin started walking away, treasuring the look of shock on Agent Prat’s stupid face and pretending that the sharp intake of breath by every other person in the silent office hadn’t caused the bottom of his stomach to drop.

“I’d never have one who’s so stupid.”

He paused, turning to glare at Agent Halfwit, swallowing slightly when he noticed that the knife he had placed out of reach wasn’t so out of reach anymore - it was being tossed up and down, twirling elegantly in the air as it threatened him.

“Tell me, Merlin,” Agent Arse caught the knife deftly in one hand, “do you know how to walk on your knees?”

“No.”

“Would you like me to help you?”

“I wouldn’t if I were you.”

“And what are you going to do?” Agent Arrogant scoffed.  Merlin bristled under his mocking gaze; sure, he was slightly scrawny (though he was a whole inch taller than Agent High-and-Mighty), but he was more than a match for him.

“You have no idea.”

“Be my guest,” the blond arse laughed, throwing open his arms in invitation, “come on.”  Merlin hesitated; Agent Snooty was a field agent and the possessor of broad shoulders and large muscles which could very easily be used for beating Merlin’s much skinnier arse.  “Come on!  Come oooon!”

Merlin set his jaw and took a swing - if he could just hit his mark he’d wipe the smirk right off his moronic face…

It took a lot not to yelp when his arm was twisted behind his back.

“I’ll have you for this,” blond prat practically snarled.

“What?  Who do you think you are?”

“Arthur Pendragon.”

Merlin knew he’d gone pale, and he didn’t even utter a protestation when his feet were swept from under him.  Arthur laughed at him, cruelly amused by Merlin’s pallid cheeks and stricken expression, before walking away, sniggering with the agents observing at the door.  Merlin stood shakily, wobbled to his desk, and sat heavily, before proceeding to hit his head against the solid wood - perhaps if he did it hard enough, he’d knock some sense into himself.

“I’m an idiot,”  he mumbled into the papers he’d crumpled, as the others tutted in sympathy.  “I’m dead.  I’m so dead.  I’ve not even been here for a day and I’m dead.”

He was still mournful when Gaius returned, meekly accepting the eyebrow of disapproval that was raised in response to the tales of his exploits, which had probably ventured higher into his grey hairline when Merlin groaned and returned to resting his head on the desk.

“I’ve persuaded Agent Pendragon not to report you.”

An hour of nauseous fear had passed since Merlin’s faux pas when Gaius made that blessed announcement.  

“What?  Oh, thank you.  Thank you!”

“You never cease to amaze me,” Gaius raged, looking as if he wanted nothing more than to cuff Merlin over the head, “the one thing that someone like you should do around the Pendragons is keep your head down, and what do you do?  Behave like an idiot!”

“I’m sorry.”  And he really was.  Gaius was right, of course; every moment he spent in the Pendragons’ company was a moment he spent in danger, and it would have been much better to have been invisible (not literally, of course, lest he worsen the issue).  Someone like him, if they wanted to keep bullets out of their brains, should keep a very low profile.  If anyone looked too hard, they might notice the truth.  And that would be the end.

Gaius harrumphed and wandered back to his desk as a young woman walked through the door and towards Merlin.  He narrowed his eyes at her, recognising her instantly, though he wasn’t quite sure where from.  Until he did.

“Guinevere...”

“Merlin Myrddin,” she beamed, folding her arms and shaking her head, “still getting into trouble I see.”

He flushed, eyes flickering down, “yeah… I’m planning on changing my name to Idiot - that’s what people seem to call me these days.”

“No, no, no.  What you did is all around the offices - it was really brave of you.”

“It was stupid.”

She pulled a face, and Merlin knew she was preventing herself from agreeing with him.  “Well…  I’m glad you at least walked away.  You couldn’t have beaten him.”

“Wha-?  Oh, I could beat him.”

“Really?”  She looked him over, “because you still don’t look like one of those muscle-y types.”

“Thanks.”

“No!  No, I’m sure you’re stronger than you look.  It’s just, erm… Arthur’s a field agent.  One of those rough, tough, save the world kind of men, and… well…”

“Well what?”

“You don’t look that.”

Merlin sighed, throwing her a stern look.  “Guinevere Thomason, if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times, even if it was many moons ago - I’m in disguise.”

Gwen looked like she would laugh, but then her face fell, and Merlin knew that it was his fault.

“Oh, Gwen…  I’m… I am sorry for what I did.  I was… upset.  But I shouldn’t have left you in the lurch like I did.”

“No, no.  It’s fine.  I never blamed you.  I’m glad to see you again.  And,”  she smiled, “it was very brave of you.”

“Really?”

She nodded, absentmindedly straightening out the creases in Merlin’s papers as she had done his homework in their college days, “Arthur’s a bully, and you stood up to him.”

“Yeah?”

Gwen hummed her agreement and Merlin smiled before he spotted Gaius over her shoulder.

“Apologies Gwen, but my number one fan’s approaching.  I’ll see you around?”

She grinned and left, as Merlin’s fan approached to yell at him to do his work, for god’s sake.

Dinner was an awkward affair that night.  

“I know you’re still mad at me.”

“Your mother asked me to look after you.”  Gaius was skilled in evading the point.

“I know,” Merlin sighed, “I know.”

“Remind me again what your mother said about your gifts.”

“That I was special.”

“And remind me again what I said about your gifts.”

“That she was right - magic should take incantations, spells, and yet I don’t.”  He looked at his plate as Gaius bade him continue,  “and that if I was going to work for Uther Pendragon I had to learn to keep it and me hidden.  Because he’d kill me,”  Merlin swallowed, “he’d kill me like he does everyone else, like he did…” his voice caught on a lump in her throat, “like he did... her.”

“Merlin…”  he sounded worried rather angry now, and Merlin wasn’t sure whether he preferred that.  He cleared his throat uncomfortably and picked up his fork.

“It’s fine.  I promise I’ll behave tomorrow, ok?  No more fighting with field agent, no matter how prattish they are.”

The huff of amusement was certainly better than grumpiness, though the eyebrow of doom was threatening an appearance.  Merlin returned hastily to his meal.

“How’s your knee walking coming along?”

Merlin scowled as Arthur Pendragon’s voice sounded behind him, pausing as he reached into the supplies cupboard for the eight boxes of staples demanded by his department (why they needed so many he didn’t know).  He took in a deep breath - Gaius would kill him for engaging - and began to walk away, chanting to himself: not worth it, Gaius will hurt you. Not worth it, Gaius will hurt you.  Not worth it, Gaius will-”

“Aw, don’t run away!”

Screw it.

“From you?”  he gifted the prat in the tailored, annoyingly well-fitted suit (wait, did he seriously just think that?) his most scornful glance.

“Thank god.  For a moment I thought you were deaf as well as dumb.”

“Look, I’ve told you that you’re an arse, I just didn’t realise that you were an arse thought of as important.”

Arthur scowled at him and a throat cleared behind him - apparently he was slightly more outnumbered and totally surrounded than he had previously realised.

“What are you going to do?”  He asked, ignoring a flutter of fear in his stomach, “hide behind your men?”

“I could take you apart in one blow,” Arthur laughed, his plump lips stretching into a mocking grin.

“I could take you apart in less than that.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Go on,” an agent said suddenly, “the training room is empty.  Fight!”

Merlin hesitated, wavering between death by Gaius or death by dishonor in front of Pendragon.  His decision was made as he spotted another technician roaming the halls.

“OI!  George!”  He handed the boxes to the man, murmuring that “under no circumstances can you tell Gaius what I’m doing.”

He pulled off his tattered brown jacket, tugged his red shirt straight, and indicated that Arthur should lead the way (he didn’t mention that he didn’t actually know where it was).

The room was large and unheated, with a wooden floor that started to leach the heat from his body in the tiny moment he was in contact with it - and that was only to place his carefully folded jacket out of the way!  Weapons piled high on shelves lined the white walls, covering the peeling paint well.  Merlin swallowed nervously when he missed the mace Arthur threw at him.

“Come on,”  he said, smirking as Merlin bent to fetch it.  “Though I must warn you, I’ve been trained to kill practically since birth.”

“Wow.  How long have you been training to be a prat then?”

Arthur hid an involuntary grin, “You can’t address me like that.”

“Sorry,” Merlin smirked, bowing low, “how long have you been training to be a prat, my lord?”

“Come on then, Merlin.  Come on!”  Swinging the mace round in a way Merlin couldn’t hope to replicate, Arthur backed him up towards a large pile of boxes; having never been graceful, Merlin tripped backwards and landed with a thump on the floor, failing to spot an angry looking Gaius raising an eyebrow through the window.

“You’re in trouble now!”

“Oh God,” Merlin choked out, looking around frantically for something to stop him receiving a macing.  He’d never been maced before, but the large spikes looked rather incredibly painful.  He spotted a way out and his eyes glinted with relief and something else.

Arthur stopped in his tracks, finding his mace caught on a hook.  He frowned at it before continuing on his advance, only to hit his shin on a box he was sure hadn’t been there previously.  “Ow!  Argh!”

Merlin smirked briefly, before gripping tight on a rope he definitely hadn’t… encouraged… to help him out.  With one sharp tug, Arthur was tripped and lay stunned on the floor.  He sprang to his feet, swinging his mace carefully (it would rather spoil the moment to hit himself with the damned thing).

“Do you yield?”

“To you?”

“Do you?” he demanded, taking a step forward, “do you want to give up?”

Arthur tried to stand but only succeeded in slipping backwards.  Merlin smiled in triumph; he’d done it, he’d taken Agent Pratdragon down a peg, he’d-

He’d done all of that with a large crowd and Gaius peering in.

“Oh shit.”

In his moment of fear for his life, Merlin was vulnerable, and Arthur wasn’t one to let him be.  A broom to the leg sent him tumbling and then the agents were swarming him, hooking under his arms and dragging him upwards.  He swallowed audibly.

“No, leave him.”

What?

“He may be an idiot,” Arthur continued, placing his mace on a rack, “but he’s a brave one.  There’s something about you, Merlin.”  Arthur moved closer, eyes narrowed in confusion, “I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

The agents left in their dramatic group (show-offs) leaving Merlin to his fate.

“If it helps,” he said to the fuming Gaius, his eyes still on Arthur’s retreating back, “he antagonised me, not the other way round.”  He risked a glance at his uncle’s face - the eyebrow of disapproval was alarmingly near to his hairline.  He sucked in a nervous breath; “...it doesn’t help, does it?”

“How could you be so foolish?”  Gaius yelled, marching through the corridors with a determined grip on Merlin’s (inconveniently large and thus easy to grab) ear.

“He needed to be taught a lesson!”  Merlin was tugged into the empty medical room, letting out a pained hiss.

“Magic should be learned, mastered, and used for good!  Not for idiotic pranks!”

“You’ve been saying that for years, but what is there to master?  I could move objects like that since before I could talk!”

“Then you should be able to control yourself by now!  I have warned you and warned you, yet you never listen!”

“I don’t want to!”  Merlin threw up his arms in frustration, turning away to hide his face.  “If I can’t use magic, what have I got?  I’m just a nobody, and I always will be.  If I can’t use magic, I might as well die.”

“Merlin, you know you’re not a nobody.”

“No,” he countered, “I know that Mr Kilgharrah insists that I’ve got some- some great purpose, but I can’t see it!”

Gaius sighed, “sit on the bed, Merlin, and lift up your shirt.”

Merlin complied sulkily, “I know you don’t believe Mr Kilgharrah - you don’t know why I was born like this, do you?”

“No.  I don’t know why you were born like this.  But it may be that you do have a destiny, though that’s not really my area.”

“I’m not a monster, am I?”

“Don’t ever think that.”  He rubbed a poultice on rapidly purpling bruises covering Merlin’s back.

“I just want to know why I’m like this.”

“Drink this,” Gaius handed him a tiny cup of foul-smelling liquid, “it’ll help with the pain.”

Going home, Merlin didn’t speak to his uncle.  He slung his bag through the front door, ignoring the small thump that was probably the corner of his already battered laptop, and made a beeline for the home facing their own.  He knocked three times on the peeling blue wood.

“Mr Kilgharrah?”

The door creaked open without reply and Merlin rolled his eyes - he was well used to Mr Kilgharrah’s dramatics - before entering.  He offered a small smile to the elderly man beaming at him, smothering a chuckle at the long striped scarf thrown haphazardly around his neck.

“Emrys!”  the man laughed delightedly, “I see you’ve finally taken the first steps towards your destiny!  And how small you seem for such a large one.”

“Well, I’ve not really, have I?  All I’ve done is start a new job and get my arse handed to me on a platter,” he groused, sitting heavily on the sagging sofa. “And why do you insist on Emrys?  It’s nothing like Merlin - doesn’t even start with ‘M’.”

“It’s more than a job, Emrys,” Mr Kilgharrah continued, a sly smirk flourishing as he used the nickname he’d insisted upon since the first time he’d telepathically summoned Merlin to his home, “I’ve told you that you were given your gifts for a reason, and this is it - Arthur Pendragon is destined to unite those with magic and those without.”

Merlin narrowed his eyes.  Of course, he was thrilled to finally be given the secret that Kilgharrah had kept so close to his chest, but it didn’t seem very… related to him in any way at all.  “Right.  What does that have to do with me?”

“Everything.”  Kilgharrah seemed to want to laugh at Merlin’s I was afraid of that sigh, “Arthur will face danger from friend and foe alike; without your help, he will never succeed.  Magic will never be accepted.”

“No, no way.”  Merlin stared in abject horror - not only did the fate of magic lie in the hands of Uther Pendragon’s son, but he had to help him!  “I’ve never said this before, but you’ve got this wrong.”

“There is no right or wrong, only what is and is not.”

Merlin rolled his eyes at the typical response, “there is wrong,” he decided, fiddling nervously with the edge of his shirt as he battled the part of his brain that whispered that something in Kilgharrah’s belief seemed… right, “and it’s this.  I’m serious - if anyone wants to kill the prat they can go ahead, and I might even help!”  

He valiantly ignored the chortle that suggested that Kilgharrah knew more than he, “none of us can choose our destinies, Emrys, and none can escape it.”

“No.  No way.  No way.  No.”  He kneaded his eyes with the heels of his palms, before sending Kilgharrah a desperate look.  “There must be another Arthur because this one’s an idiot.”

“Some things never change,” Mr Kilgharrah murmured fondly, so quiet that Merlin doubted that he had heard correctly.  “Perhaps it is your destiny to change all of that.  Now go, I can feel Gaius’ displeasure from here.”

Merlin frowned - he had never understood why his uncle and his neighbour hated each other so… perhaps one of them played their music too loud back in the day.  He snorted at the thought before looking back to Kilgharrah, “oh, come on.  I need to know more, surely!”

He was shoved out of the door as a harsh glow of gold illuminated Mr Kilgharrah’s eyes and lit up the edges of a small wrinkled tattoo ill-concealed by the cuff of his shirt - a dragon.

A few hours after distressing revelations at the hands of the Great Dragon (hey, if Merlin got a stupid nickname, then so did he), Merlin was stretched out on his bed, straining his eyes as he stared into the too-bright screen of his laptop, searching for the error in his code.  With a groan he shoved it aside, picking up his well-thumbed book of magic.  Gaius had gifted it to him when he first arrived in London and he’d read it from cover to cover several times, imagining the feeling of wielding such spells as were described yet never quite daring.  He flicked idly through it now, his mind wandering along unconnected paths mixed of destiny, the lumpiness of his mattress which could, thinking about it, simply be the corner of a book concealed beneath the duvet, and whether there was a spell to find errors in computer codes - he resolved to ask Gaius.  And speaking of…

“Oy!”

Merlin dropped the book and looked up at the irritated man stood at the threshold of his room, holding up a shirt abandoned and forgotten at least a day ago.

“Have you seen the state of this room?”

Merlin shrugged, following Gaius’ gaze as it trailed over clothes on the floor, papers in disarray in various positions about the room and the cups on his desk that he’d never been bothered to return.  He felt a small twinge of guilt at Gaius’ wince when he saw the disorganised pile of confidential files on sorcerers that shouldn’t have been removed from the office.  It faded fairly quickly when he was glared at.

“It just happens.”

“By magic?”

“Yeah!”

“Then you can clean it up without magic.”  He threw some clothes at Merlin, his near-perfect aim covering his nephew’s grimacing face with an unwashed shirt from two days previous.  “And when you’re done you can come down to dinner; I’d like to hear what cryptic nonsense Kilgharrah fed you today.”

Wasn’t that just brilliant?

                                                               *

Merlin watched himself approach Arthur with hand outstretched.  

Except, that wasn’t him.  And it certainly wasn’t Arthur.  At least, he didn’t think so… he’d never have put Arthur down as one for dressing up for a knight, and he wasn’t really one for wearing pyjamas out and about - were they pyjamas?  The top at least seemed far too thin to be a normal top.

The only thing that stayed the same was that they scuffled, fighting and sniping at each other even against the unfamiliar backdrop of a castle.

Camelot, Merlin’s mind supplied.  This was Camelot.

Arthur’s arrogance still shone out like the sun (as did his bright blue eyes) and Merlin still hated his guts, even whilst he was vaguely aware that this was a dream.

Was this a dream?  It all seemed so familiar…

He didn’t remember it in the morning.

                                                              *

Sleep deprived (though he wasn’t sure why) and grumpy, Merlin near jumped out of his skin when a coffee was placed on his desk.

“Morgana Pendragon.”  An outstretched hand was shoved into Merlin’s face in tandem with the introduction and he shook it gingerly, suddenly slightly afraid to touch the coffee fetched for him, lest it turn out to be caffeine based revenge on behalf of her brother by a pencil-skirt wearing, very much intimidating, dark-haired witch (witch?).  “I heard what you did to my brother,” she continued, taking a seat, “and I wanted to congratulate you.  There’s not many that can hold their own against him.”

“I- th-thanks?”

Morgana giggled at Merlin’s nerves, “no need to be frightened of me.  I’m not going to hurt you,”  she gave him an appraising look, taking in his loose tie, roughly shoved up cuffs and disheveled hair.  “In fact, you’re rather cute and clearly innocent, so I’m adopting you.”

“You are?”

“Yep.”  She smiled to herself, clearly pleased by her own charity.  “Expect coffee and hot chocolate at random intervals, and if my brother’s a dick I’ll sort him out.”

“Ok…”  Merlin didn’t dare argue with Morgana Pendragon, and at least she didn’t want to kill him (probably.  This could still be a complicated scheme to get him to let his guard down).  It seemed safer to accept the drinks and privately decide not to involve her in whatever rivalry he and Arthur had going, nor get himself involved in their sibling rivalry.

A day of hot chocolate deliveries passed quickly, and Merlin soon found himself packing up to leave.  He hadn’t encountered Arthur all day and had already begun to bond with Morgana who, whilst still intimidating, was less terrifying whilst alternating between laughing at jokes and complaining about the broken copier in her office (no one knew where it was to fix it).

He ambled through the corridors, knowing that Gaius had left early (“A privilege of old age, Merlin.”) and that his train wasn’t due for half an hour.  His eye caught on a flash of blond hair through a window and he paused to watch - Arthur and his agents were training, beating each other to the approval of Uther Pendragon, the head of the agency and (though they weren’t meant to mention it) the father of Arthur and adopted father of Morgana.  Despite being in no way interested in Arthur and his posse’s skill, Merlin halted and watched the display - and he didn’t in any way admire the clear talent Arthur had with his knives, nor the way he hit the bullseye with nearly every bullet, nor the way that, despite being a prat, he was clearly a good looking prat.

The exhibit ended after a few minutes and Merlin picked up the bags he’d placed down without noticing, ready to leave, when he saw a glinting blade in someone’s hand.  He wracked his brain for the name of the disobedient agent - Valiant, a brutish man with high kill rate and booming laugh reserved for when his subordinates suffered.

Why was he holding a knife?

No one else was looking at him, they were too busy sunning themselves in Uther’s praise.  So no one saw when Valiant raised his arm to aim at the back of Arthur’s head.

And no one saw the glint of gold flare in Merlin’s eyes as time slowed around him, allowing him free movement to drop his bags and charge in.  When time returned to its normal progression he was beside the rogue agent, slamming him to the floor with a push that sent Merlin tumbling, too.

But people did see the commotion, the curse of Valiant as his knife flew through the air into a wall far from Arthur’s head.  And they did see Merlin’s heaved breath of relief, and his vague motion to handcuffs before a large pair of hands was wrapped around his scrawny neck.

One well-aimed bullet and Valiant was no more, slumped to the floor as blood and greyish, pinkish tissue littered the surrounding area; Merlin was heartily glad that none got on him, else he was certain he would have vomited.  As it was, he shakily rose to his feet, rubbing at his bruised throat and swallowing down nausea.

“You saved my best man’s life,” Uther gaped.  “A debt must be repaid.”

“Oh, well…”

“Don’t be so modest, you shall be rewarded.”

“No, honestly, you don’t have to.”  (Why was he so eager to add ‘Sire’ or ‘Your Majesty’ or something similarly embarrassing to the end of that sentence?)

“No, absolutely.  This merits something quite special.”

“Well…”

“You will be given a promotion,” Uther paused dramatically, addressing the room as a king might his court.  “In addition to your current duties, you will be Agent Pendragon’s handler!”

The room burst into applause as Merlin stared, horrified.

“Fath- Sir!”  Arthur cried out, just as distressed.

The pair shared one scandalized glance before looking away again, united in this shared trauma.

He definitely wasn’t sulking in his room when Gaius came in, having received an email warning him that Merlin’s time would be taken up with Arthur’s missions.

“Seems you’re a hero then.”

“Hard to believe, isn’t it?  And I’ve been punished for it!”

Gaius laughed at the depressed warlock lying with his face crushed into his pillows.  “No, I can believe it.  You saved my life the first time we met, remember?  And you were only a child.”

Merlin smothered a smile at the memory (he was sulking damn it!  Wait, no, he wasn’t sulking).  “Not really a child.”

“No, not really.”  Gaius looked at the young man and thought of who he’d been way back when, the day he’d walked into Gaius’ home armed with only a backpack, college application, and a grin, before preventing him from breaking his neck on the stairs with his skills.  With his magic.  “But you’ve been looking for a purpose for your magic for a long time… perhaps Kilgharrah is right.  Perhaps this is it.”

“What?”

“I know you used magic to save Arthur’s life.”

Merlin looked up from the pillow with a grimace, looking for all the world like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.  “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologise.  This must be its purpose.”

Merlin sighed, sitting up and running a hand through already tousled hair, “my destiny.”

“Perhaps that’s rather dramatic,” Gaius chuckled, placing a comforting hand on Merlin’s shoulder, “but yes, your destiny.”

Merlin’s phone rang from the desk - he picked it up with a confused frown, before scowling as a flustered sounding helper squeaked down the phone, “Agent Pendragon wants you right away!”

“Well, Merlin,” Gaius smirked, “your destiny’s calling.  You better go see what he wants.”

Previous Chapter                      Master Post                       Next Chapter

[arielsojourner]

Part 11 of Luke and Vader Save the Galaxy. Previous parts found under the tag #fatherandsonsavethegalaxy or #lukeandvadersavethegalaxy on my tumblr page.  Since this has morphed from sharing crack head canons into some sort of story told in scene format (I may actual have to clean this up and post it somewhere, I haven’t written a fan fic in over 10 years), this won’t make much sense without the other parts but if you do want to read this out of order, all you need to really know is Luke and Vader travel back in time to the clone wars and rescue everyone.

-The Temple is on fire. Rex and his men have managed to hold back most of the attack, but there are gaps in the shield and the outer walls are collapsing and chip controlled trooper are getting in on the west side of the plaza.  General Windu is suddenly beside him, ordering him to take his weapon off stun, to meet the attack with lethal force and press forward, Windu leading the way. Rex refuses.

“I don’t think you heard me, Captain!” Windu yells over the sound of battle. “We are pressing the advance and getting the Guard away from the Temple. Weapons must go hot. Order the men to shoot to kill and follow behind me as I lead them away from the Temple,” Mace repeats himself.

“I heard you the first time, sir. The answer is no. Please retreat back into the Temple proper. This area is under GAR control.” Rex will not kill his brothers if he can help it, never again. “Boomer! Waxer and Boil report the west line has broken. Send two squads!”

Windu turns, incredulous and grabs the shoulder of a nearby trooper pushing back a Guard member. “Trooper! Shield down and weapons hot. We are pressing the attack!”

Jesse shoves back the chipped brother and yells over his shoulder “Go to hell, sir!” and process to use his shield and baton to knock his attacker to the ground and into unconsciousness.

“Sir, I must insist you retreat back into the Temple,” Rex demands. “You are interfering with our operations.” He knows he cannot force the General or stop him if he wants to attack the Guard, but he will not comply. Windu looks from clone trooper to clone trooper fighting back their brothers who are attacking with deadly intent. He shakes his head and ignites his saber, but backs away to the ruins of the outer wall. Any Guards who get past the line he cuts down and kills.

Behind Mace Windu, Jedi young and old stand just within the wall and Rex dies a little inside each time he sees one of his brothers fall to a saber blade. This is torture of the most acute kind. It is Krell all over again. He tries to get ahold of himself, to shake it off, but it is so hard. He yells to his brothers to hold the line because any trooper that they cannot stop through non lethal means will meet death inside the Temple at the hands of the Jedi Order.

-In the airspace above Coruscant, Ahsoka takes a page out of her master’s playbook. Their cruiser is failing and will soon be destroyed. Kickback and Oddball have done what they can with ion bombs and fighters but it has not been enough. She orders everyone to abandon ship and get to Master Plo’s cruiser and she will maneuver her ship into place like a physical shield blocking any further orbital bombing of the Temple. She looks up and Commander Cody is still beside her on the bridge. She orders him again to leave, and he refuses. If she stays, he stays. She smiles at him through the smoke filling the bridge and together they turn the ship to protect the surface below.

-At the Senatorial Apartments, Padme has the babies tied in a sling to her chest, and is crouched down inside the ‘fresher tub, blasters in each hand.  Artoo and Threepio are pressed against the closed ‘fresher door, blocking it with their metal bodies being as much as a barrier as they can. She can hear Anakin and Obi-Wan and the clones fighting, she can hear her husband screaming. The babies are whimpering and she speaks to them softly as the room shakes and plaster from the ceiling rains down. “Shh, shh, little ones. Mommy’s here, Mommy’s here. Daddy will protect us, Daddy is fighting for us. Obi-Wan is helping. The clones are helping. Shh, don’t cry, don’t cry. We’ll be all right.”

-Anakin and Obi-Wan fight shoulder to shoulder using the Force and maiming cuts whenever possible as the Coruscant Clone Guard attempts to destroy the apartment complex, kill Padme and take the babies. Brothers fight brothers, and Senatorial guards, and assassin droids that attempt to enter through the elevator and stair wells, the ruined balcony, and even scaling up the building or down from the roof.

The holoscreen is still on, though it has crashed to the floor, but Anakin has heard enough even over the sound of battle to know it was Palpatine. Palpatine, his mentor and friend, the man he thought he could trust with his life, who made him believe that all the fighting, sacrifice, and bloodshed was worth it, has betrayed them all. This is the man who has made a mockery of all the death and suffering of the past three years, who has sent men and droids to kill his wife and take his children. Anakin has given his all, has committed totally to the war, to the safety of the Republic, to protecting the people and it means nothing, nothing! It was all worthless. The knowledge feels like a vibroblade to the chest. His whole world seems to be crumbling around him. Nothing makes sense, it is like he is in free fall, the Force feels so far away and fury threats to take over and have him slaughter everyone, everyone who dares attack his family.

It is only Obi-Wan’s presence at his side that gives him the strength to hang on to sanity by his fingernails when all he wants to do is let the red curtain of rage fall over his eyes and hurt everyone else for hurting him and his loved ones. Obi-Wan keeps up a stead stream of talking and sometimes shouting over the sound of blaster  fire, and whoever it is who keeps screaming, (someone keeps screaming, screaming in Basic and Hutteese) telling Anakin that he can’t wait to spend time with the children, how he hopes they are holy terrors and give Anakin at least the same amount of grief he gave Obi-Wan growing up, how strong in the Force they are, how Anakin couldn’t have picked a more lovely woman to be his wife than Padme, how Obi-Wan could not be prouder of him as a man, as a friend, as a Jedi, as a teacher, as a warrior, how Obi-Wan loves him like a brother, how he has to stand firm, don’t choke them, Anakin please, try and remember, the children and Padme need you, I’m here, dear one, I’m right here, hold on, Anakin, Force please, just hold on!

-For Luke, this fall is almost as painful as the fall from the gangway in Cloud City. The Sith Master clawing at him, lighting coursing out of his fingertips. The pain is agonizing, he can barely reach for the Force to slow their descent. He feels his father’s Force grip yank him free from Palpatine’s grasp and then his father’s arms are around him, holding him tight as they hit the ground. Somehow, Luke still has his lightsaber and he wastes no time staggering to his feet, pushing past the pain and igniting the blade just in time to block another lightning attack. Vader circles around the Sith Master, trying to pen him in between the two of them. Hardcase and Fives rush to join them and they circle the Sith, waiting for an opening.

The Force sends a warning nearly a second too late and Hardcase turns to block blaster fire from Senatorial Guards in sniper position. He blocks most but one catches him in the leg and another in the shoulder. Fives rushes to defend him and Sidious steals a saber and slashes Fives in the back. Luke prevents the killing blow and Vader hammers Palpatine back with punishing strokes.  Luke begins to drag the men out of the line of fire and there is Chatterbox leaping down to join them, pulling his brothers aside and blocking further blaster fire, ricocheting the bolts back to the attackers. Luke throws himself back into the fight.

--Slice and his team have been having a grand time the past months, robbing the Trade Federation and the Banking Clan and all the corporate guilds blind, hacking the code of the inhibitor chips, and using backdoor codes to shut the Seperatists down.  But now he, Gin, Wires, Mal, and Uni have to slice the entire Holonet galaxy wide and the Senatorial security feed and the Supreme Chancellor’s computer and back ups and they have to do it now before brother kills brother all over the galaxy and the Jedi are massacred and the friends all die fighting the Sith Master.

No pressure.

“Do we have the code to shut off the kill order or not?” Gin yells.

“There is too much, he has files buried within files,” Mal spits. “The worm is having trouble locating it.”

“We are running out of time!”

“There!” Uni says. “Patch me in to all comms via the satellites.”

“You mean the ones Kickback hasn’t blown up!” Mal complains.

“We have to switch the holo feed. We have eyes on them in the Senate Plaza,” Wires orders. “Slice?”

“Got it. Uni, broadcast the signal!”

-All GAR communicators spit out an incomprehensible screech of noise. At the Temple, the clones chipped and free stagger and some rip off their helmets from the pain, but when the noise ceases the attacking clones stop and stagger and drop their guns. Some vomit. Some look ready to turn their weapons on themselves. Others rush to help brothers that just a moment before they were trying to kill. The call for medics fill the air. The Jedi guarding the Temple stand down. Rex yanks off his bucket and sucks in great noisy breaths of air. He looks out into the dusk and falling night towards the Senate District where weapons fire continues. He calls for Jesse and a few others to get a transport here now.

-The turbolasers fall silent and Ahsoka staggers across the listing deck to helm control. She has spent enough time flying and crashing with her Master that she is sure she can land what is left of the ship on Coruscant. Cody hurries to strap himself in. “Are you sure you know what you are doing, Commander?” he asks as she takes the controls.

“I’ve seen Master Skywalker do this at least a dozen times,” She tells him as they begin their descent (begin to fall really, but Anakin always said attitude was important when flying, so descent it was).  

Cody shakes his head and braces himself. “That doesn���t fill me with a lot of comfort, sir.”

-When the chipped clone troopers fall and stop fighting and the last of the Senatorial Guard are dispatched, Obi-Wan puts away his weapon and grabs Anakin. Anakin, who is smashing an already destroyed assassin droid to bits, screaming obscenities. Obi-Wan pulls Anakin’s saber from his grasp and pins his apprentice’s arms to his side and yanks them both backward, holding his Padawan and trying desperately to reach his dearest friend with his words, with the Force, with his physical presence. Anakin finally stops struggling only to collapse on the floor, dragging Obi-Wan with him. He shakes violently and then as if some invisible hand is ripping into him, Anakin sobs, deep wretched cries. Kix moves to help, but Obi-Wan directs him with a shake of his head to see to the fallen troopers. Echo yanks off his helmet and takes one terrified look at his broken General and rushes to get Padme and the babies. 

Obi-Wan holds onto Anakin as tightly as he can, whispering soothing nonsense in his ear, hoping that this will be enough. The holoscreen flickers and security footage from the Senate Plaza now fills the screen and the sound of lighting strikes, screams, and lightsabers crashing blasts from the speakers.

-Luke and his father have never practiced fighting together but that doesn’t seem to matter, they move in tandem. He goes low and manages a hit to Palpatine’s leg and Vader moves in for the kill only for Force lighting to arc through him at close range. Vader drops his saber, his prosthetics shorting and sparking and Palpatine slashes out. Vader roars in pain and Luke uses the Force to shove his father clear so the blow maims, but does not kill. Luke blocks and parries, and finds his opening, slicing off Sidious’ hand. Maddened by pain, the Sith throws out great arcs of lightening, striking furiously around the Plaza. Luke goes down with a cry as his flesh begins to cook from the inside out.  In the distance over his own cries of agony he can hear Sidious gleefully cackling about power. It seems so far away and Luke can feel himself slipping away.

Palpatine’s sadistic joy seems to fill the air as much as the scent of ozone and burning. He is so engrossed in murdering the Jedi that he misses the dark shape of Vader looming out of the evening dusk behind him. Vader impales Sidious with one vicious stroke and then both he and the would-be-Emperor fall.

Luke finds the strength to look up only to be blinded by the explosion of Dark pouring out of the Sith’s body as he dies.

[hallofmybeginnings]

First Lines

Tagged by the utterly talented @awritersrejections​ (I demand to know why I wasn’t immediately informed you were working on a new Hannigram fan fic! xoxoxo)

I’m not sure I have enough to do this... but let’s give it a whirl. I think I did first paragraphs? Well. Let’s proceed.

* * *

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (or however many you have altogether). See if there are any patterns. Then tag 10 of your favorite authors. Bonus: if you mostly do academic/non-narrative writing, then feel free to include the first lines of essays/articles if you want! :D

Patterns: Uh........ I think we can all agree I have a problem (or rather my pattern is) with description, scenery, starting off with a place rather than a person.

1. Transcendent Suffering

Will leaned back into sinking leather of a chair, limbs stretching out awkwardly, staring absently at a faint grease stain on his jeans. The sound of Hannibal’s voice swam around him, even, smooth, filling the darkest corners of his mind with a light heat.

2. Echoes Beneath

If one were to ask the religiously devote what they might see upon their death, it is a near certainty they would all give the same mundane response. (What else can be expected of chatty lambs after all?) A bright light. Or even the absurd notion of heaven epitomized by pearly gates. They may say winged beings of the angelic or hellfire of beasts. A stranger notion of morality still to hold promise or threat to coerce human beings to pretend they are not what they say. Though God must have his amusements. But you and I can agree, there are far more terrifying monsters here with us on Earth than there will ever be in fantasy. 

3. TS: The Last Time You Said You Had Something to Show Me

“H-hannibal…” White knuckles clenched tighter to a wheel. “Y-you’re going to fucking nnn—“ Arms locked into position in a rattle of chains, shaking as dust trailed behind in the rearview mirror. “—fuck, fuck! Hannibal!” A dress shoe stomped down an accelerator, low moan drowned out by a grinding engine. “For god sake, you’re going to get us fucking killed!”

4. The Red Sweater

Trudging up the long flights of stairs, Nigel continued to curse under his breath and thought about all the things he wanted to do when he managed to reach their summit. The first was to write management a scrawling note about why a brownstone in a neighborhood as filthy rich as this had yet to install a goddamn elevator. The second was to collapse. He had already decided about one flight ago if he couldn’t find his keys, he was going to just curl up on the welcome mat decorated in constellations outside the front door and pass out until Adam came home from the office. It wouldn’t be the first time he had come home from work and made himself into a human piece of furniture to decorate the hallway. He figured the dark circles under his eyes and battered knuckles healing on his right hand would put off most. If that didn't work, the proverbial sign that read fuck off stamped on his forehead would give people enough pause to even think of trying to approach, let alone wake him. Some of the best sleep he had gotten was in stairwells and on stoops.

5. Brief Interactions with Strangers

Wisps of cotton clouds floated idly across a bright blue sky, carried on a light warm afternoon breeze. Light filtered over almond colored awnings striped with chocolate lines, rustling gently in the wind. Grey blue shimmering pools of water gazed back, mirrored behind white lettering stamped on a glass window: Savoy. Sebastian pushed unruly wisps of hair from his face, combing it back with long stroking fingers. Two figures rounded a corner, approaching with steady, even strides, in a swirl of color and small shapes in its glass reflection.

6. Witness to Your Destruction (W.I.P.)

“Come on, Q, you have to give me something…” Terse mumbling grit against a starched white collar.

There was no arguing the view was impeccable. Hundreds of feet up, the city below was a landscape of shadow cast in a glow of azure blue and orange flame. Black mountain ranges rose up from the horizon. James imagined he would be able to take in the entirety of its splendor if he was not dangling from the side of a telecom tower. The still quiet would have been tranquil if someone wasn’t shooting at him. He might have even found inner peace. If his left hand wasn’t slipping as he rummaged through pockets of a tuxedo jacket for any kind of weapon that infuriating mop of curls and glasses had droned on about returning in one piece. Two gunshots pinged off a tower near his head. He didn’t specify the agent had to return in one piece. Just the equipment.

Static buzzed and then chirped inquisitively. “Do you often talk to me out loud when I’m not around, 007?”

* * *

On to things I haven’t looked at in a hellishly long time. :cough: YEARS. :cough: Also known some stuff I started at one point in college and pre-college days?

7. Bloodlines: Dark Ascension (novella)

PERIL LURKED in glittering eyes with thorough and calculated sweeps, scanning the shadows along a darkening horizon. Sabin lifted a goblet to his lips, savoring the bitter liquor slipping down his throat before it began to burn deep inside. He banished a dark smile tugging at the corners of his mouth without hesitation. Victory was nearly at hand. Battlefields of blood and bitter tears of his brothers had long waited this night, carefully plotting the perfect revenge.

8. Unholy Words

STUMBLING through blinding cold, heavy boots pounded against slick stones that drowned out heavy breathing. The young woman glanced fearfully over her shoulder, once, then twice. Yelling and pounding against the ground reached her ears, the sounds nearing closer. Clutching her throbbing side, she tried to fight against the numbing cold sweeping through her shredded blouse and silk skirt. She blinked fiercely, forcing stinging snow from her unseeing eyes and focused on steady breathing to keep her moving.

9. Untitled

A sharp breath inhaled centuries of collecting dust and wilted red roses. An intoxicating scent created with the passing of years wafting in the air on the eve of every awakening. It was a lingering familiarity of when time held sweet simplicity and warmth. Eyes fluttered open to find the surrounding darkness, a constant companion of desolation and eternal solitude. Raging hunger ripped through the partially conscious mind before dragging it from slumber and throwing it into a cold need refusing to be ignored. Sluggishly, a dark shadow wrestled from comfort and placed searching palms against cool marble stone with a heavy sigh.

10. Untitled

Dante glanced up from his cards, dark eyes smoldering with irritation, a fine brow arched questioningly at the other man. He reached absently behind him as a glass of wine was handed over, soft giggling interrupting the silence. Glancing back, his eyes traveled up a sky blue satin gown to a small waist then lingered on breasts swelling above a tight corset trimmed with matching lace and ribbon.

11. Untitled

buried beneath concrete

heart beats rise

from cracks in sidewalks

to caress lonesome souls

who dream of falling

but never do.

12. Untitled: Creative Writing Course Biography Exercise

“What do you mean this isn’t chicken?”

The Chinese lovers exchanged a curious glance in a silent reply to my question, eyes shining with secretive smiles. Zhu handed the stick, now picked clean of its meat, to her boyfriend Zhang, who immediately replaced it with another saucy piece. Around us the cars honked loudly, speeding down the alleys and adjacent streets, threatening to hit any pedestrian who dare step in their path.  My two friends looked at each other again as I watched them, continuing to chew curiously.

Pursing my lips, I stared at the meat from an angle, head titled in consideration. Tasted like chicken to me. Zhu smiled at me brightly as I took another big bite. She patted my head fondly, and began to say, “Well, it’s actually…”

(It was snake. Not to leave you on a cliff hanger. And it was delicious.)

.......................

That’s it. That’s all I’ve got, guys. I’m sure there’s more on this dinosaur of a computer somewhere? Now to tag these two beautiful and majestic writers: @hannigrammatic and @slashyrogue

[marcusssanderson]

Bob Marley Quotes Celebrating Love, Peace & Life

Looking for inspirational Bob Marley quotes that will uplift your mind and spirit?

Bob Marley’s words and music will live on for ages!

Bob’s music was full of meaningful lyrics that encouraged us all to find a higher purpose for our life.

Marley commonly denounced an addiction to chasing money and accumulating material things.

He thought there was much more to life than Western consumerism. And that, he believed was revolutionary.

Born Robert Nesta Marley in the parish of St. Ann, Jamaica, on Feb. 6, 1945, the legendary reggae musician was known for incorporating ideas of financial empowerment, happiness, and social justice into his music.

He considered these ideas to be his truth, and saw it as his job to speak on such topics.

He never steered away from saying something controversial. His music both healed and powerfully called attention to social change and oppression.

Bob was also a proud Rasta and was very religious.

He was much more than a leader of a band; he was a public figure who used his voice to stand for something much greater than himself.

Bob Marley will always be remembered for his politically conscious music that transcended race, age, and economics.

In honor of his legacy and global impact, here are some motivational and inspirational Bob Marley quotes and Bob Marley sayings, collected from a variety of sources.

Robert Nesta Marley

6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981

Bob Marley Quotes On Life That Will Inspire You

1.) “Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don’t complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don’t bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live!”  – Bob Marley

2.) “Live for yourself and you will live in vain; Live for others, and you will live again.” – Bob Marley

3.) “Tell the children the truth.” – Bob Marley

4.) “The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for.” – Bob Marley

5.) “The people who were trying to make this world worse are not taking the day off. Why should I?”  – Bob Marley

Bob Marley quotes on God (Jah) and Love

6.) “The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.” – Bob Marley

7.) “Beginnings are usually scary, and endings are usually sad, but its everything in between that makes it all worth living.” – Bob Marley

8.) “Just because you are happy it does not mean that the day is perfect but that you have looked beyond its imperfections.” – Bob Marley

9.) “You say you love rain, but you use an umbrella to walk under it. You say you love sun, but you seek shelter when it is shining. You say you love wind, but when it comes you close your windows. So that’s why I’m scared when you say you love me.”  – Bob Marley

10.) “She may not be the most popular or prettiest, but if you love her and she makes you smile, what else matters?” – Bob Marley

Bob Marley quotes on relationships

11.) “He’s not perfect. You aren’t either, and the two of you will never be perfect. But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold onto him and give him the most you can. – Bob Marley

12.) He isn’t going to quote poetry, he’s not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break. Don’t hurt him, don’t change him, and don’t expect for more than he can give. – Bob Marley

13.) Don’t analyze. Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad, and miss him when he’s not there. Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don’t exist, but there’s always one guy that is perfect for you.” – Bob Marley

14.) “And no matter what game they play We got something they can never take away” ― Bob Marley

More quotes by Bob Marley to inspire you

15.) “Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more.

You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. – Bob Marley

16.) When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself.

Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. – Bob Marley

17.) There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever.

Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. – Bob Marley

18.) A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby.

Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. – Bob Marley

More Inspirational Rasta Quotes and Sayings

19.) You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon.

You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible.

You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you.

20.) You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.”  – Bob Marley

21.) “If she’s amazing, she won’t be easy. If she’s easy, she won’t be amazing. If she’s worth it, you won’t give up. If you give up, you’re not worthy. … Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for.” – Bob Marley

Bob Marley quotes on money

22.) “Money is numbers and numbers never end. If it takes money to be happy, your search for happiness will never end.” ― Bob Marley

Bob Marley quotes on wisdom

23.) Old pirates, yes, they rob I; Sold I to the merchant ships, Minutes after they took I From the bottomless pit. But my hand was made strong By the ‘and of the Almighty. We forward in this generation Triumphantly.

Won’t you help to sing These songs of freedom? ‘Cause all I ever have: Redemption songs; Redemption songs.

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; None but ourselves can free our minds. Have no fear for atomic energy, ‘Cause none of them can stop the time. How long shall they kill our prophets, While we stand aside and look? Ooh! Some say it’s just a part of it: We’ve got to fulfill the book. – Bob Marley

More Rastafarian quotes about love and life

24.) “The day you stop racing, is the day you win the race.”  – Bob Marley

 Best Bob Marley quotes from his songs

25.) “Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don’t complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy.

Don’t bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake up and live!” – Bob Marley,

26.) “You can fool some people sometimes/but you can’t fool all the people all the time” – Bob Marley, Get Up Stand Up

27.) “One good thing about music—when it hits you, you feel no pain” – Bob Marley, Trench Town Rock

28.) “In the abundance of water, a fool is thirsty” – Bob Marley, Rat Race

29.) “Don’t worry about a thing ’cause every little thing gonna be alright”– Bob Marley “Three Little Birds”

30.) “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, no one but ourselves can free our minds” – Bob Marley, Redemption Song

31.) “One love, one heart. Let’s get together and feel all right” – Bob Marley

Bob Marley quotes about love and relationships

32.) “The biggest coward is a man who awakens a woman’s love with no intention of loving her” – Bob Marley

33.) “Overcome the devils with a thing called love.” – Bob Marley

34.) “The winds that sometimes take something we love, are the same that bring us something we learn to love. Therefore we should not cry about something that was taken from us, but, yes, love what we have been given. Because what is really ours is never gone forever.” ― Bob Marley

35.) “Love would never leave us alone” ― Bob Marley

36.) “If you can love the wrong person that much, imagine how much you can love the right one.” ― Bob Marley

37.) “What important is man should live in righteousness, in natural love for mankind.” ― Bob Marley

38.) “Some will hate you pretend they love you now then behind they try to eliminate you.” ― Bob Marley

Uplifting Bob Marley quotes

39.) “Love the life you live. live the life you love.” – Bob Marley

40.) “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have” – Bob Marley

41.) “Don’t gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better than silver or gold” – Bob Marley

42.) “The good times of today are the sad thoughts of tomorrow.” – Bob Marley

43.) “Better to die fighting for freedom than be a prisoner all the days of your life” – Bob Marley

44.) “Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.” – Bob Marley

45.) “Though the road’s been rocky, it sure feels good to me.” – Bob Marley

46.) “Every man got the right to decide his own destiny.”  – Bob Marley

47.) “When the root is strong, the fruit is sweet.”  – Bob Marley

48.) “Truth is the light, so you never give up the fight.”  – Bob Marley

49.) “When one door is closed, don’t you know that many more are open?”  – Bob Marley

50.) “As a man sow, shall he reap. and I know that talk is cheap. But the heat of the battle is as sweet as the victory.” – Bob Marley

Great Bob Marley quotes that will change your life

51.) “When one door is closed, don’t you know, another is open.” – Bob Marley

52.) “Prejudice is a chain, it can hold you. If you prejudice, you can’t move, you keep prejudice for years. Never get nowhere with that.” – Bob Marley

53.) “Don’t trust people whose feelings change with time. Trust people whose feelings remain the same, even when the time changes.”  – Bob Marley

54.) “Conquer the devils with a little thing called love.”  – Bob Marley

55.) “If you get down and quarrel everyday, you’re saying prayers to the devil, I say.”  – Bob Marley

56.) “The biggest coward of a man is to awaken the love of a woman without the intention of loving her.” – Bob Marley

57.) “I will never regret you or say I wish I’d never met you, because