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silverwings22 · 2 months

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Song of the Sea: Chapter 31: Homeless

Chapter warning: complicated feelings, being 'othered', near drowning Series Warning: explicit smut, alien anatomy (it's a monsterfucker fic, guys), major character injury, grief, canon typical violence, autistic meltdowns, and my terrible attempts at Mando'a

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“You look upset, Baby Mega.” Shiani was sitting on the floor in Omega's room, hairbrush in hand, combing out the tangles of the blonde fluff in front of her. She liked doing little sisterly things with Omega, especially lately when she seemed so out of sorts. She’d been heartbroken since Echo had left, and when the tears stopped there had been a brow-furrowed defiance on her face even Shiani couldn’t quite seem to break through. Shiani chalked it up to Omega starting to grow up, an innocent and naive child morphing into a teenager.

“... Everything is different now, with Echo gone.” Omega said quietly. “We’re a squad, we’re supposed to be together. I wish Hunter hadn’t let him go.”

“Oh, Baby Mega. Come here.” Shiani set the brush down and pulled the girl into her arms with her tentacles. “It’s more complicated than that. Hunter had to let Echo choose.”

“But why would he want to go? Doesn’t he care about us?” Omega stayed hunched over, unhappy and waspish as she’d been for days despite the purple hug she was wrapped up in. She didn’t push Shiani away though, which was progress.

“Of course he cares.” Shiani snuggled her. “But he cares about the other clones too. And they need a Chainbreaker right now, like him.”

“We need him too.” Omega said sullenly.

“We want him. Need is different.” Shiani hooked her chin over Omega’s shoulder. “The Bad Batch has each other. I got you, you got me, we got your brothers, and they got us. Clones trapped in the Empire don’t have anyone, unless Echo and Rex fight for them.”

Omega sighed and snuggled back finally, into the siren’s arms. “You’re starting to sound like Hunter.”

“Hunter loves you like you were his own daughter.” Shiani smiled. “For me, you are a baby sister. We have fun. We get in trouble together. But it’s still my job as big sister to help you learn and keep you safe. They’ll be your alibi, I’ll be your accomplice.”

Omega sighed. “I appreciate it, Shiani… Sorry I’ve been kinda grumpy lately.”

“You have a hard time with change. You’re not the only one.” Shiani rubbed her face across the girl’s hair like a tooka.

“What are you talking about? The guys act like nothing happened when Echo left, especially Tech.” Omega huffed, crossing her arms. “Does he even have feelings? He doesn't even act like he’s in love with you!”

“Grumpy Mega is back.” Shiani observed out loud, resting her hands on Omega’s shoulders and squeezing lightly. “Maybe, if you take the time to understand your brothers instead of being frustrated that you don’t, you will see.”

Omega gave her another unhappy look, but the furrows in her brow softened. “How come you don’t get mad at them?”

Shiani thought back to the Senate, and Chuchi’s whisper for her to control her temper lest it be taken poorly. She’d thought about those words for weeks now, waking up in a cold sweat as it dawned on her what the kind Senator had been warning her about.

Don’t scare them, or you’ll lose all credibility. They’ll think you’re a monster, and call for your death like an animal. You and every siren on Kamino.

“I... don’t have the luxury of getting angry, Baby Mega.” She said softly. “Not the way other species do… and especially not with people I care about.”

Omega looked back at her. “What do you mean?”

“People don’t know sirens. Not like they do other races… they know not to let Wookiee and Trandoshan in the same room, or expect Togruta to eat vegetables.” She ran her fingers through Omega’s hair gently, careful with her claws. Humans were inherently soft, breakable to her strength, and a child was even softer. “They don’t know what to expect with me. If I hiss or show teeth, they get scared. If you know about other races, you can say Commander Venomor and Cid aren’t the same even though they’re both Trandoshans. Or that Hunter and Rampart are different even though they’re both humans.”

Omega nodded, putting her hands on Shiani’s tentacles draped around her waist. “So because you’re the only siren off of Kamino, people think every siren is like you.”

Shiani nodded. “And unknown things scare people. Siren anger looks like a monster to them when they don’t know who we are.”

“But isn’t anger a part of sentient nature? Especially when you have a reason to be angry.” Omega leaned back against Shiani’s chest.

“Yes, until they don’t consider you sentient. When you’re just another vicious lurca they have to put down, the reason for your anger doesn’t matter anymore.” Shiani opened her palms in front of Omega, letting the young girl put her own hands over them and examine the difference between the little brown hands and lethal purple ones. “Only two people in the whole galaxy have never, at least for a little while, considered me a threat. You and Tech.”

“Really?” Omega frowned.

Shiani nodded. “Wrecker got over it first. Echo once reached for a blaster when I raised my voice. Hunter wouldn’t take his eyes off me until after Salucemi, when he started to trust me. The Senate was the same, I had to be so careful not to look angry. I hid my tentacles so they couldn’t see the rings, just so they didn’t think my people were threatening… it was so hard to keep my mouth closed.”

“Does it make you mad?” Omega asked, her own frustration soothed in the cuddle and honesty between them. She never worried about Shiani lying to her, or even sugar coating things too much. Her brothers wanted to protect her, Shiani wanted to share whatever experience it was. Good or bad, the siren had her back.

“A little. Strangers are one thing, but I hate feeling scared of the family’s reaction… but it means I watch carefully. I learn their hearts. It’s easier not to get angry if you understand why they do things.”

Omega huffed. “I thought you were full of feelings.”

“I am. Not all feelings are helpful. Real, yes, but not helpful.”

When the siren faceplanted into her hair and started rubbing her face all over Omega’s head, the girl couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Okay, okay. I’ll… try to understand. But it seems like they don’t care that Echo’s gone and everything is different.”

“Different happens, Baby Mega. Life on the Marauder is very different than Kamino, right?”

“Yeah…” Omega flopped, going limp, and Shiani picked her up in a cradle of tentacles and turned her upside down. “So where are we going anyway? They picked up the mission this morning while I was still sleeping.”

“An ipsium mine.” Shiani explained, continuing to rotate Omega like a puzzle cube. “Tech gave me a debrief. Cid bought a mine, and ipsium is valuable. Well, refined ipsium is. Raw ipsium explodes.”

“So why are we going?”

“To get the ipsium out of the mine. Tech has a little contraption to extract it and keep it safe. As long as we don’t drop the canister or use the drill wrong, we should be fine.”

“Is it a big explosion?” Omega frowned as Shiani finally set her down, oddly relaxed after all the turning. Shiani filed that tidbit away in case she needed to do it again… it had always worked on her and her brother when they were young, and their father would simply lift and rotate them while he did official duties.

“Like a thermal, Tech says. I’d rather not find out what that feels like. Come on, get your gear bag. I gotta get my armor.”

Omega sighed and nodded, trying to keep the short temper she felt brewing in check. Shiani had said to try to understand her brothers, but that seemed so difficult when they kept their emotions in check so tightly.

Once the ship had landed, she followed her brothers and Shiani out. It was arid and hot, with only patches of scrubby grass to denote the entire planet wasn’t, in fact, as dry as Tattooine. “This was the only suitable landing zone.” Tech explained as they made their way down the stepped plateaus to the coordinates of the mine. “It will put the ship slightly out of direct line of sight.”

Shiani sighed, shaking her head. “Can’t be helped.”

It didn’t take them long to find the mining tunnel door, and Tech and Shiani got to work getting it open while Hunter looked out into the horizon. There was a gathering storm in the distance he didn’t like the look of, but it appeared to be moving away from them. “Wrecker. You and Omega keep lookout. We’ll need Shiani.”

“We will need Wrecker in the mines as well. With Echo missing, we are a man down.” Tech glanced at Omega, who crossed her arms at the mention of Echo.

“I can keep watch.” She said almost sullenly, and Shiani resisted the urge to remind her of their conversation on the ship. Scolding a kid who was already unhappy wasn’t going to help, and Omega had to learn to navigate the galaxy’s many personalities on her own. One day, the Batch and Shiani might not be there to guide her.

“Not by yourself.” Hunter shook his head. “Cid warned us about poachers. Keep an eye out and comm us if you see anything or anyone suspicious.”

Omega nodded, though she didn’t brighten up like she usually did when given a task. Shiani followed Tech into the cave, Hunter behind her, and fiddled with her claws her husband started scanning for ipsium.

“She talks to you more than anyone. She okay?” Hunter asked softly.

“She misses Echo.” Shiani sighed. “Change is hard.”

“Soldiers must be adaptable to change.” Tech shook his head, looking up from his datapad.

“Tech, she’s not a soldier. And even you hate change.” Shiani frowned.

“That does not mean I am not adaptable.” He raised an eyebrow at her.

Hunter just shook his head and glanced back towards the mine entrance. “Hopefully she’ll adjust soon… I worry about her.”

“You’re her dad.” Shiani nodded. “You’re supposed to.”

Tech looked up again. “Hunter is not her father. He is her brother, as we all are. She is, technically, older than we are.”

Shiani gestured at Hunter, whose helmet was cocked curiously as he listened to the deranged conversation. Sometimes listening to Tech’s aggressively logical view of the world when it collided with Shiani’s emotions was more entertaining than any holodrama. “But he’s so… father figure.”

Hunter bit back a snicker as Tech just shook his head. “Let us focus on the task at hand, cyar’ika. I am detecting very little ipsium here. It would appear that Cid was scammed into purchasing a depleted mine.”

“Let’s just get what we can.” Hunter sighed. The sooner they got out of here, the sooner he could figure out what to do with Omega. She had been the glue holding them together after losing Crosshair. Now, with her so upset over Echo, the rest of the squad was feeling the cracks. Wrecker and Tech were bickering constantly, and even Hunter found himself snapping at them more than he cared to admit. Shiani was the only one who wasn’t more annoyed than usual… or at least she didn’t act like it. Sometimes he saw her eyes narrow, and she’d rub the sides of her mouth like she was trying to loosen the muscles that pulled it open in anger.

Tech nodded, lightly patting Shiani’s shoulder and pointing as he handed her the precision drill. “Can you get up there, cyare? That glowing yellow substance is the mineral deposit.

She nodded and climbed up, getting the first vial of ipsium. “There’s more inside the little cave here, but my shoulders don’t fit.” She called down.

“I will comm Omega for assistance.” Tech said, but Hunter stopped his arm.

“I’ll comm her. You’ve been pissing her off for days.” The sergeant shook his head and hit his own comm. “Omega, can you come here? We need your help.”

Shiani adjusted the way she was dangling from the side of the rock wall, hanging upside down to look at the two brothers and Omega when she arrived. “Up here, Baby Mega. I’ll show you where.”

Omega held up a hand and Shiani pulled her up to the top of the ledge, pointing out where the ipsium was. Below them, Tech adjusted his goggles. “You must be extremely cautious when drilling into the fossilized quartz around the ipsium. The slightest friction could cause the mineral to become unstable.”

“I know.” Omega grumbled, taking the precision drill from Shiani and getting to work. Shiani sat by her with the empty containment rods, passing them to her once she’d gotten through the quartz. Once the rods were full, Shiani carefully passed them down for Tech to store in his canister.

Shiani watched Omega’s face, scrutinizing her grumpy nose scrunch and hard eyes. It was the same face Tech made when he was annoyed. Once all the ipsium was locked away, she gently patted Omega’s arm. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Omega nodded, looking lost in thought, as Shiani offered her a hand and they climbed down together. It occurred to the siren that Baby Mega wasn’t going to be a baby much longer at the rate she was going.

They walked out of the dark mine as a group, finding Wrecker looking out into the distance. “Good think you guys finished up when you did. I don’t like the look of that storm.”

Hunter nodded. “Neither do I.”

“The weather is highly irregular on this planet, but we should get back to the ship quickly. We cannot be caught in a lightning storm with something as volatile as ipsium.”

Shiani looked over at him thoughtfully. “Let’s go then.” She could talk to him in the cockpit about trying to smooth things over with Omega. She didn’t like that his own sister thought he didn’t care about things. Of course Tech cared, he just… looked at the galaxy a little differently than the other clones did. She’d always known he was special, after all.

But he was the adult in this situation. She couldn’t put all the onus for change on Omega, who was just a kid having a hard time adjusting-

Her ear fins suddenly pinned back. “Someone’s by the ship.”

Hunter stiffened and swore. “The engine just came online.”

They all raced towards where they’d parked, watching in sick horror as the Havoc Marauder whizzed by them with none of them on board. No one spoke for a long moment as it vanished from sight, taking with it both their way off the planet and their home. Hunter’s eye twitched before he rounded on Wrecker with blazing eyes. “You were supposed to be lookout!”

“There was nobody there!” The giant protested, pushing his helmet up on his head like a hat.

“Clearly, someone was.” Tech crossed his arms, eyes narrowed at Wrecker.

“You’re the one who parked out of sight!” Wrecker’s voice pitched like he was panicking.

“There was no other suitable landing zone. I told you this was a concern, you should have modified your approach for such a situation-”

“Would have or should have doesn’t get the ship back.” Shiani wiggled in the middle of the three brothers. “Now stop. We work together.”

Omega’s newly hardened exterior crumbled a little, heartbreak in her big brown eyes. “There’s got to be a way to get it back.”

Hunter sighed and looked at Tech. “Anything on the scanner?”

Tech shook his head, typing on his datapad. “I am picking up a spaceport about 40 klicks from here. We may be able to get assistance there.”

Shiani looked at Omega, putting a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll find it, Baby Mega.” She whispered. The thunder in the distance made her look up anxiously, then glance at the ipsium container Tech was passing to Wrecker as he worked at his scanner. “Might have to shelter from the storm first, but we’ll find it.”

“40 klicks is going to take forever to walk.” Wrecker grumbled.

“Then we better start walking.” Hunter huffed, still annoyed but softening a little in the light of their current predicament. They were all in this together, at least, and no one was hurt. They could fight about it when they were under shelter.

He waved for everyone to follow him, heading towards a canyon Tech indicated. It was brutally hot in the sun, and Hunter did his best to try to hurry them along so they could seek some respite in the shade of the canyon walls. “How much further?” Wrecker complained, shoulders slumped. He hated this, and it was only worse with the knowledge that technically this was his fault. If he hadn’t missed the ship being taken, they’d be halfway back to Ord Mantell by now.

“You do not want to know.” Tech said dryly. Shiani sensed the undercurrent of frustration he was swallowing, that only made its way out through his tone. This probably wasn’t helping Omega’s perception of him today, but she needed to handle one thing at a time. If they could make it through this without a major fight, it would be a Melody-given miracle.

Next to the siren, Shiani was working at her comm. “Havoc 5 to Havoc 4. Come in Havoc 4.” It was a little heartbreaking to see the girl trying desperately to call Echo, who’s absence was the cause of all her tension. She’d done so well not to call him before, no matter how much she missed him, but this did constitute as the kind of emergency he’d approve of.

He’d probably yell at them for losing the ship, though. He might have been the second in command, but he was the older brother.

Shiani winced. “Baby Mega… without the ship’s long-range transmitter, we won’t be able to get a signal off world.”

“Even if we had the ability to transmit the signal, Echo has disabled his communication device for the time being.” Tech shrugged.

“Why would he disable his comm?” Omega almost stopped walking, eyes wide with hurt. Shiani winced again. Oh, it was going to be a very long day if Tech kept being utterly oblivious of Omega’s distress. Most of the time his obliviousness to subtlety was endearing. When Omega looked like she might be about to cry, it was significantly less so.

“It is likely that whatever mission he is currently on is of a sensitive nature, and therefore he needed absolute radio silence.” Tech shrugged.

Shiani sighed, tugging on his sleeve gently. “Tech.” She whispered, voice as sweet as she could muster. “Maybe it’s not so nice to tell Baby Mega that Echo is ignoring us?”

“That is not what I said. I said he has disabled his comm for a mission.” He frowned, turning his head to look at her.

“She’s still a child, it’s going to feel like-” She paused, turning her head. “.... Uh oh.”

Hunter turned a split second after she did. “Something’s coming. I feel it on the ground.”

“More than one something, and it’s scared. Run!” Shiani pushed Tech and reached back for Omega’s hand, pulling the girl as fast as she could down the gulch. They were trapped by the canyon walls that had only a minute ago seemed blessed for their shade, overtaken by a stampede of blue Ipsidon bucks that ran far faster than they could. A sharp hoof clipped Omega’s shoulder and she fell, taking Shiani down with her by the hand. The siren pulled Omega to her chest and rolled, narrowly avoiding being crushed. She spotted Hunter pulling up his dart gun, so she picked Omega up. “Hunter!”

He looked up and nodded as she lawn-dart threw Omega into his free arm and he shot the dart into an over hanging root system, pulling them both to safety. Tech grabbed Shiani by the the toolbelt as he fired his own dart line, pulling her to safety as well. “Are you alright, cyar’ika?”

She nodded, twisting until she was clinging to him with her legs around his waist and he could hold onto her hip with one arm. “I’m okay. But where’s Wrecker?!”

When a third dart landed between Tech and Hunter’s everyone sighed with relief. Wrecker hauled himself out of danger, hanging lower but out of the way of the piercing hooves. Tech narrowed his eyes. “Where is the ipsium?”

Shiani winced and pointed “On the ground.” She watched the bucks’ hooves coming dangerously close to the canister, trying to figure out how she could protect them from the explosion if it went off. They were sitting ducks, dangling just above the stampede, and if it exploded they’d likely be killed instantly.

Tech had already done the calculations of the likelihood of survive. “Wrecker, you must protect the ipsium!”

“Who’s gonna protect me!?” Wrecker groaned.

“If that canister explodes, all of us will perish.” Tech insisted, holding onto Shiani a little tighter. It was the only outward sign, once again, that he was in any way upset with the situation. Wrecker groaned but dropped back into the midst of the stampede, while Omega yelled his name and tried to reach for him.

“Why’d you tell him to go back?!” She shouted at Tech. “He’ll get hurt!”

“Easy.” Hunter breathed as the stampede passed them by, leaving Wrecker huddled over the ipsium case. Hunter carefully lowered himself and Omega, setting her down first so she could run over and check on Wrecker.

Tech did the same with Shiani and sighed, looking at Wrecker. “Next time, do not drop it.”

“If you’re such an expert, you carry it!” Wrecker grumbled angrily. He was well over being scolded by everyone for what had already happened.

“Very well.” Tech took the case calmly and put it on his back. Shiani sighed, watching Omega put her arms around one of Wrecker’s and give Tech a baleful look. Yeah, they needed to talk this out, but she had no idea how they were ever going to get an opportunity. Without the ship they had no privacy or safety, which seemed necessary for the kind of vulnerability the conversation would require…

She just patted Tech’s arm lightly. “Be nice.” She just said gently.

Hunter looked up. “The storm is getting closer.”

“That would explain the stampede.” Tech frowned.

Shiani squeaked when the wind whipped around her aggressively, sand thrown into her large eyes. She scrubbed at her face. “Anywhere to hide on the scanners, Tech? Lightening and ipsium are a bad combination.”

He consulted his handheld with renewed interest as she clung to his arm, half blinded from the dirt. It was rapidly getting dark, the storm coming for them with prejudice. It was the worst possible combination, as she’d said, and they were running out of time. “There should be a mining tunnel ahead.”

“I see it.” Omega pointed, clinging to Wrecker to avoid her small frame being swept up in the rushing winds. The large clone nodded, pulling her to his side and headed for it. He and Hunter snatched the door open, getting Omega to safety first before climbing in. Tech pushed Shinai forward, Hunter helping her inside when his genius brother tripped.

“Tech!” Shiani yelped in horror as the wind ripped the canister off his bag. It was pulled up, into the cyclone of the storm. Tech’s eyes were bigger than she’d ever seen, watching it vanish into the cloud.

It was going to explode, there was nothing anything they could do to stop it. Shiani leaned out and grabbed Tech’s belt, yanking him into the tunnel door as the roiling mass of crackling lightening and dust smashed the canister into the mountainside. It blew like a thermal, collapsing the tunnel entrance and throwing everyone back inside the mine.

Hunter sat up slowly, rubbing his head through his helmet. “Everyone okay?”

Shiani had landed on top of Tech when they’d been thrown, and inspected him carefully. He nodded. “We’re okay.” She called. “Baby Mega? Wrecker?”

Wrecker nodded. “I’m good.”

Omega sighed, checking herself over. “I’m not hurt either.”

Hunter sighed with relief. “Good. Everyone’s okay…”

“Except we are now trapped inside a mine and have lost the ipsium.” Tech grumbled, sitting up and taking his helmet off to better inspect Shiani’s arms. She had minor bruising, but he still didn’t like it.

“I guess that’s my fault too?” Wrecker snarked loudly, not noticing Omega’s wince.

“If you had not allowed the Marauder to be stolen, we would be halfway back to Ord Mantell with the mineral.” Tech nodded. “So yes.”

“That’s enough out of both of you. The only way out is to dig, so quit arguing and start digging.” Hunter huffed, taking his helmet off to wipe his face.

Shiani nodded, going over to the mouth of the cave to start inspecting the pile of rocks. “This is gonna take hours.” She sighed.

The guys all groaned, but she was right. This was the only way out, and they had no choice but to start shifting rock and hope it didn’t collapse on top of them.

They’d been digging for a while when Shiani took a quick break to check on Omega. The girl had been working at her datapad since they’d started digging. “You okay, Baby Mega?”

“The Marauder’s transponder is offline.” She sounded desolate and heartbroken. Shiani eased down next to her and offered her a hug, which she took and snuggled to the siren’s armored side.

“It was likely disabled by the thief.” Tech said mildly as everyone else exchanged unhappy glances.

“But how are we going to find it?” She swallowed hard, looking at each of them.

“We’ll figure that out once we’re out of here.” Hunter said gently.

Shiani nodded. “We’ll get it back, don’t worry.”

Tech clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Shiani, you know better. It is highly unlikely the Havoc Marauder will be recovered.”

Shiani’s shoulders sank a little, and Omega’s face turned red with frustration. “We can’t just give up on it!”

“We can acquire another ship. It is merely a mode of transportation.” Tech shrugged, frowning as Shiani gave him a sad look.

“It’s our home! It’s bad enough we lost Echo, we can’t lose our home too!” Usually when Omega raised her voice, it was lighthearted and uplifting or scared and they needed to protect her. None of them had ever heard the anger she hit them with, and Shiani’s ears drooped anxiously.

“We didn’t lose Echo.” Hunter tried to do damage control, hands coming up. “He’s just… on another mission.”

“But he’s not here with us! We’re a squad, we’re supposed to stay together!” Omega got, if possible, louder, and the anger in her voice had the ragged edge of a tear starting to pull at it. Shiani reached for her hand, hoping she could try to talk her down again like she had in the ship before.

Tech raised an eyebrow. “This squad existed before Echo, and will continue to exist after him. What is your issue?”

Omega nearly hit Shiani in the head on her backswing when she pitched her datapad at Tech, and the siren covered her ears with her hands. The emotions rolling off the girl were suddenly overwhelming when she lost control of them. Omega grabbed her bag angrily. “I want to be alone.” She snapped, and stormed down the tunnel.

Tech frowned, taking a step over to Shiani. “I do not understand why she is so upset. I merely stated the truth.”

Hunter rolled his eyes. “She knows the truth. That’s why she’s upset.”

Shiani looked up as her mate knelt beside her, making sure she hadn’t been bonked upside the head by their collective little sister. “Are you alright, cyar’ika?”

“...Wouldn’t an honest conversation cause less despair?” She whispered faintly.

“I was being honest.” Tech frowned.

“No you weren’t, Tech. She thinks you don’t care at all.” Shiani muttered, rubbing her gills as the torrent of Omega’s emotions finally faded into a manageable level of white noise for her.

“Well, he doesn’t.” Wrecker grumbled. “So she’s right.”

Shiani scrunched her nose, curling her fingers over Tech’s vambrace. “I know better than that.”

Hunter sighed and waved for Wrecker to join him back at digging, letting Shiani handle Tech. The genius sat back on his heels to look at his wife with a frown. “Why would Omega believe I do not care?”

“Because you show it differently.” She sighed, squeezing his hands three times to try to get the message across better. “She can only read your actions against how she would react. And you two are very different people.”

“That is certain.” Tech sighed. “But that analysis does explain why she has been so short with all of us… and me most of all.”

Shiani nodded. “We give her a little space, but then you should talk to her. If you can explain why you react the way you do, she’ll understand you better.” She leaned up and kissed him softly. “I can feel your hearts. Not everyone can.”

He nodded, settling back down beside her fully so she could cuddle to his side. “Have I upset you with my reactions lately?”

“No. But I know you best.” She shook her head. “You feel about Echo like you do about Crosshair. I know it hurts you, but you don’t want to talk about it. You keep feelings like sea glass, holding them up to the light to look at them but not sharing them with others. It’s… impressive. But maybe you should share, so it doesn’t hurt so much.” She headbutted his shoulder lightly. “Or hurts other people.”

Tech nodded quietly. “I had not considered that. My apologies, cyar’ika.”

“I’m not the one who needs the apology. Baby Mega does.” Shiani raised a non-existent eyebrow at him. “And your brothers, too. Hunter probably knows, but Wrecker’s got a tender heart. You know that.”

“I do.” Tech looked slightly chastened. “You have a remarkable grasp of the emotional states of this squad.”

“I told you. Sirens speak hearts as a first language.” She reached up and tapped the golden lenses of his goggles gently with her nail. “At some point, there had to be something I could teach you.”

He smiled faintly, curling his fingers under her soft jawline. “I suppose it was statistically likely. I will talk to Omega when you deem it is an appropriate time to do so. You have a better grasp of that.” He pressed a kiss against her mouth before getting up to go back to digging.

Shiani beamed, deciding to go down and check on Omega herself before she called for Tech.

Omega was using the precision drill to knock a hole in the wall when Shiani found her. “Digging holes, Baby Mega?” She frowned curiously.

The little blonde looked up and sighed. “Sorry I almost hit you in the head.”

Shiani nodded. “It’s okay. You were upset. You okay now?”

Omega went back to drilling the wall. “I don’t understand him. He doesn’t care about anything. He’s worse than a droid, and I don’t understand how you two ended up married.”

Shiani smiled, kneeling beside Omega and putting her hand over the girls on the drill. “He’s not a droid, Omega. He’s different. His mind is different. That doesn't mean his hearts don’t work.”

“I thought his mind was perfect. He seems to think it is.” Omega groused.

Shiani shook her head. “Sometimes, people get built different. There’s nothing wrong with the differences, it just takes time to understand them when you’re not the same. It’s… speaking another language, like me learning Basic for the first time. For Tech, his mind is always racing. Always thinking. He feels what we feel, but his mind goes though each potential reaction before he acts them out and decides what’s helpful and what’s not. Before you or I could finish crying, he’s already decided what the best action is to get the result he wants. Sometimes he’s not right because he forgets not everyone can do that, but that doesn't mean he doesn’t feel.”

Omega huffed. “I’ll believe it when I see it.” She cracked open the wall and poked her head in. “Oooh.”

“What did you find?” Shiani cocked her head to the side.

“More of the mineral. A whole lot more.”

“Enough to get for Cid? And maybe a little to blow our way out of here?”

“Definitely.”

Shiani nodded. “Let’s get it, then.”

Omega smiled faintly. “I’ll do it. You stay there, in case I need help or someone needs to get the guys.”

Shiani chuckled. “Tech will probably come down here to find us soon. I already kind of fussed at him.”

“Good.” Omega settled herself on a ledge with the drill and started extracting the mineral, when she filled a vial she passed it to Shiani and let the siren give her an empty one from her satchel.

“Don’t be mean, Baby Mega. He’s your brother and you love him.” Shiani huffed. “I can feel your hearts too.”

“Can you feel everyones?” Omega didn’t look away as she worked.

“Not as clearly as Tech. But I actually sang to his hearts, a long time ago.” Shiani shrugged. “He was about the same size as you back then. He was such a cute kid.”

“Is it weird knowing him now that he’s grown?” Omega finished a vial and looked at her. The siren’s big eyes were soft, thoughtful and kind. She was consistently amazed by the humanity the inhuman woman could display.

“Not anymore. It was at first, when he would go away as a little boy and come back bigger only a couple months later. Sometimes he’d be limping when he’d come see me, because he grew so fast his tendons hurt. I’m glad that doesn’t happen to you.” Shiani nodded. “Your brothers all want to give you a better life than they had.”

“And what do you want?” Omega asked.

“I want my family to be happy.” Shiani looked up as she heard footsteps and smiled. “Here comes Tech.”

Omega grumbled and went back to work as the siren turned her head and waved at her mate. Tech frowned, crouching beside her and looking into the hole Omega had made into the other side of the wall. “Are you two aware that you are surrounded by a significant vein of ipsium? The slightest miscalculation could end all of our lives.”

"Then you'd better not distract us." Omega grumbled.

“Baby Mega found it by herself.” Shiani was just as much Omega’s cheerleader to her brothers as she was Tech’s.

Tech tapped at his datapad as he scanned the ipsium around them. "This vein appears to be significantly more pure than what we discovered in Cid's mine. It would be practical to extract as much as possible."

"Do you trust me to do it?" Omega paused to look at him, like she hadn’t already handed Shiani six vials.

"I know you are perfectly capable of the task." Tech cocked his head to the side, as if he didn't understand why she thought he'd doubt her. Based on Shiani’s explanation of his inner workings, he might actually not. Omega wondered if he really was as condescending as she felt like he had been, or if the siren was right and he was just going with his unending calculations and forgetting other people weren’t built the way he was.

It’s like speaking another language.

“This is the last vial.” Shiani passed the glass to Omega as she handed the full vial from the drill over, making space so Tech could look. And talk to Omega once she’d finished her task, so they could make up. It would be a relief to walk back up the tunnel with the two clones she was closest to, both of them in sync finally. Sometimes she missed the way sirens could sing out their feelings to understand each other, because they could avoid the gaps in communication that humans seemed to constantly be running into.

Omega was nearly done, stretching out on the ledge, when her foot slipped and she fell. Tech’s stomach dropped in sick horror and he clambered through the gap, trying to grab her hand as she clung to the outcrop she’d been standing on previously. “Hold on, Omega. I am-”

The little girl tried to reach for him, but his her fingers weren’t strong enough to hold onto the slick rock by herself and she lost her grip. She let out an echoing scream and plummeted into the dark chasm below.

“Omega!” Tech didn’t hesitate for a second, diving after his sister. Shiani practically threw herself through the gap after them both, forgetting the bag full of ipsium vials in her haste to try to save the siblings. She hit cold water quickly and dove, searching desperately for the clones before they drowned.

Her vision was designed for underwater in low light, and she spotted both pairs of legs kicking just ahead, caught in the fast moving current. Tech had managed to grab Omega, and was holding her up to get a breath even if it pushed his own head underwater. Shiani glanced down, spotting a whirlpool that would suck the duo under, and shoved herself up to suck in a breath of air. “Hold your breath!” She yelled, and Omega obediently sucked in a gasp. Shiani dove again, wrapping herself around Tech and pressing her mouth to his to push the air she had into his lungs as he gills pulled oxygen out of the water.

They were sucked straight down into the aquaduct, tumbling violently for a minute until they were shot out of a low waterfall and into a deep pool, the current gone. Shiani hauled the two clones to the rocky little shoreline and pushed them both out first. Omega lay on her back, coughing, as Tech rolled from his stomach to his side with a groan.

“You two okay?” Shiani sat up, shaking the droplets off her head tresses and looking around.

“Yeah.” Omega didn’t sit up, staring at the ceiling above her for a minute. “My socks are wet.”

“As are mine. I despise the texture.” Tech grumbled, finally pushing himself upright and looking around. His comm was buzzing, mic full of water and leaving everything unintelligible until he cleared it out.

"Fffffsst- ech? Tech, do you copy?" Hunter’s voice was somewhere between anger they weren’t answering, and panic that they couldn’t. None of the accidental underwater spelunking group had any doubt he’d tear this mine apart with nothing but his knife and sheer familial concern to find them.

Tech coughed another mouthful of water. "Affirmative. Shiani, Omega, and I took… an underwater detour."

"Where are you?"

"That is a good question. Stand by."

Shiani looked around, patting Tech’s back to help him clear any more water before helping him and Omega both up. The blonde girl wiped the water from her face and pointed. “I see a light.”

They followed the barely-visible pinprick of sunlight, finally locating a tiny hole in the cavern wall barely bigger than the head of Shiani’s smallest screwdriver. Shiani beamed, leaning towards it. “Smells like fresh air.”

“Well spotted.” Tech patted Omega’s shoulder, cringing slightly at the slap of his wet glove on her wet shirt. "I will instruct Hunter and Wrecker to retrieve our gear and meet us down here."

When he backed up to comm Hunter, Shiani gave Omega a fond smile. “Now is a good time to talk. You want me to go away?”

“No… I might need translation.” Omega sighed. “If he’s a whole different language, you speak both.”

Shiani nodded and gave the girl a cheerful little mock salute. “Protocol-droid Shiani, ready for service.”

Omega at least laughed, and they waited for Tech to finish up on his comm call. When he was done, they all sat at the water's edge to wait for the others. "Once they join us, we will have a way out of the mine." He said firmly.

"We still have no ship, no way off the planet, and we can't even call Echo for help…" Omega pulled her knees up.

"We do not need help. We will think of a solution, as we always do."

Omega glanced at Shiani, who patted her back. “You don’t mean that Echo isn’t important.” She murmured to Tech.

“No. I simply mean that he is unavailable, so we must make our own way without his help. Not that it would not be appreciated.” Tech said quietly.

"... everything is changing. First Echo, now the ship." Omega finally whispered. "I hate it."

"Soldiers often deal with change. It is a fundamental part of life… I do not understand your aversion to it." Tech frowned.

“You don’t like change either, Tech. You just adapt easier because you’ve had more experience with it.” Shiani coached.

"And we're a family, aren't we?" Omega looked at Tech with a look in her eyes he couldn't quite understand. She looked almost afraid of his response, like if he told her they weren’t a family it would destroy her. But why would he ever say that? How could they be anything else?

"... of course we are." Tech’s brow furrowed with confusion, and he looked at Shiani for some kind of explanation.

"Then why don't you act like it?!" Omega demanded his attention before his wife could say anything.

Tech’s frown deepened as he sat with her question and what Shiani had said earlier. If Omega couldn’t “feel his hearts” the way Shiani said, he would have to be extremely plain about it. Which meant examining his emotions without the solitude he usually preferred. Usually only Shiani got to be privy to his most personal thoughts out loud. "Echo… chose another path. As did Crosshair. I have to respect those decisions, even if they can be difficult to understand… I admit I may process thoughts differently… but it does not mean I feel any less than you."

Omega frowned. "So you do miss Echo?" Her focus was on the most recently missing brother, but Shiani didn’t fail to notice he brought up Crosshair without a word from either of them about the sniper.

"Yes. I miss them both." Tech looked at her for a long moment. “I have always missed anyone I care about in their absence... But I have had to accept it for most of my life. I would have preferred to have Shiani join us years before she did.”

“You tried to send her and me away.” Omega said quietly. “On Salucemi.”

“That was an error on my part. I did not ask your choices in the matter.” Tech sighed. “I regret that immensely. As it stands now, I would prefer to have all of us together, including Crosshair and Echo. I cannot make the decision for someone else, however. But… Shiani is right. I do not like the change of living without them. If I am honest… the only positive changes in my life have been meeting the two of you.”

Shiani smiled, scooting a little closer to Tech and putting her head on his shoulder. “I told you a conversation would help.”

He nodded. “You were correct, cyare.” He looked back at Omega. “I am sorry I was… not apparent about it. I thought it was obvious.”

Omega leaned over against his other side, and after a moment he put an arm around her shoulders. A near death experience seemed like a reasonable time to hug his sister. And if Shiani’s tentacles twined their way around both of them, it was a more comfortable cuddle.

Tech and Omega pondered over their new understanding of each other as Shiani just kept her eyes on the waterfall, waiting patiently for it to spit Wrecker and Hunter out of it. It didn’t take too terribly long until they tumbled out ass over teakettle and made their way to shore. “Why are we always almost drowning?” The sergeant grumbled, wet hair plastered to his forehead.

“I’m not.” Shiani smiled and gave him a hand up.

“Thank you, Princess Smartass.” He couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Princess Illumai.” She corrected innocently, taking her tool bag from him and stepping back so he could give Tech and Omega their gear.

“It’s a… nevermind.” He patted her head lightly. “Okay, Tech. What’s the plan.”

Tech pulled out a vial of ipsium and set to tapping on the wall near the hole, measuring thickness by sound and figuring out angles. Shiani watched him stack rocks and set the vial atop it before waving them all to move back behind cover. “This should have the required force to blast our way out.”

“How come you get to blow it up?” Wrecker complained.

“Because this shot must be precise, or we risk another cave in.” Tech muttered sternly.

This time, Omega and Shiani looked at each other. There was a tiny change in Tech’s voice that Omega normally wouldn’t have noticed, but when the siren just nodded she realized she wasn’t imagining it.

He’s thinking about Crosshair. He could have made the shot too.

Tech made the shot after another moment of mental calculation, and the aftershocks faded before any of them moved. Fortunately, there was no cave in or squished members of the family, and everyone stepped out into the sunlight. Shiani put her hands on her hips and took a deep breath, finally free of the stale smell of the inside of the mine.

Tech put an arm around her waist, his binocs in the other hand. “The detour through the aqueduct has put us closer to the spaceport. It is just over the cliffside there.”

“Hopefully there will be some food.” Wrecker grinned.

Shiani nodded. “Nothing to hunt in that mine. I couldn't feel anything alive but us.” She was hungry too, but she had been hungrier before.

They started walking, Omega taking a spot between Tech and Hunter. The sergeant smiled faintly. “You two okay now?”

Omega nodded. “We’re… learning each other’s language.”

He put an arm around her. “Good.” His eyes darted up to Shiani, who had her arm wrapped around Tech’s middle as they walked together. She glanced over her shoulder and gave him a smile as well.

They were all going to be fine.

The spaceport was abandoned, and judging by the dust and tattered cloth hanging from the derelict buildings it was not a recent development. Shiani scrunched her nose and looked around. “No food, Wrecker. And no ship to use.”

"So we came all this way for nothing?" Wrecker groaned.

"I can craft a long range transmitter with this equipment. It appears to be an abandoned communications array, so it would be a relatively quick repair.

"Might be a skiff or speeder I can fix up.” Shiani waved around at the scrap half buried in dust from the recent storm or similar weather. “It won’t make it off the planet but there’s got to be civilization somewhere.”

Omega followed her to start scavenging, a familiar practice now. Shiani was good at it, Omega noted, as she pulled what looked like garbage up and pointed out the components the siren could make to get them a ride. “This is what you used to do under Tipoca, isn’t it?”

Shiani nodded. “There wasn’t as much useful stuff there, actually.” She handed the girl a stabilizer coupling to hold while she kept digging. “This looks like half of it was just abandoned, not broken first.”

“You think someone just left this stuff on purpose?” Omega blinked, examining the part with a smile.

“Between the weather and bandits? They might have just given up. Not everyone is as resilient as our family.” Shiani ruffled her hair fondly. “Look at you. We found scrap and you’re smiling again.”

“Well… I’m not mad at Tech anymore. Thanks, for helping me understand.” Omega hugged her around the waist, and Shiani grinned and picked her up in her tentacles, making her laugh as she rotated her over the siren’s head while she kept digging for parts.

"I have gotten the communication array functional, cyar’ika." Tech called. “We are going to try to make contact with Cid first.”

“Don’t think she’s gonna be helpful. She’s selfish.” Shiani sighed, setting Omega down to walk over to the group as they got the call through.

Shiani had hope she was wrong, but it didn’t seem like it. The trandoshan looked annoyed the minute she appeared on the holo, like they were wasting her time. "I've got a lot going on over here. You guys are going to have to figure it out on your own."

"Wait a minute, Cid. You sent us here." Hunter narrowed his eyes

"And you had a ship when I did."

"Cid! You have to help us." Omega put her hands on her hips and sharpened her gaze, doing her best imitation of Hunter’s sergeant demeanor.

"We did assist you getting your parlor back from Roland Durand, and with Mellegi-" Tech started.

Shiani simply hissed sharply, mouth open and fangs on display. “Cid.” She said coldly, and the rest of the threat didn’t need translation. If Cid screwed them over, Shiani was going to make herself a personal problem.

"Alright, alright. I'll see what I can do. Gimme a few days."

Hunter’s hiss matched Shiani’s. "We don't have the supplies for-"

Cid hung up.

Wrecker groaned. "Now what do we do?"

"We figure it out, like we always do." Omega gave Tech a grin, and he smiled back.

“When we get back to Ord Mantell, I’m gonna bite her.” Shiani grumbled. “I’m about sick of her.”

“I’m starting to agree with you.” Hunter huffed. “But let’s get out of here first.”

#explict #original character #clone force 99 #the bad batch #star wars #tbb tech #fanfic

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the-rewatch-rewind · 1 year

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A day late and a little scratchy but we got there.

Script below the break

Hello and welcome back to The Rewatch Rewind! My name is Jane, and this is the podcast in which I count down my top 40 most frequently rewatched movies in 20 years. If you’re a regular listener, you may have noticed that this week’s episode is a day later than usual, and that’s partly because as you can probably tell I’m a bit sick, so I was trying to wait until my voice sounded better to record, and partly because it felt appropriate to release this episode on a Friday instead of the usual Thursday. So welcome to my late and somewhat scratchy-voiced discussion of number 24 on my list: Disney’s 2003 fantasy comedy Freaky Friday, directed by Mark Waters, written by Heather Hach and Leslie Dixon based on the novel by Mary Rodgers, and starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan.

Teenaged musician Anna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan) and her widowed therapist mother Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis) seem to be in constant conflict, fueled partly by their generation gap and partly by Anna’s reluctance to accept Tess’s relationship with her fiancé Ryan (Mark Harmon). Anna’s band is offered an audition that conflicts with Tess and Ryan’s rehearsal dinner, which leads to a heated argument between Anna and Tess at a Chinese restaurant. Overhearing this, the restaurant proprietor’s mother (Lucille Soong) gives them fortune cookies with identical fortunes, causing an earthquake that only the two of them can feel. When they wake up the following morning, Anna and Tess have switched bodies. In trying to live each other’s lives, each finally begins to understand the other.

I feel like I might have seen this movie in theaters, but I don’t actually remember. I do know that it was one of the first DVDs my family got, and I have lots of memories of playing around with the interactive menu and watching the bloopers over and over. I saw the movie once in 2003, so that may have been in a theater, then four times in 2004 and three times in 2005, back when we didn’t own many other DVDs. Then I saw it once each in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018, and 2019, and twice each in 2020 and 2022.

I’ve only seen the 1976 version of Freaky Friday once, and that was in 2006, so I don’t remember much about it. From what I do recall, it’s a very silly, broad comedy, which is not a bad thing by any means, but one of the main things that I particularly appreciate about the 2003 version is that despite its wacky premise, it feels grounded. The characters feel like real people. Even the body-switching is almost believable. And that is almost entirely due to the phenomenal acting by the two main stars. Lindsay Lohan had already demonstrated her ability to play multiple characters in the same movie five years earlier in The Parent Trap (which unfortunately just barely missed my top 40 with 14 rewatches while I was keeping track), and she is thoroughly convincing as both a teenager and her mother here. Jamie Lee Curtis got arguably the more fun role and absolutely nailed it in every possible way, which is extraordinarily impressive given that she was only cast a few days before filming started. Originally the part was offered to Jodie Foster, who had played the daughter in the 1976 version, which she declined because she didn’t want stunt casting to become the main focus of the film. So Annette Bening was cast, but dropped out at basically the last minute and was replaced by Curtis, who proceeded to give one of my favorite performances of all time. She is the perfect blend of fun and serious, entirely believable as both Tess and Anna in Tess’s body. Neither Lohan nor Curtis seems to be trying to do an impression of the other, which potentially could have made the swap even more believable, but personally I’m glad they didn’t get hung up on trying to mimic each other’s mannerisms and instead focused on capturing the attitude of each other’s character. The movie isn’t about how Jamie Lee Curtis would act in Lindsay Lohan’s body or vice versa. It’s about people who are exasperated with each other learning that the other’s life is more complicated and difficult than they realized. And that could not have possibly been more perfectly portrayed.

While this movie is a comedy and has many very funny moments, the climax always makes me cry. After all their fighting and misunderstandings, it is so satisfying and beautiful to see Tess and Anna finally learn to feel and display the selfless love required to change them back. The series of beautiful moments starts when Anna’s friends show up at the rehearsal dinner to take Anna to their audition. Anna in Tess’s body explains the situation to Ryan, commenting that she knows he doesn’t care because Anna’s just some kid in a stupid rock band, and then Mark Harmon, who has spent most of the movie being politely confused, gets his big moment, when Ryan tells Anna (who is of course really Tess) to go to the audition, and then goes off on Tess (who is really Anna), saying he doesn’t intend to be an uncaring step-father, he very much does care about Tess’s children and wants to be part of their family, and encouraging Tess to go watch Anna’s audition. Jamie Lee Curtis perfectly conveys Anna’s realization that she has underestimated Ryan before rushing off to the concert, where she is desperately needed because Tess has no idea how to perform in a band. Side note: it would have been completely understandable for this teenage band to just be okay, but they are legitimately awesome, and their song slaps so much harder than it needed to for the purposes of this movie and I absolutely love that. Anyway, when they start to perform, Anna sees that Tess is petrified and makes her way backstage, reassures her mom that she just needs to fake it, and then Anna in Tess’s body plays her epic guitar solo offstage. That shot of Lindsay Lohan’s face when the solo starts and she turns in shock still gives me chills. That “Holy moly, my daughter is super talented, how did I not realize that until now?” look. Ugh, it’s so good. And then when the band finishes slaying, they both return to the rehearsal dinner, and Tess tells Anna to explain to Ryan that they need to postpone the wedding. Instead, Anna starts a toast about how even though she still misses her dad, she’s willing to welcome Ryan into their family because of how happy he makes her mom, and it’s in the middle of this that another earthquake hits and they switch back, and I just cannot even begin to explain how perfect it is. And of course, the only reason this pays off so well is because of how meticulously and realistically their relationship and individual objectives have been set up throughout the movie. We know that Anna cares about her music while Tess merely tolerates it, and we know that Tess is in love with Ryan while Anna only reluctantly accepts that he’s going to marry her mom. And seeing these two people who are so focused on their own objectives finally understand and acknowledge that the other’s are equally important is so thrilling to me because I desperately wish things like that would happen more in real life.

I admit to often finding it difficult to understand other people’s perspectives and motivations, no matter how much I want to. And in some ways this movie doesn’t really help because it implies that the only way to overcome that barrier is to literally switch bodies with someone else, which as far as I know is impossible. But I think that at least in Tess and Anna’s case, they could have reached a similar understanding without the magic if they’d just listened to each other. Early in the movie, Tess thinks Anna is being ridiculous when she says that certain people are out to get her, like her former best friend Stacey Hinkhouse (played by Julie Gonzalo) and her English teacher Mr. Bates (played by Stephen Tobolowsky, and apparently named in reference to the character who killed Jamie Lee Curtis’s mother Janet Leigh’s character in the movie Psycho). But once Tess attends school as Anna she learns that Stacey really is very mean to Anna, for no apparent reason, and that Mr. Bates really is grading her unfairly because he’s still bitter that Tess wouldn’t go to their high school prom with him. If Tess had taken Anna seriously to begin with, she wouldn’t have needed to literally live her life to learn that. So that’s the lesson I’ve tried to take from Freaky Friday: listen to people, give them the benefit of the doubt, and bear in mind that their lives are probably more difficult and complicated than they appear to you.

Surprisingly, an aspect of this movie that I think works remarkably well is the romance. This is unexpected both because of how much time I spend complaining that there is too much romance in movies in general, and because in this particular movie the two main characters aren’t who their love interests think they are for most of the story. Anna has a crush on Jake (played by Chad Michael Murray), but they’ve never spoken until the day before the switch. They have one kind of cute conversation that is interrupted by Mr. Bates, and then the next time they meet, Anna is Tess. Jake doesn’t like this version of Anna, but he runs into the real Anna (in Tess’s body) at the coffee shop where he works, and they have a great conversation about music. As someone who does not experience sexual or romantic attraction but does understand compatibility, watching people bond over shared music taste makes way more sense to me than watching people make out. This is a type of romance I can wrap my head around. Maybe it should seem a bit creepy for a middle-aged adult and a teenager to be flirting with each other, but the audience so thoroughly believes that Jamie Lee Curtis is Anna that it doesn’t come across as weird at all. Later, when Tess as Anna kisses Jake to try to get him to leave the person he believes is Tess alone, he says, “You’re beautiful, but you’re not her,” and it is so wonderful to see this deviation from the stereotype that teenaged boys just want to sleep with every girl they can get. Jake really likes Anna for who she is, and that makes so much more sense to me than something like Anna’s initial crush on Jake before they’ve even met. My brain needs there to be a reason why people like each other beyond “they’re attractive,” and “we have the exact same taste in music” fits that. So I support Anna and Jake’s romance, and I hope they’re happy together. And of course, I already mentioned that I love when Ryan makes it clear that he’s marrying Tess not only because he wants to be with her, but also because he wants to be part of her children’s lives. Given Disney’s typically negative portrayal of step-parents, this is huge. Ryan recognizes that this is a difficult situation for Anna and her brother Harry, and he’s doing his best to make the transition easier for them, and it’s so nice to see that. I feel like I can easily picture what Tess and Ryan’s life together will look like, which is more than I can say about a lot of couples who get married at the end of movies. I realize that romantic films are intended to be about the wooing and falling in love parts, but often I find it hard to believe that romantic leads will actually have a functional relationship going forward, so I appreciate that this movie doesn’t have that problem.

And of course I also appreciate that this movie heavily focuses on non-romantic relationships in the midst of romance. The main relationship is between Tess and Anna, but there are several side relationships that mirror this, including the conflicts between Pei-Pei (Rosalind Chao) and her mom (Lucille Soong) and between Anna��s brother Harry (Ryan Malgarini) and their grandpa (Harold Gould). I wish Pei-Pei and her mom were better developed characters, and the one aspect of this movie that doesn’t quite sit well with me is the whole fortune cookie thing. I appreciate that the filmmakers were trying to find a creative mechanism to initiate the switch, and maybe it would have worked better if the rest of the cast was more diverse, but something about the only Asian characters in the movie having mystical powers feels uncomfortably close to racist stereotypes of “exotic foreigners”. So I wish that had been portrayed differently. But I do like that there’s a mother-daughter conflict between Pei-Pei and her mom about how or whether to resolve the mother-daughter conflict between Tess and Anna. Pei-Pei wants her mom to stay out of it, but her mom can’t seem to help herself. Meanwhile, Harry and his grandpa are constantly teasing and misunderstanding each other throughout the movie, so at the wedding at the end, Pei-Pei’s mom offers them cookies. Three different endings of the movie were shot, two of which imply that Grandpa and Harry are about to switch bodies, but the one that made it to the final cut has Pei-Pei tackling them and successfully retrieving the unopened cookies before they have a chance to wreak more havoc. I hope this means that Harry and Grandpa (and for that matter Pei-Pei and her mother) will find a way to resolve their differences without magic.

The fact that a movie with this ridiculous of a premise manages to have characters that feel real enough that I care what happens to them after the events of the film is exactly what I love about it. If you’re a frequent listener of this podcast, you may have noticed that a lot of my favorite movies are based on ideas that don’t sound like they should work, but somehow turn out much more enjoyable than they have any right to be. In Freaky Friday’s case, the incredible writing and acting turned what could have been a mildly entertaining but forgettable romp into a moving, powerful crash course in empathy that I cannot stop revisiting.

Thank you for listening to my analysis of another of my most frequently rewatched films. Next week I will be returning to obscure Old Hollywood to discuss another movie with a ridiculous premise, which coincidentally also involves an adult pretending to be a child, although under very different circumstances than Freaky Friday. So follow or subscribe to stay tuned for that, and as always I will leave you with a quote from that next movie: “You should be very glad I’m not 12. I was a very straightforward child. I used to spit.”

#freaky friday #lindsay lohan #jamie lee curtis #the rewatch rewind

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i-need-entertainment · 3 years

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Haikyuu!! Boys as stepdads PT.2

It’s likely i’ll do a part 2 for most of them (some I emotionally, mentally, and spiritually CANNOT), but this one was voted as the most wanted sequel in the poll I did.

**Funny story, this was actually the FIRST Haikyuu!! Boys headcanon I ever did :) So please keep in mind my format, and writing style have changed, so they’re gonna be a bit different🥰**

Warnings: Mentions of stepdad, stepdads, implied divorce, teenage angst, siblings mentioned (ignore if only child)

PT.1

Characters: Meian, Omimi, Kita, Suna, Ohira, Yamagata, Kunimi, Kindaichi, Yaku, Numai, Sakusa, and Komori

Meian Shugo: A little clumsy at first, but he gets the hang of it

Is better if you guys are little, cause he can work with little kids.

But if you guys are teenagers??

He’s completely lost.

Does his best, he really does! He tries to have normal conversations and ‘dad things’ but man...it’s rough for a good 6 months.

When he does adjust, he’s honestly not bad.

He’s pretty great actually. There’s a lot of perks to having a pro athlete as your stepdad cause *aHeM* money

Omimi Ren: You’re suspicious at first cause he just seems suspicious, but he’s really a pretty nice guy

When your mom first brings him home you’re on guard.

Not cause you necessarily think he’s a bad guy, he just seems intimidating? Quiet? Maybe it’s just cause he’s unknown to you.

But after a few months, you realize he’s a pretty solid guy.

Very responsible, he’ll never be late to pick you up from school or parties, and you’ll always be on time to school.

But he’s also not against spoiling you and your siblings every now and then.

You guys actually have a really good relationship.

He deals with your teenage angst really well, he doesn’t take anything personally and does his best to be understanding.

Kita Shinsuke: s t r i c t. But a good stepdad

Doesn’t care he’s not your biological dad, you are his responsibility and it’s his job to help make you into a functional human.

Isn’t like the military strict, just on certain things like grades and chores. He’s not pretentious about it either, he just expects all of you to do your parts.

He’s honestly a strange mix of strict and laid-back.

Strict when it comes to responsibilities but chill most everywhere else.

Puts a lot of trust in you, he doesn’t question your choices because he trusts you to make good ones. But if you ever breech that trust he’d have no problem going into lock down mode for a bit.

Isn’t very controlling, especially when it comes to boys or friends.

Lets you enjoy your teen years while making sure you’re becoming a functioning adult.

Suna Rintaro: Would let you get away with murder if he could

Very chill, doesn’t yell or argue, just kinda coexists with you/your siblings.

But he’s not a push over, if you do something wrong wrong, yeah he’ll say something or tell your mom but he’s not super strict..

Tells you to just call him by his first name, last name, he doesn’t care.

I can see him being a little caught off guard at first cause...how do you UwU interact with them.

Not too pushy or anything he just kinda...lets you do your own thing.

Ohira Leon: Another one you might as well adopt as your real dad

You could be nothing but sinister to this man and he’d never despise you for it.

He genuinely loves your mom, and by circumstance, he comes to love you and your siblings as his own.

Treats you all really well, but respects any boundaries you guys put up.

Doesn’t pull the ‘listen to your mother’ thing stepdads do, cause he knows he only has so much power y’know?

But he honestly doesn’t need to, you and your siblings are pretty darn happy he’s your stepdad, heck he might as well just be your real dad.

Yamagata Hayato: Pretty solid honestly, you wonder where he’s been your whole life

You weren’t crazy at the idea of having a stepdad, but when you got to know him, you were pretty cool with it.

He’s the perfect mix of responsible with fun, and also parent and friend.

He’s a good hype man, and he encourages you guys to do a lot, like sports and clubs.

He encourages you guys to be active!

Doesn’t force you though, he’s good about trying to understand and appreciate all of your different interest and hobbies!

Doesn’t care about grades as long as you do your best, if you give it your all, he’ll be happy.

Will get you a tutor or help if he sees you struggling, but he’d never stress you out about it.

Kunimi Akira:...wait, he’s a father now?

He wasn’t too concerned when your mom said she had kids.

I mean, they can’t be that difficult right? Just feed them, give them things and a little pat on the head right?

w r o n g

He’s not bad, he does care about you guys but man...the teen years are going to be rough.

Definitely was better when you guys were younger, it’s the teen years he struggles with.

Man was not prepared for the sweet little girls to turn into moody monsters out for blood at the drop of a hat.

He’s doing his best alright..

Kindaichi Yuutarou: He’s more scared of you than you are of him

Had no clue what he was doing.

You were quite amused when you first met him though, he looked like he was a teenage boy meeting his girlfriends parents.

Nonetheless, you found he’s very nice and he treats your mom, and you and your siblings well.

He’s actually a really good stepdad!!

Very supportive, but very good with boundaries. He made sure to have a good relationship with you and your siblings, he’s more like a friend than a father, but that’s perfectly fine with all of you~

If you have an argument with your mom, he’s playing mediator instead of taking sides.

Yaku Morisuke: Is fine...until your teen years

lol it’s not you and your mom arguing, it’s you and HIM.

Pretty strict, and definitely takes on a more parental role in your life.

Which he is good at, you guys are still alive after all.

But especially when you become teens you guys go at each others throats almost every other day.

Never even thinks about making any ‘it’s my house get out’ threats because he genuinely cares about you, but it’s a bad matchup of temper vs hormones.

Things mellow down when you grow up, you guys get along much better when you’re an adult.

Numai Kazuma: Little lost at first, but once he warms up to it he’s a pro

When you guys first meet he’s a little lost cause...he kinda has kids now.

But once it really sinks in and he comes to terms with it, he’s honestly kinda pumped.

Wants to have a good relationship with you and your siblings, and you guys find out he’s a really cool guy!

Tells you stories from his high school days, and will teach you guys to play volleyball.

Treats you as he would his own kids cause he lowkey does love you guys<3

Sakusa Kiyoomi: mutual despising from both parties

Neither one of you are thrilled about having (a) stepdad/stepkids.

It’s not personal so to say but...

it is awkward. The first time you guys had to be in a room alone together was the worst 5 minutes of your life, it was so painfully quiet.

He does...try...he gets you guys Christmas presents, and birthday presents, and he does what you need to survive but...

Good about letting things be, and not fueling the fire when you’re moody or upset.

But he is going to side with your mom, every.single.time.

Komori Motoya: ‘fun’ parent, he’ll turn a blind eye to a n y t h i n g

Sees you doing something irresponsible and he’s like ‘ooh, looks fun’

Would never let you put yourself in danger, just let you do stupid things because he’s genuinely interested to know what happens.

Helps you avoid punishment and makes sure your mom won’t catch you.

It physically hurts him to see you guys upset, so he’s a really good comforter and supporter!

He comes too all of your games, recitals, whatever it is you’re into!

He really just wants you guys to be happy and to like him.

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lucky-katebishop · 3 years

Text

I spent a month reading harry potter fanfics and here’s what I learned

So for the past three and a half weeks, I’ve been doing basically nothing but reading Harry Potter fanfics and now I kind of just want to talk about them. No one cares but future me will! I tend to get caught in obsessions fairly easily (for instance, two months ago was comic books and last month was video editing and then k dramas). I’m feeling like my Harry Potter obsession is fading which makes me really sad cause it was a fun ride. I went from Drarry to Hinny, time travel to alternate realities, obscuris Harry to Dark!Harry, MCU AUs to Doctor Who AUs. I must’ve read more than 50 fics.

I’ve learned that I hate Dumbledore

Snape makes for a great mentor but I will only like him with proper character development

also where did Snape being Draco’s godfather come from? I don’t think this was in the books? I’m not angry, just confused

I read a fic that was so sad that I was physically unable to finish reading it -- actually I read two of those, one of them was a DID fic and the other Voldemort adopted Harry

the Voldemort one is quite possibly the most tragic thing I have ever read and even though it’s been two weeks I still haven’t been able to recover -- I was only halfway finished too GOOD LORD

another fic I read that was so fucking depressing was a time loop situation where Harry literally couldn’t get out of and it ended tragically

obscuris Harry is interesting but I really only like the ones where Newt is actually involved but I couldn’t find any finished ones

I don’t like it when Harry’s appearance changes, it throws me for a loop

there was this one where Harry got sent back in time and his figure got disfigured and so he didn’t even appear like himself anymore

I just find it odd for Harry Potter not to look like Harry Potter, idk

I also have a headcanon that his hair is very curly rather than shaggy

I haven’t been able to find a fic where Harry goes back in time to the Marauders era and has the right amount of angst but the right amount of fluff

I’ve read some good ones where the Marauders travel to Harry’s time but like,,, it isn’t quite what I’m looking for? I’m gonna have to write it, aren’t I?

this doesn’t happen with irondad fics, literally everything you’ve ever wanted you can find it there

I read one where Harry did go back in time but she (fem!Harry) didn’t really interact with her parents or the Marauders that much, she became friends with Regulus instead

Regulus should’ve been in Gryffindor

I’ve not only read fics where Draco has been a Ravenclaw, Slytherin, but also a Gryffindor. I haven’t found one where he’s in Hufflepuff

I’ve read fics where Harry’s in every single house - the Ravenclaw one might be my favorite so far, it had to do with him going to a different timeline where there’s another Harry and he’s a major dick

Hufflepuff Harry one was funny, but it got distressing cause Dumbledore didn’t trust him and tried to get him expelled

actually the Hufflepuff one made my heart hurt cause Harry was put in the body of a Harry who isn’t the boy who lived and barely spoke and was basically like an even more traumatized Neville

Slytherin Harry is everything to me and he should’ve been in Slytherin

Ravenclaw Draco is something that can be so personal

I’m tired of reading Year One fics, I get it, there’s a stone, let’s move on

Year Four fics are my favorite however, there was one (which is my favorite) where Harry’s a necromancer and in the graveyard scene he calls corpses from the graves alive to help him get out of there it was so cool

I am partial to Harry/Draco but Harry/Luna is cute

there was a Pokemon Harry/Luna one that’s adorable and I’ve read it twice already

I like when there’s a ton of lore involved

especially Hogwarts lessons - like ancient runes can fucking get it, I love runes fics

there was an MCU AU one where I read Harry didn’t have his magic anymore, not as potent as it was, but he did have ancient runes

LISTEN I tried to get into Dark!Harry but after that Voldemort adoption one I can’t do it anymore, I will start crying literally right now -- he just wants to be fucking useful! He just wants to be loved! Is that too much to fucking ask for?

however Harry doing dark!magic but isn’t actually on the dark side is cool

Death Eater Spy Draco! It makes me distressed but also I am so here for it!

Jenkins if you’re out there I love you (if you get this reference I love you)

I read a ton of Avengers adopt Harry when he’s younger but I don’t care for younger Harry fics, I prefer when he’s a teenager and I don’t have to read the first few years at Hogwarts, it can get repetitive

Give me all the angst with Harry being a horcrux please, I’m living for the drama

Lily is not a fan favorite weirdly enough, when the Marauders are in fics she’s usually not there which is unfortunate because I just really want a good Harry/Lily bonding moment

one of the saddest fics I read was where harry, luna, hermione and neville find themselves in an alternate dimension where Lily and Remus are married and alive, James is a dick but has other kids, and every single person that had died in their world is alive

I don’t like it when there’s Ron bashing, he’s one of my favorites, but if I have to, I’ll read some of them

there was this Sherlock fic (listen, I went in fucking deep, it’s been a weird month) where fem!Harry is on the run from the Ministry because I don’t actually understand and Ron and everyone is out for blood for her

Eleventh Doctor/Harry is a pairing I was not aware of but I actually kind of love?

Master of Death Harry is fucking OP and I love him for that

mcu aus is something I never knew I needed

Holly Potter and the Midlife Crisis is fucking everything

So is On Punching Gods and Absentee Dads, I realized it was the same author when I read in the author notes that the author was going to some volcano convention thing and I was like this is way too niche for it to be a coincidence

I’ve read Tony is Harry’s dad, Loki is Harry’s dad, Harry is just weird friends with Thor, ones where Natasha is Harry’s aunt

listen everyone is related to this boy

I will not read a fic if it doesn’t involve Harry, he’s my boy, he’s my love, I care only about him and him only I’m so sorry

you know that meme where people say nobody’s favorite character is harry potter, the titular character? Well meet me! He’s my favorite!

in battle of hogwarts fics, Remus almost always dies. Why is that? Why do you guys hate him so much? It’s always half and half for Fred, I never know if he’s going to live or not

In all of the good fics I’ve read I saw in the collections area of ao3 the same collection and I was like! You get me!

if it says Gammily’s Bookshelf on the fic, it’s gonna be a really fucking great fic let me just tell you that right now

Parseltongue gets me so riled up, I fucking love Parseltongue, it’s so cool

there’s a reason I usually filter out non/c*n but I decided to let it flow and I ran into a few that fucking d e s t r o y e d me why do you guys read shit like this, it broke my heart

that being said I read one that was really nuanced and actually really good but it’ll never be finished and I’m very mad about that

Either we have a better understanding of how goblins could be utilized than JKR or we’re just ignorant of how powerful they can be

weird coincidence that I’ve read two completely different fics where Harry thought having a threesome meant kissing three different people

Dumbledore’s a bitch and I hate him, every fic I’ve read so far agrees with me

there is a person out there that is CARRYING the bucky barnes/harry potter pairing on their back and I hope whoever that is knows how much I appreciate them

remind me never to click on a fic that hasn’t been updated since 2015 ever again, C’est La Vie I will miss you so

this is just a fucking quarter of the harry potter fics I’ve read but thanks for reading if you did, let me know if you want to know some of the titles

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teruthecreator · 3 years

Text

sweet surprises

lord forgive me for the cringe i’m about to post. i fully blame this post and this post for planting the seeds of berdley having a crush on kris in my brain. also shouts out to izel for listening to me go insane at 3 AM about this.

anyways, here’s a thing.

______________________________________________________________

Excitement is in the air.

Unlike the usual calm monotony of life at school, things recently have been quite...electric. Not because of the portal to the Dark World hidden behind the door of the closet, or the adventures had by a select group of students through the portal in the Librarby a few days ago. No, this isn’t about that.

This is about the Sadie Hawkman’s Dance. The once-a-year phenomenon where the school puts on its best interpretation of a formal dance for the incredibly small number of students who attend class. Students buzz in excitement for the event, preparing their most formal outfits and getting ready to dazzle their friends and fellow classmates with their dramatic entrances into the auditorium.

And, of course, there’s the all important ritual of asking someone to the dance.

There’s already been a few proposals made this week. Jockington rolled into class like a hula hoop and asked Catti to be his “best bro” for the dance, to which she happily agreed. (And by that, I mean she looked up from her phone, smiled, said not a single word, and went back to typing.) Temmie loudly announced to the class that she would be taking her egg, which was somehow...embarrassed that she mentioned it. And, of course, Noelle finally managed to work up enough courage to ask Susie to the dance. It was done in an incredible display of candy canes that spelled out the phrase: “CAN(E) YOU BE MY DATE TO THE DANCE?” Unfortunately, Susie was about halfway through scarfing the display down before she realized what it said. She then began choking on one of the candy canes out of disbelief, which wound her in the nurse for the rest of the day. But, when she could speak again, she very quietly agreed to Noelle’s proposal (and, if you happened to be a fly on the wall in that room, you could hear a tail thump rhythmically against the doctor’s bench as she did so).

Kris was pleased with everything. They were happy to see their friends so happy together. A long time coming, if you asked them. And they’d be just as happy attending the dance solo, since they’ll undoubtedly be dragged along by Susie. They’d never gone to the dance before--never had a reason to, truth be told. But with their newfound friends, they may just enjoy being a wingman for the night.

...Speaking of wingmen, Berdly will probably be going solo as well. Unsurprising, but Kris makes a mental note to ensure the bird will be in attendance. As much as he is kind of a lot sometimes, he’s their friend. And Kris is going to make sure all of their friends are having fun at that dance!

They walk into class thinking of this (surprisingly early, for a change), which is why they almost miss the massive display sitting boldly atop their desk. They freeze the instant it catches their eye and, for a second, they almost believe it isn’t real. Like some leftover thoughts of the Dark World lingering in their vision. But, after wiping their eyes and seeing that it’s still there, they decide to approach and...investigate.

The display is expertly crafted by someone who clearly knows their way around a glue gun. It is a heart-shaped arch that is decorated with a myriad of printed illustrations of Super Smashing Fighters Melee characters, all having cut-outs to hold different bars of chocolate. There are also numerous origami hearts glued around the characters on the arch, in colors spanning across the rainbow. The arch is painted in swirls of blues, pinks, and reds and covered with a border of glitter that sprinkles onto the desk when Kris reaches out to pluck a chocolate bar from its perch. On the desk itself is a big origami heart that says “TO KRIS” in gold calligraphy. It is by far one of the coolest, nicest, cheesiest things Kris has ever seen.

They look up from the display to see if anyone else is seeing this shit, and that’s when it all clicks.

Because sitting at the front of the classroom, fidgeting way more than normal, is Berdly. He keeps interlocking his ankles underneath his desk before unlocking them and kicking the air, turning around every half-second or so to try and catch Kris’s reaction. From the brief moments Kris can see the front of him, they notice he’s not in his usual white collared shirt and black khaki shorts. Instead, his shirt is buttoned all the way up, with a nice blue bowtie tied around his neck. He also traded out his khaki shorts for a pair of dress pants that look to be a tad too long for his legs. He keeps reaching up to smooth out the feathers on his head, which immediately stick back up from stress.

Now, Kris may be a straight B student, but they’re not stupid. Context clues are a very good thing, and all signs point to Berdly as the culprit of this public display of...affection?

Beyond Berdly is Ms. Alphys at her desk, who shoots Kris a look of deep understanding and maybe...guilt? She looks at Berdly for a split second and shrugs her shoulders, indicating he was probably in here long before she was and so she had no way of stopping him from leaving it there.

Kris looks back down at the display and picks up the large origami heart. As they begin to unfold it, they see a sprawling letter written in the same flashy calligraphy. Kris squints at the letters--they’re dyslexic, so everything kind of just looks like spaghetti on paper. Still, they’re able to make out the largely printed question of “WILL YOU GO TO THE DANCE WITH ME?” with no issue.

Huh, guess they won’t be going to the dance alone after all…? It’s a little confusing as to why Berdly would want to go with them, though. Like, they’ve hung out a little bit--usually whenever Berdly wanted a “worthy rival” to play video games with, he would come over and Kris would whoop his ass for a few hours. And, of course, there were the recent events in the Cyber World; but Kris is pretty sure them and Susie had thoroughly convinced Noelle and Berdley that that was all a dream. So, why them?

They’re lost in this train of thought for so long that they don’t even notice the other kids enter the room until they suddenly hear:

“Yo, Kris???????? What the heck is this thing????” Susie’s voice doesn’t startle them, but it is loud enough to get them to look up. Susie is standing next to their desk, looking at the display with genuine amazement thinly masked by disgust. She’s also loud enough to basically stop the whole class (who were all muttering amongst themselves about it anyway), which gives Kris only a second to gaze around the room before--

SLAM!

The door to the classroom slams shut, leaving one seat unoccupied.

Berdley’s.

“This thing’s got chocolate on it????” Susie continues to marvel at the display while Kris looks at the door, frowning. They feel...bad. It isn’t Berdley’s fault for trying to fit in with the other kids' proposals; he admitted to feeling like he needs to do more just to stand out enough for people to acknowledge him back in the Dark World. And this thing is really...thoughtful! The characters are all ones Kris typically mains, or ones they know Berdley mains, which means he remembers things about Kris. And the chocolate is a given, but it is nice to be able to stock their personal snack stash with some fancy stuff. Ultimately, it’s very sweet, and Kris can’t help but feel a little guilty for not saying anything immediately.

They turn and lock eyes with Ms. Alphys, who looks extremely out-of-depth with this situation. She makes a number of gestures from them to the door in a flustered way of saying I have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on please help me Kris I know I’m asking a lot of you but I don’t know how to deal with teenage angst I’m like thirty-five. They sigh, standing up and walking past Susie (but not before giving her a stare that warns her if a single chocolate bar is gone that they will be holding that over her until the day she dies) and following Berdly out the door.

It doesn’t take Kris very long to follow the trail of labored breathing to where Berdley is--in the abandoned classroom, hyperventilating as he teeters on a breakdown. Luckily, when Kris opens the door, it seems to put a halt to his spiralling because he just kind of...freezes. Like a deer caught in headlights. Or a Berdley caught in Kris-lights. Kris takes this moment to let the door shut behind them, trapping the two in here. Together.

“U-Uhhhhh, hi--he--Um. H-Hello, K-Kris…” Berdly attempts to put on his usual bravado, but his voice betrays him brutally by squeaking and cracking on every syllable. Kris can’t help the smile that comes to their face.

“Uh, hey,” they reply with a wave. Berdley continues to stand there and stare (almost like he wasn’t expecting Kris to care enough to follow him) before the present circumstances return to his mind and he begins breathing hard again.

“I-I-I-I, uh...I was. Um. J-Just, uh. G-Getting some fresh air! Y-Yes! The classroom can be s-so stuffy sometimes, I’m sure y-you--you, uh...you agree?” Berdley makes a valiant attempt at hiding his panic, which Kris almost takes pity on. But they don’t think the monster will feel any better if they just pretend what happened back there never happened.

“Yeah. I liked the display.” Kris says simply. Berdley stands stock-straight at that, looking even worse for wear in the “being normal and completely cool” department.

“O-Oh??????? That ol’ thing????? I, um--well I just--y-you see, I--uh. Um,” You can really hear the gears in his head turning as he attempts to come up with an excuse. “I-I-I just thought you w-would appreciate the craftsmanship of!!! A t-true artisan, such as myself!!! So, I!!! M-Made it!!! COMPLETELY PLATONICALLY, OF COURSE!!!! I-I would never imply that my intentions w-were anything other than for bro-sies, i--You didn’t read that whole card, did you?”

“I can’t read,” They mean this as a joke, but they can see Berdley seriously consider this for a second too long. “Dude, I’m dsylexic. I can’t really read cursive…” Berdley freezes up once more, which makes Kris realize they haven’t really projected that as loudly as they might’ve thought.

“Oh! Right! How could I forget! That you’re! Dsylexic!” Berdley’s smile is stapled to his face as he begins to rhythmically knock on his head. “And I! Wrote! That! Entire! Note! In! Cursive! Which! You! Can’t! Read!!!” Kris steps forward in an attempt to keep Berdley from bashing his own skull in, but that only makes Berdley more tense, so they take a step back. “I-I just--The note isn’t important! None of it’s important actually can we forget this interaction ever happened okay? Okay yes that’s great have a wonderful day Kris I will be returning home to sitinmyroomandneverreturntothecorporealrealmalrightgoodbyeforeverKris--” He attempts to sidestep around Kris and out the door, but is very easily intercepted.

“Stop.” Kris grabs him by the shoulders, which seems to shut him up for a second. “Can you just tell me what’s wrong?” Berdley gapes at them as his face steadily grows redder, which makes Kris feel as if there’s something on their face. But he quickly shakes it off, going from completely neurotic to...dejected.

“I just…” He starts, trailing off immediately. “You deserve to have a big proposal, same as everyone else. I-I see you in the back of the class, just...watching. And I, uh, felt it was time to...give you the spotlight! But that was silly of me, wasn’t it?” He looks off to the side at the floor, smiling sadly. “After all, who’d want to go to the dance with me…? I-I’m alone every year, standing in the background. Just kind of...taking it all in...and th-thinking about how it’d be...nice to be a part of it. But that’s...not probable. It was just nice to think about taking you to the dance because you’re--well, you’re nice to me, and you’re funny, and you actually listen to me when I’m talking, an-and you’re a good person and an incredible gaming legend...but I shouldn’t have put it all on you in front of everyone...I’m. I’m sorry, Kris.” He won’t make eye contact with the human, but Kris can still see the tears collecting in his eyes.

“Berdley, that’s stupid.” Kris says, which Berdley cringes at, “Why wouldn’t I wanna go with you?” That part is...not what Berdley was expecting. He looks up at Kris, unsure of where to go from here.

“U-Um…? Because of all the previously stated things? Like me being a complete loser who nobody likes?”

“I like you,” Kris replies immediately, leaving Berdley’s feathers sticking straight up as he flusters. “And I like your display. It’s...really sweet.”

“E-Even if you can’t read the note?” Berdley’s voice cracks.

“I mean, I could read the: WILL YOU GO WITH ME TO THE DANCE part, so, like. Yeah.” Kris shrugs. “Plus, you got me chocolate. Nice chocolate. Nobody...gets me things like that.” They smile, a light dusting of blush across their face. “I’ll go with you.” Berdley’s entire body seizes up for the third time, eyes wide and mouth agape.

“W-W-w-W-w-w-w-w-W-W-W-w-w-w-Wh-Wha-wh-w-w-wha-wha-w-wh-Wh-Wha-wh-Wha-wha-w-w-W-W-W--” Berdley continues to struggle with the word “what” for a solid minute and a half before he’s finally about to manage a: “What?!” Kris can’t help but laugh.

“I said that, Berdley,” at this, they move their grip from his shoulders to his hands, “I will go to the Sadie Hawkman’s dance with you.”

The circuits in Berdley’s brain struggle with this frequency for an extended moment before his face erupts in the giddiest smile Kris has ever seen the bird monster sport. He even begins to jump up and down, taking Kris along with him, as he cackles. It is a surprisingly cute display that Kris finds themselves blushing a bit at. It’s nice to be this...cared about.

“I-I--We have to start thinking of outfits immediately!” Berdley blurts out, returning to their usual demeanor. “I was thinking of some complimentary color schemes on the way to school today which I will be happy to show you at lunchtime. I’m also a master with a sewing machine, so if you are unable to procure an outfit that meets the color requirements, I would be delighted to take your measurements and--w-wait, don’t read into that phrasing, I just m-meant that I could make an outfit for you! B-But I’d need your measurements, and--Oh, goodness, hasn’t class started already, Kris?! We should head back, but--” He looks from the door to Kris and back again a few times before finally settling on something.

“I’lltalktoyouaboutthislaterseeyouinclassKris!!!!!” He says this right before he gives Kris a solitary peck on the cheek before bolting out of the abandoned classroom, leaving Kris blinking at the Berdley-shaped cloud he left behind. Their hand gently grazes the spot on their cheek--luckily not actually pecked by his beak, but more of a quick-kiss kind of peck--and feel their heart skip a beat.

Huh.

That’s...different.

They elect to not dwell on that feeling any longer and head back to class. They have to make sure Susie hasn’t eaten all of the chocolate on that display.

They wouldn’t want to make Berdley go through the trouble of re-proposing just so they could rightfully claim their other sweet surprise.

#deltarune #deltarune chapter 2 #kris/berdley #kris dreemurr #kris deltarune #berdley deltarune #ignorance cloud on #LORD FORGIVE ME FOR BEING CRINGE ON MAIN. I JUST LIKE THINKING THOUGHTS #LISTEN..........I JUST THINK ITD BE FUNNY. IF KRIS HAD THIS PATHETIC GAMER ALL HEART EYES OVER THEM #also the dance aspect is based on one of the posters you can see inside the school. i am Pretty sure that is what its called #if i was off by like a similar-sounding word i need everyone to do me a favor and pretend im right bc this is cringe enough already #i edited this ONCE at 3 AM last night. i am doing no more than that #anyways here u go izel enjoy ur food.

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broadstflyers · 3 years

Text

A/N: Welp, inspiration struck me, felt as though it quite literally hit me over the top of my head at like 1am, so I proceeded to write this at...1am. It was fun, honestly. It was meant to be a shorter blurb, but I guess it grew into a longer one. I have been experimenting with different writing styles to see which one fits me the best, so I gave the main character a name this time, Alessandra. Also, I was a slight idiot and on my first tag list, I made it specific to the other series I am writing. If you like this piece and the other Mat piece I wrote and you want to be tagged when I post any writing at all, the tag list is here. The semi lowercase thing I've got going on is purposeful. As always, feedback is appreciated, and if you like it, give it a like, reblog, or pop into my asks. Thanks! :)

Warnings: Cursing, angst, mentions of anxiety

Word Count: 1.4k

Summary: When an ex comes back in a moment of weakness, you have to make a tough decision.

you say nothing as you approach the black haired boy sitting at a table in your english class. you sit down next to him. he looks up at you, and you lock eyes. no words are spoken, only a mutual understanding. one that only you two could define. you suddenly inch closer to him, continuing to lean in until your head is resting on his chest. you rest your arm next to your head, and he wraps an arm around you.

home. warm. it was.

you could feel his heart beating out of his chest. your heart fluttered with joy. it was instant. it was marvelous. it was beautiful.

“I love you, Alessandra.”

you lurch forward out of your bed, heart beating so fast you are shaking. you pant heavily, tears stream your face, startled. your eyes dart around your room to ground yourself through watery eyes. you hold up your trembling hands, something that has refused to stop since he walked out of your front door for the last time two months ago.

“please don’t visit,” you choke out. you find the strength to turn around and grab your pillow. your chest pounds with pain, every movement is agonizing. you squeeze your soft pillow against your chest to try and alleviate the self-sustained blow. you pretended the pillow could somehow suck the heavy feelings out of you, the way he used to use his hands of healing magic, the way he used to place them with gentle care on your chest to somehow suck the anxiousness out of you onto himself.

you mindlessly rock back and forth, waiting for the waves of mind numbing pain to recede back into the endless deep abyss of despair.

“please don’t visit,” you repeat in a weak voice. not that he could hear your begging, anyways.

he didn’t hear your pleas to love you how you loved him- with every bone in your body. he held a knife in his calloused hands and carved his initials into your soul. every inch of your soul belonged to him, and you let it.

how can you break a bond that felt as though the angels themselves used their delicate touch to hand-tie the gold string you once believed held you two together?

maybe that explains why this feels like hell.

you flinch as you hear a sharp knock at the front door. you should probably get that, but you instead settle back into your hazy gaze out into your room.

a second knock rings throughout the apartment, faster, with a sense of urgency.

“please don’t visit,” you croak.

“Alessandra,” a voice croaks back. “open up.”

your blood freezes cold, eyes grow wide in panic. fire spreads through your veins. hot and cold sensations rip you apart limb from limb. your voice feels broken. no sounds come out when you open your mouth.

I guess I should move.

so you do. you stand up a little too quickly, and your vision goes black. you place your palms down on the bed and wait for your vision to return. you tip toe over to the door and place your palm on your chilling door. goosebumps erupt on your skin.

“it’s Mat,” his once soothing voice whispers through the door.

“Mat,” you quietly repeat back.

“yes, it’s me,” he says with a sigh of relief that you answered him.

his voice of familiarity is catching you in a stint of anxiety where you just want something- anything that’s familiar. you know this. when you used to gaze into his kind, brown eyes, you would see the boy you met in eighth grade, not the man that walked out that door just two months ago.

you went to move the locks, and you unlocked both of them, until you pulled back with hesitancy. “I can’t, Mat, I can’t,” you breathe out, “I can’t see you. please,” you plead, “hear me. I, I can’t. you didn’t hear me all those months I pleaded with you. hear me now.”

you can hear him place his head on the door with a soft thump.

“I still love you, Alessandra,” he mumbles.

and that was it. you just about exploded. the emotions you had kept at bay were unleashed. you began to sob and you sank to the ground until you could hug your knees. you still faced the door. you knew he shouldn’t walk in, but you almost wanted him to. you wanted him to put an end to this, but was it a good idea?

no, it wasn’t. and you knew that.

you began to take deep breaths to calm yourself down. “it’s unlocked,” you hear yourself say in the distance. you didn’t immediately regret those words like you thought you would. you had scooted yourself away from the door so you wouldn’t get hit.

he slowly opened the creaky door, and glances down to see you blankly staring at your knees. what else could you do? it was awkward enough.

he doesn’t say anything. the apartment is dead.

he carefully sits down across from you, far enough where he isn’t in your face, but close enough that you could extend your legs and they would touch him.

you both sit in silence for a moment, trying to adjust to being in each other’s presence again. his presence felt so natural, yet so nerving. you weren’t used to feeling so on edge around him. so hurt.

“time,” you sniff and break the unbearable silence. “I need time,” you reaffirm.

he nods slowly. “I understand,” he whispers. “I know I hurt you. I know I fucked up. I fucked up badly.”

you don’t move a muscle from staring at the seam on your sweatpants. you take a shaky breath. it’s now or never.

“Mat, do you know how painful it is to have to practically beg someone to not treat you like shit one day and then to decide the next day I’m the fucking greatest human being on this planet?” you start to find your voice again.

“I had to beg my boyfriend to treat me with respect. the person I gave my soul to. do you know how much that fucking killed me?” your voice was seething with anger as you remembered the end of your relationship. feelings of betrayal and hurt overtook you.

you push yourself off the floor. he follows you.

“you don’t love me,” you assert. “you ‘love’ me because of when you met me. I’m just familiar to you.”

he makes a taken aback face, his eyebrows furrow. “hey, I know what I feel okay? and yeah, I was a fucking asshole. I realize that now. I shouldn’t have acted out on you like I did. I shouldn’t have made you beg for basic human respect. I’m sorry.”

you look into his eyes again. those brown innocent eyes were once filled with sparkling joy. you see 13 year old you dancing around with his favorite flower in your hair. you see hundreds of dates, each one more special than the last.

you see innocent you. it’s just familiarity. you know it is. you’re too hurt, mind too foggy to really sort through your feelings to figure out if you love the mat standing in front of you.

“I’m going to need time, Mat. I am still feeling too much hurt to decide how I feel.”

he swallows hard, but eventually nods. “okay.”

with a heavy heart, you walk him to the door. before he can walk out, he stops, turns around, and looks down at you one last time. you gaze up into those endless eyes of his, heart shattering because you know you have to send him on his way. it’s for your own good.

he opens his mouth to speak and you gently shake your head. he closes his mouth, and you offer him a nod as in, it’s time to go. you can see his body exhale. he steps through the door frame, this time you sending him through there yourself. you don’t wait to see if he will turn around. you don’t want to see if he turns around. you want to close that door knowing you are the one who sent him away, and that was all you wanted to remember in the future. and so you do.

you lock the locks with every ounce of you left, pressing your fingers down to make sure the door was actually locked. you just wanted to keep everything out. every weird feeling, any remote desire to go back to him.

you paused to touch the door one last time, letting a single tear flow down your cheek before turning to crawl back into bed and sulk for the rest of the day.

you knew deep down that was the last time you would ever see the face of your teenage love.

he won’t be visiting anymore.

------------

again, here's the link to the tag list, and my asks are open if you want to talk about this piece! I hope you...well...enjoyed it, I guess? lmao

#mat barzal #mat barzal angst #mat barzal fic #mat barzal imagine #mat barzal x reader

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evilwickedme · 3 years

Text

ok so to sum up my feelings for leverage: redemption, season 1(a): (long post warning, there’s a tl;dr at the end)

I knew that Hardison wouldn’t be in most of the season due to Aldis Hodge being a busy bee nowadays, but I didn’t realize that meant he’d only be around for the first two episodes. He was sorely missed, not only because of my attachment to him, but also because he’s usually the grounding factor in the group dynamic, and his role as info guy and tech guy was split evenly between two characters who had their own issues.

That said, Hardison is absolutely a highlight of the two episodes he’s in. his speech about redemption was everything I could’ve hoped for (plus, more evidence for the Jewish!Hardison pile...). I wish we’d gotten to see more of his dynamic with Breanna because what we saw was funny and sweet and we don’t generally get to see Hardison taking care of somebody who so desperately needs taking care of. I hope that Aldis Hodge is around for more episodes in 1(b), because what we’re left with feels a little hollow.

Sticking to original leverage characters for now, for the most part the leverage crew still felt true to the original series as characters, even if the show itself was a little bit confused at times. The actors understand their characters and embody them so well that I think one could give them the trashiest script ever and they’d still sell it. Sophie is a particular focus in 1(a) because of Nate’s death, and she’s particularly well written as a result.

That said, I’m super bitter that we saw little to no mastermind!Parker. Parker’s character being given the mastermind role was a big deal and it feels like they’re walking it back because they feel uncomfortable with it. It is eventually given an in-text excuse, but literally in the last episode, and it was not a particularly convincing reason, and in fact contradicted moments from previous episodes (Sophie leaving for a client meeting and ignoring Parker in ep3 comes to mind). It’s frustrating, it makes the end of the original leverage feel pointless, and letting Parker make a decision once in a while is not the same thing at all. The original series repeatedly showed us that while everyone in the team had their strengths, Parker works problems and solves them in unique, interesting ways, and other characters’ days in the limelight tended to be comedic or even failures. It’s a broken promise, and a pretty major broken promise at that.

On a more positive note, Parker’s dynamic with literally everyone was fantastic. She’s possibly the best written character this season. They’ve taken the autism out of the subtext and into the text (although obviously still undiagnosed), and given her coping mechanisms that were taken seriously in the text even when they were played for laughs, which I appreciated. Her attempts to mentor Breanna were sweet, her friendship with Sophie was electric and at times (CRIMES) hilarious, and as usual, she has a fantastic dynamic with Eliot that makes my heart burst. If you don’t think they’re romantically involved, at least acknowledge there’s a life partnership here. They’ve spent the last decade together.

(We’ll get to Harry.)

Eliot isn’t given much arc-wise, which is frustrating since he’s my favorite. He’s being presented as the goal at the end of a redemption arc, ie to keep working at it every day until your soul heals or whatever, and it doesn’t reflect the message they’re trying to convey via Hardison’s speech and our two new characters. He’s got his moments, but I think they under utilized his potential.

Breanna!!! Breanna’s my new favorite, except for Eliot. She’s hilarious, she’s insecure, she’s nerdy and excited in a way that’s similar to Hardison but still distinct in its inherent teenage-girl-ness and I LOVE IT. Unlike the previous series, where Hardison’s “age of the geek” was often a joke played on Hardison, we’re at the point where Eliot and Parker are both right there with him, and so they accept and even appreciate Breanna’s nerdiness. Also, canon gay character? In YOUR Leverage? It’s more likely than you think.

(No, I never thought they’d make ot3 canon on screen. I hoped, but I didn’t think it would actually happen.)

I think Breanna’s the character that will be the most interesting to see grow. She’s got a lot of potential and a list of crimes a mile long (or more). I adore her with all my heart. I want to see her tiktok account.

Harry. Oh, Harry.

It took me a while, but I do like Harry. It took a while, because the narrative positioned him at the same level as Nate back in episode 1 of original Leverage. But in episode 1 we didn’t know the other characters. We had Nate as the POV character, and so we cared about him because we were seeing the world through his eyes. (This is TV Studies 101. I know this, because I took TV Studies 101 in 2019.) In Leverage: Redemption, we no longer have a POV character, for several reasons:

Nate, previously the POV character, is dead.

As it is, by mid-season 3 of leverage Nate was no longer a POV character. This is, coincidentally, the point where the leverage writers realized they had four other characters in the main cast they could do something with, and in-universe, Nate accepted that he was a thief, not a special Good Man.

Sophie is sort of a POV character for the first episode of the revival, but only for the first few minutes. Afterwards, the series settles into the groove of seasons 3-5, i.e., the entire crew is our POV. We know our crew, and we love them as is.

Narratively, however, Redemption insists on positing Harry as the POV character, because it is his redemption we are pursuing most vehemently. And I think they really relied on us already knowing the actor - I’ve never seen him in anything before, so to me he was a completely fresh face and they put almost no effort into selling him to me. Beyond being competent and consistently mildly baffled by the antics of the leverage crew, I honestly don’t know who this man is by the end of EIGHT episodes with him. I have a much better handle on Breanna by the end of 1(a), and I can tell you I knew all five of the original leverage crew better by the end of the first episode of the original series than I do Harry. What’s the name of his daughter, John Rogers. Is he still married. How old is the daughter. Why is none of this worth mentioning. Give him a sense of humor that isn’t reacting to other people’s shenanigans. I’m so frustrated. It’s bad writing.

I did manage to grow to like Harry by the end, but I’m pretty sure this is down to Noah Wyle’s charismatic portrayal of an under-developed character, at least partially. And I never stopped being frustrated at not knowing who this man is at all.

The two highlights of the season are undoubtedly episodes five and six. Episode five was the first time I felt like the episode was more than a collection of good moments between the main cast and mediocre moments between the main cast and also the main plot. The issues with pacing and tone that I suffered through for most of the season were mostly non-existent in ep5 and 6, and at least in episode 5 I attribute that to the pared down cast. They had time to focus not only on our actual characters - Sophie, Parker, Breanna - but also on the case. This is the only client from 1(a) I am going to remember next week without googling it first, mark my words.

Episode six worked for the exact opposite reason - it completely disregarded the client and plot and immersed itself in the characters. Breanna gets a moment to shine, but everybody else gets their bits and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the script that was most fun to write. The characters felt natural, real, and captured the found-family dynamic that’s been missing all season for the first time.

While episode 2 is the weakest episode, I don’t actually have much to say about it. I am disappointed in episode 8. For a mid-season finale, I really expected them to do something. Instead, it was an episode about Nate Ford that copped out of being about Nate Ford (both with fake-Nate and with the new version of him being relayed to us). I would have told the writers to give that energy back to episode 1 and write an episode that’s about anybody who isn’t Harry, oh my God. I know I said I grew to like him but so many episodes were about Harry. He’s the newbie! Why didn’t Hardison get an episode that was actually about him, considering he was only around for two episodes? Why does Eliot have to be the butt of the joke when the theme of the series should directly tie back to him in a much more meaningful way? The last episode parodies their own tagline by saying Eliot isn’t just a hitter, but it deftly avoids noticing that they’ve turned him into nothing more than very muscly comic relief, including in that very episode!

Also, I hated the Marshal. Eliot actively looked uncomfortable around her.

tl;dr

The season took a while, that’s definitely true. But it did find its footing eventually, and by the halfway mark of 1(a) it finally felt cohesive again. The characters were played fantastically even when they weren’t well-written, and if nothing else, the humor landed every time. It still has its kinks and problems to work out, but if you look at it as a brand new show rather than a continuation of one that went off the air over eight years ago, it’s actually doing rather well. I’m choosing to judge it in both lights - according to its own standards, it establishes its identity in episode five; according to Leverage standards, it establishes its connection to its roots in episode six. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed 1(a), and continue to have high hopes for 1(b).

fic writing will commence in three, two, one...

#leverage #leverage meta #leverage redemption #leverage ot3 #parker leverage #alec hardison #sophie devereaux #eliot spencer #breanna casey #harry wilson #mine

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aclosetfan · 3 years

Text

I’m still mad about Bunny from an earlier post so here’s some headcanons for an au affectionately titled “what could have happen if CN didn’t nuke the one ppg with an intellectual disability”

Long post! Look under the cut!

Bunny has Down Syndrome!

The Professor is a little...tifted when he finds out his children made another child, but Professor is a man full of love, so he takes it in stride. He’s never mad at Bunny, but the triplets have a very long and thorough talking to.

Bunny is an adjustment, but so were the triplets. Professor adjusts well to the change. He doesn’t like his lil honey bun (cause ofc he has embarrassing nicknames for her too) to go out and fight. He doesn’t want her getting too overstimulated and would rather leave the bigger villains to the girls. He can’t stop Bunny from running to help when her sisters call though!

Bunny is no damsel in distress!

But for the most part, Bunny does her part for the team by helping the professor in the lab! She’s a little uncoordinated when she gets excited, but so is the Professor, so it’s a match made in heaven. She has her own lab gear and happily hands over tools and chemicals (w/supervision!) at the Professor’s request. She also very good at reminding the professor when it’s time for a break. Bunny doesn’t let him miss snack or bedtime.

She also makes sure his experiment have a touch of cutesy because Bunny loves her a bit of sparkle and frills!

Having a sister with an obvious disability is difficult for the girls in their own ways. But Bunny really teaches the girls a lot!

For Blossom, she has a hard time puzzling how Bunny was going to live a fulfilling life in an unforgiving world. Since Blossom strives for control over things she doesn’t understand, it takes her a little bit (and a few lectures from the professor) to realize that Bunny will find her own place and that she doesn’t have to be so anxious. Bunny will be fine. She’ll be okay. She’s not so fragile. (But Blossom still has bouts of extreme worry that her little sister won’t ever be accepted) Like I said though, Blossom strives for control and tries to help the Professor keep Bun well structured and safely entertained, but Bunny’s has an independent mind of her own and teaches Blossom that while structure is good, everyone deserves a little fun!

For Buttercup it’s a giant lesson in calm and patience, which if you follow the show, is generally the lesson Buttercup needs to learn. But Bunny isn’t Bubbles or another kid on the playground, she’s special in a different way and even though she has super powers too and can get a little rough—because Bunny often forgets her own strength—Buttercup has to often be remind that she needs to be gentle. It takes a little bit for Buttercup to realize that Bunny doesn’t get things right away and what Buttercup thinks is funny can be hurtful to her. But Buttercup does learn and she’s extremely protective of her baby sister. She finds games and sports that they both enjoy, and every once in while Buttercup will buckle down and play the princess that Bunny has to save. Fr Bunny and Buttercup never give up on each other.

Bubbles is immediately the best with Bunny. It’s not so much her disability that Bubbles has an issue with, it’s more like the family displacement. Bunny gets a lot of the extra attention Bubbles has been use to. Bunny and her like a lot of the same things—dolls, coloring books, things that glitter and sparkle, bright colors, stuffed animals etc. They’re both very much into everything girly. And that means Bubbles really has to learn to share. Her stuff, her sisters, her professor—everything. Sometimes she gets a little jealous, but after an incident with Octi (where the beloved stuffed animal was ripped in two and crudely taped back together by her little sister in apology), Bubbles eventually realizes that Bunny looks up to her as a strong, tough older sister and that’s A-Ok w/ Bubs. And I know it’s cliche but I think Bubs would give Bunny Octi—not forever mind you—they share.

School’s interesting! Bunny goes to preschool with them and gets her own special teacher. But kids can be cruel and the bullies of the preschool (which is, yeah, Mitch and his group) do what they do. The sisters learn early on how to deal with insensitivity and it’s not easy (especially for BC/Blossom), but with the help of Ms. Keane, the Professor, and Bunny herself, the preschool learns that Bunny’s just a little girl who likes to play too!

I mentioned this one in a previous post, but I think Mr. Green should be her parateacher instead of the girls substitute. That way his character can stay in the show and they can have the “don’t judge a book by its cover” episode. But now it can wrap back into the episode of Bunny’s first day of school to really hit the point home! Mr Green can explain that Bunny was “different” but the girls loved her anyway, so “hey give me a chance to, I promise I won’t let you down!” (The intensity of the episode would be heightened because the girls would be extra protective of Bun) (Bunny absolutely adores Mr. Green and Ms. Keane appreciates the help!)

Bunny teaches them how to stim!! Whether it’s flappin around or playing with slime the sisters like doing it together (and tbh they’re fun stress relievers that the triplets carry into adult life)!

Also, now that I think about, I don’t feel like Bunny would get over stimulated often, but it takes her a bit to calm down when she does. Bubbles is the best at calming her down when she gets too excited, but when she’s angry, it’d be BC. I think that’s because Buttercup’s marked as an aggressive kid and, like I mentioned earlier, her and Bunny’s relationship would be filled with “learning to be calm” lessons.

Bunny has sensory issues! Nbd we all do, but Bunny doesn’t like her ears being touched so sometimes it’s hard to brush her hair. She loves Blossom’s hair though and Blossom can usually convince her that if she wants long pretty hair she needs to wash and brush her own. Blossom and the Professor are the only ones allowed to touch her hair!

Sensory wise, Bunny only likes soft cotton clothing. Everything else is too ichy. She also only wears dresses because they’re both pretty and light. good thing t-shirt dresses exist!

Purple! Bunnies! Purple! Bunnies! She has a niche and my baby fills it!

Hard ‘T’s are hard for Bunny. They round into ‘D’s instead. So Buttercup becomes Buddercup except Buddercup can sometimes be too much too, so Bunny more often then not calls her sister Buddy and that’s how Buttercup eventually earns the nickname Bud.

If you h/c the girls with fingers, the Utonium’s learn sign language, which helps when Bunny become too over stimulated or has bouts of being non verbal! Buttercup has the hardest time, Blossom catches on the quickest, Bubbles and Bunny keep making up their own signs, and Professor’s just trying to teach them all!

Can’t stay in preschool forever! Kids grow up! Sucks though :/ because the girls don’t stay in the same class. But don’t worry the triplets make sure they always eat lunch with their sister! And two weeks into middle school they realize that their baby sister doesn’t need them much anyways. She’s the queen of the SPED room. She’s so helpful, kind, and popular that she’s socially doing better then her sisters 😂😂

Bunny really gets into gymnastics! She wants to be in the special olympics, but she has super powers and the Professor has to explain that having super powers is a bit like cheating. She throws a tantrum and Bubbles, with all her crafty genius, saves the day by making fake medals and trophies. The Utoniums though are still very involved in the special olympics and other like activities . It makes them all happy and Bunny gets to hand out the medals! (Helps that she’s a superhero 😏😉 always getting that special treatment)

Guys, my gal? She’s a huge flirt! If you’re like ew no, that’s morally wrong, you need to re-evaluate what YOU know about Down Syndrome! Yes developmentally she’s a little slower, but Bunny’s still a teenager—a growing young women—and very much human, so romantic idealtions are very normal. And that applies to all our friends irl too. It just depends on a persons mental capacity! Admittedly, the Professor was a little uncomfortable at first too because there’s consent and power imbalances to think about, but the people of similar age that Bunny interacts with on the daily are people just like her—like minded individuals with puppy crushes. You can’t deny a person their humanity, so when one of the boys in her SPED class gets the courage to ask her on a date the Professor buckles down and calls the boy’s mom.

Their date is a at a park, properly chaperoned by their parents. They swing and have a good time. They end it with a hug! It’s very exciting and Bunny doesn’t stop bragging about it. Two days later she’s broken up with her new BF for the next brave soul. (Truly everything stays completely innocent don’t worry. I can understand anyone’s concern—Bunny isn’t a sexual being she’s just a romantic. Also there’s ALWAYS a chaperone)

Her family still worries though. Blossom because she always worries about Bunny and the things Bunny could be missing out on. The Professor for much the same reason + she’s his little girl. Bubbles because her LITTLE sister keeps getting more dates then her. And Buttercup doesn’t worry much, but she is annoyed because if the Professor isn’t available, she’s the one who ALWAYS has to chaperone.

Why buttercup? Don’t let her fool you. She actually volunteers. She’d chaperone any of her sisters’ dates if Blossom and Bubbles would let her. Ain’t no gross boy touching her sisters.

Tbh bunny flirts with boys most of the time to embarrass and get a rise out of her sisters. She’s a lil shit sometimes. (It’s the spice in her)

Bunny also makes sure to keep her sisters IN CHECK. If she thinks they’re being too judgmental or mean to the “bad guys,” she makes sure they remember how they were mean to HER.

Most of the main villains though don’t know her. Mojo tried something once and ended up being carted back to Townsville Correctional Facility in a gurney. Bunny has an aversion to violence after the “you’re being bad” incident, so she isn’t one to fight/protect herself (protecting her sisters is another story tho lol she’d kill for them), but her sisters are fiercely protective. Incredibly protective. So protective that when the other main villains saw Mojo carted into jail they went 😬😬😬 and stayed away.

She meets Princess though! She likes Princess for all her glittery dress-up shit. Idk how yet, but I think she’d be a good catalyst for Princess’s redemption arc (along with Robin, who yes is also Bunny’s best friend). She thinks Princess’s hair is pretty and really let’s be honest Princess goes soft because she likes the positive attention. In Princess’s defense, she was never insensitive to Bunny’s disability. She’s a ppg and a ppg is what Princess wants to be. Sure, she’s petty, but goodness gracious, Blossom, she’s well versed in etiquette and that’s just uncouth.

And she meets the boys because she’s a flirt remember? Boomer’s name is her favorite but she never gets the “-er” part out. Just likes the way BOOM sounds. Her sisters have to remind her to use her inside voice, but Boomer’s a good sport about his ear drums being blown out and usually yells right on back. She thinks they’re cute! Like Princess, Bunny makes the boys feel liked and needed and helps them along their redemption arc! But they’re hesitant to be around her because they saw MoJo and....😬😬😬 (hell would freeze over before the girls let them near her anyway) (their fear is also why they aren’t completely insensitive shits towards Bunny—Mitch is a human so he got away from a beating, but someone like Butch?? Nah, BC’s always actively looking for a reason to decimate him)

Bun’s fave villain though is Fuzzy. He’s like a giant fuzzy pink teddy bear!

Bunny’s essentially made out of the exact same stuff as Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup. Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice. So what if she’s a smidge bit different. Everyone loves her just the same!

#headcanons #ppg Bunny #I’d die for this girl #she deserves love #and the next story I write I’m putting her in it #if someone thinks I need to amend of change anything lemme know!!#no intention here to be insensitive!#I wrote this in a daze so sorry if it isn’t coherent

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fearlessmayee · 3 years

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Top ten AFHF documentary moments, go!

Thank you for asking sea, but you've really put me in a dilemma, how the f am I supposed to choose 10? All of it was my favorite, he shined like the sun throughout the entire thing.

1. We got to see him in his element, him being nervous and excited just anticipating to share his passion with us. Can you imagine him thinking wishing to run away, and yet, staying put, squaring his shoulders and facing it head on. Hoping to give up, yet hoping against hope to do it again, even if it's just one more time.

“I hate this feeling [before going onstage]. Helene always said to me, that's a choice is it nerves or is excitement? It’s the same. Only now I look in the moment I feel it, but I look at it differently. […] I always have this feeling before in my mind where I’m thinking ‘if I could run away, I would’ but now I’m thinking ‘just get me out there!’ ”

2. You can see, that he is so far away from his ''image'' of One direction, yet the same teenage boy having this unattainable dream of being a singer, and that lad from donny. Expectedly, yes, he has grown and changed throughout the years, but his fundamentals and core remain the same.

“You know coming from a situation like One Direction it was never gonna be a walk in the park becoming a solo artist. I’ve had shit to deal with.“

2. BRUH, Vulnerability? from a white male? In his 20s and 30s?Who's an reputed artist? Who's a millionaire? I-? This line was just so true, and raw, and REAL.

“When everyday is the same, it’s hard to feel creative and its hard to get any kind of inspiration”

3. This sentence to me represented acceptance of struggles, usually a strong personality would rather not acknowledge his/her/their struggles. They'd rather be seen as someone who can do this in their sleep instead of saying, that yes my life is hard sometimes.

“Too many times in my career have I had to pick myself up and go ‘right let’s go again’ ”

4. Efforts, the sheer efforts. When you're at the level that you are, you happen to start putting significantly lot less effort in your work. Instead here's this baby, who is working even more hard, putting in extra energy, time, and assets into honing his craft. A true dedicated artist.

“I put in a lot of work with Helene over Zoom as well because of that I don’t think I’ve ever been that excited over a gig and I finally feel like I’m gonna get out there and not just enjoy it for fucking just bathe in it. Love it.“

5. Right, an artist who values his fanbase instead of taking them for granted and only using them for their money? you're kidding! An artist, who regularly emphasizes the importance of his fans, and never forgets to thanks them? Right, you're dreaming! An artist who meticulously plans a free festival for his fans? You're delusional

“Just the togetherness. That’s what makes me feel like I can take on the world. Because with that lot behind me, who’s gonna fucking stop us?”

6. Helene. That relationship - its closeness and intensity -- really surprised me. You can tell that they share a deep meaningful emotional bond. She's a mentor for him in every way and its clear she loves him as much as he loves her. A pretty rare sight, in between people who don't give really seem to give a fuck about him. There's a mother/son vibe there and he seems to trust her as completely as she admires him. Tbh, Helene I cried too.

“I trust Helene implicitly. She can tell me after I smashed it and I’m trying to read between the lines. Today, today she was fucking crying man.”

7. The moments the band were given to really what they can do, jamming out (including the strings going for it too.) Steve is phenomenal as is Michael, but they're all incredible frankly. The band was so cool, I'd also like to mention the other artists and people who's work The production design, the set design, the lighting, the sounds. Everyone except the marketing and advertising department, should clap themselves for a job well done.

8. Charlie. How well he gets Louis. How loyal he is to Louis, how much he appreciates who he is and what he can do. And how extraordinarily skilled he is at what he does himself. In fact this demonstrate just how good Louis is at finding people whore superb at what they do. He did his job phenomenally, exceptionally.

9. The fans as shown through the lens, which might be a substitute for through Louis eyes. Their love, their pride and delight came across so clearly .I loved that all the rainbow flags were given the spotlight - instead of being skimmed over, Only the Brave was a true moment. Similarly Two of Us, was a real moment, the fans knowing how much the song it meant for him, and understanding its value and being respectful about it. How they seemed shell-shocked and speechless during changes.

10. Maybe most of all, the reckless, fun, fuck it all style of the celebration shots moment and the band euphoric celebratory hug, showing their bond and relationship clearly. I absolutely loved those moments in the film because they were so Louis. He may be the leader but he's also a literal kid, a partner in crime some might say, pure unpredictable fun.

Watching the AFHF documentary, I feel every emotion that Louis went through and I know that we all are felt them together. He was just so happy and confident during the concert. A God on the stage. Anyone who has doubts Louis performance abilities, I urge you to watch 5 minutes of this. The immensity and intimacy are like nothing I’ve experienced with any other artist.

He is a real person, instead of some carefully crafted media persona; he is genuine artist, instead of any fake popstar wannabe; has real talent, instead of pretending to be talented; he is humble and kind, instead of someone advocating to be humble and kind, he is gold, instead of being glitter, and he is the SUN, instead of the moon who leaches of off someone else's light.

His character and personality was really visible. This was better than any interview, any promo, anything we could have hoped for. His standards are so very high, and he’s truly harder on himself than anyone else around him. I've no idea how he doesn't drown in the pressure and instead finds a way to break the expectations. Truly, As many have already commented, Louis always delivers, because what he gives is from his incredible intelligence and his big heart.

The reason it was fucking unbelievable was yes, ’cause I played me music and I sang some shit, but more importantly that we all are in the same room with the same idea, the same intention, the same feeling... And that, more than anything, is what I’ve come away from these situations feeling just this togetherness, and that is what makes me feel like I can take on the fucking world.

#asks #answered asks #sea #louis tomlinson #awfh festival #awfh documentary

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kamyru · 3 years

Text

“Just like her mother...“ (Kaga x MC)

Soooo... I know that MC isn’t dumb, taking into consideration her character development and that she finished as the best PSA student. Though, sometimes I think what will be Kaga’s reaction if he finds out that she’s very academically intelligent. She reads a lot of books, knows many languages, finished a very good university, things like this. But take into consideration that being academically intelligent doesn’t require to be intelligent in day to day life, so she still can be pretty naive, just like she is portrayed.

(I swear I’ll do the requests I still have in my inbox. And if anyone is interested, my requests are always open so you can send me asks, if you’re ready to wait a little.)

Word counting: 1665

After a very long day at work, Kaga finally made it home. It was way past midnight and he was sure that everyone was already asleep. Though, when he opened the door, he saw light coming from the living room. He let out a sigh and prepared a long speech about why everyone has to be asleep if he comes home so late. However, when he stepped inside the room before his eyes appeared an astonishing view.

His wife was peacefully sleeping on the armchair, with their daughter fast asleep on her. An open book was set beside them. Kaga looked at them and a big smile forming on his face. It was obvious that his daughter looked just like him. Everyone who ever saw her thought that it’s their obligation to say this. Though, only he knew how alike was she with her mother.

The day she was born, Ayumu said: “I bet she’ll be as smart as you.” For him, it was obvious that being Kaga’s child is impossible not to be intelligent.

“She is way smarter than I was,” he said for himself, while he took her in his arms, to carry her to her bed. “Just like her mother.”

When he gave her a goodnight kiss and put her favorite toy near her, a voice broke the silence.

“How was your day? I’ll make your tea and fill the bath. You can relax,” said MC, while rubbing her sleepy eyes.

“Go to bed. I don’t want to sleep on the floor, only because you fell asleep right here.”

Kaga gave MC a quick peck on the lips and entered the bathroom. It is a blessing to come home after an endless-like day, see your beautiful and lovely wife holding your daughter and knowing that here you’ll always find love and peace.

While relaxing every tense muscle in the bathtub, he thought about the case he had to solve these days. The culprit was just making fun of them, leaving them everywhere shreds of evidence. Though, it took them too long to understand it. He could bet that if MC had been on that case, she would have helped a lot. Also, she would have been the perfect person to interrogate the culprit.

He understood that she is very intelligent when he saw how hard-working she was, how many questions she put, how she gave every drop of her energy in learning the lessons. Yet, he saw the extent of this only after they were dating for a while.

The moment Kaga entered her room for the first time, he was taken aback by the quantity of the book in there. He didn’t know at what to look, so MC lost him for quite a long time, letting him examine every book on the shelves. Besides Japanese authors like Mori Ogai, Haruki Murakami, Kobo Abe, Yasunari Kawabata, were Kant, Nietzsche, Hesse, Mann and Goethe in German, Dickens, London, Vonnegut, Joyce and Steinbeck in English and many other writers in different languages. He had no idea that such a small room could be filled with so many books. The one that caught his attention was a small and old one, which title he couldn’t read, but he knew it was in French.

MC saw him taking the book in his hand and examining it. A warm smile appeared on her face.

“It’s my favorite book. I learned French because of it. Here are two novels written by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.”

“What they are about? I only know his ‘Little Prince’ because mom read it to me when I was little.”

“The first one - ‘Night Flight’ is about sacrifice, from different points of view. The second one - ‘Flight to Arras’ is about Humans and Humanity. I read them separately when I was a teenager and liked them so much that decided to learn French to read them in original. And, as you can see, I did it and bought them when I was studying in France.”

She looked at them like one looks at one’s old friends. Kaga opened it and although he couldn’t understand a word from there, he saw a lot of pencil marks on each page. He made a mental note to find these novels in any language known by him and read them. They were something important for his girlfriend, so he simply had to know about what they are.

“You said that you studied in France?” he suddenly asked.

“I studied there for a year while I did my bachelor’s and then chose to do my master’s there.”

Kaga lifted his eyes and looked attentively at her. “What university have you finished here?”

“Kyoto University. Why?”

She was responding so genuine and simply, that for a moment he thought that she was just a very good actress. It was very rare to see people who finished good universities that aren’t emanating pride and don’t expect to see the other person taken completely aback by their smartness. But she was so simple about this, that he was more than confused. He wanted to give her more questions, to know how many languages she knew, what specialty she had, how she managed to have a master’s degree, a work experience in police and still be so young.

The next time he was surprised by her knowledge was when she took the responsibility to take care of a teenager who was waiting to find out news about his parents. The boy didn’t want to move an inch before detectives were going to say something about his lost parents. He didn’t even care about the department he was disturbing.

MC sat near him and gave him warm tea and sandwiches. At first, she didn’t say a thing, just waited till he finished eating. When he looked at her questioningly, she simply told him: “It’s a theory that trying to focus your thoughts on something that needs a lot of thinking helps you to stop crying.”

The boy wanted to say that he wasn’t crying but understood that his face was too puffy to make her believe him. He simply continued watching her.

“Are you coming directly from school?” she asked, looking at his bag and uniform.

He nodded. A soft smile appeared on her face.

“Let’s finish your homework, then.”

This time, the boy looked at her like she was the Mad Hatter in person.

“I don’t think I can concentrate on something like this right now.”

“I will help. What form are you?”

In no time, she convinced him to take into consideration her offer. Every person in the office gave them a skeptical stare. The thing was that MC didn’t only make him unbend a little, but explained every exercise he had questions on. Math, science, English or Japanese? She made it look so easy, that all the workers in the office refreshed and completed their knowledge from high school while accidentally listening to her.

When a dealer was caught and no one could understand what language he was speaking, Kaga instantly thought about MC. He still didn’t know how many languages she knew, but he hoped that, with a little bit of luck, she could be of some help.

She entered the interrogation room. She asked him some fast questions in Japanese. When the dealer started to speak in the unknown language, a smirk appeared on MC’s face. She said an only phrase that made him completely change his expression. The verdict was simple: “He knows Japanese. He is only bluffing.”

“How you found this out? What did you say to him?” asked the detectives.

“That he is making a pure job faking a Vietnamese accent.”

Kaga knew that MC was constantly learning something. That she was yearly reading more books than most people read in their entire life. That she was solving problems at math, physics and chemistry only for fun. He knew that her brain was keeping inside more information than anyone can imagine.

Still, every time someone finds out that his daughter can read at three years, already understands French and Mandarin besides Japanese and he can’t even remember at what age she learned how to count, they are praising him for giving her good genes. Because everyone knew that he graduated from a prestigious university, that he had fantastically good grades, that his logic is impeccable. But only a few knew what MC was hiding inside her head. He was the lucky one to see that every day. To be each time amazed by her thinking.

So, every time someone was giving him too much credit for his daughter’s education, he had to return them to reality and tell the truth. To give his wife the praising she deserves.

Kaga finally finished his bath. While trying to dry his hair with the towel, he entered the bedroom to look at his lovely wife, hoping deep inside that she was still awake. He felt the urge to hug her tightly and to sink in her cozy smell.

“I see that you’re already asleep, you mo... smart woman.”

MC made a wonderful job suppressing a smile. She knew that it was rare to hear Kaga making a compliment. Though, she knew that every time he thought that she isn’t listening, he couldn’t stop himself from verbally appreciating her.

When he finally got in bed, she rolled near him, putting her hand on his broad chest and her head on his shoulder.

“Good night, Hyogo” she whispered lovingly.

Kaga blushed. Kissing her hair, he soon fell asleep. He made a mental note to ask her something the next morning. Though, when he woke up he didn’t remember if he wanted to find out if she heard him saying that she is smart, if he wanted to know her thoughts about the case he just finished or something else. Instead, he chose to made her remember how much he loves her and how important she is to him.

#her love in the force #hlitf #hyogo kaga #voltage inc

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the-sound-of-her-wings · 3 years

Text

I Don't Know How to Love Him, Pt. I

Bruce Banner x GenderNeutral!Reader, Set during the entirety of The Avengers. Part I of Unknown- will likely span all of Avengers, Age of Ultron, and Infinity War.

You are a former shield agent who gets dragged back into the business after Loki steals the tesseract. You meet a cast of fun characters along the way, and maybe even fall in love.

Word Count: 2,357

Contains: A reference to Sleipnir, Water-based powers, Meeting for the First time, fluff?, talk of blood pressure

Inspiration: I Don't Know How to Love Him from Jesus Christ, Superstar

Comments and Reblogs are appreciated! Thank you for reading.

You are not surprised when Nick Fury comes to visit you. There had been rumblings about a major incident at a Shield facility from your former colleagues- enough to make you concerned. Enough that Fury would try to drag you back into the life you left. Still, you're concerned when you see him sitting in your area, waiting for his order to be taken.

“My name is y/n, what can I start you with?” You ask, getting out your notepad ready to take his order.

“I’ll start with a coffee, black. And toast sliced diagonally.” He doesn’t look up at you, instead hiding his face behind the menu.

You smile, writing down the order as if it wasn’t code for something else, and reply, “Just a moment!” You walk over to the counter, where one of your coworkers is sitting. She is a teenager, bored out of her mind, waiting at the register for people to come up after they’ve finished eating.

“Hey, Sally. Something came up and I’ve got to run out of town for a bit. Let Karl know some family stuff came up- he’ll understand.”

“Does this mean I’ll have to cover the tables in your area?” She’s looking at you like you’ve just delivered the worst news of her life.

“No, I’m sure Chris can handle it. It’s a slow day. But Julie’s number is by the phone if you need to call in back-up.” You respond, taking off your apron and hanging it behind the counter.

You leave the building, giving a glance to Fury on your way out. You find his car almost immediately- its slick, clean and fortified- nothing like the other cars parked out front. You lean against the driver’s side door, waiting for him to exit. A few minutes later, he does.

“That bad, huh?” You ask

“Worse” He responds, walking towards you. You move out of the way and begin to walk around to the other side of the car.

“Glad you reached out, then.” You say, climbing into the passenger side.

There is silence as he begins to pull out of the parking lot.

“So. Aliens. Asgardian or Kree?” You ask.

“Asgardian, and just the one. Loki.”

“The trickster God? The one who got impregnated by a horse?”

“That’s the one. He’s got the tesseract.” Fury deadpans. You turn your head to look at the man you used to work for, who’s asking for your help.

“Were you doing experiments on the tesseract?” You ask.

He does not respond. You throw your head back and let out a sigh. “I never should’ve left”

“You shouldn’t have. But you did. And now you are back. I hope you enjoyed your time off, Commander.”

“Don’t call me that” You dismiss, “I assume I’m not the only one you’re retrieving for this mission. You didn’t call Carol, did you?”

“For someone who never met her you sure like to act as if you did, “ He retorts,” And no. I didn’t. She’s got bigger fish to fry.”

“So who else is on the team?” You ask again, just as you pull up to the airbase. You can see there is a quinjet waiting for you.

“Why don’t you see for yourself.” You grumble at him, staying silent for the rest of the time it takes to stop the car.

You begin to unbuckle and get out of the car when he adds, “I’ll meet you on the Helicarrier.”

“You have someplace to be, Director?”

“Just a few errands. Now go, or I’ll let the quinjet leave without you.” You roll your eyes at him and shut the door in his face, before making your way over to your new method of transportation.

A familiar face greets you as you step inside.

“Coulson. It’s great to see you, how have you been?” You pull him into a hug before he can respond.

“I’ve been great, Commander. You seem to have done, uh. Well for yourself.” He replies cheerfully but clearly confused by the outfit your wearing. You grimace at the use of that word again.

“New work uniform.” You glance down at yourself to see if it’s really that out of place compared to what he’s wearing- it is.

“Commander? Are you Navy?” Another voice asks. Coulson had been blocking your view up until this point, preventing you from seeing the unfrozen, unaged, and very much alive Steve Rogers. You had heard rumors from your old Shield pals but you weren’t expecting this. You lightly push Coulson out of the way to get closer to him.

“Coast Guard.”

Steve holds out his hand to shake yours. “Captain Steve Rogers.”

You accept and give a firm handshake, “Commander Y/n, though I prefer Y/n.”

“Y/n. Got it. Fury recruit you too?” At this point, both of you are ignoring Coulson, who has moved on to preparing the quinjet for take-off.

“Yes. Plucked me right out of retirement.”

“He brief you on the mission?” Steve’s eyes are examining you, trying to figure out how someone like you, who looks fairly young, could have already retired.

“Yes. Some powerful alien got ahold of the tesseract and plans to destroy the world. Very original.”

“I have some videos for you to watch of the other recruits, then.” Coulson interrupts your conversation to put on a video all about Bruce Banner and The Hulk. You aren’t surprised by his recruitment even if you find it a little dangerous. Bruce seems like a sweet man, but he’s got little control over the other man living inside him. You take a moment to pull Coulson aside while Steve is watching the video to talk about the legend sitting a few feet away from you.

“Were you not going to tell me that you unfroze Steve?” You whisper, indignant.

“I thought I let that leak to you through an old channel” Coulson defends himself.

“Well, ‘we found the ice cube and turned it into water' is not exactly the same as ‘We have defrosted Steve Rogers and he is exactly the same as he was during fucking World War II’”

You glance back at him to see he is still staring at the video. His body language tells you he’s listening to your conversation. You glare at Coulson before composing yourself and sitting back down in your seat. Steve and Coulson converse about the different ways people tried to recreate the Super Soldier serum over the years, and the importance of his old uniform nowadays.

Once the quinjet lands, you are greeted by yet another familiar face.

“Natasha, great to see you.” You do not go in for a hug, as you aren’t sure she’d like that. “Where’s Clint?”

“Loki has him.” The happiness you had deflated like a pierced balloon.

“Fury didn’t tell me that.”

“Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers. And you already know Commander y/n.” Coulson interjects once again. You give him a sideways glance.

“Ma’am?” Steve responds.

“Hi.” Natasha glances at Coulson, “They need you on the bridge. They are starting the face trace.” He nods, “See you there” And walks away.

You see Bruce stumbling around towards the three of you, clearly trying to stay out of everyone’s way, but failing. Whatever Steve and Natasha are talking about, you’ve blocked out.

“Dr. Banner.” You call out to him, and he walks over. You watch as he shakes hands with the other two first, and then shakes your hand. You can feel how nervous he is.

“They told me you’d be coming,” He tells the other two, “but not you.”

“No reason not to. It’s not like I’m the most top-secret thing Fury has under wraps. Though I guess that means he didn’t tell you about me either?” You look at Natasha as you ask her this.

She nods, “I would’ve told Dr. Banner about you had I known”

“I’m starting to remember why I left.” You say, feeling the water beginning to gather on the fingertips of your left hand. You brush past Natasha and head for the bridge.

When you get there, you see Nick Fury standing in his circle of computers, giving commands to start getting the Helicarrier ready to fly. He knows you're there before he sees you- the sounds of your feet are heavy against the tile floors.

“What aren’t you telling me? And more importantly- what aren’t you telling them?” You are confrontational, and the water in your hand has now formed a ball, encircling your fists.

“Is this because I didn’t tell any of them about you?”

The water ball condenses into a ball of ice. He glances down at your hand and back at you and rolls his eyes. “You said not to tell anyone about you, unless-”

“Unless they needed to know. I don’t know about you, Fury, I think my new teammates need to know” His blood pressure has gone up, and so has the blood pressure of every person on the bridge. You sigh, evaporating your ice ball away. You feel everyone’s blood pressure slowly begin to return to normal

“Look,” You say, getting closer to him. “Bruce doesn’t need to think he’s the most dangerous one here. And I certainly don’t need sideways glances from everyone who doesn’t know about me” You whisper.

“Don’t worry, y/n. I’ve got a plan.” He replies loudly, as the others approach.

You grumble under your breath as you back away from him “You wouldn’t have treated Carol like this.”

“A plan for what?” Steve asks.

“Capturing Loki. We’re running facial recognition scans now. I’ll let you know if we find anything.” Fury expertly redirects your previous conversation to fit in with the priorities of the mission.

“For now, you can get comfortable. Explore the ship, find where you’ll be sleeping.” Coulson adds.

The newly formed group of superheroes nod and set off in mostly different directions. You head to your old hang-out spot on the Helicarrier you once called home: The state of the art lab. You always enjoyed the view it had, both of the outside of the ship and the interior. It was a good place to get lost in thought and an even better place to observe the other people on the ship as they walked through the hallway. You take a seat on one of the tables, prepared to get lost in thought and clear your mind when Bruce walks in.

“Oh, are you- I can go.” His face flushes and he nervously scratches the back of his head.

“It’s fine.” You respond.

He hesitates but enters the room, beginning to investigate the various tools now at his disposal. He avoids making any eye contact with you as he walks around the room, looking, but not touching. You can feel that his blood pressure is elevated- and you're pretty certain it’s because of your presence. Eventually, he makes his way to a computer by the large window, overlooking the outside of the Helicarrier.

“Do you know what any of this stuff does?” Bruce inquires.

“No idea. This wasn’t my division when I worked for Shield.”

“Then why come here?”

You shrug, “It’s quiet, and not many other people come in here.”

“So Shield has a state of the art lab on their invisible, flying ship that they don’t utilize?” Bruce is perplexed by this revelation.

“There’s more than one. This one is the smallest, and the most exposed.” You reply, gesturing towards all the windows.

He nods at this, then opens his mouth like he’s about to say something, but closes his mouth again.

“You’re wondering about why I’m here- on this mission.” You guess what he was trying to ask you about.

“Yes.”

“I’m back up. In case one of you dies, or goes off the rails.” You respond.

“So you’re here to make sure the other guy doesn’t go on a rampage” He seems a bit bitter about it, and his increasing blood pressure confirms that.

“That’s not the only reason. I’m also here in case Natasha or Steve kick the bucket, or if they decide to turn on us.” You are apathetic in your explanation.

“And how are you going to do that?”

“Do you want a glass of water?”

“Touchy subject? Don’t want to reveal your secrets?” He’s testing you, but he’s misunderstood why you asked the question.

“Quite the opposite.” You reply, forming a ball of water in your hand. You blow on it, sending it towards his direction. He reaches out to touch it, and you turn it into a ball of ice, which he quickly catches before it falls on the floor.

“How’d that happen?” Bruce is hoping for an interesting answer or a common experience in having an experiment gone wrong. But he would be wrong.

“I was born with it. At least, that’s what the Shield scientists think.” You bring back the ball of ice towards you, before evaporating it.

“So you’ve always had these powers?”

“Nope. They came with puberty.”

“So they think there’s some kind of gene that altered your genetic code giving you these special abilities that activated at puberty?” Bruce asks.

“Pretty much.”

“I’m assuming your life became pretty water-based after that” Bruce surmises.

“Essentially. It’s why I went into the Coast Guard. That’s how Shield discovered me.”

“Why not the Navy?” It’s a valid question, one you’ve fielded since you were a teenager about to graduate from high school.

“Coast Guard helps more with civilian rescue operations, less with tactical military strikes. It’s less prestigious-”

“Which means a lower likelihood of your powers being discovered.” He finished your sentence.

“Exactly. You understand.” By now, his blood pressure has come down and is more even, suggesting he’s calm. His eyebrow furrows in deep thought, as you sit in silence waiting for him to ask an obvious question.

“How do your powers affect the human body?”

“Well, Bruce. You tell me.” You begin, hopping down from the table you’d been sitting on. “The human body is 60% water.” You leave the room, allowing him to figure out for himself what kind of destruction you’d be able to cause. You already know the answer

#bruce banner x reader #bruce banner x y/n #bruce banner x gender neutral reader #bruce banner x you #marvel x reader #part 1 of i don't know how to love him

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hello-yue-here · 3 years

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Maiko and Sukka?

maiko

I LOVE THEM. they are imo a very good respresentation of childhood crushes to first teen romance. they love each other it is so obvious. they care so much for each other and mai and zuko are both rarely seen smiling but they are seen smiling with or because of each other a fairly decent amount. i think they are adorable and i love their little classic childhood crushes to first loves w an edgy twist vibes. my least favorite thing about maiko isnt even about maiko. its about how people who dont like maiko claim that it is toxic. HONEY. they are teenagers. teenagers SUCK at expressing emotions. i should know im literally still in high school. and when one of those teenagers was abused and has anger issues and is very over dramatic and the other is repressed and never learned how to express her emotions in a healthy way because she was never allowed to and most likely emotionally abused THEYRE GONNA HAVE SOME COMMUNICATION ISSUES. every couple has fights. every couple has bumps and obstacles to overcome and maiko is no exception. and the thing is: they DO work on their issues and try to be better for each other. when people say mai was toxic to zuko i wanna slap them. are you serious? like no. she was not toxic at all. she cared for him so much and just because she wasnt as outwardly emotional as him or other characters dowsnt mean its false. she literally committed treason, went against everything she was ever taught, finally decided to do what she wanted instead of being who she had always been expected to be in order to save his life at boiling rock because. she. loved. him. she gave up so much for zuko and if you think she didnt love him you are dead wrong. zuko wasnt a perfect boyfriend either. he got jealous very easily and while its normal to be jealous sometimes especially as a teenage boy he still needed to work on controlling that jealousy and trusting mai and when they had their fight at ember island and made up they. got. better. he also dumped her through a letter which was like v sucky of him. zuko is not perfect in this pairing so dont act like he is. but he tries. he tries to do nice things for mai, particularly through gift giving and trying to impress her with food because that seems to be the best way he knows how to show his love and appreciation which is frankly adorable. and when mai came back in the finale he looked SO HAPPY. HE SMILED SO WIDE. THEIR HUG?? SO TENDER. maiko is not toxic. maiko is top tier. maiko is love. maiko is so good yall. so good. damn i think i just convinced myself to like maiko even more than i already did. its jusg a very realistic relationship to me because it isnt perfect. and because its not perfect it makes it so much better when they make up and have their sweet moments and try hard to be good for one another because that is caring and that is love. if you think maiko is toxic get out. i will not tolerate maiko slander on this blog.

sukka

ONCE AGAIN. I LOVE THEM. they bring out the best in each other. suki helps him grow as a person and shows him how wrong he was about women and he doesnt fight her on it. he admits he was wrong and sexist and immediately changes his perspective. she helped him grow and thats very important in a relationship as well. and we all know sokka is a big protector as well. and we all know suki can handle herself just fine thank you very much. when he tries too hard to keep her safe and she tells him that she can handle herself he respects her wishes and lays off a little, but its so obvious that hes doing it because he cares so much and is scared to lose her. and when she wants to kiss him and he says no she doesnt push him. the level of respect and care they have for one another is *chefs kiss* and that scene where sokka says no is so important because no means no applies to guys as well. and in book three they are able to joke around with each other and be all cutesy in their honeymoon phase and just be teenagers for the first time in their life. they understand each other theough their roles of protector and nonbender and leader and they can relate to each ither on that and they can relate to each other on the level of responsibility they have and the weight on their shoulders, but when theyre together and theyre allowed to just be teenagers and be youthful and have fun its so refreshing becUse they deserve to just be kids and i love that they get to have that with each other. so yeah. sukka<3

#tag game #i love these ships SO MUCH #easily two of my top ships #my top in canon ships for sure plus yuekka #yuekka maiko and sukka are the best canon avatar ships HANDS DOWN

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theladyofdeath · 4 years

Text

Alone in the Ashes {10}

A Court of Thorns and Roses fanfction, characters belong to Sarah J Maas. Modern au. Revolves around Nesta x Cassian, Feyre x Rhysand, and Elain x Azriel. Other characters appear throughout. Based on multiple prompts sent in by anons tbr below.

Warning: Mature content. Alcohol abuse, verbal abuse, drugs, sex, language, eating disorders.

For summary & chapter index, click > Alone in the Ashes {Acotar}

Word Count: 2.7k

A/N: I figured two chapters in one night is okay since, you know, it’s short....and everyone should go to bed sad.

Comment to tell me what you think, or to be tagged! x

“He left bloody fingerprints on the rock, but there was something satisfying about that. I was here. I exist. I’m alive, because I bleed.” ― Maggie Stiefvater, Blue Lily, Lily Blue

Rhysand sat in the quiet interrogation room.

At least they had uncuffed him.

He’d been sitting there, in the silence, running on pure adrenaline for at least forty minutes. He wanted to call Feyre, but even if he had his phone, they would have taken it from him.

On the ride to the station, no one answered his questions. And he had asked a lot of them. Eventually, he had given up and let the nature of things take its course.

The door to the white, nearly empty room opened and Beron Vanserra walked in. Rhysand said nothing as he sat in the chair opposite of him.

“Rhysand,” Beron began, and cleared his throat. “Tell me why you’re here.”

Rhysand blinked. “Surely you’re aware, because I sure as hell am not.”

Beron nodded, face grave. “Look, Rhys,” he began, using that old, familiar nickname. “We got a call-”

“From Tamlin?” Rhysand guessed. “Beron, you’ve known me since I was five. Alright? You know my character. I’m not some dumbass teenager who gets high in his mom’s basement then thinks it’s fun to go spraypaint dicks on historical landmarks.”

Beron rubbed his temples. “Rhysand-”

“For fuck’s sake!” he said, unable to keep his cool. “I just get home from work, get handcuffed and dragged out of my fucking apartment - while my girlfriend and the entire fucking neighborhood watches, might I add - for what?” Rhysand shook his head. “Because Tamlin’s rich and his daddy has a lot of power? Because that’s my fucking guess.”

“Rh-”

“If you’re going to interrogate me, I have nothing to say. I was at work all day, every day, and when I’m not at work, I’m at home with Feyre-”

“Rhys, if you do not stop talking, I will have an actual reason to throw you in jail,” Beron snapped.

Rhysand blinked, and closed his mouth.

“Thank you,” Beron hissed. “Now, I’ve talked with the officers that picked you up.”

Beron hesitated, and Rhysand was certain it was the only time he had ever seen the man hesitate.

“You were always a good friend to Lucien before he moved away,” Beron said, voice quiet, “and because of that, I won’t lie to you, but if you tell anyone what I’m about to tell you, and I lose my job, I will find a reason to lock you up.”

Rhysand’s jaw went stiff.

He nodded.

“You and Tamlin have never gotten along, I understand that,” Beron went on, and Rhysand stilled. “And as you said, he hails from a powerful family - one that owns this force and half of everything else in this city. Unfortunately, Rhys, whatever you’ve done recently to piss Tamlin off, he’s vengeful. As far as the police go, I’ll do what I can to set matters straight, but this isn’t the only thing he’ll try.”

With a muttered curse, Rhysand shook his head.

“Now,” Beron said, tossing a plastic bag on the table with Rhysand’s wallet in it that was taken from him when he entered the station, “go home.”

He snatched the bag from the table and pushed back the metal chair, which screeched along the tile.

“Thanks,” Rhysand said, as he and Beron walked toward the door.

Beron gave him a curt nod. He’d always been a hard man, unreadable, but Rhysand appreciated his honesty.

“Need a ride home?” Beron asked.

Rhysand shook his head. “I’ll take the bus, thanks. Can I use the phone, though?”

He made a quick call to Feyre before he left, promising to be home soon and to explain everything when he got there.

Beron said nothing more as he and Rhysand parted ways. He exited into the station lobby before ending up in the steps out front. The streetlights were on as the sun had completely disappeared.

He was so fucking tired as he slumped down the steps and down the sidewalk, towards the bus stop.

He couldn’t wait to get home.

But he didn’t even make it to the bus stop before someone grabbed him by the elbow.

Rhysand didn’t have the chance to turn around before he was knocked in the back of the head, and everything went black.

~~~~~

Feyre paced back and forth as Mor, Azriel, and Amren sat on her couch, Mila asleep on Mor’s lap. Rhysand had called Feyre from the police station, telling her he’d be home in thirty minutes, tops, and he’d explain when he arrived, but that had been over an hour and a half ago.

“I don’t understand,” Feyre said, shaking her head. “I don’t fucking understand.” She had googled for news stories after Rhysand left. There was nothing on any vandalism done to the chapel. Amren had even stopped there on her way over and confirmed it.

“I wish you’d at least try to relax,” Amren said, calmly. “It won’t do Rhys any good if you have a panic attack.”

She had already cried and gotten pissed off. Now, Feyre was just worried.

“At least let me get you something to drink,” Mor said, patting Mila softly on the back.

Azriel was the only one who hadn’t said a word since he’d arrived.

“He doesn’t have his phone?” Mor asked, for the third time, when Feyre didn’t answer.

Feyre shook her head. “It’s in the kitchen.”

The front door burst open and everyone’s eyes shot to the entryway.

Cassian strode in.

Nesta at his heels.

Feyre froze.

“Sorry,” Cassian said, walking to Feyre and taking her face into his hands. “I came as soon as I got the message. You alright?”

Feyre shook her head before stepping back and looking at Nesta. “Why are you here?”

Nesta didn’t answer. She showed no emotion as she sat in the armchair in the corner.

“She was with me at the garage,” Cassian said, softly. “What happened?”

“Cops came in,” Amren began, “arrested Rhys for vandalism that never happened.”

Cassian’s brows scrunched together. “That makes no sense.”

“Obviously,” Mor said, sighing, “which is why we’re all sitting here looking confused as shit. Doesn’t help that he said he’d be here an hour ago and, as you can see, he’s not.”

Amren was looking back and forth between Cassian and Nesta, but as she opened her mouth to say something, Cassian shot her a look and shook his head.

Feyre’s hands raked through her tangled hair. She kept going back to the same thought, the same man. Rhysand didn’t have enemies, just one. “It was Tamlin. I know it was Tamlin.”

Azriel looked up at this, and Feyre saw the wheels moving inside of his mind. Feyre had sounded certain, and Azriel had never doubted her. “What’s his number?”

“What?” Feyre breathed. “No, you’re not calling-”

“No, I’m not,” Azriel said, words clipped, “but give me his number.”

She did so, and Azriel fiddled on his phone for a few minutes. As he concentrated on whatever it was he was doing, Feyre felt like she was going to puke. The rest of the room sat in tense silence.

Nesta included.

As the minutes passed, which Feyre felt lasted far too long, Azriel didn’t give much away, but then he froze. “Fuck.”

Cassian was instantly turning around. “What?”

But Azriel was already on his feet. He looked to Mor. “Take Mila home, put her to bed.”

Mor nodded, no questions asked.

“What’s going on?” Feyre asked, that panic returning in the pit of her stomach.

“Stay here, keep your phone on,” Azriel said. “Cass and I are going for a drive.”

“Azriel,” Feyre begged, hurrying after him.

He stopped at the door to pull on his shoes. “He’s sitting in the middle of nowhere, near the forest on the other side of town. Either he’s looking for a fight or he’s fucking some poor girl in the backseat of his car.”

Feyre froze, and paled.

“Cass and I are going,” Azriel repeated, his voice calm. Cassian was already throwing open the door. “I’ll call.”

Feyre nodded, but by the time she had, they were already gone.

~~~~~

Rhysand woke up to nothing but darkness.

His head hurt like shit. He was dizzy. He was stuck in a compact compartment, the world moving around him.

He was in the trunk of a car.

A small one, he imagined. He couldn’t move, at all, his body, tall and lean, scrunched together and lying awkwardly.

He didn’t know how long he’d been out.

Didn’t know where he was.

Didn’t know who had him.

He didn’t have to wait for long, though, because the car came to a screeching halt.

Rhysand jolted in the trunk, hitting every inch of his body against something.

Didn’t help his headache.

A minute later, the trunk opened and Rhysand was staring into the eyes of Eris Vanserra.

He took Rhysand by the collar and dragged him out of the trunk. The second Rhysand’s feet hit the grass, he felt like he was going to fall over.

His head.

His vision was blurry.

“It’s been a while, Lunasa, hasn’t it?” Eris crooned, forcing Rhysand down on his knees before jamming something hard into Rhysand’s side.

He grunted, trying to keep his vision steady.

Rhyasnd saw a gleam in the side of his eye, the moonlight reflecting off metal.

He’d been hit with the hilt of a knife.

Let’s hope I don’t get the other end.

The driver’s side door opened and he got out, his hair cut shorter than Rhysand remembered, but still that bright, golden hue. He could be seen from a mile, even in the darkness.

Tamlin said nothing as he walked, slowly, to where Eris had Rhysand.

He stopped in front of them and tilted his head. “Second time I’ve seen you get your ass kicked recently.”

Rhysand said nothing.

Instead, he fought to get up, but didn’t get far.

A long blade snuck up beneath Rhysand’s chin, against his neck.

Rhysand stilled.

Tamlin shook his head. “Did you enjoy your run in with the law?”

Rhysand stayed quiet.

“I thought it’d be pretty funny,” Tamlin grinned. “Turns out, I was right. Anyway, I won’t keep you long. Just wanted to talk.”

Rhysand scoffed. “I have a phone.”

“This is much more interesting,” Eris said, from over his shoulder. “For us, anyway.”

Prick.

Tamlin went closer to Rhysand before he said, “Feyre promised me you two weren’t together, that you weren’t the reason she left, but she forgets that I know a lot of people in this city, as does my father. It seems you two are closer than ever lately.”

Rhysand grinned. “Stalking us? Surely you have better things to do.”

Tamlin’s eyes hardened. “How long has she been whoring around in your bed, Rhys?”

Rhyasnd didn’t answer, but his eyes flared. The minute Rhysand tried to move toward Tamlin, the blade pressed into his neck.

Rhysand could feel a streak of blood trailing down his neck as he spat at Tamlin’s feet.

Tamlin didn’t seem bothered, though, as he said, “You didn’t answer my question. Has it been a few months? A year? Has it been going on all along and I’ve just been there to get her nice things and take her nice places, because you sure as hell can’t on a waiter’s salary.”

“Fuck you,” Rhysand said, lifting his chin, his vision blurring, once more, as the pounding in his head returned at the faint movement.

“Tell me!” Tamlin screamed, his voice echoing in the silence of the abandoned street. “Feyre has been mine since high school, and then she leaves without feeling any sort of guilt and goes straight to you, her lowlife lover, and that’s not a coincidence.”

Rhysand, despite feeling the need to pass out, laughed. “She left you because you’re a fucking cunt, Tamlin! You’re possessive, and manipulative, and make her feel like shit about herself. She didn’t feel guilty because she was so fucking tired of your bullshit!”

Rhyand screamed the words so violently that the blade Eris was holding pressed tighter against his skin.

Tamlin didn’t react, though. He simply looked at Eris, and nodded.

The blade was removed from Rhysand’s neck, but the moment Rhysand let out a breath, Tamlin had kicked him in the abdomen.

Clutching his stomach, Rhysand fell forward as Tamlin’s boot met Rhysand’s knee, then his side, his back. He could hear his nose break, but couldn’t convince his hands to reach up, to try and stop the blood. Tamlin’s boots made contact over, and over, and over again.

Rhysand didn’t bother to fight.

He couldn’t.

He couldn’t move.

For the second time in a matter of months, Tamlin had caught him off guard and weakened him - the only way Tamlin knew how to win was to play dirty, and he was good at it.

His eyes fluttered shut as he heard the car engine turn on.

Rhysand’s world was dark before they even drove away.

~~~~~

Cassian and Azriel were driving with their windows down, speeding down the road where Azriel had tracked Tamlin’s phone.

They hadn’t seen a car in a while, but that didn’t mean anything. If anything at all, it meant that it was the perfect place to kick somebody’s ass.

“Anything?” Azriel called from behind the wheel, eyes scanning the road.

Just as Cassian was about to say no, he stopped himself. “Fuck- stop!”

Azriel slammed on the breaks, his truck sliding before it came to a complete stop. Cassian was already unbuckled and throwing open the door, though, before Azriel had even put it in park. He hurried to the shoulder, at the limp body that laid there.

Azriel came up behind them, face paled. “Fuck.”

Cassian was on his knees, rolling Rhysand over. He pressed his cheek against his chest, felt his pulse. “Breathing is okay. Come on, let’s get him up.”

With Azriel on one side and Rhysand on the other, they carried Rhysand into the backseat of Azriel’s truck. He was completely unconscious. In the light, he hardly looked like himself. His nose was bloody, definitely broken, his eyes swollen, his neck cut. A dark, black and blue bruise covered the faint one that had just about healed, on his cheekbone.

“Shit,” Cassian breathed, and met Azriel’s gaze.

There were very few times Cassian had seen Azriel’s murderous gaze.

This was one of them.

“Let’s get him to the hospital,” Azriel said, pulling up the hem of Rhysand’s torn shirt, his eyes hardening at the discoloration. “Make sure he doesn’t have any internal bleeding.”

Cassian nodded before hopping back into the truck. The minute Azriel sped off, Cassian pulled out his phone.

Calling Feyre, hearing her heartbreak, was the last thing he wanted to do.

~~~~~

Feyre couldn’t stop herself from crying. “Okay, I’m-I’m on my way, I’ll meet you there.”

She hung up the phone, turned to the others.

Amren and Nesta were already on their feet, Mor clung to Mila, still asleep, on the couch.

“They’re taking him to the hospital. He…...They’re taking him to the hospital. I have-I have to go to the hospital.”

“Give me your keys,” Nesta said, instantly.

Feyre shot her a glare. “Why.”

“Because you’re in no condition to drive,” she explained. “I will bring you.”

Feyre hesitated, but nodded.

“I’ll come, too,” Amren said, then looked to Mor. “Go home, put her to sleep, we’ll call as soon as we hear anything.”

Eyes weary and lined with silver, Mor nodded.

The three of them piled into Feyre’s little car, Nesta behind the wheel. She wasted no time starting it up and pulling out of the parking lot.

Feyre couldn’t stop trembling, couldn’t stop panicking, couldn’t stop sobbing.

Amren reached up from the back seat and put her hand on Feyre’s shoulder.

“It’s my fault,” Feyre sobbed. “It’s my fucking fault.”

“It’s not your fault that Tamiln’s a hateful prick,” Amren said.

Nesta stayed quiet, but she drove, quickly, through the city.

Feyre screamed, loudly, deafening.

No one stopped her.

They couldn’t go to the police, couldn’t say anything. It would just be brushed under the rug. Feyre felt helpless. Feyre felt sick. Feyre was terrified of getting to the hospital, terrified of seeing Rhysand in pain because of her faults.

Because of her past.

By the time Nesta pulled into the hospital’s parking lot, Feyre could hardly breath. Nesta looked in the rearview mirror and caught Amren’s eye. “I’ll drop you both off at the door?”

Amren nodded, and when Nesta pulled up to the doors, Amren got out, and waited for Feyre, but Feyre couldn’t move.

She looked at Nesta.

Her oldest sister was already watching her. For once, her eyes were not hard, emotionless. She gave Feyre a nod of encouragement.

Feyre got out of the car.

Hand in Amren’s, they walked into the hospital.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tag List (to be tagged, comment or send me an ask!)

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Prompts:

{ “I’m gonna fuck you so hard that you forget you ever met that asshole” - Feysand } -anonymous

{ “How about Nessian needing to fake date when they go home for the holidays?!” } - anonymous

{ “could u pls do like an elriel fic where azriel is like this mysterious bad boy and elain is a goody two shoes lik aaaaa i cant get that image out of my head” } - anonymous

#acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #sjm #fanfic #fanfiction #nessian #feysand #elriel #tacmc aita

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