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sope-and-shine · 3 years

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Written In the Stars: Finale

-> SFW // Soulmate!AU // fluff, // Mummy!Namjoon, Moon Goddess!Taehyung

-> Pairing: Namjoon x Reader // Taehyung x Reader

-> Word Count: 7k

-> Summary: Life after losing a loved one is challenging, especially when you’ve had the chance to see just how long the two of you have spent passing each other by. With it only being a few weeks since your loss, you’ve found your life has become dull and despondent. You can’t help but wonder if you’ll be able to move on, even with the help of friends.

-> Warning(s): mild language

a/n: I can’t believe we’re actually at the end 😭😭 I’ve put so much time and love into this story and I’m both sad and happy that I’ve been able to finish it! I hope everyone enjoys!

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Masterlist

“Ma’am, where’s the restroom?”

You turn and see a father holding a small boy in his arms, and you immediately jump into action, “Take a right out of these doors, down the hall until you see the blue traffic sign, and it’ll be on the right. There should be a Daffodil portrait on the wall right before your turn.”

The man heaves a happy - very relieved - sigh, “Thank you!”

“Of course!” You watch as he speedwalks out of the exhibit and takes off down the hall. You can only hope he actually makes it there.

The day shift has definitely been more exciting. It’s only been a few weeks, but your days have been filled with more excitement since you switched. You tried to continue with the night shift post, but the silence just became too overwhelming. Thankfully, Hoseok seemed to understand when you told him.

You switched back to the day shift in hopes it would help to take your mind off of Namjoon. You thought being surrounded by others would make you feel less lonely, but you can’t help but think about how your life has changed so drastically.

Adjusting to your new life hasn’t been easy. Everywhere you look, you’re reminded of Namjoon. You hear his laugh by the water fountains, you see his hair in crowds on the street, and you can still feel his arms around you at night as you lay in bed.

At first, you thought it was something you could handle. You thought if you embraced his goodbye, then you’d be content to live the rest of your life without him. But no one told you losing love would hurt this bad.

You’ve tried to do other things, like knitting and working out, but you’re not very good at either one - nor do you really like them. Cooking had seemed like a good idea until you realized that meant cleaning the dishes. With every attempt to move on, you seem to take 3 large steps back.

You find yourself going to places Namjoon would have liked. Spontaneous trips to the park lead to long evenings by the river. Extra hours at the museum have you wandering through the exhibits just to look at the art one more time. Even a quick trip to the store has you buying things you’ve never thought to try.

The one place you never go is the King’s exhibit. At least, not of your own free will. It’s only happened twice - once being today - because someone had to call out. And just like the time before, you find yourself at the aquarium.

A place where Namjoon was truly happy.

The touch tanks have quickly become a favorite of yours. They allow you time to think to yourself and drift off, to daydream about a handsome king with an endearing fascination for the world around him.

You like to visit the crabs the most. Mostly because you know Namjoon would if he could. He thought they were the cutest on your outing together, and holding the tiny creature in your palm you can see why.

“Ow!” You flinch at the small pinch from the crustacean. Your hands jerk, but you try to protect the crab the best you can without dropping it.

“Here-” A large hand reaches in front of you and plucks the crab from your hands, “These guys get a little finicky when you hold them up too high.”

You place your thumb over the pinch and turn to him, “Really? I can’t-” You pause mid-sentence.

Now, looking at the crab’s savior, you see him. Lilac strands poke out of the blue university hat he’s wearing. His khaki shorts are worn and just barely reach his knees, and his sneakers are all worn out. Even the socks he’s wearing have slightly lost their vibrance. His baggy t-shirt doesn’t hide the fact that he’s more fit than he was a few weeks ago, but a few weeks ago he had disappeared right in front of you. But there’s no mistaking that dimpled smile.

This is Namjoon.

You stare at him like a deer in headlights, and you must look exactly how you feel because his smile turns to concern, “Are you okay?” He asks.

You nod, “Yeah! Yeah, I’m fine…” You’re not. You’re absolutely stunned and he doesn’t seem to recognize you. They do say everyone in the world has 4 people that look just like them. How unfortunate that you’ve found his. “You just...look really familiar.”

“Really? Well, I guess that means I have a memorable face then.” He muses, chuckling to himself - Exactly like Namjoon. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” You take another selfish moment to look at him, admiring how gentle he is with the small creature in his hands. “You really seem to like the crabs.”

“Yeah, I do!” He nods enthusiastically, “I really only applied here as an excuse to play in the touch tanks.”

“Something easy to wind down from classes?” You ask.

His eyes widen in surprise, and he turns to you as if you suddenly grew 2 extra heads, “How’d you know?”

You giggle, “You’re wearing a university hat with your grad year.”

“Really?!” You nod and he pulls the cap off of his head, letting out a frustrated groan when he confirms he’s wearing his university hat, “No wonder my supervisor straight up ignored me this morning. This is the third time this month I’ve grabbed the wrong one.”

“At least it’s a nice hat.” You assure him, trying to remain positive.

He places the cap back on his head and sighs, “Tell that to him.” He brings the small crab still resting in his palms eye level, “This little guy knows exactly what I’m talking about. Don’t you, buddy?”

“Don’t tell me you speak crab.”

“Of course I do! You just have to know how to listen.” He says matter of factly.

“Alright then. Ask him how he’s doing.”

“I will.” He turns to the crab and stares at it as if they’re having a staring contest, “How are you feeling, little guy?” He moves the crab up to his ear and acts as though it’s whispering to him, nodding and humming disagreement, “I see...I’d be pretty frightened too.”

You narrow your eyes, “What did he say?”

“He said he was having a great day until someone came and held him up too high.” He teases.

“You’re taller than me!” You argue.

He looks you up and down, nodding, “You’re right…” He seems to contemplate for a moment before he shrugs with a sly smile, “He probably just likes me better.”

“Oh, really now?” You challenge. He nods proudly and you scoff, “Well, what’s your name? Resident Crab Whisperer?”

“No! That’s way too long.” He laughs. He extends the hand not cradling a crab towards you and smiles, “My name is Kim Namjoon.”

“Well…” You hesitate, trying your best not to react. You swallow your nerves and shake his hand with a smile of your own, “-It’s nice to meet you, Kim Namjoon. Any relation to the mummy at the museum?”

“That hopeless romantic from the Seoul Museum?” He jokes. He takes this moment to place the crab back into his touch tank, “Yeah, he’s like a great-great-super great uncle or something like that.”

“Well, you look like him.” You say. He gives you a confused look and you’re quick to back-pedal, “His portraits! You look like his portraits.”

“I do?” He asks.

“Besides the purple hair, I’d say you’re the spitting image.”

“I’ll have to check it out myself then.”

“Well, their hours are 8am to 10pm Monday through Saturday and 12pm to 6pm on Sunday.” He gives you a pointed look and you shrug, “I’ve been the night guard the past few years. I just switched to day shift.”

“Really?!” He asks in disbelief, “Isn’t it creepy working the graveyard shift? It must be way too quiet.”

“Not really.” You think back to the nights you spent with your Namjoon and how he made you laugh. You remember asking him the same thing one Saturday night after the museum closed. You two were much closer than his first Sunday there, but you couldn’t help but worry about how he must get through the night alone. But Namjoon was a king. He wasn’t worried about a bit of peace and quiet. “A friend of mine once told me that silence is more reassuring than anything. It means peace.”

“They sound wise.”

“He was...” You can’t help but think about Namjoon’s absence.

This always happens when you think about any good times you may have had, remembering how much fun you had and how you’ll likely never have it again. Being in front of this Namjoon does nothing to help you feel at ease.

“You know that movie-?! It’s-Oh...What was it called…?” The lilac-haired Namjoon suddenly claps his hands together with a proud smile, “Night at the Museum! Anything like that happen after hours?”

You chuckle to yourself, knowing better than anyone how Ben Stiller’s character felt during that movie. Of course, the Namjoon in front of you would never believe you, “I wish. It’d make some of the exhibits a lot more interesting.”

He nods, “I bet they’d be pretty interactive too…Could you imagine history telling itself?!”

“Please, I don’t want to hear about the love-life of a thousand-year-old mummy.” You joke, knowing full well you already have.

“Yeah, I guess that would get annoying after a while...always lamenting about love and what-not…” He seems slightly disappointed, but his smile comes right back, “Why don’t you let me show you around and I’ll tell you about our exhibits instead?”

You’re taken aback by his boldness, “Oh, are you sure?” He nods, “I don’t want to get you in trouble or anything.”

“Don’t worry about it! My shift ended like 30 minutes ago and this place is only open for another 3 hours.” He assures you, “So, what do you say?”

Maybe it’s because he’s the spitting image of Namjoon, or maybe it’s the similarities in their personas. Maybe it’s just the way his dimples appear every time he laughs and his laugh sounds just like his. No matter what it is that’s drawing you to this Namjoon, you find that your heart has taken over for your brain and it’s putty in his hands, “Sure. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Namjoon breaks into an excited grin, dimples on full display, “That’s the spirit!” He straightens his posture and holds his arm out for you as if he were a butler or an escort, “From here until the aquarium closes, consider me your personal tour guide for the rest of the evening. There won’t be a bench you haven’t sat on by the time we’re done!”

He’s confident.

But perhaps he’s too confident…

He takes you to places you’ve been before, educating you on every animal in great detail. He doesn’t miss a single species, and he takes great care to make sure you see what he’s talking about - guiding your head and pointing in the right direction. His enthusiasm is infectious, and you could listen to him talk for hours. He’s so well-spoken, and he describes everything in such wonderful detail. It comes as no surprise to you when he mentions himself to be a literature major.

He has such a unique personality and the most terrible humor. He tells you about his bike and how much he enjoys riding by the river and through the park. He tells you about his love for moon jelly and how it’s like looking up at the sky when you see them. Everything about him is just so uniquely him, but you can’t help but see all of the similarities he holds to your Namjoon.

His physical features are all the same: his eyes, his nose, his lips, his dimples, his height, and even his haircut! There’s no doubt that this Namjoon would look identical to your Namjoon if his hair were the same dark brown. His interest in the Moon and his love of literature. Your Namjoon would have excelled academically in this world just like this Namjoon. Even his love of small creatures and terribly out-of-date dad jokes is exactly the same!

He’s Namjoon.

But he doesn’t hold the memories of your Namjoon…

Taehyung had told you how Fate had tried to warn him several times. How Fate couldn’t change what would happen, and she could only hope to guide everyone to the best outcome without ruining the future herself. But how cruel could Fate be to have another Namjoon this close to you yet not be yours. To thrust this on you so soon without even a few months to grieve more.

How could someone be so heartless?

---

“And this would be the last bench of our tour.” Namjoon says as you exit the aquarium, extending an arm as he presents it to you.

“Oh wow...” You thank him and take a seat, playing along with his charade - as you have all night - as you pretend to admire the bench. You admire the dedication plaque for just a moment before you turn to him in mock disappointment, “I thought you said we’d see everything on this tour?”

He shrugs, “I may have rambled here and there...” He seems almost sheepish as he realizes how he went on and on over every topic the two of you talked about, “Sorry about that.”

“No worries here.” You assure him. You’d take 5 more tours just to listen to him ramble on and on for hours, “Now I know that fish talk through make sounds by vibrating their muscles against their bladder. Pretty weird, but I wouldn’t know that if you hadn’t told me.”

“Well, I’m glad I could educate you a bit.” He seems nervous, shoving his hands into his pockets as he shifts from one foot to the other, “Maybe we can do this again?”

“Uh…” You hesitate, “Yeah. Maybe.”

It’s just a tour. No harm in that.

“Maybe...I could take you to dinner too?” He asks.

There’s some harm in that.

He already seems nervous so you try to find the right words to say, “Oh, I-” But your face seems to give you away way too easily.

“You’re not interested.”

“No-!”

“It’s okay! I get it, I understand.”

“No, you don’t.” You stand up and try to explain, but he seems to already have your rejection in his mind.

“No, please, don’t feel like you have to. I’ve been told I can be a bit pushy.”

“No, that’s really not it! I’d love to go to dinner with you!”

That seems to catch his attention.

“Really?”

You nod, “Yeah! Just not now, or like-...anytime soon.”

The last of Namjoon’s hope turns into skepticism, “Are you sure you’re not just saying that?”

“I know how it sounds, but please-!” You stop yourself before you can blurt out the wrong thing and scare him off entirely, “I lost someone really special to me recently. His loss hasn’t been easy for me, and I don’t want to jump into something too soon. I don’t think that’d be fair to you if I’m still hung up on someone else.”

“Oh wow...I’m really sorry about that.” You thank him and take a moment to breathe, holding yourself back from the tears that want to break free, “I went through a loss not too long ago too! You’re taking the right steps, and I appreciate you thinking about my feelings.”

You smile, “Of course! Everyone deserves that.”

“Well, no dinner then, but maybe another tour next weekend? Same time?” He asks, “Strictly hanging out though. No dinner.”

You nod, “I’d love that.”

“Then it’s a date!” He says excitedly. Though, as soon as the words leave his mouth he’s stepping over himself to correct what he’d said, “Not a date! Absolutely not a date. No, ma’am.”

You can’t help but smile fondly at how endearing he is, “I can’t wait.”

You squeeze the strap of the bag on your shoulder with one hand and wave with the other, turning and departing from the current Namjoon. Maybe in time, you can fall in love with this Namjoon for who he is and not because he reminds you of your Namjoon. At that point, then this lilac-haired, crab-loving, literature enthusiast would be your Namjoon.

You can only hope that day comes sooner rather than later.

“So, that’s it then?”

“I’m sorry?” You turn around confused, only about 50 feet away.

“I can’t believe you’re just going to be nice to this me, but not the one that waited 1,000 years for you!” He explains.

You’re so confused that it takes a second to grasp what this Namjoon is saying, and then it hits you. This Namjoon isn’t just any Namjoon.

He’s your Namjoon.

King Kim Namjoon.

The Hopeless Romantic from the Seoul Museum of Art and History.

“Namjoon…?” You ask. You know it’s him, you’re confident. But it still seems like it’s way too good to be true.

He nods, “It’s me.”

In an instant, you’re running towards him. You fling yourself into his awaiting arms and squeeze him as tight as humanly possible, burying your face into his neck as the tears begin to form in your eyes. You let your hands thread through his soft, purple locks and allow yourself to relax with his arms squeezing around your waist.

You bask in this overwhelming feeling of being whole again. You feel light and complete for the first time in weeks and it fills you with so much joy that you can hardly contain yourself. The embrace feels like that first kiss all over again, and you just never want to let him go.

As you calm down and you come to realize that Namjoon isn’t going anywhere, you pull away just enough so you can see his own tear-stained face. His cheeks are red and his eyes are puffy, but his smile is unmistakable with those gorgeous dimples of his.

Looking at him, it’s now that you realize…

He remembered you this whole time.

You smack his chest - not enough to hurt him, but enough so he knows you mean business - and he flinches, “How dare you play with me like this, Namjoon? Do you know how hard the past few weeks have been for me?!”

“I’m sorry!” He apologizes. He runs his hands up and down your sides affectionately, trying to keep you close - and not angry with him, “Trust me when I say this wasn’t easy for me either.”

As much as you would love to be mad with him for pretending he didn’t know you, you can’t. You’re just happy he’s here more than anything. But that still begs the question, “How are you here?”

“I’m not supposed to say much, but I can tell you the other deities had a few tricks up their sleeves.” He explains. He takes a moment to admire your features and leans down to press a kiss to your temple, “But I think most of the thanks needs to go to Taehyung.”

Your eyes widen in shock, “You know about him?!”

He nods, “It was a shock, but he and the other deities explained everything.” He pulls you closer and uses a hand to cup your face, “They gave me a whole life to share with you.”

You lean into his touch, but you’re still reeling from everything that’s happened in such a short time, “And you just remember everything?”

“They gave me the memories back.” He corrects. He’s so close now and you want nothing more than to start where the two of you had left off before you broke the spell, “I guess Fate had a backup plan for him.”

“Thank Fate for that.” You say before giving in to your temptation and pulling your soulmate in for a much needed, long-awaited, proper kiss

* *

“You wanted to see me?”

You look up from your paperwork to see Taehyung standing in your doorway, wearing his favorite emerald 3 piece suit. His fist is raised to the door frame as if he knocked just before he spoke. You must not have heard him.

You wave him in, “Yeah, come in! I’m just finishing up with this finance report.” You expect him to come right in, but he seems hesitant to do so. “Are you okay?”

“Am I not in trouble?” He asks.

Your brow raises in confusion, “Why would you be in trouble?”

“Well, Jimin said-'' Taehyung stops. He remembers the other day after work when he’d come home to Jimin and Jeongguk, going at it in the kitchen for the 4th time in 2 weeks. He’d thought it would be funny to dump water on them - and so had Guk - but the Earth deity had apparently been unamused. Of course, him being the pettiest individual he would settle for a payback that would absolutely scare him. He sits in the chair across from you and throws one leg over the other, “Nevermind. I know what happened.”

You chuckle, “Well, I have a surprise for you. That’s why I asked for you.”

“Oh, really?!” He’s definitely surprised, “What is it?”

“Well-” You move your finance report to the paper organizer on your desk, grab your bag at your feet, and stand up, “-why don’t show you?”

He uncrosses his legs and stands, “We’re going somewhere?”

You nod, “If you’re up for it.” You hold your hand out for him, an action that’s become normal between the two of you.

He takes your hand and you both exit your office together, leaving the human way. You make your way downstairs hand-in-hand, passing patrons that still roam the halls or meander up and down the stairs taking pictures to their heart's content. It all makes you feel human, and feeling human makes you feel happy.

On your way through the lobby, you catch sight of Eunha talking to another security guard. She’d made a request to switch shifts, and you made sure to have Hoseok take over her position under the guise of someone else. She looks happier, but you know better. Thankfully, her shift will be over in a few more hours.

“She’s pretty strong.” Taehyung comments, seeming to already know what you’re thinking. “I talked to her this morning and at lunch. She’s holding it together.”

You manage half a smile, “That’s good.”

Seokjin spots you walking together as you get closer to the exit and his smile widens, “Goodnight, (Y/n)! Goodnight, Taehyung!”

“Have a good night, Seokjin!” You respond, offering a small nod.

“See you tomorrow!” Taehyung waves. Seokjin gives him an indiscreet wink and you pretend you don’t see it even when Taehyung gives him an even more obvious wink back.

You playfully bump him with your hip and he pulls you with him, raising your joined hands above your head and resting them on your opposite shoulder. You squeeze as tight as you can together to fit through the door frame and out to the open air.

“I heard you promoted him.” Taehyung mentions as you make your descent down the large staircase.

You shrug, “There was an opening available.”

“Was there?” He asks, nudging you with his elbow.

You nod, “Yes. There was.” You nudge him back.

“Are you sure~?” The blonde asks again, “I’d hate to see you fall victim to those silly human emotions~”

You let out an exasperated sigh, “Oh, you are something else!” You drop his hand and rush two steps ahead of him, but he’s right behind you.

“I’m just looking out for you!” He defends. He rushes down the steps to the bottom before you make it to the last step and he puts his hands out to stop you, “We wouldn’t want to upset the council, would we?”

“I think you’ve done enough angering the council to cover me.” You remind him, poking his nose with your pointer finger, “Besides, maybe I want to get under their skin.”

“All of them? Or someone specific?” He asks, already knowing the answer.

You sigh, “I’m not saying Seowoo deserves it, but that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“I can’t argue with that.” He agrees. He looks both ways down the sidewalk, “Which way?”

“This way.” You point towards the side of the museum where the street light is out, the darkness wrapping around the corner and making the perfect disappearing point.

You take his hand and together you both walk into the shadows, walking into the darkest section of the sidewalk before disappearing at the corner. You round the trunk of a cherry willow, a sliver of distant light shining through the drooping branches.

Taehyung runs his thumb over your hand and stops, “Are you wearing rings?” He pulls back to check and does a double-take when he sees you in the dim light, “Why’d you change?”

“We’re at a university.” You explain. You’ve changed from your work clothes to a university sweatshirt and a pair of jeans, “I’d rather look like a student than a teacher. You should probably change too.”

“Oh...sure.” In his own fashion, he changes into a white shirt under a baggy, light beige sweater vest, a pair of jeans, and orange converse. He looks himself over once before fashioning a pair of gold-rimmed glasses to finish his look. “Where are we?”

“Eunha’s college.”

Taehyung’s eyes widen in surprise, “Why are we here? She’s still at work.”

“I want you to meet a friend of mine.” You explain.

“You have friends?” He asks, earning an unamused glare from you, “Sorry.”

“This way.” You lead Taehyung off the grass to the actual path and walk under the lights back towards the main building. When you reach a fork in the path you make a left to go around the side of the building between another series of buildings on the other side of the path. You keep walking until you reach another large area with benches, tables, and a fountain.

Sitting on the side of the fountain with just enough light that you can see them, is a trio of 3 men with different hair colors. One with midnight blue, a pastel pink, and lilac. Of course, you recognize them all without a problem at all.

“Hey, guys! Sorry, I’m late, I just had to grab Taehyung.” You call out.

The pastel pink head turns to reveal Hoseok - who’s changed from his normal all-black outfit to a black t-shirt with the word obey in colorful letters, bright orange pants, layered necklaces, and a pair of black, yellow-tinted glasses resting on the top of his head, “No worries, we haven’t gotten started yet.”

“Yeah, Joon was just telling us about the assignment we missed.” Yoongi agrees, revealing himself to be the midnight blue head of hair. He’s wearing an all blue, leaf-patterned outfit with a TuneSquad jersey underneath his top.

“You wouldn’t have missed it if you made it to class on time!” Taehyung freezes as soon as he hears his voice, pulling you to a stop as well. He knows that voice better than anyone, knowing damn well it belongs to someone that’s supposed to be dead.

Hoseok shrugs and leans back, “What can I say? I had priorities to attend to.”

“I just wasn’t interested.” Yoongi stands up and takes a few steps to stretch, revealing Namjoon sitting at the end of the three.

Namjoon is wearing a pair of light wash jeans and a black belt with a white shirt tucked in and a light blue button-up over it. He sighs, “How you have the highest marks in the class I will never know.”

Taehyung looks between the three of them, going back and forth between the two deities and Namjoon before settling on you, “What is going on right now?”

You squeeze his hand, “Just don’t say anything.” You pull him with you to join the others, coming to a stop in front of all of them. You point to the blonde and then to Hoseok, “Taehyung, this is Hoseok-”

The walking gumball throws up a peace sign, “Sup.”

“-Yoongi.”

“Hey.” He gives a small wave

“-And Namjoon.”

Namjoon is the only one to stand and walk up to Taehyung to offer his hand, “Nice to finally meet you.”

“Finally?” He asks, shaking the old king’s hand.

“(Y/n) hasn’t been able to shut up about you,” Namjoon explains with a devious smile. You visibly freeze and that only eggs him on more, “She said you were annoying when she first transferred into our class, then she said she thought she was in love with you.”

Taehyung gives you a look and you completely ignore him, “Namjoon!”

“Of course, we all knew she was,” Hoseok adds with a teasing smile of his own.

“Hoseok! Shut up!”

“How interesting.” Taehyung chuckles, happy to know how you feel even as you pretend you don’t exist, “Well, it’s nice to meet all of you.”

“Why don’t we all move this way? Maybe grab a bite to eat?” You suggest, hoping to move on from your own embarrassment.

“Yes!” Hoseok jumps up and throws his arms in the air before dropping them back down to his sides, “I’m starving!”

Yoongi scoffs, “You’re always starving...”

“I’m growing. I need sustenance.” Hoseok defends, patting his stomach for emphasis.

You walk up beside him and pat the back of his head, “I think all of that food is going right to your head.”

Hoseok looks like a kicked puppy and Namjoon sweeps into his defense, “C’mon, guys, don’t pick on him!”

“Yeah! Don’t pick on me!” He pouts, crossing his arms.

“He can’t help it if he loses brain cells without food,” Namjoon says, turning and grabbing his belongings while you and Yoongi laugh at Hoseok’s expense.

“Do you want me to swear at you?!” The poor god of Death looks absolutely appalled and utterly betrayed by the lilac-haired man. He huffs, “You children have no respect for your elders.”

“Can I quote you on that?” Yoongi asks, walking past Hoseok to grab his own bag.

“Absolutely not!”

Taehyung watches the dysfunctional chaos before him, in awe that the 3 pillars of balance could act like humans. Not just with each other, but with someone he himself once called a friend. You’re all so different than you are at the museum and the council meetings, it’s like you’re not even the same people.

“Tae?” You ask, pulling him out of his confused state. You hold your hand out to him, asking him to join you as the others continue to walk ahead. He accepts.

The 5 of you walk together, further away from the buildings on campus to the fence that lines the end of the property. You all forego the sidewalk for walking across the lawn, getting further away from the lights as you go.

Hoseok comes to a stop in the middle of the grass and Taehyung almost walks into him, “Do you think this is far enough?”

Yoongi looks around and shrugs, “I don’t think anyone will notice.”

“Notice what?” Taehyung asks.

“Way to sound like we brought him here to murder him.” Namjoon jokes.

“Namjoon. Hold my hand.” You say, dropping Taehyung’s for his.

Hoseok and Yoongi hold hands across from you and Namjoon laughs, “Oh, are we having that seance now?” He looks at Taehyung and winks, “Sorry, I guess we forgot to mention this part.”

“Just hold my hand.” You demand. He does and Hoseok takes his other, creating a chain between the 4 of you.

Yoongi takes a deep breath and sighs, “Alright, let’s do it.”

You and Hoseok nod in agreement and Namjoon nods as well, acting as though what you’re all doing is just a practical joke you hadn’t let him in on. It’s only when a soft golden light starts to travel between your hands and to him that he starts to get worried.

“What are you guys doing?” He asks, fearful of what’s going on. He tries to pull away, but you and Hoseok are much stronger than the poor human. The light only continues to grow brighter, and the brighter it glows the more concerned Namjoon becomes, “Guys-?!”

The light washes over him like a wave and it’s like someone has opened his eyes for the very first time again. He takes a deep breath, and then he’s looking around at the others and at himself and at Taehyung and it’s like he’s experiencing life for the first time all over again.

“How did-? But I thought-” He struggles to find the right words to say, unsure where to start, “What’s going on?”

You step in front of him, placing your hands on his shoulders, “Namjoon, I’d like to formally introduce myself. I’m (Y/n), and I’m Fate.”

His eyes widen, “Fate…?”

You nod and Hoseok pushes you out of the way to make his own introduction, “I’m Hoseok, but you’d know me better as Death.”

“You’re Death?” Namjoon asks, obviously not able to believe that someone like Hoseok could be something as dark and daunting as Death.

“Death equals mercy,” Hoseok explains. Both you and Yoongi push him from both sides and he chuckles, “Sometimes…”

Namjoon nods, not yet believing it but going along with the information anyways. He turns to Yoongi, “Does that make you Life?”

“Was it my sunny disposition that gave me away?” The blue-haired deity asks, earning a laugh from the king.

You move in front of Namjoon again and gently take his arm, “And this is Taehyung.” You pull him to where the blonde stands, still in shock, “You two have already met before, but you might remember him a bit differently.”

You place a hand over Taehyung’s head and down his front, revealing how he looked the very first time he had met with the king, “Jihye…”

“Hey.” Taehyung smiles sheepishly, waving shyly as his old appearance morphs back into his college boy disguise, “It’s been a while.”

They both just stare at each other, one nervous and the other in disbelief. Taehyung can’t help but think of all the things Namjoon could want to say to him. How disappointed he is. How upset he must be. It comes as no surprise to anyone when Namjoon moves forward and pulls Taehyung into a hug. His arms cross behind his head and he pulls Taehyung as close as humanly possible without hurting him, “I’ve missed you.”

His words are like a breath of fresh air and Taehyung finds himself relaxing into the embrace and holding his friend back just as tight, “I’ve missed you too…”

It’s a special moment, one Taehyung never thought he would get. His first friend is back and it’s thanks to 3 very unlikely people.

“Why didn’t you come to see me after the spell worked?” Namjoon asks, pulling away.

Taehyung looks down, slightly ashamed, “I didn’t want to mess up again.”

“Again?”

“Like the first time. We’d been so close, but even if I had made it work you still would have-” He stops. He doesn’t need to say it. Not when everyone already knows what he’s going to say.

“But I thought once we broke the spell I’d have to wait until my next life?” Namjoon asks, reiterating what both he and Eunha had put together.

“Technically, this is your next life.” Yoongi mentions.

Life’s revelation comes as a shock to both Namjoon and Taehyung, “What?”

“You were supposed to meet in this life, but because you two just had to make it happen sooner-” Yoongi makes sure to glare so hard in Taehyung’s direction that his planet might even shiver, “-the spell tore your soul away from this one and placed it with your previous body once the spell took hold again.”

“With the spell broken, we were able to put your soul back in this body and merge them together.” You explain. The 3 of you have been sitting on this plan for weeks, and you’ve carefully crafted a friendship with this Namjoon since his soul left his previous body just to ensure you’d be able to make this change happen altogether.

“You’ve been able to do this the whole time? Why didn’t you say anything?!” Taehyung asks, completely shocked. You give him this ‘are you kidding me right now' look and he seems to get the hint, “Right. Fate’s strings…multiple outcomes.”

“I can’t believe this…I can’t wait to tell Eunha.” The modern king is still entranced with himself like he’s never looked at his body before. And then his words hit him and he realizes that Eunha isn’t here and has no idea that he’s alive, “I have to go see her right now-!”

He turns to take off in a sprint and Hoseok places himself in front of him with a hand on his chest, “Not so fast, deadman.”

“Huh?”

Yoongi groans, “You cannot just go hunting her down.” He’d spent far too much time conversing with young adults and various incompetent professors just for this plan to work and he was not going to let it all boil down to nothing.

Namjoon however, doesn’t understand exactly what’s at stake, “Why not? I need to tell her I’m alive and that I’m okay!”

“The magic that brought you back is still fragile. If you go to her now then the whole thing could blow up in all of our faces!” Hoseok explains in his own, dramatic fashion.

“So, what? I’m supposed to just wait?!” The king asks in disbelief.

“It will happen as Fate allows.” You remind him, “You’ve waited this long for a miracle, I think you can wait just a bit more.”

Your words are simple and still just as cryptic as always, but they put him at ease and bring him back to his senses. He nods, “Right…”

“Geez, why couldn’t you have been that easy?” Yoongi says, turning to Taehyung.

The blonde scoffs, “I am easy!”

Hoseok laughs, “I don’t think you actually know what that means.”

Taehyung crosses his arms, “I’m doing my best, okay?”

“Well, now that we got all of that settled-” Hoseok claps his hands together loudly and rubs them together, “-let’s go get some grub.”

Yoongi turns to Hoseok in disbelief and hits his arm, “Are you serious, right now? You don’t need to eat to survive!” The blue-haired deity reminds him.

“But Namjoon does! I’m sure Namjoon would love a nice warm meal.” Hoseok turns to the poor human with a look that resembles a kicked puppy and it’s like they’ve gone back to being undercover again.

“I wouldn’t mind a bite to eat I guess?” Namjoon caves, the god of Death breaking into celebration while the god of Life can only sigh in disappointment, “If we go to that one place downtown we can order drinks at the student price.”

The offer of a few beers seems to peak Yoongi’s interest much more than a measly human meal, “Hoseok gets to pay for everything.”

Hoseok shrugs, “I don’t care. It’s not like I can’t create my own money.”

He turns to get back on track for the gate to leave campus and Namjoon trails after him, “Wait you can do that?! How does that even work?”

“Oh, don’t get him started. Just blame magic like every other human and let’s get to the bus before it leaves.” Yoongi calls out, starting at a slower pace behind them. They leave you and Taehyung to take the back of the group, the both of you trudging along at a slow pace behind them.

“So, are you going back to your duties now that everything is done?” Taehyung asks. A part of him hopes that you’ll stick around or maybe even come to visit him on his own planet, but he knows that you have your own duties to attend to.

But you’ve thought about this as well. You knew that once Namjoon’s memories were merged and he’d be left to go and find Eunha on his own, that you’d be free to go back to how you were before this fiasco started. But things are different now. Now, you have Taehyung who’s snuck his way into your heart and made you feel emotions that you’d left reserved for humans. He’s helped you understand how to feel without letting it interfere with your job, and you don’t want to let that go just yet.

You sigh, “You know, I don’t have a planet of my own. I really just drift freely within space when I’m not doing anything.” You kick at the dirt, “Maybe I could stay here on Earth. Do what humans do.”

He’s shocked, “You’re staying on earth?”

You shrug, “Yeah. I heard there’s this museum with this ancient mummy exhibit.” With a mischievous, all-knowing grin you ask, “Wanna go check it out sometime?”

Taehyung can’t help the smile that breaks out on his face. He takes his arm and wraps it over your shoulder, pulling you into his side, “I’d love to.”

You may not be able to look at your own future together, but at least you know that the both of you can do it together.

Maybe Hui was right.

Maybe for Fate, the future is written in the stars.

~ Thank you for reading ~

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dragoqueen · 3 years

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Whoops! Wrong Way 3/8

Summary: Peter has been living at Avengers Tower for 2 years, known to the workers and Avengers as Peter Parker-Stark-Rogers. When his teacher announces that they're going on a field trip to Avengers Tower, or SI, he's going to have to attempt to survive a day of embarrassment and keeping a secret identity.

Words: 2023

And here it was, the day of his death. The day of his misery. The day all his worst nightmares would come true. Friday... the field trip.

He had done all he could to convince each and every avenger to not mess with him. He got positive answers from Bruce, Steve, and Thor. However, he was going to have to deal with the rest in any way he could. He had tried to figure out their plan, knowing that they stayed up at night to plan his demise. However, he couldn't figure out a single thing. He had the bright idea to try and figure out what they were doing when he arrived by asking FRIDAY but until then he was doomed.

Tony woke him up an extra 30 minutes earlier than he usually did, not wanting Peter to be late for the field trip. The only good thing he had gotten out of it was that Bucky and Steve had gotten up early too to cook him a smorgasbord of food. He quickly scarfed down enough food to last him the beginning of the day before changing into his outfit and meeting Happy downstairs to get a ride to school.

Somehow, despite getting up early and getting a ride with Happy instead of walking, he was almost late. Almost. He made sure to spend extra long eating his food in hope that he would miss the bus and the school would just make him attend normal classes. Unfortunately, he was just in time to get on the bus and clamber to the back where Ned and MJ were sitting. Sadly, Flash wasn't too far from them either which made the ride to the tower, which he had planned on spending sulking and dying inside, worse.

Flash spent the entirety of the bus ride making jokes of Peter and insulting him. Most of them were intern-related, reminding Peter how he "didn't have an actual internship at Stark Industries" and "wasn't even smart enough to get an internship even at McDonalds". Luckily, before Peter knew it, they had arrived at the tower and the teacher was trying to keep them quiet so he could go check them in and make sure everything was ready.

Then, he got them out of the bus and lined them up in the lobby of the tower for their tour guide to explain the rules to them and hand out their badges. "Alright everyone. I'm Mars and I'm going to be your tour guide today. First, I know you all signed NDA's so please remember anything that happens in this tower that could be secretive you will be forced not to tell anyone or risk getting sued and, let me tell you, we have some very good lawyers. Speaking of the NDA, we are also going to have to confiscate your phones so we don't have you taking pictures or recording things. So I'm going to come by and hold out a basket I expect you to all place your phones in." Mars began walking down the row of children, having them all drop their phones in. when he got to the back where Ned, Peter, and MJ were, he just smiled at them and walked away, having already recognized them and knew that they were authorized to have their phones. Then, he returned to the front of the line where he placed the basket on the counter of the security desk and resumed his place at the front of the line.

"Now, first up on our tour is the Avengers museum. There are all of the first, fails, and worthy achievements of the Avengers. Everything from suits to fun facts can be found there. You will have 45 minutes to wander around before we head up to the intern labs so no dilly-dallying. However, first you're going to have to go through these scanners and scan your badge. For example..." Mars walks to the metal archway and scans his lanyard on the scanner before stepping through. The voice of FRIDAY spooks everyone except for Mars, Peter, MJ, and Ned, "Mars Bars, level 4, access limited."

"What the heck was that?" Cindy asks.

"That was FRIDAY. She's an AI that Tony built, she basically runs this building. But, back on track. Who's next?"

"Me!" Flash shouts, pushing his way to the front and scanning his lanyard before walking through, smug and confident that he was first.

"Eugene Thompson, Level 1, access very limited."

Flash smirks at his name being said by something that Tony Stark created. He walks forward to stand next to Mars while his next classmate goes. One by one, each of the students scan and walk through for Friday to announce their name and the same level and access type. Up until it was MJ's turn. She did the same as all of her other classmates, scanning her lanyard and then stepping through the metal archway but this time FRIDAY announces, "Michelle Jones, "Boss Girl" level 9, full access. Should I alert Scary Girl or Ms. Potts of your arrival?"

"No, that's okay FRIDAY. I'm on a field trip."

"Okay, have a good time." FRIDAY responds, causing everyone to stare at MJ in surprise. She just smirked before returning to her normal glare and stepped into the cluster of kids. Next was Ned, "Ned Leeds, "that one annoying hacker kid" level 9, full access. Shall I alert Science Bro #2 of your arrival?"

"No, FRIDAY. Bruce knows I'm on a field trip. Thanks though."

"Enjoy your time." FRIDAY answers.

Same procedure. The entire class stares at Ned in wonder and confusion. He blushes in response to the sudden attention and takes his spot in the cluster next to MJ. Last in line was Peter. He had been fearing this moment, knowing that he had the highest level in the tower, next to the other Avengers. Plus his nickname from Tony and Clint was sure to cause some questions to arise. However, dutifully, he stepped up and scanned his lanyard and stepped through. "Peter Parker, "Mini-Stark" level 10, full access. Would you like me to alert Mr. Stark of your arrival?"

"No! I mean... no that's alright FRIDAY. He probably knows I'm here anyways."

"Enjoy your trip, Peter."

He inwardly groans at the fact that she called him Mini-Stark, but was happy she had called him Peter Parker, rather than Peter Parker-Stark-Rogers. Tony must have cared somewhat of Peter's confidentiality if he changed that. He ignores the stares from his classmates and the smirk from Mars as he joins MJ and Ned in the middle of the group. "Alright, continuing with the tour if you will all join me in this elevator we will go up to the Avengers museum,"

While they all walk over to the elevator and begin piling into the cramped space. When Peter's in, Mars asks FRIDAY to take them up to the 12th floor where the Avengers museum was. Flash leans over and whispers into Peter's ear, "hey, Penis, how'd you manage to hack the AI to make it seem like you and your nerd friends have such a high access? We all know you're lying so just give up." Peter sighs and doesn't say anything, opting to move out of reach of Flash so that MJ is blocking them.

A/N:

For the sake of my sanity let's assume it's a big and strong elevator that holds all like 25-30 of his class okay? Thanks y'all

The door opens to the museum and the class spills out and begins exploring all of the corners of the museum. Each section was dedicated to a specific Avenger. The kids who wanted a more in depth explanation of things stayed by Mars who was walking around and giving his little "tour guide spiel" about the museum. Peter, MJ, and Ned, who had already explored the museum many times, walked around leisurely to explore different things that appeared to have been updated since the last time they were here.

At one point, Ned dragged Peter excitedly to a new section where Tony had added in a Spider-Man section. Peter observed the information happily...

" 1. Spider-Man prefers hanging from the wall than standing on the floor

2. Spider-Man's favorite snack is gummies.

3. Spider-Man is deathly afraid of spiders. "

"Dude, you're afraid of spiders? How?"

"First of all, shut it. Second, just because I have spider-like powers doesn't mean I like the creature. They're freaky."

Ned just laughs and continues to explore the exhibit. Peter looks over the things and makes a mental note to thank his dads later. The things included in it were incredible, a plaque with the phrase, "with great power comes great responsibility." And referencing his Uncle Ben. His first suit was also in a display case along with some of his old web fluid and a physical design of his webs that wouldn't disintegrate.

Suddenly, he felt an eerie presence provided by his Spidey Sense. He looked around the room, trying to detect where the threat warning could be coming from. Flash and his goons were all in a different section so it definitely wasn't them. And no one else was really around that could be threatening. Just then, he got a warning that someone was going to be coming out of the vents in 3... 2... 1... he stepped out of the way just in time to watch Clint fall out of the vents and crumple onto the ground. Then he jumps right up as if nothing had happened and smiles at Peter. (A/N: Clint was the imposter)

"Clint what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to embarrass you. But also Bucky made cookies this morning and Morgan threatened to take away my venting privileges if I didn't bring any to you."

"And you got scared of a 6 year old because... why?"

"She's scary. Also she has Wanda and Pepper on her side."

"Ooh, yeah. You'd better watch out for that. But, Bucky made cookies? Gimme."

Clint grins and reaches into his pocket to grab a cookie that's wrapped in a plastic bag. It's a triple chocolate cookie with extra chocolate chunks. The cookie is still warm so Peter can only assume it came out of the oven moments before. He takes a bite into it and it almost melts in his mouth. He lets out a sigh of comfort and tucks the cookie, in the plastic bag, into his pocket.

By this time someone had noticed that The Hawkeye was here and had shouted to the rest of the group. A crowd had gathered around him and were all shouting questions.

"What's your favorite thing about being an Avenger?"

"Whos' the scariest Avenger?"

"How do you know Pen- Peter?"

Peter cringes at the last one. He's sure Clint hears it and his suspicions are only confirmed when Clint's casual smile disappears and he turns to glare at Flash. "What did you call Peter?"

"I- uh.. I called him Peter, sir."

"Is that right? Mmh... you better watch yourself kid. And you'll have time to ask questions at the Q & A at the end of the tour with some of the other Avengers."

"Uh... Q & A? That's not on the list of things to do." Mars comments, having migrated over to where the crowd of kids had formed.

"One of your co-workers will inform you of the change in schedule during lunch. Don't worry, it was pre-approved by Tony."

"Mr. Stark? Oh, well... okay cool. Anyways, I think it's time Mr. Barton has to go. After all, we have to continue on with our tour as our 45 minutes are up. Everyone say bye to him."

A majority of goodbyes are shouted out, along with quite a few phone numbers. Clint gives them a mock salute before jumping back in the vents and crawling off to who knows where. Peter only calms down when his heightened senses are no-longer able to hear Clint clambering through the vents. Mars leads them all into the elevator and the doors slide shut, taking them up to their next destination, the intern labs.

#avengers #domesticavengers #peterparker #irondad #spiderson #spidermom #fieldtripau #spideypool

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Star Wars: 12 Snoke Facts You Might Not Know

https://ift.tt/2Tc5xc4

Set up in the first half of the Sequel Trilogy as a powerful new Star Wars villain, Supreme Leader Snoke of the First Order turned out to be something else entirely. Despite fulfilling the role of Emperor Palpatine in The Force Awakens, he’s completely off the table by the end of The Last Jedi. And in The Rise of Skywalker, the galaxy is only big enough for one galaxy-conquering villain as Kylo Ren’s fall shows.

By the end of the trilogy, Snoke is revealed to have been a bio-engineered villain all along, Force-puppeted tool Emperor Palpatine used to regain his grip on the galaxy while hiding his weakened physical form on the Sith planet of Exegol. His triumphs no longer truly his own, Snoke’s ultimate legacy is the rise of Kylo Ren as well as legendary motion capture actor Andy Serkis’ performance.

As we look back at Snoke’s short tenure as the big bad of Star Wars, here are some facts you might not know about Supreme Leader Snoke:

1. Snoke Was a Strand-Cast Created by Palpatine

Emperor Palpatine created Snoke to be his proxy through which he could regain his power. Although Snoke was bio-engineered in a lab on Exegol, he was a strand-cast, not a clone. This bit of Star Wars jargon means Snoke isn’t an exact copy of anyone, but isn’t natural-born either. We’ve heard the term “strand-cast” before. In The Mandalorian, Kuill speculates that Grogu might be a strand-cast — a speculation which turned out to be wrong when Ahsoka revealed Grogu grew up in the Jedi Temple.

Palpatine’s ultimate plan was to use Snoke as his voice to whisper in Kylo Ren’s ear. It was one of several ways he was working behind the scenes all along to build the First Order — itself just a shell for the new Empire being built on Exegol. With his own clone body decrepit but his spirit still strong in the Force, Palpatine could possess other people but was looking for a permanent new vessel.

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Snoke was likely born from these experiments but was too imperfect a vessel to house Palpatine’s spirit. There were other candidates, like the strand-cast who became Rey’s father. But since the process that created strand-casts could not reliably replicate Force-sensitivity, Palpatine’s “son” was not Force sensitive. It was another dead end. The Sith lord next turned his attention to Rey in The Rise of Skywalker.

This strand-cast/cloning storyline shares several plot points with the classic Dark Empire comic series, where Palpatine bided his time until he could come back in a younger, stronger clone body and re-create the Empire.

2. Snoke Wasn’t Aware of His Own History

Unlike Palpatine’s strand-cast “son,” Snoke didn’t know he was created in a lab by the Sith lord nor that he was being manipulated to rebuild the Emperor’s forces. In fact, despite being created some time after the Battle of Endor, he believed to have lived through the rise and fall of the Empire.

All of this is revealed in the novelization of The Force Awakens, in a twist that might actually have been a result of The Rise of Skywalker not having been written or planned out yet. But his status as a Sith sleeper agent fits with Palpatine’s plan, too. Snoke truly believing that he himself was really a dark Force user who had lived through the Galactic Civil War likely prevented Ben Solo/Kylo Ren from sensing the deception throughout his time as Snoke’s apprentice. Palpatine needed Snoke to believe the lies he told Kylo Ren so that he could more easily manipulate the fallen Skywalker.

3. Hugh Hefner and Snoke’s Injuries Informed How Serkis Played the Character

Andy Serkis rose to fame as the motion capture performer behind Gollum’s creepy mannerisms in The Lord of the Rings, quickly becoming well-known for injecting unique life and personality into monstrous characters. For Supreme Leader Snoke, Serkis drew from “the gold-lamé Hugh Hefner look,” the shining robe evoking the Playboy magazine founder. Serkis says he and The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson also considered drawing inspiration from “so many different dictators,” but settled on the uncanny Hefner idea.

Snoke’s visual appearance was still being finalized when Serkis joined J.J. Abrams to work on the character for The Force Awakens. Therefore, the actor developed his ideas about the character at the same time as the artists were developing theirs. In The Last Jedi, Snoke finally appeared in the flesh as opposed to as a hologram, allowing Serkis to draw even more from the villain’s grotesque physical appearance.

Serkis says he imagined Snoke’s deep scars were the source of some of his anger. “He’s terribly powerful, of course. But he is also a very vulnerable and wounded character,” Serkis told EW (via io9). “He has suffered and he has suffered injury. The way that his malevolence comes out is in reaction to that. His hatred of the Resistance is fueled by what’s happened to him personally.”

4. His Look Was Based on Classic Horror Movies

According to the book The Art of The Force Awakens, “J.J. [Abrams] and [creature effects supervisor] Neal [Scanlan] didn’t want him to be old and decrepit, like the Emperor,” said senior sculptor Ivan Manzella, who sculpted a maquette of an elderly, bald face for Snoke. Early ideas made the difference even clearer by making Snoke a female character.

The final result did look a lot like Palpatine, though: a hunched old man with a face distorted by deep wrinkles and scars. Manzella, who also made the final sculpt, says that Abrams wanted his look to evoke Hammer Films horror movies (such as classic takes on Frankenstein and Dracula). In particular Peter Cushing, who played Victor Frankeinstein and Abraham Van Helsing in several Hammer movies, was a direct inspiration.

Manzella also added what he felt was a sense of beauty to the character: “I imagined him to be a beautiful marble sculpture, so dark and menacing, but actually quite beautiful to look at … It’s almost like Snoke was quite handsome when he was younger.”

The Frankenstein comparison is especially apt since Palpatine and his Sith cultists built Snoke themselves.

5. Snoke Is Not a Sith Lord

You may have noticed that Snoke does not have the “Darth” title like the Dark Lords of the Sith do. He was never given one because he isn’t technically a Sith Lord. But the fact that he’s a bio-engineered being created by Palpatine explains why his training of Kylo Ren followed the Sith mold so closely, since all along Palpatine was trying to manipulate Ren.

During the time of The Force Awakens, many fans theorized that the next film would reveal Snoke to be Darth Plagueis, the Sith master who taught Palpatine the ways of the dark side. Plagueis was interested in extending one’s lifespan through the use of the dark side, so an old man with mysterious origins could very well have been him. This theory didn’t pan out.

6. Rian Johnson Felt Snoke’s Presence Distracted From Rey and Kylo Ren’s Stories

The fan theories didn’t line up with what The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson had in mind for moving the Sequel Trilogy cast into the future. In a conversation with EW (via Collider) Johnson explained his reasoning for knocking Snoke off the Sequel Trilogy’s chessboard.

“When I was working on the character of Kylo, I came to a place where I thought the most interesting thing would be to knock the shaky foundation out from under him at the beginning of this movie…By the end of this film, he’s gone from being a wannabe Vader to someone who is standing on his own feet as a complex villain taking the reins.”

But if Kylo took the reins, where would this leave Snoke?

“That made me realize the most interesting thing would be to eliminate that dynamic between the ‘emperor’ and pupil, so that all bets are off going into the next one. That also led to the possibility of this dramatic turn in the middle, which could also be a really powerful connection point between Kylo and Rey.”

Instead of focusing on Snoke’s history, Johnson found Kylo Ren’s ongoing story more relevant and felt killing Snoke was necessary to push his former apprentice’s arc forward.

7. Snoke Chose Ben Solo Because of His Skywalker Blood

Speaking of the Sith, Snoke may not be one, but he is interested in the lineage of one of the strongest Sith of all time. He chose to corrupt Ben Solo specifically because he was the grandson of Darth Vader. Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa were perhaps too ingrained in the light side and too dedicated to the cause of the New Republic for Snoke to manipulate them, but the mercurial and directionless Solo was the perfect target. Using Ben’s obsession with Darth Vader to turn him further to the dark side was a relatively easy task for Snoke.

In the comic series The Rise of Kylo Ren, we learned how Snoke began reaching out to Ben from an early age– and another comic, Age of Resistance: Supreme Leader Snoke, also fills in some of Snoke and Ben’s history. Before the events of The Force Awakens, Snoke spent a lot of time planting seeds of distrust between Ben and his uncle and teacher Luke Skywalker from afar, all while biding his time on a space station with an expansive garden, where Ben flees for guidance after the destruction of the Jedi academy.

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Some time after this, Snoke took Kylo Ren to the Force cave on Dagobah from The Empire Strikes Back to experience a vision. There, Kylo kills an illusory Luke, but stops short of killing his parents. But Snoke encourages him to use his anger, fear, and other emotions associated with the dark side to complete his training.

The visual dictionary for The Rise of Skywalker shows how deep Palpatine’s plan went. It says Palpatine intended killing Snoke to be the mark of Kylo Ren’s full descent into the dark side and rise into Sith-hood. Snoke’s death was in a way a symbolic killing of a Sith master — it’s traditional for the apprentice to kill the Master — while Palpatine himself remained alive and well to take over as Kylo’s new master. A final, decisive victory over the Skywalker bloodline.

8. Snoke Trained At Least One Other Apprentice Before Kylo Ren

According to the The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary, Snoke canonically trained someone else before Ben. Little is known about this mystery apprentice. We don’t know the person’s name, when this took place, or how it connects to Palpatine’s overarching plans. The existence of this apprentice is implied by Snoke’s description of Kylo Ren as his most gifted apprentice, suggesting there must have been someone else to compare him to.

In the Age of Resistance comic, Snoke also mentions that he plans to have more apprentices after Kylo Ren is gone. But Ren cuts that plan short in The Last Jedi.

9. Snoke Had At Least One Earlier Run-In With Luke

The facial scarring and collapsed cheek Serkis talked about might have been created by Luke Skywalker. In The Rise of Kylo Ren, Ben Solo alludes to “what Master Luke did to you.” But Snoke is more interested in Ben’s conflict with Luke.

What happened between Snoke and Luke is still unknown. It’s possible that whatever confrontation led to Snoke’s scars was also the first time Ben met Snoke.

10. Snoke Played a Key Role in the Empire’s Transformation into The First Order

Since Palpatine had to hide his weak clone body from everyone except his secret Sith acolytes, he placed Snoke in charge of the day-to-day growth of the First Order. Through his own lackeys, General Hux and Captain Phasma, Snoke spearheaded the new stormtrooper program that captured and indoctrinated children, building a military force powerful enough to go against the New Republic. And behind the veil of the Unknown Regions, an uncharted sector of the galaxy where the New Republic held no dominion, Snoke helped reorganize what was left of the Empire into the First Order, eventually becoming its Supreme Leader.

Snoke’s Attendants, the purple-robed aliens seen briefly in The Last Jedi, are also part of this initiative. They are the ones who helped the Imperial remnant settle in the Unknown Regions, using their abilities to blaze hyperspace trails that made First Order conquest much more efficient.

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11. Snoke’s Flagship, The Supremacy, Is the Only Ship of Its Kind

Snoke’s flagship was ripped in half by “the Holdo maneuver” in The Last Jedi, a strong blow by the beleaguered Resistance. Along with being the site of Snoke’s throne room, the Supremacy also contained enough factories to produce entire fleets for the First Order.

In fact, it was the base of operations for the entire First Order, which did not have a capital planet but instead maintained their military superiority from space. Technically, the Supremacy was a Mega-class Star Destroyer and the only one of its kind ever made.

12. Snoke’s Ring Contains a Relic From Darth Vader’s Castle

Snoke was a collector of Sith relics and secrets, traveling around the galaxy in search of knowledge, settling on his Force philosophy, and collecting things before he recruited Ben. It’s unclear how much of this Sith pilgrimage really happened versus the memories implanted by Palpatine, but it does appear that Snoke did actually discover the lost concept of a Force dyad, which he used to bring Rey and Kylo together.

He also discovered many dark side artifacts. One detail that’s easy to overlook in The Last Jedi is Snoke’s ring. The gaudy gold ring contains a hunk of black crystal. The Last Jedi Visual Dictionary defines this as obsidian from the catacombs beneath Darth Vader’s fortress on Mustafar. The ring also features “gold etched with glyph of the Dwartii.” In both canon and Legends, Dwartii is a planet which is home to several different schools of philosophers.

The post Star Wars: 12 Snoke Facts You Might Not Know appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3BVdLGO

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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mirkwoodshewolf · 4 years

Text

Quarantine fun times and tickles; Joe Mazzello x reader

*Author’s note*

As many of us in the BoRhap fandom know from Joe’s recent video, I couldn’t help but make a fanfic inspired from that video that just makes me smile from ear to ear. In light of these dark times, esp. when states or countries are officially going on FULL lockdown isolation. But I hope in light of the events going on in the world, this fic gives you guys some fluffy feels. Just side note I DO NOT OWN any of the shows mentioned here, they belong to their owners and stations.

Taglist:

@psychosupernatural

@plethora-of-things

@waddles03

@queendeakyy

@geek-and-proud

@simonedk

@kairosfreddie

@soy-guey

@ixchel-9275

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

__________________________________________________________

With this whole Corona quarantine putting everyone in isolation, I was thankful that my boyfriend of over 3 years Joe Mazzello was home again. He was doing some film with my favorite childhood actress Ashley Tisdale (of course he wouldn’t tell me the name of the project, just something having to do with ducks and them up in a farm). But now the project has been put on hold and now Joe and I were stuck at home just doing whatever.

I was currently sitting down in the living room watching the Ridiculousness weekend marathon that MTV is doing every weekend in order to keep everyone inside. The show was one of my guilty pleasures cause it’s the only show on MTV I watch.

Yeah they do some of the gross stuff like puking or farts, but they also do some really funny, epic or cute videos (and those are what I love).

I just saw a video of a man trying to leap up on a trashcan and he managed to successfully jump up on top of it and not fall through. But when his friend tried to do the same trick, his feet went right through the lid and he as well as the trashcan fell over and he slammed his back right on the concrete.

“Ohh! Ow! He is not Elf material.”

“Too much weight.” Both Steelo and Channel said and I nodded in agreement.

“Definitely too much weight. That guy was definitely not Elf material. Too much force on his knees when he did the jump.” It was then I heard the muffled shouts of my boyfriend coming up from our room. “Oh dear, he’s at it again.”

I forced myself off the couch and walked up the stairs and as I got closer to the bedroom, I heard Joe’s voice proclaimed.

“CAN’T TELL THE DIFFERENCE CAN YAH?! I’ll just wear this to auditions. Perfect. THANKS FOR NOTHING!!!” I opened the door and I said.

“Have you finally cracked under the pressure of quarantine again Joey?”

“Baby no I’m making a Youtube video for my channel.” He answered.

“Oh shit I’m sorry.”

“Hey no swearing missy! This is a family show! Folks I’d like to introduce you to someone you know, my lovely lady (y/n). Yeah everybody there’s my gorgeous girl right there.” He turned his camera right at me and I shyly ducked my face into my hands and gave the camera a wave.

“Please tell me you aren’t live streaming right now.”

“Nah I’m just gonna upload it later on.” He set the camera back down and I sat down on the bed and said.

“What’s got you to upset this time? I could hear you screaming from downstairs.”

“Not intentionally mad. Just—tell me and be honest. Do I really look like this stuffed animal broccoli thing?” he held up the bigger sized stuffed broccoli with the smiley face. “Cause a fan said this reminds them of me in Bohemian Rhapsody. And I thought the whole purpose of being a stan was to be nice to them. This qualifies as unattractive.”

He held it up to his face so that I could see if there was a resemblance between the two. I put on my thinking face and stroked my imaginary beard before I deducted.

“Wow…..they’re right I can hardly tell the difference.”

“R-Really? You too? My god you—see even my own girlfriend turned against me! THANK YOU!!” he cried out. I shook my head at my silly man before he deeply exhaled and said. “You know what, you deserve a broccoli punch.”

“Oh no!”

“Oh yeah.” He said with a quick nod and had an evil look on his face.

“Joe I love you but I swear to god if you do this there will be no more texting Ben in the group chats for a month.”

“I normally would act all dramatic and plead and beg for you not to do that. But I feel too betrayed to succumb to that.” He grabbed the bigger sized broccoli and I quickly raced out of the room.

But Joe quickly intercepted me and threw me over his shoulder. I shrieked and repeatedly punched his back.

“Joseph Francis Mazzello III you put me down this minute! Put me down or you will suffer the consequences!” he flipped me over onto the bed and got on top of me. He grabbed both my wrists and held them up over my head before changing his grip from both hands to just one holding my wrists together.

Then with no warning or even a chance to have me take back my statement, Joe went ahead and gave me one of his infamous ‘broccoli punches’.

“Joe! JOE WAHAHAHAHIHEHEHT! NOOO!!!”

“Nope you must suffer a broccoli punch. Each accounting for your age.”

“WHAT!? YOU’LL DO THIS ALL DAY THEN!!! YOU COUNT SLOW!!!”

“Oh-ho another insult? Well then I’d say we double them then.”

“NOOOOO!! OKAY! OKAY! OKAY I’M SORRY! UNCLE! UNCLE!” He stopped and his face hovered over mine.

“You gonna surrender?”

“Yes.”

“And you take back what you said about me looking like that gross vegetable?”

“Can I just say one thing?”

“If it’s negative, you’re gonna get raspberries on your tummy for five straight minutes. No stopping.” I cupped his face and said.

“The only thing that’s similar between you guys, besides the top head of it when you had the floofy wig, is that both of you have this wide, dazzling, adorable smile.” He looked down at me with an unreadable expression.

But then a split second later, he leaned down and captured my lips with his. I stroked his scruffy cheek and kissed him back with a little more passion. I softly moaned as I moved my hand through his messy auburn hair. His kisses then moved up and down the right side of my neck, getting around my sweet spot (cause I’m more sensitive on the right side of my neck than my left. And Joe LOVES to exploit that).

I felt his hand go under my shirt slowly sliding up as he continued to kiss up and down my neck. I exhaled a moan and that’s when my attention was sent right to the camera that was still recording.

“Wait. Wait Joe, Joey, Joey!” I said snapping out of it trying to get him off of me.

“What?” he groaned impatiently.

“The camera’s still recording.” I said to him. He turned towards it and made one of those goofy surprise noises he sometimes makes as he quickly raced over towards it and shut it off. I giggled in embarrassment. “Oh thank god you were not live streaming.”

“Yeah. But on one hand we could relive that moment forever and ever.”

“And on another note, you and I would be jobless.” I sassed him back.

“Good point. Plus I don’t want any perverts looking at your body. The only one allowed to do that is me.” I chuckled and rolled my eyes as him as I threw the smaller broccoli stuffy at him. “Rude much babe!”

“Then stop saying silly stuff!” I said. “Other than that, let me see what else the fans have given you.”

“Oh well I know how much you like Russian nesting dolls, so I got this custom made Bohemian Rhapsody nesting doll.” He then showed me what a fan had made him.

“Oh my god.” We sat there on the bed and I held it in my hands. “Of course Rami being the main display, let’s see whose next.” I opened it up and there was Gwilym in his Oscar’s suit.

“You got your Gwilym, my buddy.”

“Yep one of your lovers.” I teased.

“Hey, you know you’re my number 1.”

“Really? I thought that was Ben Cardy.”

“Well—” I shoved his shoulder. “I’m kidding! It’s you. It’s always been you, it’s always gonna be you.” I smiled at him before turning back to the nesting doll. Next was Ben in his Oscar white suit, wearing his shades and his lips pursed in that “Ooo” fashion. “And finally you have…..” I opened it up and the smallest doll was my baby Joey.

“You. The heart and soul of the movie.”

“Yep. Me. Inside—of Ben.”

“Ugh gross Joe!” I groaned out.

“Pervert. You’re just as bad as them!” he gestured to the camera.

“You seriously need to think before you speak Joey. Cause I swear…..GAHHH NO NOT AGAIN!!!” he tackled me to the bed and proceeded to tickle my stomach once again. He even gave the right side of my neck raspberries and ticklish nips.

“Take it back. Take it back.” He ordered me.

“I TAKE IT BACK!! I TAKE IT BAHAHAHACK!!” I proclaimed which made him stop and look down at me. “Why do you always have to tickle me in order to get me to agree with you?”

“Cause it’s fun.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “And it makes your cuteness factor go way up.” He said as he rose his arm up over his head to show me just how much my cuteness factor is.

“You’re a dork.”

“But I’m your dork. Whom you love and treasure and will never upset because he knows your weakness.” He said as he nuzzled his nose into my neck and squeezed my sides which made me shriek and him chuckle evilly.

“Please Joey no more tickling.” I whined as I pouted up at him.

“Okay no more for today.” He pecked my lips before playfully booped my nose. We smiled at each other as his nose would gently brush up against mine. “So what shall we do today?”

“You not gonna finish your video for your fan gifts?”

“I’ll finish it later. Besides I’ll need to cut out that brief PG-13 make out session.”

“Yes please do.”

“So since I heard you laughing and groaning downstairs that could only mean you were watching the Ridiculousness marathon. May I join you?”

“You may good sir. Then afterwards we can catch you up on the Marvel movies.”

“Do I have to?”

“Yes. I gotta get you on Team Cap before you watch Civil War.”

“Sorry babe, I’m Team Ironman all the way. And I haven’t even watched all of them or in order.”

“Traitor why though!?” I whined.

“Can’t go wrong with RDJ, he’s a legend. How can you turn your back on him? Rami did a freakin movie with him just this year!”

“Yeah but Steve made some good points in the film that you’ll understand. I will convert you to Team Cap by the end.”

“Yeah right.” We got up from the bed as the two of us continued to bicker about who was better Cap or Ironman as we went downstairs and a new episode of Ridiculousness was starting up.

#bohemian rhapsody #bohemian rhapsody movie #bohemian rhapsody imagines #bohemian rhapsody imagine #bohemian rhapsody x reader #joe mazzello #joe mazzello imagine #joe mazzello imagines #joe mazzello x reader #bohemian rhapsody cast #joe mazzello fanfic #bohemian rhapsody fanfiction #queen #joe mazzello fluff

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thestarkerisobvious · 4 years

Text

The Thing That Lives Under The Bed

art by @starker-sorbet a snugglefic for @mrstarksbaby

Chapter Two: Fifteen

3: The Author Of All Your Misery

The next night he was back on the floor, of course. Tony spoke to him from the blackness underneath the bed and soon was emerging from the darkness like an inkblack cloud. Peter steadfastly closed his eyes until he looked like Tony again, and then Tony was beside him on the floor, clutching Peter’s arm with both hands like a drowning man and sucking vigorously at the veins on his wrist.

From there they crept into Peter’s bed, moving under the covers and keeping their foreheads together, whispering. Peter lay on Tony’s left, leaving his right arm lying between them to give Tony better access to the ring finger on his left hand. Sometimes Tony sucked the last two fingers into his mouth, sometimes he only suckled at the fingertip. It gave Peter a very strange feeling, but he was getting used to it.

“Are you really a demon?”

Peter asked when he was brave enough.

Tony looked into his eyes for a moment before he answered. “’Spheres’ are now called ‘stars’ and ‘planets.’ The ‘sun’ is now called ‘star’. The college is now called “High School.” I do not yet know what I am called now.

“My novice magician,” he said gently, stroking Peter’s lips with the tips of his fingers. “You have yet to tell me.”

“I told you I am not a magician.”

Tony smiled wryly. “You also told me of the alchemy you used compel your make-seem volcano to erupt for a scholar’s prize, but lost the prize because your volcano erupted too violently and created a catastrophe…”

“That was not… that was just science… that was so embarrassing. You can drink all of that embarrassment. I don’t want to remember it.”

Peter turned in Tony’s arms, pressing his back to Tony’s chest, and was silent for a moment, thinking. Tony’s hand played idly with the sleeve of Peter’s pajamas, sometimes slipping beneath it, and did not speak.

Peter had spent the day searching his memories, and then his journal, for the story Tony had told of a classmate named Wager. Peter knew one boy named Martin Wagner, but he was one year older and never really talked to Peter. And Peter couldn’t remember the last time he was told he couldn’t make a long distance phone call was too expensive – he was allowed one half-hour phone call a month to Ned as part of his allowance.

But in his pile of letters to and from Ned he found it. He spent hours rereading the letters that Ned had written to him, and the copies of letters he had written to Ned. And there it was. Buried in the reports of the students at Devil’s Hollow High, including every student in Peter’s grade (there weren’t many. Ned was fascinated at the idea of knowing the name of EVERY student in your grade.) A description of Martin Wagner was there too, even though he was in a grade above. The memories were there – the memories that no longer resided in Peter’s brain.

Martin, the older boy who had been to Peter’s favorite museum in New York City and brought the postcard he had bought there for Peter to see.

Martin, who was in the 4H but knew plenty of science when it came to animal husbandry, and thus just enough to hold a decent conversation.

Martin who “said crude things about girls” but also was good for a lengthy conversation/argument about what MIGHT happen in the last Star Wars movie.

Peter pieced the rest together from what little facts stood out in his memory. Martin was coming over to spend the night. Peter was excited because he hadn’t had a sleepover since New York City. The phone ringing and Uncle Ben being told that Martin wasn’t coming, Martin’s father giving the flimsiest of excuses. Uncle Ben swearing and stomping (a horror in itself, Uncle Ben rarely swore) and ranting about the ignorant, superstitious people of the town. “They really give credit to those tall tales about Evan Post and that witch nonsense? We live in a farmhouse, not a ghost story.”

Peter, slipping in quietly (timid because there were raised voices in that room, he was always timid around raised voices) and meekly asking if he could just call Ned on the phone instead, but being told that wasn’t possible. “You know long distance is too damn expensive.”

Had Peter cried? Had he talked back, or actually raised his voice? Had he scolded Ben and May for moving him away from New York City, away from all his friends (and all the decent libraries!) and a school with an actual science club? Away to a notorious haunted-house that made him a pariah at school?

Had the damn broke? Had he actually yelled at them, finally after bottling up his feelings in silence for so long? Something must have happened, because he was sent to his room so very rarely. He had thrown himself on the floor by the bed and cried, he remembered that. He remembered it, because he remembered the Thing That Lived Under The Bed had come and licked away his tears.

It was too alarming to watch as it emerged from under the bed, so Peter had closed his eyes. The tongue that licked his face clean was small and sandpapery, and Peter quickly concluded that one of the cats had actually come inside and hidden under his bed with Tony. A cat that smelled of burned incense and earth.

He remembered that cat-tongue against the pulse in his wrist, too, although he couldn’t remember putting his entire hand under the bed. It licked against his wrist for so long, he remembered, waking up and falling asleep again while he lay on the floor. May had found him the next day, asleep with one hand under the bed.

That much he remembered. That much was clear. What came before? was impossible to tell. Each memory felt like something pretend, like a book he had read a long time ago and never really believed. Tony claimed he had been punished by being “sent to his room” which meant he must have said something wrong to his Aunt and Uncle, but he couldn’t tell what was memory and what was imagination. He didn’t remember a single conversation with Martin.

Tony had taken it all.

“I am the author of all your misery,” Tony murmured, combing his long fingers through Peter’s hair.

“No, not really,” Peter assured him, thinking of all the reasons he had been so miserable since moving from New York City to Devil’s Hollow. It wasn’t Tony’s fault Peter read so fast, or that the library in this town was so small, or that the librarian was so hateful. It wasn’t his fault Peter only wanted to talk about theoretical physics or science fiction and now lived in a town where neither seemed to matter. It wasn’t Tony’s fault the boys at school wanted nothing to do with him, any more than it was Peter’s fault he didn’t know a lot of dirty jokes and didn’t enjoy passing around stolen Playboys behind the school.

Tony propped himself up on ones elbow and began stroking Peter’s face with gentle fingertips.

“Your schoolmates shun you because of me.”

“No, they do that because they think I live in a haunted house.”

Tony used two fingers to turn Peter’s head toward him, looking into his face.

“You do live in a haunted house, Peter. I am haunting it. I am the author of your sorrows.”

“So… it’s true? But… are you a ghost?” Peter said, turning around again. He rested one hand on Tony’s forearm, feeling the muscle through the fabric of his billowy white shirt. It seemed very thin, certainly it was thinner than Peter’s arm, but it was thicker than it had been the night before, in the dream. In the dream, there had been nothing but skin and bone.

“Are you dead?”

“I am not dead,” Tony answered, caressing Peter’s arms as well. “I do not die. I sleep. I can sleep for a very long time.”

“You’re not Evan Post?”

“Evan Post is dead.”

“Was he a witch?”

“No.”

“What was he?”

“He was a nothing,” Tony said as he stroked a lock of Peter’s hair behind one ear, then stroked it again to keep it in place. They lay very close together, forehead to forehead as he spoke. Sometimes Peter reached out to stroke Tony’s chin, running his fingertips against the short-cropped beard.

He still wasn’t brave enough to do more.

“His forefathers had been apprentices of low rank in an order that has no name. That order had stolen books from another order. There were many books, Hector Post had only taught his son to read one. Of that book, Evan Post could read little. The Patriarch of the Post clan had summoned me. I was tasked to take messages to the city, when it was called New Amsterdam. But it is difficult to recall. I was sent into the ground to sleep for long periods of time. “

“Wait, there are books about you? Where are they?”

“They are burned. The staff that he said did give the Patriarch power, he bade me drown in the lake. I cannot retrieve it. I am forbidden.”

“Is it true, the story of the dead pigs?”

Tony gave a crooked smile. “Evan Post despised his neighbors. Sent me to destroy their swine. I was to devour them. I was hungry enough of the first night. And on the second. But on the third I was too sated and could eat no more. Too many carcasses. I could not consume the bodies. I tried to tell him. He would never listen.”

Peter swallowed hard and thought carefully before asking the next question.

“Tony, did… did Mr. Post task to you to kill his neighbors?”

Tony’s eyes had drifted closed as he told the story of the swine, but they opened slowly when Peter whispered his question.

Tony sat up a little on his elbow, reached out and combed his fingers through Peter’s hair again, then ran one firm hand down Peter’s spine until it rested in the small of his back. He used that hand to move Peter forward slightly, bringing their mouths close together.

“Why do you ask me questions that vex you?”

“Did you?”

“Should I answer you, and bring you pain?”

“Does that mean you did?”

Gently Tony brought the fingers of Peter’s left hand to his mouth and kissed the tips softly, as if kissing them goodbye. He opened his mouth to speak, thought better of it, and closed it again.

Then he nodded.

“How many?” Peter asked, his voice breaking.

“Eight. Nine. Maybe a dozen. I do not recall. Oh sweet one…”

Tony reached for him as Peter pulled away, but then let go. As Peter curled into a tight ball under the sheets Tony only stroked Peter’s shoulder blade with his knuckles and waited.

“How?” Peter managed through his tears. He had decided when they first moved to the house that Evan Post had been a good person after all, just a very lucky many who also liked living by himself. The prettiest parts of the house had been built by Evan Post, or so they had been told, including the beautiful massive dining room table that Aunt May loved so much, and the chest of drawers in her room. Evan Post had built the large empty barn where Peter had spent so much time reading and watching the barn owls. The dead man had become like an invisible friend in Peter’s imagination. He didn’t want to know that his invisible friend had been a murderer.

“And now I am the author of more pain,” Tony whispered, leaning over to kiss Peter on the shoulder. “Please ask me no more.”

“Just tell me.”

As Tony told the story Peter couldn’t help himself. He missed Tony’s arms the moment he left them. Slowly he pushed himself back, inch by inch, until he was back in Tony’s embrace again. He pulled Tony’s arms around him and played with the long, pail, tapered fingers as the man spoke.

“Evan Post despised other people. All people. He left his home so rarely. When he went into the village he was filled with hate and loathing and mortal terror. He would return here and I would drink it all from him. Then he would forget all his fear of people and behold! Off he would venture into the village again! More for me to feast upon.

“But more than once he would remember his hatred for his fellow man and send me out to slay them. Some had scorned him, others had mocked him. Some simply enraged him because they insisted on engaging him in conversation. One old biddie and merely asked him when he would marry. He despised all humankind. I was sent into their beds so that they would not rise again.”

Peter scrubbed the tears away from his face. He knew it was ridiculous to mourn these people who would have been long-dead anyway. Aunt May had explained what had happened in Devil’s Hollow when Evan Post had lived there. But World War 1 had just ended, and many people died in their homes, especially in the winter. It was just that way back then.

“I have caused you so many sorrows. Let me take them from you, I can make you forget.” Tony said, nuzzling his ear. He reached for Peter’s arm, pulling Peter’s wrist to his mouth, but Peter snatched it away.

“No. No, I’m not going to forget this. It’s important that I remember this. It’s important to remember that it’s wrong. It’s wrong to kill people, Tony. You can never do it again.”

“Very well,” Tony said calmly. He did not react to Peter’s sudden movement, nor the order Peter had hissed at him. He settled his head back against the pillow and held Peter close. He didn’t seem particularly concerned at all.

“Did Ev… did Mr. Post make you do other bad things?”

“My tender-hearted scholar. He bade me kill the venomous snakes. I devoured them by the score, convinced those I could not eat to dwell in other places. There were wolves in those days, though very few. I was tasked to guard the animals. Will you weep for the wolves and the serpents, too, sweet one?

“I’ll try not to. Did Mr. Post know you were a demon?”

“The books he burned called me a demon. Although his grandfather’s brother insisted I was a pagan god. I enjoyed him. The neighbors, when there were neighbors, called me Fae. They left me milk and bread at the crossroads on their holy days. Evan’s grandmother called me the muse. In New Amsterdam there were still natives at times, the Delaware, the Mohawk. They called me Wendigo, when I was still allowed to consume the deer of the forest. But when the natives told stories of me, I was confined to the farm.”

“Are you still keeping the rattlesnakes away?”

“I have not been tasked to in some time. I convinced many generations of snakes to dwell elsewhere. It seems they still remember. Would you like them to return? They are quite tasty.”

“No thanks. Did you poison the wells?”

“I was never tasked to. But I could tell him pure water from ill. I protected the buildings from lightening. I built many things for him. He would build furniture but grow tired of it, and I was tasked to finish it. He enjoyed building large things, I was left with the fine work. Most often I was tasked to bring him news from the village so he need not venture there.

“I protected the land, the pond and the forest beyond it. I was given that task by his grandfather.

“But as the years passed he created so very little. Enjoyed very little. There was so little to eat. When I begged him to feed me he sent me into the forest to eat, or else cast me into the ground until he needed me again. He lived for one hundred and twenty years. Then when he died he burned his books and tried to cast me out.”

Tony chuckled. “But how does he cast without his spellbook? His foolishness was always his undoing. He tried to banish me back into the infernal realms, but why should I return there? I have dwelt in the realms of men for so long. I fought him. He was unskilled. He tried cast me into darkness, and so I sought out the darkness under the bed. He had no power to cast me further. It thought I had bested him.

“But then he was gone, and no one else came. I could not consume his body, I had been forbidden. No other magicians inherited me. I was all alone. I could not cast myself back to the infernal realms, and soon I was too weak to leave the darkness under the bed. I was trapped.

“Others came. I made them fear. I drank their fear. But I could not touch them, so I could not take it all, not enough to make them forget what made them afraid. They would become too afraid, and then I would be left alone again. Time and time again it happened. Unable to leave from under the bed I could not even venture into the forest to eat, only consume what poor fair found its way into the house. I feared I would be trapped forever.

“But Evan Post left a house that men would covet for generations. Like a gingerbread house, drawing in little children for the witch to consume,” he said with a grin, kissing the side of Peter’s face. “Wealthy men came to inspect it, I fed from their dreams of a quiet life of contemplation. Women would come to praise the art of the wainscoting, the furniture. I fed from their admiration. Workers would come, I would frighten them, then feed from their fear. Wealthy families came to dwell here. They were happy. I could have fed from their happiness and left them plenty to spare. They had animals, I could have found enough strength to creep out on stormy nights and feed from them. But I had feasted on fear for far too long. I wanted nothing else. I was so greedy. I made them fear. Frightening sounds, frightening words, frightening dreams. So much fear to consume. Then frightening images as well! So much horror, so much terror to feast upon. I made them fear too much. Too many feasts. They became too afraid, and so they left me. My greed was my undoing. I was left alone. I cannot say for how long. I have forgotten so much.

“Then you came.”

He used one firm hand to pull at Peter’s arm until Peter turned in his arms. Tony tilted Peter’s chin up with one crooked finger and brought their mouths close, and Peter found himself unable to look away from those dark eyes.

“You came, and I thought you would surely starve me. You had no fear. But you had a light the which I had not tasted since I was summoned to New Amsterdam. Not since Simeon the Elder have I tasted so many questions. My library-pilgrim. My novice magician. My Master Doctor.”

“I told you, Tony,” Peter whispered, suddenly nervous with Tony’s mouth so close to his own. “I’m don’t have a Masters OR a Doctorate. I’m still in high school.”

“You know more now about the heaven above than any Master Doctor I ever served. My scholar.”

“Tony…” Peter’s mouth had gone completely dry, but the question burning in his brain was too big to ignore, so he dared himself to ask it out loud.

“Did you… drink my tears that night?”

“Of course, it is a form of your light.”

“And if you did drink by blood, literally, would that also be light?”

“No, that would be substance, and it would harm you. But the sweat that forms at your brow,” he said gently, kissing Peter’s forehead again. “If it were from fear or frustration, it would be light.”

“So… you’re saying that body fluids…”

He blushed and ducked his head. Turned out he wasn’t brave enough to ask the question after all.

Tender tapered fingers lifted his chin and Tony leaned in to press their lips together, lapping gently into Peter’s mouth with the tip of his tongue.

He pulled away for a moment and Peter looked up into his face. Shyly, he smiled. Tony smiled as well and repeated the action. Peter stayed very still and let it happen, with one hand firmly gripping Tony’s shoulder, keeping him in place.

Finally the action became too wet and Peter had to pull away, giggling as he scrubbed his face dry with his sleeves. “Eww… that was worse than sucking on my fingers.”

Tony grinned and pulled him closer, holding him in strong arms until he fell asleep.

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The Master (Post)

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ONE MORE - THE END OF CHAPTER TWO - TOMORROW

Questions, comments and constructive crit should be addressed to @witchwayisright where the story is being discussed.

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MY FEELS:

@starkerprince – @starkeristheendgame – @dizziestofdaydreams – @twokinkybeans – @flush-styx – @silentsunplays – @statansterio -- @fleet-of-ships -- @castiruth -- @statansterio -- @starkerthanreality

If you would like to be added to the dinner menu please send me a note. This list is being updated constantly. Tony may need to be conjured to make all these links work.

#The Thing That Lives Under The Bed #Demon!Tony #thewitchway writes stuff #Starker

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writingstruggles · 4 years

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Ben Solo/Kylo Ren: a character analysis

OK, first things first: THIS ISN’T A STAN OR ANTI POST. This is a character study, and if you can’t handle this character getting impartial concrit, just don’t read. If, however, you don’t agree with some of the points I’m going to make and want to have a healthy discussion about it, then I’m all ears. I don’t think my opinion is the only valid one, so feel free to try and change my mind.

And second things second: I tried so hard to love the sequel trilogy, but when it became clear after TROS that the studio had no plan other than making money, it became very difficult. I’m aware that the main problem for all the characters is the lack of general planing in this whole mess of trilogy, so keep this always in mind while reading this post: the first problem of this character was that the studio didn’t even know what to do with him.

1. Does Ben Solo becoming Kylo Ren make sense?

I checked the comics to get his background better. He had a happy childhood traveling a lot with Han and Leia, but when she discovered about the First Order, she sent him to train with Luke while Han and Chewie ran undercover missions for her. This is important: up to this point, he had a good relationship with his family, even if he was already being pulled by the dark side of the Force. It was during his adolescence that he started to be really seduced by Snoke, hearing the voice he thought belonged to Darth Vader. After the Luke incident, he did explode the cabin and thought he had killed his uncle, but he was not the one who killed all the other students and destroyed the temple: that was Snoke’s thing. He did kill some of his fellow Jedi apprentices later on, though. So, his turning points were Luke’s treason and Snoke’s coordinated abduction. And I would like to point out: the Sith training involves torture and brainwashing, so the first wrong impression I would like to correct about this character is that he was not simply a dick and revolted teen who ran away to join a cult.

BUT, there are some huge problems here. The first one is that when you watch the movies, you don’t learn anything about that aside from Luke’s part. In the way he’s presented in TFA, he’s Leia and Han’s son who betrayed his family, destroyed his uncles’ dream and joined the dark side for no reason. OF COURSE half of the audience wouldn’t like him. That wouldn’t be a problem if they just wanted him to be a villain like Darth Vader was, but it’s very clear that there was a plan (at least for one director) to make him a supposedly redeemable character. And how can we sympathize with his character like that? Even after we get to know what Luke almost did, the next question is simple: ok, so why he didn’t go back to Han and Leia?

And here is the second huge problem: we learned that after Ben leaves Yavin IV, Luke vanished, and Han and Leia broke up and went back to smuggling/leading a rebellion. And I can’t stress this enough, this doesn’t make any sense. The sequel trilogy killed Luke, Han, and Leia’s characters. These three characters that we have known for years would never, ever, had abandoned Ben Solo. Leia F*cking Organa and Han shot-first Solo would have brought their son back or die trying. Luke Skywalker is not a coward, he wouldn’t go into hiding and abandoned his only sister to clean up his mess during another war, let alone close himself to the Force, knowing full well he wouldn’t be able to feel if she was in danger. Just remember Han risking his life to save Luke in Hoth; or Leia leaving the rebellion to rescue Han from Jabba; or Luke straight-up disobeying ghost Obi-Wan and ghost Yoda to save Han and Leia, even if that costed the war. They were older and different, for sure, but we are talking about the quintessential things, the things that make these beloved characters themselves.

(THIS ^^. This right here is the spirit of Star Wars)

So no, in the way it was done in the movies, Ben Solo becoming Kylo Ren doesn’t make sense to the audience, and that’s a huge problem. A friend of mine suggested once that instead of being a rip-off of ANH, TFA should have been a movie about the beginning of the First Order (because after we defeat the Empire on episode VI, episode VII starting with ANOTHER all-powerful evil government already dominating the galaxy and exploding planets just throws away all the previous movies’ efforts) and about how Ben Solo becomes Kylo Ren. Just imagine if Rey, Finn and Poe had interacted with Ben Solo before he becomes evil: the stakes would have been so much higher, and it could have been well done. It would have made this character more human and likable.

2. Kylo Ren’s motivations: what does he want?

If the OT was about hope, I think we can agree that the ST’s themes are legacy and belonging. Having their protagonists, Rey and Ben/Kylo representing two apposite sides of those things was one of the best ideas for the new saga. Rey looks for belonging in the past she doesn’t know, while Kylo wants to abandon Ben Solo’s past and find his place in his future as Kylo Ren.

In that sense, his character arc was somehow solid. In TFA, it’s clear he’s still struggling with the dark side and feels the temptation of the light: he loses control easily, and he’s not doing anything unless Snoke orders him to. Ok, but why? Why is he clinging to Darth Vader’s ideals and staying in the sith path? Basically because he thinks it’s too late, and he has no other options. Which brings us back to the problem with Han and Leia: his parents didn’t go after him, they chose to go back to their old lives – of course he would think there’s no going back for him now. “But he is an adult man and could make his own decisions.” It’s a fair point, but again: sith training corrupts you and even if he had escaped, the only thing that would happen would be Snoke finding him again. It’s kinda like leaving an addiction: you supposedly can do it by yourself, but it is so much easier if you have help. Not a simple promise or offer, but actual, constant, and present help. I can not stress this enough, but I insist that one of the main problems with the sequel trilogy was not explaining in a satisfactory way HOW and WHY he turned to the dark side and stayed there.

3. Han Solo

Okay, I will admit: maybe my opinion on this specific topic is biased, because Han Solo is my favorite SW character. You may call me out as a fangirl if you don’t agree, but my point is: making Kylo Ren kill Han Solo was a bad idea. They basically killed the character for half of the audience, with zero chance of redemption.

It’s because it’s fratricide. Unless your father is Satan, the Emperor, or someone as equally villainous, fratricide is just that bad. It’s not easy to redeem a character who commits murder, but one that kills his own father? Who happens to be one of the good guys? And one of the most iconic and beloved characters in the franchise? There were other options to give Kylo Ren a tipping point, a conflicted moment that didn’t involve killing Han Solo. But they did, and he killed him. And now he’s no longer a villain we can sympathize with: now we think he’s a monster.

4. His interactions with Rey in TLJ

(I’m not wearing shipper goggles for this. I don’t even own shipper goggles when we are talking about Star Wars.)

Kylo Ren is conflicted after killing Han Solo, (and I will make a small pause here to reinforce how good Adam Driver’s acting was. He’s the only responsible for all the likable parts of Kylo Ren, especially in this movie). Kylo is once again unstable and Snoke is displeased with him, and for a moment we think he finally turned completely to the dark side, until he pauses before shooting Leia’s ship.

The force bond was the most interesting part of the movie. I don’t agree that he used it to manipulate Rey: if anything, he was completely harsh and blunt and kind of a dick to her, but he didn’t lie. He told her things how he saw it, with so much conviction that she started to see his side of the story. And since she was probably the first person in years that actually listened to him, his decision of murdering Snoke and inviting her to join the dark side makes very much sense.

We are talking about motivations and his are simple: let the past die, forge a new path. When he kills Snoke and no longer has a master, he only has one option: to become the master. That’s why he takes over the FO, and wants Rey to be his apprentice. Does the character suffer from sith-tunnel-vision? Definitely. But it makes sense. His decision-making is not overly complicated: he feels alone, and he wants a purpose: he decides that the solution for both is Rey joining him in the dark side. When she refuses, he still has one purpose: the FO.

This is, however, the point where he turns his back to the light completely: on Crait, he orders the FO to explode the Rebel Base and kill everyone, knowing full well his mother was in there. He orders them to exploded the Falcon out of the sky, once again knowing that Chewie and Rey are on board. When facing Luke, he repeats that he will kill Rey and the rebels. His transition from conflicted sith apprentice to the new villain of the franchise was actually well done.

And exactly because of that, the next topic pisses me off so much.

5. The continuity problem between episodes VIII and IX

Introducing Palpatine here was bad for so many reasons: backtracking Rey’s arc, making us think about Palps’ sex life, insisting on beating a literal dead horse when there were new things to explore, etc etc. And it was also bad for Kylo Ren’ arc. As I said before, the way they finished episode VIII, everything pointed to Kylo becoming the final evil Rey would have to face, and that would have been awesome. We didn’t need Palps, or ANOTHER all-powerful evil army ready to conquer the galaxy with exploding-planets-tech (seriously, is Alderaan a joke to you, Disn*y?).

But, in the third movie, they went back and decided they didn’t want Kylo Ren to be the ultimate villain anymore. They wanted him to be redeemed. And that’s not bad per se, but an actual redemption arc needs to be planned, and I think we can all agree, there was no planning in the sequels. And again, FRATRICIDE. So they introduced an old, more powerful evil to make Kylo Ren less evil and less of a threat in comparison. And evil so definitive, and with such a bullshit connection to Rey, that it makes Kylo reconsider his previous promises of killing the last jedi and going back to the plan of making her turn.

And so, his character spends the movie going after Rey, to tell her the bullshit truth about her parents, to convince her to join him. At least his arc is still somehow solid, because once he’s decided on his path, he doesn’t lose control like in the previous movies, and his body language is more firm and lethal. Which, honestly, thanks Adam Driver, he knew the character way better than the director at this point.

He finally comes back to the light when Leia dies. Although it was rushed, I agree that, at that point, it was literally the only thing that could have made him turn. Rey reminding him that he wouldn’t be alone if he hadn’t chosen the dark side helped, too. It was clear that the moment with Han Solo was supposed to be with Leia, but I’m really glad Harrison Ford agreed to come back to fill in the role for his old friend.

6. Ben Solo

Okay, there’s so much to unpack here. When Ben Solo finally comes out to play, it’s very good. We can finally see some things that explain Kylo Ren better – it’s so obvious how awkward he was in his own body trying to be an evil sith lord when he is clearly a natural disaster. He still suffers from tunnel vision, but at least now it’s Skywalker-do-or-die tunnel vision. It’s like a weight was lifted from his shoulders, and the way his actions scream Han Solo makes me, once again, wish the first movie had been about him, and not the whole “find a map/ Star Killer base was ANOTHER ridiculous idea / I know R2’s alignment is chaotic bastard but COME ON”.

Star Wars has a notorious story with pulling Force powers out of nowhere, and I’m not going to pretend to be an expert in SW lore, so I won’t complain about the dyad thing (and the weird stuff with the light sabers). I honestly liked the concept. There’s a lot I have to say about the final battle against Palpatine, but I think it would fit better in a future character study about Rey (God, that’s going to be another long ass post). I just want to add that after Luke insisted on her taking both light sabers to Exegol, and after all the crazy stuff Ben did to get to her, they should have, you know, actually fought side by side against 85% dead Palpatine? Aren’t these two idiots supposed to be stronger than that?? I’m not complaining about Rey bringing him down “alone” since she is the protagonist yada yada, I just wished that Ben had done something, instead of being thrown into a hole.

(Palps did that out of spite because of his grandfather? I bet he did.)

I won’t say I didn’t cry hearing the voices of the past jedi talking to Rey, because I definitely did. If anything, it was great to see so many beloved actors getting a chance to honor such iconic characters. But are you freaking shitting on us? Where were ANY of those assholes when Luke, Leia and Ben needed them, like, ten years ago?? “Well, force ghosts should not be used as ex machinas, and they don’t see the future” Tell that to episodes IV, V and VI. Anakin, Obi Wan and Yoda can show up for Vader weird funeral/party with ewoks but they can’t send a jedi signal for the Skywalkers to warn them about Sith bullshit about to happen? “They were probably ahead in the world the comes next and they didn’t have a way to come back, they just talked to Rey because Exegol is a Force nexus and-” And so is Ach-To. And so is Yavin IV. And so is Dagoba (Yes, Snoke sent Ben there for training). Look, I have no problems with Force Ghosts, I love them bastards. I’m just so freaking mad with the lack of coherence in this trilogy. If they did not talk to the Skywalkers – and I’m sure at least Luke and Ben asked Obi Wan/Anakin to show themselves A LOT – they should not have talked to Rey. It was a crowd please moment, for sure, but it was another gigantic middle finger to Ben Solo (before he becomes Kylo Ren).

And then Rey died, and Ben brings her back. I know how many funny jokes are going around in the fandom about how resurrecting Qui-Gon or Padme would have saved the galaxy so much trouble, but again, I’m okay with that. It was previously established that since they were a dyad, they had this living Force between them (although it was rushed in the final like everything else). And it does make sense Ben doing that: he had just come back to the light, and his parents were both dead. Han and Leia were gone because of him, the last time he saw Chewie was as his captor, and before that, he got shot by him, etc, you get the idea. He had nothing else, only this: the chance to make it right by a person that genuinely cared for him. Exchanging his life for Rey’s was nothing: he knew that his family would be waiting for him in the world that comes after.

So, did I like the Bendemption? It. Was. Not. A. Redemption. It was the right choice, and it made things right between him and Rey, because she forgave him for everything. But that’s it. He did not face the consequence of any of his previous actions. “But he died for her!” And we just established that it was not a difficult choice, considering that he had literally no reasons to stay alive if Rey was dead. If you want to see an actual redemption arc, go watch Avatar the Legend of Aang.

And finally, the kiss and the death. Okay, I know I’m digging my own grave by addressing that, but my mama raised no coward. Here it goes: it was fan service, pure and simple. It’s there to make part of the fanbase happy. Good for you, reylos, but to us, not shippers, it came out of nowhere. And I’m not questioning if they had feelings for each other or not: I’m talking about pacing and characterization. I’m not 100% convinced that Rey, as a character, as she was presented to us so far, would have done that. It felt out of place, and it broke the immersion of the scene. I was emotionally invested on what was going on, I was happy to see Ben smiling at her and everything, but then suddenly they were sucking faces and the “FAN SERVICE” alarm was so loud in my mind that I immediately lost interest. If they wanted that in the movie so much, there was probably a better way to do that.

It makes sense that Ben had to die to bring Rey back: one life for another and everything. I still think that, story-wise, it would have been better if none of them had died a ridiculous death, and Ben had faced the consequences of his actions as Kylo Ren, but okay, moving on. The main problem here is what happens after he dies: nothing. Absolute-effing-nothing. He dies, he disappears – which, again, I won’t question because Leia was involved and Skywalkers do whatever they want with the Force and I’m no expert – but that’s it. Rey, the same Rey that had just jumped his bones fifteen seconds earlier, doesn’t even mourn him. She doesn’t cry, she doesn’t do anything for him in the end, she just goes to Tattooine because it makes sense to the Skywalker saga to end where it started. She sees more of those Force Ghosts who never appear when they freaking should and that’s it.

Why is it bad? Well, first, like it or not, Ben Solo/Kylo Ren was one of the main characters and he deserved an actual final. Finn and Poe too, but those are long posts for another day. And second, it makes the fan-service in that kiss scene more evident. You can’t have the girl kiss him and in the next scene act like it didn’t matter at all. “Ok, then it was a thank-you kiss and there were no real feelings of loved involved”. But that makes it worse, it would be even more completely out of character for Rey – who avoids physical contact with people on the regular – to just kiss someone as a thank-you. Do you see how the math does not compute? If she had feelings for him, and therefore kissed him, she should have mourned him. If anything, she should at least miss her other part of the dyad thing. And if she didn’t mourn him because she didn’t have actual feelings, then she should not have kissed him. A little consistency, it’s all I’m asking.

7. Conclusions (aka tl;dr)

He was a somehow consistent character, but the lack of plot for the sequels was a huge problem. If the trilogy had been about Ben Solo becomes Kylo Ren – Kylo Ren kills Snoke and becomes the real villain – Rey faces Kylo Ren and she either saves him or kills him, it would have been so much better than the mess the studio did.

His story in the comics is so much more complex than what it is shown in the movies, but what they did to Han, Leia and Luke was a crime.

It was clear that one director had a vision to give him a redemption, and the other to make him the ultimate villain.

Adam Driver did what he could to make this character solid and somehow likable, let’s thank him for that.

There was no reason to bring Palps back,

Rey’s actions in the final are contradictory,

He should have stayed alive to face the consequences of his actions,

and the studio is charged guilt for getting our hopes up just to crush them with their lack of interest in doing something descent for the fans.

But again, that’s just my analysis of this character. Feel free to disagree with me, I would love to see what other people think about Ben Solo/Kylo Ren.

#character study #ben solo #kylo ren #star wars the sequel trilogy #adam driver #bendemption #star wars #long post #I got mad halfway and you can tell #rey #han solo #I blame the studio #mostly

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the-scavengergirl · 4 years

Text

Be Delicate ( not the title )

Haven’t written a Reylo or any Fanfic in a hot minute. Thought I wrote this for someone, perhaps it was just for me. Who the fuck knows. And I’m teetering on maybe seeing my way out of the fandom, still not sure. So if you like this. Thank you, if not, that is fine as well.

Per usual I own no one. Not that characters, especially not the lovely Daisy or Adam. And certainly not the horrid song exile feat that got this stuck in my brain by miss T.swift.feat. the glorious Bon Iver So that being said. Lets carry on. Also some parts are memories so there are no confusion. Also may post this on AO3 same pen name <3 on with the Bullshit. Also the pic that was inspo isn’t mine, it was a screenshot from the movie clip.

It didn’t take her long. She’d always spot him out in a crowded room. It didn’t matter how many there were she’d always see him over everyone else. But it didn’t appear to go both ways. She’d been four drinks in when his head turned, the girl at his hip catching where his attention had gone off to, and everything came to a stand still.

I can see you standin', honey With his arms around your body Laughin' but the joke's not funny at all And it took you five whole minutes To pack us up and leave me with it Holdin' all this love out here in the hall

And she’d never hated him more in that moment. She had to press her fingers against her face to look at him properly in the lighting, the flickering catching the frame of the stupid issued glasses. The way the lights gave his nearly translucent skin an odd sort of glow. Never before had he looked more perfect.

She was already three steps ahead of his one as he came towards her, her head shaking slightly beneath the hat Poe had found her, stating it would go in the ridiculous outfit she was currently mucking around in, Her drink pressed so tightly to her mouth she was sure the glass would shatter. “ Please don’t--we can’t do this anymore Ben. There is nothing more to talk about.”

Rey watched the way his jaw shifted. Sometimes it was the only way to tell his mood, as he could be a man of few words. But Ben Solo was annoyed, he didn’t like being silenced. But they’d been down this road too many times. And she was done.

“ It is quite obvious what has happened, and I’m tired of it. You’ve played me as a fool, and I let myself believe you actually had feelings for a girl like me. I believed you Ben--”

I think I've seen this film before And I didn't like the ending You're not my homeland anymore So what am I defendin' now? You were my town Now I'm in exile seein' you out I think I've seen this film before

The tears were never part of the game. She thought when she and Poe had shared a bottle of wine prior to coming, and his grand idea of changing her style that had her ready to face the real issue...Ben Solo.

But he always had a way of looking about her that made her feel as if he were undressing her. And not always in a way that sent shivers down her spine. As if she were to be reprimanded at any given moment, the way she had been time and time again back in the home and she hated it, because he knew that about her. He knew everything about her. She’d laid herself open for him like an open book, and he’d thrown it in her face. Just as he’d promised not to.

“ You’re running Rey. You know you can’t run forever. Not from me.”

It was as if Poe could see her panic, pulling her from the place where she shook, and yet remained rooted in place, unable to walk away. Because Poe knew, she’d never be able to walk away. She did have that power, no matter how toxic their relationship had grown. And their last fight had done her in, Ben’s words a seething venom that even Poe felt hit extra hard, especially hard when he knew where she’d come from, promising to love her, to fix all the pieces that had been broken. Split wide open.

I can see you starin', honey Like he's just your understudy Like you'd get your knuckles bloody for me Second, third, and hundredth chances Balancin' on breaking branches Those eyes add insult to injury

“ You come from nothing. You’re nothing.” She couldn’t describe the sound that left her, only the feel of the glass as it slipped from her fingers, shattering to pieces, one shard catching her in the pad of her foot, due to the stupid sandals that Poe said would be a smart purchase.

Her body pitched backwards as if she’d been thrown, an invisible force propelling her away from him as she felt something along the plains of her cheeks, doting them like the constellation like freckles she hated so. *Tears*.

“But you said--”

“Who the fuck cares what I said Rey. What about the things you said. What about the promises you’ve made, and broken. I’m done. I told you that. Rey it’s been 6 months. I told you, it was time to let old things die, and you couldn’t--you wouldn’t do it so I’m done. We are done. In case you didn’t notice that one.”

Of course he’d use her past against her. The one thing he promised he’d never do. If there was one thing Rey wasn’t proud of it was how she’d treated him. In the end. She knew in the process of finding herself she’d treated him horribly. His childhood had been difficult as well, and perhaps after their first breakup, when they stood shouting at one another, anger radiating off of them in waves as they stood in the rain outside his uncles they should have called it quits. But they were electric, like two magnets, when things were bad nothing could bring them together. But when things were good, they were drawn together so tightly, it was like they seeped into each others every being.

“ Yes--I’ve noticed Ben. You’ve made that very clear. In every text. In every call. In every attempt at getting into touch with you. Yes this is some plot, such a great one, poor Rey, so desperate she had to involve your Mother.”

Rey hadn’t realized the magnitude or the moment in which the octave of her voice changed, only that everything sounded like she was trapped in a tunnel, and everything around them seemed to fade out. The noise around them suddenly reverting to nearly nothing.

“ I forgot the world revolved around Benjamin Organa Solo. Maybe if you answered your fucking phone I wouldn’t have to search you out, but forget it. And just so you know, this wasn’t about us. I give a fuck about us. I’m actually packed up, I won’t be a problem to you anymore so don’t worry. It’s your dad Ben….he’s sick. Thought you’d want to know since you won’t speak to anyone but what’s her name right here.”

I think I've seen this film before And I didn't like the ending I'm not your problem anymore So who am I offending now? You were my crown Now I'm in exile seein' you out I think I've seen this film before So I'm leavin' out the side door

She didn’t wait for Poe, or remember her feet carrying her to the car, only the feel of the way the shard of glass dug further into her foot, and the way the blood seeped and flowed across the bridge of her foot freely as she pushed down on the break.

Seattle rain had always been one of Rey’s least and most favorite things about where she lived. Some Days it made her want to do nothing more than tuck herself away in the depths of her blankets and sleep until little glimmers of sun broke through, and that could be days. It wasn’t until she met Ben, with his boundless bursts of energy, and his stupid need for a dog, the one she ended up with that gave her an excuse to pry herself out of bed on the harder days, after copious amounts of coffee of course.

But as she pulled away, Ben screaming her name the rain made her more unsettled than it ever had. She was glad she couldn’t see her phone, knowing she’d forgotten to remove that picture of him. Her fingers reached for the dial to turn whatever song was playing.

All this time We always walked a very thin line You didn't even hear me out (You didn't even hear me out) You never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs) many signs) So many signs So many signs (You didn't even see the signs)

It sounded like the blade of a handsaw being pressed against her ear despite the fact she was in her own car. Her eyes widened in horror as she watched the car from behind her hydroplane across into the other lane hitting not only the oncoming car, but the guardrail. It took another 30 seconds for her to realize, and the moment her head made contact with the widow a sickening crack reverberating through the cab. It was then and only then through the sticky trickle of blood she realized it was Ben’s car that had slammed into her after ricocheting across the two lane highway like some sick game of pinball.

They always said in moments of trauma, your body floods with adrenaline, the shock taking over so the pain becomes nearly nonexistent. But with Rey this was not the case. The lights were blinding, and she couldn’t for the life of her figure out where the horrifying screaming was coming from, until she realized it was coming from her. But nothing she was saying made sense, and then there were hands, soft, soothing.

“ Hi honey, my name is Rose. You’ve been in an accident. Can you tell me your name?”

“ Ben--is”

“ Your name is Ben? I need to keep your head still sweet girl, you have a cervical collar and some facial swelling.I need to know your name if you can.”

“ No my name is Rey--the other was he brought in? He is Ben--I’m fine I need to know if he is alright.”

But she wasn’t fine. The swelling in her brain was severe enough it took 4 days under constant watch, and intervention to get it to a point where the doctors felt she was out of the woods. 4 days before they lifted her from that dark and heavy underwater feeling where time never changed. 4 days before she saw Rose again.

The human body at nearly 200lbs endures the average impact force of 43,050lbf traveling at 65mph, assuming the driver was wearing a seatbelt. Meaning the body feels like it's getting hit with a mass of 43,035lbs. But knowing Ben, in his anger, and the fact on more occasions than not he would forego the seatbelt all together, complaining that they needed to survey people his size as to make proper seat belt placement so they weren’t so fucking usless and uncomfortable.

Therefore changing the schematics drastically, a person Ben’s size, of nearly 200lbs, because he’d taken up the gym again, and quite diligently from what Rey could see, a man of Ben’s size at nearly 200lbs traveling without a seat belt at 65mph would endure the average impact force of 215,248 lbf. Meaning on initial impact with the oncoming car it felt like getting hit with a mass of 215,174 lbs.

An African Bush Elephant weighs 13,000lbs.

Ben was hit upon impact, with the weight of sixteen African Bush Elephants before hitting the guardrail, and bouncing off of her. *Sixteen*. And didn’t die upon impact.

That had to speak for something.

She thought she could see his face, in the darkness. Perhaps it had been wishful thinking, or the drugs they pumped through her veins. She didn’t hear anything Rose said to her after that, the number sixteen playing over and over in her mind like some annoying buzzing noise that wouldn’t go away.

Of course she didn’t need to be told he was gone, she could feel it. She startled awake, the only thing to greet her was the beep of the machines hooked to every bit of her being. And she just knew. She couldn’t feel him, from the moment she’d seen him across the library there was something about him. The way he’d smiled at her, making her shift uncomfortably from where she was hidden in the stacks, there was this connection. Like he’d split her whole being open with that one look and nod of his head. She was done for.

“Do you believe in soulmates?”

His voice was low and lulling. And she could honestly listen to him speak about anything well into the hours that would make her regret life in the morning. And that was exactly what was happening. She’d just been dozing off when he fired off one of his questions, the bed dipping with his weight which meant he’d turn to face her. His fingers brushing a curl from her face and removing the glasses she’d forgotten to remove in her drowsy state.

“ What? Soulmates--what are you on about?”

She didn’t turn on her side the way he had, instead opting to simply turn her head a bit on the pillow. Perhaps afraid of what she’d find if she really looked at him.

“ Yes, soulmates. I mean I’m not sure I believe in the everyone has someone made for them and that fucking garbage, but we’ve gone to the same school for years. We’ve had classes, and not said a word or given each other a glance.”

“ You did lop me in the head with your paper while I was at the pottery wheel that one time.”

“ Yes, but it wasn’t intentional, and you didn’t move. So irrelevant. But never once did we really pay each other any mind, brushed shoulders, passed things without glances, or words beyond our work. Then one day, it was like something just aligned, and you were right there, and you looked up, and I knew you felt it too.”

She wanted to tell him he was fucking crazy. To ask him if he’d eaten one of Hux’s fucking edibles again. But she could tell from his tone he was serious.

“ Yea, maybe. It would be nice you know…”

Ben didn’t answer, instead allowing his fingers that he’d held in the air like a giant web, as if tracing the stars to fall over her face, giving it a gentle squeeze before tightening his hold to place a kiss on her lips. No further words exchanged. Only the soft sound of his breathing as it evened out in sleep.

Rey had wanted to pretend she was asleep that night.She was selfish like that. She’d been exhausted from being hunched over the pottery wheel all day, and then her shift at the gallery seemed never ending. And so when they finally climbed into bed nearing 1 a.m. She just wanted to sleep.

She was glad she stayed up that night.

Because he’d been right. She had felt him the moment he looked at her. And now she couldn’t and she’d never felt so alone. And she’d grown up alone. She knew loneliness. Until Ben came along, filling all those spaces as if they’d never existed.

“Rey--”

The noise caught her off guard, causing her to bump herself against the bed in a way that made her realize just how poorly she was, her eyes falling on the frame of Leia Organa nee Solo and then once again Solo. Her normally pristine appearance looking about as wonderful as Rey was sure she looked.

“ You had me as your next of kin, in case of emergency, after Ben…”

It was not only the tone in which Leia spoke, but her last words that solidified Rey’s assumptions. Between that and her hesitant and careful approach, and the emptiness and fluttering anxiety that was threatening to burst from her chest, Rey wasn’t sure if she could handle it, her finger reaching for the button hoping for at least some small miracle that the kind woman Rose would appear, because if she was about to be told what she knew, she didn’t think she’d be able to bare it. It would kill her.

“ You’re awake. Miss Organa you’re here. Oh honey--”

One look from Rose’s face Rey knew the woman was slowly piecing everything together.

“ Alright, let's get this in and sit you up a bit yeah?”

Rey didn’t ask questions, allowing the small womans hands to do its work. She watched as she scurried out, Leia remaining rooted in her place, but out of the way, a syringe making its appearance and then disappearing again. As she suspected the medicine was for her nerves, a wave of calm settled over her, followed by Rose as she sat besides Rey, her fingers plucking at the small brush.

“ Ms. Organa, why don’t you take a seat.I did this while we had you sedated and resting. You got horrible knots. So let's keep that up, what do you think?”

Rey was used to this sort of talk, the social workers would use deflection to let her know her parents, or her mother in particular, weren't coming. She supposed it was to make the let down easier. And in a way it worked. It was soothing she supposed.

“He’s gone isn’t he?”

I think I've seen this film before And I didn't like the ending You're not my homeland anymore So what am I defending now? You were my town Now I'm in exile seein' you out I think I've seen this film before So I'm leaving out the side door

She figured she’d save them both the trouble. Rose was a godsend and Leia looked as if she couldn’t do or say another thing.

“ He is, would you like to see him?”

The sheer thought of him still being in the same place as her, but not really existing, sent Rey’s stomach turning, and poor Rose didn’t have a moment to escape, not that there was much. It was violent, and clawing. And it rolled through her in waves.

“ We wanted to give you the option first.”

It was Leia this time. Who’d finally come to Rey’s side. Her fingers holding Rey’s as Rose held the small basin, whispering nonsensical words of encouragement.

“ No--why would I want to see him. He is gone. I killed him.”

Her cries must have been loud, she vaguely remembered a passing nurse placing a sign outside her door before closing it. Apparently it was something they did. All Rey knew was she wanted to be alone, more alone than she already was.

“ No my dear, you didn’t kill him. You more than anyone else knew how Ben was with his temper, and the rain that, especially up the pass.It was no one’s fault, no one but his own. He drove like an idiot. It could have happened to anyone.”

She could tell even Leia had a hard time believing her words. And yet she said them with no blame, so kindly. As if she really believed Rey was completely innocent.

“ We’d been fighting though, at that damn party. I’d gone by to talk to him, because he wouldn’t answer me. He was avoiding me. And we fought, he doesn’t even understand anything. He would hear me out, he was making assumptions. And it wasn’t until I mentioned Han. But I needed to go. I was just going to let him stew in his own misery for a bit. But he followed me--if I’d just spoken to him. Or answered my phone. I could have told him to pull off.”

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

She hadn’t attended the funeral. Rey was released three days before. Instead she fetched what was left of her life, and with Poe driving headed back to blistering Arizona.

Staying away was simple. At least for a while, until she couldn’t. Demons always had a way of making themselves known. And she couldn’t run away from what had happened and Ben forever.

Of course the weather would be the exact sort she hated when the plane landed, cold and drizzly. The sort that clung to you, damp, unrelentless. Ben’s favorite. Especially if there was a fog.

It took them a bit longer to get off the plane, with an infant, and cripple. Poe’s wheelchair being placed in the back of the plane rather than the front.

“ Just think when I get my Prosthetic--”

“When you get your Prosthetic you wont be fucking useless, this is like having two kids. Come on, there is your wheelchair, hold Brynlee.”

Rey watched as her best friend slid over magically with her three month old daughter, with one arm, she could barely do anything with two, and yet he managed it impeccably, having only one leg.

“ Come on Benny, your mama is in a mood. I think she is nervous. But you shouldn’t be.”

Benny was Poe’s name for Brynlee, whose given name was Brynlee Lynn Organa Solo. Lynn after Poe’s Mother. At first Rey had been livid, but the more he did it, opting to do it quietly, or in the other rooms, or passing, the more she got used to it, and it was a tie to Brynlee’s father. As if her looks weren’t enough.

“ There you are, I’m sorry we are late, oh my.”

Rey knew exactly what Leia meant. Her daughter's firm stare from beneath the dark waves of hair, the bow of her lips when she was concentrating on something, was all her father. She even had his fingers.

“ Yes indeed, she has quite the temper and appetite. Would you like to hold her?”

From the moment her daughter had been brought into the world, with her best friend at her side, three weeks early, Rey had kept her mostly to herself. That emptiness she’d felt when she lost Ben, slowly felt as if it were dissipating. As if pieces of herself were being woven back together. As if somehow through their daughter.It was as if he was with her again. Although she knew she’d never feel complete without him again.

“ Hey kid.”

Rey had become so enthralled in watching Leia with her granddaughter, her fascination making it obvious she too was feeling much of what Rey often felt, and saw. That she hadn’t noticed the approach of Ben’s dad until his frame loomed over her, pulling her into a one sided hug, tucking her into his frame.

Han wasn’t as tall as his son, but he was by no means short in stature, tall enough to provide the relief Rey needed in that moment.

“How are you feeling? Is--”

“ It’s good, it’s good. I’m still taking it easy. It’s weird some days. Like some days I’ll be in the shop working on the Falcon, and it’s like I can just feel him more with it you know. Or does that sound weird. I am getting old, you know.”

She knew it would happen, the topic would be approached, the flood gates would open, the tears would be shed. But she didn’t think it would happen in the middle of Seatac airport. And certainly not because the discussion of the donation of Ben’s heart to his Father.

“ Can I hear it? Please--I just.”

“ Come here kid.”

“You know if you press your nose like this and stare really hard you look like a cyclops.”

He had to be high, she was sure of it. Hux always used him as the guinea pig, and with his sheer size he felt the need to eat the entire whatever the fuck it was Hux was testing. And it never ended well. Never. It was the only logical reason. And now his face was pressed so tightly to her own she couldn’t breathe. And he was laughing the most hideous laugh she’d ever heard.

“ Thank you? I think.”

She couldn’t get much out of him, a hum before a fit of laughter again, and then just like that he was serious again.

“ I liked the cyclops things, you know like in where the wild things are. That was one of my favorite books when I was little. Dad was the one I actually made read it to me nonstop. I think he finally hid it.”

She could only shrug her shoulders, her head shaking gently as she watched him lift his head, his fuzzy gaze taking her in as if to see if she were simply joking.

“ Wait, you don’t know where the wild things are?”

“ Not everyone gets goodnight stories Ben.”

Her past wasn’t something they often got into unless Ben pried. And it usually ended in argument, which was why she avoided it. She often tried to justify bad behavior, and why she was the way she was, and Ben wouldn’t stand for it, especially when it caused her to act a certain way towards him.

“ So what did you have? Didn’t you have something you liked like that?”

“ Yes, I had a stuffed bear, and I’m sure at some point it talked, but no one would replace it’s batteries. So when you pressed its hand the sound sounded like a heartbeat. And at night I’d lay with it and press it. It made me feel safe.”

Ben had never experienced such things that Rey had gone through. Of course his parents had been busy with work. So often he’d get taken to his Uncle Luke, whom he’d been close to until they had a falling out. And then there was the nannies. It was his parents' lack of presence that finally sent him out on his own at 17, as soon as he graduated. While he stayed in the state, he refused to have many interactions other than the ones that were obligatory. Not until his parents accepted fault and their wrong doing, without excuse.

“It got taken away, and I’m assuming it was thrown out. I was told I was too old. And that was that.”

Rey could see his face clearly, even with her eyes closed. Her arms wrapped tightly around Han, who she’d hugged plenty of times in the past at family gatherings. Knowing exactly what his heartbeat sounded like, and the one she currently was hearing was not that. It was Ben’s.

And she later learned there were no Cyclops things in Where the wild things are.

“ That is why you always fall asleep with your head on my chest.”

She wiped her eyes quickly, her fingers pressing against Han’s chest as she released a shaky breath. Part of her having a hard time wrapping around the fact she’d just heard the heartbeat of someone she’d thought was gone forever. A heartbeat she’d longed to hear for the rest of her life.

“ I know kid, I know. Lets get home.”

Rey opted to sleep the entire drive, taking one of the proffered anxiety pills that had been prescribed and collected per Leia. Leia sat in the back with Brynlee nestled tightly and safely between them, sleeping peacefully, while Poe chatted with Han from the front.

It was dark by the time they reached the house, and the rain had begun to pick up. And for a solid five minutes Rey stood in the doorway of the house, listening, and waiting, wondering if she’d made a mistake.

The house was too quiet, Rey kept expecting Ben to jump out from the corner scaring her half to death, causing her to drop her coffee, or throw him a punch.

It wasn’t until she’d gotten Brynlee to sleep that she finally had a moment. Changing, and sitting in the living room, surrounded by so many things that were him. And what should have been overwhelming for the first time was comforting. Seeing so much of him.

Rey found Ben’s parents chatting with Poe, as she expected, dropping into the space her friend had made, handing him the baby monitor, signaling he was on baby duty, minus feedings. Removing her glasses to wipe the gritty feeling from her eyes and buy her more time, Rey finally settled in her place.

“ I want to tell you what happened.”

There was a shift in the atmosphere, a tangible one. And for a moment it set Rey on edge, making her wonder if she was picking the wrong time, or if she were making a mistake. But was there ever a right time?

And if she were going to be living at the Solo’s until she got a place of her own, and moving back wouldn’t it be best to get it off her chest right from the get go?

“ I need you to know.”

“ Rey, we’ve never once questioned, or thought--”

But she wouldn’t hear any of it. They deserved the truth. The truth their son wouldn’t hear. She wouldn’t be silenced again. She didn’t want anyone else thinking differently of her.

“ I didn’t help my mother. I didn’t break my word. He told me if I helped her again we were done. She was sober, and one of the times she was sober before she’d told me one of her case workers was diagnosed with cancer, that they had an amazing Oncologist. That doctor specialized in certain things. I only called her and spoke with her because I needed that information. Leia...Han. Other than Ben, Poe is the only family I had.”

“ You had us Kid…”

Han’s words tore through her like a molten blade, hot and leaving her raw, and for the first time since the accident, it left her feeling as if she couldn’t breathe.

“ Yes, but Ben was making it very clear there would be consequences if I continued to have contact with my Mother, she was causing issues in our relationship. But this time it wasn’t that sort of interaction, but he wouldn’t even listen to me. But in his respect she did fall off the wagon 3 weeks later. But I just needed the doctor's name, for Poe’s leg.”

“ Yea, might not be alive now if it wasn’t for that doctor. Not only was he amazing, but the cost. I’d never have been able to afford it, and that is with my wheelchair, they’ll pay for a prosthetic if I want one, and car modifications.

Rey was thankful for Poe’s chime in, although she was quite sure it was unnecessary, she knew Ben’s parents didn’t need nor necessarily want a play by play as to what took place. They more than anyone knew their son’s temper and what he was capable of.

It was Leia who collected Rey, followed by Han as he ushered them towards the room.

She stilled at the doorway, she’d slept in the room nearly as many times as her own at one point. And if she breathed deeply enough it was like she could smell him there, a notion she knew was crazy.Not with the way Leia was about cleaning. But the more she stood rooted, the more it permeated around her. Making her feel crazy.

“There is a box, well boxes. In the closet. We thought you’d like to go through it”

So that was it, she wasn’t crazy. And perhaps Leia wasn’t attuned to it the way she was, her head nodding as her legs magnetically seemed to draw towards where she’d been directed.

A sound behind her signaled perhaps Leia had wanted to say more, before Han had ushered her out, opting to check on Benny from what Rey could guess, and join Poe once more. There were more than a few boxes, each one marked with his name. But it wouldn’t be hard to figure what was what. Her arms straining to reach the top one, Leia ever the logical one, and Rey had been right, it was the one she’d wanted, the touch of fabric greeting her fingers at the handles nearly causing her to drop the box.

Setting the box on the bed, Rey closed the bedroom door with a quiet click. Before moving towards her favorite window. Their window. Flashes of moments with Ben playing behind her eyes as she grasped the box settling on the floor. She wanted no other distractions. Just this.

She was surprised to find his pants on top, the order making no sense to her, but as she unfolded the clean fold of the heavy material she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold the tears in long, not when remembered the last time she’d seen this exact pair, draped sloppily over her corner chair, the one that she hunched over to study in the earliest hours of the morning.

“ Ben--your pants please.”

She could hear the thundering footsteps, most likely in their kitchen, followed by the giggled that he saved for when he knew he was going to annoy her.

“ No, they’re fine. You worry about too many things Rey. Just live a little.”

His words, had done their job, because she now stood before him.And just the sight of him in his work shirt and underwear and stupid beanie made her a little less annoyed. Especially when he looked at her the way he was.

“ Ben you’re a nightmare. Pick up your fucking pants.Please, because there will be another pair on top of their friends tomorrow and--”

“ And you are too uptight, and isn’t that what I have you for? And to make sure I don’t starve.”

He was lucky she was shoe less that day, an entire mouthful of milk falling from his mouth and onto her shoulder, making her gag. But it didn’t stop him. It never did, instead he simply shoved another spoonful of the disgusting matter before pressing his lips to hers firmly, pulling away only to chew twice and swallow.

“ You won’t ever get rid of me, remember. That feeling. You and me.”

She could only nod, untangling herself from him, unable to take him seriously when he spoke like that. The intensity shaking her to her core. And in the next moment, he was swatting her in the bottom with an old piece of mail. Another thing he promised to take care of, and forgot.

“ Hey Rey--I love you.”

His words stopped her retreat. They weren’t said often, and the fact he’d stopped grazing on his awful bowl of cereal, his voice so soft she actually had to focus or she wouldn’t have heard it, she knew he meant it.

“ I know--”

She always felt sometimes she should have said more, she often professed her love, and they’d decided there wasn’t a need to reply to it every time it was said, there were moments like this, in which sometimes it needed to be one sided.

“ Ben--put your fucking pants away though.”

The simplicity of words after such a moment was worth hearing his laughter again, although the combination between it and his eating is what nightmares were made of, and in the end she put the pants away. And as she held them, she was thankful Leia kept them. But knowing Leia she kept everything.

It didn’t take her long to find it, and she didn’t look at it at all, he had three, one being the one he’d worn *that* night, but it had been very clear, that had been the newer of the set. The one she fetched out was the oldest, torn in one spot, stretched out, and soft. And every fiber of it smelled like him, and she slipped it over her head, feeling the sleeves reach past her finger tips for a single moment it felt as if he was holding her.

There was no concept of time as she sat at the window, a soft knock interrupting her thoughts, Poe sliding through the door on his crutches, face softening at the sight of his friend. “ Lets get you to bed kiddo. Want me to fold these up?”

A wave of panic rolled through her, causing her to jump up from her place, grabbing the pants and few other items that had gathered around her.

“ Okay kiddo, no worries. I get it. You don’t want it smelling like anyone else. I was like that when my mom died. But when you’re done, I’ll tuck you in okay? And before you worry, Han fed Benny, she’s all sorted. Used some of the milk you pumped. So for tonight just rest. Please Rey, if not for anyone else, Benny included, for Ben. You know it’s what he’d want.”

That was the downside to Poe Dameron, he was one of the most entertaining people she knew, he was ravishingly handsome. And many a time Ben thought there had been an interest beyond friendship, until he himself had taken the time to get to know Poe and then he said in his own stoic glory. “ I totally get it.” Because that was Poe. But the thing that annoyed Rey the most, was his way of being right.

So often he was happy and go lucky, she supposed having cancer and later losing a leg to it did that to a person. But he also had a seriousness that he approached with sheer positivity. If he knew he wasn’t right, he didn’t push at it, he might mention it but that was all that would come of it.

Unlike Ben who would argue the sky was green if need be.

But Poe was right, if there was a heaven or whatever, and they really did look over you from above. Perhaps Rey should ask Leia what Jewish believed, but then she could hear Ben rattling on about how she isn’t even really Jewish. Only when she sees fit. Holidays, and the naming of children. Or child in his case.

Another conversation that had lead to endless laughter and the promise if they had children they’d absolutely not name their children anything biblical, simplify because Ben knew it would send Leia into fits, a bit of a fuck you for making his childhood rough. He wanted something modern, but not too fussy. And if they had a girl and fuck him if they did, somewhat girly. But nothing fucking stupid like Fanny, as he heard those names were making a comeback.

But Rey knew if there were such a thing, Poe was right. Ben would have wanted her to take care of herself, and this entire process, returning back to Seattle, making it home again, forgiving herself, that was going to be hard enough.

The morning was quiet, a soft rain, or drizzle as she learned they like to call it here fell softly outside. The smell of coffee lulled her to the kitchen, but the ache in her chest let her know there were other matters that needed to be dealt with first.

She wasn’t surprised to see Han in the kitchen, Benny tucked contently in his arms, her eyes, another thing inherited from her father gazing intently at her grandfather as he walked and poured cream into the cup before him, sliding it across the counter.

“ Who do you think taught him to make a proper cup? And I think this little lady is ready for her breakfast. Go take my chair, I can sit in Leia's. She went to the market.”

Han let Rey get settled, both herself, and Benny before taking a seat in the other chair, his finger reaching out. “ So you found the stuff. I told Leia you might like it. She wasn’t sure. She wanted to donate it at first. But I told her you might like it for something. There are somethings in there, perhaps we can cut them to make a blanket for Benny. I don’t know that might be silly I’ve just seen--”

“ No it’s perfect, thank you Han. For everything. I know this isn’t easy.”

“ You loved him Rey. Probably more than any of us. Hear me out please. You’ve always come here and seen us, and we’ve loved that. We knew you were it for him. And before you argue that you weren’t together when all this happened, none of that matters my son is pigheaded. He gets it from me, well and his mother, but don’t tell her I said that. You were it for him. I know that soulmate gibberish he talked about. But what you don’t know is it’s because that is what I believe, he probably heard it from me.”

Rey could only imagine what her face must have looked like, and she must have been surprised because she heard Benny make a noise, meaning she’d pressed her into her a bit, but she’d been so blindsided by the omission. Han Solo foul mouth, and dry humor extraordinaire, romantic and believed in soul mates.

“Did you know Leia and I weren’t together when she got pregnant with Ben? Bet he didn’t tell you that. Or that she was dating someone when I first saw her, not met her, saw her. And it felt like someone electrocuted my feet, and I walked up to her and told her she was going to be my woman one day. She tossed a drink at me and called me a neanderthal. But I genuinely felt it in my soul. It was out of nowhere, and we’d been sitting two tables away for hours.”

It was weird, hearing the parallels. Even weirder hearing the soft side of Han, but now that she looked deeper, having seen her with her daughter, *their* daughter, someone so reflective of the man they both loved, and had lost, it made perfect sense.

The shuffle in his pocket didn’t go unnoticed, although whatever she’d expected him to produce certain wasn’t what he held. It was in better condition that she’d expected. Considering it held no case, something Ben griped her for endlessly. The sticker of the shop he worked for still somewhat holding it place firmly, although its corners were beginning to pull and fold. Like the petals of a wilting flower, fitting given the circumstances.

“ There is something on there. You can call the company it turns out, and they can save it permanently. I figured you’d want it. Perhaps take it to the Hollow.”

Of course he’d be there, the trek was a bit of a hassle, and how Han had made it after a heart replacement, she’d never know. But then of course he would, if he died making his way to his son’s final resting place she knew he’d have left content.

“ You know he was a weird kid, always running up there to talk to his Grandpa, they’re buried next to one another.And old Chewie. Get bundled, I’m sure that ugly plaid jacket of his is in that box too, I’ll watch the Princess. What you say kiddo? Hang out with Pop-pop?”

The phone felt hot in her hand as she clutched it, tucking it away so she wouldn’t be tempted by it. She dressed quickly, her fingers throwing her hair that she’d grown after the accident into a plait in record time. An old pair of jeans and T-shirt before throwing the Old Black sweater overhead. Han had been right, the eyesore of a jack lay folded neatly in a second box, along with one of Ben’s rattier beanies. “ The perfect lumberjack.” He’d have called her.

With one last check to be sure everything needed for Benny was present, and a reassurance from Poe, Rey headed up the trail behind the Solo’s property. Their homestead sat on 200 acres, most of it undeveloped forest, including its very own small stream and what could have been called a waterfall, because of course it did.

It was so perfectly simplistic, it nearly looked as if it came from a time well before they ever existed, and perfectly Ben.

*Benjamin Organa Solo*

*Beloved Son*

*Father*

*Soulmate to Rey*

*November 19, 1993 - January 15,2018*

two souls are sometimes created together And in love before they’re even born

f.scott fitzgerald

She hadn’t expected it, the star of David of course was a bit of an overkill, and it was probably good that Ben wasn’t around to see it, but it was a good distraction, but Ben would have been horrified, and knowing that and hearing his voice in her head, it made Rey laugh.

She sat on the mossy dirt, the rain having slowed to a light but chilled drizzle. The phone felt like a brick in her pocket. But she knew what she had to do, it was the only way she’d get any closure, if this could be called that. But her anxiety was through the roof.

It appeared Han, or Leia had taken the initiative and charged the phone for her. The homescreen screamed at her, of better times. A picture she hated, but Ben insisted on, but of course he would, it was mostly him, his arm wrapped around her tightly, her eyes pinched closed as his face took up most of the screen his tongue nearly touching his chin as he refused to take a proper picture, in protest of her requests to look like a normal couple. And to infuriate her more he set it to her screen shoving the phone back at her his tone petulant as he tugged her further down the pier.

“ There, we don’t need some typical picture to prove we are a couple Rey, I’ve been inside you 50 million ways, besides this is far better than any cliche picture we could have taken, I can see your freckles, and you can see proof I no longer have tonsils, and that my parents should really have invested in braces, cheap fucks.”

Her passcode was the last step to whatever Ben had to say, his last words. To her at least. And part of her didn’t want to know, but then again she wasn’t sure if their exchange at the party was what she wanted to remember as their last moments together.

It made her wonder, did he know? Did he have any sort of inkling of what was to come?

Her finger hovered, but only momentarily, because she knew if she waited anymore she wouldn’t follow through.

It was static at first, and then she heard it, muffled, but there, rich and quiet, even behind the slap of the rain as it beat violently against the windshield.

“Rey--it’s me. But you know that. Please, pickup the phone. I know you won't, you’ve probably flipped your phone over, or tossed it in the back, and it makes me hate you that you wouldn’t let me install one of those smart stereos, the one with the bluetooth, and navigation. Because you are horrible at navigation, and then you’d have to see my phone calls, and it would disrupt you. But anyways.”

Even in the middle of a fight, Ben knew how to be somewhat humorous and she wasn’t sure if that made it worse, or better.

“Look, I’m sorry. And if you’d just answer your phone, perhaps we could pull off, have a romp? I’m sorry that was crude and I was kidding, unless you know you wanted to. But no really, we can get coffee. I wasn’t fair to you. And it’s obvious we have things to discuss, just please answer me. And Rey--”

She could hear the pause, the skid of his tires, through the other line, and for a moment she was sure the call would drop, hoped it would, because she couldn’t bear hearing it.

“ Rey--I love you. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”

The phone call dropped, and she wasn’t sure if he knew what was happening, the way his voice sounded, the change in his breathing said perhaps he did, perhaps it had indeed happened and he’d saved her from hearing it. She wouldn’t doubt it. He’d always been somewhat of her White Knight.

But in the end, she couldn't help but be relieved, their last exchange wasn’t completely that of anger. He loved her. Despite it all, even in the end. She knew he knew. He always had been good at reading her, she’d been nothing but an open book from the moment she met him. And it was no different in the end. Even if she hadn’t gotten the chance to tell him. She knew he knew. And that gave her a bit of peace.

“ I miss you so much.”

The trek back to the house left her feeling heavy. But the emptiness had somewhat lifted. And when she reached the living room, she was somewhat surprised to see Han and Benny in the same place she left them, as if a pause button had been pressed. The only thing that had changed was the fire that had been started.

“ Hey kid, better?”

It was the first time Rey realized she had placed the phone back in its hiding place, her hand rotating it towards Han.

“ Yes, Better.”

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prettyboy-parker · 5 years

Photo

starker, a/b/o: king anthony x omegan commoner peter

Ever since he was a young boy, Peter has been raised with the chants of “Long Live the King” ringing in his ears.

His Aunt May and Uncle Ben have always shown their distaste of the royal family, opposed of their corrupt ruling and mistreatment of servants.

But, Peter doesn’t agree with them. He can’t help but admire the elder King Anthony as he stands before a crowd of his subjects, overlooking them from the balcony of the grand Council Building, draped in golden robes adorned with jewels.

Peter has only ever known King Anthony, as his parents died way before Peter was born. His aunt and uncle would tell him stories about the late King Howard and Queen Maria, about how miserable most were under their rule.

They claim that King Anthony rules the same, but Peter can’t help but disagree.

King Anthony keeps their kingdom safe, creating alliances with neighboring kings such as King Steven and King Thor. They are rarely in war and in Peter’s eyes, the kingdom is prospering.

As much as his aunt and uncle dislike King Anthony and the way he rules, they cannot deny they live happily and in peace.

Until, on Peter’s 13th birthday, he presents as an Omega.

His aunt and uncle weep, explaining to him that he will be denied education and handed in to a servant job.

Peter decides not to mention that he’s 13 and knows these things already.

His guardians must immediately notify the Council of Alpha and Omega Affairs, as he will be whisked away once he is 15.

Taking an omega before the age of 15 is illegal, yet men who lurk in the shadows swipe young omegas off the street anyways.

To combat this, Aunt May keeps him in the house all the time, refusing to let him outside for more than 10 minutes.

Luckily for him, his Aunt teaches him how to read and write. It’s more of an education that most omegas will receive, as many can’t even write their own name.

He enjoys reading, but can only read the few books Aunt May owns, such as Romeo and Juliet and Utopia.

On the morning of his 15th birthday, two well dressed alpha men are on their steps, asking to take Peter for his assessment.

Peter doesn’t even notice the wails of his Aunt and Uncle as the alphas from the Council take him in the carriage, their scent overpowering his normal brain function.

Luckily the older alpha men don’t touch him as they ride to the Council building.

He’s ushered inside, small beta ladies washing him thoroughly, trimming his hair and wrapping a silk robe around his small body.

They move to a different room, 3 men conversing among themselves. He hears them mention King Anthony and the King’s Court.

Unfortunately, Peter is shipped away to a small school in the country side, where he learns to be the perfect Omega.

He thrives there, becoming all of his teachers’ favorite.

He learns how to cook, clean, care for children, and please his future alpha.

On his 17th birthday, the men from what seems like years ago return. The same conversation ensues, about King Anthony and the court.

And before Peter knows it, he’s being driven to the gates of the King’s castle. His breath is caught in his throat as they enter the property, hundreds of flowers climbing up the stone walls of the castle.

There’s a group of men standing before the ginormous wooden doors, and in the middle is King Anthony himself.

Peter’s eyes are wide as the two beta ladies guide him to the King, stopping to kneel for the man. On shaky legs, Peter does the same.

“Oh please, you mustn’t do that. It’s unnecessary.”

King Anthony smiles as he helps Peter off of the ground. He’s ridiculously handsome, smile lines around his eyes and mouth, a perfectly trimmed beard, deep chocolate eyes, and brown hair with streaks of gray. His crown rests upon his head, embed with jewels and must be made of real gold.

Peter feels underdressed in his white robe and sandals.

King Anthony leans in extremely close, soft lips brushing against his ear.

“This must be overwhelming for you, my little omega. Let’s get to somewhere private, hm?”

Against all better judgment, he leans in and nuzzles into King Anthony’s neck.

“Alpha,”

The King squeezes his arm, tucking Peter under his own.

“I will be giving Peter a tour of the castle. Please, leave us be for a while.”

As soon as their alone, they’re on top of each other right away.

Peter joins King Anthony and his Court for dinner scented and with a new mating bite on his neck.

Peter loves his new life. He’s draped in lace and silk by personal servants, jewels placed onto his neck and wrists that cost more than the kingdom itself. He wanders the castle alone, his King away working. He loves the castle, the feeling of cool marble on his bare feet. His favorite room is the library, where he can read more books than he ever thought existed. He loves tending to the garden, caring for the flowers as if they were his own children. He loves the meals, the horses, the pampering.

But, he loves his Alpha more than anything. When Anthony has free time, nothing can separate the two. Peter always wears his best dresses when their together, or opting for nothing at all.

Anthony bites his mating gland every time they make love, promising to never leave him, and that he’ll always be his Queen’s.

Peter tells him he’ll always be his King’s.

Every night, Peter falls asleep in the strong arms of his Alpha, promises of children ringing in his ears.

As Anthony drifts off to sleep next to him, puffs of air hitting his neck softly, overwhelmed by emotion and pheromones, Peter thinks,

“There’s no place I’d rather be.”

#starker #starker mood board #starker headcanons #ironspider #starker royal

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in-tua-deep · 5 years

Note

Honestly God and five and siblings goals. Also do you have any more info on that au??

(about the late addition/universe child au here ;3c)

adsfSDFGH are you kidding they would be the most insufferable kind of siblings where God and Five are consistently bothering each other and getting on one another’s nerves because they both are strong personalities that clash but at the same time if you even THINK about being mean to the other they will kill you without mercy

of course there’s being protective AND being irritating to multitask which God considers her job as a big sister clearly??

at some point Five figures out how to shift the academy like two inches to the left dimensionally speaking so that it sort of becomes something almost like how the Commission HQ was out of time but not quite?? it’s the house that when you enter you kind of feel like you’re entering a liminal space because it’s not quite in the dimension but it’s also not not in the dimension?

which is a longwinded way of saying that Five figures out how to squirm right through a loophole so God can come to their family dinners sometimes, when she wants to come

absolutely no one is sure what to do with,, you know,, God as their,,,, what? step-sibling? Like,, yeah the universe didn’t marry Reginald or whatever but she’s five’s sister and five is their brother so??

klaus just rolls with it and teams up with god to irritate five while also taking her side on genuinely everything because she gave Dave and Ben back

(“That was actually me??” Five protests loudly, because he was the one who had to fucking jump into an active warzone after Klaus ditched and grab a big old adult corpse and lug it home like does no one have ANY respect for the effort he makes?)

Five only brings up being ‘older’ than God exactly one (1) time because she immediately turns him into a 3-year-old until he manages to contact their mother to set it right (and even then she made him stay that way for a couple of days for “teasing his sister” before returning him to age 13)

“Hey how come you can change Five’s age but he can’t?” Allison asks over breakfast. No one touches the coffee pot because God made it, and it’s like black sludge. Well, Five drinks it - but he hardly counts.

She takes a sip of her tar. “Eventually he’ll be able to do it, but he’s too young right now.”

“HEY you know the conversion rates, right?” Klaus interjects, “How old is Five in universe years?”

God just kind of shrugs. “I spent my first few hundred years cradled in our mother’s arms as she spoke galaxies into being. I was probably a few hundred thousand years old when I made my first planet, and then a few hundred thousand more than that when I figured out life.”

Five is also drinking sludge tar coffee and carefully not commenting.

“Is Five a baby?” Luther asks incredulously, and he absolutely deserves the mug that is thrown at his head. He’s only fortunate Allison yanked him out of the way so it shattered on the wall instead of his thick skull, and that Vanya immediately moved to restrain Five from lunging across the table.

God, for her part, simply shrugs. “It’s a bit difficult to say. We aren’t the same as other people. We aren’t even the same as each other. One day, when we’re old enough, we’re supposed to leave our mother and become universes unto ourselves - but that’s so far into the future as to be eternity.”

Mollified, Five sits back and nods his head, because it isn’t fair to judge his age by human standards or by universe standards really.

Except then God smirks and says, “But he’s definitely younger than me and being not even a hundred definitely makes him a baby.”

They end up just having to cut God’s visit short that day before they manage to completely destroy the kitchen. As it stands they’re going to have to entirely replace the flatware. Diego ended up just bear hugging Five to his chest and walking out of the room at one point, which Five quickly escaped and jumped back in. Klaus told Diego it was a bad idea, and so the black eye is Diego’s own fault.

honestly just the knowledge that your brother is kind of ?? a god? or a demi-god? they’re all somewhat unclear on everything

“I think I’m having a crisis of faith.” Klaus wheezes from the floor when Five finally ends up trying to explain after he does his thing so he can have God over at the house. “Are we religious? Are we supposed to be religious now? Are angels real?”

“You’ve been calling Dave your angel for literal months, Klaus.” Five points out, unimpressed.

Klaus rolls over to prop himself up on his elbows and give his littlest brother the stink eye. “YEAH. But like, in a GAY way not a CELESTIAL way thank you.”

“Important clarification.” God deadpans from where she’s sitting on the couch inspecting her nails. Allison is painting her other hand in confident strokes that only faltered a little upon finding the exact identity of the little girl in front of her.

“Does no one care about my crisis?” Klaus howls mournfully to the ceiling.

“I finished the tea.” Dave announces, coming into the room and just looking at Klaus on the floor with fondness instead of the general exasperation that’s sitting on every other sibling’s face. That’s how they know it’s love.

“That’s why he’s an angel.” Klaus sighs dreamily, accepting the cup and reaching up to pull Dave down to cuddle while Five makes a face at the blatant PDA going on in the house

honestly just Dave being super calm and just very very calmly turning to Klaus upon finding all this out and being like “Klaus, love of my life, I know you told me your family was weird but what the actual fuck.”

And he’s from like, the old days when fuck was a really really bad word so you know it’s bad

(someone: i have questions about religion -

god: actually i’m agnostic

someone: …

god: …

someone: but aren’t you goD -)

now i’m picturing claire coming over and having a tea party with her uncle five and also oh, god

(patrick, frantically, in the background after being filled in on all of this: what the fuck allison what the fuck)

but basically five in this au is like,, a very weak god?? because he’s a baby in terms of years and their power is supposed to grow with their years (which probably means that the universe absolutely could have interfered but it would have been a little like using a nuclear bomb to get rid of a spider in the house)

Five can: part the fabric of the universe to travel - both spatially and temporally, do some quick and dirty magic tricks like swapping two items or jumping an item to his hand instead of going to it, and speak the language of the universe - which is how he contacts his mother (it’s a little bit like yelling for your parent from across the house and hoping they’ll come closer to hear you)

God can do a whole heck of a lot more than that but she binds herself with a lot of personal rules - the chief of which is not to interfere too badly in mortal affairs because she’s a big believe in free will. And also if she tries to help one person, where does she draw the line?

(God likes Allison because she gets what it’s like to be capable of overriding someone’s free will and then choosing to not do that - even when it’s the easiest option available)

“So like, do I get my own planet?” Five asks, idly spreading peanut butter on bread as he prepares his favorite snack.

“Maybe when you’re older.” God says, just that side of condescending as she loudly clicks buttons on a gaming system she stole directly out of Ben’s hands not even ten minutes ago. He just let her have it and sat down at the table with a book and a deep sigh.

“I’ll kill you.” Five says mildly, like he’s commenting on the weather. “I’ll kill you, and no jury would convict me.”

“On no.” God deadpans, not even looking up from her game. It may or may not be pokemon. “Whatever will I do. I wonder where people go when they die. Surely it isn’t my own home dimension. Oh, the horror.”

“Don’t bring me into this.” Ben mutters, loudly flipping a page and making Five snort in laughter.

honestly i’m just picturing a whole lot of shenanigans tbh,, like not even connected series of flashes of just sort of a slice of life comedy

(“Some big sisters teach their little brothers to ride bikes.” Diego mutters, rubbing at the side of his head where his entire goddamn ear vanished a moment ago when he’d be volunteered for God to try and demonstrate something on him, “Just harmless bike riding. Not vanishing people’s fucking ears. The nerve. See if I hang around you two again.”)

Just Diego at the police station getting really frustrated with a case and being like “Hold up Eudora -” (“Don’t call me that.”) “I’m gonna call home and see if god is in, see if she knows that the hell is going on here. If not we might have to talk with Klaus, ugh.” (“Diego what the FUCK.”)

technically god has a name but it’s in like,, universe language?? it’s in starsong and not really,, applicable to human ears? the universe has a starsong name as well, and technically so does Five, which is probably why this au five was so resistant to getting a ‘name’ - he already had one

(Luther, horrified: wait when you said about being the four horsemen were you being literal

Five: don’t be silly Luther, if my sister wanted to cause the apocalypse she’d come down here and do it herself, not outsource

Luther: i am not comforted by that)

even after their first somewhat interesting meeting, god actually does get along with klaus very well - partially because his powers most directly relate with her ‘dimension’ so to speak, the one she calls home most of the time

i’m currently picturing a team up between god, claire, and five and it’s horrifying and wonderful and i’m sure causes more than one stress ulcer in the house goodness

but yes needless to say i do have a lot of thoughts about this au lmao

#late addition au #universe's son au #universe child five au #universe child au #tua #The Umbrella Academy #five hargreeves #number five #tua god #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #ben hargreeves #vanya hargreeves

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victimofthemusic · 5 years

Text

Five Times Tony Stark Was a Good Dad (And One Time He Wasn’t) Pt. 5

Hey guys! We’ve almost reached the end and I’m so excited to get the last few chapters up. This chapter was inspired by Tom Holland’s adorable relationship he has with his dog, Tessa and a few other fics that I’ve read over the last couple of weeks. I have the outline for the next chapter so it should be posted in the next couple of weeks! Enjoy and thank you for reading (:

If you want to read the other chapters, you can find them here: Pt.1, Pt.2, Pt.3, & Pt.4

~~~~~~~~~

“Peter, your mom and dad, they—“ Aunt May choked on a sob, her grip on his shoulders tight, “They—“

“They’re not coming back, bud.” Uncle Ben said softly, bright blue eyes filled with unshed tears and something tight wound its way around Peter’s heart.

“No, you’re lying! I want my mommy and daddy!”

“They’re gone, Peter.”

Gone

Gone—

Blood, so much blood. Peter looked down at his hands, the dark crimson staining his skin and dripping on to the sidewalk. Sirens blared in the distance, there was shouting, erratic heart beats, pained groans—

Uncle Ben

“Pete—Peter, I—“ A cough and blood spilled from his lips, slipping down his chin and Peter could only watch, helpless.

“Ben, please—please hold on—“

“Take care of May—“

“—I can hear the ambulance, just a little longer—“ Peter pleaded, tears blurring his vision and panic gripping his racing heart.

“—be…safe—“ Another cough, more blood, a wheeze.

He can’t breathe, he can’t breathe.

Uncle Ben—

“No, no, no, please uncle Ben, please don’t go—“

Gurgling, more wheezing, even more blood.

“Sir, we need to ask you to move so we can help him—“

“—He’s going into shock—“

“—he’s not going to make it, he’s lost too much blood—“

“—I can’t find an exit wound, the bullet is still in there—“

“—Peter—“

“Uncle Ben, please—“

My fault my fault my fault—

“I told you, if you didn’t stop messing with my business, I was going to kill everyone you loved.”

The Vulture smirked as he held the gun to May’s head, his eyes dancing oddly as he watched her squirm and cry heavy mascara tears. She struggled against his hold, her dark eyes pleading with Peter.

Save me, save us.

But he couldn't move, his body was trapped underneath the rubble of what was the roof of the building. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe and he couldn't think clearly. His spidey-sense was going haywire, his body was alive with pain and he could taste the blood in his mouth.

“Peter—“ May begged.

The silver of the barrel glinted dangerously in the lowlight and Peter squirmed, crying out in agony as rebar stabbed him in the thigh—

“I told you, stay out of it—“

“Peter—

“Say goodbye to your aunt, Peter—“

“Peter please—“

“—I warned you—“

“Peter—!”

A gunshot and more blood—

“No!”

Peter

All my fault all my fault—

Peter—

There’s so much blood—

“Peter!”

His head was on fire, his senses in overdrive—

“Peter—damn it kid—“

A hand grabbed his arm and he cried out, fire coursing through his veins—

“Peter!”

Choking on a gasp, Peter opened his eyes to total darkness. His legs were tangled in the sheets and he could feel sweat-soaked state of his shirt clinging to his back. The back of his head was tingling, the hair on his arms standing at attention and he realized, as he tried to focus on getting air into his lungs, that he wasn’t alone and someone was talking to him.

“—you’re okay kid, you’re okay—F.R.I.D.A.Y. give me his levels—“

“—blood pressure is one-fifty over ninety, heart rate is at one hundred and fifty beats per minute—“

“Kid, can you hear me? It’s me, Tony, you’re in your room at the tower, in Manhattan, you’re safe, no one can hurt you—F.R.I.D.A.Y. hit the lights, level four, we don’t want to overstimulate his senses—“

Dim light filtered through the darkness and Peter felt something in his chest loosen at being able to see his surroundings. The familiar light charcoal walls, the blue of his bed spread, the giant IronMan poster hanging over his desk and Tony, kneeling on the plush grey carpet beside his bed, watching him with unconcealed concern and Peter’s gut twisted with guilt.

“Mr. Stark—Tony, shit I’m so sorry—“

“Pete,” Tony interrupted, voice uncharacteristically gentle, “it’s okay, you’re okay.”

Peter opened his mouth to protest, but no words would come out. His mind flashed back to blood, all the blood, my fault, my fault, May screaming—

Something was in his eyes, stinging and blurring his vision and something that resembled a sob ripped itself from his lungs and made it’s way passed his lips. His entire body was shaking, his head was spinning and he could feel the bile rising in his throat, the lump pressing harder against his esophagus until he couldn't breathe. He bolted up out of bed, tripping on the bed sheets and ignoring the harsh cold of the tiled bathroom floor, he fell to his knees in front of the toilet and threw up dinner.

Wave after wave of nausea hit him to the point where it felt like it was never going to let up. His brain was still swirling with the images of blood and death, the sounds of uncle Ben’s protests and May’s screams still playing through his ears and Peter prayed to anything or anyone who would listen to just make it stop.

A hesitant but strong hand landed gently on Peter’s shoulder, another coming to rub in between his shoulder blades as the vomit gave way to bile and his throat and stomach ached in protest of bringing up anything else.

When the world stopped spinning and the angry sea in his stomach settled, Peter lifted a weak hand to flush the toilet and pushed himself off of his knees to lean heavily against the sink. He rinsed his mouth out before he grabbed his Darth Vader toothbrush, wanting to rid his mouth of the horrible taste of stomach acid and half digested Pad Thai.

Peter ignored his reflection in the mirror as he wiped at his mouth and he could feel Tony’s concerned stare burning a hole in the back of his neck, but he ignored that, too. He could feel the fatigue in his bones, but his mind was too hectic to go back to sleep, his stomach lurching in protest at the thought of seeing more of—

“Peter,” Tony said, voice soft and Peter, startled, met his worried gaze in the mirror, “Why don’t you take a hot shower and change into some new PJ’s, okay? Meet me down stairs in the living room when you’re done.”

Peter nodded numbly, already stripping out of his sweat clothes. He fought against the anxiety rising in his chest at being left alone again and for a wild moment, he thought about asking Tony to stay outside the bathroom, just to have the comfort of knowing someone was there, in case something or someone wanted to get him at his most vulnerable. Like the time Peter snuck out of bed and into the living room when he was five and supposed to be sleeping. Aunt May and uncle Ben were sitting on the couch, watching Jaws and the next night, at bath time, Peter was terrified of getting into the water, images of a hundred foot long shark with bloodied jaws of his victims flashing through his little mind and Ben, bless him, stood outside the bathroom in case he had to fight off a shark for him.

“I’ll be right outside Pete, nothing is gonna get you, you’re safe with me.”

Shaking his head, he mumbled for F.R.I.D.A.Y to turn on the water as hot as her code would allow her to go, the A.I. forever coded to keep his safety in mind.

He washed quickly, not wanting to be by himself for longer than he had to or to keep Tony waiting for too long. Stepping out of the shower, he toweled himself off and headed back into his room, shivering as his hot skin met the cold air.

He noticed the fresh pajamas laid out on his bed, along with the new sheets that were on his bed—they were blue when he went into the shower and now his sheets had IronMan all over them, in different stages of action and despite the nightmare still fresh in his mind, he smiled at Tony’s attempt at humor.

Shrugging into his new pajamas, he wrapped himself in his Star Wars blanket and made his way down stairs, where he found Tony waiting for him on the sofa with two steaming mugs of something in his hands and the opening scene of the first Star Wars movie playing at low volume on the giant flat screen TV.

Tony handed him the mug—hot chocolate—when he sat down and manifested a blanket for himself and another one of Peter, in case he wanted it. Peter took a hesitant sip from his mug and had to bite back a moan of satisfaction when the rich sweetness met his tongue and danced over his tastebuds. There was no way this was Swiss Miss.

“All the way from Belgium,” Tony confirmed his thoughts, taking a sip from his own mug, “It’s my favorite and way better than store bought, bleh.”

Peter huffed a weak laugh at Tony’s snobbish tendencies and took another sip of the delicious brew, ignoring the piping hot temperature because it was so so so good.

He snuggled deeper into the nest of blankets as F.R.I.D.A.Y. started the movie and all thoughts of the Vulture and Ben and May’s blood curdling screams drifted as he was taken to a galaxy far far away.

Tony wrapped his arm around the back of the couch and began playing with Peter’s shower dampened curls, running his fingers through it. A small smile found its way across his lips as Peter leaned into his touch, his shoulders relaxing further into his blankets, his eyes never leaving the screen in front of him, sipping away at his hot chocolate.

Peter looked so small and vulnerable, wrapped up in Avengers themed blankets and sipping his hot chocolate from an Iron Man mug and it made Tony’s chest ache at the youth that radiated from the scene in front of him. Peter was just a kid, barely a teenager and he was already dealing with horrific nightmares that Tony himself was no stranger to. He had his own demons that preyed on his unconscious mind every night and he wouldn't wish some of things he saw on his worst enemy, let alone the fifteen year old kid sitting next to him.

Tony wanted to ask him what his nightmares were about, but he knew Peter, as much as he trusted Tony, wouldn't want to talk about it and burden Tony with his problems. Peter, because of his intelligence, was often treated with a level of maturity that didn’t match up with his age and Tony was no stranger to that. People forgot, often times, that because he was so smart, that he developmentally, he was still a kid. A stupid teenager with stupid teenage tendencies that, mixed with his scary level of intelligence, often times turned into disaster.

Peter had a brilliant mind and Tony could only imagine what his subconscious mind could conjure up to scare the kid so badly that he got physically sick from it.

A light snore broke Tony from his thoughts and glancing down, Peter was now snuggled into his side, dead to the world and holding his mug precariously in his grasp. With fond smile, Tony gently took the mug from his hands and placed it on the coffee table, making a mental note to grab it in the morning. Slowly, so he didn’t disturb the sleeping teen, he slid out from the couch and scooped Peter into his arms, ignoring the warmth that bloomed in his chest when the kid snuggled closer to his chest, his hand resting against the arc reactor as he dozed on, completely oblivious.

He made it to Peter’s room without a hitch—the kid was still snoozing away and Tony didn’t drop him, so he counted it as a win. He walked across the soft carpeted floor and carefully eased Peter down onto his fresh Iron Man sheets. Peter snuggled into the pillows easily enough, but when Tony tried to remove his arms from underneath Peter, a small frown caused a furrow to appear between his eyebrows, which gave Tony pause. Peter, as if he sensed his hesitation, rolled over on his side and snuggled back into Tony’s arms, his hand once again finding purchase on the arc reactor. The furrow between his eyes disappeared and he seemed to settle back into the pillows, his body relaxed and face smoothed back into the serene expression of one in the middle of a good nights sleep.

Tony hesitated, ensuring that the kid was settled and comfortable and asleep, before he tried to get his limbs back, once again coming up unsuccessful.

Because the kid adhered himself to Tony.

As in, he was stuck.

To Tony

Like the little spiderling he was.

“You don’t make things easy, do you kid?” Tony muttered, sighing as he weighed his options.

His back was already aching from being bent over this long and there was no way he would be able to do this for the next several hours or whenever the kid decided to get up.

He wasn't gaining ownership of his limbs anytime soon and if he tried, he’d probably rip his skin off and then he’d have to deal with the weight of Peter guilt for god knows how long. They hadn’t explored this particular enhanced ability too much, but Tony was sure without any sort of experimentation, this would not end in his favor if he tried to move and it’s not like he wanted to wake the kid up to ask him to kindly remove himself from Tony and give him the use of his arms back.

So that left Tony with only one option and that meant he had to roll Peter over, facing the opposite way and Tony crawled over him, holding his breath and praying that he didn’t wake the kid up. Finally, his body met the softness of the mattress and his lower back sighed in relief. He had to rearrange some pillows and adjust the blankets, but he settled, his eyes heavy, he watched Peter—the way his eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks, the small pout on his lips, the serene expression on his face as he dreamed (hopefully) better dreams. And the way his hand never left the arc reactor, it’s soft glow illuminating the room like a night light.

And that’s when Tony got an idea.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter trudged into the Tower, his back pack slipping off of his shoulder and landing haphazardly on the floor, but Peter couldn’t find it in himself to care. He face planted onto the couch, curling up into the fetal position and closed his eyes, sighing in satisfaction at finally being able to rest.

His nightmares had been getting worse, to the point where he didn’t sleep at night. He either stayed out late patrolling or caught up on his homework, choosing to do something more productive with his time than falling victim to nightmares.

And some nights, when it was really bad and homework and patrolling couldn’t keep the thoughts at bay, he’d web his way to the tallest building he could find and sit there and just listen to the city—sirens, clubs, taxis, car horns, chatter. His thoughts got drowned out by everything else going on around him and sometimes being up high, felt like it was the only time he could breathe.

“Kid, I know I’ve told you make yourself at home, but that doesn’t mean you get to just toss your stuff wherever you feel like—“

Peter groaned, opening a bleary eye to watch Tony nudge his backpack out of the way with his foot as he made his way over to the couch.

“”m sorry, I’ll pick it up later.” He muttered, burying his face back into soft cushion.

“Or you could pick up now, bring it down to the lab and get cracking on the homework I know you’ve got piled up in there.” Tony countered, sitting on the coffee table.

“It’s Friday and I’ve already finished all my homework last night.” Peter said, voice muffled from the couch cushions.

He could feel the weight of Tony’s stare as he shifted on the couch and Peter was avoiding looking him in the eyes, knowing the question that was on the tip of Tony’s tongue.

“That bad, huh?” He asked, his tone going from harpy to soft, gentle and it still made the guilt rise in Peter, knowing that Tony worried about his sleeping habits along with everything else he had going on in his life.

Peter hesitated and Tony sensed it, “Pete, you can talk to me.”

He was ashamed to admit it, but he felt tears fill his eyes. He was just so tired. But he was afraid, of closing his eyes, of seeing Ben die, all the blood and May and the Vulture—

“It always starts with my parents,” Peter began, voice thin, “I-I don't remember them much, but I remember the day they died—Ben and May, they sat me down and told me that my parents weren’t ever coming back. Even though I don’t remember them much, I still feel like there’s this loss? I guess is the best way. Like there was piece in my life where they should be and they’re not there anymore. It’s like a—a void?”

He can feel his voice get shakier as his brain goes over his nightmares that intertwine with memories and he feels like he’s asleep, trapped somewhere he doesn't want to be.

“I uh, I was there, the night Ben died,” Peter admits in a whisper, “I had just gotten my powers, I was scared and confused and I couldn’t tell anyone and we got into a fight and I ran away and Ben came looking for me and there was this guy who—“ Peter chokes on the words, everything coming out in a rush, “he had a gun and he had just robbed a liquor store and Ben tried to stop him and he got shot and I was walking home and I saw it and I couldn’t—I couldn't stop it. There was so much blood and he was dying and it was my fault. I shouldn't have ran away from home and if I hadn’t, he wouldn't have been there and he’d be here. There’s always so much blood, I smell it and I see it and I see him, drenched in it and there’s nothing I can do.”

Peter chokes back a sob, his hands shaking and his chest tight, “And then it’s the Vulture—he has May and he’s holding a gun to her head. He warned me that I should've stayed out of it, that I brought this on myself and I can’t move because there’s a building on top of me and I-I can’t get out, but he has May and she begging me to save her, help her and I can’t. He shoots her and I can hear her screams and there’s more blood and he’s laughing and so much blood and I—“

Peter’s babbling at this point, shaking with tears and he’s so tired, so fucking tired and all he wants is to sleep and he doesn’t know how to without the nightmares.

He doesn’t know how he ends up in Tony’s embrace, but one minute he’s sitting on the couch, crying like a baby and the next thing he knows, he’s being pressed into a warm chest, the edges of the arc reactor digging into his cheek. Warm hands are carding themselves through Peter’s hair and it’s so nice, to be held and just cared for. Tony smells like Tom Ford cologne and engine oil, the arc reactor is giving off a soft glow and he just feels safe.

He settles himself eventually, pulling away from Tony and wiping at his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie.

He meets Tony’s eyes and half expects him to crack a joke to ease the tension, but he doesn’t. Tony looks tired too, but in a different way and it makes Peter feel guilty. He knows his nightmares have taken a toll on Tony’s sleeping habits, interrupting whatever sleep he does manage to get to comfort Peter through his nightmares.

“Pete, I know it’s not easy, to talk this stuff through, but it does help.” Tony said, ruffling his hair, “not talking about, not sleeping, it makes things a lot worse than they need to be and you know you can talk to me, whenever you need to.”

He cupped Peter’s cheek in his strong grasp, urging him to look up into his eyes and Peter complied, “I know what it’s like to relive the horrors of your past and the manifestations of what could’ve happened and I hate more than anything that you have to go through this, especially at your age. You’ve seen things that someone even my age should have to witness and I’m so proud of you for still trying to push through. You’re so strong, bud, but it’s okay to ask for help. Even with stuff like this, okay?”

Peter nodded and Tony patted him on the back, standing up, “No science stuff today, you need sleep, but first, I need to show you something.”

Peter followed him down to the lab, ignoring the urge to fall over on the next available surface to finally succumb to the fatigue that was pulling at his eyelids.

“Now, as much as I would love to have sleep overs and be clung to like a Koala does a tree branch—,” Tony began, giving Peter a side eye.

Peter gave him a sheepish smile, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

“—I need my sleep too and you need to learn how to sleep on your own, because even though I don’t mind being your security blanket, there’s going to be times where I’m not available so—“

F.R.I.D.A.Y. opened the lab doors and Peter noticed two things.

The first was the labrador puppy sitting patiently on the lab table with a red bow around it’s neck.

The second, was that it seemed to be curious about an object lying next to him (her?), sniffing at it curiously and giving it an experimental lick.

“Hey, paws off the prototype mister—“ Tony said, rushing over to the work table and grabbing up the object that oddly resembled an arc reactor—similar to the one glowing in Tony’s chest.

The puppy merely blinked up at Tony, it’s tail tapping a soft beat against the metal lab table.

Peter was beyond confused.

“Tony, what—“ he began, looking from the puppy, to Tony, back to the puppy.

“Well, first off, congratulations, it’s a boy!” Tony said, scooping up the puppy and thrusting it into Peter’s face.

Big, brown, puppy eyes stared up at him eagerly, a pink tongue poking out from his mouth and aiming for Peter’s nose.

Peter was sure he was going to melt from the overdose of cuteness.

“Is he—is he mine?” Peter asked hesitantly, taking the puppy gingerly from Tony’s hands and cuddling it close to his chest. The puppy panted happily, lapping at Peter’s chin and wriggling in his arms to get closer, his paw resting on his chest.

“Yup, just picked him up from the shelter today—I went the adoption route, rather than the shop route—and he’s all yours. Don’t worry, I talked to May and she was up for the idea, even talked it over with your landlord, just in case. I’m paying for all the vet bills of course, but the responsibility—making sure it eats, sleeps and gets walked and all that jazz, is on you.”

Peter stared blankly at Tony, “You bought me a dog?”

“Adopted,” Tony corrected with a tut, “but yes, I did.”

Peter studied the puppy, who was now content on chewing on the draw string of his hoodie and he couldn't help the smile that graced his face if he tried. He had a dog. A dog. Of his very own.

His

“Tony—I—thank you, but why—“ Peter fumbled for words, glancing up at the ball of cuteness to look at Tony in disbelief.

Tony gave him a smile, giving the dog (Peter was really going to have to come up with a name), a pat on the head and he got a lick for his troubles, “I talked to Rhodey, told him you were having a rough time of it lately and he works with the VA and he told me about all the research they're doing into emotional support dogs for soldiers who come back with PTSD. Labs are supposed to be one of the top breeds and they ease anxiety, nervousness and they can even sense a nightmare and help you through it. This little guy was entered into the program and he proved to be a little to rambunctious for the discipline, so I gave the partnering shelter the program uses a quick phone call and well-ah.”

Peter stared down in awe at his new companion and couldn't believe that this adorable ball of cuteness was his.

“Rhodey is going to help train him up a little bit, but he’s going to sleep with you and hopefully, having his presence in the room will help ease some of your anxiousness to sleep and help with your nightmares but if it doesn’t—“

Tony turned to the lab table and handed what Thor, (Peter decided the puppy looked like a Thor) was about to use as a chew toy, to Peter, who shifted the puppy to the floor to take a better look at it.

It was an arc reactor, the same one that Tony had in his chest and it glowed the same soothing blue tone light that emitted from Tony’s, but it was little bit bigger and tapping it, a thinner beam of light filtered from the center of it and looking up at the ceiling of the lab, an image of the Iron Man helmet was projected onto the tiles.

“It’s a nightlight,” Tony explained, “I’ve noticed that the glow of the arc reactor is soothing to you, whenever you’ve had nightmares and I think it’ll help that, should this little guy fail at the one job I’m giving him and I’m not here, you have a light when you wake up, so you’re not in the dark.”

Peter was exhausted. That was the excuse he was going to use for why his eyes were watering for the second time in the last hour and not because Tony got him a dog that he loved, but also made him a night light in the shape of the one thing that calmed Peter during his worst nights. Something he’s never admitted out loud, but Tony figured out anyways.

“Tony, I—thank you.” Peter breathed, staring down at the nightlight and the puppy simultaneously and Tony waved him off.

“It’s no big deal, I just had to make a few tweaks to the program—I also made sure to add in the same feature my reactor has, just tap it and it becomes your suit. In case theres an emergency or whatever. Not that the tower will ever be attacked or anything, but it helps me sleep at night, knowing my suit isn't too far away from me,” Tony furrowed his eyebrow, “some have called that hyper-vigilance, but I called it being a good boy scout and being prepared, even if the experts don’t see it that way but I’ve never been one for soft sciences—“

Tony’s cut off abruptly when Peter wraps his arms around him and squeezes, to the point where Tony’s sure he’s cracked a rib or two but he can’t find it in him to care. He squeezes the kid back with just as much force, his heart warming at the thought of getting this parenting thing right.

“You’re the best, Tony, thank you.” Peter says as he finally pulls away, brown eyes shining with the upmost sincerity and Tony grins, ruffling Peter’s curls.

“Don’t mention it, kid, I just hope this helps.”

~~~~~~~~~

It was a late night in the work shop for Tony, he was working out some kinks in the software for Peter’s suit and adding some new upgrades he’d thought of in the recent months and he wanted to surprise Peter with them when he woke up in the morning.

He’d sent the kid to bed hours ago, despite the complaining and the pouting—all on Peter’s end and even though Tony wanted him here with him in the lab, he was trying to be good at this parenting thing and that meant curfew’s and rules and boundaries. At least that’s what the parenting books said.

Tony stretched, his lower back popping back into alignment in the most satisfying way. He had reached his limit of what he could do, it was up to F.R.I.D.A.Y. to finish inputting all the changes and Tony found himself wanting to check in on Peter.

“What’s the time, Fri?” Tony asked as he headed out of the lab and into the elevator to go up to the penthouse floor.

“3:26 am, boss.” She replied back dutifully.

“And how’s underoos doing?”

“Mr. Parker is currently in R.E.M sleep, his BP is one-forty over eighty, body temperature is one-oh-one point six, pulse rate is steady at ninety five beats per minute—“

“I didn’t a whole med report F.R.I.D.A.Y.” Tony said with a roll of his eyes as he made his way down the hall way towards Peter’s room.

“Of course, boss, my mistake. Should I make a change to my code to respond with a open ended and general statement such as ‘fine’ or okay the next time you ask about Mr. Parker’s well being? Would that suffice your curiosity?”

Tony didn’t know where he’d placed the sass level last when he updated the A.I.’s code but he knew for damn sure it wasn't at one hundred. He didn’t dignify the sassy A.I. with a response, choosing instead, to let it go ignored and check on Peter himself.

The door was cracked open, so Thor—Tony rolled his eyes at the name but after living with the overenthusiastic lab the last couple of weeks, he couldn't deny that Peter had chosen a rather fitting name for the dog—could get in and out of the room if he pleased, but Tony had never seen a more devoted animal in his life.

Thor and Peter had taken to each other right from the get go and at this point, they were inseparable. While labs were generally friendly and loved affection from anyone, there was no denying that Thor clearly favored Peter over anyone in the room. He followed Peter around the tower like his own shadow and never left his side during the night, which caused DUM-E to work over time to get rid of certain stains out of the carpet. And Peter was just as enamored by the puppy as Thor was with him—it was a match made in heaven.

Peeking his head into the doorway, Tony couldn't help the smile that graced his lips at the sight before him. Peter was sprawled out in his bed, covers half kicked off, Iron Man pajamas in full view and snoring away. Thor was in an equal state of comfort—his little body splayed out on the other side of the bed, head rest on Peter’s out stretched hand and snoozing away next to his owner. The arc reactor nightlight was on display on Peter’s night stand, the Iron Man symbol floating on the ceiling like a reminder that no matter what, Tony was always there for him and his heart warmed.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., take a picture and archive it, I need to send this to May.”

“As you wish, boss.”

Just as Tony turned to go back to his room to finally succumb to the fatigue he could feel starting to creep up on him, Peter made a whimpering noise and in a flash, Tony was back in the doorway, poised to wake the teen if need be. But before he could, he heard the telltale sign of sheets rustling and then the sight of a little yellow head popped up from his resting place. Tony watched as Thor scurried over to Peter, climbing up his body and finding a place on his chest, sitting down right over his heart. He began licking and pawing gently at his face, urging his human to wake up from whatever scary thing was causing him discomfort. After a moment, Peter seemed to settle back down and Thor watched him closely before he, too, settled back down. Rather than moving back to his original place, he curled up on Peter’s chest and his big eyes caught Tony moving back out of the door way and his ears perked at the intrusion, but he didn’t move from his distressed human.

Thor stared at Tony and Tony stared right back, caught in a Mexican stand off with a four month old labrador puppy.

Tony cracked a smile and nodded to the dog, “Good boy, Thor. Keep watching over underoos and keep him safe, okay? And if you need to, come get me, you know where I sleep.”

Tony turned back into the hallway, but stopped himself and looked back over his shoulder at the dog that was starting to doze off again, but perked back up at Tony’s reappearance.

“—and if I catch you chewing on my favorite Gucci slippers again, we’re gonna have to have a talk, okay? They don’t make them anymore and I know I’m a billionaire and Tony Stark, but lemme tell you, getting Gucci to bring back an old style is damn near impossible. Saving the world is a piece of cake compared to that, capisce?”

Thor simply blinked slowly up at Tony, before he shuffled around so his head was now nestled into Peter’s shoulder and his butt was facing a rather affronted Tony.

Canine or not, Tony understood the gesture for what it was.

He just got told to kiss a furry ass

“You’re lucky Peter likes you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you guys for reading and please feel free to let me know what you think (:

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starwarringavengers · 4 years

Text

our own house [3/6]

Pairing: Rey x Ben Solo

Warnings: some angst, kissing, things get a little bit STEAMY this time around; rey wears a dress and ben can’t control himself; there’s a bit of espionage, you know, the usual

Summary: The five times Ben Solo and Rey of Jakku kiss, and the one time they do more. The jedi au that no one asked for but that I am nonetheless delivering.

AO3: Here!

The third time Rey and Ben Solo kiss, Leia Organa is laughing.

Coruscant is not Ben or Rey’s favorite place, by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a Jedi or any living thing that actually likes Coruscant’s overcrowded streets and constant humming of ships and neon lighting. The upper level of the city-planet is calmer - above the swarmed streets instead exists a totally different type of terror: politicians.

Ben had always hated having to follow his mother to meeting after meeting, Threepio trailing behind them and whirling facts and meeting times and Young Master Ben, tuck your shirt in. It’s how he came to be an avid reader and researcher in the first place. There was nothing to do other than bury his nose in a book.

He is not looking forward to going back to Coruscant, least of all with Rey.

“Lose the cloaks, kids,” Luke tells them, tossing them communication devices to take with them. “This is a diplomatic mission, and you don’t want to stand out. You’re guests of my sister, and that’s all anyone should think you are.”

“They’re going to know that we’re Jedi, Master Luke,” Rey says, cocking a hip and looking at the older man with an expression of annoyance.

“Not if you don’t tell them so, Miss Rey,” Luke states, wagging a finger.

“I have to agree with Rey on this, uncle,” Ben says, crossing his arms over his chest as Luke regards the pair of them quietly. “I’m not sure investigating one of the eight members of the New Republic is our best move, especially considering his anti-Order sentiments. He’s going to see right through us.”

Luke sighs. “Borsk Fey’lya is nothing but manipulation tactics and political strategies - you need not let him intimidate you. Do your digging out of his way, and you’ll be fine.”

“I can’t believe my mother agreed to this,” Ben mutters, shaking his head at the situation they’ve found themselves in. Covert operations are just this side of doable for Ben, given his mother’s incessant need to teach him manners and make sure that he can conduct himself around politicians and the wealthy. But Rey?

It’s not that she has bad manners, but they did take her a few years to learn. And when she says the wrong thing, it always shows on her face. Ben secretly loves it when that happens.

“Ben, you’ll take care of the talking, Rey will take care of feeling out the atmosphere,” Luke tells them, and then practically shoos them away.

It’s been a week since Ben returned to Yavin IV and consequently a week since he’d kissed Rey in the garden. Every time he sees her, he seems to keep fucking up. After the drunken kiss outside her door a year and a half ago, they’d finally gone back to normal and went back to sending each other letters almost every day and talking when they could, but now they’re back on the same planet and Ben just can’t seem to figure out how to act.

After so long away she’s not much different, except now Ben has in the back of his mind that she’s eighteen, and have her cheekbones always been that high? Have her lashes always been long enough to cast a shadow? Were her lips always that red? Did her voice always sound that alluring? She’s caught him staring at her more than once across the mess hall or during meditation, and he’d tried to hide it the first few times. Now though, she doesn’t seem embarrassed by his gaze - she seems almost…flattered? As if she wants him to be looking at her.

He’s waiting by the transport with a bag slung over his shoulder when she comes bounding down the steps of the temple, newly-knighted Paige Tico and their pilot, following close behind. Ben nearly chokes on his breath.

Rey isn’t wearing Jedi robes anymore, obviously, Luke told them not to, but she’s wearing an off-white bodysuit and traveling cloak that’s a stark contrast to his black sweater and pants, but seeing her in white isn’t just what does him in.

It’s her eyes.

Rey has never worn much makeup, and frankly, Ben doesn’t think she needs it, but he’s well-versed enough in women to know that it’s a useful enhancement tool and sometimes a fun artistic outlet. Many of the girls at the Academy wear makeup that represents their home planets or their clans - gold blushes and intricate markings that Ben’s mother would probably be glad to know he does appreciate artistically.

But Rey’s home planet is Jakku, and there’s no ties there for her anymore, except for a sense of longing, and so there’s no cosmetic to represent it. Instead, Rey’s eyes are smudged with a light brown color and lined with pure white. It’s just enough to make her eyes stand out, and look less brown and more green and wow, has it been this warm outside the whole time?

Ben is standing stock-still like an absolute fool when Rey approaches, tossing her bag into the transport before turning to him. A small whisp of hair is falling from her top bun onto her forehead, and Ben doesn’t think about it when he reaches up and tucks the strand behind her ear. If she’s surprised by the motion, she doesn’t let it show. She only gives him a gentle smile, squinting a little in the sunlight.

“Ready?” she asks.

This is going to be a long trip.

***

“Do not, I repeat, do not make me go to a party,” Ben groans to Leia, whose expression resides somewhere between amused and bored. They’re sitting at the table in her quarters having breakfast, and all had been going swimmingly until Leia had announced her wish for Ben and Rey to join her at the evening’s dinner party with guests from the Hapes Cluster.

Though Rey secretly shares Ben’s sentiments, watching him squirm in annoyance under Leia’s frightening use of his full name is too funny to risk interrupting.

“You’re going and that’s final, Benjamin. Rey, dear, please let me know if there’s anything I can help you with when you get ready. For now, I have a meeting,” Leia says, and turns back to Ben. “Please, don’t destroy anything while I’m gone. Either of you.”

And with that, Leia Organa-Solo strides from the room with a purposeful and regal air, leaving Rey giggling in her seat while Ben looks on with narrowed eyes.

“I hate dinner parties,” Ben mutters.

“I’ve never been to one,” Rey admits, though she’s sure he knows that fact. After all, the only people she’s ever taken meals with are the students at the Praexium and occasionally Master Luke. She doesn’t know the first thing about how to behave at a party. This only furthers her confusion as to why Luke sent her here to Coruscant with Ben - she’s not exactly a people person.

Ben looks at her strangely for a moment, with the same gaze that she can’t seem to decipher these past few days. It’s something like wonder, but darker. She finds herself blushing.

“You’ll be fine,” he assures her solidly. “For now, let’s go see what the Senate is getting up to.”

***

Being cramped in close quarters with Ben Solo is strangely not Rey’s idea of a good time, given that she’s flushing darker than the berry juice Leia had put out for breakfast for them. It’s not that she really minds being pressed against him, with her back to his chest as they both peer through the crack in the closet in Fel’lya’s office. How a Jedi Knight and an almost-Jedi got themselves stuck in a Senator’s closet is almost as confusing to them as it would be to anyone else.

They’d been arguing about the best course of action, Ben warning against Rey’s tendency to dive headfirst into the water without looking (she had done so, and that’s how she learned to swim at the Academy. Ben had practically thrown her in after she’d expressed interest in learning. He didn’t see the point in treading lightly when it came to learning). Regardless, they’ve been too busy arguing to notice that Fel’lya was on his way back before it was too late. So, they’d crammed into the coat closet and held their breath.

A bad idea? Yes. Their worst? Probably not.

Now they’re stuck listening while Fel’lya speaks over a channel to someone in native tongue that Rey doesn’t know too well, but Ben has a recording device held up over her shoulder to catch and analyze later. Even if he’d been speaking Basic, Rey isn’t sure she’d be able to listen well enough, given that she’s really, really flushed about the situation she’s found herself in.

Ben Solo is not really a hugger and neither is Rey, so their points of physical contact have been limited to touches on shoulders and brushes of hands, and the two or three times he’s carried her for some reason or another. And, of course, their kiss. Rey’s head is still reeling from it, and the way he’d looked at her when she went out to meet him at the transport and then tucked a curl behind her ear had her practically bursting with the need to confront him about it.

And now, she feels his whole body tall and broad behind her, his lips close enough to her ear that she can feel his breath on her neck and easily pick up the scent of mint in his aftershave.

I wish you’d touch me, is all she can think. No thoughts of the mission, none of translating languages, just a pure, unadulterated desire to feel Ben Solo’s arms wrap around her and his hands wander. Rey lets out a slow breath in an attempt to center herself.

Ben stiffens behind her.

Fuck.

If he’s heard what she’s thought, he doesn’t give any indication. He just continues to hold up the recording device. But, he does slip his hand into hers and tap her palm three times.

Good? The gesture asks, something they’d devised years ago during long meditation sessions, when they’d have to partner meditate for whole hours.

Rey taps back twice. Yes.

They’re thankfully not stuck much longer, because eventually Fel’lya leaves his office in a flurry and Rey lets out a huff of relief, surveying the Force for other lifeforms nearby before opening the door.

“Let’s get this back to Threepio,” Ben tells her quietly, and they make to sneak out the way they came.

They’re thisclose to leaving the hall undetected when they both sense lifeforms nearby. “Shit,” Ben mutters, grabbing Rey by the arm and pulling her over to one of the pillars and abruptly pressing her against it, an arm cradled over her head as his hand rests on her hip.

“Ben, what -“

He shushes her softly, craning to press his face into the crook of her neck. “Wait until they walk by.”

Rey can only nod in understanding, her heartbeat a frantic tattoo against her ribs as Ben’s entire body shields her from view. Their breathing is labored, unsteady, as the guard and Fel’lya near them, and Rey can see them eyeing her and Ben suspiciously as they approach.

They’re looking at us, Rey tells him in her mind, and Ben blinks in recognition, before lifting his free hand and cradling Rey’s face. She resists the very strong urge to once again ask him what he’s doing, and instead goes with it as he presses his lips to her neck, a soft trail leading up behind her ear.

Close your eyes; don’t be suspicious.

Rey wants to shout at him and question how they could not look suspicious in this position, but she vaguely feels when Fel’lya and the guard pass, catching the trails of a faint little chuckle from one of them. She catches the tail end of their thoughts, all along the lines of amusement at a young couple stealing away a few quiet moments in the halls of the Senate.

“See? Not so bad,” Ben asks, but it’s quiet and his voice is low and crackling like a fire and Rey wonders if he’d catch her if she quite literally melted to the floor.

“Yeah,” Rey concedes. “Not bad.”

***

Ben goes about the rest of the afternoon in a haze. Even as he’s getting dressed for the dinner and ignoring his mother’s plea of please wear something other than black, he can’t stop thinking about Rey. But, can he ever?

The scent of wildflowers is still surrounding his senses and the memory of her face in his hands is still raw, and he just can’t focus. He doesn’t like to intrude into her thoughts without permission, but she was practically yelling in the closet, her mind projecting so loud he barely had to do any work to hear her thinking just touch me. If they’d been stuck in that closet a moment longer, Ben reckons he might have done something extremely stupid.

“Ben? Please,” Leia is saying, holding out a cloak to him. He has to bite his tongue not to get annoyed with the whole thing once again. “Wear it.”

“Do I have to?”

“Are you five years old? Stop arguing and put the cloak on!” Leia says, and despite her tiny self, she flings the cloak around his shoulders and fastens it around his neck. It falls to his knees and turns to the side, leaving his arms mostly unencumbered and his lightsaber hidden on the other side. The cloak itself isn’t the issue - it’s the embellishment. It’s from Alderaan, and that’s the only reason he’s letting this happen, because he knows it’s important to his mother. Because here, he is Leia Organa’s son, and however defunct the titles of Princess and Prince of Alderaan are, he carries them nonetheless.

After she deems his hair fixed, Leia steps back and smiles softly at him. “My son,” she says, “You look very handsome.”

“Alright, mom,” Ben rolls his eyes, but can’t hide the smile when Leia turns away. He follows the sweep of her dress down the halls of the Senate to the ballroom, cursing himself yet again for agreeing to this. He’s about to resign himself to night of pure torture when he senses Rey, and in a moment he’s turned from his mother and her conversation and is staring at her as she descends the steps into the ballroom.

“Everything shows on your face,” Leia says then, more a sigh than a scold, as she looks at Ben looking at Rey. He barely hears her

Her dress is far from the sparkliest thing in the room, but she is the most beautiful thing he’s ever laid eyes on. The dress is dark blue and so silky it looks like water is falling over her, and the top is mesh embroidered with what looks like tiny stars that stretch over her collarbone and down her sleeves, and all Ben can imagine is that she’s wearing nothing but stars, because it looks as if she’s plucked the night sky from above them and wrapped her body in it. The skirt is not huge and thank fuck for that, because Ben is absolutely captivated by the way the fabric clings to her torso and her legs and falls gracefully around her feet.

Ben vaguely registers that she’s walking towards them, smiling shyly as she approaches. Thankfully, his mother possesses far more tact and is decidedly not as distracted by Rey as he is, and so she reaches her arms out for Rey, who goes sailing into them with a look of relief.

“Well, don’t you look lovely! Ben, doesn’t Rey look nice?” Both women are looking at him expectedly, and he thinks he might choke.

“Yeah, yes,” he says, before clearing his throat and nodding. “That’s a nice color on you, Rey.”

A nice color? He thinks, Fucking moron.

Rey smiles at him then, soft and sweet, her lashes touching her cheekbones as she blinks. He finds himself grinning back.

And then, much to his absolute annoyance, he is back to being Ben Organa-Solo, son of the legendary Leia Organa, who everyone wants to talk to. He barely gets a moment to breathe, let alone stare at Rey like he wants to.

Save me, he projects at her as he’s stuck standing next to his mother and trying his best to be polite even though he hates basically everyone in his immediate vicinity and kind of wants to ignite his lightsaber just to incite a little bit of action.

Aren’t you an adult? Fend for yourself. I’m having enough trouble over here as it is, Rey thinks back, and he catches her eye from across the room and nearly bursts out laughing. She’s speaking to a very tall gentleman, who is gesticulating wildly and each time coming close to absolutely sloshing his drink all over poor Rey, who is furrowing her brow and giving her best attempt at a sincere smile.

Balcony? Ben asks, and Rey practically lights up as she excuses herself from the man and Ben mutters a quick apology to his mother before following her from across the ballroom. There’s a giddy sort of smile on Rey’s face as she slips out onto the balcony, her dress melting her into the scenery seamlessly, like she was made to be near the stars. Ben slides out to meet her and practically catches her in his arms as she pulls them away, into a dark spot in the corner where they can breathe.

“I like your cape,” Rey tells him then, reaching a hand up to trail her fingertips along the embroidery over his chest. Ben rolls his eyes.

“I look ridiculous.”

“No, you look like a prince,” she jokes, grinning wildly at him. Ben catches her hand and keeps it pressed to his chest on some sort of pure instinct, taking in a deep breath of the night air, clean and fresh this high up. It makes him feel a little dizzy.

“Then you’re a princess,” Ben tells her, touching the beading on her sleeve.

“I could never,” Rey laughs, “Your mother has the royalty thing down, I wouldn’t know where to start.”

Oh, there are so many things he wants to say to her as he watches her giggle, eyes lighting up and crinkling a little at the corners. He wants to tell her how lovely she is, how unworthy of her he’s always felt - but would she even want him? Lust and attraction are a different thing altogether from loving someone.

And there’s the question of their vows, which they’ve technically already broken. Or, was there even anything in the vows about relationships? Ben can’t recall clearly enough.

“I have a question,” Rey says suddenly.

I’ll give you anything you want, he thinks. If she hears it, she doesn’t respond.

“So, I guess I never really apologized,” Rey begins, looking down and staring out at the cityscape around them to avoid meeting his eye. Ben feels like his lungs will explode. “For being drunk that one night and kissing you. I shouldn’t have done that and I didn’t mean to make you feel like then you had to kiss me the other night on my birthday,” she stumbles for words, “I was so worried when you left the next morning that you’d never speak to me again and then I was worried that the kiss the other night would ruin everything all over again, and so, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry, and also, thank you? I suppose? For the kiss?”

Ben stares at Rey as she speaks, his mouth half-open in amusement and amazement, as she blushes and stammers and continues not to meet his eye. “You’re welcome,” is all he can think to say, because his big fucking brain still has no idea how to function when Rey is around. Her responding laugh is musical.

She nods a little, her cheeks still rosy and the wind picking up a stray hair from her updo. Just like in the morning, Ben reaches up a hand and brushes it away, catching her face in his hand as he does. Her lips are soft when he runs the pad of his thumb across them and Rey’s eyes flutter shut, as if she’s breathing him in with the night air. He doesn’t think too hard about it when he turns her face and presses their lips together.

She tastes like semi-sweet champagne and chocolate and she’s warm in his arms when he pulls her close, hands skating over the beading of her pretty dress and feeling her spine beneath his fingertips. Rey keeps kissing him, lets him lead but responds with an equal amount of fervor, however cautiously.

Just kisses, Rey thinks to him, Just kisses - oh this is so wrong, we’re going to be in so much trouble - I love your lips.

So, perhaps she’s not thinking at him, but he’s hearing it nonetheless. When Ben reaches up and cups the back of Rey’s neck she sighs against his mouth and he wonders if that’s what peace feels like, what wells up inside of him at the sound and the feel of her kiss.

Unbeknownst to either of the two Jedi, Leia Organa-Solo is standing at the door to the balcony, laughing quietly to herself and reminiscing that Ben is truly his father’s son.

#reylo #reylo kissing #reylo fic #reylo fanfiction #ben x rey #reylo jedi au #rey and ben solo #ben solo #rey #mom leia #rey and ben #rey x ben solo fanfic #rey x ben solo #rey x ben fanfic #rey x ben smut #star wars fanfiction #star wars au #jedi au

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therappundit · 5 years

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November 2018 -*PlayLi$t of the Month*

The underground sound ain’t playin’ around in 2018.

Over the last few weeks, The Alchemist has received even heavier play than usual through these headphones of mine (I just got the wireless buds from my in-laws, I think I dig them!). That’s thanks in no small part to his fantastic recent contributions to Westside Gunn, Schoolboy Q, Curren$y and Freddie Gibbs. October closed with a powerful flurry of new rap releases, both of the underground and mainstream variety, so I am here to share my favorites on this especially stuffed edition of my PlayLi$t of the Month...

1. “Echo” - Swizz Beatz feat. Nas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMINMawUzow

(Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: this song is *vastly* superior to anything on that ill fated Nasir album with Kanye West. Whatever Swizz whispered to Nas to get him to snap back into Nasty mode, it should stand as further proof that the Ruff Ryder maestro’s status as a cultivator of hits is hall of fame worthy. Hearing the Queensbridge legend spit bars about old New York City life, watching karate films at dirty Time Square movie theaters, watching flashy cars drive up and down Steinway Street in Queens - there’s just no one better than Nasty Nas when he’s off to the races on a wave of nostalgia, thanks to his high attention to detail. DJ Scratch deserves just as much recognition for this sweet soulful back-drop, one of two strong Scratch showings in heavy rotation this month. “Echo” might be one of my favorite rap songs of the year, this is classic Nas.)

2. “'The Blow” - The Alchemist, Curren$y & Freddie Gibbs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA4dPwtthZU

(Yeah we gotta talk about this FETTI project. The chemistry between Spitta, Gibbs and The Alchemist is off the charts, and that much has been clear since Covert Coup’s “Scottie Pippen” first rattled through speakers back in 2011. So needless to say, this FETTI album bangs top to bottom. My favorite cut off the album might not even be my favorite cut by this time next week, because the whole tape is staying in rotation for the foreseeable future.)

3. “Fork In The Pot” - The Alchemist feat. Conway, Westside Gunn & Schoolboy Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPMgi0bSB0Q

(More Uncle Al, you say? What the hell, why not!? Before FETTI dropped on Halloween, this was the stand-out Alchemist leak for the month. The eagerly awaited B-Side to last month’s “94 Ghost Sh*t” A-Side that was teased on IG some time ago, “Fork In The Pot” is another incredible contribution to the growing ALC & Griselda canon, helped by a dope verse by Schoolboy Q that is sure to build hype for his upcoming album. Will it drop in 2018? All speculation at this point, but I say YES.)

4. “Saturday Night Special” - The Alchemist, Curren$y & Freddie Gibbs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sv1psKaIgU

(More than any other track on FETTI, this one feels like classic Alchemist. A smokey loop like this one does indeed paint the perfect image of slowly cruising through the neighborhood on a late Saturday night, perhaps with a Saturday night special somewhere in the vehicle...or so I imagine - I myself have never lived that life, but the music is vivid, and the mood set by The Alchemist is palpable. What a great example of how the best producers don’t just make beats, they paint audio portraits. And like the lyrics themselves, the instrumental is, well, instrumental in telling the story.)

5. “N***as In Puerto Rico” - Westside Gunn feat. Lord Flee & Benny

https://soundcloud.com/westsidegunn/niggas-in-puerto-rico-feat-lord-flee-benny?in=westsidegunn/sets/hitler-wears-hermes-6

(Folks, I really didn’t plan this, Alchemist is just that damn good! My favorite song off of Westside Gunn’s Hitler Wears Hermes 6 - wow, I can’t believe he’s up to 6 now - shows exactly what happens when these lyrical barbarians from Buffalo lock themselves down with The Alchemist in Puerto Rico for a while. Look out for the beat switch-up, as both instrumentals suit this gathering of MCs particularly well, making me that much more excited about what Al may have cooked up for Benny’s upcoming Tana Talk 3 album.)

6. “Something Dirty/Pic Got Us” - Swizz Beatz feat. Jadakiss, Styles P. & Kendrick Lamar

https://pitchfork.com/levels/swizz-beatz-something-dirty-pic-got-us-new-song-listen/

(While it might not pack the level of punch that fans hoped it would when Swizz first teased it live on stage a few months back - or even have an actual verse from Kendrick - Jadakiss & Styles P’s appearance on Mr. Beatz’ new Poison compilation remains one of the tape’s finer moments. Hearing Jada & SP pass the mic back and forth never seems to get old, plus this AraabMUZIK beat is still absolutely bonkers.)

7. “Willie Lloyd” - The Alchemist, Curren$y & Freddie Gibbs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-7h0Dkz6b0

(It has felt like too long since I have shouted out an Alchemist joint, am I right? "Willie Lloyd’s” ominous instrumental makes for the ideal palette to have Gangsta Gibbs flex over, and flex he does, making it one of many stand-out verses on FETTI.)

8. “John Bena” - Westside Gunn feat. Lil Eto

https://soundcloud.com/westsidegunn/john-bena-feat-lil-eto?in=westsidegunn/sets/hitler-wears-hermes-6

(Yikes, this beat is pure menace music! And who produced it? None other than The Alchemist’s mentor, DJ Muggs, who has had quite an impressive year in his own right. Let the record show that both Westside Gunn and Eto do their thing on “John Bena”, which is no easy feat considering how overwhelming this instrumental could potentially be to weaker MCs. Furthermore, I feel like it needs to be said at this point that Westside Gunn is a VERY dope MC with his own style, traits that are not easy to come by in today’s biz. He raps his ass off on HWH6, so don’t think for a minute that WSG is carried by beats, he is not a replaceable presence on any track. So go cop that HWH6.)

9. “Location Remote” - The Alchemist, Curren$y & Freddie Gibbs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUAawyYs0uk

(A tape like FETTI warrants a cool, but eerie, intro track...and this fits the bill perfectly. I love the whole project, but I love this specific song more and more whenever I hear it. “Call the chiropractor” indeed, Mr. Gibbs - this joint is heavy.)

10. “Flipmode Squad Meets The Conglomerate” - Busta Rhymes feat. The Flipmode Squad & The Conglomerate

https://www.vibe.com/2018/10/busta-rhymes-flipmode-conglomerate-reunion-single/

(Remember when I mentioned DJ Scratch earlier? Well this massive posse cut is part of this month’s 1-2 punch of Scratch production, lucky us! Here he channels classic Busta vibes for not just one, but two of Busta’s rhyme crews to slap around for a bit. What I really like about this song is that they all sound like they’re having fun here, which is not as common as I would like it to be in today’s posse cut starved rap market. Hopefully this means DJ Scratch will make his presence felt on that upcoming Busta album!)

*Bonus - Honorable Mention [extended edition]*

“Niagara Cafe” - Westside Gunn

https://soundcloud.com/westsidegunn/niagara-cafe?in=westsidegunn/sets/hitler-wears-hermes-6

“Tapatio” - The Alchemist, Curren$y & Freddie Gibbs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJHxFVZfAC0

“Grim Seasons - Homeboy Sandman & Edan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umff7Hael9k

“Skeleton Piñata” - HAZE & SPNDA feat. Puffy

https://dutchmastered.bandcamp.com/track/skeleton-pi-ata-feat-puffy

“Militant Exercise” - Knowledge The Pirate feat. Roc Marciano

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIlyUJ7Oyb8

“REDBLUE” - Rapsody feat. J.I.D

https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/jid-and-rapsody-face-the-conundrum-of-choosing-up-on-redblue-new-song.1981003.html

“Hooters” - Tee Grizzley

https://soundcloud.com/tee-grizzley/hooters

“Money” - Cardi B

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj2cK8wymIA

“Man Law” - Masta Ace feat. Styles P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5RFSInEKvE

“Say Na” - Moneybagg Yo feat. J. Cole

https://soundcloud.com/moneybagg-yo/say-na-feat-j-cole?in=moneybagg-yo/sets/reset-46

“Feels Like Summer” - Vince Staples

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc6hdQEm_h4

“Lottery Games” - Styles P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVmZX5Y6-mw

“Don’t Come Out The House” - Metro Boomin feat. 21 Savage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPOzqeHynZw

“Roses” - Rapper Big Pooh feat. Ab Liva

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54GnYccxgHM

“Last Memory” - Takeoff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyVVOcpKpHA

“Picasso’s Ear” - Action Bronson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vFwOE4DTmA

Have a Happy & healthy Thanksgiving weekend with friends and/or family, all...🙏

[ICYMI: Last month’s list below]

https://therappundit.tumblr.com/post/179287574271/october-2018-playli-t-of-the-month

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