#Don't worry guys Reg is alive!

[eriexplosion]

MOVING FROM SOME EASY EPISODES TO THE HARDEST. OUTPOST.

Do y'all remember the hype for this episode like we knew it was THE Crosshair episode and everyone was absolutely thirsting for it.

"A new friend is made on a harsh and unforgiving outpost planet" WHO WROTE THIS SUMMARY?

Like yes technically accurate as it doesn't specify that the new friend survives the friendship.

Crosshair clearly paying much more attention to the regs these days, at this point I do think he's pretty much had all his bullshit beaten out of him when it comes to thinking he's better than anyone else. Just in time for Crosshair's Worse Time Parade to start.

Much like Hemlock, Lieutenant Nolan is established as absolute garbage the instant he sees Crosshair taking like two seconds to breathe out of his helmet and tells him he's out of uniform. If The Bad Batch can do one thing it's write a man that sucks.

AND THEN HE MAKES IT WORSE WITH "I DON'T LIKE USED EQUIPMENT"

Literally would kill this man myself and he's been on screen for 30 seconds

THE ICE VULTURE <3 OUR BOY'S NEW MOTIF <3

MAYDAY. MAYYYYYDAYYYYYY.

HE IS HERE!

God Mayday was complicated because like I loved him from the moment I saw him but also like, coming into this episode just logistically we knew anyone that showed Crosshair a hint of kindness was almost certainly going to get killed, so Mayday is loved for the exact thing that put him on the path to narrative doom. Reinforcements or no reinforcements, it doesn't matter, Mayday was never leaving Barton IV alive.

They waited 36 rotations. 4 days longer than Crosshair was left to nearly starve on a platform. If I remember correctly (I'm not there yet) Crosshair says the trip took 2 hours. None of their lives were worth two hours.

THE WAY MAYDAY HAS TWO, TWO MEN LEFT UNDER HIS COMMAND. ONLY TWO. HE HAD TO WATCH THE REST ALL DIE UNDER HIS WATCH. I AM SO FUCKING UNWELL ABOUT HIM.

I really love the name Hexx btw

"Respect is something to be earned." And immediately Nolan goes nuclear to insult him because he wasn't instantly given unconditional deference.

YEP IT WAS TWO HOURS. TWO HOURS OUT OF THE WAY.

I am going to scream from the layers of unfair this is.

The way Mayday's voice softens a touch when left alone with Crosshair though, always gentler with another clone.

I'm still not over the LONG pause after Mayday introduces himself, like Crosshair is trying to dig past the shields he put up between himself and his situation to remember his own name. He probably hasn't heard it at all since Cody.

Mayday looked at Crosshair and apparently felt the desperation for company rolling off him in smothering waves because he instantly is just like 'you're under my wing now'

That he's been out here over a year meaning that the Empire has been established for over a year is a lot to take in like god Crosshair has been away from home for so long.

"You'll freeze to death in that armor" He is like 10 seconds from wrapping Crosshair in a blanket I swear to god I'm only slightly projecting.

"Vicious creatures, but you have to admire 'em. They find a way to survive." GOD I LOVE THAT LINE. ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC.

Using the explosion through heat vision to completely screw Crosshair's up for the shot was such a good excuse to have him just wound the guy instead of kill him, lol.

Still was surprised to see a blood trail in this cartoon, but sure they can't show us any sign of Tech's body right (YES I AM STILL ON THIS AND WILL BE UNTIL THEY SHOW US THE BOY)

Goddddd him putting Hexx and Veetch's helmets next to all of the others. His very last brothers, the men he was responsible for, god I am in tatters about it. Every second of this episode is just. Grief and Pain.

"Remind me not to die on your watch" Don't worry you're the only person that's been nice to him in months he will literally drag you through hell to save your life. Crosshair just has what we call "Something is wrong with him" disease and all of his words pass through the cortex that makes him rude before getting to you.

My thoughts on this mine disarming scene are Many but let it just be said that I still cannot believe they put this on my screen, it was made explicitly for me to be feral to.

Mayday has learned fast how to talk to Crosshair though, gotta give him some snark back.

"They're... gone." "And here we are. The survivors."

GOD I AM UNHINGED ABOUT THIS.

"If I don't hear a boom then I'll know it worked." "Glad you're confident in your work." "Oh I'm confident, I'm just not stupid."

I just love this back and forth dynamic that they hit perfectly and immediately.

Hey Crosshair actually wins a hand to hand fight all he has to do is sneak up on them and not give them the opportunity to actually hit him back.

Shout out to the guy whose first instinct was to try and RUN MAYDAY OVER WITH A CAR like it didn't work but impressive ingenuity.

Clones dying to guard the gear intended for their replacements god it makes me ILL.

"We're good soldiers. We followed orders. And for what?"

The entire thing is designed to drive a wedge into Crosshair's brain and break through the thick shield he's built around himself where he is so sure if he just follows orders Well Enough maybe he can make everything he's done and lost worth it in the end but he can't because he never had a future in the Empire and no amount of sunk cost fallacy will change that.

AND JUST IN TIME FOR HIS EPIPHANY WE GET THE AVALANCHE.

Literally would be so fascinating to see exactly what was running through Mayday's head when he chose to push Crosshair out of the way of the rock instead of jumping to safety himself. He just met this guy, he's not technically responsible for him, but Mayday has lost every single soldier he was in command of, sole survivor of his unit, and he finally, finally had the opportunity to save someone. If he only saves one person, maybe he's done something worthwhile.

And honestly, Crosshair is trying to do the same back to him. Just Mayday dies knowing he succeeded and Crosshair lives knowing he failed.

I am fucking destroyed by this episode by the way like it is so unbearably good and also tragic as hell.

Mayday trying to get Crosshair to leave him behind and the music when Crosshair decides absolutely the fuck not. That they have one helmet between them and Crosshair put it on Mayday's head and not his own.

THE MUSIC AS CROSSHAIR IS SO DETERMINED TO DRAG HIM BACK AND THE ICE VULTURE OVERHEAD MY GOD.

The moment of them huddling together in a tiny little hideaway in the rock ends me too, like, images that stick in my head forever.

And despite everything Crosshair made it he got Mayday back to the outpost alive, he did everything to accomplish the impossible and it should have been enough, but it wasn't all because Nolan doesn't value either of their lives enough to even lift a single finger for Mayday.

Like Crosshair accomplishing the impossible through sheer stubbornness only to have it pulled away at the last second I am in AGONY.

HE GAVE MAYDAY HIS SNIPER RIFLE TO USE AS A CRUTCH FOR GODS SAKE

Crosshair taking Mayday's helmet off and at least giving him one last moment of human connection before it's over

The voice acting in this moment is absolutely unbelievable but especially on 'Help him' like give DBB all the money in the world because I was shattered.

THE FACT THAT THEY MADE US LISTEN TO MAYDAY GURGLE COUGH OUT HIS LAST BREATH AND SEE THE INSTANT HIS EYES ROLL BACK AND CLOSE

"He served his purpose as a soldier of the Empire" OWN WORDS THROWN BACK INTO HIS FACE LIKE A FUCKING PUNCH

The way Crosshair's words drop back down into a growl as he says "You could have saved him." is so good too.

The music as it all reaches its boiling point, as he sees the vulture's shadow, then Mayday's body, then the vulture itself just. Oh god. This episode is a masterpiece and I'm still not over it. I don't think I'll ever be over it.

Like I still cannot BELIEVE we got this shot? The rock wings? I'm? Inconsolable?

Crosshair really probably thought he was going to die right there next to Mayday and honestly I think he was okay with it, in the worst way possible. Also him unconscious here is literally THE most relaxed I think we've ever seen his face.

But because this is only the start of Crosshair's Life Getting Much Much Worse he gets to live and wake up in a horrible science lab!

The sedative injection is much worse given the way that they torture him later.

"Cooperate and you might survive."

Literally one of the best episodes of anything I've ever seen I still cannot believe that we got it, truly. This episode is like 95% of the reason I have faith in the writers pulling through on the Tech Issue because I don't think anyone that gave Crosshair this episode arc would actually kill Tech off in such a stupid way on a completely pointless side quest.

I'm still on the rock wings and will be until further notice.

[starlightandsunshine]

Alright 3rd and final Star Wars take of the day that is probably pretty lynchworthy:

Echo should have died/already been dead in the Bad Batch arc in s7. Sorry guys, I love Echo too, but the story would have worked better if he was already dead when they got there.

Like there's a lot of things that could have made this arc better in general that I'm not going to really get into here without touching on the character design or whitewashing and racism around the clones (which many much more qualified people have talked about way more eloquently than I ever could). Like the fact that this arc should have been a Cody&Rex arc rather than writing Cody out so early in or the weirdly dismissive way the writers treated the other characters in order to lift tbb up when they could have just. Not done that. Really very easily.

But specifically the Echo thing: as soon as Rex finds out the possibility that Echo might still be alive, he is immediately ready to jump in with both feet without looking, and Anakin cautions him that they might not find Echo alive and he needs to prepare himself for the possibility that they can't save him. This has huge overall narrative implications, because we, the viewers, know that in a few weeks time he is going to turn his back on the people who love and trust him and betray everything he's ever sworn to stand for bc he is worried about the possibility of not being able to save Padme.

Now Rex goes with tbb and Anakin on a rescue mission that might not be a rescue mission. Tbb are still being very dismissive of the "regs" and Rex, quite understandably, is not handling their attitudes very well.

They get there, it's a trap and so on and so forth, but here's the important part: they don't find Echo alive. The Techno Union found him after the Citadel arc and mined his brain for data through hand wavy star wars means and they had no need to preserve anything else or keep him alive after that.

The rescue mission is too late and they never had the chance to save Echo at all. And Rex breaks. He holds it together for long enough to complete the mission, they escape the Techno Union and protect the village, but once they get back on the ship and head back towards Anaxes, he just shatters. Full on sobbing on the floor devastated bc he was so sure he could save Echo. He was so hopeful that he could save this one person after everything. After Fives and Tup and Ahsoka walking away and Kadavo and Umbara he just wanted to be able to save one person that he cared about. And they were already way too late.

We can see Anakin faced with all of this and the shadow of his future actions that he will do so that he will not have to deal with his own potential grief. We can see the paralells between Rex doing everything in his power to have the possibility of saving his brother and Anakin taking extreme steps to have the possibility of saving his wife.

The shadow of RotS hangs over the entire arc and this then makes the scene with Admiral Trench hit so much harder. Because it's not just the warning of how far Anakin has already fallen, its the spectre of the future hanging over his shoulder in more ways than one, the way that throughout the arc you can see his resolve to never lose Padme hardening so he never has to face that grief.

On the other end of things, tbb are faced with Rex's very real and present grief for Echo and have to acknowledge the love and care that the other clones have for each other. They get to grow as characters and learn to respect the grief of the "regs" bc there is a shared kinship there, they do share more than they don't, and they are all horribly aware of just how easily it could have been them. The arc can end with them learning to respect the other clones and finding a closer kinship with them rather than returning to the status quo just with Echo as a member and they sort of like Rex now. Not only would that have made them more relatable as characters but could have set up a much better conflict for the future in their show rather than the weird thing with Crosshair that we did get and them still not really connecting with any of the other clones in a show centred on the clones.

Like, let the characters fail. Let them lose. Let them have succeeded in their mission without having it be a victory. Let it be bittersweet. S7 is already bittersweet. We know what is coming. We know how close it is. The shadow of it looms over every single interaction in this season. So don't shy away from it. Lean into the shadow of Anakin's choices, lean in to the paralells that you're writing in, let the events have meaning and impact and consequences like so much of the rest of the show.

[maraudererasmut]

Black and White (Part XVIII)

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV | Part XV | Part XVI | Part XVII | Part XVIII | Part XIX | Part XX

"Thanks for joining me for dinner!" 

Lily's voice was light and airy, her posture relaxed and her smile bright. In many ways, she was the opposite of Sirius.

Remus quickly pushed the thought from his mind, choosing to focus on the present. He still hadn't heard back from Sirius or James, and it was his goal for that evening not to bring them up in conversation. Lily was her own person; she was more than just James' wife and Sirius' friend. She needed to be treated as such. If she chose to raise the subject, Remus wouldn't be opposed to it, but he refused to ruin a fun evening with memories from last night.

"Thanks for inviting me. It's not often that I get to go out for dinner with friends."

It's not often that I can afford to.

Lily had insisted on buying Remus dinner that night, refusing to take no as an answer. She promised that Remus could return the favour once he sold his first painting at the gallery. 

"And you will sell one, trust me!"

Remus admired Lily for her optimism, even if he didn't share it. 

"This is great! I'm glad you're here!" Lily's voice broke through the fog in Remus' mind. He looked up into her emerald eyes. To Remus, they were summer. They were the bright green of rolling fields, as warm and sunny as a perfect August day, as soft and gentle as a summer breeze. He couldn't get enough of Lily's eyes. He'd have to use that colour in a painting some day. 

"Yeah… me too…"

"You seem off, Remus. What's the matter?"

Remus' gaze drifted down to his hands. Was he that obvious? Was his face betraying all of his emotions?

"I'm fine. Really. Let's just have a fun evening talking about art."

"You sure?" Lily sounded concerned as she reached a hand across the table and placed it gently over Remus'. "I'm here if you need to talk… does it have anything to do with what happened the other day?"

Remus looked up and furrowed his brow. How much did Lily know?

"What did James tell you?" He asked suspiciously, a subtle grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. Lily smiled in return.

"He said you had a painting for us and that Sirius flipped when he found out. Which was stupid, because Sirius can be a jealous twat sometimes."

Remus' grin grew wider.

"Yeah… that just about sums him up."

Lily chuckled, removing her hand from Remus' and brushing a loose strand of auburn behind her ear. 

"He's more than that, though, despite what the past few weeks have shown you…"

Remus responded with a laugh of his own, recalling the look in Sirius' eyes at the coffee shop. He had seemed so apologetic, so genuine, so different from the gallery owner version of Sirius. 

"I don't doubt that…"

“I’m sorry about him, by the way. I swear, he’s not usually like this. He’s a really nice guy…”

Remus laughed affectionately at Lily's embarrassment. 

“You don’t need to apologize oh his behalf. It’s fine, I get it. Anyway, he… he actually apologized himself. It was… kind of sweet…" Remus' mind flickered briefly to the previous night. "Well… Until he ran away, that is…”

“Ran away?” Lily quirked a brow at Remus, suddenly confused. Lily must not have heard about that part of the evening. 

“Yeah, we had met up at my work last night and chatted a bit. Things were going fine, but he kind of got super upset all of a sudden and left the coffee shop without a word. I…" Remus' eyes drifted to his phone, sitting upside down at the edge of the table. "I haven’t heard from him since.” 

“Oh no… that’s awful…" Lily's face was a cross between pity and concern. Her shoulders dropped and here eyes grew wide. "Do… do you remember what it was that made him upset?”

Remus shrugged. Did he?

“Sort of? He had left me this… voicemail. It was kind of cute, actually, not gonna lie. He had gotten drunk and called and just started talking about how he wanted to talk with me. It really wasn’t a big deal, but it seemed to throw him for a loop…" Remus noticed a distinct flash of panic on Lily's face and his shoulders stiffened. "What? What is it, Lily?”

Lily pursed her lips, speaking more to herself than to Remus.

“That explains a lot…”

“What does it explain? What’s going on?” Remus leaned forward anxiously. Lily seemed to have some answers to the questions that Remus had been asking himself all day. 

“Yesterday… Sirius called James… He was really stressed…”

Shit.

“What did I do?”

Lily reached across the table again, giving Remus' hand a little squeeze.

“Nothing! Oh, Remus, you did nothing wrong, I promise. This is… well, it’s complicated…”

Remus chewed his lip, pondering how much he should press the subject. 

“Is it… something you’re allowed to share with me?”

Lily let out a sigh, pulling herself away from Remus and gazing down at the napkin in her lap.

“It’s a very long story…”

“We’ve got a long dinner…”

Lily smiled gently, that frustrating look of pity ever present. 

“Well… it started when Sirius was young. You… you know he’s not close with his family, right?”

The conversation from the previous evening reverberated in Remus' mind.

“Yeah, he mentioned that last night. I didn’t realize…”

“Yeah…" Lily let out a soft sigh before continuing. "When they were teenagers, Sirius ran away from home and went to live with James. James’ parents basically adopted Sirius. The boys have been inseparable ever since.”

“Wow… I had no idea…” Remus didn't realize the extent of Sirius and James' relationship. He knew they were close, but from the way Lily was describing it, the boys were practically brothers. It was no wonder Sirius was so jealous of James and Remus' budding friendship.

“Anyway…" Lily continued. "One of the main reasons that Sirius left was his parents. They were… well, they were cruel to him. They drank. A lot. It… never ended well…”

“Shit… I’m… That...that sucks…” Remus didn't know what else to say. He wasn't entirely sure there was anything to say. How does a person respond when they find out someone they know had a rough childhood?

“Yeah…" Lily agreed, keeping here eyes averted. She shrugged her shoulders and continued her explanation. "When Sirius left, his younger brother stayed home. He became their prodigal son, the son that the Black family always wanted. He took after his father in many ways… Including the alcohol." Lily picked up the glass of water in front of her and brought it to her lips, taking a long, slow sip, as if to regain her composure. "A few years ago, Regulus… that’s Sirius’ brother… he went to rehab, joined AA, decided to make a change in his life. It was really great. We got a lot closer with him… the boys reconnected… Then about a year ago…”

Lily paused. Emerald eyes sparkled with lingering tears, threatening to fall at any moment. Remus felt a lump in his throat and stinging in his eyes as he imagined how difficult this must be for Lily to recount. 

“You don’t have to keep going…”

Lily wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and smiled up at Remus. 

“No, no, it’s fine. It’s just… a bit hard to talk about." She let out a strained laugh, trying to sound casual. "A year ago, Regulus got into a huge fight with his parents. He let himself go that night, relapsing, falling back to his old habits and coping mechanisms… He… he got into an accident.”

“Shit…"  That seemed to be the only word Remus knew that evening. "Is he…” Remus trailed off, unsure how to phrase his question. Lily caught on to what he was asking. 

“He’s alive… he’s just… not the same." Lily took another drink of water, preparing herself for what came next. "The accident left him unable to do a lot of the things he used to… he turned bitter… claimed he was broken. We’re not as close as we once were. Every time we try to reconnect, he pulls further away. Sirius and Regulus haven’t spoken in months... “

“God… that awful….”

Remus couldn't imagine the pain and struggle that Sirius had gone through. Being an only child, Remus knew he would never fully comprehend Sirius' situation and the hurt he experienced.

“Sirius stopped drinking after the accident. He still has a glass of wine on occasion, a pint of beer, but he hasn’t gone out, gotten drunk, in almost an entire year.”

Remus closed his eyes, knowing exactly why Sirius had left the cafe in such a panic.

“Until two nights ago…”

“Until two nights ago.” 

“And then I brought it up in conversation. Fuck, I’m such an idiot.”

Lily reached forward, gripping Remus' hand firmly. She looked him straight in the eyes, penetrating his defenses.

“You’re not an idiot, Remus. You didn’t know.” She said it with such conviction, Remus almost believed it. 

Almost.

“...It was my fault,” Remus mumbled to himself.

“How was it your fault?”

“We got into a fight. He… he must have drank because he was angry at me. I made him so mad that he—”

“Stop." Lily's tone was harsh as her grasp on Remus' hand tightened. "Listen to me: this is not your fault. Sirius made a mistake. That’s on him. He’s struggling with it right now, but that doesn’t make it your fault. The best thing we can do is support him and be there for him.”

“I guess…”

“No. There’s no “I guess”, Remus. This is not your fault. You need to know that…” 

Remus heard Lily's words, but his mind kept racing back to their argument in his flat.

“But if he hadn’t—”

“No. Stop it. None of that. Remus, you and Sirius have had a bit of a strained relationship thus far, but he really does enjoy your company. I can assure you of that. You just have to be understanding that he might be a bit off for the next while. Just… be there if he needs you and he’ll reach out to you when he’s ready… Okay?” 

Lily looked so earnest, it was hard to argue with her. She seemed to believe that none of this was because of Remus, despite the evidence to the contrary. How could she be so sure?

“Yeah…" Remus muttered, knowing that there was no point in arguing against the feisty woman before him. "Yeah, okay.”

“Good. Don’t worry, Remus. He’s not mad at you.”

Remus raised an eyebrow skeptically at Lily.

“You sure?” 

“Positive. He doesn’t see this as your fault at all. As far as he’s concerned, he’s worried that he upset you.”

“What? Upset me? How? Why would he think that?"

“That’s what I keep telling him. Now we just have to wait for him to believe me. Things will be fine in a few days. The dust will settle and you two will be able to get back to… whatever it is that you call normal…”

Remus felt himself smile despite the situation.

Normal.

What was normal these days anyway?

“I… I hope it can be a bit better than that…”

“Yeah, Sirius had been a bit of a prick lately," Lily said with a grin, the humour finally returning to her expression. "Well then, hopefully things can get better than normal… For both of you.”

"Yeah… hopefully…"

[thisuseraiskindadead]

TRAUMA RESPONSES! cause my boys have been abused and they should have trauma responses:

Regulus: he was beaten almost every day. It got worse after Sirius escaped. He got out in the summer of fifth year.

Reg has panic attacks if he thinks his mom discovers something about him.

He get nightmares so he goes out to fly most nights because he is scared of going back to sleep.

Reg has too many scars to be counted. He knows how to fight a crucio because he had to learn at age 13.

Don't move too fast, too suden or raise your voice or Reg starts dissociating.

Was punished if he showed emotions so he can't get himself to cry or talks about emotions, just shuts up and pick his fingers until blood is running from them. He started painting just to have something on his hands.

Evan: he wasn't much physically abused, but more verbally and neglected.

Evan whole existence is based in keeping the name Rosier alive so his parents never really saw him as a child.

He get REALLY uncomfortable without timetables or rules (even if they're broken later) cause his life is based on a plan.

SO MUCH INTERNALISED HOMOPHOBIA.

Evan threw up the first time he THOUGHT of a boy in a romantic way. Regulus took him to Remus and Lily and it took him almost a month not curse himself everytime he had gay thoughts. i

It was really difficult for him to accept his homosexuality even though all his friends are gay.

The first time he kisses Barty, he punches a brick wall just to punish himself. he doesn't listen when Madam Pomfrey scolds him for breaking three fingers.

Doesn't know how to act with physical touch. It took him two years to hug anyone. Pandora made her personal mission to discover him all the little things. Evan discover he loves his hair touched.

Barty: REALLY neglected. His father never hit him cause he didn't want scars but he got really creative with the punishments.

Barty has been starved so many times he doesn't know what a normal diet is. He either eats too much too fast (never knows when his last meal is going to be) and ends up throwing up or doesn't eat for days because he no longer feels hunger.

All the problem with the food gave him body dysmorphia.

Barty can't stay still because he was kept in his room for days when he acted out. He loves quidditch because he gets to stay out until late and is the first time he has known freedom.

The worst punishment was the time his father made him mute for a whole summer when he was 12. Barty has nightmares about it and tends to put a hand around his throat to feel his vocal cords vibrate. He becomes really loud as a way to compensate. He only whispers around his friends because he feels safe.

A punishment his father loved was to keep him standing with heavy books on his hands. Barty develops a tremble in his hands after being punished a hundred times.

Barty doesn't know what is caring for his well being, doesn't know what appreciating life is. Doesn't have problem getting into fights he can't win because he has a suicidal mentality. (He once asked a guy two years older and a like seis inches taller to hit him until he passed out because his dad tried to set him up for a government summer job. He spent two week in the infirmary and lost his interview for the job. He didn't understand why Regulus was so worried about him).

Barty has a lot of anxiety and starts smoking when he is 14 to ease it. When it stops working, he starts smoking weed. He even tries cocaine once, but his head pounded for hours and his nose bled so he never tried it again. He always gets high or a little drunk to cope with his dad's howlers and letters.

[aliasimagines]

A Merry Little Christmas

word count: 1320

Merry Christmas @jmarshy97!! I hope you'll enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Hope you have a magical, great holiday!💕✨🎄

and thanks so much for @jatpdaily for making this event happen! happy holidays to you all too! 💕✨🎄

Luke used to love christmas. It was honestly his favorite holiday as a small kid and that didn’t really change after he got older. There is just something about the colorful lights, the hot drinks and delicious foods that made the boy a big fan of the season.

But seeing Julie hanging up a few fairy lights on the studio while humming along to All I Want For Christmas caused him to recall his last christmas. Which was technically 25 years ago.

He thought back to the great christmas tree standing in the middle of their living room with the whole house being decorated. Luke remembers how he grabbed the garland out of his mother's hand with a smile because she couldn’t reach the top of the cabinet where she wanted to put it. Luke and his mom decorated the whole house in one afternoon while singing along to their favourite holiday songs. 

But he also remembers their fight, just a few days before christmas eve. She screamed at him, he screamed back, they all said some pretty bad things neither of them ment. That year he spent christmas alone and crying in the very same studio Julie and the boys are now decorating. Alright he wasn’t completely alone, the guys tried everything to make it a good one and he spent both christmas eve and boxing day at Bobby’s. But the fact that  it was his last Christmas alive and that he can’t ever spend it with his mother again came crashing down on him. Next thing he knew he poofed out of the studio.

He just couldn’t be there now. It was too..Too much? It wasn’t because of his friends, he just wanted to be alone right now.

Julie giggled as Reggie told her about that one time he, Luke and Alex decided to prank Bobby and feed him the lie that the only thing they got him for Christmas was a pair of socks. 

Alex was the first one to notice their friend's  absence.

“Hey...guys, where is Luke?”

Both Reggie and Julie looked up and glanced around the place with wide eyes.

“He was here a few minutes ago. Where did he go?” Reggie asks and soon after Julie puts her worry into words too.

“Why would he leave without a word?”

Alex shook his head before realization hit him like a lightning.

“It’s Christmas.” he said, mentally beating himself up for not thinking about it earlier. Julie looks at him with a puzzled look while Reggie just facepalms.

“Man, I completely forgot..”

Julie looks at Alex than at Reg.

“What? What’s going on you guys?”

Alex slowly exhaled, not that he needed air with being a ghost and all, and started to explain.

“Luke, he ran away from home just a week before Christmas back in the 90’s. It was really hard for him. And you know how he never got to make up with his mom so.. I guess Christmas is still a sensitive thing for him.” 

Alex felt the 'anxiety monster' inside of him creeping closer and closer. His thoughts were all over the place, trying to figure out what to do, blaming himself for not remembering. 

He started to walk up and down the studio while mumbling under his breath, he does this a lot when he is anxious, the boys like to call it his runway walk practice. 

"What do we do now?" he asked, finally stopping and looking at the remaining members of the band. 

"We are going to try everything we can to make this holiday extra special for Luke!" says Julie jumping up with a determined expression. 

"Yes, let's do this!" Reggie joined the singer and put his hand out mid-air. "For Luke!" 

"For Luke!" 

The studio looked amazing, it always did but now they really outdone themselves. 

All three of them, the two 'musician spirits' and Julie, stepped back so they could take in their masterpiece. 

"Wow, if I actually would have to like..you know, breathe I would be totally in trouble cause this-" Reggie gestures around the place " this takes my breath away." 

Julie nodded along. 

"I agree, now we just need to find him." 

Alex raised his hand.

"I'll go look for him." he starts walking towards the door but stops in his tracks and turns around "Hey, uhm.. Julie? Is there any chance we could watch Home Alone? Luke really liked that movie."

"Sure! I'll have it on by the time you guys are back."

Julie and Reggie went to find the movie as Alex poofed outside. 

Now he just needs to find a ghost who probably doesn't want to be found. Fortunately for Alex (and unfortunately for Luke) he knows Luke, so well that he doesn't really have to think for a  long time to figure out where he could be.

His guess is right because he sees the boy sitting in the sand. This was a small, kind of 'secret' part of the shore with overgrown bushes and trees blocking the view from the more busy part of the beach. 

They often came here, back when they were alive, this place was calm and the sound of the waves crashing into the sand was just so comforting. 

Luke loved it here the most probably. He is just such an energetic person always up and about, he just loved to escape it all and come here to relax. 

"Hey." the blond spoke softly. 

Luke didn't look up, he didn't need to, he knew who it was even before Alex opened his mouth. 

"Hey."

"Is this seat taken?" Alex awkwardly gestures to the empty space beside Luke. 

"It's all yours." he says simpy, sitting still and watching the waves. 

And for a few minutes they stay there, enjoying the silence and the company. 

"Luke.. I know how hard it is. And I'm sorry for forgetting about it.."

Luke finally turns away and looks at the drimmer. 

"No, bro, it's fine. You don't have to apologize. It's just- it sucks man. But at least I still have you..and Jules and Reg." 

"You will always have us, I promise. Do you maybe wanna get back?" 

"Why?" asks Luke quietly. 

"You love Christmas, and despite everything that happened I want you to still have a great time." he immediately goes to bite his lips, fearing that he overstepped. But then Luke smiles at him. 

"Let's go then." he gets up and offers his hand for Alex, who takes it, and pulls him up too. 

"Hey guys, sorry for- woah! What? The place looks incredible!!" Luke yells excitedly.

They rearranged a few furniture so the Christmas tree would fit in. It wasn't huge, but it was wide and looked beautiful with the handmade decorations on it. Small ghosts, instruments and fairylights hang from each branch. 

There are candles placed everywhere along traditional decorations that Luke's mum used all the time. 

"You like it?" Reggie jumps in front of him. Luke grabs his shoulders 

"Like it?? Dude, I'm in love with all of this! And you guys! I love you so much for doing this for me." 

They all laugh, happy they could make their friend smile. 

"Hey, Luke do you want to watch Home Alone?" Julie points at her laptop sitting on top of the small table in front of the couch. 

"Heck yeah! I love that movie!" 

They all went to sit down on the couch. 

"Thank you." says Luke for everyone but his eyes wander over to Alex. The blonde offered a smile as they gazed at each other for a few more seconds. 

"Khm.. Julie, how did you get your dad to buy a new tree?" asks Luke, tearing his gaze away from Alex. The girl grimaced at the question. 

"Well, about that.. I actually-" she was cut off by a yell coming from outside.

"JULIA MOLINA WHERE IS OUR CHRISTMAS TREE?!" 

[judgement-free-sideblog]

Ghosts from the rainforest

Summary: A simple rescue mission will bring him back to a place full of nightmares, and maybe this time he could find redemption. Situated in 1975, 2 years after the events of Skull Island.

Warnings: Violence, blood, wounds, mentions of war, cursing, implied smut, smoking, angst.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 6: Family

The piercing blue eyes search for you in the dim light that came from the sunrise outside the shack, he found you and attempt to stand up getting down immediately from the pain.

"Don't even try" You said to him, sad to look at his face covered in dry blood and a still fresh cut on his cheekbone. Two days after arriving Walker had decided to inspire moral in his troops by beating him and putting you to treat their wounds "I suspect they broke one of your ribs when you call them bastards, also even if you could move there is also this" you pointed to the fetter around his ankle and he looked at yours too, your shorts were stained from the truck and the dirt floor of the shack, and the clear sign of a lash on the naked skin that you cover with a blanket when he looked at it.

"How is your head?" He asked finally trying to sit still "How long have we been here?"

"It has been better, it will take more than that to take me down, don't worry" You said taking a piece of cloth and wetting it on a small bowl "Well after you passed out I kept fixing a couple wounds here an there in the camp, so he won't kill you, that was three days ago, at least they left me this to fix you up, hold still" You approach as much as you could to him and start cleaning up his wounds.

"I have nowhere else to be love... hey!!" He pull apart when the alcohol touch the open skin, and gave you a panicked look when you show him the suture you will use to close the cut

"Oh Captain don't be a baby" You hold his face on your hand while continuing to clean the cut "You must be used to deal with vicious animals like that by now, because that frien of yours can call himself a man"

"You are right, Walker is a poisonous snake who will kill anyone on his way, the only reason we are alive is because he believes he may get something valuable out of you, which reminds me, what did he ment by next time he'll go for the throat?" He had his hand was clenched and his eyes firmly shut down when you passed the needle trough the skin.

"I have met Walker before, Shukri used to help him pass his weapons and stuff through the border so he send me as a symbol of friendship, but the man he wanted me to help die, wich of course he will because he had severe sepsis and many bullet holes, and I'm far from being an actual medical doctor"

"You really have a way to reassure people" He joke and you rolled your eyes at him.

"Anyway he went crazy and kill the men Shukri send to guard me and stab me in the stomach, and leave me for dead in the jungle, thankfully it wasn't a cut deep enough and I managed to walk to the next village". You finish and he looked at you surprised by how casually you talk about those horrible memories. "What does he meant by your taste still being constant?" His face darkened and the guilt and remorse appear again in his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't meant..." You tried to stand up but he grab your wrist and you sit next to him.

"As I told you Jenny's mom was the lover of a British ambassador, and we actually met before we were send to find her, one night Sargent Walker was drunk and tried to force himself on her, and I stop her" He said with a sad smile on his face.

"You were together? You and her mother I mean" You tried to hide a hint of jealousy in your voice, it was funny that in this threatening situation you could still be thinking about you two.

"Of course not" He said and a grin of satisfaction show on his face when you sigh in relief "Although I had feelings for her, and maybe she had them too, but I knew I had a mission, then Walker betrayed us and Jenny die... well I guess she blamed me for it" you didn't say anything and just let him lay his head on your lap, the fetter was biting in your skin and your ankle was about to start bleeding but you feel the need of comforting him.

"How could you look this handsome aan peaceful cover in bruises, and cuts?" You ask yourself outloud after a couple minutes once you thought he was asleep.

"I could ask you the same Y/N" He responded opening his blue eyes, and you almost pushed him down but remember his bad shape. "Don't worry, the guys are looking for us, they will get help in Borneo and come back"

"That's what I'm afraid of, I heard them talking about asking for ransom money to the US Embassy in Borneo, what if they get too late, he is gonna kill me when he realizes I lie to him".

"I will like to him try" He said trying to stand hurting himself again.

"Easy there prince charming" You said holding him still and locking your hands together in the process, neither of you trying to pull apart. "I do know what I will do if we actually get out of here".

"And what is that?" Conrad asked trying to ignore how helpless your if was.

"I'm writing a strong worded letter to Houston Brooks about the terrible job of his tracker, since he keeps trying to charm the women he works for" You said and he smiled at you.

"Is it working?" He asked, trying to incorporate.

"Maybe" you said but before you could follow your instinct, some loud steps approach to the shack and you gently put him on the floor to curl in your corner pretending to be asleep.

"Ibu? Cepat! Kita perlu pergi" Mother? Quick! We have to go A young boy enter the shack carrying a big shotgun, and he open the fetter setting you free.

"Dia akan datang bersama kami" He is coming with us You said and he went to set a surprised James free.

"What is going on? Ibu?" He asked once you help him stand up, he was not as hurt as you thought since he could walk without help, but he was definitely not in his prime.

"You have your family Captain, I have mine" And since that explanation was not enough you had to continue "One of the men guarding me years ago was Shukri's nephew, he hates Wlker ever since, and has many of his children inside his little army so he can eventually sell them to the authorities"

"He is a layered man isn't he?" He said while you and the boy help him walk outside the camp, another infiltrator was already waiting next to a truck ready for you to flee, waving in the distance, and then the sound of a thunder brake the morning air, and he made a funny surprise face, and a blood stain start growing in his chest and he just fall on his back, and then all hell broke loose.

Walker men were following you, and since James was hurt it was so little that your young hero could do for you.

You run into the jungle just to be stopped in an open area where a tree had fallen an then four men were surrounding you, ready to kill.

"Drop it big guy!" Reles voice said, making your hear stop and race with happiness. The man in front of you turned around to meet Reels surprised by how calm he was.

"Didn't you listen? Drop it!" Slivko said coming out of the jungle with another six guys that you were sure were part of Shukri's village.

"I got you doc" Glenn said passing between the men who were already unarmed.

"I'm fine, help the Captain" you said and without thinking you took one of the weapons that had been dropped in the ground.

"I thought you didn't like those" Slivko said while Reels help the boy tie Walkers men.

"Desperate times Reg" You said, and hug him. "How did you find us so quickly?"

"Oh wow, sorry Captain" He said looking embarrassed "The guy, the weird guy that says he is your husband he meet us half way when we came after you guys, apparently one of the guys here told him what happened and he came with us and many men along to help"

"I knew it! Wait a minute Shukri is here?" You hold your breath because the feeling that something was wrong was strongly hurting your chest, and Conrad's words about Walker resonated in your ears.

You run back to the campsite, the ambush had worked out, the rest of Walker's men were dead or prisoners and unarmed, only their Sargent was too stubborn to surrender and both him and Shukri were aiming at each other in the middle of the camp. Shukri with a shotgun and Walker with two pistols.

Again without thinking and with the adrenaline running through your veins you pointed your gun at him and order him to drop it. As all response he aimed one of his pistols at you.

"You can't win this" You said to him not backing off and looking James concerned face approaching, but he was not looking at you, all his attention seemed to be focus on Shukri.

"Oh I know that doctor, but I have a question for you, who will be faster? Me or this little idiot here who came to rescue his princess??"

Things happened in the fraction of a second and by the time you understand what have happened both men where in the ground.

In the moment Shukri nod to James and he jump to take you out of the line of fire, Walker shoot his guns missing you, but not Shukri, but he didn't miss either.

"Hey, hey Shukri man, come on" Mills said approaching pressuring the wound, you stood up and walk away from James who was breathing difficulty from the jump, but overall okay.

"Shukri, you win, he is dead, please don't give up now" You said now no longer holding on the tears.

"Tears? Isteri if I had known that this is what I needed to do I would have let someone shoot me long ago." He said holding your hand with almost no strength. "Captain Prince charming?" He called for James and he kneeled by his side respectfully "Anda menjaga isteri saya" You take care of my wife

"I will" James said solemnly, and Shukri nod, then he hold your hand tightly and then after one last breath he and a quiet smile to you he was gone.

After a couple minutes people dispersed and you could hear his men arranging how will they move him, but it was wrong and you couldn't yet set what had happened in your brain, after one hour you felt like if you keep looking long enough he will smile again and wake up to tease you and life will be normal again.

"It's time" James said but he didn't force you to stand, he only gave you his hand, and stood there waiting, after a minute that felt like an eternity you took his hand stand up, and then you let all your unspoken feelings to come out, about Randa, about Shukri, about watching him almost be beaten to death two days ago, you cried and cried and he simply hold you, even when his rib was probably killing him, even when you were nothing to him but a job, he keep holding you.