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#Those two are literally just au scheme team
kirchefuchs · 11 months
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so yk how in ur AU, The Narrator is an AI turned human? And Stanley is aware that The Narrator is an AI? And how Jim and TK are/were part of the development team?
Do you also remember the Lovebug Virus?
ehe
Now, I have an idea for a tiny lil oneshot (probably gonna have more than 2k words so yay!! depends on what my writer's block says tho) based off of your AU with the Lovebug Virus added to the mix
SOO IF U DON'T MIND
Could you describe how TK and Jim (and literally everybody in ur AU) are? Personality-wise, I mean. I wanna write them as in-character as I can so ye :D
please and thank youuuu!!
— 🅰️non || 05/17/2023
*cracks knuckles* Okay, here we go!
Narrator (Pollux): For the most part he's the same as how he is in the game, just a little softer. He's definitely grown very attached to Stanley over time and especially after they enter a relationship he practically melts to Stanley's touch. He's still got that iconic snark and sass, he's just softer around the edges now.
Stanley: He's a menace. He's lovely, kind, and loves to shower others with affection, but he's a scheming, mischievous little piece of trash (affectionate). He loves to cause problems. Small problems. Ones that don't really hurt anyone and can be laughed about later. He just loves to smile and have fun. He's selectively mute and primarily communicates with BSL, but when he does speak it's usually in whispers or very quietly spoken.
Timekeeper (TK): Before the Parable? They were pretty laid back but took any challenges that came their way with a fierce determination. They were very good at their job. That being coding. They are a little socially awkward so Jim would do most of the talking for the two of them. They grew to miss talking to people after they got trapped on the coding void of the Parable. After spending what felt like an eternity in near complete isolation they went a wee bit crazy, so some things they say don't make sense or their thoughts get jumbled together. They come off as very cryptic sounding. Poor guy.
Jim: He is very loud. He loves to talk (probably has adhd but has gone undiagnosed) and he adores trying out new things with his projects. He was the head of the development team so he's definitely got some people skills, and he's similar to Stanley where he likes to make harmless jokes. He's a little bit mischievous, a lot a bit funny, and he loves to make people smile. He's got one of those laughs that can very quickly turn into snorting if he's laughing hard enough. (Lowkey sounds like Ernie's laugh on sesame street)
Mariella: Imagine if Stanley were a raging lesbian. That's pretty close to what Mariella is like. Although she's a lot better at putting on a professional persona when she needs to. And she's more the type to tell really bad puns than to purposefully annoy someone like Stanley would. Because of how similar the two are, Stanley and Mariella do get along well and consider each other friends (though she tends to tease him about how long it took for him and Narry to get together).
Curator: Curie is significantly more calm and collected than Narry. She can sometimes come off as a little intimidating or strict, but she just says things as they are. She's very self aware and that helped to her and Mariella figuring out their relationship quite a bit faster than the boys (what can I say? She doesn't see the point in bottling up emotions). She often acts like a wise older sister to Narry, giving him little suggestions and encouragements when he needs them. She cares a lot about those close to her, it's just hard to see sometimes.
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erisluna35ocblog · 1 month
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Characterization Across AUs: Blair Crawford
THE jerk with a heart of gold.
She's pragmatic. She won't hesitate to use anyone around her to reach her goals... except Blake.
It takes a long time for her to open up.
Much later, Shizuke and Natalia make it to her "people I give a shit about" list. But those two always start off in the "people I could use" list.
She's kind of an introvert, but with a stupid amount of self confidence to socialize.
While she's an all around flirt, she doesn't care or feel in anyway attracted to anyone she's ever hit on. Shizuke's the one exception, but only in stories that give them enough focus to get to that point.
She's a demisexual-demiromantic. If she doesn't have a slowburn going on with Shizuke, then she's not getting any romance at all.
Heck, she'd hit on a guy if it gives her an advantage. But she stays cautiously out of reach, giving suggestions but never letting them close the last inch.
Scheming, cunning, opportunistic and potentially ruthless depending on the setting... But deep down, she's more moral than she'd like to admit. She usually has a noble goal, her methods just aren't always clean. Yet, as she always thinks of the easy way, she doesn't compromise when it comes to the people she gives a shit about. She thinks it holds her back.
The sort of emotionally constipated dum dum who thinks vulnerability is a weakness.
Always the colder, more goal-oriented twin. Some might even call her heartless compared to the quiet Blake. Ironically, she's actually the more moral twin as Blake is secretly more ruthless than her despite his shy demeanor.
In charge of the fanservice. She's a beautiful redhead with a nice figure and ain't afraid to use it. She tends to dress well, unlike her twin.
Strong witch association. Whether it be as a witch's literal familiar via contract or as a black cat... There's a reason I named her Blair.
She tends to owe one of Keagan's evil auntie. Whichever one of them is available in the story.
There's an arc where she clashes with Blake cause one of them switched sides. By the end of it, both twins are on team good.
Fiona will disagree with Blair taking the leader position at first, even though Blair is the most qualified for it. Something about clashing priorities.
Whenever she's tagteaming with Shizuke, her role is often to lure the enemies into the right position for Shizuke to finish them off. Sometimes, they switch things up by having Blair as the tactician making sure nothing gets in the way of Shizuke the close combat specialist.
She prefers wielding long weapons, like staves or spears... or scythes.
Shizuke's first step to her heart always involves him breaking down over whatever tragedy happening to his friends. It's the first time Blair felt sympathy towards him, makes him more than just someone to use. She appreciates his loyalty to his friends. Kaji and Fuyu's sacrifices for Shizuke to score this redhead are never appreciated.
Losing her parents at an early age builds her independent nature.
The beginning of her arch focuses on her death or near-death.
She'll feel disillusioned and used by her other blood relatives once she meets them. They all want something from her, as foretold. Family of oracles and all that. This is why she is so attached to Blake.
She's all about family loyalty. Her fixation on her dead parents made her blind to her found family. She'll see them someday.
She's a cheapskate who'll take free stuff any chance she gets.
She'll somehow bond with Zephyr over the many things they have in common (mischief, love of free stuff, death hanging over their heads, naggy older brothers, idiot family who they're preventing from sacrificing their lives for them...).
She just can't seem to get on the good side of Shizuke's paternal grandparents. But the maternal grandmother is rather fond of her. Heh, she's the most important one anyway, being the one closest to Shizuke.
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thewiglesswonder · 2 years
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You know what I think could be a good concept for a TFA!Sg AU? Team earth is indoctrinated when they arrive. Optimus considers beating Megatron to be a fluke and just lucky. Ratchet being harsh and wanting the best but more rigid and inflexible in his opinions.
Just… take those knobs and turn them up. An even more quiet, silently opinionated prowl. Perhaps have bumblebee actually believe wasp was a traitor because wasp seemed to be a bit nicer than in canon. (After all if their model is so common they’d have to rely on each other to prove exactly WHY they deserve this so much) and bee thinks it’s a trick.
Sari in a rebellious teenage phase not listening to a father who wants to reconnect after sidelining her in favor of his work. Megaton wanting to live on earth with his troops, not so much in harmony with humans (there are always things to unlearn sometimes) but because he’s been ostracized from their society.
Shockwave not having that hyper empathy but instead they literally blocked off chunks of his knowledge. He’ll just be working and suddenly he’ll forget what he was doing, why, and HOW. Regardless of what it is or how easy it should be to know, it’ll just disappear.
Perhaps that was a punishment he received after arcee was found and relocated onto cybertron. Swindle is still a scheme-y bastard (affectionate) but will have moments in which he claims to “be protecting his bottom line” but you see him look away and give a tiny smile and you realize that he can lie to his buyers but not to himself.
Blackarachnia spending her run time coming to terms with the fact optimus shouldered the blame for something she did. Having to acknowledge she let herself believe her own false memories because they made her feel validated in her anger.
Transforming Waspinator with the same intentions at first but realizing she doomed somebody to her own fate and that she’s just created a cycle (he does agree to enter to become stronger and survive whatever the autobots demand he face) so she refuses to let herself hurt him. She takes that deep breath, thinks about what happened, and lets him go.
+if that was foreshadowed by her genuinely finding Sari to be charming and silly in her rebellious way, and being secretly horrified by the fact she was killing her.
++if she’d still beat the shit out of sentinel though.
(Sorry to smash this at you wig though I know you enjoy these silly little guys and also SG star would pretend to not like the clones but he named them all after fallen trine members (skywarp and thundercracker) or after members of other fallen trines (Ramjet, Dirge and Thrust being one tribe, and Slipstream and Sunstorm as two members of other trines)
Eh. Nothing against you, anon, but Shattered Glass (especially for TFA) hasn't been able to draw a crumb of interest out of me. I'm sure there are folks out there who would appreciate it though.
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auxiliarydetective · 1 year
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Since you infected me with A-Team brain rot, what would their musical AU be like?
Ooooh, this is actually a bit of a challenge. Something tells me The A-Team and musicals aren't supposed to mix - well, unless you're looking at Murdock. He thinks he's in a musical either way. I won't be mentioning all of the songs on the show, but they have to be a part of the musical au. Finding 100% accurate songs will be hard sometimes, but I'll still give you vibes.
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Speaking of Murdock, since he already sings on the show from time to time, he should be able to sing longer and you'll never know if it'll turn into a full-on number with choreo and everything or if B.A. will interrupt him with a record scratch or smashing his casette player. In taking all the songs I know that have been sung on the show and that I thought would fit, I saw that most of Murdock's were Beach Boys songs, so... That's his show-assigned vibe, I guess. Something that I think would be super funny would be a huge, flashy number of Happy Pills by Weathers in the VA - or literally anywhere - , led by Murdock of course.
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B.A. probably wouldn't sing but I can see him doing a spoken word piece, like something Hamilton-esque. I could totally see something like My Shot, except less about US independence. That kind of song could also work for plan-making or building something, so maybe he only ever "sings" in those group performances.
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Now, Face. Oooooh boy. You just know Face's songs would be good. The first song I thought of was Joel Grey's cover of Razzle Dazzle from Chicago, but that's honestly also a Hannibal song, so... both it is! His song, the song that would be his "character theme", so to speak, is definitely Good Old-Fashioned Loverboy. On a darker and more symbolic note, I could definitely see him singing Take Me To Church, interpret into that what you will.
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Hannibal, as I said, gets Razzle Dazzle together with Face, but I could also totally see him sing something older or something that shows his role in the team as the dad figure. Something a bit sad, but maybe Smile by Mikky Ekko could work. Then again, he also has huge vibes for Feeling Good. You know, THAT song my Michael Bublé. Perfect for scheming Hannibal. Another song I think could work is Specialization by Marilyn Monroe and Frankie Vaughan - something older, something that has to do with movies, old Hollywood... I don't know who'd sing Marilyn's part. Amy doesn't really have the vibes, but she's my first pick for now.
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Amy would slay Face with Womanizer, let's be honest. She's got the attitude and it could even fit her voice. Similar vibes: Confident by Demi Lovato. She's a queen, no doubt about it.
And because I love her too much...
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Kit gets songs too. Her introduction song could so be The Greatest Show because her circus background is so vital to her character. One more cheerful and upbeat one would be I'm Still Standing by Elton John. Maybe even as a duet with Murdock, just for the vibes? Staying with duets, she could sing Faith by Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande with Face or, even better, Do I Wanna Know. Another great song: Do It Like A Dude with B.A. as her hypeman. She could also really belt out Church by Fall Out Boy.
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Group songs! The first one might be an odd choice, but... California Dreamin'. Simply because of Murdock's show-assigned Beach Boys theme and because it sounds like something they could sing in the car. Maybe Murdock starts it or Hannibal does and the others join in or do backup vocals. Or in B.A.'s case, he might just tap the steering wheel in the rhythm. The second one is even weirder: You Are My Sunshine. If I had a nickel for every time this song appeared on the show, I'd have two nickels, which isn't much, but it's weird that it happened twice. Because of this, I image them quietly singing or humming it at some point. But this last one should really fit better: Walk on Water by Thirty Seconds to Mars.
So, without further ado: Here's the playlist and the story behind it
We get introduced to the team and Hannibal and Face make a plan to get Murdock out of the VA. Then, the whole team hops in the van and we get to my fanfic on how the team meets Kit during Children of Jamestown. The story is pretty much the same as in the fic and she joins. Now, we get some more Murdock shenigans and Kit and B.A. bonding. After this, Murdock and Face do their little bit with surf city, showing Face's attitude towards women and setting up the beach theme of the whole musical/movie. Face tries to flirt with Kit but she declines, causing Amy to comment on him being a womanizer. The team arrives at their beach destination of choice and the audience is shown that Kit and Face do have feelings for each other but Kit is just blocking everything out and Face doesn't wanna be pushy because she's a team member. After that, more Murdock shenanigans and Hannibal making a plan, the attempt at executing it and its failure, after which Hannibal tries to "cheer up" the others. Face and Kit are still very much in love and we get a mashup between Church and Take Me To Church to show that. The two of them team up to save the rest of the team and we get a super fun happy end for both the idiots in love and the team as a whole.
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citadelspires · 3 years
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P1 - Given how great you're track record's been for doing hypothetical interactions of Amphibia kids with the Duck kids and Owl House kids, let's try doing the Duck kids meeting the Owl House kids and who they'd like the best. I'll exclude Violet for this for the sake of evenening things out 5 to 5. I'd assume Luz would get along best with Dewey (both jump into adventure), King with Louie (could see em teaming up for a scheme), Willow with Huey (eh, more leftover interaction but can work)
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Screenshot of second half of the ask provided. Text: P2 Gus with Webby (would totally ask each other lots of questions about their species), and Amity with Lena (both got abusive figures they stood up to and would totally talk about their crushes on Luz and Webby LOL). Would love to see you take on Duck kids and Owl House kids interactions.
First of all I’m very pleased to hear you find my track record on these posts good, they’ve been really fun to write and it makes me really happy people like them! Second I am so sorry it’s taken so long to get to this ask, it’s a really in depth one and it took a long time to write, I hope you’ll find it was worth the wait!
Aight! Oh and one last thing real quick before I get into it. I hope you wouldn’t mind me adding Violet back in, partially due to the fact I love her, but mostly because there’s actually another owl house character I think works significantly better with Louie than anyone else and I really want the chance to talk about that. Saving that one for last hehe. This’ll be another long one, writing below the cut.
Luz and Webby So I do like a lot of the possible interactions brought up by your suggested grouping but my mind went in a few different directions. I’ll start with Luz, who would fit in best with another excitable adventuring partner, as pointed out, but I think the best fit for her in that regard would actually be Webby. While Dewey would no doubt get along great with Luz, there’s a special element to the potential relationship between Luz and Webby that really elevates the potential of their friendship to another level, that being: they both want to eat a hamburger.
An aspect of Webby I wish the later seasons of the show got into a little more, but is definitely something I would consider a core part of her character, is the fact that she got held up in the mansion her whole childhood, with no opportunities to interact with the world around her, have all the adventures she wanted, and most importantly to just be seen as the kid she wanted to be. And while Luz was technically able to go out into the world, the place she found wasn’t one that was willing to see her, or give her any of the chances she longed for. Both Webby and Luz fully understand that feeling of being trapped in your own life, of finally getting the chance to break out and just doing your best to make the most of it. I think there’s a lot the two could gain from spending some time together.
(Also, to borrow the bit about gushing about their crushes but from the other end, these two would totally get sidetracked talking about their respective crushes and also trying to play wingman for each other. It’s a massive comic disaster in both cases, but somehow both Lena and Amity manage to find it endearing).
Amity and Violet Okay wait lemme explain. While the two of them don’t have a whole lot in common at first glance, I think they would genuinely get along extremely well. While a lot of Amity’s focus on school came at the force of her parents, you cannot honestly expect me to believe that girl isn’t a studious nerd on her own anyway. Heck even outside the realm of studies she throws her full dedication into literally every single thing she does. Remind you of anyone? Beyond just being extremely intelligent Violet is clever and ready for anything. She takes everything in stride and always has a plan, she can go from “we were sleeping over and you said everybody get on the plane, so we got on the plane” to “I brought an axe” in a minute flat.
I like to think the two of them would have a mutual respect for each other based on their respective intellects upon first meeting, but as they become closer friends they find they can move from more serious respect to a casual enjoyment of each other. I would go as far as to say that both of these characters really value dependability in a friend, and that they each provide a lot of that. To wrap back around to the stuff about intelligence I think Violet could provide a lot of insight to Amity as far as showing her that pursuing studies and academic heights of her own volition can be something that she can just do because she wants to, and that’s no excuse for unhealthy parental relationships. Getting along so well with someone like Violet only to see that her parents are actually really loving and supportive, that would be really eye-opening for Amity I think. For Violet’s part she could get a lot of help from Amity as far as her pursuit of the secrets of magic goes. I suspect Amity would be much more interested in the study of her magic than Violet would be able to get Lena to tolerate lol.
Bonus Round: Amity would absolutely be a senior junior woodchuck and she would love it you cannot convince me otherwise. She starts quoting the JWGB around the owl house kids and they all look at her like she’s crazy.
Lena and Willow I feel like this one might seem a little out there at first but trust me on this one. Initially Lena doesn’t think too much of Willow, being as close as she is to Webby she knows liking flowers and cute things doesn’t mean Willow is automatically to be taken lightly but she feels like she’s got a good read on her that she generally prefers to avoid trouble and turns down opportunities for violence, which isn’t really Lena’s deal. Over time Lena figures she was right about her first impressions as Willow doesn’t seem to take many opportunities to expose some hidden power, even when Lena knows the people around her kinda deserve it.
She learns to adjust her opinion when she finally does get the chance to see Willow in action and realizes that girl is more powerful than any of the other kids she’s met in the boiling aisles bar none(yes this is my genuine opinion of willow if you don’t think she could kick your ass you’re wrong). It’s at that moment where she starts to pay more attention to Willow and notices a lot more of the strength she puts into all the little things, how much she cares for everyone and everything, and it does a great deal to show Lena that maybe having super strong magic powers isn’t mutually exclusive with being kind and gentle. And maybe gentle isn’t her thing but still, it’s nice to know.
For Willow’s part she’s just happy to make more friends. Especially if the opportunity arises, as I like to think it would, when they’re close enough friends, that Lena would start to hint around asking questions about how Willow remains so casual and nice with the ability to do so much damage, and Willow takes the chance to help Lena figure out her magic a bit more, and learn how to better appreciate it as an aspect of herself she doesn’t have to be scared of. (I mean come on Lena never really learned how to do any of it except barely kind of from Magica of all people she could really  use something like that).
Huey and Gus Now there are some certain things about Gus that would drive Huey absolutely nuts. His lack of primary and reliable sources for any of his information being a big one, but at the end of the day I think he’d enjoy Gus’ desire to learn in the first place. Gus would probably be a little dubious about Huey’s “sources” and “citations” but if it helped him get more info on the human realm he’d certainly go for it in the end. In that way the two balance each other out pretty well. Gus is studious and intelligent but he’s a little off the wall, he’s got a big creative streak, and he’s really excitable. Huey is really really good at facts and analysis but he lacks the strength in imagination that Gus has. Huey is able to take all the grandiose concepts Gus is able to think up and help make them actually happen. Gus has that specific brand of an adventurers soul matched up with the fact he’s not actually the type to get into danger and fights, meaning he’s able to drag Huey out of his comfort zone a little and help him reach new heights with his mind that his struggles with creativity prevent him from reaching, while managing to not make him feel like he’s actually in danger. I actually believe the two of them together could get some really incredible stuff done.
What I’m saying is that with Huey’s help Gus could absolutely complete his tunnels under Hexside.
Dewey and King Now this, this is the pair who would go incredibly well together, at the detriment of literally everyone around them. If there is one person King “I Will Rule Everything” Clawthorne should not be exposed to its Dewey Duck. Within minutes of meeting each other the two of them would immediately have so many bad ideas. Between Dewey’s insistence on being the best and most daring adventurer while putting his name on everything and going down in history & King’s trying to rule everything and everyone, the attempts to raise the stakes would be constant and the two would spend literal hours endlessly trying to one-up each other. All in one day they search for legendary treasure, discover an entirely new civilization, try to take over said civilization, create a new species just to name it after themselves, and build statues of themselves in the middle of Bonesbourough. And that’s all before lunch.
Louie Here it is. The one I waited till the very end for out of sheer excitement. I even kept the second name out of the heading thing. That’s how secretive I’m trying to be about this. See, there’s one character in the owl house that works so well with Louie it’s practically canon. Their interactions have so much potential, they each bring so much to the table, I just couldn’t Not talk about it. And yeah, I know this ask was specifically asking about the owl house and ducktales kids, but I just couldn’t resist talking about the relationship between Louie and Eda.
A con artist from another world who was so successful she became nationally famous? There’s no way Louie would pass up an opportunity like that. For his part I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already managed to set up another underworld identity in the boiling aisles, or at the very least that Eda could totally have been to the ducktales realm and heard of his one there.
Either way I’m convinced the two of them would start planning a heist as soon as they figure out who each other are. Eda is a little prideful and wants to show this kid he can’t out-con her, but Louie knows what he’s doing just as much. Honestly with the two of them combined Eda wouldn’t have to worry about losing her stand for a long time. Over the course of their planning and seeing Louie in action Eda begrudgingly gains some respect for the  kid, and while Louie was definitely just using her as a learning/profit opportunity at first, he’s pretty susceptible to getting attached.
For Louie, it’s the fact that she actually respects him for being good at what he does. Even back with his family who all love and care about him and all that he still feels like most of them don’t really get what he does or see what’s special about him, so having someone who made a whole life of it be even a little proud of him feels really nice.
And of course, at the end of their heist when they finally have the money in hand, and Eda just casually hands over his half, he stares at her like she’s crazy.
“You’re just.. Giving it to me?!”
“Well, yeah. That was the deal wasn’t it kid? I mean if you really want I definitely have a few ideas for it.”
“No! Uh, no, thanks, I’ll keep it. It’s just that you really remind me of someone, I guess I was expecting something else.”
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yui-kuromori · 3 years
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Okay so mafia AU
The Wonderland’s tea party is an organization led by the Hatter. It’s specializes in drug trafficking, blackmail and selling information.
Arisu and Usagi are it’s newest members. They got recruited on accident really and it’s mostly Arisu’s fault. He was on the subway one day and sat beside this older man wearing sunglasses struggling with a piece of paper on his hand. It was hatter, who was trying to figure out the safest routes in and out of a building for an information robbery from a big company. Arisu had kinda peered at the map, gotten excited because *puzzle*, and offered Hatter some help. After Hatter tells him the “rules” Arisu spends the rest of the ride tracing out paths and tragedies, before leaving a baffled Hatter behind.
So Hatter’s like “we need this kid” and sends Niragi and Last Boss to “Invite him for tea”. Unfortunately for them, when they go to corner Arisu, he’s out with Usagi, and Usagi upon being told by Arisu that he think’s they’re being followed, and notices Piercings and Face Tattoos, goes “I think the fuck not”, grabs her best friend and *bolts*.
And run she does, going full parkour ninja, hauling Arisu’s skinny ass around. Niragi and Last Boss try following them, but after a while, she just looses them altogether. They report back to Hatter who just goes: “He has a ninja girlfriend?? We need them” and he’s really excited about it.
He sends in Chishiya and Kuina to actually talk to them this time and after some coaxing, they agree to at least try out. They both need the money.
What they didn’t expect was for them to be immediately adopted into the found family dynamic. Arisu and Kuina are immediately trans buddies, and Aguni is like “Okay, two more children for me and Takeru”, Last Boss takes the position of scary older brother, specially for Usagi, and even Niragi treats them nicely (in his own way).
Feat. Very concerned friends Karube and Chouta who have no idea what’s happening, their college classmates, who are running a rumor mill, Arisu’s awful family that keeps popping up even after he moves in with Usagi and Shibuki, who’s literally just vibing.
Also, this is probably Arisu x Chishiya
ROLECALL
Name: Danma Takeru
Code name: Mad Hatter
Skills: He is the leader and founder of Wonderland’s tea party. What used to be a two person gang grew into an organization because of his visionary attitude and charming personality. His charisma allows for nice deals and sales, while his ruthlessness keeps their family protected. He doesn’t usually go out on mission, but he’s a skilled fighter and a surprisingly smart man. He also has a keen eye and sharp intuition, especially when picking out new members.
Name: Aguni Morizono
Code name: Bandersnatch
Skills: He is the second founder and Hatter’s right hand man. He is the muscle of the operation, the strongest member on the team. He is responsible for dealing with their enemies, carrying out threats, defending their territory and keeping their family safe. He also trains all members on how to use guns, weapons and fight. He took Usagi under his wing, as he not only could see a bit of himself in her, but their fighting styles could be similar.
Name: Chishiya Shuntaro
Code name: Cheshire
Skills: He’s their doctor. He patches up whoever is hurt and occasionally deals with a dead body or two. He’s also responsible for gathering intel. He often goes undercover in big corporations and rival groups to gather some vital secret information that could be sold for a lot of money, or takes those groups down from the inside. He’s the one who took Arisu under his wing, noticing how good he is at reading people’s hearts, he’s been teaching him how to manipulate and lie and now they usually go undercover together.
Name: Kuina Hikari
Code name: Caterpillar or Absolem
Skills: Kuina is a dealer. She accompanies Hatter when he goes to strike a deal not only because of her charisma and people skills, but because she functions as a secret bodyguard. She’s also usually on robberies and stealth missions, where being undercover is not necessary but they still need to get in and out of somewhere unseen to get shit done. To those, she’s usually paired with Chishiya. She’s the one teaching Arisu how to fight, since their styles are the most similar.
Name: Niragi Suguru
Code name: March Hare
Skills: This is their killer ok? Need someone disposed of? Call Niragi. Need someone intimidated? Call Niragi. Some group is trying to start a turf war? Call Aguni who’s gonna take Niragi and Last Boss and they’ll fix it. Niragi’s also responsible for their weapons and sometimes will help with scheming. He’s decievingly protective of his family and shows affection with acts of violence. If you want any piercings he’ll do it for you.
Name: Samura Takatora (last boss)
Code name: Jabberwocky
Skills: His position is the same as Niragi’s. They are usually paired together for missions. While Niragi takes care of the guns, Last Boss takes care of knives and swords. They are usually sent with Ann or Arisu whenever they have to meet people and their looks alone are enough to intimidate any potential threats. He’s been teaching Usagi how to spear fight and is secretly delighted someone else has taken to more traditional weapons. If you ever want a tattoo, he’s the one to ask for.
Name: Ann Rizuna
Code name: White Queen
Skills: She’s the one responsible for most of their drug operation. While Hatter makes the deals, she’s the one crutching numbers, distributing product and sometimes even cooking up drugs herself. She can also fill in for Chishiya as their doctor and Along with him, Arisu and Niragi, she’s the one tracing most of their plans. If any of them were to die, she would be the one responsible for finding out who did it and helping to hunt them down.
Name: Tatta Kodai
Codename: Dormouse or Arganaz
Skills: Tatta is their getaway driver. He can outdrive everyone and anyone. His knowledge in mechanics helps them with their robberies and he’s been known to pull some Dean Winchester level stunts behind the wheel. He also keeps communication between teams clear and smooth. He’s been learning some basics under Ann’s wing and is getting pretty good at, uh, cooking.
Name: Usagi Yuzuha
Code name: White Rabbit
Skills: She’s a fighter and a runner. When she’s not in a position similar to Aguni’s, she’s doing patrols around their territory, spying on rivals and enemies from the top of buildings and helping Tatta to keep all the teams in the know. She’s usually paired with Arisu in the same way Kuina is paired with Chishiya. She’s also the only one that can keep them all sleeping a minimum of four hours a night and eating somewhat healthy food with a decent frequency. Many suspect that if Aguni retires, she’ll be the one to take his place.
Name: Arisu Ryohei
Code name: Alice
Skills: Arisu quickly become a big part of the brains behind most of their operations. He views plans with Hatter, tracing escape routes and planning damage control. He also goes undercover with or without Chishiya a lot, his innocent demeanor making him appear trustworthy. He’s also the one to analyze their oponents and tell the teams exactly where to look at for blackmail. He wrote down the plans that actually took down some big corporations. He’s been learning how to fight from Kuina, and is steadily getting better. He’s been also slowly learning how to hack, it’s just another puzzle for him.
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swanandphoenixsong · 2 years
Text
Aliit - Ao3
Chapter 10: Bounty Hunters
Series: Part 2 of the Star Wars - Nouveau AU series
Chapter Summary: Outside the Mandalore Sector, bounty hunters and agents of the criminal underworld make movements across Hutt Space.
Notes: This chapter begins in Boba Fett’s POV, then introduces two new POVs from original characters. It also begins right after Satine is recaptured and Saxon contracts the Krayt’s Claw bounty hunters– so, more non-linear storytelling. I also make several references to the Clone Wars episodes “Bounty” and “Eminence”. See the Endnotes for more details.
Translations of Mando’a: Kyr’tsad – Mando’a name for Death Watch; literally: "Death Society" Cuy’val dar – Mandalorian warriors who disappeared with Jango Fett between 32-30 BBY; meaning “those who no longer exist” Ba’jurne Kyr’stad Mando’ad – the manifesto shared by Death Watch recruiters, written by Tor Vizsla before 42 BBY; literally: “teachings of the Death Watch Mandalorians”
– –
19 BBY – Mos Eisley, Tatooine, Krayt’s Claw bounty hunters’ headquarters
After ending the call with Saxon, Boba had sat lower at his desk, irritation seething under his skin. He hadn’t been a part of defending the Hutts from Death Watch and those destructive Dathomirian Force-users, but he had heard about it extensively from Dengar, for days afterward. Latts had told him off more than once, tired of his griping. Embo was as antisocial as usual, if not more so. The latter two had spent more time away from Krayt’s Claw, Embo with his loyalty to Sugi’s Crew, and Latts off with that backstabbing Force-user Bossk had hired for the Quarzite job. Boba had never gotten her name, and just thinking about her ticked him off even more.
And now Bossk was insisting they work with Death Watch, those terrorist brutes who plagued Mandalorian Space like a cancer. Whatever money they had stolen from Sundari’s vaults couldn’t be worth the annoyance he’d suffer in their presence.
Just then, Bossk returned, pushing Aurra Sing into the dim light of their makeshift office. She had turned up on Tatooine around the same time he and Bossk set up Krayt’s Claw, but Boba had avoided working with her as much as possible. She was still ruffled from her stint in Oova IV’s prison, after her defeat by a Jedi more than a year ago. She shoved away from Bossk, crossing her arms tightly as she fumed.
“What’s this really about?” Boba asked, “and what’s Sing got to do with it?”
Bossk ignored him as he turned toward the disorganized stacks of flimsi piled on their neglected, malfunctioning holotable. “Did Saxon ssend over th’ detailss?”
Boba sighed, retrieving his holocomm and displaying the bounty contract they’d received just minutes ago. Sing scrutinized it as Boba and Bossk filled her in on what they knew of Death Watch’s schemes. Attached to the contract was a meager rundown of the situation on Mandalore. Vizsla was dead and former Prime Minister Almec was now the face of their takeover. The crime syndicate forces were still on their side, but considered untrustworthy. There was no mention of the Sith, but Boba doubted they weren’t still involved.
As for the contract itself, the full bounty would be awarded to them upon capture and delivery of the four cadets to Sundari, as well as the hefty bonus for killing Bo-Katan Kryze. Saxon had no stipulations for their compliance, just that they would be given travel clearance to Concordia, Mandalore’s moon, and supplied with any intel they had on the renegades’ whereabouts. It would be their job to set up the right crew, as well as acquiring transportation and weaponry. It wasn’t unusual conditions for a bounty hunt, but it would take a larger team, which meant reaching out to other syndicates or allies. Boba was not keen on trusting strangers to have his back, but he knew, on their own, Krayt’s Claw’s chances against trained and fully outfitted Mandalorian warriors would be slim.
Yet, Sing seemed just as interested as Bossk had, smirking as if she thought they’d forgotten her betrayal on Florrum.
Bossk turned toward him then, having given up looking through the files. “Where’ss Jango’s bookss?” he asked directly.
Boba raised an eyebrow skeptically, leaning forward to pull open the slightly busted bottom drawer of his desk, taking out a handful of books and pamphlets, aged and practically falling apart. Bossk spread them out on the desk, pulling out the weathered, blue and gray manifesto Jango once stole from a Kyr’tsad recruiter. Boba remembered his father showing it to him, before often throwing it against a wall, upset by the treachery of Vizsla’s schemes, or the distorted misrepresentations of his ancestral traditions. Boba hadn’t picked it up in years, having little care for the convoluted politics of a culture he hardly claimed as his own.
His father had tried to instill in him the honor of his heritage, while the Cuy’val dar had taught the earliest clones their fighting styles, and they picked it up twice as fast as he did. Even after the Cuy’val dar were suspended, he could never dispel the resentment he carried toward the clones. Even when his father insisted Boba was his legacy, he couldn’t help focusing on his shortcomings, especially after his father’s death, and even more so after he failed to take revenge on his Jedi killers.
Boba shook his head, breaking his reverie as he stood and braced his hands against the desk, while Bossk began to speak.
Bossk slammed down the Ba’jurne Kyr’stad Mando’ad pamphlet, pointing at it emphatically. “Before Pre Viszla led Death Watch, Tor Viszla wass their leader, and thiss bookk describess how he led th’ Death Watch to ssurvive in th’ shadowss – before Jango finally kkilled him, little more than twenty yearss ago.”
“We can assume then,” Sing continued, “that Pre Viszla followed in Tor’s footsteps, learning from his tactics and spreading the same lies he did.”
“Now, Saxon sayss Pre Vizsla’s dead, and we know that th’ Sith brought th’ Death Watch and th’ crime families together for their own purposes. That meanss change is coming, not only for Mandalorianss, but alsso for th’ criminal underworld. Jango would rather uss be prepared against any opposition, esspecially th’ enemies of his people.”
“Well, he’s not around anymore, is he?” Boba replied sarcastically.
Sing made a noncommittal sound, picking up the pamphlet and shuffling through its pages. “Jango may not be around, but it’s not a bad idea. By working with Saxon now, we can avoid trouble later, and use Death Watch’s resources to our advantage.”
Boba grit his teeth. “We do fine on our own. I want nothing to do with the Mandalore Sector. And last I checked, this is my syndicate.”
Bossk looked toward Boba pointedly. “We owe it to Jango, to do thiss in his sstead.”
It was a half-baked plan riddled with unknowns, but the both of them seemed adamant enough that Boba knew arguing would be pointless. He let out a sound of frustration, flopping back down in his seat. Sing grinned at his exasperation, and Boba wanted nothing more than to throw her back out on the sunsbeaten sands of the Dune Sea.
He deliberated over their odds. By his estimate, they’d be up against the Nite Owl renegades – making up a force of at least a dozen soldiers, even if he didn’t include the cadets. Which, considering the trouble he’d had with that bratty hostage girl on Quarzite, he really should. Besides that, who knew what other resources they might have, or if they wouldn’t rally other Mandalorian clans to their cause? Could they truly rival Death Watch exiles and get an upper hand on Saxon, all while securing four rebellious runaways?
Bossk seemed to pick up on his doubts. “Don’ be sso pessimistic, Boss.” He hissed with a grin towards Sing, “We know ssomeone all-too-willing to hunt down pessky Mandalorianss.”
Boba had grabbed his helmet and followed Bossk and Sing to the Mos Eisley Cantina, where their contact had agreed to meet with them. It seemed that they just happened to already be in a nearby system, but Boba suspected luck had nothing to do with it. He groaned inwardly as they stepped inside, faced by the rank smell of spilt spirits, smuggled death-sticks, and faint wafts of spice. As slave-girls danced and the kloo-band played, he pulled on his helmet and the bounty hunters made their way to a secluded alcove to await their anticipated allies.
Some time later, after a song or two had played and Sing’s blue-tinted drink had been refilled twice, Bossk got their attention with the words, “There they are.” The lead latecomer was a yellow Trandoshan male with brown mottling, who Boba might’ve met before, if he cared to remember all the ‘friends’ Bossk had introduced him to over the past months. He was followed by a towering red-scaled Trandoshan female, with striking yellow eyes and bold, black stripes down her face and arms; her mismatched, gold-painted armor was adorned with a varactyl’s vibrant, feathery mane, Wookiee braids, and a necklace of various tooth and claw trophies. Bossk waved them over and Sing drained the remainder of her drink with a smirk.
Bossk stood and grasped the arm of the yellow Trandoshan. “Ramy,” he hissed, almost brotherly, before turning back toward them. “Come meet our merry band of bounty hunterss.”
Ramy acknowledged them briefly, opting to stand beside Bossk while the other sat before them. “And thiss is Koukussa Varas,” Bossk continued, “She once had a reputation for hunting Mandalorianss. Castus introduced us yearss ago, on Vlemoth Port. Nowadayss she’s employed by th’ guild on Nar Shaddaa, to hunt down debtorss and bounty hunterss who don’ fulfill their contractss.”
Varas grinned widely, showcasing her razor-sharp teeth, and Boba scowled, knowing how inferior he looked next to Sing and the Trandoshans. All of them were ridiculously tall compared to his teenage human stature, not to mention their nonhuman characteristics. He was at least glad for his helmet, hiding his boyish features from the menacing reptilian.
“Varas,” Bossk continued his introductions, “We are of th’ Krayt’s Claw ssyndicate. You already know of Aurra, yess? But Boba there actss as our guild leader.”
She barely glanced over him. “Aurra Sing,” Varas hissed gleefully, “I wass beginning to thinkk I’d heard th’ lasst of you, what with th’ storiess Ohnaka’s pirates told.” Her voice was raspy and dissonant, making Boba wish his helm had a proper sonic nullifier.
“Not a chance,” Sing laughed, raising her drink as Ramy ordered another round.
Bossk enlightened the newcomers with a brief overview of Death Watch’s victories over the crime families and their invasion on Mandalore, then explained the details of the contract issued to them by Gar Saxon. Varas bristled with hunger in her eyes at Vizsla’s demise, and Ramy seemed excited at the prospect of hunting down four escaped cadets.
“Sso,” Bossk asked then, “what do you ssuppose?”
Varas gave a pleased hiss before she spoke. “I do appreciate th’ opportunity to lead ssuch a hunt. But first, I musst return to Nar Shaddaa to ssettle with my employerss.”
“Can’t you just comm them?” Boba snapped, his impatience festering. Sing gave him a disparaging glare, which he ignored.
Varas growled sharply, looking toward Bossk. “Th’ guild’ss personnel officerss don’ take kkindly to ssudden absences. Besidess, I thought you wanted my assistance.”
“It dependss. Do you have th’ resourcess?” he asked.
She nodded curtly. “They can be arranged, if we take th’ job.”
“We can sstop by Hutta,” Ramy chimed in, “to pickk up Smug and Krix.”
Bossk gave a throaty chuckle. “Where would we rendezvouss with your forcess?”
“Klatooine. I’ll ssend th’ coordinatess after we leave for Nal Hutta.” Her eyes glinted in the dim light as she measured Boba and Sing with her zealous gaze. “Sso,” she raised her hand between them, comprised of four clawed, curling digits, compared to Bossk and Ramy’s robust three, “do we have a deal?”
Boba held back a sound of disgust. Sing moved first, securing their agreement with her own pale, spindly fingered hand, while Varas grinned like the Tooka who’d caught the bulabird.
They left soon after, her impish delight still haunting the back of his mind.
Back at their headquarters as the first sun had set beyond the sands, while Bossk led the way inside, Boba stopped on the threshold, turning toward Sing as he threw down his helmet.
“What was that?” He snarled at her, “Who do you think you are, making deals for my syndicate?”
She rolled her eyes. “You hesitated, just like before.”
He scowled, his fists shaking at his sides. Bossk came up behind him then, having realized their absence. “Have Sing sign Saxon’s contract,” Boba ordered them, “As far as I’m concerned, this is your hunt, not mine.” He turned away, retreating inside before they could say anything more.
Boba was fed up, already dreading the innumerable ways this job could go wrong.
– –
19 BBY – Bilbousa Bazaar, Nal Hutta
Hutta was a noxious, scum-ridden swamp, aptly fitting for its namesake. Spacers and vagrants browsed Bilbousa Bazaar like scavenger-birds, with shifty eyes and sticky fingers, eager to nab some gear for a cheap deal, or have a drink among fellow scoundrels and miscreants at the saloon. Smug and Krix weren’t much different, but there were other reasons a curious, streetwise Twi’lek might seek their confidence.
Trysor Dwyn was a charmer, a gunslinger, and a pilot, all-in-one. She didn’t like bounty hunters and smugglers much, but she didn’t mind meddling in their businesses. So, she sat with Smug and Krix, letting them eye her enticing, freckled yellow skin, bared above her neck and down her arms, as well as her attractive figure, only just masked by her form-fitting street-clothes. While they ogled and drank, she asked them her questions, and gleaned more than they had intended to reveal.
As far as new information, she had learned they had a job with a fellow bounty hunting Trandoshan named Koukussa Varas, and it was sure to be a thrilling chase, not to mention the big payoff. Aside that, they’d be reuniting with Ramy and Bossk, and were animated at the prospect of a classic, space-faring Trandoshan hunt, assuredly with a comparable crew to match. If what they said was true, and Varas was as deadly as she surmised from their regard for her, then their information could be valuable to her Core World employers.
“So, what would the hunt entail?” she asked, toying with the last dregs of her raider-brewed spotchka. It wasn’t as palatable as the farmers’ blend, but the saloon’s owner seemed to favor its cheaper price.
Krix grinned sharply. “Varas’s crew is on Klatooine, and she’s ssure to hire more hunterss,” He admitted, turning toward Smug. “What wass Varas known for hunting, backk in th’ day?”
“Mandalorianss.” Smug proudly boasted, taking another swig of his drink.
Trysor looked up at him skeptically, her interest certainly piqued. With the gossip of Death Watch’s subjugation over the crime syndicates, and the speculation of an undisclosed usurper of power on Mandalore, it seemed that trouble was afoot for Mandalorian Space, and it would have rippling ramifications throughout the Outer Rim. This, along with intel from previous excursions during the past week or so, would add up to the complex picture that was the current state of the criminal underworld.
It was time she got back to her ship and updated her crewmates on the situation.
“Well, this was fun, boys,” she said, stretching as she stood, her bare midriff catching their gazes. “It’s too bad you’ll be so far off, but good luck with your hunt.”
“Oh, come on now,” Smug jeered, his wandering hand extended toward her. “One more drinkk–”
In a spur of the moment, a vibroshiv was struck down between them, puncturing the wooden table. The weapon was wielded by a muscular, sallow green-skinned Twi’lek, fashioned as a fellow bounty hunter and brandishing a threatening smile.
“These two bothering you, Dwyn?” he teased in his heavy Ryl accent.
“Not at all,” she placated him, throwing an apologetic gesture toward the wary bartender eyeing the slight damage to his furniture.
“Aw, come off it, Hyde,” Krix responded, humoring her colleague. “It’s not like she’s interessted in you anywayss.”
“What’s this I hear about a hunt?” Hyde asked, ignoring his jibe as Trysor twisted his shiv upward and fiddled with it absentmindedly.
“I ssuppose you could tag along to Klatooine,” Krix offered, “Varas may even allow you to join in on th’ hunt. And we could–”
“–put in a good word for you,” Smug followed, “That iss, if Trysor comess too.”
She laughed jovially, truly amused by their persistence. “I’ll consider it.” She turned toward Hyde with a crooked smile, handing back his vibroshiv. Then she wrapped her jangling scarf closer around her shoulders and tossed a few creds on the table for her bill. She waved at her scaly companions as Hyde led her away, and she suppressed the urge to hightail it back to the spaceport.
The Golden Wingmaw, an Anaxes Shipyards light freighter, had been supplied and outfitted, as per Republic Naval Intelligence regulations for a Covert Operations unit, such as theirs. Although Trysor was assigned as an acting field agent and stealth operative, she was also the ship’s usual pilot, and among its crew, she was the most knowledgeable of its specs and modifications.
She boarded the ship, Hyde heading to the workshop while she immediately went for the shared crew’s quarters in order to grab her dark longcoat – concealing the bare skin she had revealed for the purpose of peeling intel from those slippery-scaled and hard-headed Trandoshans. She fastened it tight around her, finally releasing the buried tension she had held behind a taunting smirk and her veiled scrutiny. She did enjoy her work – the mystery, the intrigue, the secrets – but she was always thankful to return to the solace of her ship, where no one hungered for her beauty or objectified her species and gender.
She took a steadying breath and left the bunk-room, trailing a gloved hand fondly over the curved metallic wall. The crews’ quarters weren’t far from the engines, the subtle hum of them thrumming up her legs as she walked. She could hear faint tinkering and accompanying droid-speak coming from the workshop, where her crewmates awaited her.
Captain Jaromir Coburn, as Special Agent in Charge for the CO unit, was not quite the formidable, seasoned soldier one might expect to lead RNI’s investigations in the Outer Rim. However, with his discipline and honesty, he had earned the crew’s loyalty, without any influence from his father, the veteran Admiral Barton Coburn, of the Galactic Republic Navy. Jaromir, by contrast, was barely in his thirties, Trysor guessed, his handsome, human face hinting at the carefree starfighter pilot he could have been, had he not inherited his father’s harsh demeanor. He stood just inside the entrance of the workshop, his arms crossed, and the crew’s faithful astromech whirring at his side.
JR-89 was a R4-series astromech droid that dutifully followed Capt. Coburn everywhere he went, thus warranting the affectionate nickname, “Junior”. The red and gold-plated droid had previously served aboard Adm. Coburn’s Venator-class Star Destroyer within the Open Circle Fleet, before the Admiral was reassigned under General Plo Koon’s command. Shortly thereafter, Junior was issued to Jaromir when he was promoted to the rank of SAC. Thus, the droid had been upgraded with transceiver and courier modifications to manage their advanced database of encrypted information.
Focused over the holotable was her adoptive human sister, Veda Nerys, psychoanalyst and handler for their so-called CO-Burn unit. They had first met during one of Veda’s rebellious excursions down into the shady lower levels of Coruscant, back when Trysor had been a street orphan, struggling to survive all on her own. As the Nerys family were well-known for supporting relief campaigns in the Republic Senate, they had subsequently adopted Trysor, but she had suspected their true purpose was to distract Veda from her reckless impulses. Nonetheless, they were inseparable, whether they were sneaking out on grand adventures or attending glamorous banquets and galas. Even though she had been expected to follow in her family’s footsteps, Veda had never cared for the encumbered, sluggish world of politics, and would not be convinced otherwise. Instead, when the Clone Wars broke out, the two sisters had enlisted in the RNI and were hastily trained for their respective fields in Covert Ops.
The last and most recent addition to their unit was Hideric Ertay, or ‘Hyde’, contracted as a hired gun to replace their former weapons specialist, and acting undercover as a bounty hunter at her behest. While serving in the Twi'lek Resistance, he’d learned a resourceful arsenal of strategic stealth tactics under General Cham Syndulla. When he decided to leave his homeworld and dedicate himself to the Republic, his skills and experience afforded him his position in their unit. Having only left Ryloth recently, he was unaccustomed to their fast-paced space-faring lifestyle, but he was pragmatic and adaptable, quickly learning his role and gaining the respect of their contacts. Although Trysor had been relieved to have another nonhuman on the team, their interactions outside undercover espionage had been stiff and precarious, her flighty, playful nonchalance opposing his no-nonsense professionalism.
“Welcome back,” Veda greeted her enthusiastically as she entered, Junior echoing the sentiment as he spun on his wheels. Trysor patted him as Veda pulled up their research, connecting her recordings with files on Varas and her Bounty Hunters’ Guild employers, as well as their growing array of information on the so-called “Shadow Collective”, comprised of Death Watch, Black Sun, the Pykes, and the Hutt families, and led by the outcast Sith, Maul and Savage Opress.
“How’s it lookin’?” Trysor asked, leaning against the holotable and sparing a glance at their enigmatic leader.
Capt. Coburn sighed, shaking his head. “It’s good work, but I don’t know if we have reason enough to follow-up on Death Watch’s activities.”
Hyde smacked a hand on the holotable. “Isn’t it enough we know the crime syndicates are making a move on the Mandalore Sector? If they’re invading on Mandalorian planets–”
“The Republic has no jurisdiction in Mandalorian Space without the involvement of the Separatists. Besides, we don’t even know if Varas and the other hunters have actually been hired to contend with Mandalorians. We can’t run the risk of intruding upon neutral territories, even just to confirm our suspicions.”
“But they’re still in Hutt Space, for the time being,” Veda added, “we could take up their offer– head to Klatooine and gather more information?”
Coburn pinched the bridge of his nose. “We’re already on thin ice with our inquiries to this alliance between the crime syndicates. If we impose on their feeble invitation and join in on this hunt, we may risk taking on more than we can handle alone.”
They went silent for the moment, stumped by their predicament.
Just then, Junior made an alarmed trill, catching their attention.
“Hang on,” said Veda, “I had Junior probing the holonet for outgoing transmissions from Mandalorian Space. We had almost missed this one, since it was encrypted and sent directly to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant–”
Junior began playing the holo-recording, displaying Duchess Satine on Mandalore:
“This is a message for Obi-Wan Kenobi. I’ve lost Mandalore. My people have been massacred, and Almec is now the Prime Minister. I can’t explain everything now, but Almec has the support of the crime families.
“Obi-Wan, I need your help.”
The recording ended as the Duchess was surrounded by former Death Watch soldiers, now sporting Maul’s colors.
“Kriff,” Trysor muttered, her lekku twitching with emotion.
“Well, there’s our proof,” Hyde said, his expression grim.
Capt. Coburn’s gaze narrowed, his stance rigid and restrained. “This changes nothing,” he whispered, “The Jedi will have given the message to the Senate, and they will be deciding whether or not to intervene. The higher ups would never approve of submitting our intel to sway the Senate’s decision.”
“As if they would care for our opinion anyway.” Trysor scoffed.
“So we take it to the Neutral Systems,” Hyde argued, “Surely they’d want to protect the Mandalore Sector.”
Coburn eyed him skeptically. “Again, this is outside our jurisdiction, and taking any action within the Neutral Systems would be a direct violation of our orders. What happens when the Republic discovers our interference?”
“We can’t just stand back and do nothing,” Trysor pleaded.
“It may be a longshot,” said Veda, “but we do have allies on neutral worlds. Taris would be our best bet, since it isn’t far from Mandalorian Space, and they’ve coordinated with both the Republic Senate and the New Mandalorians before.”
Coburn ran a hand over his face, nodding begrudgingly. “Very well. Draft a cover job for our activities and begin making the necessary arrangements.”
Junior chirruped cheerfully and Veda smiled affably at the droid. “Ha, between the two of us, it’ll almost be too easy, won’t it, Junior?”
Coburn chuckled darkly, seemingly unconvinced by their confidence. “I’ll look into current military campaigns along our route. In the meantime, I suppose we’ll make our way to Klatooine. Hyde, notify our Trandoshan friends that you intend to take up their offer. Trysor, prepare for departure and stay alert, we don’t need any surprises from the locals.”
She nodded, avoiding Hyde’s questioning glance as he followed her to the cockpit. He contacted Krix and Smug, while she relaxed into the pilot’s seat and started the computations for trajectory, occasionally looking upwards, as if she could see the stars beyond the foul, gas-stained atmosphere.
– –
Elsewhere on Hutta, Smug and Krix weren’t the only bounty hunters to hear of the impending, portentous rendezvous on Klatooine. However, this bounty hunter had no interest in joining the perilous misadventures of the rancorous and vile Koukussa Varas. The Twi’lek tapped her fingers on the bounty-board kiosk, considering what she was prepared to risk in following up on her suspicions. She closed the missive, moving on to public postings. Her right-side lek twitched in irritation, the offered jobs failing to meet her expectations. She sighed, skipping through until she glimpsed a familiar face among the wanted smugglers list. Andraste Zhan grinned, claiming the mark and leaving the kiosk, tucking the dispensed bounty puck into her pocket.
Andra then moved throughout the streets of Jiguuna, waving at slum orphans who recognized her. She had been like them once, born as a slave and hounded by the volatile nature of a demanding master. But several years ago, when the debt-ridden shopkeep had learned of a bounty for his head, he hoped to sell her off to the local Hutt crime lord as a ripe, young slave dancer, in order to earn his protection. Instead, she’d escaped her bonds, killed the bastard and collected on his bounty herself.
Now she was free, running bounties and taking odd jobs between Nal Hutta and Nar Shaddaa. Never standing still, boarding dingy shuttles at the meager, grimy spaceport, and peering at every passing vagrant, her other hand resting near the concealed blaster at her hip. She wasn’t any double-dealing scoundrel with a target on her back, nor had she yet earned a respected, formidable reputation either. But just because she was some sultry Twi’lek with sour, green-yellow skin and alluring blue eyes, didn’t mean she wouldn’t stand her ground. She was determined to prove her worth, and never be held back by the circumstances of her past.
She just had to keep moving, heedless of the incessant, gnawing bitterness that plagued her wherever she went.
Endnotes: Ramy, Krix, and Smug were from episodes “Padawan Lost” and “Wookie Hunt” and were briefly seen in “Friends and Enemies.” 
If you’ve read my fanfic “Jedi Scholar”, then you’ll recognize Veda from the Maiden’s Sanctuary. There’s some more information about her in my “Original Characters” at https://archiveofourown.org/works/30579254/chapters/75763145.
As with previous chapters, original characters from this chapter will also be posted there.
13 notes · View notes
lovelylogans · 3 years
Text
the warmest hello (to the coldest goodbye)
once a spy, always a spy forever, forever the warmest hello to the coldest goodbye remember, remember -spies are forever, the tin can bros
warnings: undercover spy work, mention of weapons, drugging someone into unconsciousness/giving someone a roofie, essentially the start of an enemies to lovers fanfiction
pairings: virgil/logan, offscreen roman/patton
words: 4,465
notes: this is for day 7 of @analogicalweek! the prompt of the day is “free day” and i have decided to write a combination soulmates and rival spies au! please enjoy!
Not that Virgil would admit it, but, like literally every other marked person, he's tried to imagine how he might meet his soulmate. He just didn't ever spare any thought on what he'd do if it happened on the job.
His official cover to his friends (which was mostly his cousin Roman and Roman’s husband Patton) was that he was an analyst—he was always vague about what exactly it was he analyzed, but since neither of them were particularly mathematically inclined, and both were maybe a bit too trusting for their own good, they took him at his word.
Even when he was sent off on various unusual "business trips.”
It’s not like Virgil’s mark is very specific about when and where it’ll happen. Virgil knows that variations of "sorry about that” make for a large percentage of common soulmarks. 
There’s protocols in place, of course, but Virgil had never really paid attention to those classes while training to be a spy. The Lewis clause is the kind of thing Virgil didn’t pay as much attention to, because it didn’t seem as useful as understanding the technology or how to make a cover. The Lewis clause is what to do when someone meets a soulmate on the job—there are specifications for if the soulmate is a target, a team member, or an enemy.
Virgil hadn’t really cared at the time. He’d kick himself for that later.
Any number of meetings occurred accidentally—knocking something over, bumping into someone, or, like his cousin Roman's soulmate did, take Roman's coffee thinking it was his own hot chocolate. They got married two winters ago, just so they could serve hot beverages in cold weather.
He thinks the iteration stamped in black along his left inner arm, "I'm very sorry about this," with the addition of "oh no, it's you” tacked on at the end of his makes it likely that whatever he says will, A, likely be first, B, be somewhat unique, or unique enough to be immediately recognizable, and C, be in the aftermath of some kind of accident.
He ends up being partially right. What he says is first and it is somewhat unique. What his soulmate apologizes for is no accident, though.
Virgil does undercover work, sure, but it's very rare for him to enter the James Bond style locale he's at today, and that he’s been working for the past couple months; the marble ballroom he's circling is dripping with gold chandeliers and matching heavy, velvet curtains that accent the floor-to-ceiling windows. There’s a string quartet in the corner, barely audible over the chatter of rich socialites. Virgil, deeply uncomfortable in his white-tie attire, is circling the room in an attempt at looking like he attends charity balls all the time.
He sucks at it.
As if on cue, his earpiece crackles to life.
"How the fuck did you ever qualify to be a spy?" Janus, his tech man and eye in the sky, snickers into his ear. "Your acting skills are horrendous. If you auditioned for The Room right now, they wouldn't let you into the cast.”
"Fuck off,” Virgil fake-coughs into his shoulder.
"Christ, at least try to look like you're mingling, not like you've stalked the target here."
Unable to stop himself, he glances toward the target he's meant to be watching.
The target, who is so staggeringly wealthy it could make Virgil, who is trying to pay off his student debt on a spy's salary (not as high as one might think) burst into tears. Or, much more likely, start ranting about the myriad flaws of capitalism. If so inclined, he could honestly probably steal the amount of money necessary from one of her offshore accounts, and it would be as unnoticeable as someone taking a penny from him.
Mary Lee Truman is standing amidst a flock of suited men, like a dove amidst a flock of dour crows; her dress is slinky silk, a shade of champagne that glimmers rose-gold in the right shade of light. She’s standing leaned to one side, her hip popped out and an arm crossed over her stomach, a crystal-cut champagne flute dangling in her fingers as if she was born to hold one.
Her husband, Lee Truman (fuck if that wasn’t confusing, it was really easier to think of them by their codenames) is off by the bar, seemingly getting himself another drink. 
His eyes stray to Mary Lee again; he can tell a couple of the suits are hired muscle, bodyguards, which makes sense, as the Trumans are allegedly a massive crime family, doing their dirty dealings in plain sight. A couple of the suits he recognizes from dossiers; one is a business partner of Lee’s father, who might not even know what the Truman family really gets up to; one absolutely knows what the Truman family gets up to, as Virgil’s read his rap sheet and knows he’s been in and out of jail due to his assignments from the mob.
There’s one suit there that really doesn’t seem to fit the mold of either category.
For one thing, he’s around Virgil’s age; for another, he isn’t rippling with muscle. Not that he doesn’t look fit; his well-tailored suit shows off his broad shoulders, his biceps, his lean waist. He’s dark-haired, and pale, and blue-eyed, and he’s standing next to Mary Lee with a look that Virgil would think of as dour, but now that he’s looking closely, the blue-eyed man looks almost... calculating.
This man wasn’t in the dossier.
Almost everyone at this ball was in the dossier.
Virgil looks away from Mary Lee and the handsome man, and instead decides to start taking up Janus’ advice; he slowly moves through the room.
Well. He's doing it to get closer to Mary Lee, but sure, he can attempt to mingle.
He traverses through the room, his fancy shoes clicking on the marble floor, mindful to not step on any dress hems—he has it easy, as his directive was simply to wear his white tie with his hidden weapons, his ear piece, and his lapel pin that records everything he's seeing. The women in the room provide the only splashes of color outside of the black suits and white shirts of the men, the gleaming marble, the gold- accented glasses and dishware. Even what little art he's seen follows that color theme -- white marble busts, abstract black and white paintings in their gilded frames, a gold statue outside the front steps, as if to greet the partygoers.
But the women of the party aren't beholden to this strict color scheme. Gowns of pink chiffon, red lace, blue taffeta, deep violet velvet, Virgil passes them all, keeping one eye out for rose gold silk.
He ends up instituting himself in a ring of people listening intently to an art history professor talking about the architectural significance of his building—he introduces himself with his cover name, James Walker, to the man next to him, who Virgil already knows is a Truman cousin. He gives a fake first name too—he says his name is Alex, when Virgil knows it’s really Bruce. Okay. Something to take note of.
He listens to the art history professor talk about art deco with just one ear, the other straining to eavesdrop on Mary Lee and her suits.
“Do you think our beneficiary approaches?” Mary Lee murmurs to the blue-eyed one, the one that wasn’t in the dossier.
“Oh, I know he does,” the blue-eyed man says to her. He has a pleasant British accent, the kind of voice that would be right at home on a nature documentary calmly narrating the eating habits of wolverines, or something like that. “According to all my research, our previous beneficiary is no longer within our purview. A new one will have been instilled in hasty time. As a matter of fact, I believe I would be able to point him out to you right now.”
Mary Lee sighs, a little, and the man continues talking about their charity. Virgil’s mind races. He knows the Truman’s “charity work” almost always acts as a sieve to run dirty money through, so what would it mean, that they got a new beneficiary? A new target, maybe? A new directive?
Either way, this is almost definitely some kind of code they’re talking in. He tunes a bit more into the art history professor’s impromptu lecture—he’s taking a brief tangent into talking about Tamara de Lempicka—as he ruminates on that particular conversation between the blue-eyed Brit and Mary Lee.
Then he ends up in conversation with an elderly woman beside him, who wants to know who he is—James Walker, I run a business a state or two over, I’m interested in diversifying my assets—and if he’s been to any art museums in town. Both he and the man he is meant to be have not, but it turns out she’s a curator and has numerous suggestions for him.
He also knows this woman, Ida Kelly, has been paying into the Truman business for quite some time, and has potentially ordered hits using the Truman’s muscle.
“Madam,” a suited waiter shows up at her side, as if on cue, and hands her a small glass full of what looks like a gin-and-tonic.
“Oh, yes, thank you,” she says, taking her drink immediately.
The waiter turns to him. There is a singular champagne flute on the tray. “Sir.”
“I didn’t order anything,” Virgil says stupidly, before he realizes that almost everyone here is taking champagne flutes off of trays, and he supposes this waiter just wants to clear his before he has to double back and get more. “Oh, all right.”
He takes it. It’s a delicate, crystal-cut glass. He’s almost a little afraid that if he holds it wrong, it’ll break.
“Really, we’re doing an Impressionism exhibit, and it is positively divine,” she says.
Very suddenly, there’s a hand on his shoulder, emanating warmth through his suit and Virgil jumps, a little—he hopes whoever it is didn’t feel one his knives. Or, God forbid, his gun.
He turns to see no one, when a hand touches his opposite arm, and he turns again. It turns out to be the blue-eyed Brit, who is staring only at Ida, brushing past him, allowing his hand to trail down Virgil’s arm, touching his hand as if to say, please stay there, I do not want to bump into you.
At such a close range, Virgil can smell his absolutely incredible cologne, see his defined jawline, the way his blue eyes gleam.
Ida brightens. “Darling!”
“Ida,” the Brit says warmly. “I visited that display myself, it was simply wonderful.”
“Oh, you’re too kind,” she says, clearly drinking up the praise. Virgil looks between them, feeling even more awkward than he has all night.
“Wait a goddamned minute,” Janus murmurs in his ear, after such a long stretch of silence that it makes Virgil jump again. There’s the sound of rapid typing.
“A victory!” The man says, lifting his glass—it looks to be full of whiskey. “A toast, to your latest triumph.”
“Oh, now,” she says, but when the other surrounding suits start lifting their glasses, Virgil lifts his, as well.
“To Ida Kelly,” the Brit says. “One of the finest artistic minds to walk the earth at our time!”
Virgil takes a sip of his champagne at the same time as everyone else; another woman in a deep green gown with a shawl edged in feathers takes Ida’s arm, rhapsodizing about the Impressionism movement and the latest event that her art gallery had put on.
It takes about a minute for Virgil to notice his vision going blurry in the corners.
It takes him about ten seconds of blinking hard and rubbing his eyes, hoping to clear it, to stumble over his own two feet.
It takes five seconds for Janus’ voice to buzz to life in his earpiece, urgent, “Virgil, get out of there, get away from that man, that’s Lo—”
It takes him about two seconds after that to notice that the blue-eyed Brit is looking at him with an expression clearly lacking remorse.
It takes him about half a second to realize the finger tapping one shoulder, his hand at his hand—the same hand that had been holding his champagne flute. He hadn’t been looking at his drink. The Brit had made him turn away from his drink.
The Brit put something in his drink.
Virgil’s been made.
“Good God, man,” another suited man says, when Virgil stumbles over his own two feet, “had enough of the bubbly, have you?”
Virgil ignores him; even as his vision is growing blurrier and blurrier, his eyes are intent on the Brit, staggering towards him, and he doesn’t even really know why. He’s been made, he should be running, but—
"Did you just fucking poison me, you fucking asshole?" Virgil slurs, and his sudden lack of physical control resoundingly answers the question before the Brit can; the arms that catch him before he can full flat on his face are muscular and warm. He’s distantly aware of the crystal-cut grass slipping from his hand and shattering on the marble.
The warm, muscular arms are more pressing than that. And, for a dirty rotten criminal who has probably killed people, the man is quite handsome. His bespectacled face swims in Virgil's vision.
"'I'm very sorry about this," he says smoothly, before his eyes widen in alarm. "Oh no.”
As Virgil is on the verge of unconsciousness, he hears, "It's you."
His last three thoughts before he slips under: did he just fucking say what he thought he said, then, good God his eyes are so blue, then, fuck, I should have paid way more attention to the Lewis clause.
Virgil is aware of three things as he wakes up: one, he feels like he has a dreadful hangover. Two, he’s pretty sure he’s in a plane or train or car or something moving, which makes him feel motion sick.
Three, he’s been stripped of his earpiece and his weapons.
He blinks his eyes open slowly, squinting; it’s night time, but even the low light is making Virgil’s eyes hurt.
This is a limousine, he can tell that much off the bat; the partition is closed, the glass tinted as dark as it legally can be, the interior leather light-colored, the bar fully stocked with different sodas and crystal-cut decanters full of various liquors, which makes him wince in memory of the champagne.
He feels like shit, but when he looks over and sees the blue-eyed Brit—his soulmate—his soulmate who had fucking drugged him and was working with the mob—it makes him feel even shittier.
“Ah,” his soulmate says. He’s sitting with one ankle resting on his knee, a squat glass of whiskey in hand. He has glasses on now that he hadn’t had on before. Also, his accent is no longer British; he’s got a nice Italian lilt to his voice, now. “Good. You’re awake.”
Virgil stares at him. He doesn’t say a word.
“I’ll admit this,” he gestures between them, “rather put a cinch in my plan on how to deal with you.”
“Would you have killed me?” Virgil asks. His voice comes out a croak. “If we weren’t...”
He trails off.
The man’s eyebrow arches, before he shrugs, and rolls up his sleeve. His soulmark is in the same place as Virgil’s—stamped across his left inner arm, in the spiky handwriting Virgil only uses in his personal notes, not the more uniform one he writes reports with.
Did you just fucking poison me, you fucking asshole?!
Undeniably a matching soulmark to his.
“My parents were quite bemused by it, when it showed up,” the Brit—or American?—the blue-eyed—his soulmate says. “I suppose we have our answers now.”
“Do we?” he says. 
The man takes a sip of whiskey. Then, he says, “Your predecessor was FBI. Are you the same?”
Virgil tenses. The man rolls his eyes again.
“Please,” he murmurs. “For an organization meant to be secretive, your lot are quite obvious when you trade moles in and out. One comes in, goes out, and coincidentally someone new is knocking on the door within the week. It’s absurdly simple to pinpoint who’s reporting back to your government. So. FBI, CIA, military...?”
“Who gives a fuck,” Virgil says.
“One should know what one’s soulmate does for a living, shouldn’t they?” he says. “This is a very unique situation. I’m simply trying to find out—”
“What do you do for a living, then?” Virgil snarls. His head is pounding, his mouth is dry and it tastes dreadful, his soulmate is an asshole working for the other side, and he’s being carted off to God knows where. This day is one of the worst of his life. Why couldn’t he have had a nice little café meet-cute, like Roman had had?
The man smiles at him, not particularly kindly. “I diversify.”
Virgil pulls a face, because he knows that’s poking fun at his cover.
“What,” Virgil says, “poison people on Monday, go to Ida Kelly’s resort on Tuesday, with a fun little Friday jaunt of killing people who cross the Trumans?”
“I’ve never actually been to the museum Ida Kelly curates,” the man admits. “It was an easy way to insert myself near you, to put it in your drink. And for goodness’ sake, it wasn’t poison.”
“Roofie. Drug. Whatever.”
The man’s eyebrows pull together, in a rather petulant expression. “I designed that myself, you know.”
“Well, it’s shit,” Virgil snaps. “I feel like I have the worst hangover of my goddamn life.”
“Yes, that was part of the design,” the man says, and offers him a glass of water.
Virgil stares at him. “Seriously.”
“No trust between soulmates?” He says.
“Yeah, well. Fool me once.”
The man shrugs, putting down the glass of water into a cupholder, before digging out a sealed water bottle. Virgil takes it and places it into a cupholder near him. No fucking way he’s accepting any food or drink from this man.
His lips quirk up into a smile.
“Where are you taking me?” Virgil says, ignoring the way that smile makes his heart pound.
“That rather depends,” he admits. 
“On?”
“Well.” He says. He uncrosses his legs, planting both feet on the floor. “I’m assuming that now the man in your little earpiece—he was rather rude—is aware that you have been, what is it you say? Made?”
Virgil nods.
“Well. Now that he, and therefore your employer, knows that you are made, you won’t be poking your nose into Truman business anymore, will you?”
Virgil grits his teeth. “Not undercover.”
The man ignores that. “And I know that no matter which you work for, the Lewis clause has been adopted across every arm of that government, and as such you’ll be prohibited from any mission that might bring you into contact with me.”
God damn it. How does he know the spy lessons better than Virgil does?
And then it occurs to him: Janus knew that man. He warned Virgil to get away from him, to get away from Lo—
He rolls this information around in his head. The Lewis clause isn’t exactly a widely advertised part of being a spy; there was a whole trilogy of novels that got adapted into secret agent movies, years ago, that concerned opposing agent spies coming to face each other again and again, and the secondary soulmate agents teamed up together. Which the Lewis clause would prevent, but the public who went and read those novels or saw those movies wouldn’t know that. 
So either this man—Lo? Lo what?—either knows a lot about spies, because he’s one of those know your enemy types, or...
Or he sat down and learned about the Lewis clause the same way that Virgil did, except he actually sat down and listened. Maybe he defected, maybe he’s dirty? Or maybe Virgil’s just overthinking it.
Look. Virgil’s got a lot of questions here. Chief among which:
“Where are you taking me?”
“Away,” the man says vaguely, looking at him. “Are you gay?”
Virgil gapes at him.
“I’d be perfectly fine with a platonic soulmate, but for the sake of disclosure, I am gay.”
“For the sake of disclosure,” Virgil repeats disbelievingly, and pinches the bridge of her nose, rubbing it. God, his head hurts terribly. 
“Bisexual, or pansexual, perhaps?” He prompts. “Asexual? Or... you could be straight, I suppose.”
“Ugh,” Virgil says reflexively, then shakes himself. “I’m not—okay. Fine. Yeah, I’m gay too.”
“All right,” the man says, as if noting it. “What’s your name?”
Virgil snorts.
“What?”
“Okay, I don’t—” he gestures to the limousine around them. “Again, you just drugged me. I don’t know where you’re taking me. You probably would have killed me if I hadn’t said those words.”
The man makes a moue of distaste.
“Or had someone kill me, I don’t know,” Virgil amends. “Either way, you’re working with that family, who I’m assuming aren’t pleased at having a spy getting caught trying to work himself into your ranks, so I’d rather you not know all that much about my life, thanks.”
“It’s not like I’m asking for your,” an infinitesimal pause, as if he’s wracking his brain, trying to remember something, “social security number or anything. A name.”
Virgil stares at this man. Lo—. Lo something. Lochlan? Loyd? Or was it a codename?
“Yours first.”
The man pauses.
“You drugged me,” Virgil says.
He smiles at Virgil. “Will you hold this over my head for the rest of our lives?”
The rest of our lives. Yes, that’s meant to be the fairytale ending for soulmates, isn’t it? A nice little meeting, the swell of overdramatic violins in the background, falling into each other’s arms and forming a life together. That’s the popular answer.
More and more recently, though, people have been advocating for choice; that soulmates are not always the best person for you.
Virgil doesn’t know which camp he and this man will fall into, just now.
“Yes,” Virgil says quietly. “Yes, I think I will.” 
The man sets aside his whiskey.
“Logan.” He says at last, and his accent has changed again; it’s vague, almost indecipherable, but if Virgil had to guess he’d say Midwestern American. Virgil wonders if it’s his real one. “My name is Logan.”
Logan.
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
“Since discovering you’re my soulmate? I haven’t lied to you at all. Not a word.”
“Except for the accent.”
Logan laughs.
“Habit, sorry. It’s a long story that perhaps the man screaming in your earpiece will be able to tell you one day.”
Virgil jolts with surprise. “You know—?”
He cuts himself off before he can say Janus’ name.
“Reputationally,” Logan says, and, as strange as it is, Virgil believes him. In this, at least.
His soulmate’s name is Logan.
“Virgil.”
Logan smiles, his blue eyes glittering. “It’s nice to meet you, Virgil.”
There’s the sound of a soft knock on the partition, and it lowers; Virgil can’t see the driver.
“Sir? We’re here.”
“Right,” Logan murmurs, shaking himself. He reaches into his jacket and withdraws an envelope, offering it for Virgil.
Virgil hesitates.
Logan rolls his eyes. “It’s not like I’ve laced it with anything. I’m holding it with my bare hands.”
Virgil huffs, but he takes it, opening it and pulling out a thin piece of paper.
It’s a commercial flight ticket to Washington, D.C.
“Why D.C.?” Virgil says quietly.
“Most of those organizations are based there,” Logan says. “Is it too far a jump to assume that you are, as well?”
It is actually too far a jump; it’s not even remotely close, he lives in an entirely different part of the states. But. To be fully honest, he doesn’t want Logan to know the state he lives in, and therefore the state that Patton and Roman live in, until Virgil knows if he can be trusted or not.
Logan opens the limousine door from inside, revealing they’ve pulled up to the local airport.
“What, no private plane?”
“I assumed you wouldn’t trust that,” Logan says with a shrug. “The Trumans may be powerful, but you know as well as I that manipulating a flight of this nature is well outside their purview.”
Logan’s right, he absolutely wouldn’t have trusted that, but. This limo’s pretty swanky. For the time he wouldn’t have been obsessively running over every crack and seam in a private jet and interrogating the pilot, he probably would have had a pretty swell time.
Virgil swallows, looking up at Logan. “There are programs, you know? If you wanted to be a witness. Be in service to—”
Logan smiles at him in a way that’s almost pitying. “I left that life behind a long time ago.”
Virgil looks to the airport, then back at Logan.
“Will I see you again?”
Logan shrugs again, almost delicately. “Who’s to say?”
Virgil nods, once, and he says firmly, “I’ll see you later.”
Logan grins at him. “Not if I see you first.”
Virgil slips out of the limo, slams the door shut, and, with what feels like Herculean effort, manages to get into the airport without looking back to see if he can see Logan through the tinted glass.
He does exchange the ticket for another that’s an hour and a half later, though. He’s not a total idiot.
He gets through security pretty quick, and sits in one of the incredibly uncomfortable chairs, his brain pounding with his headache, the questions swirling around in his head making it even worse. Virgil puts his head in his hands.
He just met his soulmate.
His soulmate is working for a mob family.
He just met his soulmate.
His soulmate is apparently smart enough to specifically engineer a roofie.
His soulmate, though!
Janus knows his soulmate. Janus recognized his soulmate.
His soulmate knew about the fucking Lewis clause.
Was his soulmate a spy too? Was his soulmate in deep cover? Had he betrayed his organization? Was he a good person, or had the universe seen fit to hitch Virgil to someone awful?
How had Logan gotten entangled with the Trumans in the first place? Why wasn’t he in the dossier? 
Where was Logan even from? Did he like coffee? Hot chocolate? What had he studied in school? What was his favorite food? If they were normal people, would he have asked him on a date and not drugged him and dragged him off in a limo? 
Who was Logan?
Whatever the answers to his questions are, though. Virgil knows himself enough to know that he isn’t about to let this case go. Not the Trumans. Not him.
Lewis clause be damned.
79 notes · View notes
chnqin · 3 years
Text
Guess who wrote 1,500 words of a Star Trek AU I don’t know if I’ll ever write any more of °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°
info: AU, pre-wangxian, rated T, minor character death
Here is a link to the masterpost of sorts explaining the AU, the character backgrounds and everyone’s position on the ship.
Chief Engineer’s Log: Stardate 1704.2 A Bad Beginning
As away missions go, the Shuoyue had seen worse. Once. One time was worse. And it was only half Wei Wuxian’s fault.
This time wasn’t any percentage his fault, so honestly in the grand scheme of things he was counting this as a win. Only one person was dead and literally nobody was sad about it. Not even his son! Wait, both his sons? Either of his sons? Jin Zixun might have been upset, but he didn’t have a soul so he didn’t count. The point was that no one was sad and the surprise murder was only a problem because it was causing a minor diplomatic incident involving four separate interstellar organisations and factions, and the fact that their Second Officer was currently being accused of the murder in question.  
It had all started when the Shuoyue had been asked to ferry a group of diplomats to an important peace talk occurring between the Federation and a new planet. It was important because the first Starfleet team to make contact had completely ballsed the whole thing up, and the denizens of the planet - the Xua-Nwu, a semi-aquatic species with sophisticated technology and a warrior society - had not taken well to the Federation’s overtures of friendship. Why anyone would send Jin Guangshan as a representative of the merits of the Federation and the human species in general Wei Wuxian was uncertain. It seemed to him that he and his slimy team were only likely to exacerbate the situation, but Wei Wuxian was not in any circumstances to be placed on a diplomatic team for any mission (that was left solely up to the Captain, Meng Yao, and his own beautiful and talented sister Jiang Yanli), so he supposed there must be something they knew that he didn’t. Perhaps the Xua-Nwu valued backstabbing and being a generally terrible person.
What did, unfortunately, concern him was the ferrying to and fro of the diplomatic team on what was supposed to be his day off. Normally Wei Wuxian left operations such as the transporter to his second in command or one of his many competent underlings. However, as the diplomatic group was filled with fancy peacocks in their flouncy feathery diplomat garb and their delicate terror of all things involving space travel, Wei Wuxian was required to be the one to personally beam them down to the planet (because god forbid one of his baby juniors got their dirty little hands on the apparatus they worked with on a daily basis and accidentally caused the first case of splinching-via-transporter to ever have occurred). As a rule, Wei Wuxian wanted to spend as little time in a room with Jin Guangshan as physically possible. But then, his second in command was a woman and he wasn’t going to subject her to the awful man, so he had little choice but to show up to the transporter and try to block out the oily quality that oozed from the man’s mind like puss from an boil. Ah, the joys of being psionic.
As Wei Wuxian was also expected to beam the landing team back from the planet, he stayed in the transporter room, terrorising his minions by pulling out the wiring on the consoles and trying to “break it, sir, you are trying to break it” improve the functionality of the thing. Eventually Lan Wangji turned up and towed him away by the arm, no doubt alerted by one of Wei Wuxian’s traitorous underlings. They always told the First Officer on him, knowing that he, Jiang Yanli, and Wen Qing were the only ones who could get Wei Wuxian to stop when he was in the middle of something (the crew never bothered Jiang Yanli because they liked her too much, and they never bothered Wen Qing because you went to the Chief Medical Officer if you were injured or dying and for no other reason - she was a doctor, dammit, not a babysitter). Jiang Cheng could also get him to stop, but not voluntarily, and usually while resorting to violence. After the third time one of them had shoved the other in a Jeffries tube and blocked the entrance, the crew was banned from asking either of them to involve the other in anything. 
Anyway, the point was that Wei Wuxian was very busy and so had absolutely no idea what was occurring on the planet until the ship was put under a yellow alert and he was asked to beam the landing party up as quickly as was physically possible (which, Wei Wuxian would like to point out, could have been considerably faster had he been allowed to finish tinkering with the control panel).
The group which had arrived back bore little resemblance to the well-dressed and put together team which had left not three hours previous. The most notable difference was Jin Guangshan, who had been alive upon departure and who was now dead.
“Oh no.” said Wei Wuxian in a very convincing tone of concern. “Whatever could have happened?” “Not now, Wei Wuxian.” snapped Jiang Cheng, who for some reason had been included on this mission, as he helped Jiang Yanli support a clearly shaken Jin Zixuan out of the room. “Such a tragedy.” Wei Wuxian said sadly, shaking his head, and could have sworn he heard a quiet snort from his left, but when he turned to the First Officer beside him, Lan Wangji’s face was as expressionless as ever. “I have prepared the briefing room as you asked, Captain.” he said in that unmodulated tone of his.  “Thank you, Wangji.” said Lan Xichen with a strained smile. “Let us proceed there immediately.”
It had been decided, Lan Xichen explained, that the away crew would beam back up to the ship along with the surviving diplomats for the time being as a matter of safety and precaution. Meng Yao, Lan Xichen had insisted, was a valued member of their crew, and would be questioned, but not held without any evidence. Meng Yao himself seemed remarkably unbothered by the whole situation, but in that way which meant you were merely holding the threads of your being together until you could arrive at a solitary location and completely lose your shit in peace. Wei Wuxian could tell, because the waves Meng Yao’s mind were pushing out were not his normal calm ripples. Meng Yao was another one of those few people Wei Wuxian actively found hard to read (which was, honestly, a bit of a blessing - even if he found it difficult to connect with the man as a result, at least he got some peace). He thought Meng Yao might spend a lot of time actively shielding his mind from psionic interference - it seemed like the kind of thing the paranoid bastard would do, but it might also have something to do with his mixed Human and Orion heritage. Just now, however, Wei Wuxian could tell that he was genuinely perturbed by the situation, despite what his calm mask indicated to the rest of the world.
When they arrived at the briefing room the rest of the away team had already assembled, along with the other heads of departments excluding Wen Qing, who Wei Wuxian knew would have gone to see to any potential injuries amongst the diplomats. Lan Xichen first ushered Meng Yao into the small auxiliary room used by the Captain for discussions which were better not heard by multiple ears, and Lan Wangji followed. As neither seemed to notice (or have a problem with) Wei Wuxian following them, he decided to take that as a tacit invitation to be present for the conversation. And what an enjoyable conversation to witness it was, where Lan Xichen had to sit Meng Yao down and be like “Did you murder your father”, to which Meng Yao replied “No, I would never jeopardise my position at Starfleet by murdering my father, he’s not worth it”, which was not quite the “No, I’d never murder someone in cold blood or generally hold designs of patricide” Lan Xichen was looking for. But then he did have a surprisingly pacifist and optimistic outlook on life, particularly considering he was raised by the same man who helped form Lan Wangji - pacifist and optimistic were not words one would use to describe the First Officer.
However, it was enough to look into other avenues. There were, after all, plenty of people who had wanted Jin Guangshan dead, and as far as Wei Wuxian could tell Meng Yao wasn’t lying. Lying, or even bending the truth, often produced a very specific mind-taste which was rather unpleasant. Another reason to be glad Jin Guangshan was no longer among them, considering the frequency with which the man did it. 
The four officers joined those waiting in the briefing room to hear a full account of the events. Many of the assembled crew members seemed energised or on edge or both. Nie Huaisang seemed particularly concerned, although what Wei Wuxian was sensing from him was more low-level enjoyment of the chaos. Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, had just wanted a prolonged 12 hour nap on what should have been his day off. The briefing went on for a full two hours before they broke up to attend to other tasks arising from the situation - luckily for Wei Wuxian, this did not involve anything to do with smoothing the ruffled feathers of the diplomatic party.
By the time the day ended, Wei Wuxian was firmly of the opinion that he really should have just hid in a Jeffries tube till the ostentation of Jins had left. Maybe he could go goad Jiang Cheng...
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bubblytarts · 3 years
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The Adults of the Emissary AU
Because of course our protagonists can’t take on all these bad guys by themselves! There are lots of grown-ups who TOTALLY know what they’re doing, haha! (Which, of course, is a lie. They have no idea what’s going on either!)
And there’s also the bad guys here that play important parts, because they’re here too, and some play some very interesting roles.
*Also disclaimer that there is some shipping. 
HAHA AND THE THEME OF THIS GOING UNDER THE CUT BECAUSE IT’S WAY TOO LONG CONTINUES
Giovanni - As if he wouldn’t be included. After being defeated by Blue and then completely decimated by Red, Giovanni disappeared. But not to hide, but to gather his new forces. He would love for Silver to join him, but his son wants nothing to do with him. Giovanni is not someone to empathize with. He is cold, calculating, and willing to do terrible things to get his power and revenge. 
Lance - Lance is an interesting case, but a crucial one. Lance is normally very calm with an intense edge, but recently that’s changed. He’s been having nightmares about a little girl, who warns him of terrible things yet to come. This has been going on for a while, and Lance is getting a little desperate as to what it all means. 
Steven - As the Champion of the Hoenn region, Steven wants to do what’s best for both people and pokemon. He convinces Brendan to feel the same once he realizes that Brendan might defeat him in a challenge. However, his father and the pokemon league may not agree with some of Steven’s environmentalist methods, as the league is pushing for a more industrial approach. It makes the confrontation with Teams Magma and Aqua more intense for Steven, who agrees with their end goals, but not the means of going about it. 
Wallace - Wallace is the Sootopolis gym leader, a contest idol, the guardian of the Cave of Origin, and Steven’s loyal husband. Wallace is much more laid-back than Steven, and so is helpful in calming Steven, Brendan, and May down when they all get hyped up about something. Wallace also is an incredibly skilled trainer, and fights both Archie and Maxie at the same time, defeating Maxie before Archie slips away. 
Archie - Archie’s motivation is the same as it always has been. However, he would very much like to be friends with Maxie again, as it seemed like their friendship was developing into something more before they split into Magma and Aqua. But now, Kyogre is all that matters. Beat Maxie. Increase the sea. Those are the only rules. But there should have been an extra rule about making sure to not touch the Blue Orb, because that’s where the real problem is.
Maxie - Maxie’s motivation is the same as it always has been. While he wants to talk to Archie about their past, his pride won’t let him, and if that fails, Tabitha definitely won’t let him. In the meantime, summon Groudon. When Maxie is defeated by Wallace at the Cave of Origin, Archie surges ahead to summon Kyogre. While Maxie is able to summon Groudon to fight Kyogre, he has much bigger problems with Archie’s situation. And then of course, is when Giovanni makes his entrance.
Cynthia - Cynthia is a bit scatterbrained and tends to ramble on, but she knows that something is amiss. It’s pure luck that Dawn, Barry, and Lucas figure out Team Galactic’s plans before her, but she’s always right there to make sure the kids never get in over their heads. As for the leader of Team Galactic, she never thought she’d see him again, and as soon as she stops Giratina, she’s having a very stern talk about how you don’t abandon friends. Unfortunately, Cynthia doesn’t really get to have that talk. 
Cyrus - Cyrus’s motivation has always been the same. To get rid of spirit. Dawn and Cynthia just keep interrupting his plans and trying to talk to him about feelings and happiness. Getting trapped in the Distortion World isn’t the worst, if it means he can avoid talking to Cynthia, but Giovanni has other plans. 
Ghetsis - Ghetsis is the worst. There’s literally nothing else to say. He tries to kill N constantly once N figures out that Ghetsis isn’t as kind as he says he is. He’s dismissive of Colress. And he’s the reason that Hilbert goes missing for two years. Ghetsis is so mean he makes Giovanni look like a Dunsparce. He inserts himself into Giovanni’s evil boy band with the plan of taking over. At least he’s not subtle about it. Giovanni knows exactly what’s going on.
Colress - Colress is one of the only members of Rainbow Rocket to voluntarily join, and the only one of the voluntary ones to not be seeking revenge. He’s merely interested in what Giovanni intends to do with this “Ultra Space” plan of his. If he can study the strange readings he’s been getting from certain trainers, then he’ll be happy. That, and if Ghetsis and Rosa will both leave him alone. 
Sycamore - Sycamore has a lot of issues. All signs point to Lysandre somehow being involved with Team Flare, but he would never do something that stupid. And when the truth comes out, how can Sycamore ever forgive the man he thought he’d spend the rest of his life with?
Diantha - Diantha knows that Lysandre must be involved with Team Flare, but she doesn’t want to accuse him without having any solid proof. If it’s not true, she’ll ruin her friendship with Lysandre. If it’s true, Sycamore will be inconsolable. Diantha’s stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Lysandre - Lysandre knows the world must be purified. Even at great personal loss. His plan is to keep Diantha off his back and Sycamore blissfully unaware. But then a crucial part of his plan goes missing, and Lysandre fails to see his best laid plans falling to pieces around him. Even when he is left for dead, Giovanni and Colress can’t seem to let him die in peace. 
Kukui - Kukui’s pretty chill, considering that the kids are discovering portals to a suspicious alternate world. That’s more Burnet’s thing, anyway. He figures that Selene can handle herself with that, and he might need to hop in to help Elio with taking down Team Skull. He’s got some unfinished business he really would like to discuss. 
Burnet - Burnet is one of the lucky ones. She avoids getting involved with the Ultra Space fiasco in Alola, but manages to learn a lot from the experience. What comes first in her mind now is to fix the friendships that have been damaged by past events, like Kukui and Guzma’s. Her experience with Ultra devices will definitely come in handy though.
Guzma - Guzma had a tough time when Lusamine got involved with Ultra Space, but now he’s having a nice time helping Kukui around the lab. They’re on much better terms now, and Guzma’s ready to put his past behind him. It’s a shame Rainbow Rocket goes after him first.
Lusamine - Lusamine went into hiding after being defeated by Selene, Elio, and their friends. Giovanni quickly reached out to her, and Lusamine became one of the most loyal members of Rainbow Rocket. She even got Colress to promise her a Nihilego sometime. She has yet to cash in the deal, but it’s there.
Faba - It was Lusamine who recommended that Giovanni invite Faba to help Colress with his latest project. Colress despises the man, but Faba definitely helped to get the project off the ground a lot quicker. 
Leon - As Galar’s champion, Leon’s a busy man. Lucky for him, he’s got Rose to support him. However, some of Rose’s behavior is a bit concerning. Leon may be the worst at reading directions, but he’s got a knack for reading people. Rose is up to something, and Leon’s going to protect Hop and his friends from whatever Rose is scheming. 
Sonia - Sonia’s got a lot on her plate as the new pokemon professor of Galar. Most recently, she’s been invited to help work on the Universal PokeDex and help write the entries on Dynamax. If only she wasn’t a technology disaster. 
Rose - Rose knows what has to be done for Galar. He also knows that Leon isn’t clever enough to catch on. That may not be true. Rose hires Victor as his personal photographer, and while the future of Galar comes first, Victor has a very interesting story from his time in Kalos, and Rose is desperate to know what secret the boy is leaving out.
Looker - Looker’s investigated teams Rocket, Galactic, and Flare, and been hired to help track down former members of every other team that’s popped up in the past decade. Too many coincidences are happening to let the leaders of these organizations escape him, and Looker knows he’s about to crack the case. 
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adenei · 3 years
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fic writer interview
Thank you to @pottinglilies for the tag!
Name: adenei or addy
Fandoms I write for: romione, jily, hinny, tedoire, pretty much any canon pairing for HP
Two-shot: I really enjoyed writing How to Win a Witch in 10 Days and the way it followed James and Lily throughout the story. It let me get in both of their heads, and also helped the reader see things from both perspectives instead of just one character's scheming!
Most popular multichapter: definitely Fraternizing with the Enemy - my Romeo and Juliet inspired Romione fic
Worst part of writing: Having far too many ideas and not enough writing time!
How you choose your titles: Ugh, I hate coming up with titles. But not as much as I hate coming up with summaries..lol. A lot of times I'll use song titles, or I'll focus in on the main focus of the fic or a specific line and spin a title that way. If I'm writing a rom-com inspired fic, I play with the title to keep it similar, but still different to the original!
Do you outline: I have started to outline my multichaps and it's definitely helped with the directions of those stories! My one shots? No, I just get an idea and run with it.
Ideas I probably won’t get to but it would be nice: lol, well I had this idea for a deamus fic based on the community episode where Troy and Abed make their blanket fort, and a multichap post war AU where the Golden Trio is strong-armed into taking a victory tour around the world. Maybe someday they will happen, but I've got a long list of other fics that I want to write first.
Callouts @ me: cut out those adverbs, adenei. Also, description, description, description!!! I swear you just want to push out an update to do it, but for the love of all things holy add those descriptions in! It really does make it shittier more immersive (iykyk). Oh yeah, and read through your stuff before you send it to your amazing beta team.
Best writing habits: If I'm focused, I can sit down and pound out a chapter or one shot in an afternoon or evening. I know my betas hate love me for this, but I tend to put out a ton of content because I have no chill and can't stop. I tend to do a lot of research on topics before I write them, and probably obsess a little too much over the small details.
Spicy tangential opinion: I love writing the characters with all their perceived flaws. I absolutely refuse to put Ron OR Hermione on this pedestal that some of the fandom does. And it's important for me to remember when I'm writing them that they were literal TEENAGERS when a lot of their mistakes happened. Sometimes it's so easy to write them as more mature than they are, and it really bothers me when I see that in fic. It's part of what makes them a real couple and their growth as people is so important in the road that led them to each other (Same thing for James and Lily). It's important to find that balance between the characters, and I'm a stickler when it comes to portraying the best characterization that I possibly can.
TAGGING: @accio-broom @cheesyficwriter @voldemorts-tap-shoes @be11atrixthestrange @mertronus
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vxlkyrie · 4 years
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through my lens
Tumblr media
pairing: spencer reid x reader
genre: fluff (god so much fluff), friends to lovers!au
warning: mentions of alcohol, cursing
word count: 4.8k
summary: spencer comes up with the best birthday gift a girl could ask for – along with the best confession
a/n: hey y’all, it’s been a hot minute. i apologize for going m.i.a. for a bit and only reblogging fics and gifsets. i’ve been trying to give myself a little break from writing after finishing my classes for the semester, and then i found myself having writer’s block. but now i’ve found the motivation to write again! i’ve gotten into criminal minds during this quarantine, and became whipped for reid. so why not start writing for him? hopefully i can write more for him. and with that said, i hope you guys enjoy this fluff-filled oneshot!
everyone in the bau had their hobbies. spencer loves to read, penelope knits, hotch golfs on weekends – just to name a few. 
when you weren’t creating profiles and catching unsubs, you were roaming around d.c. taking photos of literally everything. a rose bush, your lunch at the cafe down the street from your apartment, the beautiful cotton candy sunset. you were seen always taking a picture, whether it was with a dslr, a polaroid, or simply your phone. you also took pictures of the bau team whenever you all decide to hang out. 
a night at the club? pictures of emily, jj, and penelope drunk off their asses while grinding on each other. 
dinner after successfully closing a case? pictures of derek and spencer having a mini food fight and hotch trying to stop them. 
christmas sleepover at rossi’s mansion? pictures of rossi cooking and the ladies making cookies. 
jj’s wedding? pictures of the blushing bride and groom and everyone slow dancing with each other (until derek pulled your camera out of your hand and forced you to dance with everyone). 
let’s just say you have a wall filled with polaroids of your second family.
photography has been a passion of yours for the longest time. although, when you first started in the bau, you felt like a burden you stated taking pictures of the team in their happiest moments. but over the years, everyone assured you that it was fine and even encouraged you to continue, which made your heart flutter. 
but what made your heart flutter even more is when a certain doctor asks you for tips on how to get into photography.
“hey y/n!” a male voice greeted you while you were working on paperwork. you snapped your head up to see spencer giving you a small smile as he leaned on your desk.
you became close with the doctor shortly after you joined the unit. probably because you two were around the same age, but also probably because of the similar interests you two had. 
he would come over to your apartment frequently for movie nights and whenever he just wanted to unwind after a case and didn’t feel like going back to his place. 
the first time he slept over, you had to apologize for the lack of literature books on your shelves that were filled with scrapbooks instead. he told you it was no problem and found himself getting lost in one of your scrapbooks.
“no way! is that y/n in high school?” he practically squealed.
“what?!” your eyes widened as you ran towards spencer and attempted to get the embarrassing scrapbook out of his hand, only for him to lift it high into the air and out of your reach.
“why didn’t you tell me you wore glasses? you looked so cute!” he laughed as he looked up at the scrapbook that he held above his head.
“i looked horrible! give it back!” you whined.
“only if you can reach it.” he smirked.
“fuck you. you just had to be 6′1.” you pouted as the doctor continued to go through the rest of your scrapbooks (he especially enjoyed going through the scrapbook that was filled with pictures of the team).
and even though you complained the entire time he went through your collection, you couldn’t help the butterflies in your stomach as your feelings for spencer grew.
“what’s up, doc?” you beamed back.
“nothing much. i just wanted to ask you something.” he said as he fumbled with his hands.
“yeah, what is it?” you asked politely.
“i-i want to learn more about photography, and i was hoping you could help me?” he answered softly as a tint of pink spread across his cheeks
god help me, he’s so cute.
“yeah of course!” you chuckled. spencer’s eyes lit up with joy as he smiled wider. “what do you need help with?”
“well, the basics, and what kind of camera to use. although, i’ve heard digital cameras have been getting more expensive these days. maybe it’s because more people are getting into photography. i’ve seen a lot of websites that garcia showed me where people are starting photography businesses and i- i’m rambling again, aren’t i?” spencer scratched the back of his neck. 
you weren’t one to cut spencer off while he’s talking. mostly because he looked so attractive while doing it, and it still baffles you how that’s possible.
“it’s fine spence,” you softly smile at him, which caused his heart to speed up a little. “and honestly, using your phone is a great start into learning basic photography.”
“really?” he quirked an eyebrow.
“yeah, give me your phone,” you asked, holding out your hand. he pulled it out and handed it to you. “i know you’re like a technophobe, but this little guy is pretty useful, especially when it comes to photography.” you explained as you opened the camera app, showing him the different features on it. “now here’s a grid. ever heard of rule of thirds?”
spencer shooked his head, which surprised you.
“oh really? well basically...” you started to speak.
spencer started zoning out. he already knew what the rule was, but he just wanted an excuse to stare at you.
the resident genius has been in love with you ever since you joined the unit. and his feelings grew even more after finding out you both have a love for halloween and science fiction. but of course, he never acted on it. the poor boy was already shy enough, and after being rejected several times, he especially doesn’t want to ruin his friendship with you.
oh y/n, if only you knew...
“so overall, it’s a great way to line up your photos,” you finished explaining, turning your head to see spencer spacing out. “you okay spencer?” you waved a hand over his face.
“w-what? oh yeah, i’m fine. rule of thirds is my best friend when taking pictures. got it.” he blinked, making you chuckle.
“hey pretty boy, we’re being summoned by garcia.” a deep voice said as a hand slapped over spencer’s shoulder.
“hi derek!” you smiled.
“hey sugar,” he winked. “come on reid, let’s go.” derek turned to spencer. spencer nodded at the older man and started to walk.
“thanks again y/n!” he yelled over his shoulder.
“of course! if you need anything, just let me know!” you yelled back as you continued working on your paperwork.
“anything?” derek whispered, teasing spencer as they made their way to penelope’s office.
“stop. she was just teaching me some stuff about photography.”
“you are such a sucker for her. just tell her you like her already. we all know you both are in love with each other.” derek rolled his eyes.
“she’s not in love with me.”
“you have an iq of 187 and for what? you don’t have to be a genius to know that she feels the same way.” derek said as he opened the door.
-
“ah my lovelies are here!” penelope said as she hugged derek and spencer.
“what’s up baby girl?” the formal asked.
“i’ve already told emily, jj, hotch, and rossi this, but i am planning a surprise birthday party for y/n at rossi’s place!” she clapped joyfully.
“isn’t her birthday like a month away?” spencer raised an eyebrow.
“i don’t even think she remembers that her birthday’s coming up soon.” derek added.
“which makes this even easier,” penelope smiled. “the week of her birthday, we will be going over to rossi’s house after work and we will help decorate. the night of the party, spencer, you will be driving her to rossi’s. just say that we’re all meeting up to go to a club or something.” she quickly said.
“i guess that’s possible.” the younger boy slowly nodded.
“are you sure she isn’t gonna be suspicious that reid’s willing to go to a club?” derek asked.
“hey!”
“he’s a genius, he’ll come up with some excuse,” penelope said. “okay great. let’s go team! now get out please.”
spencer slowly walked down the hall that lead back to the bullpen.
what am i gonna get her this year? i already got her the whole star wars saga collection. this gift has to be more sentimental. 
he bit his lip in deep thought.
then suddenly, a light bulb flickered on above his head.
that’s it!
-
a month passes by quickly when you're working on cases mostly every day. 
there were a few times where you would have the day off or at least the night off after a long day at work. you spent those times with the bau, whether it was having a night in with the girls, checking out the costume stores with spencer (who cares if it’s nowhere near october?), or even a spontaneous night out at the karaoke bar.
the rest of the team have managed to sneak around during the week of your birthday, gathering party decorations and gifts, making sure everything is set up correctly before the big day.
spencer worked very hard on his gift for you, adding the finishing touches as he stored it in a closet that was filled with the rest of the team’s gifts.
set up for y/n’s birthday party – check.
and in a blink of an eye, it was your birthday and the night of party. the team was flying back from a case that took several days, and you want nothing more than to knock out on your bed.
“the night is still young! let’s all go out!” emily exclaimed as you all gathered your belongings in the bullpen. derek nodded his head in agreement, catching on to emily’s little scheme.
“hell yeah, i’m in!” jj responded. “how about you, y/n?”
“i don’t know guys, i’m pretty tired.” you yawned.
“come on y/n, you have to come with us.” emily pouted.
“what’s happening?” penelope walked in.
“we’re gonna hit the clubs, you in?”
“definitely. spence, you coming?” penelope looked at him as if she had telepathically sent him a message. spencer widened his eyes.
“u-uh, yeah. i’m in.” he gave a small smile.
“look y/n, even reid’s coming! you love clubbing with us. it’s gonna be a great time!” jj said as she held your arms. you sighed.
“fine. i’ll meet you guys in like two hours, okay?”
the ladies cheered in victory.
“perfect! let’s pregame at rossi’s and then we’ll all go together.” emily said.
“great! spencer, do you mind driving me to my apartment?” you said as you turned towards him. he shook his head in response and you both headed towards the parking lot.
get y/n to come over to rossi’s – check.
-
after you got ready, spencer drove to rossi’s mansion as you sang to throwbacks.
he changed into a simple black dress shirt and jeans (and of course, his converse) while you wore a black off-the-shoulder mini dress and heels. your makeup was flawless as well as your curled hair.
spencer couldn’t help but think you looked beautiful in this moment, and can’t wait for the surprise he and the team had in store for you.
soon, you two were parked in rossi’s huge driveway.
“she’s here!” spencer texted penelope as soon as he put the car in park. he ran over to your side of the car and opened the door for you.
“what a gentleman! thank you, kind sir.” you smiled and reach out for spencer’s hand as he helped you out of your seat. you two walked to the front door to see rossi standing with a huge grin on his face.
“hey rossi!” you greeted while hugging him. he grabbed your hand and opened the door and slowly let you in, with spencer trailing not too far behind. “where is everyone?” you asked as he led you to the dark living room.
“surprise!” many voices shouted. your eyes widened as the lights turned on, only to see your closest friends and everyone from the bau and their families smiling at you. even the kids were there.
there were balloons that floated onto the ceiling. foil curtains that filled up rossi’s wall (he wasn’t a big fan of it, but he was willing to hang it up because it was all for you). tables filled with drinks, food, and gifts. and don’t forget the banner that hung across the threshold leading to the backyard that read ‘happy birthday y/n!’
you felt yourself tearing up.
“oh my god!” you patted around your eye area. “i love you all, but goddamnit you almost made me ruin my mascara!” you yelled jokingly, earning laughs from everyone (even hotch).
“happy birthday!” rossi said as he hugged you and kissed your cheeks. everyone gathered around you to hug you, take pictures with you, and say their happy birthday’s.
“happy birthday, sugar.” derek hugged you.
“i honestly forgot that it was today.” you laughed as he joined you.
even spencer gave you a bear hug and a kiss on the forehead, which made your face heat up.
“happy birthday y/n.” he smiled at you.
you were in euphoria as the party went on. you were dancing with your best friends and the bau ladies (and derek) as music blasted throughout the backyard. everyone was occupied, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves, even spencer, who was having a beer while conversing with hotch.
“so when are you gonna tell y/n you like her?” he asked spencer who was looking at you like you’re the only thing in the world. spencer turned his head towards his boss.
“soon.” he smiled, sounding very determined.
“as much as i love seeing you guys dance your asses off, it’s time for the birthday girl to blow out her candles.” rossi announced.
everyone gathered around the table as you walked towards the table, seeing a beautifully decorated cake with lit candles placed in front of you. they all sang happy birthday (with hotch recording everything), making you smile from ear to ear while trying not to tear up again. soon, you blew out your candles, followed by cheers. rossi helped cut the cake and distributed it to everyone.
“as soon as everyone gets their slice, please go to the living room so y/n can open her gifts!” he shouted. everyone obeyed and started to walked back inside. spencer’s eyes widened.
shit. 
“you okay, kid?” derek asked, approaching spencer.
“uh, yeah?” he answered, clearing his throat as an attempt to try to hide his panicked expression.
“what’s got you nervous?”
“i-i didn’t know she was gonna open her gifts in front of everyone.” spencer practically whispered.
“why? what’d you get her?” derek smirked.
“i guess you’ll see.” spencer sighed.
-
everyone sat in the living room, facing you as you opened your gifts. every time you opened one, your heart melts even more.
when you opened rossi’s gift, you thought you were gonna pass out.
“rossi, i cannot take this!” you exclaimed as you held a box that contained a new camera. “this must’ve costed you a fortune!” you tried to give rossi the box, but he simply shook his head.
“you’re like a daughter to me, y/n. of course i had to spoil my child!” he said as everyone laughed around him.
“i can assure you buying that camera certainly did not put a dent in his bank account.” emily quipped. you thanked rossi with a hug and continued to open more gifts in your seat between spencer and emily.
you were curious when you lifted a slightly heavy bag from hotch. you gasped as soon as you looked inside to see a brand new laptop sitting inside.
“hotch, you shouldn’t have!”
“i know you recently broke your laptop, so i figured why not save you the trouble of getting one. you also deserve it after being such a great addition to the team.” he said, giving you a small smile as you hugged him.
emily bought you a ton of polaroid film and sd cards, as well as a bottle of wine – the key to a girl’s heart.
“these are exactly what i needed, thank you babe.” you kissed her cheek.
jj and will bought you a vinyl player along with a few vinyls from your favorite artists. they also added a few drawings of you that henry made that had ‘auntie y/n’ written on all of them.
“i am definitely putting these on my fridge.” you said as you lightly ruffled the little guy’s hair.
derek got you a pair of headphones (from the same brand as his) so you didn’t have to borrow his during the plane ride home.
“now we can both listen to our own music with our own headphones.” he teased, hugging you as you chuckled.
penelope’s gift had you screaming. you opened the box and moved the tissue paper to see a whole lingerie set laid out. spencer’s eyes widened as derek whistled, while hotch and rossi where trying not to laugh their asses off. jj immediately placed her hands over henry’s eyes.
“how did you get my size right?!”
“i have my ways.” she winked at you.
you had one more gift to open – spencer’s gift.
“you don’t have to open mine.” spencer whispered to you. you raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“why not? i opened everyone’s.”
“it’s not as good as everyone else’s.”
“spence, it doesn’t matter how expensive a gift is. you could literally give me a fake plant and i will love it until the day that i die.” you smiled at him, causing his face to slightly heat up.
“well, prepare to be disappointed because i definitely did not get you a fake plant.” he said. you scoffed.
“come on spence, how bad could it be?” you said as you pulled out an object from the gift bag. you curiously looked at it.
is it a book?
“what is it?” you asked spencer.
“well, o-open it.” spencer shyly said.
you turn the cover to see a collage of pictures. it was a small scrapbook. you examined the pictures only to realize they were picture of you. you started blushing as you flipped through the pages and recalled where several of the pictures have been taken. you didn’t even realize spencer was taking pictures of you half of the time.
-
you were having a sleepover with the girls, drinking and crying over captain america. you heard a knock on the door.
“must be the pizza guy, i’ll get it!” you stood up. you opened the door to see spencer standing there.
“hey y/n! ready to watch the new season of doctor who?” he clenched his messenger bag in excitement as he entered your apartment, shocked to see his coworkers sitting on the couch while the tv played.
“that was tonight? oh spencer, i’m so sorry. i completely forgot.” you said, feeling guilty.
“oh, that’s fine. we can always watch doctor who another time.” he reassured.
“how about you join us spencer?” penelope chirped in.
“i don’t want to intrude on your sleepover.” spencer shook his hands in front of him.
“yeah, come join us! you’re already here, and i think you left some of your pajamas somewhere.” you raised your eyebrows at him with a pleading smile on your face.
how could he resist when you’re looking at him like that?
“fine.” he gave in as the girls cheered.
as soon as he knew it, he was listening in on the gossip as the girls did each other’s nails. you laughed as you smeared a green substance on your face.
“what’s that on your face y/n?” spencer asked, earning a few giggles from emily and jj.
“it’s a facial, spence. it’s good for your skin. you want to try it?” you asked as you held out the container towards him. he nodded. “you want me to put it on for you?” he nodded again.
spencer tried his hardest not to blush while your fingers brushed against his face. he could smell the faint scent of mint from the facial along with the lavender from your shampoo.
“okay, and we’re done. wait for half an hour and then wash it off.” you said as you both took a seat on your couch.
once you started paying attention to the movie, spencer stole glances in your direction, watching you react to the movie. he couldn’t help but pull out his phone and snapped a picture of you (thank god his phone was on silent).
he smiled to himself one more time before putting his focus back onto the movie.
-
“spencer, what are we doing here? it’s july!” you said as you two entered the costume shop.
“it’s never too early to plan your halloween costume, y/n.” he laughed as you looked at the masks that hung from the wall. he busied himself, browsing through different costumes.
should i be frankenstein? maybe i should go for steampunk this year?
“check this out spence!” your muffled voice caught his attention. he looked to see you dancing around while wearing one of the masks. 
spencer laughed at you while you continued to dance in the middle of the aisle. he took out his phone and took a photo of you, not caring that your arms turned out blurry while you were flailing your arms around.
“that was fun,” you took off the masks. “anyways, what kind of costume are you going for this year?” you asked as your ran your fingers through your hair, trying to fix it.
spencer was too busy looking at you.
“spencer?” you said with confusion. “spence?”
he slightly shook his head.
fuck, she caught me staring.
“what? oh, i don’t know yet. how about you?” he asked back.
“hmmm, i’m not sure either. i might just play it safe and be a devil or something.” you said as you tried on headbands that had plastic horns glued onto them. you looked at the section next to the devil costumes and saw a bunch of angel costumes. you took one of the halos and placed it on spencer’s head, practically jumping to get it on him. “maybe you should be an angel this year.”
“you think so? why?” he asked, suddenly feeling shy.
“well, maybe cuz you are one?” you grinned.
spencer’s heart raced for hours afterwards.
-
“happy birthday to you! happy birthday to you! happy birthday dear emily! happy birthday to you!” the whole team sang as they raised their glasses to the girl of the hour. you couldn’t help but take pictures of everyone as they downed their drinks and hugged emily.
after the team found out it was the brunette’s birthday, you all collectively decided to spend the rest of the evening renting out a room at the karaoke bar to celebrate.
“thank you guys! i fucking love all of you!” emily yelled. you could tell she was tipsy. “now someone put something on, i want to get drunk and sing until my vocal chords explode!”
“well, actually, your vocal chords-” spencer started.
“shh, not right now spence. someone give me a microphone.” emily bit back. you patted your hand on spencer’s back.
after a few rounds of singing from everyone, you decided to do a number with the rest of the girls. you were in the zone, belting out notes you never thought you could do. but with a little bit of liquid courage, you channeled your inner whitney houston as you all sang ‘i wanna dance with somebody.’
hotch was recording (as always) as rossi and derek cheered you all on.
“let’s go baby girl!”
spencer was clapping along, watching you have the time of your life. he had the biggest smile on his face as he took pictures of you singing. he knew that he had it bad for you once you started dancing. but when he didn’t see coming was when you placed your hand on his and pulled him up to his feet.
“dance with me spencer!” you giggled as you whipped your head side to side. you definitely had too much to drink.
“come on pretty boy!” derek hollered. spencer started to pick up the rhythm and moved with you and the girls. the rest of the guys soon joined in and started dancing.
at times like this, spencer is grateful that he chose not to stay in.
-
as you flipped through the rest of the pages, you felt a few tears started to form in your eyes. you skimmed through the rest of the pictures. 
some of them were pictures of you sleeping. on the jet, on the couch in your pajamas during a movie marathon, on rossi’s bed in one of the guest rooms after having one too many glasses of wine.
some of them had spencer in it. once you taught him what selfies were, he took one with you every time the team flew out of state, or even if you two were just getting coffee before work.
there were some where you weren’t even paying attention and spencer was closer to the camera and made it look like he was squeezing your small head.
and there were even a few where you had your hand close to the camera. they were pictures of you when spencer would catch you off-guard. they weren’t the best pictures, but it felt right for him to print them out.
“spence, what are you doing?” you asked as you tried to push his phone away from your face.
“i’m just taking a picture of you!” he giggled.
“why? i look ugly!” you whined.
“no you don’t!” he blurted out as you playfully shoved his phone towards him as he continued taking pictures of you.
“sometimes, i really do hate you.” you joked, ignoring the fact that he said he doesn’t think you’re ugly.
you laughed at the pictures as your heart picked up its pace. aww’s were coming from everyone, making spencer blush an even deeper pink. you got to last page of the scrapbook. instead of seeing a page full of pictures, you saw a familiar handwriting that filled the page.
is this a letter?
“what does it say?” one of your friends asked.
you looked at spencer for permission to read it out loud. he hesitantly nodded. by the looks of it, everyone already knew why he made you a scrapbook, might as well go all the way.
you took a deep breath and started reading.
for the part-time photographer, full-time badass profiler:
dear y/n,
you have been a light in everyone’s life, especially mine. you brought happiness to a team during their darkest times, and you have always been there for me during mine. 
to the girl who is always seen taking pictures of everyone around her, you deserve to be photographed. 
through your lenses, i am one of the many people that fill up your scrapbooks and walls, but through my lens, you are the most beautiful person my camera has ever captured (and even then, these pictures don’t do you justice).
you are the kindest, brightest, and most breathtaking person i’ve ever met, and i am so lucky to have fallen in love with you.
happy birthday!
love, spencer.
you didn’t even notice the small pool of tears that sat over the letter. thank god the pages were protected. even penelope, emily, and jj were crying.
“oh, spencer.” you sighed as you pulled him in for a bone-crushing hug. he immediately hugged you back, placing his face in the crook of your neck. you pulled away to look at him.
“did you like it?” he whispered as he wiped away the stray tears on your face.
you smiled at him and leaned towards him, wrapping your arms around his neck and planting a kiss on his lips. he smiled as he kissed you back. loud cheers and applauds can be heard from around the room, but the only things you can hear are yours and spencer’s beating hearts.
“my man!” derek yelled. everyone pulled out their phones to capture this sweet moment.
you both pulled away from each other, not being able to wipe the stupid smiles off your faces.
“i’m guessing you liked it.” spencer quipped, making you laugh.
“i love it. and i love you too.” you grinned. 
spencer pulled you in for another kiss, until you hear several clicks. you turned to see everyone with their phones pointed at you two. you hid your face in his neck in embarrassment, spencer laughing as he held you.
“this is definitely going in the scrapbook.” he chuckled.
230 notes · View notes
lovelyirony · 4 years
Note
fic title: I’m falling and the sun is blinding me to your faults
i wanted to do an au of this one, so presenting: tony and rhodey, but make it villainous. i think it’d be fun! 
James Rhodes is two things, first and foremost being that he is a businessman. 
People call him a villain. He doesn’t really think he’s that villainous. 
After all, he only took over New York. He left all the other states alone, so that has to mean something. He was gracious! 
He also wouldn’t consider himself a villain because everyone who works under him gets health insurance. They don’t complain that much, although he’s gotten some about the quality of the buffet on Fridays. 
Catering companies. Hit-or-miss, you know? 
There have been a couple of companies who try to stop him. Rivals that hate that his products are better and employees are happier, for one. Those are easy to dismiss. 
SHIELD is one company who tries, and fails. Repeatedly. It would be embarrassing, but Rhodes has respect for Agents Romanov and Hill, who have been the closest to breaking into his personal office. 
The player that isn’t registering on the field is Tony Stark. Perhaps because he isn’t so much of a player on the field as an existing person who just happens to be on a field. Or a building. However you would like to imagine it. 
In other universes, he walks like he owns the world because he could buy up everything and still have money left over to get ice cream at the end of the day. 
In this universe, his father kicked him out of his house for various things, the most prominent being that Tony is rather partial to kissing guys and ladies, and that just simply won’t do. 
(Tony also stole enough money out of his bank account to buy a house and also start his own business without his knowledge, but in the grand scheme of things, that’s just a small drop in the ocean.) 
Tony made his own tech start-up business. He’s invented a few new things that hit the market discreetly, and he’s building up more and more clientele. He’s about to open another shop, and in all honesty he’s not worried about getting noticed. 
This is until Rhodes comes across an employee bragging about a new repair guy who makes computers run twice as fast, charges less than most repair shops, and looks mighty fine in a tank top.
The last reason is reason enough to visit. 
But also, to see who’s been fixing up Rhodes tech and can make it faster. He doesn’t know why he wouldn’t have just applied for a job. 
Tony is not expecting Rhodes to enter into his building. He has people who are walk-ins, but usually you would expect a villain to make an appointment. Or not, they are villains. 
“I heard that you’ve been improving my phones,” James says. He leans into Tony’s space. He smells quite nice, has a well-tailored suit, and Tony is trying very hard not to find him attractive. That’s not the sort of thing you could be focusing on. 
“You gonna sue me or something?” 
“No, I want to hire you.” 
Tony blinks. 
“Oh. No thank you.” 
Rhodes pulls back. 
“Why ‘no’?” 
“I like my shop just fine. And you have things well-handled.” 
“Could I consult you?” 
“You can’t afford me.” 
Rhodes grins. 
“Are you sure about that?” 
“Of course I am. Can I get anything for you today, or did you just want to beg me to come work for you?” 
“Most people would never be this bold.” 
"What would they be? Terrified in your presence?” 
“More or less, yes. It’s what I prefer.” 
"I don’t cater to people’s preferences, it’s a character flaw and strength,” Tony quips. 
Rhodes smiles. 
It’s terrifyingly beautiful, really. Tony is at a loss for words. 
“I think I’m liking you, Stark.” 
“Tony. You don’t call me Stark. I don’t do the last name dynamic.” 
“Sweetheart, then. Not your last name.” 
“Pet names, seriously?” 
“Oh you got it, honey.” 
“Then go on, platypus,” Tony throws back. 
“Platypus? Really?” 
"Pet names are on the menu, honey bunch. Just try me.” 
Rhodes smiles, turning to exit. 
“I’ll be in touch, darling.” 
Tony leans against his desk, legs shaking underneath. 
There are two problems that he’s not sure how to solve. Here they are: 
1.) Rhodes now has Tony on his radar, which is probably bad because Tony will absolutely be used for world domination or whatever. 
2.) Tony doesn’t really mind as long as he gets to see Rhodes because goddamn. That man could get so many things, and he probably has. And Tony wouldn’t mind being one of those things if he played his cards right. 
But for now, Tony just wants to fix computers and maybe just buy a new brand of tea, but he’s honestly not sure. 
Rhodes makes an appointment to meet. 
Of Fucking Course. 
Tony is not impressed, and is also not impressed that he comes in with a very expensive custom-made designer suit, whereas Tony is not sure the last time his pair of jeans got washed, and an old t-shirt that’s advertising an ice cream shop that is closed now. 
“You love to make an entrance all the time?” Tony asks. “What can I legally do for you?” 
“You’re assuming I’m making you do illegal things, babe?” 
“Yes, Rhodey.” 
“It’s Rhodes.” 
“Hm, maybe. But not to me. Rhodey. I wanna ruin your business impression.” 
Pepper snorts besides Rhodes, who is suitably impressed that Tony doesn’t give one flying fuck about the fact that he could destroy him at any point. 
“I’m ordering that on your next business card deal.” 
“I’ll fire you.” 
“You can’t find someone as competent as me, don’t even joke.” 
“I came here for an opportunity for you. You’ve managed to get some people’s computers to speed up so much. And I want you to do it with all of my employee’s computers.” 
“What, you couldn’t reverse-engineer it? See what I did for yourself?” 
Rhodey grins. 
“I never question a handsome man’s work, darling.” 
Tony turns red. 
“You’re really bad with professionalism, honeysop.” 
“What the hell is that?” 
“What, never heard about romance in the fifteenth century? Boring.” 
“Will you do the job or not?” 
“What are the terms, the conditions, and how much are you paying?” 
Pepper steps forward, a sizable stack of paperwork in her hands. 
The work would pay off the building. It would pay off his mortgage on his house. Hell, it would help a lot. He’d have extra to mess around and maybe go on a vacation. 
The downside is that he’s helping a villain get faster speed and better battery life with laptops. This could also mean he’d die, but honestly he was kind of expecting an early death. 
Rhodey assures him that he won’t die. 
“If anyone touches you, then they feel my wrath,” he says. His teeth glint underneath the lights. “And honey, no one ever likes feeling that.” 
“What, it isn’t all feather-light tickles?” 
“Touches a bit more than that.” 
There’s an unspoken story there. Rhodey’s grin goes from tight and eyes empty to refocusing on Tony and turning soft, genuine. 
“We can discuss the official plans over dinner.” 
“Dinner won’t work for me, I got plans tonight.” 
“A hot date?” 
"A special movie screening,” Tony says. “Can’t miss it. Maybe next time, or the next three times.” 
Rhodey smiles. 
“Maybe sometime.” 
“Maybe.” 
Holy fuck.
Rhodes International has a local coffee shop on the lobby. A barista is a cheerful girl who has neon yellow hair greets him and asks if he wants a complimentary drink. 
“You...know who I am?” 
“Not in the slightest!” she says cheerily. “I have a memory thing where I remember everyone I ever meet and who I don’t meet. What kind of coffee guy are you?” 
“Um...you guys have mint syrup?” 
“Yup!” 
“Then I guess a peppermint latte?” 
“Coming right up!” 
So here is this girl humming what sounds suspiciously like the Winnie the Pooh song as she makes a drink, and that drink is amazing. 
Also, people are wearing, it seems, whatever outfit they want. There are some people talking, and two look to be dressed in professional business clothing, but the third guy they’re talking to is wearing ripped jeans and a tank top has the phrase of “I’m Just Existing on a Manifestation of Reality” emblazoned. 
It’s odd. 
“So glad you could make it, Tones,” Rhodey says. 
“Tones?” 
“What, too much?” 
“Tones sounds like you know me.” 
“And I don’t?” 
“What’s my favorite jam?” 
“Why jam?” 
“If you know someone well, you know their favorite type of jam.” 
“Orange marmalade?” 
“What the fuck do I look like, Paddington?” 
“You’re right, Paddington’s not near as sexy.” 
“This counts as harassment, right? This counts as harassment.” 
“Don’t have him sue us already, he’ll win,” Pepper says, breezing to their sides. God, she’s gorgeous. Casually dressed in a pencil skirt and a blouse and acting like she doesn’t look like a goddess. Must be exhausting. “Tony, great to have you. Let me show you who you’re working with.” 
He has his own fancy office, a team that knows what they’re doing, and catered lunch. 
Catered lunch. It’s not even a Friday. 
“Friday’s are questionable,” Rhodey says. “Weird selection.” 
“You don’t wanna know,” says Intern Joe. 
That’s literally on his ID card. 
Tony starts work. It’s not bad, not at all. He works in the mornings on the weekends and Mondays as well as Thursdays, and then sometimes does work from his own office. 
Rhodey is...nice. 
This is a bit unsettling, because Rhodey literally just threatened the president over an environmental bill not being accepted and currently all employees are only slightly scared. 
“This is just like three months ago,” says Janice The Badass. (Also on her ID card.) “Don’t worry, the government can’t do anything. They rely on us too heavily.” 
“For what?” 
“For safety.” 
“Not asking.” 
“Good, I’m not going to answer.” 
“Okay?” 
It’s also weird that Rhodey checks in on him. He brings him coffee how he likes it, and he makes him sit down and try new foods with him. 
He’s not bad at conversational topics either. Tony’s used to talking, and he’s used to bad-talking on dates. This doesn’t come close. 
No, they talk about the differences of Star Trek and how much Tony hates specific brands of pens, and how Rhodey is a disaster when it comes to coordination of ties. 
“I don’t like ties,” he scowls. 
“Then why wear one?” 
“Pepper says they look nice.” 
“Why do you need to look nice?” 
“Most things are all about presentation.” 
“Ah, need to be taken seriously.” 
“Only at times when I’m facing government officials or weird corporate bosses.” 
“Aren’t you a corporate boss?” 
“I’m a corporate boss who is also an enemy of fellow corporate bosses. Weird thing.” 
“That’s...intriguing.” 
“How so?” 
“Well, how does that work?” Tony asks, popping a couple blueberries into his mouth. “How are you both the same and an enemy?” 
“Watch and learn, sugar. Watch and learn.” 
Tony is allowed on the next business meeting. Which, coincidentally, his old Uncle Obadiah is part of. 
This leads to rather undesired complications. 
-
“You’re working for a supervillain?” Obie practically yells. 
“Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that,” Tony says. “I just work with computers.” 
“Besides if he wanted to work for a real supervillain, wouldn’t he be working for you?” Rhodey asks. 
He’s sitting in one of those rolling-chairs, and despite that, he made it his throne. He’s relaxed in it, perfectly at peace with the situation. All eyes are on him. 
“I’m not the one that the government is after.” 
“And yet I’m the one who’s successfully paid taxes. Where have yours gone, hm? Strip club in Vegas? Weapon sales in Afghanistan?” 
Obie freezes. 
Tony knows that when you freeze, it is your worst tell. 
“Does dad know?” 
This time, Rhodey turns towards him. He’s surprised. 
“We’ll discuss that later. But does Howard know, Obadiah?” 
“Howard is none of your concern.” 
“Oh my god, he is,” Rhodey says grinning. “You haven’t told him about your little back-door escapades. I wonder what would happen if I told him.” 
“You don’t want me as an enemy,” Obadiah says, shaking. He looks at Tony. “And you, boy, you just earned yourself a death sentence.” 
“Funny, Howard said the same thing when he kicked me out of the house,” Tony says as he’s checking his nails. Rhodey thinks he is in love. 
“Go ahead and try to get me as an enemy, see how well it works for you,” Rhodey says, pearly whites on display. “I took over the entire state of New York, leaving everyone in power allied with me. Plus, Tony hasn’t pushed his legacy from what I’ve seen, but what would happen if I just...let him talk? At the next press conference, perhaps.” 
Tony grins, and it’s dangerous. 
“Yeah Obie, what if I talked? I’m sure Howard’s disastrous attempt at fatherhood would be a real uptick in stock points.” 
“You wouldn’t.” 
“Just watch. Just fucking watch,” Tony says. “I still know how to smile for the press, and I still remember all of my lessons for how to make sure anything is believable.” 
He shakes. 
Rhodey gets security. 
Tony visibly relaxes as Stane is led out of the building, and Rhodey smiles over at him. 
“What?” 
“You wanna grab dinner with me?” 
“Like as a casual dinner, or a date-dinner?” 
“How about both?” 
“Thank god, I can’t remember where my nice shoes are.” 
Tony supposes it is odd to be out to dinner with one of the most-feared men in all of New York. 
But it was hard to fear him when he was currently trying to lick ice cream off the tip of his nose with no such luck. 
Or when Rhodey kisses him senseless on his doorstep and makes fun of the little gnome that he’s put outside, and Tony giggles and watches him leave in his fancy car, still leaning on his door. 
Oh, he’s got it bad. 
But he doesn’t mind. 
166 notes · View notes
ad1thi · 4 years
Text
@starklysteve  rhae asked for some winteriron recs (read: i volunteered to spam rhae w buckytony fics because i adore them), so in no particular order, and based on my memory alone, here are some of my favourite buckytony fics!!
(please remember to leave kudos and comments!!)
American Memorial: @/spqr
“Pick up the shield,” Tony said. Understandably, Bucky told him to go fuck himself
Losing You (Is My Supervillain Origin Story):  @amethystinawrites
There are a lot of things that Bucky regrets. The list is, quite frankly, longer than he can handle on most days and, right at the very top, is lying to Tony about who killed his parents. Bucky has known even from before they started dating, but he simply can't bring himself to say anything — to ruin one of the few good things he has in his life. It's selfish and wrong, but Bucky just doesn't know how to tell Tony that he is the one responsible for Howard and Maria Stark's deaths.
So when he starts receiving anonymous emails, threatening to expose the truth to Tony and the rest of the world, Bucky is desperate enough to agree to the blackmailer's terms, even if it means breaking up with Tony. Bucky cannot, under any circumstances, let Tony find out about his parents from anyone but Bucky himself.
Too late Bucky realizes that there is much more to the blackmailer's scheme than just having Bucky break Tony's heart. Too late Bucky realizes that despite his best intentions, he will still end up losing everything — in a much more permanent way than he could ever have imagined.
Hindsight: @amethystinawrites
Ever since he was a little boy, Bucky has dreamed of becoming an astronaut together with Steve, and he can hardly believe their luck when both of them are picked for the Ares 3 crew — the third expedition sent to explore Mars. It is, quite literally, a dream come true.
Things get complicated when Bucky finds himself inconveniently attracted to their mechanical engineer, however. Tony Stark is funny, competent, and absolutely captivating, but considering NASA's strict non-fraternization policy, Bucky knows it's better to keep his interest to himself — at least until they return to Earth. He can wait.
Not once does Bucky consider the possibility that all of them might not make it back alive, or just how much he'll come to regret not acting when he had the chance.
Arsenal: @tangodancer91 (part of a series) (also my all time favourite buckytony series ever)
Two years after the Civil War that tore apart everything she’d bled to build, Toni Stark sacrificed herself for her newly-reinstated teammates and ended up stranded in the past. Freed of her name, her fortune, and her hostile ex-teammates, she built herself a life as an agent for the OSS, the American secret service, and, having nothing to lose, accepted a mission to infiltrate the newest player in the war: an organization that call themselves HYDRA.
Then, she met a young draftee with a dreadfully familiar face, and they clicked like she had never clicked with anyone before. By the time she realized she’d fallen for the man who’d cost her everything, it was too late, but she’d always been an all or nothing type of girl, and if she was damning herself, well then…might as well go all the way.
Yield: @aurumacadicus (this is an a/b/o verse fic)
All Bucky has ever wanted was to win the contest for Tony's hand in marriage. It's a bit harder now that he's down to one arm, but luckily his friends are willing to help make up the difference.
Barnes Family Motors Inc: @phlintandsteel-ao3 (this is an a/b/o verse fic)
In a world where alphas legally own omegas, Bucky is just a small time mechanic from Brooklyn who gets lucky in a poker game. Tony is an omega whose life is fraught with abuse, until his luck suddenly takes a turn for the better.
In the grand scheme of things they may only be able to make little differences in the lives of those around them, but that doesn't mean it's not worth making them. After all, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
The Long Con (don’t kid yourself): @phlintandsteel-ao3
When Tony finds out that Howard is thinking about changing the terms of Tony’s trust fund, he embarks on a not-so-elaborate scheme to prove that he’s totally settling down and not in continued need of Howard’s “guidance” until 25 instead of 21. Step 1: Get a fiance Step 2: ??? Step 3: Profit (Finally be free of Howard)
Unfortunately, Tony Stark is the worst con-artist ever, and may only be kidding himself..
Hot Mess:  @/niki
“Would serve him right if we had the world's most ill-advised one night stand.”
Imperceptions and Assumptions: @/NarutoRox
Afterward, Bucky would look back on their first meeting with fondness and a healthy dose of amusement. At the time, though, he’d mostly been confused - and more than a little embarrassed.
Bucky hadn’t paid much attention to the media in his early days, and hadn’t bothered really reading up on the team or anything, either, so when Steve had said ‘Tony Stark’, Bucky had just assumed.
The same way he’d looked at the three people who’d walked through the door - an imposing redhead in heels, a bored-looking brunette who dimpled when she saw him and Steve, and a sturdy-looking man wearing a slight glower - locked eyes on the man, and assumed him to be the infamous Tony Stark Steve wouldn’t shut up about.
It was Bucky’s first lesson when it came to Natasha Antonia ‘Toni’ Stark - never assume.
~
In which Tony Stark is actually Natasha Antonia 'Toni' Stark (which everyone knows) as well as Iron Man (which everyone does not know), assumptions are made, and there are misunderstandings.
From this prompt: How about a cross between my two favorite tropes? Nobody knows who iron man is other than Natasha/Antonia Stark's bodyguard but Bucky is in love with one or both of them
i know, you know (that i’m not telling the truth) : @imposter-human
psychic tony stark is called to work a routine case with detective bucky barnes; only, he seems to be more connected to the case than anyone thought
or, a psych au!!
the new romeo and juliet: @imposter-human
Bucky and Tony weren’t dating, because a firefighter and a detective couldn’t date (never mind that Tony hadn’t slept with anyone else since their thing had started, and he and Bucky hung out with an alarming frequency, and the whole precinct thought that they were an item). It didn't matter how many nights they spent together, how Bucky had a drawer of Tony's things and vice versa, they just couldn't.
It was a classic Romeo and Juliet situation, if Romeo and Juliet actively disliked each other on top of everything.
if found, please return to: @capnshellhead
Tony Stark shows up at Bucky's bar after a really tough break up and Bucky decides to look after him
gods of carnage:  @deathsweetqueen (part of a series)
On May 29, 1970, the Winter Soldier feels a burning sensation and looks down at his wrist to find a single name written in enduring ink: Antonia Margaret Stark.
HYDRA, fearing the defiance of their greatest asset due to a bond that cannot and will not be denied its due, immediately dispatches the Soldier, to locate, collect and deliver this newborn girl to HYDRA, which will become her new home, her new family and her entire world - to be raised as another one of HYDRA’s great warriors: their Engineer.
But the Engineer is a faulty asset. She thinks things that may get her killed one day. She wants things that she shouldn’t, that are not hers to want. She has a mind and body that belong more to herself than any handler, than any commander she may have.
And if she cuts her strings, when she cuts her strings, well, when you put sheep next to wolves, you ask for a bloodbath.
where i walk, you follow (where i burn, you burn):  @deathsweetqueen
At his father's command, Anthony Stark trades in his northern keep for a southern crown, wedded and bedded by Alexander of House Pierce, First of His Name.
Tony does his duty, becomes a wolf in name only, toothless and clawless, and a dark, gleaming ornament for the King, even if he would make himself a widower a hundred times over.
Honour demanded it of him, and so he did.
But it is Ser James Barnes, named the Kingslayer for his sins during the Rebellion, that draws his eye, gives him comfort in this pit of liars and monsters
So, what is honour compared to a good man's love? They are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love.
[Fic by deathsweetqueen, Art by MassiveSpaceWren]
Cat Parenting (And Other Meet Cutes):  @singingwithoutwords (this is an a/b/o verse fic)
Of all the ways Bucky could have finally gotten a chance to speak to his crush, why did it have to be his cat getting Tony's cat pregnant?
Codename Heartbreaker:  @rinnwrites (part of a series)
Today was a day that, contrary to popular belief, Tony Stark had most certainly not been looking forward to. It was election day, or election night, rather, and the polls were closed, the results were in; Howard Stark was the next President of the United States of America.
or
Tony Stark Bingo - R3: Election Day
Fate Strings Not Required: @akira-of-the-twilight
“Hey doll,” a new voice said from Tony’s side.
Tony glanced at the person approaching.
Someone was working the rugged, bad boy look. The new guy rocked a leather jacket and blue jeans.
His blue eyes lit up with joy as he approached Tony. “Something wrong here?” The new guy gave the first guy--the one insisting he was Tony's soul mate--a once over then turned his full attention on Tony. “You’re looking a little stressed, anything I can do?”
Tony took the hint.
Tony wrapped his hand around the new guy’s elbow. He kept his touch light and breakable in case he’d misread the cue.
“Just some guy claiming to be my soul mate, babe.”
The new guy’s eyebrows rose to his hairline in surprise. He chuckled and gave the first guy a smirk. “Strange. Last time I checked we were soul mates.”
Siren’s Treasure: @akira-of-the-twilight
Prompt: I really love the idea of playboy!Bucky flirt of the seven seas first-mate to Captain Rogers, falling completely overboard in love with our Blacksmith-Inventor Inexperienced!Tony who goes from confident captive to shy woe-begone man in the presence of Bucky's fierce affections. Virgin!Tony wonders what a siren like Bucky could possibly want with him. Bucky wants to know what the fuck Logan thinks he's doing flirting with the man who stole his heart like sunken treasures. Happy ending please?
“Sirens killed your crew?” Steve repeated.
The dark haired man nodded. Just an hour ago the Avenger crew had found the man clinging to driftwood in the middle of the ocean. Now he clutched the flask of rum Bucky had given him like it was all that kept him buoyant during these tumultuous times.
The man—Tony—had already downed more than half the flask and was still sober. “Not exactly my crew, but close enough. Yeah.” Tony uncapped the flask and threw back a mouthful.
Steve frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
Tony shrugged. “I wasn’t captain of the ship.”
“So what were you?” Steve pressed.
Road hazards: @riotwritesthings
Steve and Bucky's BFF road trip is not going well. For starters, Steve couldn't even make it, and for some bizarre reason asked Tony to take his place. The fact that it’s only a couple days before someone is trying to kill them isn’t nearly as stressful as the fact that Bucky and Tony have never really had an actual conversation.
It’s hard to avoid someone when stuck in a car with them though, and if they manage to stay alive they just might learn a thing or two.
Once Upon a Wintertime: @iam93percentstardust (this is an a/b/o verse fic)
Look, Bucky knows that he’s fulfilling every cliché in the book right now. He knows that, as a bodyguard, he’s not supposed to fall in love with his client. But Tony’s good and sweet and so, so lonely and how could Bucky not? He thinks he’s got a shot after Tony breaks up with his boyfriend but on a trip across the country, he finds out that Tony needs a bondmate or the board will steal SI—and Ty’s already said yes.
little bird: @thxngam
Bucky laughs, and it’s loud and unbidden, a way he hadn’t laughed for years before, tugging his giggling omega into his lap. Tony quiets and nestles into Bucky’s chest like he was made to belong there, and Bucky has noticed several times that Tony is much smaller than he is, but he never quite noticed how Tony always seemed to curl into him as a reason for his size.
Tony nestles like a little bird.
Teenage Dream:  @anthonyed
Tony Stark develops a crush on the school's bad boy who is too cool to hang out with anyone. At least, it's what Tony thinks. He never considered that James Barnes is probably as lonely as he is.
(in the process of editing)
The Best Laid Plans (of Mice and Men):  @arboreal-elm-ash-oak
His Dark Materials AU
It was Annalise who noticed their small visitor first.
“Tony,” the spider daemon said softly, skittering up the collar of his dress shirt, two of her eight legs resting delicately against his cheek, “Don’t startle them, but I believe we have a guest. Look, by the coffee table.”
A Kitten and a Soldier: @/ThatDamnKennedyKid
Bucky hadn't heard from Rumlow in years - since the whole Winter Soldier fiasco in Siberia. They've been discharged for nearly six years, but when he gets a message that only says "I need your help" , he grabs his jacket and keys.
The Prince’s Bride: @hddnone
After Tony loses the love of his life to pirates on the high sea, not much matters to him. He agrees to wed Prince Justin Hammer to gain access to vibranium and shut himself away in his workshop until the end of time, but a group of ruffians kidnap Tony to take him to Hydra.
Tony's rescue takes on an unlikely form - the Dread Pirate Rogers, who killed the love of his life five years ago.
A Princess Bride AU
A Kind of Destiny: @weethreequarter
A chance meeting at a wedding brings together an American war veteran and the Prince of Wales. Little do they know, the wheels have been set in motion for a relationship which will change not only their lives, but the monarchy itself. Bucky and Tony strike up a friendship at Steve and Peggy’s wedding, a friendship that soon develops into more. But it’s not so simple: Tony is the Prince of Wales, and heir to the throne of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Any relationship is played out in the press and public eye, and then there's that pesky issue of succession to consider too. But Bucky is no coward, and when he finds something he wants, he’s prepared to fight for it. And fight he will, at Tony's side, for their very own fairy tale ending.
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number5theboy · 3 years
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Creator Tag Game
I was tagged by the awesome Michelle @lilapittss​, thank you, I really love your creations!!
rules: answer the questions and then tag 10+ other creators to answer the questions!
first creation and most recent creation of 2020: I’m restricting it to creations published on this blog alone, which I started at the end of April. The first gifset was a gifset of Five, specifically non-verbal acting moments that I love, to celebrate my new URL. And the last gifset is me right back where I started from, it’s Five again, a collection of same moments between show and comic Five that I am very proud of.
one of your favorite creations from 2020: It is my most self-indulgent gifset to date, but I love my gifset of Five & Figures from Greek Mythology he reminds me of. The colouring turned out fire, and I like the text I came up with a lot. Five really is a character that feels like a Greek hero, truly one of those fatally flawed, deeply tragic characters that has a similar framing to a Greek tragedy, and I like that a lot, because it comes with an inherent moral ambiguity. It’s pretentious and maybe a bit reaching, but if it fits, it sits.
one new style you tried this year and a gifset that uses it: Blending! I tried it on this gifset for the countdown to season 2, it took me a small eternity and I am not satisfied at all with the result, and I haven’t tried it since, even though I’ve been wanting to.
your favorite coloring: I LOVE the colouring on this gifset of Five and Vanya fighting. It looks so good, I adore it, truly.
a creation that took you forever: It is literally called the Mammoth Project - I made this extensive Five appreciation gifset where I tried to showcase as much of Aidan Gallagher’s character work and range as possible. I’m proud of it, but it did take me over a week to complete.
your creation from 2020 that received the most notes: Five Suffering For Nineteen Days Straight currently stands at 7.7k notes, and it also took me forever, and it makes me happy that it didn’t flop. 
a creation you think deserved more notes: this gifset of Five and the Handler and this general gifset are two of my best colourings ever, and the gifsets flopped HARD. Especially the first one deserves better, I still think it’s gorgeous.
a creation with a favorite scene/quote: THIS GIFSET OF FIVE THROWING DIEGO UNDER THE BUS. It has the tag ‘listen he is a bastard and I love him so much’. I stand by that tag.
a new fandom you joined and a creation you made for it: well, all of this is TUA-themed, but I do adore this gifset of Season 1 lyrics that would have fit a Hargreeves sibling they weren’t used for.
a creation you made that breaks your heart: The one that broke everyone else’s hearts too. Just a gifset of the 567 siblings and how they were made into monsters by people just using them.
a ‘simple’ creation that you really love: I simply adore my Luther&Diego relationship development gifset. It’s a simple theme of blue and orange, but it turned out pretty, and I love my idea of the black and white gifs representing the start- and endpoint of the development. Good himbo bros are a weakness of mine.
a creation that was inspired by another one (add both your creation and the one that inspired it!): to be honest, the only one that was inspired by something else is the show/comic Five comparison, it was inspired by and expands upon this post
a favorite creation created by someone else: where to start....
very recently, this beautiful Vissy gifset by Ren, it’s SO pretty and SO romantic and I love the way they set it up, especially that last gif has been living rent free in my head since I saw it
everything Arianna has ever done ever, she makes the most beautiful, aesthetically pleasing creations, but I’m very biased and I really love the gifsets she made for me, this beautiful Five gifset and especially this horror gifset she made for an AU of mine, I still look at that one about once a week
GOD I LOVE THIS ALLISON & VANYA GIFSET that Michelle made, I am SO emo just thinking about it, it’s gorgeous and emotional and I love it. 
the wonderful Francesca, queen of the colour orange, made this Five gifset that I just adore, the colour scheme and the blur and the little circles with the pops of blue....gorgeous and the quote is perfect
The Hargreeves Siblings Suffering™ that Myra made an updated Season 2 version of. I remember the Season 1 version, and it is still as painful, and Myra’s blending is SO good in all her gifsets, but I love the contrast of colour and black/white here so much
Isha’s gifset of Soft™ Hargreeves Siblings just warms my heart and makes me smile every time I see it. She also made great gifset of the relationships of the siblings throughout the siblings, specifically Diego & Vanya and Five & Vanya. 
In the completely opposite camp, Zahraa made a gifset entitled # team zero braincells, and it is exactly what one would want it to be. I remember seeing it and laughing my ass off. And this Five gifset of hers is one of my favourite Five gifsets ever, period. Because it showcases what I like most about Five, which is Aidan Gallagher’s performance. It highlights so many good acting moments and I love it to bits. 
Artemis made this STUNNING gifset that is just a call to take Reginald down for all he did to the kids, with a BEAUTIFUL layout that I really adore. It looks SO good. And she is an expert at funny gifsets that also look super pretty. This one Vanya ‘miss my with that ‘weapon accuracy’ shit’ delights me to this day, just the idea and execution is on point, hilarious, 111/10.
Maggie just has such a grasp on colourful, vibrant gifs, and I have since made peace with the fact that I will never ever be able to colour Five as prettily as she did in this Bruised And Battered Five gifset. Literally nothing tops that second gif. It is so beautiful. Also, both on a colour and typography and emotional level, this gifset of Five and Vanya just hits perfectly. The quote fits them so well and I’m such a sucker for gifsets that celebrate their sibling relationship, and I love it so much. 
last but not least, Tess has been a genuine joy to talk to and one of the most creative people I’ve ever seen on this site. Shoutout to their little Hargreeves Emoji Quotes creation that is SO cute, and their Five and Allison Quote sets, they look STUNNING and the bold colours and typography.....Tess, your talent!!!
some of your favorite content creators from the year: Legit, folks, I couldn’t pick a single creation by someone else to shout out, so I picked one or more of each of you, because you are all amazing and talented, so I wanted to pay you compliments. You have filled my dash with so much beauty and joy and you are all such inspirations. I wish you all a wonderful new year, @almondchestnut, @seance, @lilapittss, @evakant, @andyoudoctor, @diazalex, @zavens, @fivevanyaklaus, @lukehan, @ogaferoga, you all rock. Also if any of you haven’t done this tag (I have lost track) feel free to do it :)
another couple more creations of yours that you love:
my pair of Five character moments that I drenched in the same colouring: Five + sarcasm + coffee and Five moonlighting as the Commission assassin therapist
my Umbrella Academy Film Genre AUs: Horror Movie and Film Noir
Lost Hargreeves parallel gifset, because the last two gifs still make my heart clench
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phantomchick · 3 years
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List of wips - aka struggles
Call Me A Jason Todd fic I started two years ago and still go back to poke at longingly, will the second and final chapter ever be posted? Who can know for sure.
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I tell myself that I don't need Anyone (But the truth is no one needs Me) Another Jason Todd fic I haven't completed, posted two years ago for whumptober, it was the only day of whumptober I participated in, intended to be full of Captain Atom and Jason Todd interacting during the fall out of Bludhaven getting chemo'd but he doesn't show up in the first chapter and have you ever tried to read Infinite Crisis? It's a fucking mess. With this wip I have a close to justifiable excuse in that I refuse to write without knowing the canon, and reading through all the canon that's relevant is A Task.
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The Monster in The Man A Merlin fic floating around my drafts, currently at a good bit over 5k wherein Merlin gets POSSESSED by an old enchantment gone mad. Written because a Merlin fic I read ended on a horror style cliffhanger and I couldn't handle it so I charged my way through the first 2k of a sequel and I've been adding to it ever since. Angst with a hopefully happy ending, if I ever frikking finish it.
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The Dragon Lord In the aftermath of his father's death after Merlin inherits his father's dragon lord abilities he notices some minor changes to his interactions with his friends, the thing is that Merlin is a dragon lord and unusually what he hoards is people, things might just turn out the better for it.
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Maelstrom A Naruto time travel fix it fic that wouldn't leave me alone until I got the first chapter out, ironically it has left me entirely alone since I finished the first chapter and I have no idea if inspiration for it will ever return or when that will be.
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You Don't Know Anything Long long ago in a land of asks and a time of legend @paradise-runway sent me a fic request for "one where the other Bat boys find out the circumstances of Jason's death and resurrection and their reaction?" it has been lingering in my drafts haunting me ever since, someday, someday I shall fulfill what has been promised.
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Of Curses and Covenants A longfic exploring the magical underbelly of Gotham's history, focuses on the intertwined relationship of the Wayne Family and the Zatara Family brought about by how often Waynes through the generations have ended up being cursed. I have an index of all the curses ready, the problem with this one is the plot and the story.
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Vicki Finds a Bat (temporary title) Vicki Vale stumbles upon a still alive young adult Jason Todd at a wafflehouse on the way back from snooping into Cobblepot's latest criminal schemes. Convincing the young man to go back home to his loving father might prove more of a challenge than she thinks however. (will have a happy ending if I ever fucking finish it, for now it looms in my drafts like an unhappy gargoyle)
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Hug Deficit A fic about Jason being touch starved and his family fixing it, hurt/comfort all the way, post resurrection.
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Stephanie Brown and The Mansion of Man Pain Robin Era Steph, she and Alfred have pumpkin spice lattes together, it's their thing because I say it is. Includes, Alfred raised 5 boys counting Bruce, he's not sure how to handle a little girl and Bruce trying to dad plus Steph trying her best. Would be a lot easier to write if I was any good at comedy.
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Another Time, Another Place Some twenty years or so after their death, Martha and Thomas Wayne appear in the middle of Wayne Manor's ground floor parlour room, the major problem with this? Not only are Bruce and Dick away, Alfred's on holiday in England! Which is why Jason as the eldest has been unwillingly nominated by his younger siblings to deal with the situation at hand. Martha and Thomas in this are heavily inspired by @unpretty's amazing portrayals in her fics with them.
- Queen Blackfire and the Lazarus Lord An au with Soulmate identifying marks: Jason Todd was having an okay time as de-facto leader of The Outlaws, a band of misfits and rebels with hearts of gold (or at least silver) saving the world the best they could and filling in the gaps the more straightforward heroes tended to miss while they were at it. Then he found out he was soulmates with the Alien Warrior Queen bent on declaring war on planet Earth if the Justice League didn't find her soulmate for her. Things with his friend, team mate and potential future sister in law Kori just got super awkward and the only good thing he can find about this situation is how angry (and protective? But maybe he's just imagining that) Bruce seems over the whole thing.
Side note: Kommand'r freaked out during the years Jason was 'dead' and accidentally brought peace to a huge chunk of space and intergalactic society via building up her empire after throwing herself into work to escape the grief.
- To Grasp The Hand of a Fox Naruto and Kurama travel back in time to save the world but unfortunately they land in the same moment that Kurama's just been put under a genjutsu by Madara Uchiha, Naruto has to make his way to Konoha and wake Kurama up before the villagers seal him away inside Mito. Can he save his friend in time to save them all?
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Those Winter Sundays Mcu fic. Snapshots of Tony working hard for the avengers and no one noticing. Civil War Team Iron Man.
- Salvation Rides a Solar Wind Iron Man fic in a Science fiction / Western style fic where Tony's presence is described through the eyes of the aliens he helps. Au where the war with Thanos goes very differently. The type of fic that needs like 5 multi chapter fics in a single series to truly shine, hence why I will likely never finish it.
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And We Break Away Again Jason goes back to Talia after Damian is brought back from the dead by Bruce. It's not that he begrudges his little brother his resurrection, the opposite, but he can't ignore what Bruce did to him by taking him to the magdala valley and he can't ignore what Bruce doing for Damian what he didn't do for him, (do for Dick, do for any of them besides the blood related one) means. So he decides to go back to the only person who ever seemed to understand why he wanted to avenge himself in the first place, the only person who seemed to agree that he had a right to be angry that he'd died at all, the only person he can trust to hold him together while he feels like he's falling apart that won't judge him against the heroic mold while they're at it. Not sure if this will be a oneshot or a series but we're going good Talia with this one regardless, DC's been ruining her lately but through fanfic all things are possible so fuck them.
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Fan The Flames In the aftermath of a magical fire taking hold of the Daily Planet in Metropolis, Superman is missing, can Batman and the rest of the Justice League find their friend as well as the identity of the evil arsonist before Lex Luther does it first?
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In a Whisper (In a Wish) Ichigo Kurosaki protects people, it's not just who he is, it's what he is, down to the core of his very soul. The only problem is, that a few weeks ago he sacrificed half his soul to protect the world. It aches inside where he knows something important used to be. When everyone he cares for is avoiding him and he's starting to feel more like a shadow than a person, that aches at him too and he can't help but wish, quietly, privately, painfully, to himself if no one else that things were different, that he wasn't so broken or so alone. But if wishes were fishes they'd fill a whole sea (just be careful not to whisper them within the hearing range of the Hōgyoku).
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An Honest Conversation (Is A Bitter Thing To Crave) Jason kidnaps Bruce but things don't go as Bruce expects. First of all the reason Jason was able to kidnap him was because Stephanie of all people was his insider, why would she support someone Batman knows she's only met once. And second of all the reason he's been abducted - So that Jason can drug them both with the same substance. And when Bruce asks what he's doing this for Jason only responds, "We don't trust each other enough to have a truthful conversation otherwise" and refuses to say anything more while they wait for it to kick in. What will be revealed by this forced honest encounter on both sides? -
carrying the world on thin shoulders Midoriya Izuku deserves better from literally all the adults in his life so this is part whump part hurt comfort part fix it fic that sprawls out from time to time but it's pretty bad tbh, at some point I'll probably make it neater and give it something resembling a coherent plot. Hopefully. -
Trust Issues HP fic. Harry gets dosed with a potion that's supposed to reinforce your strongest survival instinct, the person who drugged him might've intended to be helpful but said potion happened to be at extra strength and he was given what would be a normal fix for the regular version but for this one is twice the recommended amount. Great.. The biggest problem about all this - beyond his internationally wanted godfather Sirius endangering himself by hiding out in a cave near Hogsmeade against all rational advice, his best friend Ron hating him, everyone in school besides his other best friend Hermione also hating him or avoiding him and the entire Goblet of Fire problem - is that he can't bring himself to trust anyone enough to tell them what's wrong.
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Truth is Treason in the Empire of Lies A post marvel avengers story, thor pov probably, made because I like to dive into a pool of thor & loki sibling feels sometimes: Starts off as Thor regales his new human shield brothers with the story of his banishment and return to Asgard ending with Loki falling into the Void and the Avengers have some questions, questions Thor had not thought of, remarks on things that Thor doesn’t know how to explain away.  After he goes to Loki’s cell and asks him some things he becomes more and more angry despite having no one he can punch > Gets drunk and criticises Sif and The Warriors Three after they try to calm him down > mention of Loki still being underage by Aesir standards during Thor 1 seeing as Thor was being crowned due to being of age in the movie > heavy inspiration drawn from queen regnant by peaceheather. “For while the Treason I detest, the Traitor I love still.” Currently just an outline.
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Separation Split personality disorder Red Hood and Jason Todd, alternatively, Red Hood is a demon/parasite latched on to Jay. A lot of work necessary considering right now it’s currently just an idea inspired by a cool tumblr fanart.
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A Trinity of Head Wounds The dcu trinity in the aftermath of a fight against some alien invaders (or something along those lines), whump, hurt/comfort, starts with them arguing, ends with them bleeding on each other in a friendship way, whole thing should take place in a single room on the watchtower and be a oneshot so it's gotta be a short and sweet one-two gut punch with the feelings which is difficuuult.
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A Stark in The Stars an mcu fic, a really over complicated mcu fic, mostly because of Steve Roger's timeline fuckery, Tony's alive but he's not supposed to be, but so are a lot of people who were dead but aren't now you might say what with the snap and the blip. The thing is that Steve's timeline fuckery is making it so that everyone keeps getting confused between the two different timelines of events, obviously more confused the more that their characters were connected to the films/the events that were altered, the punchline of this particular fic though is that Tony's still alive and he's unaware of the timeline of events where he died. And as he's currently in space he's also unaware that everyone on Earth thinks he's dead (because why wouldn't they? he died in endgame after all). That makes this fic super tough to write because like ultimate unreliable narrator right here and not sure how to tie in the whole 'oh wait actually everyone on Earth thinks I'm dead because of the canon timelines' thing in or at what point of the story to do that at. The fuckery of it all gives me a headache. Plot is hard. Also all of that's basically background to the actual focus of most of the fic thus far which is Tony travelling around space in an Iron Man suit up until the point where it won't be background.
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Magic Chained Merlin au. When you put magic restraining cuffs on Magic himself you don't just bind him you bind all magic the world over. It is therefore, infinitely lucky that Uther Pendragon never became aware of this fact.
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A Child in The Cold bnha Midoriya deserves better also Recovery Girl and Aizawa have shit to answer for as far as I'm concerned.
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