#a group of like six guards also came on board to help them

[foxstens]

proof that ive gotten better at the game: guards now consistently run away from me

[yourdeepestfathoms]

I am requesting even more headcanons because the pool ones are all adorable

your wish is my command ;)

Ride the Cyclone Kids and The Beach

(in no particular order!)

(all platonic!)

The SECOND they arrive, the kids are like “omg, Ocean, it’s you!!!” and Ocean is So Tired Of It

Also Ocean, despite her namesake, REALLY doesn’t like the beach

It smells bad, and the saltwater makes her hair brittle and skin itch, and there’s sand, and things in the water, and it’s just not her favorite place to be

However, she tags along because she refuses to be left out

Ocean once again dons her rash guard to try to protect her delicate ginger skin (spoiler alert: it Doesn’t Work. we’ll get to that later)

Catch Noel out here staying on the bay the Whole Time

For once, he agrees with Ocean; the beach isn’t the most pleasant place to be

He only goes into the water to piss lol

Aside from that, the most he’ll get in is up to his shins

And that’s being generous

Meanwhile, Mischa and Penny are FLINGING themselves at the water

(I just think they would have a really cute friendship OKAY)

These two are usually ALWAYS in the water

Catch them out here wrestling wildly in the shallows

Ocean deadass tried to do homework while at the beach and only put it away when Mischa threatened to throw all her stuff into the water

She is allowed to read a book in the water, though

So she likes to sit in the shallows

Constance is both on the bay and the water, but she usually doesn’t go very deep

She’s perfectly content with the water, but the moment her foot touches something she’s oUT OF THERE

Her toe makes 0.4 seconds of contact with something slimy?? She’s gonna jump six feet out of the water and scramble for the shore

Sometimes she’ll just sit and talk with Ocean or help with Ricky’s sandcastles

Speaking of Ricky! He is a fucking MASTER at building sandcastles

Bro’s got a whole PALACE going on

Ricky, signing: seeing people dig holes in the sand really makes you realize we’re all just little animals

Constance: what

Constance likes to collect pretty seashells!

Penny also collects seashells!

The ones she deems the prettiest are divided through the group

(They all still have the shells she gave her somewhere in their rooms)

Mischa will pull the others on a boogie board through the shallower area

Penny will grab everything and ANYTHING she finds

Girl has No Fear

She once chased Noel around with a jellyfish because she wanted to show him, but he was freaked out

She also straight up grabbed a whole ass fish before

Constance: PENNY!!!! PUT IT BACK!!!!!!!

Mischa likes to pretend to drown to see if the others will come save him

Constance does come to his rescue Every Single Time

Noel doesn’t even budge

Ocean stands up in alarm, but she can’t swim, so what can she do? She’d probably legitimately drown if she tried

Ricky is too focused on his sandcastle to notice

Penny is also pretending to drown lol

Mischa and Penny both shake off like dogs

Mischa started it, Penny just mimicked him, so now they both do it

Some creeps were fucking with Ocean, telling her to take her rash guard off so they could “see that pretty body she has underneath,” and Mischa came SPRINTING from the water to chase them off

Not only that, though, but Noel shot up and started storming over, while Penny fucking grabbed the WHOLE SHOVEL Ricky was using like it was goddamn sword

Ricky threw sand

Constance was already comforting Ocean

Ocean acts like what happened didn’t bother her, but it Did

She appreciates the other kids stepping in, though

After that, Noel moves the umbrella and his chair to sit by her in the shallows

Not to keep an eye on her, if that’s what you’re thinking! Him? Being worried over OCEAN? No, no, no. He’s just getting closer to the nice view of the water! That’s all!

So, like, while reading a book in the water, Ocean kinda forgets to reapply sunscreen

Which results in the WORST sunburn on her legs and face and back of her neck

Like, oh my god, that shit was the color of a red Sharpie marker

Ocean is DISMAYED

Noel called it her “crab legs”

It’s SO PAINFUL

She gets sun poisoning because of it, poor girl!

[andieperrie18]

Your Endgame

So this is requested by@raginghellfire. I haven’t written in a while due Uni and busy classes but I hope I did a good job on this. UwU Dami might be a bit OOC but I really think he is a passionate lover when he falls in love.

Bruce Wayne was one tough cookie. Unlike Tony, he held shackled himself with the responsibility of protecting Gotham city from its baddies that he barely let himself enjoy his life. He too cares for children very much but he wasn't as hands-on being there for them. He wasn't always there in those best events in their life to congratulate them that greatly hurt them. It would seem that he just adopted these children as soldiers for his endless war with crime, that they were nothing but expendable assets. But he does love them and had just recently been trying to reconnect with all of them.

Tony Stark had always let his child have free reign over their life but he never leaves the passenger seat. He will always be by their side no matter what choice they make. He was never strict as he was a free soul but he grows and understands responsibility everyday after returning from Afghanistan after being held captive. He wasn't a perfect father but he did try for Y/n, good thing for him is that she understands responsibility earlier made it easy for him to be there for him.

Bruce Wayne was notorious for being a play boy, same goes to Tony Stark. Both men has had another of flings that the paparazzi didn't miss to see. It took quite a while before two of them finally found out the true meaning of true love. The one decided to settle down while the other chose his job over attaining a lifelong happiness and peace.

Some of the Wayne kids also had their own flings through out their lives. Some had more the two and some, just one. Just one cause when the second came, they were their endgame.

---

The bright city lights of Paris slightly seeped in the glass panes of the balcony doors of the room. Across it was a king sized bed with undone sheets and two people underneath the high quality comforter. Damian and Y/n sat with backs against the head board, the latter former resting his against the latter's figure. His head slightly buried on her neck as her fingers combed through his bed hair her other hand around his bare chest.

"I'm pretty sure that photo reached them already," her voice echoed around the slightly dim room.

Damian hummed, "It did, which earned me quite a number of miss calls from my family,"

Y/n giggled that he found contagious making him do the same.

"I'm going back to Gotham in two days but I don't think I'm ready to leave your side yet," he snuggled his face on her neck, placing butterflies kisses on them. Her eyes close, a flutter vibrates within her chest as she pulled his head closer. Placing her lips on his head. Damian pulled her seated figure closer to his own, his face snuggling closer to her skin.

"Can I just postpone the flight for another month?" he mumbled, sending tickles on her skin making her giggle.

"Dami, you said that 2 months ago and you already bought a ticket home,"

Damian never whines but after almost two years of being in a relationship, there are certain childishness he had suddenly unlock being with her. Y/n laughed at his childish wiles as it send tingles in his stomach, he loves it when she laughs because of him.

"Besides, I already scheduled mine and my seat is next to yours, you can't expect me to have an empty seat beside me?"

Damian's head shot up from her neck, his eyes staring at her. Y/n bit her lip containing a fit of giggles after seeing his eyes sparkle like a child getting a new toy. He slumped his faced between breast.

"I really love you."

"And I really love you too, Dami,"

---

And probably the biggest public figures is youngest Wayne child and the eldest Stark Child. The most controversial couple that reached ears all over the world. No one knew of their relationship as until the paparazzi caught a picture of them kissing at Champ de Mars near the Eiffel tower. The news made use of the quote, "Pictures speaks a thousand words" rather well. Some are heartbroken by the news but the biggest people taken surprise by the news were the Wayne's.

Clicks and flashes surrounded the long trail of red carpet that lead to entrance of the Wayne manor that held another gala. This time it was a celebratory occasion for the youngest Wayne's return from a long vacation that he took a almost 2 years ago. A break he took after a rather peaceful yet melancholic break up with titan's member. Damian suddenly decided to toss the towel and told his Father that he doesn't want to be like Bruce, alone and brooding. He needs to breath for a while to which his father did not hesitate to agree. Bruce loves his children, he may not show it but he does.

A Grey matte Porsche 911 parked its way at the end of the carpet making some of the photographers to  it, awaiting the celebrities that will emerge.

"Do you think they'll like me? I mean Dad isn't really in good terms with Bruce Wayne you know," Y/n  eyed the silhouette of the Wayne manor and the crowding paps at the cat walk. This wasn't the first time she came to a Wayne gala, its just that this time she was going to be introduced as Damian Wayne's girlfriend.

The emerald eyed Wayne gently took her chin to meet his eyes. A gentle smiles grew from his lips.

"They will, beloved. I know they will because I love you," his voice said laced a such a tender tone that no one ever thought he could have.

A love sick grin emerged from her once doubting expression before she pressed leaned for a quick peck to which he returned in an instant. They pulled away with both of them sharing the same cheek tinted grins.

Damian emerged from the driver's seat followed by the loud camera clicks and calling reporters. He simply gave his signature Wayne smile before turning to the other side of the car to where Y/n emerges with the same celebrity like smile that she inherited from her father. From the moment they set foot on the carpet, the paparazzi just got louder and rather pushy that made the guards push them out a little harder.

"Mr. Wayne how'd you meet Ms. Stark?!"

"Miss Stark, how long have you two been together?!"

"Miss Stark look here!!"

"Mister Wayne! Look here!!"

To say that the paparazzi were going crazy would be an understatement, as they were going mad-crazy as the couple walking the catwalk is the biggest confirmation to the news that a union between the Wayne and the Stark has occurred. If they could only get to the couple to ask some, more like a bunch of questions would be the cherry on top of the new news for next day.

Upon entry within the Manor, their arrival turn heads and silenced chatters.

Y/n M/n Stark, the matriarch of the Stark Industries inheriting the nickname, 'Merchant of Death' in Manhattan. She was a much smarter tinker as she assured no such case like her father's long captivity ever happened again and all Stark weapons are heavily protected and can only be handled by the military hands.

Damian Wayne was no CEO but is a COO of the Wayne Enterprises. Helping his brother Tim in managing the affairs in the company. It's bad enough that the male is overdosing himself with caffeine while handling their nightly hero affairs, he was still his brother no matter how much they quarrel. Damian was willing to shoulder long painstaking meetings for him just to let him have a day off.

To see the two of them together would expresses a union.

Their matching outfit theme elevated the curiosity of all the attendants of the gala. Damian's slick three piece burgundy check suit made Damian look sophisticated but neat. Every young lady around the room were welcome to gawk at his figure as he glides with his partner. Y/n's own green gown greatly complimented his with its shade of green, its shape hugging her figure naturally that she loved. Every young man had their eyes on an emerald.

It didn't take long before the couple reached the group of people they are meant to meet. They didn't miss their wide eyes and dropped jaws. Y/n may be a stranger but they could agree that she is a beautiful stranger.It was only when Damian spoke that they have gained awareness of their surroundings.

"Good evening father, everyone. It's nice to see you all again," Damian began with Y/n holding on to his shoulder.

"I gotta say demon spawn you grew quite a lot for just two years," Jason earned a slightly hard nudge from Dick. Damian may have grown but he still has a tick with Jason's nicknames for him.

"Don't mind him Damian, why don't you introduce your company," the eldest said as he slightly push the white streaked hair male behind him that earned a look from his father.

Damian didn't say anything on the nickname thing and proceeded to introduce her which earned quite an awkward atmosphere on his family's side while the couple remained at ease in their presence.

"Stark its nice to finally see you again," Tim entered as he brought his hand out to which the woman took generously.

"Good to see you too Drake, and good evening to you too Mister Wayne,"

Bruce went forward to shake her hand, "How is your father by the way?" he asked.

"He is doing well, he's living by the countryside with my sister and mom," she replied with a smile.

"So he's settling down?" Bruce asked, quite surprised.

"Yes, he said life is short and he intends to spend it living it with us," She continued to which earned a bit of awkwardness with Damian's siblings. It was a rather sensitive topic but they didn't speak of it any further.

---

Damian had to separate himself from Y/n to help Tim a bit on the company. Seated by the bar, with his two brothers and his father, it was quite a company.

"How long have you two been going out?" Dick opened as you turned to him.

"We've been together for almost 1 year and half years, but we didn't started dating until six months later after we met,"

"We're you aware he just got out of a break up?" Jason raised.

Y/n took a sip of her drink, "I did, that's why I didn't let him to be with me until I totally confirmed that I was not a rebound,"

"And how do you know you aren't just a rebound for Rachel Roth?" Dick asked this time.

Bruce didn't say anything as he wasn't very much in touch with his son's relationship, but he did know that he loved her, Damian wouldn't risk his life for anyone if he did. As much as he wanted to stop Dick from pulling a rather sensitive topic on a person he just met especially when that person is someone close to his brother, he wants to know if the girl was just a fling. Y/n was known to have a number of flings before Damian came in to the picture.

"Damian is not mine to claim, whether I am a rebound or not, I still love him, you can try to make me say what we are having is just a fling but I know one thing," her tone was authoritative but calm.

They were doubting Damian's judgement with her relationship with her. Its not like she wasn't aware that he dated a co-worker of his. He was his first love and Y/n knew she might not be his last but she sure prays to whatever ethereal being that they last.

"I love him. Whether you believe me or not, I will always do even if he chooses her over me,"

Damian was her everything.

---

By midnight, Damian said his good byes with his family. He didn’t miss the slight look of sadness in her eyes so he took her away from his brothers' company. Damian was sure that they said something but she chose to protect them by not telling him anything.

When they got to the parking lot as they got to their car, Damian stopped and had Y/n face him. Before she could ask, he had already latched his lips on her. Giving her an ever so passionate kiss they always share. One that he always felt like he was having his first kiss the first time.

Y/n circled her arms around his neck before they broke off, forehead resting against each other.

"I may not know what went on between you and my family by the bar, but I want you to know that I love you. You may not be my first but I am deathly sure that you are my last…" he whispered to her.

[restlessfandoming]

“the president and the troublemaker” (part 12) (chilumi fic)

“Lumine is the student council president and Childe is the school’s number one troublemaker. They cross paths more than they’d like. Especially when Childe finds out Lumine’s big secret. Highschool AU à la Kaichou wa Maid-sama.”

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [part 6] [part 7] [part 8] [part 9] [part 10] [part 11]

[Fic Masterlist] // [AO3 Link] // [Main AO3]

i know these be delayed af :’) i am trying very hard :’)

* * * 

the president and the troublemaker (part 12)

“The winner gets to go on a date with Lumine,” Venti said.

“Sounds like a deal,” Childe agreed. 

“Hold on!” Lumine interjected sternly. “I haven’t agreed to any of this.” 

Venti and Childe both turned towards her—Venti much more scared, embarrassed, Childe much more amused, inquisitive. 

“I’m not going to be fought over like some stupid carnival prize,” Lumine seethed. 

“Ah...sorry, LuLu…,” Venti said quietly. 

Childe regarded Lumine for a second. “Okay,” he said, turning to Venti. “How about just a regular competition then? No prize.” His blue eyes glinted. “Except pride of course.” 

Lumine rubbed at her growing headache. Why is he so dramatic? “You two do whatever you want. Just don’t make me a part of it,” she told them, sitting down on a nearby bench to spectate. 

Venti also glanced at Lumine, before nodding to Childe. “Okay. Pride it is.” 

“Highest score after...six arrows?” Childe suggested, examining one of the arrows. 

Venti nocked an arrow on the bowstring. “How about only three?” 

Childe scoffed. “Getting a little confident, are we?” 

The bard drew back his arrow, and fired. The arrow sliced through the air, implanting into one of the gold rings on the target—the ring just outside the bullseye. 

“I’m not confident without reason,” Venti said with an all-knowing laugh. 

Childe looked at Venti’s score, a slight twitch of a smile on his lips. “Not bad. A challenge—I like it.” 

“Childe,” Lumine said, brows furrowed, “since when did you do archery?” 

“Since never,” he answered, nocking an arrow, then drawing it back. Even with no knowledge of archery, Lumine could tell his posture was all wrong, the tilt of the bow too slouched—compared to Venti’s refined stance. 

“There’s always a good time to start,” Childe finished. He fired the arrow, the arrow landing in the black ring near the edge. Venti held back a snort, and Lumine’s eyes flickered to Childe’s face. 

His eyes were slightly narrowed, focused on the arrow. She expected them to be void of light, as they were when he was deeply serious, however there was a sharp glint now—the promise of struggle. 

She knew he loved competitions (why else would he be pursuing the same career as her?) but he hated anything that came too easily. He found solace in turmoil. He found solace in coming out on top after a dark, bloody battle. 

“How about we call this a practice round?” Venti said with a cheeky grin. 

A smile from Childe while his eyes remained unmoving. “Where’s the fun in that?” He turned to Venti. “Your turn.” 

The bard blinked warily at him a few times, before prepping for his second shot. This time, the arrow landed further from the center, planted into the middle blue zone. 

“Drats,” the blue-hair boy hissed. 

Instantaneously, Childe fired his second arrow, finding it in the same blue zone. He tilted his head, shifting the bow around in his hands, inspecting it. 

“Your turn,” Childe said again, still examining the bow in his hands. 

Venti wordlessly raised his bow, one eye closed for precise aiming. He took longer lining up this final arrow.

Is he actually worried Childe’s going to beat him? Lumine wondered. There was no way, right? Venti had training while this was Childe’s first time handling the weapon. 

Venti fired the arrow, completely still as they all watched it soar through the air. 

It landed in the blue. 

He let out a sheepish laugh. “Seems like I’m a bit rusty,” he said. After a moment, he shook his head, setting the bow down. “No worries, LuLu. Childe has no way of beating me,” he whispered to her. 

She nodded; that’s what was expected, wasn’t it? Then why do I feel disappointed?

Childe stepped up to the line, bow and final arrow in hand, rolling his shoulder. Then, he threw the arrow at the target. 

He threw the arrow at the target. No bow used. Just his hands. Like a javelin. 

Venti and Lumine’s eyes widened as the arrow slammed into the gold circle—the same gold circle Venti had hit earlier. 

Childe looked at the board briefly, an obvious look of pride on his face as he turned back towards the two. 

“What do you think of that, Pres?” he asked. 

Lumine huffed and rolled her eyes. “Very impressive,” she said sarcastically. “Only you would think of doing something like that.” 

“I must say,” Venti said, “Though unorthodox, you picked it up quite quickly.” He smiled and held out his hand. “A good game, sir!” 

Childe raised a brow, a tiny smile at his lips as well. “Good game,” he echoed, accepting the handshake. 

Well, that went better than expected. Honestly, she had expected Childe to sock Venti in the face, and she was glad this was the outcome instead.  

“How about another game?” Venti suggested. 

“Watch out,” Childe said. “You might end up being the loser next round.”

“At least I wasn’t the loser this round,” Venti retorted with a stuck-out tongue. 

Lumine sighed. And there they were, back to bickering. “I need to check the time. We’ve got to get back to the bus at some point,” she told them, standing up to head back to the lockers. 

She stopped in her tracks. 

Even from across the arcade, she could see a man pulling out her white messenger bag from her locker. And he already had Childe’s and Venti’s belongings under his arm. 

Without a second thought, Lumine lunged, sprinting across the building. 

“Wait, LuLu! Where are you going?!” Venti shouted behind her. 

At the sound of Venti’s yelling, the thief’s head snapped up, and he immediately noticed Lumine running at him. His eyes widened, and he booked it out of the arcade with all their belongings, and disappeared from sight. 

Lumine made it to the front of the building, stopping to look down the streets for a sign of the thief. 

Behind her, she heard Childe and Venti catch up, panting. 

“What’s wrong?” Childe asked. 

“Thief,” she spat. “Took all our stuff.” Her eyes scanned the streets.

A flash of white in an alleyway. Her bag. 

Without a word, she dashed towards the alley, Childe and Venti following her lead. 

Turning into the alley, she saw the thief, still running. The thief had slowed down, just a bit, but seeing the three students barreling towards him, he picked up speed, turning a corner down another narrow alley. 

He led them through a maze of narrow alleyways, crossing them through street after street. 

Lumine’s lungs were on fire, as were her legs—every alarm in her body screaming to stop—but she needed to catch that thief. Her hearing was all tuned out, save for the pulsating rush of blood in her ears, and her eyes tunneled in on the thief. I have to catch him. I have to catch him. Ihavetocatch—

Someone grabbed her arm from behind, yanking her to a stop. 

!!!

With the adrenaline coursing through her veins, she immediately used the momentum to swing around, leading with a powerful punch. 

Childe easily deflected her punch with his forearm, and—before she could try to kick—he swept his own leg under hers, knocking her off her feet. 

She felt like she was falling backwards in slow motion, watching panickedly as Childe let go of her arms. Her mind was bewildered at the notion that Childe would purposefully let her fall like this—he had always saved her so what was he doing?

But then he scooped his arms under her, catching her in a princess carry, one knee on the ground. 

The air rushed from Lumine’s lungs, and she let out hoarsely, “Why did you do that?” 

There was a slight frown tugging at his lips. “Lumi, you were about to run into an intersection.”

Lumine blinked, and the world filled in around her. 

The thief had in fact led them to a bustling intersection, and only now did she hear the WHOOSH of speeding cars rush past them. She glanced around; if Childe hadn’t stopped her on the sidewalk where they were, she would’ve run straight into oncoming traffic. 

“You didn’t have to do all this,” Lumine grumbled, climbing out of his hold. 

“You didn’t have to punch me,” he replied, one hand still on the small of her back. 

Venti jogged up to them from the alley, out of breath. “Wha-Why are we stopped?” he managed to get out. 

“Unless you want to become roadkill, the chase ends here,” Childe said, pointing at the street. 

Lumine bit the side of her cheek, eyes still searching the area for any sign of the thief. There was nothing. 

“Uhm, quick question guys,” Venti said. “Where are we exactly?” 

The three of them looked around. 

The area was completely unrecognizable. In their desperate chase, the thief had led them far away from where they had started, with no way of knowing how to get back. 

Lumine cursed. “Did any of you keep your phones or wallets on you?” The two guys shook their heads, and Lumine let out a frustrated groan. “How are we going to get back?” 

“We could ask around for help?” Venti suggested. 

“Not going to happen, unless you know how to speak Chinese,” Childe countered. 

“It’s worth a shot,” Lumine said with a sigh. She started walking down the sidewalk, looking for any passing civilian or store. 

They seemed to be in a more residential area, more run-down than modern. It definitely looks like a sketchy part of town...

After some time, they reached a small stretch of commercial buildings. However, the buildings were even more run-down than the previous houses, and dark figures were huddled around the vicinity. 

A group of three men stood outside of a rusty pharmacy, eyeing the students as they approached. They all donned a sort of bandana masking their faces, and arm guards wrapped their wrists. A treacherous aura surrounded them. 

Maybe we shouldn’t ask here…, Lumine thought. Before she could turn them all around, Venti stepped forward towards the men.  

“Hello, gentlemen! Could you guys show us the way to the Stone Gate?” he said, completely oblivious of the situation. 

The men looked at each other, and the tallest one with a sleeveless blue vest, stepped forward. “Are you kids lost?” he asked. 

“Oh, Archons! You fellas speak English!” Venti cheered. “Yes, we got separated from our school field trip.” 

Lumine glanced at the other two men, hearing a whisper of, “Look at their school uniforms. They must be rich.” 

She looked over at Childe. He was also assessing the group, and she noticed him subtly stretching. He was preparing for something.

Childe looked at Lumine, and she nodded at him, already reading his expression. He nodded back at her, turning to the group. 

The two men in the back were obviously beginning to size up the three of them, while the leader was still speaking with Venti, stalling. 

Venti...always too trusting of people. 

“So, you kids are on a school trip?” the leader asked. “Long way from home, right? You bring a lot of cash with you?”

Venti sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “Oh, yeah, I guess. But funny thing is—”

The man pulled out a knife. “Okay, so here’s what you all are going to do. You’re going to give us anything of value on you, and we will send you on your way to the Stone Gate...unharmed.” 

The two other men pulled out weapons as well, one with a sharp broken bottle, the other a hammer rusted with dried blood. 

Venti took a step back, gulping audibly. 

“Or,” Childe said, raising his fists. “How about you leave us be, and you escape...unharmed?” 

The men laughed boisterously. “Look at this kid. Trying to be tough—how cute,” one of them mocked. 

“LuLu, we have to run,” Venti whispered to her, eyes darting back the way they came. 

That would have been the sensible option. The men had weapons, they were older, they were crueler. 

But seeing these men reminded her of her painful past, the very past that fueled her through her entire life. Because these men, that thief, were exactly like her father. Putting others in pain while they got off without consequence. 

Not today. 

Lumine raised her fists also, standing alongside Childe. “Last warning,” she said lowly. 

The men burst out in laughter again. “Wow, these kids are funny!” 

“What are you guys doing?!” Venti hissed. 

“Don’t hold back, girlie,” Childe murmured. 

“Never,” she said. “Big one together.”

Childe nodded. 

The two of them crouched. Then, they sprang forward. 

Catching them off-guard, the two of them focused on the leader first. Lumine threw out a high kick, hitting the leader right in his knuckles, while Childe slammed his knee into the man’s gut. 

The man dropped to his knees, his knife clattering to the floor, before his crew even registered what happened. They cried out in surprise, and Lumine kicked the knife far away. Childe applied a swift hit to the back of the leader’s head, registering him unconscious.

Childe and Lumine turned to the two other men. 

“Well?” Lumine asked them. 

“Are you two still up for the challenge?” Childe said.

The one with the bottle growled. “Damn kids need to be put in their place.” He charged at them, the one with a hammer following suit. 

Glass bottle slashed at Lumine. She quickly jumped back, and he jabbed forward towards her. Too slow. She ducked, and he slammed into her shoulder. She then wrapped her arms around his waist, squatting to utilize her lower center of gravity, and easily lifted him with the strength of her legs. She threw him back over her shoulder, letting his head crash into the ground. He went limp in her arms, unconscious just like his boss, and she let his body fall to the floor.

She turned to Childe just in time to see him uppercutting Hammer. Hammer stumbled back, cradling his jaw. But he still lifted his weapon, ready to throw it right at Childe’s head. Lumine started to jump towards him, rushing to disarm the man. 

Then something whistled by her ear, and collided with Hammer’s hand, and the weapon clattered to the floor. A sizable rock fell next to it.

Lumine turned to see Venti holding a similar rock, aiming, and ready to throw. Of course Venti hit with that much precision. 

“There’s more where that came from!” he shouted. 

In Hammer’s stunned state, Childe easily threw a powerful punch at his face, and the last member was knocked unconscious.

The three of them stood still for a second, all panting into the otherwise silent street. 

After a while, Venti’s eyes flickered between Lumine and Childe.

“So…,” he breathed. “You two...want to explain what just happened?”

Lumine’s own breath hitched as the realization dawned on her. 

Venti had just witnessed her fighting. Her secret side. Shitshitshit—

“You can do crazy things when your body is pumped full of adrenaline,” Childe said, massaging his hand. 

She nodded, eyes sending a silent Thank You to Childe. “I needed to protect you, Venti,” she said. “My body just went on auto-pilot I guess.” 

Venti dropped the rock in his hands, a frown now visible. “No...that looked...coordinated. Trained. Not just some random street moves.” 

Lumine swallowed the lump in her throat. She glanced at Childe, who was only silently observing her now. 

She knew what Childe was doing. He was watching to see what she was going to do. Was she going to lie to her dear childhood friend? Or was this childhood friend so precious that she couldn’t do that? 

Venti devoted so much of himself to her—he loved her. He was always that shining beacon of optimism for her. He believed in her. 

She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t lie to him. 

Lumine stood up straight, looking Venti in the eyes. 

“I’m a professional fighter.”

* * *

[part 13]

[bbyboibinnie]

two of us

synopsis: love is hard to come by, especially when the boy you’ve been pining over is already taken. pairing: reader x jisung  genre: fluff, angst, romance, college au  warning: explicit language/cursing wc: 2.8k

one

It was halfway through your senior year in high school when you two had met. This was unexpected to say the least because it was the last semester of your last year; you had no intentions of making any new friends, considering you already had a handful of people you were close with and stuck by for the last three years. It was Chan that introduced you to him. You had known Chan for awhile–he was your lab partner for two consecutive years now–and although you considered him as a friend, you had never actually hung out outside of school before, unless it was for a group project of course. However, one day he had invited you to his birthday celebration and that was the day when you met his other friends, one of them being Jisung. 

“Woah, slow down there.” His word caught you by surprise as you were stuffing cupcakes in your mouth. You didn’t really know any of Chan’s friends at the time and socializing with new people didn’t exactly come by easily for you, so you had opted to linger around the snack table instead. 

Hastily dusting the crumbs off your face, you introduced yourself, “Oh, hey. My name is y/n.”

“I’m Jisung. I think we have calculus together right?” You looked at him closely; with black hair, deep brown eyes, and round cheeks you couldn’t lie–he was pretty cute, but you shook your head in response as you didn’t recognize him.

“Ya, Jisung! Come help me set up the cake!” Another one of the boys had called out, cutting your conversation with him short.

“Keep an eye out for me in calc.” He said as he was dragged away into the kitchen.

two

Sure enough, he was in the same math class as you. Honestly, besides your best friend in that period, you really didn’t pay attention to the other people. After all, the class was impacted and half of them were underclassmen so why bother remembering all the names and faces? 

It was the day after the party and you looked around at everyone in the class; it only took you a moment before you spotted him in a seat two rows over. The lecture hadn’t started yet so he was talking to his friends. You didn’t feel the need to get up to go over and spark a conversation or anything, but when you two made eye contact, you gave him a quick smile before turning back to face the front board. 

For a while, you two would occasionally spare glances at each other and wave or smile if you locked eyes, but there was nothing more. It wasn’t until after the latest exam when he approached you again.

“Hey, how’d you think you did?” He asked, waiting as you finished packing up your belongings. 

“Could’ve done better. What about you?” You made your way to the door and he followed suit.

“Just hoping for that passing grade. Anyway, Chan and I were going to meet up to grab food after class today, wanna come?” You debated going with them for a second but ended up agreeing anyways. 

You didn’t know what to make of Jisung at first, considering you had only exchanged a few words, but after hanging with him, even if it was just for a few hours, you found him to be quite likable. 

From then on, he stuck around and you didn’t mind, in fact, perhaps you enjoyed his presence a lot more than you were willing to admit. 

three 

High school came and went but you were ready to face the new challenges and opportunities that college presented. Most of your other friends had been accepted to places further away, but you had settled for community for the time being. For the most part, you were an independent person; therefore, you tried to not be clingy when your friends left to reach their own goals–you’d see them soon enough again–but you had been worried about starting this whole new chapter of your life alone, luckily for you, someone by the name of Han Jisung had enrolled right alongside you.

As days went by, you two were seen together more and more. Of course he met new people, and so did you, but it was always nice to have someone familiar to go back to and for you, that familiar face was Jisung, and for him, that person was you. 

Your majors were completely different and so were your classes, but you still spent time with him studying, ranting about professors, and passing out in each other’s rooms after staying up to finish assignments. 

“Hey, Jisung,” you whispered, trying to not startle him awake, “it’s almost midnight. You should probably head back to your place before it gets too late.” He was slumped over your desk, fingers lifelessly placed atop the keyboard of his laptop, already drifting into a deeper state of sleep. “Jisung.” You tried again, only to have him groan in response. Shaking your head, you draped a throw blanket over his figure before returning to your workload. 

It had gone on like this for weeks, months, nearly a year. One night he’d sleep over at your place and the next you’d be at his. Both of you had been accustomed to this routine now and you thought nothing of it, however, the more time you spent with him, the more you found things to like about him, and that’s what you were afraid of in the beginning–falling for him.

four 

You were never the type to fall head over heels for anyone, all throughout elementary, middle, and high school, you only had occasional crushes but nothing significant. Yet,

there was something about him that you couldn’t shake off. Maybe it was the way he always made stupid jokes that you couldn’t help but laugh at, or perhaps it was the way he played his guitar and share the new songs he wrote with you first before anyone else got to hear them. It was the smile that reached his eyes and the way he knew you so well, like the back of his hand. It was everything. 

You didn’t expect anything more out of the platonic relationship, but you couldn’t just get rid of the feelings on demand, so you had to let them settle and hope that they’d go away eventually, of course that didn’t work. 

five

Just because you saw Jisung differently, didn’t mean he would have the same outlook on you. 

“What do you think would make a good first date?” Jisung had asked casually over the counter. You were currently on shift at the local boba shop and Jisung often tagged along; typically he just sat there and did his homework as he waited, but on days where store traffic was low, he would ease your boredom by talking aimlessly. This particular caught you off guard though.

“Um, I’m not sure. Why do you ask?” You said, trying to sound casual, while restocking the ingredients.

“Well, I finally managed to receive a ‘yes’ after I asked someone out earlier today.” He said, smiling to himself in satisfaction. You were shocked, but at the same time, not at all. During the twelve months or so that you’ve known him, relationships weren’t a common topic of discussion. Yes, it did come up a few times but college and just life in general was already too time consuming so you didn’t bother with relationships, and neither did he.

“Wow, I’m impressed Jisung. I didn’t think anyone would fall for a clown like you.” You teased him, hoping your disappointment wasn’t showing. You knew that it was a platonic relationship and had set no expectations, yet you still felt a wave of sadness wash over.

“Oh, haha. Seriously though, I only prepared on how to ask them out, but I didn’t think past that because I wasn’t sure I’d even make it this far.”

“In that case, why don’t you consider what the person likes and try to set up something that you both would enjoy? Personally, I don’t think you could go wrong with arcade, pizza, and boba though. I could even hook you up with a discount on the boba.” You said jokingly in an attempt to lift your mood up. 

“What would I do without you? You better keep your word about that discount though. Oh shit, I gotta head back and finish my essay, see ya y/n. Also, text me when you get back to your place!” He shouted the last part as he was in the midst of exiting and the door jingled as it shut behind him. 

six

So his date had gone well and now his status went from ‘single’ to ‘taken’ while you were still struggling to manage your unrequited feelings. You had accepted the situation for what it was but that didn’t make it any easier. 

Naturally as he began to split his time between his new relationship and you, the time you spent with him dwindled down. Weekly study sessions became bi-weekly, which turned into monthly events. You didn’t hold this against him though, you were glad he found someone to connect with. 

“Hey, sorry I’m late… again.” Jisung said sheepishly as he entered your room, with a backpack slung over his shoulders, messy hair, and pink marks peeking out from under his t-shirt. You were flustered at the sight, knowing that he had just come back from being with his significant other, doing who knows what. 

“Uh, it’s okay. Just–let’s just get to studying.” You preoccupied yourself with your various notes and textbooks and tried you best not to be distracted. Suddenly, somewhere along the line, tension began to build. Maybe you were just imagining it but something had shifted between you and Jisung these days, and it gave you a sense of hopelessness because there was nothing you could do about it.

seven

More time had passed and your friendship was still afloat, but it definitely wasn’t the same as before. It seems like everything has its peak and you two have surpassed that; what goes up must come down, so it was all downhill from there. 

As his relationship became more unstable and doubts, he slowly began to make his way back to you. You should’ve been happy, even elated at this fact, but you weren’t. 

“I don’t know what happened. One minute we were fine and the next we were arguing. It’s like I am dating a different person now.” He expressed to you, once again at the boba shop you were still working at. It had actually been awhile since he came.

“Mmhhm.” You nodded wordlessly as you continued to spray down the tables with disinfectants.

“The argument was so petty, I should’ve known better than to engage in it.” The rant continued on and on and you had mindlessly agreed with everything he said, until he noticed you weren’t even paying attention.

“Y/n, are you even listening to me?” 

“Yup.”

“Okay, then will you give me your entire life savings?”

“Yes.”

“Y/n!” He shouted, getting up from his seat to stand directly in front of you on the other side of the counter. His loud voice startled you and you looked up, only to face a boy who was seething in anger. “Why are you blatantly ignoring me? I’m trying to rant to you and you’re not even helping.”

That was the last straw. 

“Listen, don’t come in here asking me to be your guidance counselor after cancelling our plans on dozens of occasions. Also, how could you really expect me to give you my time when you can’t even spare me a minute on any other day. You’ve been a real jerk lately and you haven’t even noticed it! I can’t believe I ever liked someone like you!” The indirect confession left your mouth before you could stop yourself, and he stood there absolutely dumbfounded. 

eight 

 That night, you immediately wanted to hide in the back of the store and hope whatever happened never happened, but you were tired of miscommunication.

“You like me?” Between the two of you, he was the one who had the courage to break the silence.

“Liked. I liked you. Past tense.”

“Do you still like me? Present tense.” 

“No, I don’t–or maybe. I don’t know right now.” You had mentally convinced yourself that you were over him, but trying to admit it out loud proved otherwise. 

“Y/n, I–” He started but you cut him off before he could finish.

“Maybe you should just go home now. I need some time to think.” He had hesitated for a moment, but eventually, he respected your wishes. 

nine

It had been over a week, nearing two weeks, since you’ve talked to him. You already had so much on your plate with finals coming around and constantly having to work, so this was not something you wanted to deal with now, or ever actually. But closure was necessary, for you and for him, so you decided that once finals were over, you’d set things straight.

Grabbing the phone off your nightstand, scrolled through your contacts to find his name.

(11:57 PM ) 

[ you ]  hey, we should talk after finals r over

You sent the text, hoping he’d want closure as well, but minutes passed there was no response. Just when you were about to sleep, your phone vibrated.

(12:05 AM)

[ jisung ] okay, see u after finals then. gn 

ten 

You had just gotten out of your last class of the day when he came into view. Frankly, you hadn’t expected to meet up with him until later on in the day, but that was your own mistake for not specifying when or where to meet in the text. Although this had slightly caught you off guard, you couldn’t put this off forever so you made your way towards him.

It was a relatively cold day; he stood there bundled up in his hoodie and a beanie atop which tamed his hair from the strong winds. 

“Hey.” You said as you stood face to face with him.

“Hey, it’s been awhile.” He responded, eyes softening when he saw you. 

* * * 

Together, you ended up walking back to his place to talk. Nothing much was said during the trip back, besides the occasional polite small talk like “how have you been?” and “how were finals?” 

When he opened his door, you entered wearily; although you had visited his place numerous times in the past, the last time you actually came by was months ago so it felt odd to be back to place so familiar, yet foreign again. 

You were grateful for the fact that it was so warm in his apartment because the weather outside had left your body feeling numb. 

“Here, I know you get cold easily.” Jisung handed you an extra sweater he pulled from his closet and you thanked him before sliding it over your shoulders. 

The both of you just stood in his living room, no one knew what to say or how to start the conversation, but you were here now so it was time to say everything you’ve felt. With a deep breath, you began. 

“I thought I could let go of my feelings for you, but I couldn’t.” You said, focusing on the floor as you couldn’t look him in the eyes. “And I’m sorry if this makes you feel uncomfortable or jeopardizes whatever is left of our friendship, but I can’t keep lying to myself anymore. If you don’t like me, then I’ll have to accept it and move on but I just had to let you kn-” 

Your spiel came to an abrupt stop when he drew you into his arms. Not knowing how to react, you were frozen from confusion and shock.

“Y/n, do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you?” He held you at arms length and gently titled your chin up so you could meet his gaze. “If I had known you liked me, I would’ve never looked at anyone else.”

His words were forming incoherent sentences in your head. Was this his confession? Did he feel the same way? 

He must’ve sensed your puzzlement because he smiled at you and said, “Yes dummy, I like you too.” 

Your immediate response was to smile, but then something dawned on you.

“What about your current relationship?”

“I’m no longer in a relationship. We have been broken up for nearly a month now.” 

“So what does that mean for us?” You say, almost too optimistically. And his response was to pull you in close, so close to the point where you could feel his breath fanning across your cheeks and your noses were barely touching, before closing the gap between your lips and his.

a/n: honestly, this piece is kind of all over the place since it’s my first one but hopefully more practice will make my writing better! also, this is not proofread so my apologies for any grammatical/punctuation errors. 

also here it my masterlist in case you want to read my other works!

[imagine-loki]

Omega Mine

TITLE: Omega Mine

CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: 1/?

AUTHOR: nekoamamori

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Loosely based on: Imagine Loki discovers the Avengers have an omega who has healing powers living with them. He’s an Alpha and he wants her, badly. 

RATING: M (eventually ) 

NOTES/WARNINGS:  Also on AO3 click here

“Nope, nope, fuck no.  Why do all these companies suck?” You grumbled to yourself as you scrolled through job posting after job posting on your laptop.  You were sitting on your bed absently eating a slice of pizza in your pajamas while you searched.   You were hunting through the job listings looking for a company in search of an Omega.  

That wasn’t at all atypical. Businesses that employed a lot of Alphas needed Omegas on staff to help keep the balance and the peace.  Betas could only do so much against volatile Alpha tempers.  

It wasn’t that you didn’t like your current job, but it just wasn’t the right fit.  You’d worked at a few different companies since you’d graduated from college.  The companies were all glad to have you around, but none of them had felt like the right fit.  That was also typical.  It took a few tries to find Alphas who really fit and felt like safety and home.  It took longer to find such Alphas in an environment where you could use your degree or your magic, or something that made you more than just a typical Omega.  

It could take forever or absolutely no time at all to find the Alpha.  The one who was your mate and meant to be your love.  

You hadn’t had any luck finding your Alpha yet, just as you hadn’t found the right company to work for.  You’d temped a couple places as an admin, even though it wasn’t anything to do with your degree.  You were now working again as an assistant and getting pretty tired of all omega jobs only being assistants or menial labor.  There was nothing of substance.  That made sense.  Usually, Omegas couldn’t hold higher level positions.  Alphas ruled and Omegas were cared for, by nature and by nurture.  On the other hand, Omegas were the balance for an Alpha’s temper.  They cared for the heart of the people, while the Alphas cared for the physical safety.

Any of the castes could marry any of the others and Omegas finally had some rights in the US, but the world was still highly unfair toward your caste.  Omegas couldn’t own a house, for instance, or rent an apartment in your name.  You could earn money and have a bank account of your own, thanks to the laws that had passed, but a lot of the world was still stuck in the old ways of thinking Omegas nothing more than pets.  Or glorified sex slaves.  Thankfully, things were changing slowly, but surely.

You lived in an Omega-house with other unclaimed Omega girls and walked every day to the office nearby where you worked.  There was a Beta who acted as house mother as it was determined that Omegas couldn’t be trusted to care for themselves, so you weren’t allowed to live on your own.   Despite that you were a college grad with a job. 

It was either the Omega-house or still living with your Father.  And that wasn’t an option.  Not after you’d finally escaped to go to college at one of the universities that had accepted Omega students.  

There was a knock on your door.  You weren’t expecting anyone, but that didn’t mean one of the other Omega girls didn’t want to come visit, or the Beta coming to check on you.  “Coming!” You called and set your piece of pizza back on the plate, wiping your hands quickly as you got to your feet.  You padded silently over to the door, your steps light, despite the interruption.  You opened the door to see the Beta on the other side.  Your new house mother.  “Hello, Beta Ann,” you greeted her politely.  She was new and stuffy and still old-school enough that she wanted to be addressed by her title every time anyone spoke to her.  

She gave you a warm matronly smile.  It was a bit condescending.  “Hello, dear,” she always spoke down to the Omegas, as if you couldn’t understand what she was saying.  “I received your message that you wish to look for a new position?” She made it a question.  It was her job to help you find something.  Sometimes she could have better connections than the websites that the Omegas could access.

You nodded eagerly.  “Yes, ma’am,” you replied politely.  She really was stuffy and old schooled, but if she could help you… you’d be polite. “It isn’t that I dislike my position.  It’s just… not the right fit,” you explained quickly, hoping she would understand.  

She nodded sympathetically and looked over the clipboard she was carrying. “You’ve been in that position six months, I see.  Yes, that’s plenty of time to realize it’s not the right fit,” she agreed.  She looked up at you again.  “I was actually going to speak with you regardless.  A position crossed my desk that I thought you would be a good fit for, given your abilities,”

You perked up at that.  A position for your abilities?  Your skills?  Not just because you were an Omega?  “Really? What position?” You asked eagerly. You tried not to appear too eager.  That would be impolite.  It was a tentative balance.  

“There is a group who is looking for an Omega.  It’s a live-in position.  All room and board is covered on top of a generous salary.  They are specifically looking for someone with medical background and your healing abilities are very appealing to them,”

Medical background and healing?  

And a proper home?

It sounded absolutely perfect.  

“I’m definitely interested, ma’am,” you told her brightly. 

She nodded her agreement.  “Very good, dear.  I’ll let them know and set up the interview for you.  I’m sure it will just be a formality,”

Most Omega interviews were.  The Alphas in charge didn’t need to interview, not really.  They just needed to catch your scent or psychic scent and determine if you would fit in with their tempers and soothe their needs.  

“Thank you, ma’am,” you told her politely.  She gave you another condescending smile before she left you to set things up.

*

A few days later, you found yourself in front of your mirror adjusting your suit’s jacket for the billionth time before your interview.  The suit looked good on you, and professional.  Though you still knew that you had that Omega air about you. An Alpha or Beta could identify you on scent, on sight, even without the collar around your neck.

All Omegas were required to wear a collar once they presented as an Omega.  Puppies (children) presented their secondary gender, their caste, officially toward the end of puberty, usually around 16 or 17 years old.  There were usually signs before that of what a puppy would be when they matured and you’d heard that there was a test that puppies could take now to determine what they would present as.  

The collar you wore was the generic collar every Omega wore until they were claimed by an Alpha.  It was silver and plain, thin, not heavy at all, but you would never forget it was there, not since the day it had been locked on.  Only an Alpha could remove it.  And only your Alpha would, when you were claimed and mated, only to put his or her own collar on in its place. It was still a holdover from the old laws.  You’d never gotten a good answer as to why.  You always got some bullshit reason about knowing who to protect.  Omegas were more rare than Alphas or Betas, so you weren’t surprised the law hadn’t changed.

There was nothing you could do about it.  And it wasn’t ugly.  But it did single you out as an unclaimed Omega.  Especially at your age.  There was no specific age to find your Alpha, but most Omegas you knew your own age were already claimed.   

You knew it made you a target.  You could be claimed against your will, mated against you will, if you didn’t already have an Alpha.  That didn’t mean you were going to settle.

That was also why the company was sending a car to pick you up for your interview.  Beta Ann had said that a Beta security guard from the company to escort you safely to and from the interview.  

You made sure you had your phone in your purse as well as your resume before you headed out of the house.  You said goodbye to Beta Ann and only left once the Beta security guard, a many named Happy of all things, rang the bell to collect you.  

Your eyes widened when you saw the limo that was waiting to take you to the interview.  What the hell kind of company was this?  The information hadn’t been passed along to you. You didn’t know of Beta Ann knew or not.  She didn’t deem it important enough information to tell you if she did know.  

Happy opened the limo’s door for you and you thanked him softly and politely as you took the seat inside.  He gave you the warm smile everyone gave Omegas.  They couldn’t help it.  Your presence was soothing to everyone.  He shut the door behind you and got in the driver’s seat.  Soon you were driving through the city, toward the city center.  You watched out the window with interest, curious as to where this company could be.  What this company could be.

You didn’t know what you were expecting.  

Whatever it was, it wasn’t your limo stopping at the VIP parking in front of the Avengers’ tower.  It wasn’t the press that were staked out to catch pictures of the superheroes and anyone who came to visit the tower.  It wasn’t Happy parking in that VIP section and coming around to open your door again for you.

The Avengers.

You were interviewing for the Avengers.

You couldn’t believe your luck.  This really was the perfect opportunity. 

You understood immediately that this was a test.  

An Omega who couldn’t handle the press, couldn’t handle the surprise of showing up at the tower, who broke down at any little uncertainty or surprise, wasn’t an Omega that would work out for the team and wouldn’t be what they needed.

Desperately in your soul, you knew that this was what you needed and you vowed to do anything in your power to make sure you got this job. 

[fanficshiddles]

Triple Threat, Chapter 6

Loki was heading to Knowhere with the real Loki, Bruce, Wanda, Natasha and Thor.

Darcy had wanted to go too, but Loki flat out refused to let her go. In-case it was dangerous, which it probably would be. He didn’t particularly trust the Collector, who they were going to see.

‘Wait, so you’re telling me that it’s possible for me and… the other guy, to become one at the same time?’ Bruce asked, eyes wide in surprise.

‘It sure is.’ Loki nodded. ‘Strength and size of the Hulk, but with your brains.’

‘That sounds terrifying.’ Wanda said.

‘Yeah, it really does. Please don’t do that, Bruce. I am NOT sharing a bed with Hulk.’ Natasha said, glaring at Loki.

‘Perhaps not the best idea if you and Nat are… dating.’ Loki laughed.

Loki told them all about more of his reality. The real Loki was sitting at the back, not really caring to hear about it. Wanda noticed and went over to sit next to him.

‘Are you ok?’ She asked him.

‘I’m fine.’ He said in a clipped tone.

‘You’re clearly not. Are you still annoyed at him for kissing Darcy?’

‘Of course I am.’ Loki hissed, but he sighed as he looked at Wanda. She was just trying to be friendly. ‘Apologies. I am just not happy there is another me going around, kissing my girl.’ He growled.

Wanda gave him a sympathetic smile and patted his arm. ‘He probably doesn’t want to be here just as much as you don’t want him to be here. But maybe you could both learn from one another? You are the same person, to an extent. You both tried to take over Earth, just diverted on different paths afterwards. You both redeemed yourself in the long run.’

Loki just grunted in response. She was right, but he didn’t want to admit it.

‘Or are you just jealous that you never thought of pulling the pranks he did when he arrived here?’ She grinned.

Loki narrowed his eyes at her. ‘They were pathetic pranks, I could do so much better.’ He huffed.

‘Course you could.’ Wanda laughed and went back to the front of the ship.

Loki stayed where he was, but he listened in to Loki’s stories until they arrived on Knowhere. Everyone was on high alert as they made their way to the Collector’s museum.

‘What exactly are we looking for?’ Loki asked Loki.

‘It’s a tracker that will locate every stone. But as far as I am aware, the Collector doesn’t know that. Or else he would have them all by now. So it needs to remain that way.’ Loki said firmly. ‘It looks like a necklace, it’s a gold chain with a diamond on the front. It can perform basic healing powers, too. So we need to hope that’s all the Collector thinks it is.’

Loki nodded. ‘Do we have a plan for buying it from him?’

‘I’ll go in alone. Well, with you under a guise as a guard. Everyone else, wait outside so he doesn’t wonder why I’ve taken an entourage with me. If anything goes wrong, I will send a signal for backup.’ Loki said.

‘Who put you in charge?’ Thor frowned.

‘This is my mission. Or do you have a better plan, brother?’ Loki sneered.

Thor looked at Loki. ‘Do you trust him, brother?’

Loki looked at Loki then back at Thor. ‘I do.’ He said, albeit reluctantly.

‘Fine. That’s good enough for me.’ Thor nodded.

Loki transformed into an Aesir guard, then he and Loki went into the museum while the others remained outside, on alert. They tried not to look too conspicuous while people passed by on their daily business.

As the two tricksters walked into the museum, Loki kept looking straight ahead, acting like a proper guard just escorting Loki. Loki looked around casually, hands behind his back and taking dramatically large steps as he studied some artefacts.

‘May I help you… Asgardian?’ Came a voice from the back of the museum.

Loki looked up and saw the Collector wandering down towards them, with a female from a different race behind him.

‘Ah, Collector.’ Loki grinned charmingly. ‘I am looking for a specific item, a necklace with healing properties, as a gift for my fiancé. I was told by some good associates that I’d find it here.’

The Collector raised an eyebrow and turned to the female behind him. She was wearing the necklace.

‘This, necklace?’ The Collector asked.

‘That’s the very one.’ Loki nodded. ‘How much do you want for it?’

‘It’s not for sale.’ The Collector said quickly, putting a finger up. ‘But I am sure I have other, beautiful jewellery that would be suitable for your fiancé.’ He motioned to a glass display behind him.

‘Everything has its price. I have gold and many credits I can give you.’ Loki offered, pulling out a small pouch that was filled with gold.

The Collector looked slightly intrigued, but shook his head. ‘No. As I said, not for sale.’

Loki clenched his jaw. ‘What would you want in exchange for it?’

The Collector frowned, looking at him warily. ‘Why are you so desperate for this necklace?’ He asked, moving in closer to Loki, into his space and glaring up at him.

‘Like I said.’ Loki growled. ‘I want it for my fiancé.’

Loki stepped in and put his arm out, to get the Collector to back up from Loki. The Collector glanced at the supposed Aesir guard and stepped back a bit.

‘As I said. It is not for’ He was interrupted when suddenly Hulk came bursting into the museum, roaring angrily and charging straight for the group.

With the Collector distracted, Loki quickly grabbed the necklace and ripped it off the female, thrusting the pouch of gold into her hands in return. The two Loki’s then teleported outside to Thor, Natasha and Wanda.

‘What the heck happened?’ Loki asked as he transformed back into himself.

‘A passer-by accidentally bumped into Bruce, he was already feeling anxious and antsy so Hulk just exploded.’ Wanda said quickly.

‘Get back to the ship. I’ll get Bruce.’ Thor said as he swung Mjolnir round and flew into the museum.

The team heard Hulk roaring and some explosions and loud bangs. They didn’t bother waiting to see what was happening, so they rushed back to the ship as quickly as they could.

‘Did you get the tracker?’ Natasha asked as they boarded the ship and she got it started up.

‘Yep. Hulk’s distraction was actually rather helpful.’ Loki said as he held up the necklace. Then he waved his hand over it and had it disappear for now.

‘Let’s get off this planet.’ Loki said as he closed the ships door.

‘Without Thor and Bruce?’ Wanda asked, looking slightly distressed.

‘They will catch up with us.’ Loki said and he joined Natasha at the front of the ship.

Natasha took off, they got up into the sky and started heading away from the city. But she didn’t break through the atmosphere yet, they gave Thor a chance to catch up. And luckily, he did. Just before they gave up hope.

Wanda opened the hatch underneath the ship and Thor flew in, carrying Bruce, who was wearing nothing but Thor’s cape after changing back.

‘Any trouble?’ Loki asked.

‘Just get us off this planet.’ Thor growled.

At that point, the Collector’s ship came up after them from behind.

‘Hold on!’ Natasha said as she steered the ship on and headed towards the nearest jump to take them back to Earth.

They managed to get away in time, only just. Both of the Loki’s helped by shielding the ship with their Seidr, to help keep the Collector from following them.

The team were all relieved when they got back to Earth in one piece. The rest of them were waiting in the kitchen for their return.

Darcy was so relieved to see that Loki was alright. She rushed straight to him, to the right one, and hugged him. ‘Glad you survived with your good looks still in-tact.’ She grinned up at him.

Loki chuckled and gave her a squeeze. ‘Would you not sleep with me if I wasn’t as good looking?’ He raised an eyebrow at her but with a smirk.

‘Hmmm… Probably not, unless your body was still as smokin’ hot as it is.’ She teased, making him chuckle again as he reached down and gave her bum a cheeky squeeze.

‘Eww. Get a room you two.’ Tony grimaced. ‘How did the mission go? Did you get the tracker?’ He asked, looking at Loki.

‘We did indeed.’ Loki had the necklace manifest in his hands and he held it up to show them.

‘It’s a necklace?’ Darcy frowned.

‘Well done, gold star.’ Loki drawled. ‘It also has healing properties for the wearer, and locates all the stones… with a little help of some magic.’ He headed to the island in the kitchen and placed it down as he took a seat.

The others all gathered around to watch.

Loki closed his eyes and put a hand over the top of it. He concentrated for a while, his Seidr energy growing, then the diamond on the necklace started to shake and there was a small beam that spouted up from it. Like a hologram, it was a map of the entire Universe.

There were seven glowing red dots in multiple places.

Steve frowned. ‘Why is there seven? I thought there was only six infinity stones?’

‘There is, six of them are your stones from your reality, hopefully where they should be. One of them is the reality stone from my reality.’ Loki said as he concentrated on the map.

‘That’s Vormir, so that will be the soul stone. There’s Asgard, where I’m assuming the space stone is?’ Loki looked at Loki and Thor.

Loki nodded.

‘That’s where we’ve just been, at the Collector’s museum, so there’s your reality stone.’

‘What? Wait a minute. Are you telling me you were within reach of the reality stone?’ Tony snapped.

Loki glanced over his shoulder at him, annoyed he was interrupting. ‘Yes. But before you say it, no. The reality stone from your timeline is not what I have come for. I need the one from mine.’ He grumbled at him then continued. ‘That is Xander, so if I recall correctly, that should be the power stone. The mind stone, well.’ He motioned to Vision who was stood opposite him.

‘And there is another on Earth. In New York?’ Loki looked around at the team.

‘Doctor Strange should have the time stone.’ Tony confirmed.

‘Alright. So that just leaves…’ Loki trailed off, looking slightly confused.

‘What? Where is the reality stone?’ Darcy asked, looking at the hologram but she couldn’t quite make it out the same from where she was stood.

‘This map shows it’s… it’s just hovering in space?’ Loki said, just as confused as the rest of the team.

[wildlittlefoxsworld]

Booker x Fem Reader Unlike your family you're not a soldier, more of the tech nerd of the group but that doesn't mean your some damsel in distress! It be good of your family to remember that so when you get kidnapped by people with a grudge, the kidnappers aren't the only one in for a surprise! Also if you could maybe add Angst 6,8 and Random 11,29,36 from the prompt list into the story if you can no pressure Thanks!❤

Badass wife | The Old Guard | Booker x Fem!Reader

Warnings: rape (but only mentioned), reader is kidnapped, torture (only mentioned), angst with happy ending

Words: 3k

Prompts:

-Angst

6. “Don’t you ever do this again.”

8. “Nobody’s seen you in days.”

-Random

11. “You’re insane.” “You love me.” “Not right now, I don’t.”

29. “How is my wife more badass than me?”

36. “That was kind of hot.”

Masterlist

***

If you were honest, you never enjoyed or loved being immortal. Of course, your immortal life had a lot of benefits. You couldn’t get ill, you were forever young and beautiful (that was what your husband said all the time to you), you spend the eternity with the love of your life. Sometimes it was very great, but sometimes you hated it. Your loved ones died a long time ago and you saw all the people in the world getting old, and you wanted that with your husband. Growing old, playing with your grandchildren, remembering a wonderful life.

But you had a family and currently you were the second youngest of your group. A few months ago Nile joined your little family and she was a former marine. Nile was a soldier, like the others in your group. You weren’t a soldier; you never learnt how to fight before you died for the first time. You were born in 1985 and during your time in school it emerged that you were a genius, primarily in mathematics and biology, but you focused your interest mainly in computers and other kind of this stuff later in high school. You made money with programming security and anti-virus software for companies to protect their data.

The first time you had died wasn’t something really special or spectacular, but you had died on smoke poisoning after a fire was breaking loose. You had woken up in the mortuary in the hospital and you couldn’t believe what happened. You had been disoriented and confused, so you just wrapped the white sheet tight around your body and searched for a way out of the hospital, because you wanted to go home. But you hadn’t come far… that was when you met Joe and Nicky for the time. Joe had explained you quickly that you had died, because of a fire in your house and they were there to help you. Nicky had wrapped you in his leather jacket and carried you in his arms, because your feet were bare.

That was six years ago in 2015 and you were now married with Booker for four years, these were the happiest in your life. Booker and you had become very close immediately and you couldn’t ask for a better man or husband. Booker was good with all the technical stuff, but you showed him skills that he only had dreamed off and fast you were responsible for finding persons or hacking any websites, searching for information and made sure that all the tech stuff ran smoothly. You felt sometimes like the fictional figure Ramsay from Fast and the Furious.

The time in your little cell gave you enough time to think about your life. You were here for three or four days now and your kidnappers thought you had find out information about their criminal business, and you had gave the info to the FBI, which was true, but the criminals couldn’t prove that. So they had water-boarded you already and now they were trying to starve you, so you would tell them what you did and what exactly you told the FBI.

You had a little worry that your family couldn’t find a way to rescue you or that it was very difficult to break in the building where they hold you hostage. You wore a little location transmitter under your skin, not only one, but four in different places. This was your first idea after you joined the team, because it would be easier for the team to track someone if one or more of you got kidnapped. You hoped the others already found you.

You were sitting on the floor with chains cuffed to your ankles and wrists when one of your kidnappers opened the door. It was Paul, the at least friendly one of the men, but he wasn’t very talkative. He checked the chains and brought a new bottle of water, but clearly no food. You didn’t eat something in the last seventy-six hours and you were very hungry, but you wouldn’t beg for food. You weren’t weak or easy to break, but your kidnappers didn’t know that and maybe your family members would rescue you in the next coming hours. You would definitely eat a cheeseburger and a large portion of fries.

“Do you want to tell me something, sweet girl?” Paul asked you with a gentle voice and little smile, but you only quirked an eyebrow and looked dumbfounded at him. Did he really think you would talk so fast? Andy had one rule; don’t say anything about their missions no matter what they would do to you. It was easy to follow the rule. Of course, you were afraid that they would water board you again. That wasn’t very pleasant, but they could do other things and you didn’t want to think about it.

“It’s very sad that you don’t want to talk with me and it’s impolite, too. You should show us more respect and answer a question when someone asked you.”

With two fingers he tipped your chin up, but you refused to look him in the eyes.

“No, I have nothing to tell you.”

“Well, that is bad… for you. My boss said that I have to make you talk and that I could do anything with you what I want. You have a pretty face, you know, I would really like to kiss your lips. But your body is more interesting, I ask myself what you hide under all your clothes. What do you think… can I take a look?"

That was the first time you gave him a glance and you were disgusted by the smug grin on his face.

“Fuck you,” you cursed and spit him in the face. Your spit landed on his cheek and mouth and brushed with his hand the wetness from his skin.

“Don’t you ever do this again!” he warned you with an angry voice and slapped you across the face, so that your head flew to the side. Your cheek burned where he hit you with the back of his hand, but you only turned your head slowly to him and grinned slightly. “That was your answer.”

His eyes were filled with rage now, because he had thought you were just a pretty little girl who he could threaten and you would sing like a bird. In the next moment he pressed his mouth hard on yours and his tongue tried to invade your mouth, but you bit him as hard as you can on the lip that you could taste blood in your mouth.

“You bit me, you little bitch. You will wish you were never born when I’m done with you.”

“I think it will be the opposite,” you considered and he shoot you a death glare. He came closer to you for a second time and you watched the blood dripping from his torn lip.

“You really want to be hurt, right?”

“No, but it seems you want to,” you replied and kicked your knee into his stomach. He gasped and fell backwards on his butt.  You didn’t get much time to put your plan into action. The chains around your ankles were tied to the ground, but the ones around your wrists were connected with a chain. You stood up fast to your feet, ignored the dizzy feeling in your head from sitting so long and wrapped the chain around his neck. You pulled tight to cut his air supply and he tried helplessly to inhale the much needed air. You used all of your strength to strangle him, because he started trying to put his fingers between the chain and his throat. You noticed how strong he was and he scratched the floor with his feet helplessly. You couldn’t give up now, you know there would other men come, but maybe he had any keys that you could use to free yourself from the shackles.

You felt how slowly his strength faded, but it did and you collected all of your strengths to pull the chain tighter. You thought it took you minutes until he gave fighting, but it was only a few more seconds until he went limp and you counted to sixty in your head to be sure he didn’t fake it.

 You searched in his pockets for any keys and you were successful. You thought why they were so stupid to give Paul the keys, but you thought that they weren’t smart enough to assume that you could have overpowered him. But you could only free yourself from the chains around your ankles, your hands were still in chains and you cursed that you couldn’t defend yourself properly. They weren’t very tight, you could have freed yourself earlier from them, but you would have to dislocate your thumb and break your hand in the process, and you weren’t brave enough to do it. Maybe you would find the keys somewhere else, you weren’t happy how the situation turned out, but at least you weren’t raped by Paul and you took Paul’s gun to your defense, then you walked on wobbly legs out of the little room. You didn’t know if there were any cameras, but you assumed they had a few, because you heart already shouting and appearing footsteps from down the long hallway where you stood now helplessly. You didn’t know where you were or how they got you here. Normally you weren’t active in any mission, you were the tech nerd and you stayed often with Nicky when he searched for the perfect position for his sniper rifle. But the last time you were with Nicky, he needed to change his position and you decided to stay in the first place he had chosen. You always had a gun with you and Andy had trained you, but you weren’t used to fight against so many men that had approached you after Nicky was gone. You were sure Nicky was crestfallen, because he left you there alone and Booker freaked out probably in the moment.

You thought about which way you should take and it would have been probably stupid if you would go into the direction from where the shouting was coming.

“She’s this way, boss,” you heard a familiar voice from behind you and your heart began to beat faster. That was your husband and the shouting was from the other criminal men, when the team had surprised them. You were glad that they finally came for your rescue and started running towards them.

“I hope they didn’t hurt her or I will them kill all over again,” Booker said maybe to Andy, because you didn’t know if all of them were in the building.

“She’s moving fast into our direction,” you heard him gasping shocked. In the next moment you ran around the corner and directly into his arms when he recognized you. Booker his arms around your body and you buried your face in the crook of his neck; you inhaled his familiar scent that helped you to calm your nerves slowly.

“Nobody’s seen you in days,” he joked chuckling in your ear and you laughed along with him. Of course, he had to make a stupid joke in the middle of a rescue mission. “I’m so happy that you are with me again.”

“Are you alright, Y/N?” Andy asked while she observed your surroundings. You looked up and she gave you short glance.

“I’m okay, but my hands are still chained.”

“How did you escape?” Booker asked and you quirked an eyebrow at him.

“The bad man wanted to touch me, so I killed him.”

“How?” – “I suffocated him with my chains.” I held my hands up in demonstration and Booker nodded in admiration.

“How is my wife more badass than me?” he said stunned.

“I trained her. Now let’s go!” Andy replied impatiently and let the direction to get out of the building.

The three of you ran down the hallway from Booker and Andy had come and you saw all the dead men on your way to the exit. You counted the corpse, twenty-four. You were still impressed, because you hadn’t often the opportunity to see the others in action. You saw a lot of flesh wounds that Andy had caused with her axe and the others had bullet holes from Booker’s guns. You hoped you would leave this building without meeting more of the men, but you didn’t come far when you heard again footsteps coming into your direction.

Andy gave a sign to slow down your tempo and you tightened your grip on the gun. You didn’t know how to describe your feelings in the moment, because you hated to be forced with the enemy. You felt tired, because you hadn’t eaten in days and you used the last bit of your strength to kill Paul. You were mostly pissed that they had you taken and they were still stupid enough to stand your in way to freedom. You were glad that you weren’t alone, because when you arrived in a great hall where they stored their stolen guns and drugs and all the other ware which they made profit with.

“I see you managed to escape. You killed one of my best man, you slut.” You knew the voice very well, it was Paul’s boss and he wasn’t happy about what you did to Paul. You saw his angry red face and the gun he pointed at you.

“I’m bulletproof… but please, don’t shoot me. I really hate the feeling of bullets in my body,” you answered him and he looked dumbfounded at you for a second.

“What are you talking about? Are you already gone mad? Well, I don’t care. You killed my man, so I’m going to kill your man, then the crazy axe lady and in the end I will torture until you beg me to stop and you will tell me your little secrets, and maybe then after every one of my men had their fun with you, I let you die.”

“You’re pathetic. You will pay for what you did to my wife!” Booker screamed and tried to push you behind, but you didn’t let him, you were too angry.

“You’re disgusting, Antonio. I make you a better offer: I will shoot your balls off and let you bleeding out like a pig, while you can watch how we kill the rest of your men and then we will blow up this whole building.”

You grinned like a mad woman when you aimed to shoot him between your legs and you didn’t hesitate a second until you heard the echo of your shooting. Antonio screamed in pain and felt down to the ground. You could shoot him again, but his men already began to fire in your direction and Booker pushed your forward, so you could get out of there finally. It took a lot of bullets and fighting until you were even near to the exit and then Joe came through the large door of the hall and shot two of them precisely in the head which left only two of them in the end.

A dark haired man fired a bullet into Booker’s leg and he winced in pain, but kept running. But you got so angry that they had the nerve to shoot your husband, when it was clearly that they were going to lose. You stopped and turned around to shoot them, but you were out of bullets.

“Fuck,” you cursed. That was definitely your favorite swear word. You used the handle of the gun to hit the dark haired man on the cheek and you heard the satisfying cracking of the bone. He tried to punch you, but you crouched down and tackled his body with yours, so you fell on the ground. The man had no time to react when you grabbed his head with both of your hands and smashed his head on the hard floor four times.  

Andy killed the other one with her axe while Booker pushed off the dead of the dead man and out of the building, and that was when you inhaled fresh air for the first time in nearly eighty hours.

“Are they all dead now?” Joe asked still aiming the door, but you couldn’t answer him, because you were pulled in tight hug from Nicky.

“Thank god, Y/N. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

“I’m perfectly fine, Nicky. Are you okay?”

Nicky watched me confused. “You’re asking me if I’m okay after you had been hold hostage for more than three days.”

“Ah yes, you seem very distressed.”

“You’re insane,” he mumbled when he kissed the top of my head.

“But you love me,” you replied laughing.

“Not right now, I don’t. You made me leave you alone there; I will never let you alone again.”

“Isn’t that my husband’s part?” You said still laughing when Booker hugged you from behind with his arms around your waist.

“He can share,” Nicky prompted snorting and both men cuddled you between them.

“Can we go home then?” Andy asked still impatient.

“Yes, boss,” all of you saluted and Andy rolled her eyes on you.

The ride home was silent. Joe and Andy switched on driving and you sat with Booker and Nicky in the backseat. Nicky was peacefully snoring beside you and you were cuddled up in Booker’s lap. When you got in the car earlier he had kissed all over of your face and then your mouth, he let you feel all his love for you.

“When Nicky had told us that they kidnapped you… I thought I would never see you again, but then I remembered how brilliant you were to get us the location transmitter last year and it was easy to find you, but to get in the building was so much harder. Please tell me, he didn’t get a chance to touch you? I can’t bear the thought that he might took you with force… I…”

“Shh, my heart. He didn’t touch me. I killed him before he got a chance. At least I was lucky enough to overpower him… don’t think about all the other possibilities how it could have ended. We are together again and that’s all what matters.”

“You’re right, sweetheart. I love you so much. Please, never leave me again.”

“How could I ever leave you, Sebastien. You are the love of my life and our life had only just begun. Wonderful five years, yes, but I hope it will be at least five hundred more.”

Booker chuckled at your words. “I will five thousand years at least, and more.”

Your lips found each other again and you know that as long as Booker was at your side, you would be never alone.

“I hope you can free me from this chains as soon as possible,” you told Joe and he only grinned at you.

“Don’t worry, we will make it when we’re at home. But are you sure you want to be free so soon? I can tell you that they’re perfectly for role games in the bedroom. Nicky and I had a lot with chains in the past.”

You looked back at Booker questionly. “Sounds like an interesting idea. You know when you hit and tackled the man down on the ground. That was kind of hot. It turned me really on.” The last words Booker whispered in your ear and you knew you wouldn’t leave the bed in the next days.

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 128

This is another chapter that I started with one intention and it kind of dragged me the other way. I started with what Miys says at the beginning as a kernel, and...

Yeah, avoiding spoilers, you get...*waves frantically* this.  Which I am excited about seeing where it goes.

Kudos to @baelpenrose​ and @mustachebatarts​ for this chapter. You’ll both understand when you read it :)

Tyche nodded sleepily as Alistair handed her a cup of coffee, mirroring my own struggle to wake up.  It was the beginning of Alpha shift - roughly 6:30am Terran Pacific NorthAm time - and we were starting our week with an extremely rare mission brief. Parvati and Hannah seemed either anxious or excited - possibly a combination - as the last brief they had received was ship-wide when we announced the lighting changes. Neither of them had ever been in one of the Council-only meetings that preceded such announcements.

Due to the growth on the Council - both among administrators and among Mentees - it wasn’t feasible to hold this meeting face to face in the room ordinarily used for such things. As a result, each Councilor was joining from their respective office, along with auxiliary staff who needed to be privy to the information discussed. For someone like Grey, that would be themself, Antoine, and their current admin, Nora. In my case, it was everyone who reported to my office.

“Has everyone joined?” I asked in my role as Parliamentarian for this meeting.  No one liked the position, so it rotated.

“Still waiting on Huynh, Charly, and Ivan,” Eino replied.

“We’re here!” an entirely-too-awake voice greeted.

Ignoring the laugh that Alistair and Hannah were suppressing, I forged ahead. “That’s everyone then. Good Morning, Council. Today is January 23rd, 2051 Terran-relative time, 45th day of Von cold season Year four Pre-Colony. We are currently two Terran years from Von. Miys has requested that we gather this morning for an important mission update so that we can prepare. Miys, you have the floor.”

“Thank you, Wisdom. Good day, Human Council.” I couldn’t tell if Miys had practiced or was operating on multiple minds, but the resemblance to a human public-speaker was startling. “As stated by Councilor Wisdom, the Yjq is currently two Terran years from your destination. We requested to address you in order to advise that navigational adjustments will be necessary within one Terran year of the planet you call Von.”

Murmurs erupted on the conference, but no one actually interrupted, so Miys continued. “Due to the density of systems in this portion of the Galaxy, the final Terran year of the journey cannot be made at our current speed.  The Yjq will need to drop out of relativistic space and complete the remaining leg in realspace.”

“How does this immediately impact the human population?” Grey asked first, hardly letting Miys finish their statement.

“With the sensors operational, there should be no noticeable difference in the transition,” came the answer. “However, there will be the introduction of potential physical hazards once we are in realspace.”

After a pause of silence, Xiomara spoke up. “Are you talking about the potential of being attacked?”

“Galactic law prohibits acts of violence against aide or rescue vessels.”

I heard an explosive snort before an extremely dry voice joined in. “Miys, that is the opposite of an answer,” Evania argued. “And we all know that criminals are famous for their adherence to the letter of the law.”

An alert chirped on my data band, and I almost choked when I saw Arthur’s message: “Oh, I LIKE her…”

“Once we are no longer in relativistic space, the Yjq is due to rendezvous with an Ekomari escort within thirty Terran days.”

“And what is the tactical benefit of that escort?” Evan pushed.

Rather than Miys, Charly responded. “Ekomari are very aggressive, but even more bound by a code of honor.  They view preying on the weak - including rescue and aide vessels - the most disgusting behavior imaginable.  This extends to the point of stopping their own attacks once the enemy is considered defeated.”

“Only an extremely overconfident or suicidal crew would try to go up against an Ekomari squadron that is escorting us,” Arthur finished.

“That is satisfactory. No objections.”

Approval in her tone, Xiomara launched the next question. “What about the thirty days we won’t have an escort? What is normally done on that leg of the journey?”

“Optimally, there is no such period during such a relocation.” I heard every person in my office inhale with dread at that statement. “During this time, there is always an increased concern that pirates and scavengers will attack in an attempt to be the first beings with artifacts from the newly present species.”

“Souvenirs… They want us for souvenirs…” Tyche muttered.

“We will discuss our options once we have all the information,” I stated loudly, trying to keep the meeting going before everyone panicked. “Miys, what other information do we need to know about the final year of the journey?”

“Once we are in realspace, long distance scans and data mining operations will begin for more accurate information regarding Von.  This information will be communicated to the entire Council so that any changes or updates to colony plans may be adjusted and finalized.  That is all for now.”

“Thank you Miys. You may remain in the meeting, as we may need your input regarding Galactic regulations, statistics, or laws.”

“Of course, Wisdom.”

I nodded and took a deep breath. “Xiomara, I’m pretty sure that you and Evan have a lot to say on the matter at hand.  Are there any objections to Health and Safety taking the floor?”

After a round of negatives, I conceded the floor. “Thank you, Sophia. Council, clearly there is a pressing matter in our future, here at the end of a tumultuous era, just as our goal is in sight. We cannot allow thirty days of risk to derail us now. For all that we have striven to show humanity as capable of peace and change, we now need to reach down to the roots of our very existence and ensure that we will not be undefended in that month.”

“Miys, the Ark is equipped with scouting probes and evacuation shuttles,” Evan followed. “What are the chances that we can repurpose those into our own small squadron for defensive purposes.”

“Doing such would invalidate the protection the Yjq is afforded by Galactic Law.”

“Excuse me, what!?” I sputtered, completely caught off guard.

“Hospital ships are only protected so long as they are incapable of defense, to prevent opposing forces from attacking each other under the guise of aide,” Charly explained in a mournful tone.

Evan and I groaned heavily. “At least tell me that the odds of any attackers completely blowing up the ship are low?”

“They would only be able to do so by detonating our drives from the inside.  To do so from the exterior would require more force than a coronal ejection from a white dwarf star.”

That was reassuring at least.

“So we would be safe as long as they don’t board the ship,” Arthur acknowledged.  I could see where his next question was going, but Evan beat him to it by a mile.

“Since we are not Hujylsogox, and are only the cargo of the Ark, there are no prohibitions against us defending ourselves in the event of a forced boarding, correct? Only you, yourself, would not be able to fight back.”

“This is correct, Commander Josue. I am not allowed to interfere in such a matter.”

Interesting wording.  Noah was telling us, as officially as allowed, that it would not fight the intruders, but also would not stop us from any actions we took. I smiled as I felt a confirming nudge in the back of my mind.

“Well, those weapons demonstrations were certainly not just for fun,” Huynh growled.  I could hear Charly cackling in the background before he confirmed to her that, yes, she can play with the construction exos.

“Let’s be organized about this,” Xiomara insisted. “For those comfortable with helping defend, we need to set up anti-boarding drills to start six months out at the latest. For those on the ship who are against violence, sort them into who can provide medical aid and who needs to do evacuation drills.  Eino, Arthur - can you assist Sophia’s team with that?”

“We can,” Eino confirmed, echoed by Arthur.

Parvati and Hannah glanced at each other silently before the former jumped in. “I recommend that at least one person with weapons training is assigned to each evacuation group, as a worst case defense.”

“I second that,” Xiomara agreed in a clipped tone. “Any objections?” A brief, silent pause. “Good. Add that to the strategy.”

“Miys, we need a list of what species are most likely to be found on pirate vessels.  Knowing their biology will go a long way to developing defense strategies,” Arthur requested.

“I like it,” Evan approved. “Ekomari may be honorable, but humanity has survived this long because we aren’t ashamed of taking cheap shots.”

“It is safe to assume that boarding parties will not have electromagnetic vision, as it has been advised that it is quite rare in the galaxy,” Grey pointed out. “We can use this to our advantage, most likely.”

“If we’re lucky to be in the light part of the cycle…” Tyche muttered.

“Administrator Reid has a point,” Pranav admitted, startling her. “If we are in the dark part of the cycle, we will be at a distinct disadvantage.”

“The lights are artificial,” Huynh sighed. “We can turn them on.”

“If I may interject,” Miys responded. “It is not as simple as you seem to believe to increase the light emitters on the entire Ark, Councilor Huynh.  The drain on the ship engines could permanently damage them.”

I could feel Charly’s eyes rolling in my soul when she picked up from there. “We can try to make some plans for that contingency. Pranav does have a point.”

“So that’s anti-boarding drills, evacuation drills, aid teams, threat assessment, and at least a start on evaluating where we stand from a defensive perspective. Once Sophia, Eino, and their offices coordinate who is which group, we’ll pull back up to determine who will be leading which initiatives,” Xiomara recapped. “Sophia, anything else we need to cover?”

“I think that’s the priorities right now,” I confirmed, effectively ending the meeting.  Once I closed out the channel, I turned to those in my office. “So, how do we feel about this?”

“Like you are going to be in one of the evacuation groups, stuffed as far back in the ship as possible,” Tyche stated drily.

“If we get boarded,” I pointed out. “It may not happen.”

“Madam Reid, you are on this ship.”

I scowled at Alistair before turning to Parvati and Hannah. “Reach out to Arthur and Eino to schedule that meeting.”

Hannah looked unsure. “Why are they being loaned to us for this? Eino’s a Councillor.”

The door of my office hissed open and the rhythmic thud of boots walked in. “Because your office, specifically Tyche, handles all ship staffing, while I am being used for physical ability assessments, and Eino literally has nothing to do as head of Education in all this.” Arthur nodded his head in thanks when Alistair handed him tea.

I just pointed at him and nodded. “Besides, this way Xiomara is indirectly involved.” I glanced at Parvati before winking. “It was a clever move, I have to admit.”

Parvati smiled and shook her head. “I can’t even say you’re wrong. That’s exactly why she did it, honestly, on all counts.”

“And that is part of it, too.” Tyche waved. “Work more closely with your fellow future Councillors, and you learn to read what they aren’t saying.  Our office works very closely with Xio’s and Grey’s, so we have to know how best to keep that going.”

Arthur just held his arms wide and shrugged. “I have to respect Xiomara’s tendency to keep her fingers on all pulses.  She’s almost as bad as Sophia that way.”

“Hey!”

“It’s true,” Alistair sighed. “You are profoundly nosy.”

Hannah groaned and threw her head back. “We are never going to be on the Council at this rate.”

“Excuse me?? That’s the point of all this!” I gestured around my office energetically.

“Yes, because you will totally retire,” Hannah said slowly, nodding her head like I was a toddler. “Of course you will, Sophia. We all know it…”

Parvati snickered, covering it badly. Arthur gave me a pointed look, and I could hear him repeating ‘obsessive, compulsive perfectionist’.

I was saved, for certain, weird values of salvation, by Tyche.  She just glanced down at her nails, studying them, before calmly glancing at me. “Charly is dangerously close to getting approval from Sebastian for her proposal of kink night at the Undine.  Think really hard if you want to be on the Council for that, Sophia.  It would be an event, meaning it would come to this office.”

“Yep, retiring soon,” I squeaked.  Laughter erupted around me as my face heated up. “I’m all for sex positivity, but I just can’t fathom the logistics of that. Nope. Not gonna be me. Y’all have fun. Enjoy. All yours.”

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[proxyoddo]

Derecho - Pt. 4

[Pt. One] [Pt. Two] [Pt. Three] [Pt. Five] [Pt. Six]

Words: 3.7K

Summary: Tala learns more about each member of The Bad Batch on their mission to a dilapidated Separatist base.

Warnings: Mild injury

AN: Two apologies: This is so long, it got away from me and I had so much trouble with it - also, no Crosshair on this one. But not to worry, he'll be back in the next section (which I've already started writing). So sorry this took so long as well, work has been kicking my ass. Enjoy! (If you would like to be tagged on future entries, send me a message! List at the end.)

It was amazing how much you could learn about a group of people just by spending some time with them. They had certainly gotten off to a bit of a rough start, but Tala came to learn many things about the 5 that boarded her ship, and called themselves “The Bad Batch.”

Tech was incredibly knowledgeable, and quick to ask questions about things he did not understand. When Tala had returned to her X4 to see the squad going through the gear they needed to bring with them, Tech had immediately approached her with what she could only describe as a child-like spring in his step. What happened next was 10 minutes of questioning regarding her X4 while the others loaded the ship, and she answered all within the best of her ability. And when she accepted his offer to pilot, the excited gleam in his eye could not be hidden by the reflection of his goggles. He had an insatiable curiosity, and a mastery of technology that Tala found herself envying - even if his talking was seemingly endless.

Tala did not talk much with Wrecker as they were loading up the ship, but he had carried most of their supplies. He was loud and brash, but somehow at the same time, warm and welcoming. The large clone was a bit childish, which Tala learned when he had become almost distraught when he thought Echo had forgotten what he called “Lula” back on the ship. To her surprise, it turned out to be a small tooka doll, in the same colours as their armor. Though he seemed the opposite of Tech in terms of intelligence, Wrecker displayed an aptitude for knowing many things about the explosives. Tala almost laughed at the forlorn expression on his face when she told him that she unfortunately did not have any on board, but assured her that he had enough for 3 ships and that he could spare her some. He was an obvious guardian, at one point catching Omega before she slipped and fell off the onboarding ramp to the X4 and effortlessly placing her atop his shoulders and making sure she was okay.

Speaking of the small girl, Omega proved to be a stalwart member of their squad. When Tala had arrived back, Omega was up front and center, listening to where the gear they’d brought could be stored. And then she took no time in helping organize with Hunter and Echo to get all the things aboard. Tala could tell she always wanted to be a part of the action even without having much experience with her. She was smart, resourceful, and had an awareness of things that weren’t always said out loud - though her balance could arguably be better. She followed Hunter around closely, and Tala could even see her copying some of the man’s mannerisms.

The obvious leader of their squad - Hunter - was definitely gruff. Tala had a feeling that was just part due to his voice itself, because in reality he was quite friendly and caring. He watched over Omega to be sure she was okay, and was just behind Wrecker in an attempt to catch her when she had slipped from the ramp. Hunter was friendly towards Tala, but he also watched her closely as she moved their items up to the ramp to be loaded, still guarding his squad. She could not blame him: she would have done the same thing, and had known others that did as well. Hunter may have overseen everything, but the trust he had in his brothers was apparent to see. As he watched and helped things get loaded, he spoke with Tech on logistics and then would often turn to Echo to confirm that these were the things they in fact needed.

This made sense to Tala when it came to Echo. Of the other three men, he seemed to be the “stickler,” for lack of better terms. It was like he had a complete list memorized in his mind about all the stuff they needed to bring and where it needed to go, and she wondered if it was part of the cybernetics attached to his head. She could only imagine the resolve he must have; seeing the clone outside of the parlor, she realized that it wasn’t just part of his head and arm that was cybernetic. The way he moved and stood, Tala thought that either one, or both, of his legs must also not be organic. The armor hid it well. Even with that, it seemed he was a peacekeeper between his brothers, stopping Wrecker and Tech from getting into a foolish argument before Hunter even had a chance to speak.

With everything loaded, Tala took one last look around her X4 before ascending the ramp and stepping inside. Tech had already found his way to the cockpit, and the other 4 were standing in the room where the bunks were. She stepped into the compartment to join them.

“Do you fly this gunship yourself?” Echo asked curiously from the bunkroom as she entered. She could hear Tech following her from behind.

“Sure do,” she said, leaning on the table and facing him. “It’s not too bad when you’ve gotten used to it, and have some tricks for some automatic commands. I used to have a droid, but it was damaged and I haven’t been able to get it back in working shape.”

“What happens if you’re attacked?” Wrecker spoke from sitting on one of the bunks, looking comically large for it.

“Do my best not to be seen before something like that can happen,” she replied, feeling herself wink and then immediately feeling foolish because he couldn’t see her do it. She still had her helmet on.

“I like it,” Omega commented, her eyes wide with curiosity. Tala thought she was trying to take in every aspect of the ship at once. She stepped over to where Wrecker was sitting, and jumped up onto the bunk with a small bounce. “The bunks are comfy too!”

Hunter walked over to her and gave her a warm smile. “Enjoy it for now. We’ve got some downtime before we’re landing and getting on with this mission.” He turned back to the rest of the group and his gaze fell on Tech, and he nodded. Tech, immediately understanding, brought his data pad out almost as if from nowhere. Tala wondered where he kept it when he was not actively using it.

“I’ve done the calculations, and we should have a day’s travel in hyperspace, and then a half day's travel outside of it,” he began, pressing some buttons on his data pad. “There is a large asteroid belt which would be better suited to manually fly through, as the calculations would be difficult to make to pass through via hyperspace. The area we are passing has not been charted for safe routes as of yet.”

Tala frowned, her arms automatically moving to cross over her chest. “What exactly are we retrieving?” she asked, her attention turning from Tech to Hunter. “You guys often travel off hyperspace routes?”

“When the need calls for it,” Hunter replied. “We’ll be attempting to reach an old separatist base of operations-”

Tech interjected, like he couldn’t help himself. “The base has been reported to be significantly damaged, but some of the computer mainframes in the areas below ground are still intact. Cid was requested to acquire any information possible from them, and to bring the data back. Though the parts of the base above ground itself is quite dilapidated, latest reports I found indicate that the underground structure should still be quite intact.”

“Our first objective will be figuring out how to get inside,” Echo added. They had all clearly gone over this before.

“And making sure our entrance remains a viable means of exit,” Tech continued, looking down at his data pad. “There are a number of elevator shafts that might prove the best way to get inside.”

“And we’ve got explosives in case they aren’t,” Wrecker added, grinning widely.

Hunter gave a slightly disapproving look to Wrecker. “Blasting our way in - or out - is our last resort, Wrecker. We don’t want to bring down buildings on top of us.”

“We’ll just blow them out of the way, too!”

Omega laughed then, and all the men looked at her and they were all smiling too. Tala felt her chest pull, and she couldn’t help but smile sadly. She was reminded of her time with her squads, her commanders. Her time with Rush. The time spent together aboard ships, off duty on Coruscant, and on the battlefield when their lives were not immediately in danger. All the smiles and camaraderie.

Tala continued to listen to Tech as he continued to explain their plan and points of entry, different routes to get to the computer mainframes. All the while trying to remain focused while thoughts of the past tried to play in the forefront of her mind.

“Are you sure I can’t just stay here?” Wrecker whined, standing as far away from the elevator shaft as he could. They had found their entry into the underground portion of the base after a few hours' travel on foot. And it was a fair way down an elevator shaft. With no working elevator to carry them down.

“Wrecker, this is the only way,” Hunter said, a bit exasperated. The others were getting prepared to start climbing down the maintenance ladder all the way down. Tala felt a little bad for the trooper. A strong fear of heights, added to a completely dark shaft with no way of knowing how far a fall would take you? Not terribly appealing.

She stepped up to Wrecker, and hit her fist gently off the plastoid covering his chest. She then reached behind herself, taking the modified DC-17m from her back. “Take this,” she said, removing part of it and attaching it to her belt, grabbing another attachment and placing it where the previous had been. “Grappling hook, fitted with a strong magnet. The entire shaft is metal, so it will attach to anything.”

Though it didn’t seem to do much to quell his fear, Wrecker was appreciative of the literal life line she handed to him. “Thanks Derecho,” he said as softly as he could naturally manage, his eyes darting between her and the shaft.

Once they were able to coax Wrecker into the shaft, the rest of them followed. The shaft was dark, light from their flashlights only going so far for them to see down. Tala smelled something in the air, and could hear Tech explaining from above her that a natural water system must have flooded the lowermost part of the structure. This didn’t do much to quell some of her own anxiety, but she bore it, continuing to descend.

Wrecker oddly enough was first. It was a logical decision made by Tech, and agreed to by everyone else. He had the DC-17m, and if he were to fall his size made it impossible for him to miss anyone else on his way down. He was followed by Hunter, then Omega. Tala was surprised when Echo had ushered her in and then followed after her, and Tech brought up the rear. The ladder seemed to be holding well enough, and they mostly climbed in silence aside from some calls from Tech to let them know what floor they had descended to.

“We are currently 3 floors above where we need to be,” Tech commented after some more time. “As the shaft opens on each side, we should be able to enter from this side without issue.”

“Should be able to,” Echo grumbled quietly above her, and Tala couldn’t help but chuckle at his irritation.

“Once there,” Tech continued, ignoring his brother, “we’ll need to pry open the door-”

His sentence was cut off abruptly with a metallic snap and a yell, and Tech was suddenly falling. Omega yelled out to Hunter, Echo grabbed desperately for Tech, and Wrecker was scrambling looking for anything that might help, all within split seconds.

Tala didn’t even think, she just jumped. Pushing herself upwards and out from the ladder, she reached out to Tech and secured one arm around his waist, while the other reached out for Echo’s outstretched arm.

“I’ve got you!” Echo yelled as his hand grasped hard around Tala’s forearm, his other arm snaked securely around the bar on the ladder with the scomp link tucked in securely. She could feel her momentum stop and change direction, and she slammed back into the wall next to the ladder with a grunt, with Tech’s added weight on her shoulder. She felt Echo’s grasp slipping.

“Get on the ladder, Tech, quick!” she yelled. She tried to move enough to allow Tech to maneuver himself back onto the ladder, while at the same time, trying not to strain the hold Echo had on her. Just as the goggled clone secured himself back on the ladder and was reaching for her, Echo’s grip faltered. She could feel Tech’s hand try to grip at hers but in her sudden descent, she literally felt herself slip through his fingers. They both called her name as she practically slid down against the wall past Omega and Hunter, scrambling for purchase.

Natural instinct was taking over. She could feel the Force around herself and couldn’t help but begin reaching out for it to slow her descent - when all the sudden large arms circled her waist. They gripped her tight, pushing her arms upwards and wrenching her shoulder again with a hard grunt from her - but she was no longer falling.

Wrecker - scared of heights and the looming darkness below Wrecker - had hooked one of his legs in the ladder. Without much more thought to himself, he’d reached out to her and caught Tala, immediately pulling her into his chest and getting back to the ladder.

“Tech, Derecho!” Hunter called out from above. “Are you alright?”

“I am fine!” Tech reported, though he sounded a bit rattled.

“I’m also okay,” Tala called, safely encased between Wrecker and the ladder. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she could feel the pulse of it in her head. She let out a large sigh of relief, and pressed her helmet with a thunk against Wrecker’s chest plate. “You alright, big guy?”

Wrecker seemed the most distraught out of all of them. He shook his head furiously at Tala before turning his attention upwards. “Tech, how long before we can get out of this kriffin’ shaft!”

“Still three floors, Wrecker!” Wrecker groaned sadly in response to his brother above.

They climbed down the last couple floors without incident. Tala could feel the burn in her shoulder getting worse, but was happy when she could finally stand on a solid floor. Wrecker seemed even more relieved than her, moving as quickly as he could to get as far away from the shaft as possible. Tala watched as the others got onto the floor from the shaft, rubbing her shoulder. Tech and Echo entered last, and the goggled clone immediately walked up to Tala.

“Derecho-”

“Are you okay, Tech?” Tala interrupted, reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder. This seemed to stun the trooper a little, and he actually halted any speech he was about to give.

“I am fine,” he said finally, and Tala squeezed his shoulder a little harder. Then he added with a note of concern: “And yourself?”

“I am also fine,” she chuckled, letting him go.

Hunter walked up to them both, and nodded to Tala - a quiet thanks. He turned to his brother and motioned down the hall. “Where to now, Tech?”

Tech pulled out his data pad and pressed a few buttons. “It is not far from here. Just a few corridors and we’ll be in the room with the mainframe computer.”

“Well let’s get going, then,” Echo chimed in, motioning for everyone to get a move on but not following himself, intent to take the rear. When Tala was just about to pass him, he stopped her with his gentle grasp on her arm.

“Tala, I’m sorry I lost my grip,” he said earnestly, and Tala just shook her head in response.

“Not your fault, Echo. You caught the two of us at once. Besides, Wrecker caught me.” Echo didn’t look convinced, so Tala turned fully to face him. “Echo, I’m okay.”

The clone nodded, and smiled weakly. Tala gave him a small, good-natured shove and they walked down the corridor side by side behind the others.

The whole area was quiet. Tala was reminded a bit of her ship when flying through hyperspace, without anyone else aboard, but these halls were completely lacking any sound aside from their foot falls. No one had been here in some time, dust being kicked up at their feet.

“It’s here,” Tech called from the front, and they all gathered around a closed door. “As the facility no longer has power, we will need to force this door open.”

“I got it,” Wrecker proudly announced, pulling a knife from a sheath attached to his armor, and shoving it into the frame where it was sealed. Tala watched with amusement at the display of strength, and it didn’t take much force for the door to pop open enough for Wrecker to widen the opening enough for them to fit through.

They stepped into the room, and were met with high ceilings, and a large console situated against the far wall. Tech immediately approached it, while the others looked around the room for anything interesting.

Tala moved to one of the side walls, leaning against it and sliding to the floor. She watched as Tech began looking over the console and working away on his data pad. She could hear Hunter and Echo speaking about something, and Omega and Wrecker were looking over all the computers with a bit of awe. There were many in the room, but Tala held no interest in that.

She rested a hand gently on her shoulder, and moved it a little. The muscles burned, something obviously pulled. Closing her eyes, she focused her thoughts on the Force and willed it to aid the ache. She could feel an almost immediate difference; Force Healing was not something she was totally adept with, but what she could do definitely came in handy.

Tala sighed at the pleasant feeling, but then was jerked from her focus as Omega plopped down next to her quite suddenly.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Omega asked, looking concerned.

“I’ll be fine,” Tala said, reaching out and patting Omega gently on the leg. “Not the first time I’ve gotten hurt, and definitely not the worst of injuries I’ve had.”

“Yeah…” Omega looked down, eyes moving about Tala’s armor. “You seem like my brothers. Like you’ve fought a lot.”

“Yeah, I have.”

“Did you fight in the war too? For the Republic?” Omega asked. Tala was surprised not so much at the question, but of the strong awareness that she seemed to possess for the people around her. Tala found the honest answer came easily.

“I did.”

Omega nodded, and didn’t say anything for a few moments. The sounds of Hunter hurrying Tech so Wrecker would stop complaining about getting topside broke through their silence.

“Thanks again, for saving Tech,” she said after a moment, mirroring Tala’s earlier motion and patting her armored leg. The words were simple enough, but they held an odd sadness that Tala couldn’t really understand. Then Omega stood and went back to her brothers, jumping into their conversation.

Tala just watched, the sad expression on her face hidden by her helmet.

The rest of the mission was uneventful. They got topside and back to the X4, and after a few rotations they were back on Ord Mantell. Tech had fixed her transponder in that time as well, so their deal was complete. Once landed, the squad gathered their things and began taking it back to their own ship, knowing the credits they received from this would get them up in the air again. Tala watched as her ship became empty once more, feeling a little sad.

Get it together, Tala.

Once they were gone, she went back to her storage area, opening the container that normally housed her armor. Looking down at the bottom, there was a small, plain lock box. She leaned down and picked it up, running her gloved hand over it. Sighing deeply, she left the ship and headed to Cid’s Parlor.

The Bad Batch had not made it here yet, which Tala was thankful for. She passed all the patrons and headed directly for Cid’s office, knocking. “C’mon in,” came Cid’s voice, and Tala opened the door and stepped inside. The Trandoshan smiled when she saw Tala standing there, leaning back in her chair.

“Welcome back, knight,” she said, but frowned when Tala didn’t respond and just placed the box on her desk. She looked at it inquisitively. “What’s this?”

“You know what it is,” Tala replied. “I need you to keep it, until I come back for it.”

Cid slowly turned her gaze up to Tala’s helmet. “You want me to keep this here in the parlor?”

“You have a safe place, right?”

“Well yeah, but I don’t-”

“Keep the box safe, Cid,” Tala interrupted.

They stared at one another for a moment, and Cid nodded without saying anything. She took the box under her arm and stood. “You look like you could use a drink, Tala,” she said, coming around the desk and putting her hand on Tala’s shoulder.

Tala shook her head. “Another time, old friend. I have something that needs to be done, and then I’ll come back for that. Transfer the credits to my account. I’ll be in touch.” Tala turned to leave.

“What about those clones?” Cid asked, and Tala paused in the doorway. Tala sighed a bit deeply, before looking back to Cid over her shoulder.

“If they’re in a bind, and there’s no other option? You know how to get in touch.” Without waiting for a response from Cid, she walked out.

Tag list:

@imalovernotahater

[writings-of-a-daphodil]

Homesick

Zuko x reader

Summary: You are feeling really homesick and Zuko tries to help you feel better. Super Fluffy!

Requested?: Nope

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

A/n: This is my first Avatar: The Last Airbender fic, I hope y'all enjoy it!!!

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Zuko asked, giving you a hug from behind. You smiled at your reflection in the turtle duck pond, but your smile faded quickly.

   “I just miss home,” you muttered.

   It had been a few years since you and your friends had ended the war and you hadn’t been back to the Northern Watertribe in forever. You just never had the time and you were always so busy. Of course you loved the Fire Nation and Zuko, but you really missed the snow.

“I’m sorry,” Zuko apologized.

You smiled sadly. “It’s not your fault.”

“Maybe we can plan something?” Zuko offered and your smile came back.

“I’d like that,” you said, leaning into him.

Unbeknownst to you Zuko had already noticed your homesickness. He had noticed how you were eating a ton of Watertribe dishes and how you would wake up super early just to be able to water bend under the moon. He had also noticed how many hawks you and Katara were sending each other. So, he had sent a hawk of his own.

~~~~

“Katara! Aang! What are you doing here?!” You asked, helping the couple down from Appa.

“Zuko asked us to visit,” Sokka explained, sliding off Appa.

“Really?!” You exclaimed, giving your husband a tight hug.

Zuko smiled at you and you gave him a quick kiss. “So what do you guys want to do?” You asked, turning back to your friends.

“Why don’t we explore the city?” Katara suggested.

You nodded. “That sounds like a great idea.”

“Well, there’s only so much time in a day, so let's get moving people,” Sokka prompted, leading you out of the palace.

The rest of the day was wonderful, you went shopping and for lunch had a picnic outside the city on the mountains that surrounded your home. After that the rest of the day was spent swimming.

You laughed as Sokka jumped in, splashing everyone.

“Oh, you're on!” Katara yelled. The two of you began bending and a wave splashed down on Sokka.

“No fair,” Sokka pouted while you and Katara giggled. Sokka turned to Zuko and Aang. “A little help here?”

Zuko shrugged. “What do you want me to do? I’m a fire bender.”

“Aang?” Sokka begged.

“Y/n and Katara are masters, I don’t know if I want to get on their bad side.”

Katara smiled. “Wise choice.”

“Fine, fine. I give up,” Sokka said, slowly sinking underwater. You glanced at Katara and the two of you burst out laughing.

“Surfing?” You suggest and she nodded. The two of you swam back to the beach and created ice boards. Then the two of you jumped into the waves you had created.

~~Zuko’s POV~~

It made Zuko happy to see you enjoying yourself. You had spent a lot more time with the group than him and he could easily see how happy you were to see your friends.

He watched you and Katara made waves and surfed them. The smile on your face was contagious and so Zuko found himself smiling as well.

He only watched for a little longer before getting up. He had work to do. Getting the Gaang to come was only part of your surprise and he had to prepare the other.

Just thinking about how happy it would make you made him giddy. He could only imagine how excited you were going to be when you saw the other half of your surprise.

~~Your POV~~

When you saw Zuko leave, you were a little sad, but you understood he had Fire Lord stuff to work on. Even when he took the day off there was still work to do. You loved how dedicated he was to fixing the Fire Nation.

After surfing you and Katara went to help Suki build a sand castle. Of course sand castle building became a contest. You, Katara, Toph, and Suki versus Sokka and Aang.

“You know I don’t think four versus two is all that fair,” Aang said as you were putting the finishing touches on your to scale statues of the Gaang

You looked over to see their scale replica of Appa. It wasn’t as detailed as yours, but you could see the work they put into it. Aang had even added a little Momo.

“Yeah, you have Toph and one of our team members is missing,” Sokka pointed out and you realized that Zuko still hadn’t come back.

“Speaking of Zuko maybe we should go looking for him,” you suggested.

Sokka stood up and brushed the sand off himself. “Yeah, he can be the judge, though it’s pretty obvious who won.” Just as he said that the sand Momo fell off and Sokka rushed to fix it.

You giggled. “It’s getting late anyways.”

The six of you made your way to the palace and you changed out of your swimsuit. After, you sent someone to find Zuko while you and the rest of your friends went to the dining room.

You all sat down and began to chat. Aang talked a lot about how he and Zuko were planning on making a city that didn’t have one nation attached to it. Sokka and Katara talked about the rebuilding of the Southern Watertribe. It was so exciting to hear what your friends were doing.

“Sorry I’m late,” Zuko said, rushing into the dining room. He kissed your forehead before sitting down.

“Is everything alright?” You asked.  

He smiled brightly. “Everything’s perfect.”

Satisfied with that answer you all began to eat and soon enough it was over.

“Let’s walk down to the beach to see the sand sculptures,” Sokka suggested and you smiled.

“Sure and after that why don’t we show you the turtle ducks?” You suggested. “There are some turtle ducklings now.”

“Aww!” Katara and Suki exclaimed. You all walked down to the beach and watched the sunset. There was nothing quite like the sunset in the Firenation. Reds, pinks, yellows, and oranges were painted across the sky. It was one of the things you loved most about the Fire Nation, besides Zuko of course.

The sun was making its last attempt at light when you arrived at the beach only to see the tide had taken your sculptures.

Sokka pouted a little and Suki consoled him. “Well, I’m sure they were beautiful,” Zuko said and you beamed at him.

“Let’s go see the turtle-ducks now,” you said, grabbing Zuko’s hand.

The stars were out as you all sat down on blankets. You hugged Zuko knowing that he had probably sent the blankets out here earlier. He knew one of your favorite things to do was to sit under the stars by the turtle duck-pond.

It was just like old times as you talked. Though of course you didn’t have the threat of imminent danger over your head.

You couldn't believe how wonderful the day had been and the gaang was staying for a week so Aang and Zuko could plan for their city. You were excited to get to spend so much time with your friends. You didn’t know how the week could get any better.

You laughed with your friends as Zuko stood up and went to talk to a guard. You assumed he was requesting food or something, but you were very surprised when a polar bear puppy came running at you. It jumped into your arms and began to lick you.

You looked to Zuko, confused. “What’s going on?”

“Surprise!” He yelled and you suddenly understood what was going on.

You held the puppy in one arm and squeezed Zuko with the other. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” You exclaimed. You set the puppy in your lap and began to stroke him.

Zuko chuckled. “I’m glad you like him. I noticed how sad you were and when I decided to ask everyone to come, I asked Katara to bring him.”

“You guys! I’m gonna cry!” You sniffed, but you were smiling brightly.

“What are you going to name him?” Katara asked and you began to examine the puppy.

You watched as he tumbled out of your lap and padded over to the turtle ducks. For a second you thought he would jump in with the ducklings, but he settled for admiring them.

One came over to him and you went to grab him before the mother could get mad, but she seemed to take a liking to your puppy. It was a cute sight watching them interact.

“What about Turtle Duck?” Sokka suggested.

“What kind of name is Turtle duck?” Katara asked.

You smiled. “Actually, I kinda like it. We can call him Turtle for short.

“Aww! Hello Turtle,” Aang cooed as he stroked Turtle’s ears.

You turned to Zuko. “Thank you so much. This means the world to me.”

“I’m glad, it’s great to see you so happy.” Zuko put an arm around your shoulder and the two of you looked down at the bundle of joy that was now squirming in your lap.

Turtle yawned and curled up into your lap. You and Zuko both stroked him as you spent the rest of the night, enjoying yourselves with your friends.

****

Tada! I really enjoyed writing this and I hope y'all liked it. I hope y'all have a beautiful and safe day/night.

P.S. I am open to requests, but it'll take me a week or two to get to them :) Please check my blog for the pinned post before requesting.

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[the-edge-of-great]

part two of my @jatpdaily secret santa for @agentsofoakenshiield !! :) 

you can find part one here!

FRIDAY

ALEX

There are four hours until the party. Five until he and Julie sign a new treaty. Six until they confront their parents and his world changes. Oh, is it hot in here?

Alex slips through the greenhouse door quietly—the conversation doesn’t even lull—and follows a narrow dirt path further into the forest. Soft leaves brush past, tickling the tips of his fingers. Seneca is known for its forests—vast, plentiful, and always in bloom no matter the season.

“Alex!” Willie’s voice echoes like the world isn’t already buzzing with wildlife. A bee zips past his face, so there must be other noises, but he can’t hear anything. Blood rushes through his ears—badum, badum, badum—and his head throbs.

“Alex, hey—” Willie reaches for him, fingers curling under his forearms, pulling him close. “Hey, look at me. Look at me, baby. You’re okay.”

Weakly, Alex shoves at him.

“There’s no room for emotions in this castle,” Gladys’ voice reminds sternly in his head. “Emotion is vulnerability; a weakness. And you can’t be weak. Understand, Alexander?”

Willie doesn’t budge. Instead, he tugs Alex closer, taking his hands between his own.

“I’m scared,” Alex admits quietly.

“I know,” Willie whispers.

“This has to work. It has to. Julie deserves her choice. She deserves a happily ever after.”

“And so do you.” Despite the obvious—albeit weak—resistance, Willie pulls Alex into a tight hug. “Listen to me: You guys are making the right choice here. You are.”

“My parents are gonna—” Alex takes a breath. Really, he doesn’t know what his parents will do. He doesn’t want to know, either.

“Shh… Don’t worry about them. Focus on the now. You can do this, Alex.” Willie brushes a hand through Alex’s hair, smiling.

“Wish you could be there with me.”

Raising an eyebrow, Willie hums thoughtfully. “Yeah…”

“So, Julie and I are going to sneak away to the chapel during the dance,” Alex says, mostly as a reminder to himself, but Willie nods along anyway. “It has to be approved by both the Grand Priest of Seneca and the High Priest of Koray. After, we—Should we wait until after the party? Or during it?”

Willie chuckles. “Sounds like a question for the group discussion.”

Alex breathes a laugh, shaking his head. “Right. Right.”

“After everything, though, we all meet out here to celebrate,” Willie finishes.

“Or, um…” Alex’s teeth catch the corner of his lip. “They could meet out here. We could… find something to do elsewhere.”

Willie smirks. “Ah. I don’t suppose you’ve had a tour of the castle yet?”

“Nope.”

“Well lucky for you, I know all the best spots.”

Alex laughs. He dips his head, kissing him softly. “Can’t wait,” he whispers, lips hovering just far enough to speak. A beat passes between them, staring into each other’s eyes, before Willie pushes forward, pinning Alex to a tree trunk, lips on his. Alex’s hands are everywhere: his hair, his neck, his sides, fingers pressing into the curve of Willie’s spine, holding him as close as possible and even more so.

A branch snaps. Immediately, Willie pulls away. Alex’s fingers catch the collar of his shirt; he’s not ready to let go yet. A few more minutes with him, please.

Alex searches for whoever interrupted. Willie nods to the left, toward a girl who's facing away from them. It’s Flynn; she’s trying to hide behind a tree.

“Sorry,” she calls sheepish. “Was just gonna tell Willie his dad is calling for him.”

Willie licks his lips. “Thanks, Flynn.”

Her footsteps trail off as she returns to the greenhouse. Alex takes a breath, running a hand through his hair. Willie looks over.

“You’d better go,” Alex says. “Before anyone gets suspicious.”

“Right.”

Their interlocked hands swing between them. Alex gives him a small smile. “I love you.”

Willie smirks. He stands on his tiptoes and presses a soft, lingering kiss to Alex’s cheek. “Love you, too. I’ll see you after, okay?”

“Okay.”

Alex doesn’t let go until their hands are stretched as far as they can reach. Finally, they break away, and his arm falls to his side. He watches Willie disappear into the forest and hopes, with everything in him, that wasn’t their last moment together.

~**~**~**~

WILLIE

By the time nine o’clock rolls around and the party is in full swing, Willie has a plan. It’s not as important or high stakes as The Plan, but it requires Flynn and some convincing acting skills.

“Where are we going?” she demands as he guides her through the hectic maze of the kitchen. They duck under a tray full of sparkling dishes and maneuver around a pot of boiling hot vegetable soup. At the back of the chaos is a small closet stocked with spare uniforms for the staff. Willie tugs her inside and shuts the door behind them.

“So, Alex said earlier that he wishes I could be there when they confront their parents, and I got to thinking.” Willie pushes a rickety step stool in front of a cabinet and climbs on top. “We’re the only ones in the group who miss events like this.

“Well yeah, that’s because we befriended a bunch of noblemen for some reason,” Flynn says dryly.

“True, but we’ve been missing an important opportunity every time.” Willie grabs some hangers and steps down. He shows off the black pants and white button ups with a grin. “Being the son of the royal chef has its perks.”

“And one of them is… being able to pose as servants?” Flynn raises an eyebrow. “Have you seen how those people treat the working class? Hard pass, Willie.”

“Oh, come on. We’ll stick together and just try to stay near Julie and Alex.” Willie sighs. “Look, if this was any other night, you know I’d be upstairs with you watching movies like usual. But what they’re doing tonight could change everything. Even things like this!” He gestures between them. “Now more than ever, I want to be out there with them. Don’t you?”

Flynn groans. “Fine! But I’m leaving at the first royal to try throwing a drink at me.”

Willie laughs and tosses her a uniform.

~**~**~**~

JULIE

Turns out, writing a treaty isn’t the hard part. Having it witnessed and approved isn’t all that difficult, either—it helps when the Priests of each land are young and open minded to change. Also, Alex’s younger sister Lainey was apparently on board from the very beginning. Julie really likes her, too. She hopes that, when this is all over, she, Lainey, and Flynn can have a Girls’ Day.

Sneaking back into the castle is accompanied by almost no obstacles. They were counting on Luke and Reggie still being at the door when they returned, but one look from the back gate tells them the shifts changed. When they swept past the new Korayn guards, they ignored the oh-so-knowing glances the men gave each other. Julie wants to roll her eyes; she doesn’t want to imagine what they’ll tell their buddies later.

The hard part, she realizes quickly, is stepping back into the commotion with the weight of knowing you’ve just rebelled against your own country and its laws and created something that changes hundreds of years of tradition. The cherry on top is the three most powerful people in the building—her dad and Alex’s parents—congregating in a balcony overlooking the ballroom. Her breath catches in her throat.

“Alex?” she calls, looking over, searching for his hand blindly. She needs someone to hold onto, and knowing he’s just as anxious as she is makes her feel the tiniest bit better.

Alex nods, like he can see what she’s thinking. “There they are,” he mutters to her, pulling at his sleeves.

“There they are,” Julie repeats numbly.

He turns to her. “We can’t back out now, right? We’ve already done it… technically.”

“Right. You’re right. Now we just have to… to make it official. With them.”

Alex squeezes her hand. She squeezes back.

Two servers just happen to arrive at the same time when they reach the top of the stairs. Julie and Alex freeze.

“What are they doing?” Julie whispers.

“I don’t know, but…” Alex frowns. “Why are they kind of good at it?”

“They’re just walking around handing out food. Can’t be that hard.”

Just as she says that, someone bumps into Willie, who’s balancing six wine glasses on one hand. He stumbles, the drinks wobble, but just when Julie is holding her breath and preparing for the worst, Willie regains his balance and carries on like nothing happened.

“Okay,” she admits reluctantly, “that was kind of impressive.

“Oh!” Flynn stops in front of them. “Good evening, Your Majesties. Tiny sandwich?”

Alex snickers. “Servants don’t talk, Flynn.”

“What’re you guys doing here?” Julie asks, looking over as Willie nears. “You guys know my dad will recognize you.”

Willie shrugs. “My dad works in the kitchen. It’s not that weird.”

“It is ‘cause you’ve never done this before.”

“Yeah, I think that changes tonight.” Willie jabs a thumb over his shoulder. “Someone tipped me $200 earlier just for giving them an extra glass of wine.” He shakes his head. “Drunk rich people. Why didn’t I think of this before?”

“Have you guys seen Luke and Reggie?” Alex asks. “They weren’t at the gate when we came back.”

“Came back from… Oh!” Flynn’s eyes nearly pop out of her head. “Did you guys do it? The new treaty? Is it approved and everything?” Julie pats the purse on her hip. “It’s in here, Priest approved, royal family member witnessed. Now we just have to…” She nods toward their parents.

“Oh,” Willie realizes, looking between them. “Right. You guys got this, okay?”

Alex takes a long, deep breath. “We need to do this before I chicken out.”

Julie nods. “Let’s go.” Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Willie reach for Alex before his hand falls to his side. Looking back, Willie’s already moved on to the next guest. Alex’s hurries to her side, face unreadable. She reaches for his hand again.

“Mother, Father,” he greets stiffly.

“Dad,” Julie adds, smiling softly. “We need to talk to you guys.”

Dad raises an eyebrow. “Uh, can it wait? We’re having a party, mija!”

“Not this time, papa. It’s important.”

Alex adds, hesitantly, “It’s about the marriage agreement.”

His mother rolls her eyes. “This again, Alexander? We’ve told you—”

The king interrupts, “—nothing you say or do will change things. Arranged marriage is a tradition dating back centuries. You think you’re the first prince to dislike their bride?” He scoffs. “This isn't about your feelings. It’s about what’s good for your country.”

“I think there are other options that could be better for the country.”

“Besides,” Julie interrupts, sounding much braver than she feels, “it’s already done.”

Their group falls silent. Below, the party carries on. Dresses shimmer under the chandeliers as women dance across the ballroom with their partners leading the way. Glasses clink in toast somewhere. A group of women laugh near the grand piano. Julie can see Willie and Flynn, weaving around people like they’re racing to get back to the kitchen. Everyone on the ground is blissfully unaware, carefree and unbothered.

And the most powerful people in the room are silent, suffocating in stiffening air.

“What’s already done?” the King of Koray demands sharply.

Julie’s hands are shaking. She curses at herself as she digs the treaty out of her purse. The paper slips from her grasp and falls on the table. To hide her tremble, she slams a hand down on top.

“This is a new treaty created by Alex and I, approved and witnessed by both priests of our countries and, following Koray’s rules, a member of the royal family, Alex’s sister Lainey Mercer.” She stands upright; deep breath, straighten your shoulders! “In this, we agree to keep the peace while abolishing the arranged marriage law. I have full confidence in our ability to maintain a good relationship between our countries without restricting our freedoms and promising ourselves to each other when, really, that’s not something either of us want. Alex is family to me.” She shoots him a quick smile. “We’d work better running things on equal ground, from an understanding of brother and sister.”

Alex nods. “Arranged marriage is a thing of the past. It may have worked when you all were our age, but it won’t for us. We both want to lead our countries into a new era, and this is the first step.”

There’s more silence, but Julie feels she can breathe easier. At least, she thinks so—she’s suddenly aware of the death grip she’s had around Alex’s hand during the whole speech.

Dad rises from his chair, grinning. “Well, you two make a compelling argument.”

Julie beams. “Really?”

Alex’s dad bellows a laugh that would definitely swallow the aimless chatter downstairs if not for the music. There’s a menacing tone laced in that sends chills down Julie’s spine. Her smile falters. Chin up.

“You think you can just waltz in here,” he teases, walking around his chair, “show off your pathetic little stunt, and things would be different? Just like that? Ha! You have a lot to learn, kid.” He stops in front of her, inches away because that’s as far as Dad will allow. “First of all, I can spin this to make it seem like you got inside my son’s head and filled it with nonsense. For all we know, this is an act of war.”

“Funny you bring up war,” Dad says nonchalantly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you both know who would win that. And so do I.” Dad shrugs. “That’s why the peace treaty was created in the first place, wasn’t it?”

Julie knows little about Koray’s forces regarding the military. According to stories from Luke, they have plenty of manpower. But, her dad always told her great armies aren’t made up of only muscle.

Alex’s father is positively seething, if his reddening face is any indication. “I will not be made a fool,” he spits. Dark eyes shift to Alex. “Especially by my own son.”

Julie looks at Alex fearfully. He’s locked in a staring match with his father.

“Whether you like it or not,” he says with a shake in his words, “I’m going to take your place one day. And if this doesn’t work now, it’ll work later. You’re just postponing the inevitable.”

They relapse into another chilling silence. Julie doesn’t realize she’s been holding her breath until Alex’s father finally storms off. She hears the heavy thuds of his boots for two steps until he stops abruptly. Frowning, she turns to see what happened.

Their friends are there: Luke and Reggie standing at attention just inside the doorway with Willie and Flynn watching from behind. They’re trying their hardest not to smile, Julie can tell, which almost crumbles her resolve immediately.

“This won’t work, you know,” Alex’s father hisses, turning back to them. “You can’t build a kingdom on friendship.”

Alex and Julie share a look. Julie hums. Alex shrugs.

“Watch us,” he says simply.

Flynn smacks Willie’s arm eagerly.

Behind them, Dad clears his throat. “Well, I guess there’s just one thing left to do,” he says, reaching into his inner jacket pocket. He catches the queen’s eye across the room. “Madam?”

The queen sighs. She rounds the chair she was previously sitting in and takes the pen from Dad’s hand. “Although I’m not entirely sold on the idea,” she mutters, signing her name across the bottom of the treaty. She returns the pen and speaks to Julie and Alex. “I have high hopes for you, Alexander. You’re far more courageous than I originally thought. And you, young lady.” Julie raises her chin, smiling. His mother sighs, a hint of something warm and familiar playing on her lips. “I have a feeling you two are going to do something great together.”

“In other words,” Dad says as she leaves the room, “good job, you two.” He kisses Julie’s hair.

Julie smiles. “Thanks, Dad.”

Reggie throws an arm out to stop Flynn from lunging at Julie while Dad heads for the door. Her friends watch, waiting for their cue. Julie shares a look with Alex. Alex steps to the edge of the balcony and peers over the side. A moment later, he spins on his heel.

“We did it!” he cries.

Reggie and Luke step aside before Flynn can shove into them. She tosses her tray of sandwiches to the side and leaps for Julie and Alex, who are in the middle of an embrace. Seconds later, three other people join the huddle. When they pull away, everyone starts talking at once.

“I can’t believe you guys just did that.”

“That was fucking bad-ass, what the hell!”

“When he said ‘You can’t build a kingdom on friendship’ and you said ‘Watch us’, oh my gosh, dude!”

“I’m so proud of you guys!”

Flynn catches the first tear that slips down Julie’s cheek. Shaking her head, she reaches out to wipe it away. “No crying, girl! You just won your freedom, basically.”

“And it’s a good eyeliner night,” Julie jokes.

Flynn smiles, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Exactly, girl. You look too good to be crying.” She steps away as Luke approaches.

He hugs her close against his armored chest and presses a kiss to her forehead. She smiles, leaning into the embrace even if it’s not as comfortable as his normal hugs.

“Off topic, but um,” Alex says, eyebrows furrowing as he looks over Willie. “Why are you guys posing as servants?”

“It’s servers, Alex,” Flynn corrects.

“Yeah. Get woke,” Willie teases.

Alex chuckles. “I don’t—What?”

“Hey, let’s get out of here,” Julie suggests. “I know a greenhouse party would be way better.”

“I bet I can steal some ice cream from the kitchen,” Flynn offers. “I am an employee.”

Willie snickers. “Yeah, you guys go ahead. I promised His Highness a tour of the castle tonight.”

Julie shares a smirk with Luke. Humming, she tugs him toward the door. “Okay. We’ll catch up tomorrow then.”

Tomorrow, when she can wake up to Luke by her side without worrying about being caught. Tomorrow, when Alex can hold Willie’s hand in public and nobody can say anything because he’s the prince and no longer engaged.

Tomorrow, when they can actually feel like themselves somewhere other than the greenhouse.

Finally.

[jenniferisacommonname]

Bonus Level Unlocked

This week marks the release of Jason Schreier’s Press Reset, an incredibly well-researched book on catastrophic business failure in the gaming industry. Jason’s a good dude, and there’s an excerpt here if you want to check it out. Sadly, game companies going belly-up is such a common occurrence that he couldn’t possibly include them all, and one of the stories left out due to space constraints is one that I happen to be personally familiar with. So, I figured I’d tell it here.

I began working at Acclaim Studios Austin as a sound designer in January of 2000. It was a tumultuous period for the company, including a recent rebranding from their former studio name, “Iguana Entertainment,” and a related, ongoing lawsuit from the ex-founder of Iguana. There were a fair number of ghosts hanging around—the creative director’s license plate read IGUANA, which he never changed, and one of the meeting rooms held a large, empty terrarium—but the studio had actually been owned on paper by Acclaim since 1995, and I didn’t notice any conflicting loyalties. Everyone acted as if we always had been, and always would be, Acclaim employees.

Over the next few years I worked on a respectable array of triple-A titles, including Quarterback Club 2002, Turok: Evolution, and All-Star Baseball 2002 through 2005. (Should it be “All-Stars Baseball,” like attorneys general? Or perhaps a term of venery, like “a zodiac of All-Star Baseball.”) At any rate, it was a fun place to work, and a platformer of hijinks ensued.

But let’s skip to the cutscene. The truth is that none of us in the trenches suspected the end was near until it was absolutely imminent. Yes, Turok: Evolution and Vexx had underperformed, especially when stacked against the cost of development, but games flop in the retail market all the time. And, yes, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling had been hustled out the door before it was ready for reasons no one would explain, and the New York studio’s release of a BMX game featuring unlockable live-action stripper footage had been an incredibly weird marketing ploy for what should have been a straightforward racing title. (Other desperate gimmicks around this time included a £6,000 prize for UK parents who would name their baby “Turok,” an offer to pay off speeding tickets to promote Burnout 2 that quickly proved illegal, and an attempt to buy advertising space on actual tombstones for a Shadow Man sequel.)

But the baseball franchise was an annual moneymaker, and our studio had teams well into development on two major new licenses, 100 Bullets and The Red Star. Enthusiasm was on the upswing. Perhaps I should have paid closer attention when voice actors started calling me to complain that they hadn’t been paid, but at the time it seemed more like a bureaucratic failure than an actual money shortage—and frankly, it was a little naïve of them to expect net-30 in the first place. Industry standard was, like, net-90 at best. So I was told.

Then one Friday afternoon, a few department managers got word that we’d kind of maybe been skipping out on the building lease for let’s-not-admit-how-many months. By Monday morning, everyone’s key cards had been deactivated.

It's a little odd to arrive at work and find a hundred-plus people milling around outside—even odder, I suppose, if your company is not the one being evicted. Acclaim folks mostly just rolled their eyes and debated whether to cut our losses and head to lunch now, while employees of other companies would look dumbfounded and fearful before being encouraged to push their way through the crowd and demonstrate their still-valid key card to the security guard. Finally, the General Manager (hired only a few months earlier, and with a hefty relocation bonus to accommodate his houseboat) announced that we should go home for the day and await news. Several of our coworkers were veterans of the layoff process—like I said, game companies go under a lot—and one of them had already created a Yahoo group to communicate with each other on the assumption that we’d lose access to our work email. A whisper of “get on the VPN and download while you can” rippled through the crowd.

But the real shift in tone came after someone asked about a quick trip inside for personal items, and the answer was a hard, universal “no.” We may have been too busy or ignorant to glance up at any wall-writing, but the building management had not been: they were anticipating a full bankruptcy of the entire company. In that situation, all creditors have equal standing to divide up a company's assets in lengthy court battles, and most get a fraction of what they’re owed. But if the landlords had seized our office contents in lieu of rent before the bankruptcy was declared, they reasoned, then a judge might rule that they had gotten to the treasure chest first, and could lay claim to everything inside as separate from the upcoming asset liquidation.

Ultimately, their gambit failed, but the ruling took a month to settle. In the meantime, knick knacks gathered dust, delivered packages piled up, food rotted on desks, and fish tanks became graveyards. Despite raucous protest from every angle—the office pets alone generated numerous threats of animal cruelty charges—only one employee managed to get in during this time, and only under police escort. He was a British citizen on a work visa, and his paperwork happened to be sitting on his desk, due to expire. Without it, he was facing literal deportation. Fortunately, a uniformed officer took his side (or perhaps just pre-responded to what was clearly a misdemeanor assault in ovo,) and after some tense discussion, the building manager relented, on the condition that the employee touch absolutely nothing beyond the paperwork in question. The forms could go, but the photos of his children would remain.

It’s also a little odd, by the way, to arrive at the unemployment office and find every plastic chair occupied by someone you know. Even odder, I suppose, if you’re actually a former employee of Acclaim Studios Salt Lake, which had shut down only a month or two earlier, and you just uprooted your wife and kids to a whole new city on the assurance that you were one of the lucky ones who got to stay employed. Some of them hadn’t even finished unpacking.

Eventually, we were allowed to enter the old office building one at a time and box up our things under the watchful eye of a court appointee, but by then our list of grievances made the landlords’ ploy seem almost quaint by comparison (except for the animals, which remains un-fucking-forgivable.) We had learned, for example, that in the weeks prior to the bankruptcy, our primary lender had made an offer of $15 million—enough to keep us solvent through our next batch of releases, two of which had already exited playtesting and were ready to be burned and shipped. The only catch was that the head of the board, company founder Greg Fischbach, would have to step down. This was apparently too much of an insult for him to stomach, and he decided that he'd rather see everything burn to the ground. The loan was refused.

Other “way worse than we thought” details included gratuitous self-dealing to vendors owned by board members, the disappearance of expensive art from the New York offices just before closure, and the theft of our last two paychecks. For UK employees, it was even more appalling: Acclaim had, for who knows how long, been withdrawing money from UK paychecks for their government-required pension funds, but never actually putting the money into the retirement accounts. They had stolen tens of thousands of dollars directly from each worker.

Though I generally reside somewhere between mellow and complete doormat on the emotional spectrum, I did get riled enough to send out one bitter email—not to anyone in corporate, but to the creators of a popular webcomic called Penny Arcade, who, in the wake of Acclaim’s bankruptcy announcement, published a milquetoast jibe about Midway’s upcoming Area 51. I told Jerry (a.k.a. “Tycho”) that I was frankly disappointed in their lack of cruelty, and aired as much dirty laundry as I was privy to at the time.

“Surely you can find a comedic gem hidden somewhere in all of this!” I wrote. “Our inevitable mocking on PA has been a small light at the end of a very dark, very long tunnel. Please at least allow us the dignity of having a smile on our faces while we wait in line for food stamps.”

Two days later, a suitably grim comic did appear, implying the existence of a new release from Acclaim whose objective was to run your game company into the ground. In the accompanying news post, Tycho wrote:

“We couldn’t let the Acclaim bankruptcy go without comment, though we initially let it slide thinking about the ordinary gamers who lost their jobs there. They don’t have anything to do with Acclaim’s malevolent Public Relations mongrels, and it wasn’t they who hatched the Titty Bike genre either. Then, we remembered that we have absolutely zero social conscience and love to say mean things.”

Another odd experience, by the way, is digging up a 16-year-old complaint to a webcomic creator for nostalgic reference when you offer that same creator a promotional copy of the gaming memoir you just co-wrote with Sid Meier. Even odder, I suppose, to realize that the original non-Acclaim comic had been about Area 51, which you actually were hired to work on yourself soon after the Acclaim debacle.*

As is often the case in complex bankruptcies, the asset liquidation took another six years to fully stagger its way through court—but in 2010, we did, surprisingly, get the ancient paychecks we were owed, plus an extra $1,700-ish for the company’s apparent violation of the WARN Act. By then, I had two kids and a very different life, for which the money was admittedly helpful. Sadly, Acclaim’s implosion probably isn’t even the most egregious one on record. Our sins were, to my knowledge, all money-related, and at least no one was ever sexually assaulted in our office building. Again, to my knowledge. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure we remain the only historical incident of corporate pet murder. The iguana got out just in time.

*Area 51’s main character was voiced by David Duchovny, and he actually got paid—which was lucky for him, because three years later, Midway also declared bankruptcy.

[ridetherain]

New Year

Omg I wrote fluff. Who even am I.

Rating: T

Words: 2323

Summary: Link and Zelda go to a new year's festival in Link's hometown.

New Year

"Come on, Link! You need to join the archery competition!" Zelda stage-whispered into Link's ear. "I'm sure they'll let you join."

She had her face turned away from Link and was looking directly at the innkeeper, Pagho, who was taking down names for various competitions for the new year.

"We agreed that it was unfair for me to join any combat competitions," Link said shortly.

"We agreed that it was unfair for you to join swordplay competitions," Zelda clarified, "Besides, archery is more of a hunting competition. Come on. You've been a stick in the mud all day long. This is the last competition before the sun goes down."

Zelda's loud whispers and unblinking stare had caught the attention of Stad and Okil. Both men were stringing bows and listening unashamedly. They ambled over with a faux-casual air.

"So, Link," Stad said, "Are you going to join us or not. I know you pulled the Sword, but surely that doesn't make you a better shot."

"Or are you worried about your soldier training?" Okil asked, "I know you were stationed as an archer at Fort Hateno before you got all high and mighty. Maybe we should make this more of a challenge for our resident knight."

Link just gave the two a sour look. Zelda beamed at the backup and rushed over to Pagho to sign him up while he wasn't paying attention.

"You'll want to show off a little," Okil continued in a low voice, "You would hate to have your lady friend's head turned by another man. She's the most beautiful woman ever to visit this village. Every man here is waiting for you to mess up."

Link's frown got deeper.

"Including us," Stad said, "If that's what Castle Town women look like, then I think I'll have to find my way to the capitol as well."

"You're free to go to Castle Town. Hylia is out of your league." Link said.

"I don't see how you have time to meet women while guarding the Princess all day," Stad retorted. "I could find a beautiful woman too!"

Zelda picked that moment to march back to the three men.

"You're all signed up!" She exclaimed, "I worked it all out with Mister Pagho. You'll have an appropriately difficult challenge for your skill level."

She waved her hand in the air to brush off Link's grunted disagreement.

"It's too late to complain now; he's already written your name on the board."

Link just huffed a little and glared once more at the group at large before turning to the small weapon rack full of hunting bows. He chose a bow but left his soldier's issue weapon strapped to his back. He wasn't going to use his advantages in the competition, but he also wasn't going to disarm even partially. Zelda was still the Princess even in disguise, and he was the only guard in attendance at his hometown festival.

While Link turned his back, Zelda winked conspiratorially at Okil and Stad. She shooed the two off towards Pagho with a wave.

"I think you'll do well!" Zelda said to Link, "It will be good practice for the Farore's Day tourny in a few weeks. I know you've signed up for those competitions."

"The Farore's Day tournament is an exposition of skill among Hyrule's soldiers and knights. I will be competing against my peers." He tested the weight of the bow he selected.

"Archery competitors, listen up!" Pagho shouted over the crowd's chatter. "Find your ladies and get a good luck kiss before you line up!"

The crowd laughed and started jeering at the suddenly nervous group of men. A few wives and sweethearts came up for a little kiss, and one man swept his wife into a dip and gave her a lingering kiss to a great cheer from the crowd. Zelda was shoved forward by Pagho. She stumbled and tripped into the group. Link recovered from surprise fast enough to catch her. He helped her back to her feet with red cheeks.

"Ignore them," he whispered in her ear.

Zelda smiled good-naturedly and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek. "Good luck, Hero."

She had a bit of mischief in her voice. When Link turned, deeply crimson, to the targets, he realized why.

There was a line of nine round archery targets about thirty yards away. They were good targets for men used to hunting in the forest. On one end, there was a tenth that was covered partially by fabric. Nails pinned the fabric carefully around the edges, leaving a much smaller and much narrower target in the shape of the master sword. Pagho had also placed the mark a good twenty feet further back. Not as far as the typical tournament distance, but easily far enough to provide a challenge when combined with the odd and very narrow shape.

Zelda met Link's look of reproach with an innocent smile.

Link took his place at the sword target in line with the other men and pulled an arrow from the cluster at his feet. Pagho gave the signal for the first shot. Link scuffed the ground with his back foot before settling into his stance. He stood upright and pulled the string back gently. He kept his breathing even and slow while he lined up the shot. He let the arrow fly and watched it shoot in a graceful arc to the Sword. It hit the target just to the right of dead center. The narrow shape meant that the arrow was closer to the mark's edge than the exact center. Link frowned.

Pagho called for the second arrow. Link scuffed the ground again and resettled his stance. He pulled back the arrow and let it fly when he exhaled. It sored to the target and embedded itself into the exact center of the Sword bullseye. Link gave the shot a short nod of approval before picking up his final arrow. The last two arrows didn't have the speed that this arrow did, and it clipped the edge of his second arrow before digging its way deep into the straw.

Link rolled his shoulders back and glanced down the line at his competition. Stad was a terrible shot. His target only had two arrows in it. Okil's was much better with all three arrows sticking out and two near the bullseye. Several of the remaining competitors shot at least one bullseye, and a stocky man at the opposite end got all three clustered in a tight group just north of his bullseye.

"It looks like our clear winner is our local knight and the Hero of Hyrule!" Pagho shouted to the crowd. He yanked Link forward and dropped an antler crown on his head. The rough headpiece was little more than two antlers lashed together with leather; it matched the winners of the other six competitions of the day. Link slouched his way into the lineup of winners to the cheers of the townspeople. They all stood around, clapping each other on the shoulders, peacocking for the crowd, and arguing good-naturedly.

"Let's give our winners a cheer!" Pagho shouted, and the crowd roared in approval. "And let's get this party going!"

The band took Pagho's words as their cue to start playing a rousing jig, and young women of the town pulled the seven men to the makeshift dancefloor next to the cookpots. A pretty redhead pulled Link along behind her and convinced him to swing her around in a familiar country dance. Link could see Zelda following the blacksmith to the floor as well and tripping over the novel peasant steps. She was elegant and sophisticated compared to the villagers. The dark umber of the hair dye they had used for her disguise gave her a dim glow instead of the bright shining light that usually surrounded her. She was still the most beautiful thing Link had ever seen.

Link danced with what felt like every woman in the town. In between dances, his partners offered him food and drinks. He slowly became more relaxed and began to enjoy the party. His head was getting a little fuzzy, and his body warm from all of the drinks while Zelda charmed her way through each unfamiliar dance.

"Your lady friend is charming." Pagho poured two drinks and handed one to Link. "You ought to dance with her. She keeps looking at you. She's going to give up on you soon if you don't go for it."

"She's not my lady friend. She's just an acquaintance from Castle Town. We're just friends."

"Maybe you're just friends, but that girl is sweet on you." Pagho was talking far too loudly. "She's been singing your praises all day to anyone who will listen."

Link did his best to keep his face from turning red again. "She's just kind. Excuse me."

Link downed his drink and walked away from the conversation as quickly as possible. He went over to where Zelda was chatting with Stad to ask her to dance. Not because Pagho told him to. He was just in the mood for another dance, and he wanted to be a good host.

But, Stad took her hand before he got to her and pulled her onto the dance floor. Link found another drink and sipped it while he waited his turn. Then Zelda switched partners to another man. Then another, then Okil, then that first blacksmith again.

"Looks like you missed your chance." Pagho swung past him with his wife. "Better hurry. There's only one more dance before midnight."

Link was pretty tipsy at this point.

He sat down on a bench and tried to come to terms with the fact that he was jealous of the blacksmith. He did want to dance with Zelda. More than that, he wanted Zelda to want to dance with him. But, she was more interested in literally any other man at this festival. They had barely even spoken after the dancing started.

He was wallowing in self-pity when the object of his thoughts plopped down next to him. The energetic dancing had left a pleasant flush on Zelda's face, and her skin had a light sheen of sweat. Link tried not to imagine her looking like this in his house without prying eyes.

"Would you like to dance?" She asked.

"Yes," he said much too quickly. Then his brain caught up, and he flushed to the tips of his ears. "I mean... yes..."

Zelda took his hand and led him to the dance floor. The musicians took up a slow ballad to end the old year. It was a sweet song that was far too intimate for a dance with a Princess. Link tried to think of Zelda as Hylia, a ladies maid from Castle Town, rather than his future sovereign. She placed his hand on her waist and took up his free hand in hers. Link tried to pull himself together and started the steps to a court dance she would know.

She beamed at him. "I didn't know you could do my court dances! I would have been dancing with you all night instead of making a fool of myself trying to learn new ones."

Link's heart skipped a beat.

"You seemed to be having fun. "

"Yes, I've had a good time. Thank you for letting me stay. I know I shouldn't have just shown up on your time off." Zelda looked down at her feet even though Link knew she had all of the steps by heart.

"I'm always happy to have you around, Zel. You're my friend, and I love spending time with you."

Now it was Zelda that couldn't keep the red from her face. She tried to turn her head to keep him from seeing, but Link took the motion as an invitation to pull her a little closer.

"I love spending time with you too. Getting to know you has been an adventure," Zelda's voice was a little muffled by his tunic. He wished she would look up so he could see her expression. "I hope that it's an adventure that keeps going."

"I don't have any more secrets, Princess. You know more about me than I do."

"Well, you'll have to work to surprise me, then," Zelda said with a smile in her voice. The song was coming to a close, so she began to pull away from him. He wouldn't let her go. They stopped with the music, and she finally turned her face up to his again.

He steeled himself. She looked content and expectant and nervous. He was nervous too, and if he hadn't had three more drinks than necessary, he probably wouldn't even be thinking about what he was about to do. He would almost certainly regret it in the morning when he considered his career trajectory and the effect on their friendship and his plans for not dying of a beheading.

Their lips touched.

Zelda sighed into the kiss, and Link could feel her hands slowly run down from his shoulder to grasp at the front of his tunic. He leaned back and took a ragged breath before capturing her lips again. His hands pressed against her back to keep her body against his own as tightly as possible. Each point of contact was a new shock of electricity to his system. Link thought that the moment couldn't get any better until she let out a small whimper. The sound made him forget everything around them. Her title was gone, their circumstances are gone, the village was gone.

She pulled away.

"Take me back to your house," He couldn't deny her anything when she spoke with that breathy voice full of need.

Link dove in for one last kiss before leading her by the hand through the crowd. They slipped away from the party quickly before running, laughing, up the hill to his house.

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans Are Space Orcs, “The Press.”

I have been wanting to do this for a while. Commander Vir deals with fame, and the good and bad parts of it. I hope you like, sorry I am so late today :) 

“Why exactly am I back on earth? My tour doesn’t end for another six months, and we were just getting ready for our first exploratory mission since before the burg war.”

“Look, commander, I understand this isn’t what you thought you were signing up for, but since the movie dropped recruitment has Gone up 45% and another 20% after merchandising, we need to get on this quick,”

He sighed 

“Besides, you will only be touring one or two weeks. That’s one or two weeks paid vacation while you talk to celebrities, pose for pictures, and maybe do a press conference or two. Bring along a couple of friends to keep you company and it won’t be that bad.”

“Alright, alright, I get it, but I’m not a dancing monkey. I didn’t sign up for this, and it’s not going to becoming a thin.”

“Yes commander, now The UNSC is taking you first. You are their poster child after all, and they want your face on the recruiting posters .”

“Very well, ma’am.”

***

Wednesday, June 3

“This is good work commander, but we are going to bring in an expert to make it just right.”

Commander Vir stood in an empty hanger bay surrounded by reflective panels, directional lights and a multitude of camera equipment. Sunny and Krill were playing a guessing game he had taught them earlier in the day to keep them occupied, and Waffles -- his dog -- was curled up by one of the set technicians taking a nap.

“An expert?”

“Yes, we’re bringing in one of the guys who used to be a guard in Arlington. The uniform looks good, but is it perfect?”

The answer to that question was answered simply few minutes later

He was a slob, a big fat slob who didn’t know how to properly wear his socks. The guy even whipped out a tape measure to determine the exact distance that a pin should be placed from the crease in his collar.

Commander Vir didn’t see the difference on the small scale, but in aggregate, he found that the difference was actually quite startling. He blinked, “Wow.”

“Excellent, now, we’re going to have you stand over here while we adjust the lights, and then when we give you the cue we want you to follow the order to a T. We will have parade rest attention, present at attention and then contemplatively looking off into the distance. We will have someone with a marker to tell you where to look.”

“Stare contemplatively off into the distance. I don’t remember learning that one.”

“Ahh we got a smartass.” 

He stepped into place doing as the cameraman ordered, trying to look serious and imposing as directed, though Sunny and Krill had decided to make faces in the background. He actually did loose it at some point as Sunny started doing some weird improvised dancing in the background while krill stood there like it offended his sensibilities.

Eventually they got what he wanted, and they showed him some of the prototypes.

There were a few that he liked but only because they looked like vintage  movie posters from some badass naval war movie.

Thursday, June 4 

The three of them walked into the studio watching as bodies flowed past them hurrying off in all directions. Obviously their presence caused quite a stir, and Adam thought he recognized a few faces peering from the crowd, other movies stars and celebrities, but he couldn't be sure what he was seeing. And then there were the women, and men who hurried about, tall, statuesque like greek gods given life, with jaws so sharp they could cut paper, and pouty lips under wide dark eyes. 

Looking at them and then at himself, well, he felt like a dump truck next to a sports car.

Sunny on the other hand didn’t seem impressed, “I could snap them in half…. Like twigs.”

“Fighting isn’t the point Sunny, they’re just supposed to be hot.”

Krill eyed them, “Their single job is to profess the perfect mating standard?”

“Ur yeah, I guess.”

Krill snorted, Sunny shook her head ,’ What is the point of being hot if you’re also useless besides you don’t look all that different.”

He rolled his eyes. Leave it to an alien not to be able to tell what super hot humans looked like.

“I’m serious,” Sunny insisted, “You’re as tall as most of them, and more muscular than some of them, and you have a cool eye patch, so that means you win.”

He couldn’t help but smile shaking his head, “Alright, Alright, I’ll shut up.”

At that moment a woman appeared from nowhere and held out a hand, “Commander! So glad you could come, so glad.” She looked him up and down with a frown.”

“That bad huh?”

“Nothing a little wardrobe and makeup can’t fix.” She announced clapping her hands together and motioning others over as he frowned.

He frowned.

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing “

“Do I tell you how to do your job commander, no, now over to wardrobe .”

He blinked in surprise, “Ok, yes ma’am.”

He found himself sidling over to where racks and racks of clothing was hanging suddenly surrounded by the tall, statuesque people with their big eyes and pouty lips. While they were busy looking hot, he got nervous and nearly knocked over an entire rack of clothing, blushed till he was beat red, and then decided after this was all over he was going to bury himself under a rock and die.

He was mostly ignored for like twenty minutes until someone walked over, “Commander,” He was a portly little man with hair dyed frost white though his roots were growing in black. The man grabbed him by the hand and dragged him across the room, “Alright, alright, what do we have.”

He looked him over prodding t his shoulders and arms, making him turn in a circle, “Not bad, not bad at all. I can work with this. Tell me commander formal, or casual.”

“Uh casual?”

“Exactly what I was thinking! The provincial small town man feel. I like it.”

“Well I mean ok…” the little man grabbed him aggressively by the arm and pulled him around to a rack of clothing. In the end he had a pair of jeans black boots a black T-shirt and a brown leather jacket.

He frowned, “I hate to point this out, but this is literally what I am wearing.”

“No it isn’t. Yours is frumpy and sloppy and ours will make you look acceptably rugged.”

He frowned not sure if he was supposed to be offended or not, “And where am I supposed to change.”

“Right here.”

“Right here!’

“Commander, these are models, they show their bodies off for a living, none of them need a changing room, so take a leaf out of their book and stop worrying.”

This was worse than a high school locker room. Humans had never reached light speed, but he was pretty sure he at least broke the sound barrier while pulling on the new pants.

When he walked back over pulling on his jacket sunny and Krill had made themselves comfortable in a couple of the stage crew chairs, “What are you so nervous about, you looked fine.” Sonny said looking down at her implants to change music.

“You were watching me>”

“Was I not supposed to do that.” 

He felt himself turn a nice shade of cherry red, “No!.”

She shrugged, “Whatever.” 

Krill just shook his head, “You forget that neither of us wear clothes, so we do not understand your issues.”

He sighed, “Nudists.” He muttered walking towards the set, though he was immediately diverted by another person who led him over to a set of chairs and mirrors. He was pushed down into a seat and spun around and an aggressive group of stylists moved in on him. This is honestly not what he had expected when he joined the army.

He was even less impressed when they started to stick brushes in his face causing him to blink and his eyes to itch. Someone wetted down his hair and put product in it that smelled like strawberries, which, honestly he wasn’t entirely annoyed about.

From there he was finally let go and walked onto another photo set, though this one had way more lightning, way more cameras and way more props.

And of course like the awesome badass commander that he was, he stood there like a complete idiot as stiff as a board, caught like a deer in the headlights. The photographer seemed more than a little annoyed at his inability to look like anything other than sasquatch caught on a hunting camera.

“Relax.”

“This is kind of out of my element.”

“Being capture by aliens and going on space walks where you might suffocate, and you cant relax enough to take a picture.”

“To be fair, no one sees me when I am doing badass stuff, so I don’t have the social pressure of preforming well.”

They tried some more.

They told him he was smiling awkwardly, or like he was being threatened at gunpoint.

It wasn’t until Sunny started doing stupid dances behind the camera-man, again that the photographer finally started to like what he was seeing. Every time he turned to look at what Vir was smiling at, Sunny would stop dancing trying to look all innocent.

That just made him laugh.

At some point one of the people had a great idea to involve waffles, and -- like the good girl that she was -- she promptly stole the spotlight, which he was totally cool with.

Photoshoots were definitely not his thing.

He was about 100 percent sure when the photos came out they would look like his last middle school yearbook picture.

Even thinking about it made him grimace.

Friday, June 5

“And please help me to welcome our next special guest, Commander Adam Vir of the UNSC.”

His legs felt like jelly, and it took sunny nudging him to finally get him moving onto the stage. He wondered if people could tell just how bad his legs were shaking.

And there was a twitching going on in his right cheek that he just couldn't stop.

He wanted to go back to the hotel and watch dumb TV With Sunny while krill complained about the medical inaccuracies.

But here he was listening to clapping and cheering from an assembled studio crowd. He was sure he was going to do something massively stupid, like trip off the stage, or rip his pants or forget his own name, or something.

The host stood up, he was blanking on their name right now though he knew they were ridiculously famous.

He shook hands with them.

“So glad you could come commander.”

“A pleasure to be here.” He responded robotically hoping that his smile was at least somewhat convincing.”

He took a seat on the couch, resting a hand against his shaking right leg.

He was going to puke.

“So, i Heard you have been on tour  for the past two days, how are you enjoying the celebrity circuit.”

He rubbed his hands against his legs, “Do you want the real answer or the fake one?”

“Lets hear the real one.”

“Er, well it turns out I am really bad at…. Pretty much everything that’s not captaining a ship. Yesterday I did a photoshooot where I am ninety percent sure I looked like an awkward cryptid most of the time. People are going to be looking at those photos and wondering in what swamp they found me.” 

There was laughter from the crowd.

He wasn’t entirely sure if that was funny or not.

“I am sure they aren’t as bad as all that.”

He shook his head, “Pretty sure my face was like this…” He raised his hands making a wide-eyed shocked expression that had the crowd laughing again.”

The host smiled, “Commander, Forgive me for asking, but how old are you.”

He smiled sheepishly, “Um, lets just say too young and leave it at that.”

“I was sort of under the impression that commanders and admirals were….”

“Old wrinkly dudes?”

“Yeah.” 

He rubbed the back of his head, “That’s mostly true, the reason I got this position has to do with my experience with extra terrestrials.”

“I’ve heard rumors that you have aliens on board your ship. Is that true.”

“Those shouldn’t be rumors, that is entirely true. We have a twenty….three person Drev clan, a Vrul medical officer, a starborn, and some miscellaneous others.”

A muttering from the crowd, “But you were part of the Drev war, and Operation Steel eye. How did an entire Drev clan end up on your ship?”

He shrugged, “The story is complicated, but the long and short of it is, I made friends with some Drev after the war, and they adopted me into the clan.”

“Can we…. See, the prosthetic I mean” He held up his hands, “Not to be disrespectful.”

He shrugged, “sure.” Reaching down and tugging up his pant leg so the bright blue carapace glittered in the bright studio lights.

The man leaned closer, “Wow…. What…. What is that?”

“Drev carapace.” He dropped the pant leg.

“Why?”

“That is actually the reason I am adopted. A drev has to give you a gift that contains a piece of their own armor, so my best friend made this for me some time ago.” 

They talked about that for a little while. They talked about the war, they talked about his first moment on an alien planet.

“I was actually on the original mission to land on  Proxima b. I was the shuttle pilot behind Captain Kelly, though I don’t know how many people knew that.

There was a murmuring around the room.

“I know it was broadcasted live, but luckily the cameras were pointed away because when I was getting out of the shuttle, my foot slipped on the stairs.” The crowd gasped and giggled, “And I face planted right onto the surface.” 

More laughing.

“That is my legacy, the first man to take a nose dive on an alien planet.”

“I would say that your legacy contains a lot of strange instances. There are reports that you recently escaped from kidnapping by a prodigum by… Singing? How did that work?”

He rubbed the back of his head, “Well that is… that is.” he laughed nervously, “Yes that is a thing that happened. I and my friend Sunny were captured by a criminal overlord for entertainment in his little criminal syndicate. They had cages lined all along the ceiling and inside them were other humans. Turns out the Prodigum react to human singing like a drug, so I was asked to sing, luckily for me one of the woman in the other cage was a voice coach, so a few days of starving and being miserable, she taught me how to sing properly, or a little more properly, and then I sang a super sad song, distracted everyone long enough for y friend to escape and call for help.”

Gasping and more laughter around the room.

“Wow…. Your life….”

“Reads like a strange cartoon doesn’t it.”

From the crowd, “Sing for us!.”

The call was taken up a few more times.

He shook his head, “No no no, no I am not going to sing on international television. I have embarrassed myself enough this week.” 

“You now commander, you wouldn’t want to disappoint the public.”

He could feel the heat rising into his face as the rest of the crowd took up the chant.

He tried to protest, but that didn’t seem to be working.

Eventually he held up his hands “Ok, ok, but if my voice cracks…. Just don’t laugh.”

“And you were without accompaniment.”

He sighed, “Yeah it was a Capella. They didn’t exactly give me a soundtrack.” he stood taking a few deep breaths and humming to himself. His legs were shaking even worse than before.

He rubbed his hands nervously together.

The studio went very quiet.

He felt sweat trickling down his back between his shoulder blades.

He took a deep breath and….

His voice came out loud and clear, though it quivered slightly. He tried to shore it up as he continued, taking deeper breaths trying to get more control. He tried to find that place where he had been back in the cage. The sort of hopeless anguish he had tried to convey. His voice did quake a few times, but he was ok with that.

At least he didn’t do something super stupid like fall off the stage.

He cut it off hallway because his legs were shaking so bad, he thought that any worse might cause him to fall over.

The crowd began to clap as he collapsed back into his seat taking a deep breath.

“Wow, that is pretty impressive for someone who says they don’t sing. Bet the person who wrote that didn’t think it would be used to escape alien kidnappers.”

“Whatever it was, it worked. But” he lifted his hand, “I’m shaking so bad right now.”

The man shook his head, “That form someone who doesn’t shake when he flies jets at thousands of miles per hour.”

He smiled, “The jet isn’t going to judge me if my voice cracks. I think you will find aliens and airplanes are a lot less scary than humans. Don’t get me wrong humans are great , you guys just scare me half to death.” 

Saturday, June 6

A flight demonstration over the beach, which was pretty good 

Sunday, June 7

Dinner with a few important famous people

Monday, June 8 

Dinner with some politicians.

Tuesday, June 9 

He visited some UNSC bases up and down  the western coastline talking to servicemen and visiting some other people

Wednesday June, 10

The magazines came out, and they actually managed to make him look pretty good to his surprise,  though he was pretty sure the picture had been taking while Sunny was doing something with her hips that Drev hips had not been designed for, which eventually made him laugh so hard he had choked.

Thursday, June 11

This was his last day, and he had one more press conference to attend, than he could go home. He was wearing his formal uniform, captain’s cap, cords, gloves and everything else. There were at least ten microphones on the lectern in front of him, and a crowd of reporters below. Lights blinded his eyes.

Behind his back, the UNSC flag outlined him in bright blue. 

He was getting ready for more questions about the Burg war or wearing the steel eye armor.

He nodded to one of the reporters in the front.

“Commander, do you want to explain to us why, on UNSC time you were  reported as supporting an LFIL protest when you were supposed to be acting as neutral crowd control.”

He felt the blood drain right out of his face.

He was not ready for this.

Inside his brain went blank. He stammered for a second, suddenly feeling like a little kid giving a class presentation while all eyes stared at him. More cameras flashed, “I…. I was doing what I thought…. Needed to be done to keep the protest civil.”

“That was not your job!”

More yelling until the crowd was shushed, “Look, the GA wasn’t seeing any of their representative. I simply explained their side of the story to the GA, and they decided to lift the ban on their own.”

“Directly going against the policies of the UNSC was a gross breach of your contract commander, and we are all having a hard time understanding why you have not been disciplined for it.” 

“You have no idea what is on y contract. My job is to foster peace throughout the galaxy, and THAT is what I did.”

“Some people see it as a direct attack on our way of life. You are helping spread disease poor moral values throughout the galaxy.”

He felt his face burning, “What makes you think their relationships have anything to do with you NONE of them live on earth or on Mars. They do not interact with you, they do not bother you, they do not THINK about you. And no they are not spreading disease because every person who leaves earth receives a full disease panel. You are more likely to have communicable diseases than they are.” 

Uproar.

He shouldn't have said that.

“You are spreading extrial propaganda, and now that you are the face of the UNSC you are having an impact on our children, so t is your duty to uphold the values of the Human public.”

His hands were gripping white onto the lectern, “It is my job to uphold MY values and if the UNSC doesn’t like what I am doing they will fire me, so that is none of your concern.”

“Commander Vir, are you an extrail.”

The room went very silent suddenly. His heart was hammering in his chest.

“You are out of line. My personal life whatever it may entail has no bearing on my work, so you will either ask me professional questions or we are done here.”

“But you haven't denied it!” Someone else shouted.

“That question doesn't deserve an answer either way. If i tell you, that means I am justifying myself to you, which I have no desire to do, and if I were to confirm the other way, I would be bringing a personal issue into a political light, which would also be inappropriate. Either way I will not answer you. Unless there are any more questions that involve my work and not my personal life…”

He wouldn’t budge forcing them to change the subject.

His hands were shaking again, but this time it was out of anger. He had to breathe very slowly to keep himself calm enough.

***

Headlines 

Commander Vir Extrail or Normal 

SCANDAL: UNSC’s Golden boy involved with aliens?

Press conference turns to barbed comments.

LFIL Propaganda

[imagine-loki]

Triple Threat, Chapter 6

TITLE: Triple Threat CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 6 AUTHOR: fanficshiddles ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki kidnaps Darcy Lewis, in hopes of getting the tesseract in return for her. Imagine his surprise when he grows rather fond of the mortal, finding that she understands him better than anyone else ever has.  RATING: M

Loki was heading to Knowhere with the real Loki, Bruce, Wanda, Natasha and Thor.

Darcy had wanted to go too, but Loki flat out refused to let her go. In-case it was dangerous, which it probably would be. He didn’t particularly trust the Collector, who they were going to see.

‘Wait, so you’re telling me that it’s possible for me and… the other guy, to become one at the same time?’ Bruce asked, eyes wide in surprise.

‘It sure is.’ Loki nodded. ‘Strength and size of the Hulk, but with your brains.’

‘That sounds terrifying.’ Wanda said.

‘Yeah, it really does. Please don’t do that, Bruce. I am NOT sharing a bed with Hulk.’ Natasha said, glaring at Loki.

‘Perhaps not the best idea if you and Nat are… dating.’ Loki laughed.

Loki told them all about more of his reality. The real Loki was sitting at the back, not really caring to hear about it. Wanda noticed and went over to sit next to him.

‘Are you ok?’ She asked him.

‘I’m fine.’ He said in a clipped tone.

‘You’re clearly not. Are you still annoyed at him for kissing Darcy?’

‘Of course I am.’ Loki hissed, but he sighed as he looked at Wanda. She was just trying to be friendly. ‘Apologies. I am just not happy there is another me going around, kissing my girl.’ He growled.

Wanda gave him a sympathetic smile and patted his arm. ‘He probably doesn’t want to be here just as much as you don’t want him to be here. But maybe you could both learn from one another? You are the same person, to an extent. You both tried to take over Earth, just diverted on different paths afterwards. You both redeemed yourself in the long run.’

Loki just grunted in response. She was right, but he didn’t want to admit it.

‘Or are you just jealous that you never thought of pulling the pranks he did when he arrived here?’ She grinned.

Loki narrowed his eyes at her. ‘They were pathetic pranks, I could do so much better.’ He huffed.

‘Course you could.’ Wanda laughed and went back to the front of the ship.

Loki stayed where he was, but he listened in to Loki’s stories until they arrived on Knowhere. Everyone was on high alert as they made their way to the Collector’s museum.

‘What exactly are we looking for?’ Loki asked Loki.

‘It’s a tracker that will locate every stone. But as far as I am aware, the Collector doesn’t know that. Or else he would have them all by now. So it needs to remain that way.’ Loki said firmly. ‘It looks like a necklace, it’s a gold chain with a diamond on the front. It can perform basic healing powers, too. So we need to hope that’s all the Collector thinks it is.’

Loki nodded. ‘Do we have a plan for buying it from him?’

‘I’ll go in alone. Well, with you under a guise as a guard. Everyone else, wait outside so he doesn’t wonder why I’ve taken an entourage with me. If anything goes wrong, I will send a signal for backup.’ Loki said.

‘Who put you in charge?’ Thor frowned.

‘This is my mission. Or do you have a better plan, brother?’ Loki sneered.

Thor looked at Loki. ‘Do you trust him, brother?’

Loki looked at Loki then back at Thor. ‘I do.’ He said, albeit reluctantly.

‘Fine. That’s good enough for me.’ Thor nodded.

Loki transformed into an Aesir guard, then he and Loki went into the museum while the others remained outside, on alert. They tried not to look too conspicuous while people passed by on their daily business.

As the two tricksters walked into the museum, Loki kept looking straight ahead, acting like a proper guard just escorting Loki. Loki looked around casually, hands behind his back and taking dramatically large steps as he studied some artefacts.

‘May I help you… Asgardian?’ Came a voice from the back of the museum.

Loki looked up and saw the Collector wandering down towards them, with a female from a different race behind him.

‘Ah, Collector.’ Loki grinned charmingly. ‘I am looking for a specific item, a necklace with healing properties, as a gift for my fiancé. I was told by some good associates that I’d find it here.’

The Collector raised an eyebrow and turned to the female behind him. She was wearing the necklace.

‘This, necklace?’ The Collector asked.

‘That’s the very one.’ Loki nodded. ‘How much do you want for it?’

‘It’s not for sale.’ The Collector said quickly, putting a finger up. ‘But I am sure I have other, beautiful jewellery that would be suitable for your fiancé.’ He motioned to a glass display behind him.

‘Everything has its price. I have gold and many credits I can give you.’ Loki offered, pulling out a small pouch that was filled with gold.

The Collector looked slightly intrigued, but shook his head. ‘No. As I said, not for sale.’

Loki clenched his jaw. ‘What would you want in exchange for it?’

The Collector frowned, looking at him warily. ‘Why are you so desperate for this necklace?’ He asked, moving in closer to Loki, into his space and glaring up at him.

‘Like I said.’ Loki growled. ‘I want it for my fiancé.’

Loki stepped in and put his arm out, to get the Collector to back up from Loki. The Collector glanced at the supposed Aesir guard and stepped back a bit.

‘As I said. It is not for’ He was interrupted when suddenly Hulk came bursting into the museum, roaring angrily and charging straight for the group.

With the Collector distracted, Loki quickly grabbed the necklace and ripped it off the female, thrusting the pouch of gold into her hands in return. The two Loki’s then teleported outside to Thor, Natasha and Wanda.

‘What the heck happened?’ Loki asked as he transformed back into himself.

‘A passer-by accidentally bumped into Bruce, he was already feeling anxious and antsy so Hulk just exploded.’ Wanda said quickly.

‘Get back to the ship. I’ll get Bruce.’ Thor said as he swung Mjolnir round and flew into the museum.

The team heard Hulk roaring and some explosions and loud bangs. They didn’t bother waiting to see what was happening, so they rushed back to the ship as quickly as they could.

‘Did you get the tracker?’ Natasha asked as they boarded the ship and she got it started up.

‘Yep. Hulk’s distraction was actually rather helpful.’ Loki said as he held up the necklace. Then he waved his hand over it and had it disappear for now.

‘Let’s get off this planet.’ Loki said as he closed the ships door.

‘Without Thor and Bruce?’ Wanda asked, looking slightly distressed.

‘They will catch up with us.’ Loki said and he joined Natasha at the front of the ship.

Natasha took off, they got up into the sky and started heading away from the city. But she didn’t break through the atmosphere yet, they gave Thor a chance to catch up. And luckily, he did. Just before they gave up hope.

Wanda opened the hatch underneath the ship and Thor flew in, carrying Bruce, who was wearing nothing but Thor’s cape after changing back.

‘Any trouble?’ Loki asked.

‘Just get us off this planet.’ Thor growled.

At that point, the Collector’s ship came up after them from behind.

‘Hold on!’ Natasha said as she steered the ship on and headed towards the nearest jump to take them back to Earth.

They managed to get away in time, only just. Both of the Loki’s helped by shielding the ship with their Seidr, to help keep the Collector from following them.

The team were all relieved when they got back to Earth in one piece. The rest of them were waiting in the kitchen for their return.

Darcy was so relieved to see that Loki was alright. She rushed straight to him, to the right one, and hugged him. ‘Glad you survived with your good looks still in-tact.’ She grinned up at him.

Loki chuckled and gave her a squeeze. ‘Would you not sleep with me if I wasn’t as good looking?’ He raised an eyebrow at her but with a smirk.

‘Hmmm… Probably not, unless your body was still as smokin’ hot as it is.’ She teased, making him chuckle again as he reached down and gave her bum a cheeky squeeze.

‘Eww. Get a room you two.’ Tony grimaced. ‘How did the mission go? Did you get the tracker?’ He asked, looking at Loki.

‘We did indeed.’ Loki had the necklace manifest in his hands and he held it up to show them.

‘It’s a necklace?’ Darcy frowned.

‘Well done, gold star.’ Loki drawled. ‘It also has healing properties for the wearer, and locates all the stones… with a little help of some magic.’ He headed to the island in the kitchen and placed it down as he took a seat.

The others all gathered around to watch.

Loki closed his eyes and put a hand over the top of it. He concentrated for a while, his Seidr energy growing, then the diamond on the necklace started to shake and there was a small beam that spouted up from it. Like a hologram, it was a map of the entire Universe.

There were seven glowing red dots in multiple places.

Steve frowned. ‘Why is there seven? I thought there was only six infinity stones?’

‘There is, six of them are your stones from your reality, hopefully where they should be. One of them is the reality stone from my reality.’ Loki said as he concentrated on the map.

‘That’s Vormir, so that will be the soul stone. There’s Asgard, where I’m assuming the space stone is?’ Loki looked at Loki and Thor.

Loki nodded.

‘That’s where we’ve just been, at the Collector’s museum, so there’s your reality stone.’

‘What? Wait a minute. Are you telling me you were within reach of the reality stone?’ Tony snapped.

Loki glanced over his shoulder at him, annoyed he was interrupting. ‘Yes. But before you say it, no. The reality stone from your timeline is not what I have come for. I need the one from mine.’ He grumbled at him then continued. ‘That is Xander, so if I recall correctly, that should be the power stone. The mind stone, well.’ He motioned to Vision who was stood opposite him.

‘And there is another on Earth. In New York?’ Loki looked around at the team.

‘Doctor Strange should have the time stone.’ Tony confirmed.

‘Alright. So that just leaves…’ Loki trailed off, looking slightly confused.

‘What? Where is the reality stone?’ Darcy asked, looking at the hologram but she couldn’t quite make it out the same from where she was stood.

‘This map shows it’s… it’s just hovering in space?’ Loki said, just as confused as the rest of the team.