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peakyblinders1919 · 2 years

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Hey how are you hope you are ok I got a request

For j Cody

So u and j are dating and you find out you are pregnant well basically you and j are at his and you get these really bad stomach pains and later find out you are in labour and you give birth and than later told everyone by bringing her or him round to show everyone and just cute you don’t have to do it hope that makes sense x

“Are you sure about this?”

“No,” he said gruffly, eyes hidden behind shades. It wasn’t his idea in the first place. If your boyfriend had it his way, none of his family would know about Kai.

Sleeping sounding in her blue and white striped blanket, you carefully took her seat out of the car. Unexpected, yes. A mistake, no. Never. How could something so beautiful, so perfect, ever be considered a mistake?

Taking her carrier from him, he opened the gate to his grandmother’s house with the other, letting you walk in first before him. Lips firm in a tight line, he didn't know what more he could say. It was hours of conversation that carried into the night about whether or not the rest of the Cody’s needed to know the family had increased by one. He wasn’t ashamed, never could be of something so miraculous, her tiny nose that you swore was a perfect match to his sending him into tears the first time he laid eyes on it. On her. His daughter. Never did he think he would be saying that by 21, but things happen for a reason.

He had been adamant about protecting you from the moment he’d fallen in the love, and even more adamant about protecting Kia the moment she was born. And that’s why he had very strong opinions on bringing her over.

Very aware of the Cody’s reputation, someone who had very little living family left to rely on, you weren’t one to willingly take that away from her. If Kai even had one more person in her corner besides yourself and J, you considered that a win in her book. In the end, like everything else, you had convinced J that this was the best with a little help from your very convincing lips.

“Oh, baby, your home. We just put dinner out.” Smurf’s greeting was sweet, sickly sweet J thought. His knuckles white, grip tight, on the car seat carrier. Of course, she was being overly welcoming, she always was but he hadn’t been around for months, haven’t seen his family for months as he tried to disassociate. They were all bound for a surprise.

“What’d you got there baby?”

“Is that a literal baby?” Craig’s voice came as he popped the top off his beer.

“Why does J have a baby?” Pope’s comment was devoid of any emotion or shock, just curious as everyone crowded around the kitchen.

Smurf remained silent, eyes narrowed and falling not onto her great-granddaughter, but onto you.

“Well, who’s this?” The California breeze wafting into the house from the backyard is cool, sometimes a relief against the hot sun, but today is the signal of what can be described as the start of California winter. Chilly, cold, with a bite, icy and mirroring Smurf’s question.

“This is Kai. Your…” his mouth unbelievably dry, your elbow to his side edged him on to finish. “Your great-granddaughter.”

“And you didn’t tell us…” The question hung in the air, the uncles less than interested in a new Cody, she wasn’t a threat to their fortune yet, what did it matter But you swore you saw a bit of a smile grace Deran’s lips as he looked at her for a fleeting moment.

“Well, let me get a proper look at my great grandbaby…”

You could read J like a book; all rigid and stiff, telling you, telling everyone that he wasn’t comfortable with her touching his daughter, taking an involuntary step back as she approached. A comforting hand rested on his shoulder, a curt nod sent his way to reassure him that it needed to happen and it might as well happen now. For all the murdering they did, you knew in your heart that Smurf wouldn’t hurt Kai. Blood.

J knew a different story, and watched a smile sit uncomfortably, unfamiliar on the woman’s face. J knew Smurf loved her family, and her boys, and yet she’d hated Julie, hurt her, and left her to die. He knew what smurf thought of Cody's women, and he’d be damned if she tried anything like that on his little girl, her peach fuzz already a mysterious shade of brown, darker than his and yours, a bit of his mom passed down in a way that made him hurt more. A may that made him remember his mom, mourn her again, and fight for what she deserved all those years ago.

He now had two women to avenge.

And it was your quick wit that had convinced him this was the best way. Even late last night, surrounded by pink and purple painted butterflies on the wall, you nursing Kai, the three of you with barely any sleep keeping you energized, you remembered something your mother said to you, something his mother said once or twice, “keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer.”

She’d never be the wiser to J’s ways with a new little bundle to focus on.

“See, it’s alright. It’s working,” you whispered in his ear, doing anything you could to ease the tension you felt in his shoulders, his focus razor-sharp on his daughter in his grandmother’s greedy arms.

“She’s safe. She’ll always be. She has you.”

#j cody fanfiction #josh cody #joshua cody #j cody fic #j cody imagines #j cody imagine #animal kingdom fic #animal kingdom imagine #animal kingdom tnt #animal kingdom

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glimmerglanger · 4 years

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subobi week - armor kink

Good morning! So, there was a request for a piece from the Sentinel AU for subobi week, and I have never been able to resist that AU, so! Here we are! This may....not end up being canon when I finish writing the AU, but for now it is. Set after all past snippets.

(Note, if you don’t want to read the other parts: Obi-Wan turns out to the be guide to two million sentinels. No one knows how that’s possible, but no one can deny it, either. Not all of them are interested in a sexual component to the relationship, but plenty are, leading us here).

Obviously, we’ve got armor kink going on today. Obi-Wan/Troopers. Completely consensual and...sweet? Not safe for wizards by any stretch of the imagination. SPICY SPICY.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Obi-Wan hadn’t - really - expected that the armor would still fit him. It had been nearly two decades since he had any reason to wear it. It was definitely tighter - particularly around his shoulders, but also at his hips and waist, he wasn’t eighteen anymore - but it seemed he hadn’t gotten much taller since his sojourn on Mandalore, at least.

He buckled the last of the armor - the vambraces - into place and gave himself a once over in the mirror in the room. It was, jarringly, like being thrown into the past. Perhaps he shouldn’t have kept it for so long, but…

Well. It was good that he had. He wasn’t going to the Mandalore on behalf of the Jedi Council or the Republic, after all.

He knew the value of presenting yourself properly for the occasion. He looked over the red and black armor, flexed his fingers in and out, and drew a breath. It wasn’t perfect, but…

He supposed he could use a second opinion. Fortunately, he thought, mouth quirking in the corners, he could get at least a dozen of them easily enough. He could feel the curiosity radiating from all the sentinels currently in his quarters, tinged with a sort of anticipation and the low-grade worry they tended to put off if he wasn’t in their sightline.

That was, he knew, a problem. But they’d all awoken during combat. So many of them had been thrown directly into a feral state, smelling his blood, feeling his hurt. There was little he could do about the psychological imprints that had left behind. His sentinels - especially those who had found him on Geonosis - were always going to be over-protective.

He shook aside the thought, tucked the helmet under his arm, and waved the door to his room open, stepping out.

He was met with a dozen curious, evaluating looks, all at once.

“Well?” Obi-Wan asked, gesturing out to the side with one hand and raising an eyebrow. “How does it look? It needs to be repainted, obviously.” He wasn’t sure red sent the message he wanted to deliver to Mandalore on a first impression, even if it weren’t battered to hell and back. “But, does it--”

Obi-Wan trailed off, getting his answer through their feelings before even Cody carefully put down the book he’d been looking through, stood up, and said, “You look very nice.”

They were broadcasting, loudly, exactly how nice they thought he looked. He blinked, startled a bit by the intensity of the want and appreciation suddenly curling up through his shielding, surrounding him. He supposed, as Mav and Crys - the two closest of his sentinels - reached out to touch him, sliding fingers over armor, that it made sense.

They were all so used to seeing people in armor, to wearing it themselves. They didn’t have to wear it all the time, anymore, he’d made sure of that, but many defaulted to it, anyway. It was what they’d always worn. It felt….comfortable to them. Natural as his Jedi robes felt to him.

The armor felt far more restrictive, tighter even than it should have been against his skin. “Nice?” he asked, bemused, watching them drift forward, movements coordinated even in this situation, even without speaking to one another.

But then, he’d noticed that they needed to speak to one another less and less. Their joint connection - anchored in his presence in the Force - was starting to work in some….unexpected ways.

That consideration was pushed to one side as Mav circled behind him and said, “Kriffing amazing is more accurate.”

A flash of appreciative agreement radiated off of the others, enough to have his gut tighten, to make his breath hitch, just so. He managed to rasp, “Oh?” before Cody was there, hand cupping his jaw, leaning in to kiss him, hard and without preamble; they’d all learned so quickly what they liked.

Most of them weren’t wearing all of their armor. Some weren’t wearing any at all. It hadn’t been that long since they woke up, all tangled together. Obi-Wan ached, still, from being pulled closer with the last dregs of sleep falling away from his mind, pulled over Crys’s hips and fucked in front of their couch, and--

Someone slid a hand over his codpiece, just pressure, no warmth translating through the armor, and he found he was hard, anyway.

“Where’d it come from, anyway?” Longshot asked, nuzzling against his hair, curious and so full of want and--

Obi-Wan tilted his fact to the side, gasping at a nip against his neck. “It was a gift,” he murmured, the touches to his throat and another kiss feeling...over-sensitized, the only pieces of his skin exposed. “From someone I knew a long time ago.”

There was a beat of hesitation, a strange shift of emotion in the Force, one it took him a second to pinpoint. He was not sure, really, that he’d ever felt jealousy from them before. They had no reason to be jealous, he was-- “This is someone else’s armor?” Cody asked, frowning a little.

“Well,” Obi-Wan said, shivering as the jealousy settled into something else, something hungrier. “It’s mine now.”

“Another sentinel’s,” Hardcase said, something rough in his voice, and Obi-Wan supposed that was true, though Satine had never awoken. They could have been a match, but--

Behind him, Mav made a non-committal sound, and Obi-Wan opened his mouth to ask, exactly, what the problem was, only to have fingers tangle in his hair, tugging him around, into another kiss. He groaned into it, and managed, after a moment, to pant out, “We can take it off if it bothers you.”

“Later,” Mav said, though Obi-Wan wasn’t sure what they were finding so intriguing about barely being able to touch him. There was also the fact that the armor was a bit too tight. And getting tighter, restrictive to the point of discomfort, as his cock hardened, caught against the plate of his codpiece.

Kisses and the edge of teeth along his neck distracted him, a thick, sweet kiss derailed his thoughts, he groaned, and curled an arm around Cody’s shoulders, leaning back against Mav’s chest, rocking his hips up into the denied pressure of a hand against his codpiece and--

He wasn’t sure how long they spent kissing him, taking turns, before the fingers clenched in his hair tugged, just a little, downward. He read their intentions more through the Force than anything else, and groaned, not even thinking before he dipped to his knees.

The armor - at least - offered some protection and padding under his knees as he knelt. That would, he thought, be valuable. He had the feeling, shivering down his back, that they intended him to be there for a while.

“Fuck,” someone panted, further back, as Mav anchored a hand in Obi-Wan’s hair and tilted his head back, just so, holding it steady. Obi-Wan ran his tongue across his bottom lip - already slick - and reached up, unsurprised when his hands were grabbed, gripped hard.

“You said it needs repainted, anyway?” Cody asked, his voice all thick as he stepped closer, hand moving over his cock, and Obi-Wan couldn’t really nod, not with Mav’s fingers so tight in his hair.

“Yes,” he panted out, instead, and groaned when Cody swore, brushed the tip of his cock against Obi-Wan’s mouth in a single tease before sliding inside. He couldn’t move, not without tearing free of Mav’s grip, and he saw no reason to do that, no reason to do anything but focus on his breathing, on sucking, on relaxing his throat as Cody fucked further in, all of them radiating hunger and lust and--

And Obi-Wan was impossibly hard, trapped in the armor, wishing someone would take it off of him, but--

Someone swore above him and there was a sudden splatter of hot wet against his cheek. He blinked, not sure when he’d closed his eyes, aching and throbbing with want, and Mav snapped out, “No, on the armor,” and Obi-Wan heard the sound that strangled in his throat, thick and desperate and enough, apparently, to drag Cody’s orgasm from him.

He prepared to swallow, crying out a little when Cody pulled out of his mouth. He did not expect for Cody to shift back, just a little, spilling all down the front of Obi-Wan’s old armor, with a satisfied noise. He felt pleasure - sharp and pure - radiating all around him, Cody wiping at the mess on Obi-Wan’s cheek even as Longshot shifted forward and--

Obi-Wan was vaguely aware of Cody wiping his fingers off across Obi-Wan’s chestplate, and he shivered, though he was overheating, caught in his armor, caught between their bodies, drowning beautifully in their touches.

He was desperately aching by the time they finished to their satisfaction, leaving him covered with - with come, his armor filthy with it, Mav’s fingers still anchored in his hair as Obi-Wan panted out, “Please, could you--”

“We’ve got you,” Longshot told him, gently, dropping a kiss to his mouth while someone finally reached down to remove his codpiece, tossing it to the side. Hands tugged at his blacks - he’d taken some of theirs, they must have noticed - and fingers closed around his aching cock, and he cried out both at the relief of no longer being trapped and the pleasure of the touch and--

And he sagged, when they drew an orgasm from him, Mav relaxing his grip immediately, cradling the back of his head, not a single hair pulled from his scalp. A kiss was pressed to his jaw, and then another, nuzzling touches, soothing and sweet and so full of care that he ached with it, inside his chest.

“Well,” he rasped, pressing into the touches, “you’ve all certainly made a mess.”

“Don’t worry,” Mav murmured, sinking down behind him, the only one of them still hard and untouched, tugging Obi-Wan’s blacks further down in the back, “we’ll clean it all up.”

#my writing #subobi week #obi-wan/troopers #spicy #not safe for wizards #armor and touching and marking oh my #codywan as well #sentinel guide au

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rainydaydream-gal18 · 4 years

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(Clone Wars) Imagine: Fives Helping You Sneak out of the Barracks

You waved at your friends. “I’ll see you around,” you whisper-yelled down the hall. Jesse gave you a casual salute, and Hardcase gave a thumbs up.

“You’ve got to hurry!” Kix called. You glanced at your chrono. Oh no. You were honestly just hanging out with your good friends in the 501st, but regulation said that the barracks were to be cleared of anyone except troopers after a certain hour, and there were inspections to enforce that rule.

“Good luck!” Tup said. As you turned to make your way out of the barracks, you bumped into a solid figure. Your heart sank at the realization you were caught by someone, but relief washed over you when you saw it was Fives. He greeted you before his eyes widened.

“Woah, ________, you are not supposed to be back here,” he said.

“I know!” You sighed. “I need to get out of here before the inspection, or else I’m in trouble, and so are Hardcase, Jesse, Kix, and Tup. I was just playing cards with them. We lost track of time.”

“Well, Rex is on his way right now. I just saw him.”

“Oh, Rex is conducting the evening inspection? He’ll understand, right?”

“Normally he would, but Cody’s with him this time. Cody’s by the book, so there’s no way you’re getting off with just a warning.”

Their footsteps could be heard around the corner, and you nearly panicked. You were going to get caught sneaking out of the barracks. This couldn’t be good.

Fives gently moved you out of view from the overhead light. “Here. Stay in the shadows and stay silent. I’ll draw their attention away.” You held his hand for a minute, eyes meeting his.

“Thank you, Fives.”

He smiled and winked, backing up a few feet to act casual on the other side of the hall. Your back stayed flat against the wall, and you held your breath as Captain Rex and Commander Cody approached. Rex greeted Fives casually, but Cody seemed to glance in your general direction.

“So,” Fives said loudly, drawing the Commander’s attention back to him. “You’re inspecting the barracks?”

“Yeah,” Rex paused. “Why?”

“I was just wondering. The boys are playing a game of cards. Why don’t we go give them a scare?” Fives started off down the hall, and though Rex looked confused, he followed along with Cody.

You released the breath you’d been holding. “Well that was close,” you whispered. The three of them had disappeared down the hall, so you were able to sneak the rest of the way out. Fortunately, you didn’t run into anyone else. When you stepped into the open air, door locking behind you, you laughed. You’d have to thank Fives again tomorrow.

#clone wars #the clone wars #star wars the clone wars #star wars: the clone wars #fives x reader #arc trooper fives #arc trooper fives x reader #star wars imagine #clone wars imagine #fives imagine #Fives #star wars: tcw #clone wars fives #clone wars reader insert #fives x you #fives reader insert

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writer1 · 4 years

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A regretful Wolf and his Beauty.

Chapter Three

Beast!Rex x Fem!reader

Summary: As punishment for his actions, young prince Rex was cursed to become a monster by a witch. The only thing that saved him from his fate was an enchantress, who gave him a condition. He has to find true love in order to redeem himself and he only has until the last petal of the enchanted rose falls. Rex's family helps you by guiding your way into his heart. Rex's fate now lies in your hands.

A\N: This is a collaborative fic with @ahsokatano-thetogruta. Just a warning, the transformations get kind of gory and disturbing, if you want to skip that part you may, it starts right after Rex transforms. We have marked where the gore and disturbing parts are, so you can skip that part if you'd like because the last part of the chapter leads into the next one. As always, we hope you enjoy this fic. credit too @suddenly-clones for Cody’s nickname Bubby.

Warnings: mention of past abuse, horrific description (we have marked this for you so you don't have to read it)

Rex walks down the stairs behind Cody, feeling nervous. Once at the bottom, Cody places a hand on his shoulder, giving Rex a comforting smile. They both walk to the ballroom, opening the door and walking in to see 99 reading all the little kids a story.

“And little red riding hood asked ‘What big teeth you have grandma’ the wolf in disguise smiled at her. ‘All the better to EAT you with’ the wolf then lunges at little red riding hood, but just before he eats her, the friendly wood cutter bursts in. He scares the wolf, who runs away. And both him and red find her grandmother locked in the closet. And everyone lives happily ever after.” the kids cheer, with the bad batch closest to 99.

There's fourteen year old Hunter sitting right beside him, with twelve year old Crosshair on the other side and eleven year old Wrecker in behind Hunter since he's the tallest. The youngest, Tech, who's only six years old is sitting on 99’s lap. Stutter is in the middle of the group of kids with Ahsoka and his friend Sabine who’s the same age. Rex thinks about the real ending of the story, where the grandma was eaten and the woodcutter kills the wolf.

He’s glad that 99 waits until you turn twelve to tell you the real story, it's way too dark for little kids. Rex is glad the bad batch is happy here, they, like Stutter, were taken in because of abusive parents. His aunt hated the boys for being different. Hunter was born with enhanced senses, which gives him headaches and can make him pass out, Crosshair is the weakest of the kids, having deficiencies that make him skinny and sick, they also made his hair grey. Wrecker is the biggest and strongest of them. But his eyesight is amazing, you have to watch out for the grumpy kid, he has a habit of whipping things at people when angry, and he has Never missed. Tech is tiny too, but he’s also super smart, but his eyesight is horrible, so he wears glasses that Anakin had made for him. 99 adopted them as his son’s as soon as he found out about the abuse and trauma his sister had caused.

All of that is gone now and it is all in the past. The bad batch and Stutter are living such happier lives now with their new, loving family.

xxx

Fives is aimlessly wandering around the castle, trying to take his mind off of what had happened earlier. Echo is with Waxer and Boil, playing with Numa. Fives kindly declined when his twin asked if he wanted to play too, but he said that he just needs some alone time.

He still feels a little bit hurt inside, but the feeling is slowly passing and fading the more he keeps on wandering, turning from one corridor to the next. He stops when he hears a soft humming of a melody coming from a room that he passes by. Listening intently as he looks around the corner, he sees an eight year old girl cleaning around the room with her feather duster. Her hair is brown and short, her skin is a pale blue like a blue lagoon.

The young girl turns around to see Fives peeking around the doorway. Before she could say anything, he tried to hide as quickly as he could, but she already saw him. She giggles a little, walking towards the doorway and standing there, brushing off any dust from her uniform and smiles at Fives. "Hello Prince Fives." The girl has a small, cute smile gracing her face now.

"Hey." Fives says nervously, not really sure of what to do. He thinks that she is really cute, so he decides to push his nerves aside and talk to her some more. "What's your name?"

"My apologies Prince, my name is Kiara Zelenca." She does a little curtsy in front of him. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, though you don't have to call me Prince. You can just call me Fives." He smiles kindly as he admires the white patterns on her face. Her turquoise eyes compliments her skin perfectly. "If you don't mind me asking, what species are you?" He tries to sound as politely as he possibly can.

"I don't mind at all! I'm both Human and Togruta. My Mother was a Togruta and my Father was Human. I have hair instead of montrals and my ears are a little bit longer because I don't have lekku like other Togruta." She explains a little nervously. He probably thinks that I'm weird now. She thinks to herself. "I use my hair to cover them as much as I can, because the others will say that my ears look weird and ugly. They call me a freak too..." She tries her best to keep her sadness back. She hates how she looks already, so it doesn't help that she gets bullied by others.

Fives frowns, hearing that this has happened to Kiara. The slight tremble in her voice is apparent to him, so he walks a little closer to her, looking Kiara directly into her ocean blue eyes and slowly raises his right hand towards the left side of her hair. He freezes just before he reaches her face. "Can I...can I see them?"

Kiara is speechless, thinking that just explaining them to him would make him feel the same way that the others do. After a moment, she nods and Fives strokes back her hair. Kiara looks away embarrassed. He sees that they are longer, but he just smiles. "I think they are really pretty." He says stroking the side of her face lightly. She looks into his honey coloured eyes. "You are perfect just the way you are, so don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. If they do give you any more trouble ever again, you tell them that they will be speaking to Prince Fives personally." Fives smiles reassuringly.

This is the first time that someone has told her that she is perfect and that she doesn't look like a freak. Her heart flutters as she leans into Fives' touch. He feels his cheeks heat up a little bit, she looks so adorable like this. Kiara opens her eyes and looks up towards the ceiling, to see mistletoe hanging down from the doorframe. She giggles.

Fives raises an eyebrow sweetly. "What is it?" He asks her as she motions for him to look up. He does so and sees what she wanted him to see. His cheeks turn red when he turns his head to look back down at Kiara. Her cheeks have turned to a darker shade of blue. She's obviously blushing.

Fives swallows harshly, trying to gather all of the confidence he can find within himself. "W-would you like to kiss me?"

Without a moment of hesitation, Kiara wraps her arms around Fives' neck as she softly presses her lips to his. Fives instantly starts kissing her back, wrapping his arms around her lovingly. They both pull away, and Fives sees the bottom of Kiara's ears move a little as the tops turn the same shade of blue that is on her cheeks. Kiara giggles at the goofy smile on Fives' face. “Wait till I tell Echo that I kissed a girl.”

Kiara laughs at Fives’ remark, kissing his cheek softly. They are both blushing a lot, this having been the first time either had ever kissed someone. “I… I think that i might love you already?”

Kiara’s eyes go wide when she realizes what he just said, then she realizes that she feels the exact same way. “I think that i might love you too, Fives.”

“Kiara!!” Kiara turns at the voice of her mom. She turns back to Fives, an apologetic look on her face. “I’m sorry. Thats my mom, I have to go” Fives nods, watching her leave. He sighs. I’m gonna marry her. He thinks to himself.

xxx

A little while after 99 finishes the story, Fives and Echo walk into the room, Rex notices that Fives is blushing as he tells Echo something. He can’t hear what is said. Both boys freeze when they see Rex walking over to them. “Hey Echo. Fives.” he says nervously, the twins just frown at him, he sighs.

“Look, I'm sorry for what happened, I shouldn't have snapped at you. I know you were just having fun. I understand if you don’t want to talk to me for a while after how I reacted earlier.” Rex wrings his hand together, staring at the floor. He hopes that his brothers can forgive him, but he also understands if it takes a while.

Fives slams into him with a hug, and Echo follows after him. “We’re sorry too, we shouldn’t have pulled the prank in the first place.” Echo nods in agreement with Fives.

“Yeah, we shouldn’t have played a prank when we knew that you were stressed, we’re sorry.” Both boys nuzzle into their brother, as Rex wraps his arms tightly around them.

"It's okay. Now, shall we go and play a board game?" Rex offers and the twins nod their heads in sync, making Rex chuckle. "Alright, you two can pick what we play.

xxx

Further somewhere in the castle in one of the bedrooms, Kanan and Hera are getting ready for the evening activities that were planned to take place in the ballroom. They are both nineteen years old and Kanan is a knight, though he was not needed to go out on patrol today.

Kanan had rescued Hera five years ago when she was being chased by some smugglers who were after her. He fortunately got there in time to save Hera and she is still very grateful for it. Kanan asked if she had anywhere to go, but she just shook her head. He decided that he would take her to the castle with him. He asked his friend, Rex, if it was okay if she could stay for a while, so the eight year old Prince asked his parents if it was okay and they both were happy to let her stay for as long as she needed to.

They were quick friends in the beginning and soon enough, they became lovers after they confessed to one another a few years ago. After another year had passed, Kanan decided to finally propose to Hera, so when he was out on patrol in the village, he bought her a beautiful ring. He was delighted when she said yes and they got married soon after. It's been two years and they are so happy together.

Hera finishes putting on her long, dark green dress that she wears on special occasions. It compliments her lime green skin perfectly. Kanan exits the ensuite to see his wife standing in front of a standing mirror as she tugs the long sleeves of her dress down. Hera sees in the mirror that Kanan is admiring her from behind.

"You look stunning in this dress, darling." He walks closer and wraps his arms around her waist, kissing her lek from behind.

Hera relaxes into his embrace. "Thank you, love. You look very smart in your suit too."

Kanan hums in response, enjoying every passing moment they spend like this.

"Shall we go and join everyone downstairs in the ballroom?" Hera asks as she cups Kanan's face.

"Yeah, let's go."

xxx

A few hours later the sun has fully set, allowing the warm lights strung up against the walls to glow brightly, creating a warm, atmospheric feeling in the ballroom as everyone is gathered around, speaking to friends and family. The knights haven’t returned from patrol yet when there's a knock at the door, Rex being closest, answers it. Outside is a woman, she has a bald head, white skin and tattoos on her face. “Hello, can i please come in? Its bitterly cold out here and i have nowhere to go, all I have to offer is this rose as payment.”

Rex feels pity for the woman. “Cody!!” He calls his older brother, he knows that he has to ask permission before he can allow a stranger in. The woman watches, Rex doesn’t see the malicious glint in her eyes.

“What is it Rex? Who is this?” Cody asks as soon as he sees the woman. “She has nowhere to go, can we allow her to stay with us? She says that she can only pay us with a rose, but i don’t think that’s a problem. Do you?"

Cody smiles at his brother’s kindness, turning to the woman. "I don’t think that will be a problem either, of course you may come in Miss…?”

“Ventress, just call me Ventress. Thank you for your hospitality.” Ventress walks in, handing Cody the rose.”There are drinks and food over there if you’re hungry Miss Ventress.” Rex tells her as she walks in, he doesn’t see the evil smirk as she eyes the bowl of red punch. She walks over grabbing a drink.

xxx

An hour passes, everyone is having fun. Fives is with Kiara, introducing Echo to her. Jesse and his twin brother Kix are playing doctor with the young knights in training. Kix had just become a doctor a year ago, so he’s writing fake doctor notes of crazy, fake diseases for a few knights while Jesse is entertaining the kids with paper shapes and animals that he folds.

Boil is making his niece pancakes and Waxer is sitting nearby, playing with the little girl. All the cousins, knights and staff are talking, joking and having a great time like they do every year. Ventress walks near to Rex, who’s talking to Cody and Bly. Ventress has a wicked smile on her face as she pretends to trip, spilling red punch on Rex’s favorite white shirt. “I am so sorry young man.” Ventress says sarcastically, making Rex lose his cool for the second time that day.

“Can’t you be more careful! And watch where you’re going!” He tells her angrily, freezing when he realizes how rude he was.”I'm sorry, I should-!”

“ENOUGH!!! You have been rude to the wrong person, little prince!” She snarls. Her hands have a dark green aura, everyone now realizes that the woman they had kindly invited into their home, was actually an evil witch. Her eyes glow green, and a circle of magic surrounds young Rex, cutting him off from his family. All the child can feel is fear as tears stream down his face. "I’m so sorry.” He whimpers out, begging and pleading for forgiveness.

The magic surrounding Rex and the witch is too strong, stopping anyone from getting close to them. Despite this, Obi-Wan tries to go and protect Rex, fighting his way through the sheer force of the wind being created. He only gets so far until he is blasted back into Cody's arms who catches him. Obi Wan gets to his feet and holds onto Cody.

Through all of the madness surrounding everyone, Obi Wan hears someone yelling behind him and then sees Anakin run past him with his wooden sword held high above his head, charging directly towards the witch. Obi Wan manages to grab Anakin and pull him in close to himself and Cody, all huddling together during the complete chaos. Both Obi Wan and Cody wrap their arms protectively around Anakin, using their own bodies to protect the child from the chaos and anything else that may happen. Cody prays for his brother, feeling like a failure for being unable to get to Rex. Not even all the Knights using the force would be able to get to him.

Suddenly there is a cry of pain. fearing the worst for his Rex'ika, Cody looks towards Rex who has his hands in his face and drops to the floor on his knees, writhing in pain. Cody looks around the room to see that everyone can see it too. Rex is...growing.

Plo, Wolffe, Sinker, Boosts and Comet all tried to get too Rex… that is until he started to change, they froze as soon as their older cousin started to grow. Plo has never heard of this happening before, he knows that witches are powerful, whatever she is doing to the young prince won’t be fixed so easily… If ever. Wolffe goes to run up to them, he doesn’t care about what’s happening to his older cousin. He leaves his brothers, running to Rex when a shard of glass hits him, cutting a slice through his right eye. Ventress laughs, knowing that her shard glass had hit her target.

Boil jumped in front of Waxer and little Numa as soon as the witch yelled, leaving the pancake he had cooked thrown on the floor. Numa screams and cries as the chaos ensues, both Boil and Waxer hear the cry of pain, they turn to see Rex fall to the ground in the middle of everything. They watch in horror as he starts to grow. Something that should not be happening to his body.

The Bad Batch all grab onto 99, standing in front of him. They close their eyes in fear, but 99 sees what happens to Rex, feeling fear for the young boy whose body is unnaturally growing bigger. And is also screaming in both pain and terror.

Fives jumps in front of Kiara, Echo following behind him. They watch their Ori’Vod fall to the ground, crying out in pain, they watch as his body starts to grow. They don’t know what’s going to happen to their brother, but they swear that they will love him no matter how much that monster changes him.

Stutter's eyes widen as he sees his Ori'Vod growing and writhing in pain on the floor, so he screams and tries to run over to help him. He feels someone grab his small hand and gets pulled towards them. He looks up to see Sabine using her whole body to protect him. Stutter sees a Lasat run up behind her and crouches down, wrapping his arms around the both of them to keep them safe from the chaos.

Fox and Thorne hear the cries from Rex, panic coursing through their bodies, flooding their minds with fear. Fox looks around quickly to see that Ahsoka isn't with them anymore. He scans the room to see that she is staring at her Ori'Vod through the green forcefield of magic. Fox grabs her arm to pull her back towards him and Thorn to protect her, though in the process, she loses her grip on her music box, dropping it to the floor. Everything seemed to play in slow motion as she watched it break to pieces that scatter across the floor. Fox realises what happens when Ahsoka starts to scream and cry as he sees the broken music box on the floor, so he comforts her the best that he can. Thorne joins Fox to help protect Ahsoka.

All Rex feels is pain, discomfort and fear. He regrets everything. He groans as his smart clothes begin to grow tighter on him, ripping open at the seams, revealing blonde fur. His arms start to grow longer and so does his legs, bending and rearranging themselves into haunches as a tail also starts to grow. He feels his face elongating into a snout, baring his sharp teeth to attempt to block out as much pain as he can. His cries of pain turn to whimpers as the transformation finishes. His clothes have ripped to shreds, blonde fur now completely covers the entirety of his body. The only article of clothing left are his shredded pants. Rex just lies on the floor, whining as he feels everyone staring at him.

Cody watches as his little brother turns into a creature of legends… A werewolf. Everyone in the room is shocked, the kids that had heard the story from 99 earlier cower in fear, afraid that Rex might eat them. Cody doesn’t care about that… This is still his Rex’ika, his baby brother. And nothing will ever change that.

The witch looks around the room as Rex lays on the floor, breathing heavily. The force field goes away and she smiles wickedly. “Don’t worry, young prince. You won’t be alone with this curse.” Rex looks up at her, eyes wide. Tears are still falling down his face, wetting his fur. ”What!?”

“Yes! I have a perfect plan for everyone in this castle! I want to have some more fun” she lifts her hands up. "You all stand there like objects, so I’ll turn you into objects!” She sneers.The green aura engulfs the room, and everyone groans, Rex watches in horror as his friends and family start to morph and change in front of his very eyes. Rex feels absolute fear, he wants his bubby.

(Warning! Slightly gory and disturbing description of the transformations from this point. Note where it ends.)

But Cody is groaning in pain as well, and morphing, getting wider and less human. Cody’s arms and legs burn as they grow slimmer, wood growing all over his body. He forces his eyes open to check on Obi Wan, staring in horror as his beloved scratches at his skin as it becomes metal. He sees young Anakin doing the same. They both form into a suit of armour that covers their whole body from head to toe. The same is happening to Kanan and Plo too.

Fox and Thorn struggle to hold onto Ahsoka, not just because they are changing, but also because she is getting smaller. The once shattered music box starts piecing itself together, but leaves the ballerina there on the floor. Ahsoka cries and screams as she becomes unable to move her legs anymore and she starts to become older in appearance. Her clothes change too, into more of a ballerina's outfit like the one that the little figure was wearing before.

Echo and Fives scream in pain as they transform, Both of them shrink as Fives' hair starts to become waxy, turning white in color. It's not just his hair, his whole head from top to his top jaw turns into wax, so does his hands, and the rest of him, including his bottom jaw, turns to a gold metal. Echo starts to grow a mix of metal and wood all over his body, the twins cry in pain as they shrink.

Kiara is the same, yelling out for her mother as the top half of her body becomes wood and the bottom half morphs painfully into feathers. All three of them have tears running down their faces, as they scream from the worst pain they’ve ever felt in their young lives.

Stutter screams loudly in pain, this is somehow worse than anything his brothers and father had ever done to him. “R-R-Rex!!!! C-C-C-Cody!!!” Young Stutter screams for his brothers, he's so scared. His body is becoming wood, his arms are sucked into him, morphing to his sides as his legs morph together and become the familiar bristles of a paint brush. He screams, looking over and seeing Sabine in the same predicament. He cries as he starts to shrink. “F-F-Fives!!! E-Echo!!!!! B-B-Bly!!!” He tries one last time to get one of his brothers, to no avail, he’s all alone once again.

Kix, Jesse and Hardcase all fall to the ground, screaming out in agony as they feel their bodies beginning to change. Kix wraps his arms around himself, squeezing his eyes shut to try and block out the pain coursing through his body. He becomes rigid, unable to bend any of his limbs as they straighten out. His legs morph together and his arms sink down into his body. His blood becomes colder as it starts to turn to ink.

Jesse starts to get wider and thinner. He starts feeling lighter and when he looks at his hands, they flop backwards as they become paper thin. It doesn't take him long to figure out that he's actually becoming paper, because his skin turns dramatically pale. As his body becomes thinner, he starts getting smaller too. Hardcase's body from his neck to his feet starts to turn to wood as his body becomes narrow. He screams at the searing pain rushing throughout his head as it becomes metal, his facing becoming longer and sharper with each passing second.

Hera feels her body start to morph into light, it burns as she is transported to the mirror she was looking into only hours before, she looks around at the room around her, she bangs on the glass, unable to get out. The room is only grey, the only thing in it being her. “Kanan!!!” She screams for her husband, the last she saw of him he had fallen to the ground in pain, she has no idea what he might have become.

Bly falls to the ground in pain, his whole body starts to burn as it turns to metal, he screams in agony as his head splits into three. He shrinks, turning into a fork. Ten year old Wolffe doubles over in absolute agony, along with the 9 year old twins, Sinker and Boost. And the youngest, seven year old Comet. They all grow smaller as they turn to ceramic, Wolffe screams as his body widens, going hollow once it turns completely too glass, lessening the pain some thankfully. Plo tries to fight through the pain of his own transformation to get to his boys, he hates that they have to go through this pain.

(Gore ends here!)

Rex can't believe his eyes. Everyone has completely changed. They aren't even...alive anymore? Though he can still hear the groans from everyone as their transformations finish. He looks towards Ventress with piercing anger in his eyes, but she just laughs at everyone. She feels content now that she has had her fun.

"I don't know what you are looking at me like that for. You are the one who has caused this! Now your friends and family will share your punishment." She cackles as she surrounds herself in a cloud of green smoke, creating a whirlwind. Once it clears, Ventress is nowhere to be seen.

No...what have I done? Rex thinks to himself as he sees everyone start to move again without being in complete pain and agony. He presses his ears back against his head, feeling consumed in guilt and regret. The room is almost silent, the only sounds being slight shuffles around the room as people adjust to their new forms.

Cody had heard every word that Ventress had said to Rex, about her saying that this is his Rex'ika's fault. He tries to shuffle to Rex, calling out to him to comfort his little brother "Rex'ika." Rex hears the familiar nickname, looking towards the direction that his Ori'Vod's voice came from.

"Bubby…" a second later, Rex bolts out of the room and runs as fast as he can. Away from everyone. Cody calls out to him and tries to follow, but he can't move very well at all. Everyone else doesn't know what to say. Their expressions are a mix of fear and confusion, not understanding what has just happened to them. All anyone can really think about is Rex's safety. They need to know that he's alright...

taglist: @captainrexisboo @pro-fangirls-unsocial-life

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colonel-insomniac · 3 years

Text

Symphony (The Other Planet)

do i hear a spinoff? Yes, i sure do. Anyways, @pawsomelybuggy and @my-blood-is-maple-syrup surprise :). check out “I hear a symphony” by Cody Fry!!

enjoy

“I used to hear a simple song…”

Ezra and Pon had just lost Kai. The trio was split to a duo, and neither Ezra nor Pon knew what to do next or how to retrieve their friend, if they even could. All of what Kai meant to Ezra threatened to spill over; but he felt that he had to hold himself together for Pon’s sake, who had sat in the same position, staring off into space for about an hour at this point. He wasn’t sure what to do about that, so he elected to let Pon grieve, or mourn, or do whatever it is that he needs to do to be as okay as possible. Until they can find a way to save him, that is.

It’s so hard, though, when it feels that the light and soul of the universe is gone. Who knows what could be happening to Kai at this very moment? He could be in pain, or….

No. It absolutely could not be the alternative. Ezra doesn’t know what would happen if Kai was… gone, other than that he would completely fall apart. He’s scared to think what’d happen to Pon if that scenario came true.

“That was until you came along…”

With everything that’s happened so far, Ezra’s honestly surprised he’s even still here. He’s survived those days on the battlefied, he’s survived fleeing an alien government, and he’s survived being captured. So of course, his luck would turn on him now, of all times; but instead of it being him that got hurt of affected by his sudden lack of good fortune, it had to be Kai. Kai with the big green eyes, and even bigger heart, Kai who didn’t deserve to be hurt.

Ezra glanced away from the inky black night and towards Pon inside the cave they sought shelter in. As he blinked to adjust his eyes to the dim light the fire that had been created provided, he saw Pon staring at the rock wall opposite from him. His eyes were haunted, so filled with crushing sorrow that Ezra would go as far as to say that they had nearly reached a point of being devoid of any emotion. He watched as a tear slowly slid its way down Pon’s cheek, the silence between the two palpable.

Ezra carefully sat down, trying hard to not disturb the silence for Pon, and watched the flickering fire as it quietly crackled. Somehow, it resembled Kai in that moment, ever burning spirit and unwilling to be bested. Selfishly needed, but not appreciated until taken away.

“Now in its place is somethin' new…”

Pon sniffed, and broke his staring contest with the wall. “How do we get him back?” His voice cracked, desperate to bring his best friend back to the safety of their group, matching the rampant emotions filling Ezra’s head.

He takes a moment to think over the inquisition. “Well, let’s think for a moment. If you were going to take someone and hide them, wouldn’t you take them somewhere no one would expect?” Pon nodded, seemingly understanding the gibberish flowing from Ezra.

“Well, where would be the one place where it would seem annoyingly obvious to take Kai?” Saying his name feels like admitting a dark truth that Ezra hopes is not true in any way. But now is not the time for sorrow, and tears, and fear. He swallows and blinks hard, trying and failing to dispel some of the emotions building up.

After a few moments to ponder over the question, Pon’s eyes light up, sparking with the slightest hope, and he mutters “the abandoned building.” Ezra nods, standing up and offering Pon his hand.

Ezra gathers his will and wipes any trace of emotion off his face as Pon quells the fire. Ezra sighs, thinking how they are going to pull off breaking into what is now a governmentally protected building.

“I hear it when I look at you…”

The snow is somehow colder than it was when they had been walking the opposite way, as though the world knew what was happening and was so in shock that it could no longer function. Ezra knew how that felt; much like how the exterior of his body felt numb from the biting cold, he felt numb internally. As though nothing but the next worst outcome could shatter him into ever lasting motion.

The trek was quiet. Neither knew what to say to the other, how to comfort the other. Pon sighed every so often, a sound so crushed and devoid of everything but the tiniest sliver of hope, and Ezra moved silently, his gaze emptily trained in front of them.

He’d be lying if he said he doesn’t have nightmares-- and the daytime equivalent-- of his time on that dreadful field watered with the blood of humans and Azurellians. Blood mixed symbolically, as though none of this really even matters. Not that that thought is shocking to Ezra even in the slightest.

Really, though, his nightmares varied. Sometimes, he was the one who got mutilated, other times, people he has come to care about, or his parents. Thankfully that last one only happened once. And when it was just him who was getting hurt, it was different than when it was someone else who was getting hurt. On his own, he could just wake up, check his body until he was sure what happened wasn’t reality. But when it was Kai, or Pon, he sat in a state of worry until he could check on them to make sure they were alright too. And while he may not have had many friends back on Earth, there was nothing he could do to see if they’d been hurt or not. All he could do was tell himself they hadn’t been taken here as far as he was aware.

“With simple songs I wanted more…”

A twig snapped under his foot, and both boys jumped, startled out of their respective thoughts. Pon cast a wide-eyed look at Ezra, who attempted to convey that stepping on the twig was completely an accident. Ezra glanced down at the snow, figuring it was better to train his eyes on that, in order to keep the illusion of invisibility.

The building drew near, lights on and with an air of life to it that had not been there when they had originally sought it out with Kai. Pon grabbed Ezra by the arm and steered him away from the building, something urgent in his steps. Once they were approximately five minutes east of the building, Pon let go of Ezra and pointed an accusatory finger at him. “When we get in there and get him, you absolutely cannot try to sacrifice yourself. No matter what happens, you are our ticket off this place. You do not jeopardize that if you want Kai to survive.” Ezra nodded, frightened that Pon had somehow known exactly what he was planning to do. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he questioned why Pon had only mentioned Kai getting off this planet. Surely Pon knew that Ezra cared for his well-being as well, right?

Pon had started walking again, so Ezra had to dash to catch up, silently noting the tense posture the boy in front of him had taken. “Pon, you do know I care about your well-being too, right?” Ezra isn’t totally sure if he should be offended by the look of shock on Pon’s face at that statement, regardless of how quick he was to cover it.

Pon nods, and swallows uncomfortably. “Well, I guess I do now. And same to you, in case I haven’t made that clear.” Ezra nods, biting back all the things he wishes he could say in that moment. They’re too close to the building for him to be able to do that, though.

Suddenly, Ezra has an overwhelming urge to smack himself in the face. They got all this way, and neither of them discussed how they would even enter the building. Or at least Ezra hasn’t, Pon starts heading towards the back of the building. When they don’t find an open window, Ezra’s already picking up a rock, feeling its weight in his hands. “You aren’t thinking of breaking that window, are you?” Pon whispers, surprise etched onto his face.

Ezra nods, features grim but determined. “We need a way in, and unless we have some way to disguise ourselves and sneak in, this is the only other option.” Pon hesitates before nodding, stepping back so that Ezra can get to work.

“I don’t know that there’s a quiet way to break glass, but…” he mutters, trailing off. Suddenly, Ezra stands a bit straighter, shrugging his coat off quickly and removing his black t-shirt underneath. The rock gets wrapped in the shirt before sailing through a window on the first floor. While the shirt muffled the sound of breaking glass, it still was loud, and the duo quickly clambered through the window to avoid the guards, dashing up a set of stairs outside the room. Hearts racing, they slide into the attached bathroom, unkempt and dirty from the years of not being used. Pon locks the door behind him, huddling in a corner with Ezra. The lights are off, and Ezra can barely see, but he doesn’t hear any footsteps.

“Perfection is so quick to bore, you are my beautiful, by far…”

Kai felt as though this timeline was endless. His hands were tied behind his back, his legs to the legs of the chair. If Pon and Ezra didn’t come back for him, well he could hardly blame them. His head throbbed and he ached basically all over, cuts and bruises littering his body from the authorities attempts to get him to give them any information. He refused, of course, and faced the repercussions.

He craved to succumb to the endless, inky black of unsconsciousness, for a moment’s peace, but it seemed as though he would never really know peace. Kai numbly glanced around the bare white walls, into the window that allowed him to view the hallway. Something inside of him was filled with a crushing dread that he wouldn’t make it out of here.

Kai dropped his head, so his chin touched his chest, and closed his eyes as he started humming a quiet tune. Some pretty ideation of his mind, somewhere better,, and brighter, where he could just be. That’s all he wants to do, is to live. Or well, wanted. He just wants to close his eyes...so bad.

His eyes are on their journey to being closed when a loud bang makes him jump. Kai’s body feels shocked, before the pain from moving sets in, and he groans, barely holding back a sob.

“Our flaws are who we really are…”

The next time he opens his eyes, Kai wishes he could rub at them because he swears he sees Pon standing in front of him, glancing at the door. Kai has a feeling Ezra is on the other side of that doorway, taking care of the guards that had been ensuring that he’d be kept within the room. Pon finally looks at Kai, and his eyes well with tears of guilt, and Kai knows Pon felt guilty about Kai being the one who had been taken and not Pon.

Kai blinks, and promptly screams when he manages to drag his eyes open again. Where Pon had once stood, he now lies, red liquid spilling out from inside him. Kai tugs against the ropes restraining him from tending to his friend, desperately trying to break free. His heart feels like it has both stopped beating, and is beating too much, and in the back of his mind, he’s aware he needs to slow his breathing. But all he can think of is Pon, the bright eyed boy who had willingly been his friend all these years.

The red makes its way to staining the ends of Pon’s hair, and Kai can do nothing besides frantically attempt to escape his restraints. Ezra darts inside, but halts at the sight of Pon collapsed on the floor. Dropping down next to him, Ezra places two fingers against Pon’s neck, watching his chest for a couple seconds. “He’s breathing but we need to hurry.” He pulls out a shard of glass from his back pocket, and Kai doesn’t want to even begin to think where that came from. Not that he can, anyways.

“I used to hear a simple song, that was until you came along…”

It takes a moment for Ezra to slice through the ropes that bind Kai, but once he’s free, Kai immediately drops down beside Pon, hissing at the lightning rod pain that electrocutes his body. Kai places a shaky hand against his best friends cheek, whispering his name as he tries not to cry. Ezra glances between the two friends and the door, and quickly scoops Pon in his arms, turning to Kai. “Are you able to walk?” The taller boy’s gaze is filled with sorrow, pain, and concern, but Kai painstakingly struggles to his feet, pausing to regain his breath, biting down on the inside of his cheek before nodding.

It’s apparent that he can barely walk, and he winds up with Ezra wrapping and arm underneath Kai’s to provide enough support to where the shorter boy could walk. Luckily, they don’t manage to run into any guards, though it had been a very narrow escape, as Kai could hear the rushing footsteps above him.

They don’t make it back to their original cave, but they do find an abandoned underground bunker, where Ezra lays Pon down on the bed gingerly, helping Kai to sit next to his friend, before exiting the room to give the two privacy while he pokes around the bunker.

Ezra had ripped off a part of his jacket to tie around Pon, and luckily it hadn’t soaked through yet, but Pon’s short and raggedy breaths worried Kai to no extent, “I‘m not gonna make it.” Pon whispers in the thick silence.

“You took my broken melody, and now I hear a symphony…”

Kai shakes his head as best as he can, not wanting to believe a word of it. “No, you can’t leave me alone.” As much as it hurt, Kai let the tears roll down his cheeks.

“Not alone, you have Ezra.”

“Pon, I can’t do this without you, I need you to be okay.” Kai gingerly placed his head on Pon’s shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut.

“I’ll try.” Pon whispers, his breath evening out.

Ezra returned with bandages and rubbing alcohol in hand, stopping abruptly at the sight of the two sleeping. His heart seized as the thought of them both being gone flitted through his head before he focused in on the steady rise and fall of Kai’s chest, and the slightly less stable breathing from Pon.

Though he felt bad about rousing either of the boys, he decided to allow Kai some rest, and gingerly nudged Pon awake.

“And now, I hear…”

“Ezra, I’ve been thinking,” Pon whispers, glancing at Kai’s sleeping form before training his gaze to the ground. “If I don’t make it, please don’t let Kai feel guilty. He has to know I—we —would never have left him there.”

Ezra swallows. What do you say to someone who knows they’re basically dead? “No, you won’t die?”

He settles for a grim nod, briefly explaining that hopefully cleaning the wound would prevent it from getting infected and increase his likelihood of survival. He hands Pon a clean white strip from his coat’s inner lining to bite down on as he uncaps the bottle of rubbing alcohol.

Lifting Pon’s clothing out of the way of the wound is harder than he’d thought. It was a mix of trying not to get frustrated, and trying to remain gentle. At long last, the skin is finally separated from the cloth, and Ezra glances at Pon before giving Pon his free hand when Pon extends his.

With a nod from Pon, Ezra pours the clear liquid over the wound. Pon lets out a muffled groan, shifting in pain, clutching Ezra’s hand. When the other boy pulls the liquid away, Pon is left gasping for air, barely noticing when Ezra wraps gauze bandaging around the wound.

“Do we have to do this to Kai?” Pon is instantly protective, not wanting to impose any pain on his friend. Ezra glances at Kai, whose eyebrows are scrunched together.

Ezra knows he should say yes, because they really ought to, but he too cannot bring himself to allow more pain to come to Kai. He mutters all of this to Pon, who nods, relieved. After helping Pon lie back down, Ezra waits until Pon sleeps before sitting just in front of the bed, resting his head in his hands.

Pon never wakes up again, his body cooling by the time Kai wakes. The short boy feels instantly numb, but later breaks down sobbing in the bathroom, where Ezra finds him seated in the tub, clothed as water cascades down around him.

They wind up bringing Pon to Earth with them, neither wanting to leave him on Azurelle, both facing a desire to allow him to rest somewhere he truly wants to be.

“A symphony…”

Kai visits Pon as often as he can, plays him all the music he’d discovered since the last time he’d been to the sunny field. Kai talks, telling Pon how much he still misses his best friend, still expecting to see Pon walk through a doorway, like nothing ever happened. Kai cries, wishing Pon was there to cry with him, or comfort him.

One day, Kai is laying curled in his bed, too sad to move. On days like these, Ezra makes sure to ask Kai what he would like. Today, Kai wants to not be alone in his silence. Ezra holds Kai silently, not on his phone or watching television, and Kai’s reminded of how much the other boy cares for him.

Both get startled when they hear a knock on the front door of their tiny apartment, followed by a voice that sounds eerily similar to Pon. Kai can’t find the will to move, fearing he’ll be disappointed, as though this is a trick of his minds innermost desires.

#the other planet #kai #pon #ezra #spinofffff #because originally i planned to kill pon off in the other planet: azurelle #and then i didnt #so now i did #:)

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enmstorytime · 4 years

Text

The Vulnerable Writer: Chapter 2

I rolled off my desk, my bare feet pressing into the carpet, my dick swinging freely. Cody's cum had dried onto my abs and had matted my chest hair. I thought about brushing it off, letting the flakey remnants of our meeting mix in with the carpet, but I liked the reminder of Cody's naked body grinding up against mine.

Suggesting that Cody strip me and take my clothes with him had been exciting in the moment, but now, as I stood completely naked in the center of my office the nerves were settling in. I had told Cody that I would sneak out to my car and drive home naked. Even if I wanted to go back on that promise, I didn't have a change of clothes in my office. The walk from my office to the parking lot was about five minutes, if I took the less used paths. Then my drive home would be a thirty minute drive across the city. I drove a small car, so most cars would be able to look down into my car and get the full body view. If I didn't find a way to at least cover my crotch, I estimated that over 100 people would have seen my cock by the end of the day.

While I looked around my office for anything that I could use to cover myself, I noticed that the door was unlocked. I hurried across the office, my penis flopping back and forth at each step, and locked the door. Then I turned back to survey my office.

Bookshelves lined the walls. If all else failed, I could pull out one of the bigger books and hold it over my crotch. Still, if I were seen by anyone, they'd see more of me than I wanted. Some of the offices in my buildings had curtains, but being a newer teacher, I had been put in an office without a window, so that option was out. My messenger bag was slung over the back of my chair, and I knew that that would have to be used to maintain some sort of modesty.

Nothing else was presenting itself as a way to maintain modesty, except for a notebook on my desk. I was in no rush to go out on the campus bare-ass naked, so I decided to spend the next twenty minutes stapling together every blank paper I could find in my office. The end result was a paper poncho, which when draped over my body fell down to my knees.

Since I hadn't made arm holes, and because I didn't want my penis anywhere near the staples, I held a copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray open against my dick under the paper poncho. I realized as I prepared to leave that I needed to be able to unlock the door and relock it on the other side, which meant that the poncho would have to go, until I was back on the other side of the door, which meant that I would have to step out into the hallway naked, except for my messenger bag. I felt the blood flowing down toward my groin as I imagined stepping out into the hallway naked. Anyone could walk by, as I was waving my ass around trying to lock my office door.

Still, it couldn't be helped. The longer I stood around in my office, the more likely it would be that someone would turn up hoping to meet with me, and I didn't want them to find me here naked. I slung the messenger bag over my head, the strap crossing across my body. I positioned it directly in front of me, where, if I stayed still, it would cover my cock. I folded up the paper poncho, and held it tightly in one hand, placed my copy of Dorian Gray in my messenger bag, and held my keys in my free hand. I'd have to be fast. Step out. Lock the door. Pull on the poncho. Then, under the safety of the poncho, place the book in front of me. I'd still be barefoot. And the poncho was precarious at best, but there was nothing else I could do.

I walked across the office, the leather of my messenger bag rubbing against my penis. I tried to ignore it, but I could feel myself stiffening with all of the pressure.

"Fuck," I whispered, preparing myself for the worst.

Cracking the door open, I could see that the hallway was empty. I waited for a few seconds, watching, waiting to see if anyone would show up. Then I realized that waiting only increased the chances that someone would show up, while I was the most naked I intended to be on the walk to my car.

I slipped out the door, fumbled with the keys, and got the door locked. My face flushed, and my cock was fully erect behind the messenger bag, as I worried someone might show up, while my ass was exposed to the whole hallway.

Fortunately, I got the door locked, and pulled the poncho over myself without anyone else seeing me. With the poncho covering most of me, I rotated the messenger bag to my back side, where it would cover my ass, if, god-forbid, anything happened to the poncho. Then I opened Dorian Gray, and placed it over my stiff cock. I allowed myself to smile, thinking that Oscar Wilde would probably have an orgasm if he knew where his book would end up.

I walked through the English building, my bare feet slapping against the tile floors. I crept past a few classrooms. The doors were closed, but I felt a rush of panic and excitement, as I heard voices rumbling behind the hardwood.

When I got to the exterior doors, my heart sank. No one had seen me in the building, but outside, rain cascaded across the campus. My copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray was a rare edition, and I didn't want it to get wet. I debated for a second whether my modesty or my novel mattered more, and ultimately ended up sliding the messenger bag back in front of myself, and placing Dorian Gray back in the main pocket. If I moved fast enough, I tried to rationalize, I could make it to my car before the paper between me and near total nudity disintegrated in the deluge.

I breathed in, pushed open the door, and sprinted out into the rain, my bare feet pounding against the concrete. It hurt, and I could feel the messenger bag and my cock swaying back and forth with every footfall. Worse, within thirty seconds of stepping outside, I could feel the paper growing soggy, limp, and weak.

"Oh god," I whispered, as the paper around my shoulders started to give, the rain starting to touch bare skin.

The poncho didn't even last a minute, I rounded a corner onto a wooded, less traveled path, as the whole thing gave way and fell in a soggy heap around my ankles. I didn't hesitate to try to salvage anything, acutely aware that all that stood between me and complete exposure was a frantically swaying messenger bag.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." I said, noticing that my still very much erect penis was no longer behind the messenger bag, but bouncing next to the bag.

"Professor?" Someone asked behind me.

I whirled around to see who had caught me. With the momentum I created spinning, my messenger bag flew around to my back side, and I stood fully exposed and soaked from the rain in front of Seth, the student in my class who told the rest of the class he didn't believe I'd actually get naked in front of them.

"Oh my god!" Seth said, his eyes widening as he took in my full body. I tried, fairly-unsuccessfully, to cover my erect penis, but the head still poked out between my wrists.

I couldn't think of anything to say, so instead I followed his eyes, which had fixated right between the wrists of my clasping hands.

"You're naked," Seth said. "You're completely naked."

His eyes travelled up and down my naked body. And without being able to stop it, I felt precum bubble up and out of my exposed head.

"And you're completely erect," he said, his eyes on my precum. "You're so fucking hot." He took a step closer.

"I told you it wasn't bullshit," I said, trying to smile, aware that my face had turned scarlet.

He stepped closer, and we were close enough to touch. He reached out a hand, and placed a finger in my dripping chest hair. I shuddered at the touch, noticing how the rain had made his typically tight clothes cling to the muscles underneath.

"I can help you take care of that, he said, his finger trailing down my abs, and landing right in my precum.

"Let's get off the path," I said, gesturing to the woods a few feet away.

He wrapped his hand around my wet cock, and led me into the trees.

"This has to be a dream," He said, as he lifted the messenger bag over my head, and set it on the ground next to us. "But if I wake up before this is over, I will fucking destroy my alarm clock."

He ran his hands over my body, squeezing my pecs and my ass, before he settled onto his knees in front of me.

For the second time today, a student took me inside of his mouth, and I felt the warm wetness that contrasted with the chilly wetness of the rain running over my skin. The thrill of the public space, of the forbidden, of the whole goddamn situation, overwhelmed me.

I lasted longer this time. Seth slid his mouth up and down my shaft, as his hands clutched desperately for whatever sections of damp skin he could hold onto, squeezing, caressing, clutching.

We moaned together as I shot my load into his mouth. He swallowed and stood, his hands still sliding all around my wet body.

"You better get used to being naked," he said, playfully spanking my ass. "I'm gonna write some pretty damn good stuff if it means I get to see this every day."

He picked up my messenger bag, draped it back over my head, winked, and hurried away.

I adjusted the messenger bag to cover my no-longer erect penis and ran the rest of the way to the car. No one else saw me, and once in the car, I positioned the bag over my crotch. I did get a few looks on the way home, but I didn't mind. I spent the drive remembering the feel of Cody and then Seth's mouths on me.

If word spread among the students, it wouldn't be long until I would be spending everyday teaching my class completely naked.

I started to stiffen up at the thought.

#gayerotica stripstory enm

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sharkbait-writes · 4 years

Text

Nothing can come between You and I

Title from You & I by One Direction

“I still don’t know why he hasn’t let go of me yet.”

General Kenobi looked at him, his body slouched with exhaustion and his eyes sad. His fingers combed through Quinlan’s hair and he murmured,

“Because you saved him. We were all too far away, but you had the choice. And you came back for him.”

He took in a shaking breath, his mouth trembling a little.

“And that means the world to him.”

Fox turned his gaze back to Quinlan who was laying in his bed, body bandaged almost everywhere one could see. His head was pillowed in Fox’ lap and both arms of his were around Fox’ waist, allowing him to nuzzle his face closer into his stomach every few minutes.

Someone knocked on the door and peaked their head through. It was Cody.

“General? The council needs to talk to you.”

He spoke it softly and quiet, keeping a weak grip on the door while he walked into the room and closed it softly. He gave his brother a quick look, making sure he was still there and alright, but then gave his general his entire attention.

When his general didn’t move from his crouched position in front of Fox and continued combing through his own brothers’ hair, Cody let out a sigh and walked over to them.

With great care, he removed his hands and made him stand up, never letting go of his hands or stop whispering comfort even when they both walked out of the room, leaving Fox alone with a sleeping Quinlan.

How they weren’t together yet, was a mystery to everyone.

Shaking his head at his brother’s and his crush’s obliviousness, Fox let out a quiet chuckle and quirked the corners of mouth up a little.

But as his sight returned to the jetii sleeping on his lap, he felt sadness creeping up on him again.

Fox’ arms moved to encircle the jetii, one hand combing through the others hair while the other kept a tight grip on him.

He let himself fall forward a little until he was hunched protectively over his jetii.

The hand combing through Quinlan’s hair stopped and moved fully around his head to touch his cheekbone, his head pillowed in his elbow. With slow strokes Fox caressed the others cheek with his thumb, his other fingers holding the jetii’s head up by the chin.

Quinlan nuzzled closer and let out a satisfying noise. A sleepy smile blossomed on his face.

While Quinlan’s face showed only content now, about an hour ago it didn’t. And Fox won’t forget that look for quite some time.

His eyes were blown wide open, panic and pain obvious, but fear stuck out the most. Tears were sliding down his face, leaving clear tracks on his face dirty from ash. His mouth trembled and his voice was hoarse from screaming for help. He was pinned to the ground by a heavy metal object, probably from a fallen house. Fire burned all around him and enemies were closing in on him. There was no escape. Quinlan was trapped.

And Fox was the only one near him, everyone else already on their escape ships or just too far away. He thought everyone except for him had left and was already safe, since he got distracted by his own merry band of enemies. Fortunately, there weren’t a lot and Fox wanted to get out of there fast, so the fight was over very quickly.

He would have left if he hadn’t heard the scream for help. Thinking it was from a forgotten civilian, he ran into the direction the call came from. But it turned out to be Quinlan.

Never before had Fox seen Quinlan that scared.

He didn’t even need a second to decide.

General Kenobi might have said Quinlan wasn’t letting go because he saved him. While that was true, a much deeper meaning was behind it.

Here’s the thing. Fox and Quinlan were in a relationship. Nothing too deep, just casual, only to let out some steam and maybe for some emotional comfort. But with time that changed. They hung out, spend their free time almost exclusively with each other and as much as Fox hated to admit it, he not only slept better but also slept more, when Quinlan was there with him. With Quinlan everything got a little easier.

And before Fox knew it, he fell in love.

It went against everything they told each other. Missions and duties came first and no real feelings. They weren’t allowed to be in a romance, it would compromise them. Quinlan was a general and Fox a commander, Fox served under him. Quinlan was a jetii, he wasn’t supposed to be attached to someone so badly and hold them this close to their heart.

But they did. And it was scary, so they lived in denial.

But Fox came back for Quinlan. Against a direct order and because of that, put them both in danger. He should have left him there, that way only one important person was left behind instead of two. That way, they wouldn’t have had to get them out of the middle of a warzone and put more people in danger.

But Fox still did it.

Not because of the army, bringing them a great general back. Not because of the jetiise, worried for their family member.

No. He did it for Quinlan and himself. Because he loved him and wanted to do so freely and without pain, because the love of his life wasn’t here anymore. Because he wanted to live a life with the man he loved unconditionally.

And maybe he got screamed at because of it, but it was worth it. Because Quinlan was alive.

And hasn’t let go of him, ever since Fox came into Quinlan’s bedroom in the Negotiator, General Kenobi by Quinlan’s side the whole time. Making sure both his love and he were alive and unconsciously showing Fox his love.

Quinlan nuzzled closer and let out a groan. Opening his eyes, he furrowed his brows and tightened his grip on him.

“Stop thinking so loud. Hug me.”

He murmured groggily, the corners of his mouth moving down dramatically.

Fox continued caressing his cheek, but there was a lump in his throat and the soothing smile he wanted to give his lover turned sad instead.

“Alright, c’mon. We have a whole bedroom to ourselves with an actual comfortable bed. Let’s use it correctly.”

Before Fox could do anything or voice a protest, Quinlan began to move. He ordered Fox to lay down and then did the same next to him, nuzzled under his chin, grabbed one of Fox’ hands and put them on his head. Then he pulled the covers over their shoulders, tangled their legs together and closed his eyes. Two people on a bed purposely made for one made it a tight squeeze, but somehow Quinlan made it comfortable.

While Quinlan moved around, Fox stayed in his frozen position, watching Quinlan with curiosity and vigilance, ready for if he so much as showed the smallest amount of discomfort.

Although his lover stopped fidgeting, Fox was still frozen. Only when Quinlan let out a noise of protest and pushed his head into his hand, did Fox pull himself out of his frozen stupor. He shifted into a more comfortable position for himself and allowed himself to finally relax.

He combed through Quinlan’s hair again and began to draw circles into his back, which made him melt and drift of into a blissful sleep.

Finally feeling content, Fox smiled tenderly down at his lover, who was already drooling. Then carefully moved forward to not disturb him and kissed him on his forehead. He closed his eyes and touched their foreheads together.

“Ner cyar’ika.”

And with a fond smile, he followed his lover into the land of dreams.

Translations:

jetii – jedi

jetiise – plural of jetii/jedi

ner cyar’ika – my sweetheart/darling

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kyberled · 4 years

Text

❥ 𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒 [ 𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙳 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙿𝚃𝚂 ] .

@wanmins asked:

goldenrod, holly, and peony !!!

goldenrod : does your muse believe in luck or fortune ? why or why not ? where do they believe these things come from ?

He does believe in it, to an extent! Even if he doesn’t always call it that. I imagine it has many names for the Jedi. Braig, for the most part, considers ‘luck’ and ‘fortune’ to be shorthand for ‘the will of the Force’. The Jedi are taught that the Force’s will is, essentially, fate or destiny. Sometimes, they can influence it. Other times, they can’t.

I guess it’s a pretty simple answer. As for why he believes in the Force, that’s simple, too - he’s a Jedi. The Force is a part of his every day life. It always has been. Especially because he was sent to the Order at such a young age (though that’s a discussion for another time), but also just because, hey, Force Sensitive. He feels it wherever he goes. He and the rest of the Order can use the Force to sense or even see things before they happen, see things happening on the other end of the Galaxy, get warnings about incoming threats, reads on people they confront, the list goes on. And for as long as he can remember, he’s told that the Force has a will and guides what happens in the universe, and it certainly seems to, from his perspective.

holly : how strong is your muse’s sense of intuition ? are they aware of it ? do they ever fear that it is only paranoia ?

It’s very strong, thanks in no small part to the Force. There are countless canon and Legends examples of the Force cluing the Jedi (and others) in to how well something will go for them. It also guides them in guesses and things, too - it’s pretty complex. I don’t mean to say that he’s never wrong, but it does make it easier to be right.

And then you put in the fact that he was raised in a war. Or, at least, he was raised in a war from the age of fourteen on. He was put in command of soldiers as a teenager (Thanks, Palpabama). He and his men are alive, in part, because he trusts his gut, he trusts the way the Force guides him. He rarely - especially when he gets older - ever chocks it up to just being paranoid. If he has a bad feeling about something, he thinks there has to be a reason for it. There is something about what’s happening that he isn’t comfortable or sure about. Something is wrong.

If he has time, this would be the time he tries to figure out what the problem is. He might write it down somewhere step-by-step, or consult with someone he views as equally or more qualified in whatever field he’s dealing with - especially, in regards to martial strategy, Obi-Wan or Cody. Figure out what’s bugging him and how, if possible, to fix it.

If it can’t be fixed, or he doesn’t have time, he’ll grit his teeth and bear it. He’ll just be sure to keep his guard up.

peony : what would a ‘ happy life ’ look like in your muse’s eyes ?

As strange as it might sound, he had his ‘happy life’ before the war started. It wasn’t perfect, but it was all he could want. He had a home in what was - until the Purge - possibly the safest place in the Galaxy. He had a mentor who filled the father figure role better than anyone else, and lived in the embodiment of a found family. A clean, dry room, a warm, safe bed. He had his core group of friends, who were really more like his brothers and sisters than anything else, and other acquaintances throughout the Order and even outside of it who filled a variety of other social roles for him. A good education, access to the biggest collection of information in the galaxy, one of the best medical care units, and more food than he could ever hope to consume in his lifetime. Not to mention, the meticulously-maintained gardens, grottos, greenhouses, the lake, the museums, the holotheater, and the other amenities in the Temple. He got to explore the Galaxy safely, he got to spend most days surrounded by the Force, strong and pure, he got to keep active and be healthy and learn things and have a far better family life than he would have, elsewhere. He was happy.

But of course, the Jedi were traitors and monsters and murderers, so that happiness is long since gone.

#&& give the sun a head start; ooc #&& as best i can; answers #&& temple archives; headcanons #will i ever not be emo about the Purge the answer is no

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dynamightsfave · 4 years

Text

History’s story - John Murphy

(gif not mine! credits to owner)

john murphy x oc

summary: murphy and oc meet and talk. it’s really not that great

warnings: mentions of murder and suicide

masterlist

***

Lorelei Cody had always liked stories.

When she still attended school at the Ark, History of Earth was her favorite subject. She especially liked Prehistory and the big Empires, like Egypt and Rome. After history, Earth Literature came as a close second, not for having all those writers and writing styles —that was the part Lori hated—, but for all the stories those writers had created. Fantasy worlds with mythological creatures, adventures to exciting places… Lorelei wanted all that, but her big adventure had to be going down to Earth again. That was what she wanted, she’d be making history.

Unfortunately, all those dreams were crushed when the guards arrested her one day, for being at the library after hours. They thought she was stealing books, and no matter how many times she tried to tell them otherwise, they simply didn’t want to listen to that. “Of course they wanted me arrested,” she had thought one day rolling her eyes, “that means they won’t need to waste as much oxygen. One more teenager on the skybox equals one more person’s half oxygen ration. And once I’m floated, it’ll be a full ration.”

It had been when she still had another 6 months before her 18th birthday that guards had burst into the cell she shared with her friend Harper. Lori had been writing in her journal, one that she had pleaded for to the guards for three months before finally getting it along with three pencils.

She had stories written in it, stories of wonderful places with incredible adventures, all of which happened on Earth. Harper had discovered her cellmate’s knowledge for tales and her imagination, and every day she’d ask Lori to tell her a story. Sometimes what came out of her mouth was the plot of a movie or a book she’d seen or read, and Harper would every so often ask her to change the end; other times Lori would just start talking and see what her brain could think of.

When the guards came in, the girls barely had time to think of what was happening before they were pushed onto the wall and forced to wear some weird wristband. Before they could fully take them away, Lorelei got her journal and pencils, deciding that if she was to die, she’d die with her most precious possession. To her surprise, they didn’t take them to the hall were people were floated. Instead, they were taken with the rest of the prisoners to some kind of ship; no explanation, just being placed into seats. Lorelei really thought they were going to die, and she frantically searched for Harper’s hand next to her, and both girls squeezed the other’s hand.

But they didn’t die, they were sent to the ground, and as soon as those words had left Chancellor Jaha’s mouth, Lori’s had dropped, a big uncontainable grin slowly forming. A month later, the Cody girl still couldn’t believe she was on Earth. They had had fun, they had fought each other, they had had highs and lows. And Lori had written it all. Not everything was her experience as she had to stay in camp for her assigned job, but Harper told her everything that she saw outside the walls.

[...]

Just a few days before, Murphy had gotten back to camp with a virus that made most of the people sick. Fortunately, Lorelei had been one of the few immunes, but that meant she had also been stuck in the dropship helping Clarke and all the other immunes take care of the sick ones. She had been writing the events of the day on her journal the day after everyone was healthy again —she was thinking she’d need a new one soon— when a shadow was placed over her figure. She looked up with furrowed brows to find John Murphy himself looking down at her, looking much better than the day when he arrived. He sat down next to her.

“Whatcha got there?” he signaled with his head.

The girl had to look to her other side to see if someone else was there. There wasn’t.

“Y-You talking to me?” she pointed at herself.

“I mean, unless there’s some other invisible person ‘round here” he said, Lori chuckled.

“Oh, well, it’s just my journal” she shrugged, but the boy didn’t seem satisfied and kept his stare. She rolled her eyes “I’ve been keeping a record of what happens around here. Like a diary, but more objective, with some inputs of my opinion”

“Why?”

“Why are you so interested? You don’t even know me” she eyed him warily. He stayed silent, and Lorelei took that as her que to continue writing.

“You’re the only person in this whole camp that hasn’t looked at me with hatred” he said after a moment “Or fear” he added.

She looked at him, studying his face to searching for any signs that could tell her if he was lying. She didn’t find any.

“We’re making history” she slowly answered, going back to her journal “And history needs to be recorded, so that’s what I’m doing. I’m doing it myself because do you think that when the Ark gets down here and starts to write history of how we went back to the ground they’ll write it as it is?” she chuckled dryly “No, they’ll write it to make it look like they’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened, and what we’ve built will be mentioned in one line. Which wouldn’t be fair, because we’re the reason they know it’s okay to come down”

“You seem to be very pissed at the Ark”

“Yeah well, they haven’t treated me good, so why should I give them a different treatment? I mean, I got arrested for getting trapped in the library by accident”

The conversation went on, and for the rest of the day John Murphy and Lorelei Cody sat there against the metal of the dropship enjoying each other’s presence. Murphy discovered that Lori didn’t hate him because she had simply not cared much.

“If you put everything into everyone’s perspective,” she explained to him “you get different versions of what happened. Clarke’s version of your hanging was that she had been blinded by the rage of her friend being murdered by someone from the camp, and she had wanted to punish the murderer. Evidently, everything got out of hand. Your version, I suppose, is that they hung you unfairly, and when it came to give the same treatment to the real murderer, everyone refused to it. So you also got blinded by the rage and went after a 12-year-old girl. Which also got out of hand” she sighed. She didn’t particularly like that day.

“And what’s your version?”

“I… I think you didn’t deserve to get hung, you deserved a chance to prove yourself innocent, but you had been a dick to most people here —which obviously didn’t get you their love— and that caused the reaction they had. So you were definitely punished unfairly, but that does not give you the right to go ahead and scare a little girl to the point of committing suicide because she believes that that will make everything alright. Look how that turned out, amazingly right?” the last sentence dripped sarcasm, and the blue eyed boy opened his mouth to defend himself, but she didn’t give him the chance “However, that little girl was old enough to understand that killing someone is wrong, no matter what they remind you of. She deserved punishment, but not death. And you got what you had coming�� she closed the journal, placing it on the ground next to her.

That time, it was Murphy who stared at her, studying her features. This girl had caught his attention before he was banished, she intrigued him. She just explained how what she wrote was objective, however, she had strong opinions. Why would she choose to hide them instead of voicing them? They could make a difference, if the people listened.

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Lorelei, my friends call me Lori. Actually, that’s just Harper and Octavia, but you could call me Lori too, if you want” she gave him a one sided smile. He returned it.

“Hi Lori, I’m John Murphy. Most people call me Murphy” he stuck his hand out.

“Murphy, huh?” she smirked, taking his hand “I’ll call you John then” he chuckled.

They didn’t know it then, but they were in fact making history. Their relationship, in however form it turned out to be, would be one of the protagonists of the history the 100 were making. And Lorelei Cody would make sure it was recorded right. She’d write history’s story. So many more things were to come.

#john murphy #the100 #the 100 murphy #the cw #clarke griffin #octavia blake #harper mcintyre #the ark

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amnachil · 5 years

Text

To the Perfection Chapter 1 Part 3

The next part of our feeder’s story :) Thank you for reading !

Thomas Friday January 11

"I heard one of them died, or something like this." was relating Ilhan. "They tried to run from the cops, and an officer shooted. And at the hospital, they weren't able to resuscitate him."

Thomas rolled his eyes. As if.

"Yeah sure." added ironically Joël. "And during the funeral, the other tried to commit suicide to join him. That would be creepy, right Thomy ?"

The ginger looked at his friend with a smile. You perfectly know it didn't happen like that at all. Nobody died. Each time people talked about Liam's story, they transformed the truth. It became a sort of legend in town, but Thomas knew better. And so did Joël. He was the son of the sheriff after all.

"I think it's mainly rumors." Thomas eventually replied. "But yeah, this is creepy. I don't know what got into Liam, but he seemingly lost his mind..."

Cody glanced at him, circumspect, but he ignored him. They just finished their football training, and he had things to do.

"Sorry guys, but I need to go. See you tomorow for practice."

As soon as he was out of their sight, he rushed towards his house. Man. I don't know how to stop. His mother's absence affected him more than he would admit. Of course, he was a grown-up teenager, and he could take care of himself. But without her around, he was feeling Raphaël's aura everywhere, even when his brother wasn't literally here. But at least, he wasn't lonely. Dan was there. Dan. Only thinking about him was a turn on. Since college started only on next monday, the junior was spending most of his time at home. He did the chores, some DIY, but he mainly ate and watched TV. He was so kind with Thomas. They were playing videogames, watching movies and they even did a workout session together. He promised to come tomorow watch the young lad's practice. And all of this is not helping. Thomas was more than eager to watch Dan stuff his face. He scrutinized every single changing of his body. He indulged my food every single day of the last week. Fortunately, Dan wasn't the kind to watch his figure. But it wasn't only a sexual attraction for Thomas. Of course, his kink was feederism, but his friend was more than that. His shining and comprehensive personality, his penchant to be always optimist... I shouldn't do that. After all, it was a vicious circle. The more he was falling for Dan (and he was everyday !), the more he feared Raphaël.

The ginger lad arrived at home panting, because of both his running and his excitation. However, he noticed the light-brown haired junior was getting ready to go out.

"What are you doing ?" Thomas asked, surprised and disappointed.

"Hey Thomy." his friend smiled. "How was your day ? I'm going to Bobby's party tonight, remember ?"

The party. I forgot. He expected to spend the evening with Dan ! And obviously some food. His eyes caught subtle lovehandles when his buddy put his jacket on. I don't want to stay alone in here. Thomas wasn't scared of his own house but... He wanted to make the most of his time alone with Dan. He came up with a plan.

"As usual... " he plaintively confessed. "It's already starting to get boring, and it have been only one week."

Dan looked at him. He didn't seem convinced, so Thomas put on his most beautiful smile. Just bring me with you. Please.

"You could've ask like every normal person." laughed his friend. "You're not a child anymore, you can come to a party."

It was all Thomas wanted.

They arrived at Bobby's home approximately one hour later. Before entering, Dan dusted himself off.

"How do I look ?" he asked.

Gorgeous ? Handsome ? Man I don't know. Dressed like that, his weight gain was unoticeable for an untrained eye. But Thomas glimpsed the little curve of his lower belly, which softly pushed his shirt.

"You're fine." he replied pleasantly.

"Good."

And they entered. Bobby Blake welcomed them joyfully. It was only 8 p.m but he was already drunk enough to confuse Thomas and Raphaël. Anyway, once inside, the young ginger gulped, a bit impressed. There were students everywhere. The atmosphere was fairly highly charged. He smelled a mixture of alcholol, weed and aromatic foods. Of course, Thomas had already done parties with his classmates, but it wasn't this big. Here, they all were older than him. And to be honest, partying wasn't his cup of tea.

"Let's grab something to eat." suggested Dan. "And then, I'll have to find Carol."

They headed to the buffet. The young lad recognized here and there some former highschool students. He noticed a bunch of guys who had been in Raphaël's little paper. Dan gave him a little smoothie.

"I know this is the only flavor you like." he stated. "Take it before they're all gone."

Thomas gratefully took it. He's so considerate... It wasn't good to stay here with him, in this party. It helped to fantasize. But it was a daily routine for around five years now.

Dan Friday January 11

The party was going well. Alongside Thomas, they played some drinking games and talked about this and that. Dan also danced for a while, before Carol finally showed up. His classmate was a short girl with a contagious smile. She had long curly hairs and keen brown eyes. They knew each other since highschool, and she was one of the only friend who didn't abandonned him after his coming out.

"Dan, there you are !" she greeted him. "And... You must be Thomas, right ?"

"Nice to meet you." replied cheerfully his ginger friend.

"You and your brother look so alike !" she continued. "I'm sure you're very proud to be related to such a genius."

Thomas nodded, but Dan noticed a little glint of annoyance. Since Raphaël had made it in the national selection, everybody was always speaking about him. In the end, it must be stifling...

"Anyway, you see the guy over there ? This is my future boyfriend."

When she wanted something...

"I'm sure you have your chances." he answered. "Do you want any help ?"

"Sure thing ! Thomas can you wait here ? It's not against you, but I don't want him to talk only about your awesome brother, you know ?"

"Of course." replied the teeanger.

Maybe he had drunk too much. Maybe it was the atmosphere of the party. But Dan didn't see Thomas's negative reaction. He followed Carol, pretty sure his friend would find something to do in the meantime.

During one hour, Dan, Carol and her crush talked. He did his best to praise her friend, and in the end, he decided to let them alone. Thus, he searched Thomas. But the ginger lad was nowhere to be found. This is weird. He wasn't around the buffet, nor the pool. Not even in the living room. At this point, the junior felt guilty to have let him alone. I mean, he's a grown-up right ? He should be able to manage on his own... Dan was looking in the garden when Raphaël called him.

"Hi honey." he answered quickly.

A cold silence. Already ?

"What's wrong ?" asked his boyfriend. "I can tell when you're worried."

The soccer player was more than fast to perceive even the smallest detail. He could almost read minds. Another thing which made him appear frightenning for people.

"I'm at this party, you remember ?" Dan replied obediantly. "And I might have brought Thomas with me. And I might have lost him at the moment."

Again, a cold silence. It's a good sign. He's not mad. Dan also had developped some techniques to understand his boyfriend. Silence meant he was thinking.

"I think I know where he went." he finally whispered. "I'll sent you the location. It's an old park where we used to play back when we were kids. I know he still goes there to contemplate things."

"Thanks."

"We'll talk later, for now just find him, and keep me posted." ordered Raphaël. "Be safe my love."

"Aye sir. Love you."

Dan hung up and left the party immediately. He was concerned about Thomas, and he also didn't want to upset his boyfriend. And when it comes to his brother, he's very sensitive.

As Raphaël had guessed, the highschool student was sitting on a swing in the middle of the park. He looks like an actor in a drama... Dan came closer in silence, but his friend heard him. (He wasn't very discreet to be honest).

"Sorry I left the party without any prior warning." he mumbled. "I was feeling a bit uneasy."

"I understand." assured the junior.

He sat next to the ginger teenager. Why did he insisted to come in the first place ? Thomas hadn't shown any interest for parties before. He was more of a home lover.

"Are you nice to me only because I'm your boyfriend's brother ?" he suddenly asked.

Dan glanced at him, surprised. Is he serious ? Thomas was smiling, he had his perpetual warm smile like immobilized on his face. But the question was deeply different than everything he had ever said before. The junior decided it recquired an honest answer.

"I know Raphaël and you for more than ten years now." he recalled. "And I'm perfectly aware you're two completely different persons. I'm acting nice with you because you're my friend. I really like you Thomas, you're sweet, patient, understanting and fun. There are things I want to do with you, and not with Raphaël. Do you think he would be my videogames partner ? For real the man probably don't know what a controller is !"

The last joke made the young teenager laugh. A warm, innocent laugh. He should laugh like this more.

"Thank you Dan." he whispered. "You might be the only person in this world who treats me that way."

Wrong. Raphaël sees you as you are. It wasn't necessarily the good moment to say this. His mother's decision seemed to have impacted him more than Dan thought.

"Besides, I can't even imagine eating the food of someone else than you." he joked.

"That's so true."

To be continued

Nothing much to say here. Our little Thomas is sad but also happy to be with Dan... Who is starting to gain weight (not that he cares).

Joël, Ilhan and Cody are Thomas’s school friend. Their relationship will be detailed later :)

#to the perfection #TP #Thomas #Dan #Weight gain implied #The feeder like to watch the progress of the feedee #feeder and feedee #chapter 1 #part 3

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iartlife · 6 years

Text

Chapter Two

Pt. IV

THE ROOK

The Fed was speaking to a handful of officers in the station about the 'prime suspect.' The killer was sitting alone in the interrogation room. His wounds had been treated in the ambulance on the way here. He stared at the corner of the room with distant eyes as drool leaked out of his mouth and liquid oozed from his nose... He was bound to the desk with makeshift shackles covered in rubber tubing. At least the police aren't stupid.

Addie ducked inside into a hallway as a police cruiser pulled up to the station. Two officers got out then escorted a man in cuffs from the back seat. It looked to be Hans. What the hell was that about?

Fed noticed them come in and wrapped up his conversation. He intercepted the officers escorting Hans and they talked for a minute. One of the officers removed the cuffs from his wrists and the other looked very nervous about it. Fed sent them to someone's office, probably since the interrogation room was occupied.

The agent looked at his watch and hopped back over to the group he was with before. He said something to them and one of the officers joined the two in the room with Hans. The others went over and loitered outside the room with the killer. They appeared to be debating who should interrogate him.

As the officers settled into their roles, the Fed left. Addie wanted to stay and see what happened to Hans but he was tailing the Agent who crashed the party for a reason. He didn't seem to know anything about the situation, but his timing was too perfect. Addie wanted to make sure it was just a coincidence he was here when something like this happened. If he was a hunter, he could be a threat to the community of wolves in this town. Better to intervene if there's just one than try to deal with reinforcements.

Addie followed Fed to a diner where he sat at a table in the back corner away from the majority of people. A waitress came over to him and he waved her away. He pulled out his phone and punched something into it; likely texting someone.

Addie reached into his pocket to grab a necklace. He put it on and his appearance became much more human. Smaller arms and legs, tail nowhere to be found, and a bit of color warmed his skin and hair. He pulled some black socks out of his cargo pocket and hoped no one would notice they weren't shoes.

Addie walked into the diner and sat on the opposite side of the room. A waiter came over and asked him if he would like a drink besides water. "Hot tea, please," he aswered. He was careful to make no move suggesting he was even remotely interested in the man across the room. Pulling out a notepad and pen, he began to sketch the waiter.

Not a minute later, the girl from the forest arrived. She stopped for a moment inside the door. Her eyes skimmed over all the faces in the room, including his. He didn't look up at her. Did she follow him here somehow?

The agent stood and smiled at her. She joined him at the table. Relief washed over Addie. It must have been her he was talking to over by the crime scene tape earlier. How did he know this girl? More importantly, did he know she was a werewolf?

The Fed and wolf girl talked for some time, and ate, and laughed, and ate some more, and Addie was very bored. He finished the food he ordered ages ago and he was on his third tea. The waiter who was originally skittish, likely due to his scars, had seen his drawings and tried to have a conversation with him about art. Sam, according to his nametag, asked if fine art was his major. Addie told him he was not attending the college and Sam almost looked dissapointed.

While listening to their conversation, he learned that Fed's name was Cody and the wolf girl's, his sister, was Elli. He was here to visit her for spring break to take her to the ski resort they went to as kids. Hans' resort. It was out of season for the sport but they decided hiking up to the old mine would be fun. Cody was very skeptical as to whether or not they should go after the events of last night but Elli very much wanted to go.

It appeared he was unaware of werewolves 'potentially' being real before today. There was no more information Addie wanted or needed about them. He decided to head back to the station and see what Hans got himself into. He left money on the table that, if his math was correct, was enough to cover the bill with generous tip, despite not receiving it yet. He also left the sketches since Sam seemed to appreciate them more than he did.

As he left through the door, he heard Cody utter the words, "You alright?"

Addie couldnt help but glance back at them. Elli snapped her gaze from the floor to her confused brother. "I need to pee." She got up and headed out the door behind Addie.

Turning the corner around the building, he was shoved up against the wall before he could react. His attacker turned him to press his back up against it so he was facing her, eyes a hot yellow-green. She was strong. "Why are you following me?"

Eyes wide in shock, he was at a loss for words. She waited for him to respond but when he didn't she punched the wall next to his head. It cracked.

Over the surprise attack, his face fell back to its usual scowl. He pushed her arms off of him and wrapped a hand around her neck. He held her well enough to keep her away from him but not tightly enough to cut off airflow. She clawed at his hand with her two, trying to pry off his grip to no avail.

"I wasn't following you, I was following your brother."

She stopped struggling. "Let go of me."

"Then don't hit me." He said before releasing her.

Elli rubbed her neck with her hands. Her eyes faded back to their normal green. "Why were you following my brother?"

"I don't have time for this."

She grabbed his forearm in the same place as when they were in the forest and he winced from the unexpected pain.

"Make time. You keep showing up. I want to know why." She released his arm when he pointed at it with his free hand. "Sorry."

He stared at her. How did she know it was him? Spotting him in the forest was unlikely but possible. Yet there was no reason she should have been able to pick him out at the diner.

"How did you know it was me?" He asked.

Elli frowned as she explained. "I'm not- I don't know. You don't smell like anything and you seem to disappear just as quickly as you show up. You don't even look the same as before, you look human now, but you have this... aura."

"Aura?"

"Yeah. I can, its almost like, feel when you're around. You feel different than anyone else."

Addie couldn't remember anyone who could ever sense him. He has been actively hunted by a wizard before but that was a spell designed to track him. No being has ever been able to sense him passively.

"Your turn." She said. It pulled him away from his thoughts.

"What?"

"I answered your question, you answer mine. Why are you following my brother?" Her determination to get something out him was visible. He wasn't getting away so easily this time.

Addie sighed. "His presence, what with being a federal agent and showing up when he did. Fortunately, It's only coincidental with the timing of these recent events. I suspected he may be a hunter, I'm glad I was wrong."

Elli thought for a long moment. "Can we talk again? When you're not in a hurry to run off?"

Of course she wanted to ask more questions. She seemed very new to the world of 'monsters'. Her curiosity made that obvious. Especially since he was not the preferred company for most. Addie was curious as well, which just didn't happen much anymore. Her abilities have never, to his knowledge, existed before.

He considered it. Perhaps it would be worth a conversation, or two, if necessary. Maybe he could even get a blood sample.

"That would be lovely." He replied.

PREVIOUS | NEXT

MASTER

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prairiesongserial · 4 years

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11.18

John sat in front of a small fire, hunched over a bowl of rice and wild garlic soup. It was late, almost midnight. John supposed this was the only time the circus had to eat, on nights when they put on a show. Most everyone else was eating together inside the circle of trucks, loudly decompressing after a long day. Cody was late coming back. He’d had to report back to the Bellamys and return the uniform, and John supposed that took some time. John had saved him a bowl of soup in case the Bellamys didn’t think to feed him, but it was getting cold.

John had set up his fire so close to the steps up to Johannes’s caravan that getting into and out of the thing would be a challenge for the ringmaster. He could hear the lilt of Johannes’s voice, distant but still clear, within the circle of trucks.

“You are not easy to find,” came a voice from behind John.

John started to set down his bowl, his other hand scraping the dirt as he reached for his cane. He was getting better at remembering to use it before he hurt himself.

“No, no, don’t get up,” the voice said. Ezra circled around the fire and sat on the front step of Johannes’s caravan.

John stared up at him. Ezra was dressed in a sweat-stained white shirt with no jacket, his clothes wrinkled from being worn all day. He looked tired.

“Yes?” John said.

“Johannes told me you wanted this,” Ezra said. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. John quickly opened it, holding it close to the fire so he could see the print. The placement of the words in the center of the page was like how John remembered. But there was no border around the edges, no expensive colored ink. And the paper was thin.

“Look…” Ezra’s hand kneaded the back of his neck. He wasn’t looking at John, but through the fire, at the paper John held. “You should know…”

“The other three,” John said.

Ezra blinked at him.

“Give me the other three.”

Ezra gave a nervous little laugh and reached into his back pocket again. He passed the papers across the fire.

John took them all and unfolded them each in turn. The letters swam together. Ezra had started up talking again, and John held his hand up to make him stop. Ezra did. John let his attention sink into the papers in front of him. He may not have been able to read them, but if he just calmed down, he might be able to learn something from them. He breathed deeply, his breath fluttering the thin edges.

The names would be the biggest letters. Everyone but him would have two names. He found himself first - and, correctly, that paper had been the first one handed to him. He tossed it onto the fire, returning his attention to the other three without waiting to watch the paper be consumed. The jumble of letters remaining, letters that he knew must spell Friday Wilmot, Valerie Lecter, and Cody Allison, weren’t going to resolve themselves into anything John could understand.

He bet ‘Courthouse’ and ‘Cody’ started with the same letter, though. The single, soft curve at the beginning of one of the names probably belonged to Cody. John tossed that paper onto the fire, and then the other two. He picked up his bowl of soup, which would be good and cold by now, and took another bite.

Ezra was still sitting there, watching him.

“They were fake,” Ezra said, clearing his throat. “You can’t just make up indenture papers that easily. They were a lie to make you stay with us, until you could calm down and think about it.”

John had another bite of soup, his teeth sinking into soft garlic.

“We haven’t run into any yet, and that’s our good fortune, but muties really do run in packs of hundreds out here,” Ezra added. “You would have been dead. And you’re wanted, too, so...”

He trailed off. John scraped the bottom of his bowl with his spoon, and only when he was sure he had gotten every drop did he set the bowl back down again.

“You’ve been indentured before,” Ezra said, his voice carefully even. “Me too.”

John’s gaze snapped up to him. Ezra was kneading the knuckles of one hand in nervous habit.

“My parents sold me when I was eight,” Ezra added, finally.

“To the circus?” John said, more loudly than he meant to.

“No. No, I never actually got where I was supposed to be going.” Ezra kept worrying his hand. “A woman helped me - another indenture, and probably just a teenager. I just remember thinking she was grown up. She threw me out of the truck, and I ran for it.” Ezra shrugged. “Judith adopted me. So I grew up in the circus after that.”

There was a weight to the story that rested heavily on the air, and John let it, feeling it. He felt more kinship with the forgotten teenage girl than with Ezra.

“So you weren’t indentured,” John said quietly. “You were sold, but you never lived on…” John stopped himself from saying Chokecherry. That wouldn’t have made any sense. “You grew up free.”

Ezra nodded, slowly, on the other side of the fire.

“I was five,” John said. “Or thereabout.”

He caught Cody’s voice out from the many distant voices around the main fire, lyrical and on the edge of laughter as he responded to ribbing about being stuck with the Bellamys all day.

“Gonna wash up and find John,” Cody called to someone over his shoulder, as he came into view. He was still far off, a silhouette moving between caravan wagons, his arms stretched over his head in a way that was so relaxed, so at peace with the world, that John wondered how he managed it.

John furrowed his brow as Cody left his sight. It wasn’t true. It was, at least partly, an act. The mess of worry and anger that had exploded out of Cody earlier tonight hung like smoke all around them, possible to live with, but not possible to ignore. It had been present at the convent, too.

John didn’t know what to do with anger. Judging by Val’s outburst on the pier, it was going around. He had plenty of his own, he supposed. He rested his chin on his hand and sighed across the fire, not aware he’d done it until Ezra’s eyes turned questioning.

“It’ll get easier,” Ezra supplied. “It’s big and loud here, but the circus is good people, and we know our way around the East Coast. There’s no safer way to travel.”

“You’re still not going to let us leave, though,” John said.

Ezra laughed in surprise.

“I mean...I just explained, four travelers alone who don’t know where the mutie colonies are - ”

John nodded impatiently. He wondered what Ezra, or Johannes for that matter, would do if he just walked off one night. No point thinking about it, really. Until he had his bearings in the east, he’d have to be content to shadow the circus.

“I’m not going anywhere,” John said. He grabbed his cane and levered himself upright, difficult to do when he was sitting so low to the ground. “Thanks. For the story. And the papers.”

He thought he might track Cody down again.

11.17 || epilogue 11

#story

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veneataur · 7 years

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Fandom: BBC’s The Musketeers

Day 24 of 24

Title: Families of Choice

A/N: This is the last of the advent stories. I still have one to finish up, which will be coming. Apologies for how late this one is. It took me some time to wrangle the story into something passable. I’m done with monthly challenges for a while (they are mentally draining). But I do have a slew of stories to write, so I’ll be writing Musketeer stories still.

The closer they get to the cemetery, the more Porthos thinks this is a really bad idea. He understands the logic given by almost everyone: Lemay, Athos, Sarah, and the Captain. He knows that this is important, but Aramis hasn’t spoken in the last day and didn’t sleep at all last night in the hotel, despite the anxiety medicine Lemay prescribed, their presence, and his normal calming techniques. And the days leading up to today, he’d gotten progressively less sleep.

Seeing him in the backseat, pulled away from Athos, huddled against the window, eyes distant, Porthos wants to turn the car around and head back home. But this was Aramis’ choice. Lemay presented it as an important step in his recovery and something that he should consider doing at some point. A few weeks ago, Aramis approached them hesitantly to let them know that he was going to be making a trip to Virginia the first week of November. At the same time, he and Athos had said they would be coming. They knew his plans, not because Lemay had told them but because there was only one reason for Aramis to go to Virginia. After some arguing, Aramis gave in and they’d seen his mood go down the closer they got to the trip.

Visiting Arlington is not the only part of the trip they have planned. They have the weekend plus a few days. Between them, they had no vacation or personal days left. It had all been used to care for Aramis over the past year. Aramis, being on leave, didn’t have to worry about time. But for Athos and Porthos, the situation was a bit difficult. Treville too was out of days and there was little leeway he could give them. Fortunately, there were some in the task force who donated enough days for their trip.

While the cemetery isn’t their only purpose, it is where they’ve decided to visit first. Aramis wouldn’t be able to enjoy anything else they’d planned, planning which they’d tried to include him on, but he didn’t seem to care much. This is the reason they’ve driven straight from the interstate to the cemetery, bypassing their hotel. They can check in late, anyway.

When they park, Porthos and Athos wait for Aramis to make a move. Minutes pass before anything happens.

“I can’t do this,” Aramis says quietly, voice thick.

“I happen to disagree with that,” Athos says. It’s been hard for him not to comfort Aramis during the second part of their trip, but he knew from the moment Aramis leaned up against the car window, the younger man needed time alone. “But, we can go to the hotel, if you want. You don’t have to do this.”

“Don’t I? Lemay…”

“I know what Lemay said and you know that he left this up to you, when you feel ready and no one can tell you when you are.”

Aramis nods his head lightly, looking down at his hands in his lap playing with a stray thread on his jacket. “I need to but I can’t.”

“You’re not alone. We’re here with you.”

“We’ll walk with you as far as you need,” Porthos says. He’s turned around to be able to look better at the backseat.

“But…,” Aramis begins.

“You are our family, Aramis,” Porthos says. “We will go to the ends of the earth for you.”

“But…”

“And it doesn’t matter how you feel. You could always see us as friends, you are our brother in our eyes and we’ll do whatever we can for you,” Athos says.

Aramis is silent for a few more moments. Then he reaches for the door and steps out into the chilly November air. Athos and Porthos follow without thought.

“You don’t have to,” Aramis says as they begin to walk with him towards the lines of white headstones. He stops and so do they.

“Yes, we do,” Porthos says. “We’re family.”

“And even if we weren’t, we want to,” Athos adds.

“Thanks.” Aramis looks at them both, the gratitude clear in his eyes.

“Lead us to where you need to go,” Porthos says. “Stop when you need.

“Remember that you can always call on us but we’re going to let you have your time,” Athos says. Aramis nods again and continues walking. They hear his attempts to steady his breathing as they keep walking. It’s a slow, steady pace. Athos gazes at the names and dates on the headstones as they walk past the rows. He sees so many who are far too young, their neatly lined up headstones belying the chaos of the battles they died in. Aramis could have easily been in one of these graves, he thinks. Not from the massacre, after then he would’ve been barred from Arlington. But the massacre hadn’t been Aramis’ first glimpse, experience of battle. By far the massacre featured most in his flashbacks, but Athos picked up on other moments of terror in the young man’s life, moments of battle that he just escaped with his life intact.

Aramis stops suddenly. “This is one of them.”

Athos and Porthos wait no more than a foot away though it feels like miles for them. Some months ago, Aramis revealed to them that he’d never been to the grave sites of his teammates killed in the massacre. At first, he hadn’t been told where they were buried and hadn’t the mindset to find them himself. Then a week ago, as they made their plans, he presented them with a list of four names. Four of the six SEALs killed had been buried in Arlington.

How long they spend at each, none of them keep track of. Aramis doesn’t speak and they don’t ask him to, simply standing with him as they move from grave to grave. They come to the fourth grave as the sun is setting.

“You,” someone shouts angrily. “You coward, you bastard. You get away from him.” It’s a woman, around their age and she is closing in fast on them. She continues her tirade all the way. Inches from them two things become clear. Aramis is her target and she is going to hit him. Porthos sees her fist raised but before he or Athos can move, can do more than shout at Aramis to look out, she strikes him, solidly on the side of his face. Unprepared and emotionally exhausted, Aramis falls back, just missing the headstone of his teammate.

“You,” the woman shouts again, moving to launch her self on the prone man. “You have the gall to come back here after what you did.”

Porthos reaches out to grab her, pulling her back gently, but firmly. “Hey, stop it. Now.” Athos goes to Aramis, who hasn’t made a single noise. One hand is on the spot on his cheek where he was hit. His eyes are distant and breathing strangely calm. Experience tells Athos what to do.

“I’m here, ‘Mis. We’re here.” Athos kneels next to him, hesitant to touch Aramis. “Tell me where you are, “Mis. Start with what you can see.” It’s a routine by this point.

There’s silence, then voice low, Aramis starts speaking. “Clouds, the sky.” Aramis doesn’t move his gaze from the sky.

“Good. Now, what can you feel with your hands?” Aramis keeps the one hand on his face, while the other reaches out slowly, lightly.

“Grass. It’s cold.”

Athos continues taking Aramis through his grounding steps. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Porthos dealing with the woman, but it doesn’t concern him. His efforts to calm Aramis are working.

“You back with us,” Athos asks when he sees the distant look nearly gone.

“Yeah.” Aramis nods. He moves to sit up, but his arms give out. Athos moves to prop him up before he falls back. Despite being more with it, slight tremors run the length of Aramis’ body and Athos feels him trying to maintain his breathing. There is a chill that is starting to set into him. He’s not done with this but he’s not going any further, yet.

“You think you can stand?” Athos wants to get him off the ground.

“Maybe.” His voice is low and shaky.

“You can lean against me. You’re going to get a cold sitting on the cold ground.”

“It doesn’t work that way.”

“Let’s get you to your feet regardless.”

When he’s standing, Aramis is happy to have Athos supporting him. His energy is low from a lack of sleep and food over the last week, his mind and stomach in turmoil at the thought of coming here. Then he sees the woman standing in front of him, feet away and still held back by Porthos. She’s angry still but not yelling at him. He knows her.

“How are you, ‘Mis,’ Porthos asks.

“Still here,” Aramis answers breathlessly.

“You shouldn’t be, you coward,” the woman yells.

“Hey, now. We talked about this,” Porthos says. “You don’t get to call my brother that. He’s a braver man than anyone I know.”

“He’s a coward and he knows it.”

“Amy Richards, isn’t it,” Aramis says.

“You remember him. The man you got killed,” Amy says.

“He didn’t get him killed,” Porthos says.

“I know what happened. I saw the reports. He led them all into battle, got them all killed.”

“It’s been overturned. The Navy changed their verdict and cleared his name.”

“He got him killed. Should’ve died yourself, coward.”

“Is there a problem here,” a man in uniform, a soldier, asks. He walks up to them until he’s standing just a few feet away.

“Yes, we came here so my brother here could visit his friends’ graves and she’s come up and upset him,” Porthos explains. “He has PTSD and doesn’t react well to shouting and the like. We just barely kept him from a full-blown flashback.”

“It’s not like that. See, this is the man who got my husband killed. He’s been hiding away like a coward, too afraid to come out because of what he’s done,” Amy says, accusation clear in her voice.

“You hit him.”

“He deserved it and more.”

“I don’t care who started it,” the soldier says. “I’m going to ask all of you to leave. The cemetery requires silence and respect. If you can’t abide by that, then you’ll have to leave.”

“Why should I leave, he’s the coward. He doesn’t belong here.”

“No, we’ll leave,” Aramis finally says. “Please, Amy, take your time here with Cody. He was a good man and a great father.”

“Are you sure, ‘Mis,” Athos asks.

“Let’s go. I’m ready to go, Athos.” Aramis can’t keep the pleading out of his voice.

“If you’re sure, then we will but not because she’s driving you out.”

“I’m sure. I’m ready to go.”

Porthos lets go of Amy. He doesn’t believe Aramis, but he can see that he’s not in a state to argue. “You’re wrong about what’s happened,” Porthos tells Amy. “He’s a good man who was trying to do the right thing. I understand that you’ve had a rough time, but he has too. Let’s go ‘Mis.” Porthos walks to where Aramis and Athos stand.

“You sure you’re good to go,” Porthos asks.

“Please,” Aramis pleads.

“Alright, let’s go.”

They each support Aramis as he takes unsteady, slow steps. Porthos gives Athos a quick glance. It’s clear that Aramis isn’t over his flashback yet.

“How about we go to the hotel,” Athos says. “We can get checked in and decide what we want to do next.”

Aramis nods his head. They’re nearly at the car when they hear a voice behind them.

“Wait, wait!” They turn quickly to see that it’s a teenage girl running towards them. Athos and Porthos move in front of Aramis. “Are you René? Were you my dad’s friend?”

“Who are you,” Porthos asks. The girl is in her early teens.

“I’m April, Cody’s daughter. My dad, he wrote me letters, talked about René a lot in them.”

“’Mis?” Athos looks back.

“René?” April steps closer causing Aramis to tense and Porthos and Athos to move in closer. “Do you remember me? We met at a couple family picnics.”

“Just stay there.” Porthos puts a hand out. “Now, just like I’ve told your mom. Aramis here was cleared of all charges. He was just trying to do what was right, what needed to be done. He feels guilty enough without your family adding on to it.”

“I know. I read about it in the news. I’m happy for you, René. After everything dad told me about you, I couldn’t believe that you’d lead anyone into anything so dangerous without good reason.”

“Why?” Aramis’ voice is quiet.

“What?”

“Why? How did you find out?” It’s an effort to speak louder.

“I was trying to find you, René.” She shrugs her shoulders.

“Why?”

“I…” April looks down, swallows, then much more shyly says, “I wanted to talk with you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You are the last person to see my dad alive. I wanted to find out what happened. Mom won’t tell me what happened. She’s just angry or sad all the time. And none of his other friends will tell me. I’m just a little kid to them but you were never like that with me.”

As far as Aramis can recall right now, their meetings were brief. She was often busy going off to play with some other kids instead of wanting to hang out with some adults talking about serious stuff, like their next deployment. What little he did interact with her, he spoke with her just like he did with other children, with respect because even children deserve respect, not to be pushed aside.

“Wh… what do… you want to … know?” Aramis’ mind is on edge still and with the thought of having to recall back to that night, he feels himself tipping over. Then, there’s a steadying hand on his back, rubbing gentle circles. Athos. It’s always Athos. For now, it’s enough to keep him here.

“This really isn’t the best time,” Porthos says.

“It’s fine,” Aramis says.

“No, it’s not a good time. You’re exhausted.”

When he legs quake beneath him, Aramis is forced to concede the point. He swallows heavily before speaking, “It, his death, he wasn’t alone. I… I had a hold of him until he drew his last breath. He said he loved you very much. His last thoughts were of you, April.”

April’s eyes tear up, slowly falling down her cheeks.

“There… um�� there was a letter he wrote for you,” Aramis says, forcing himself to keep his eyes on April.

“Because of the mission?”

“No. When we got there, we both wrote letters to our family. We kept them in our trunks, so if something happened…” Porthos and Athos look at each other, thinking of the letters Aramis wrote, what he told his family.

“Where is it?” April takes an eager step forward and this time, Porthos and Athos aren’t on edge.

“It’s with his stuff. I don’t have it. We always left them in our trunks because we knew they would be sent back.”

“Mom must have it. I told her I wanted to get in touch with you last year and she grounded me for a month. I’m sorry about her.”

“Don’t apologize for other people’s actions,” Aramis says.

“Dad always said that.”

“Your dad was one of the few good men I knew. He didn’t deserve to die out there.”

“And you don’t deserve what’s happened to you either.”

“That’s what I’m told.” Aramis leans against the car, feeling weakness overtake his body once more.

“It’s true, ‘Mis,” Porthos says. “And you know that we’re going to keep reminding you of it until you believe it.”

Aramis nods tiredly.

“I should go. Mom’s going to be angry enough as it is,” April says.

“Tell her it was my fault,” Aramis says.

“No,” April says quickly. “Enough has been blamed on you. I stopped you. I’ll take the blame. You know well enough what happens when the wrong person takes the blame.”

“You shouldn’t be in trouble because of me.”

“And I stopped you because I wanted to know more. I’d like to talk with you more about dad. Nobody will and I miss him.” She tries to hold back the tears.

“Your mom will have nothing of it,” Aramis says. “And,” he begins after a pause, “as much as I’d love to talk with you about your dad, I’m not in the best of mental states right now. I don’t know when I will be.”

“Are you okay with waiting,” Athos asks April.

“Yes, of course. I mean, I want to know more, but I do understand. Dad said you are a good man, René. That you always deserved better than you got at times. He’d hate it if I pushed you before you were ready.”

“Good. Then, I suggest meeting up again in about five years’ time. You’ll be old enough then, April, to make decisions for yourself and Aramis, you’ll be in the right mindset to talk about her dad.”

“That’s… that’s a good idea, Athos. Thanks. Are you okay with that, April,” Aramis asks, looking at her again.

“Yes. Where should we meet?”

“How about at your father’s grave? I’ll bring a picnic lunch and you can ask me all the questions you want and I’ll do my best to answer.”

“Sounds good. I wish you the best, René. And, as lame as I know it is, I’m really sorry for what’s happened. You didn’t deserve it. I know what you’re going to say but listen to your brothers. You’re a fortunate man. It’s not often you get such caring brothers as you have.”

“I know.” Aramis nods his head tiredly. The motion sets him off balance. Porthos quickly moves to catch him, mostly carrying him to get him in the backseat and buckled in.

“April,” Athos says as the young teenager is turning to walk away. She pauses and turns back towards him. He takes a couple steps to close the gap. “Aramis, René as you call him, lives with my friend and I. We’re Musketeers. If your mom gives you too much trouble, if it starts to get bad and you’re not comfortable getting in touch with the police here, you have friends with the Musketeers. One call and we’ll come.”

“You don’t know me.”

“It’s clear that Aramis cares about you. You’re special to him and there’s not a lot of people left like that in his life. I won’t have anything happen to someone who’s special to him. And more than that, I won’t stand by while a child is abused.”

“It’s nothing like that. Mom gets angry and grounds me but that’s it.”

“I can start like that and become worse. You have friends with the Musketeers, though.”

“Musketeers? I’ve heard about them.”

“Yes, we’ve had a couple big cases that put us in the national headlines.”

“Is Aramis one, too?”

“Once he recovers, he will be. He’s making a lot of progress, but we don’t know when he’ll come back.” Athos pauses. “I need to get going, get him back to the hotel so he can rest after today. Anytime, though. A single call to Athos, Porthos, or Aramis and we’ll come.”

“Thank you. I don’t think it’ll come to that, but thank you for your concern and please, look after him for me. He deserves to be taken care of.”

As April walks back through the cemetery, Athos looks into the backseat of the car where Porthos is sitting with Aramis. The younger man is leaning against Porthos, head buried in his shoulder, his own shoulders shaking. It’s going to be a long evening and even longer night, but Athos doesn’t regret anything. Aramis has fit in perfectly with their small family and after less than a year, Athos can’t imagine anything different, not even with the mental illnesses. They are just another part of their brother. It makes life more challenging but never impossible.

And as hard of a time they have with the illnesses, he knows that Aramis has it even worse, much worse. The young man is braver than anyone he knows, to decide to keep fighting when he knows he was ready to give up at so many points. He’s proud of Aramis and wishes that Aramis could find that same pride in himself. But for now, he thinks, sighing, it’s time to get Aramis to the hotel and work on getting him through the rest of the day. He hates seeing Aramis struggle and even more hates that they are largely helpless.

#bbc the musketeers #aramis #athos #porthos #fan fiction #modernAU #advent prompts #windy city musketeers #oc

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empireofwrestlemania · 7 years

Text

Good Afternoon, Outcast

“Halt!”

The cloaked man on horseback slowed to a stop as he reached the border pass. The stone wall was absolutely covered with guards, each spaced barely a stone’s throw from one another. This part of the border was one of the only places you could cross from the Empire into the Outlands. For most, this was a one-way journey.

“You know that you are nearing the Outlands, correct?” asked the guard before him, brandishing a spear and eyeing him closely through the eye gaps in his helmet.

“Roderick,” murmured the cloaked man, shaking his head. “It’s been a long time.”

The dark eyes of the armoured guard widened as the man drew back his hood, revealing pointed ears and a smirking face with well-kept dark facial hair.

“Austin?” asked the guard in a low voice. A grin slowly came to his face, and returning the favour, he took off his helmet. He held it beneath his arm, revealing his own clean-shaven face, dark hair, and pointed ears. “It’s been years.”

“How have you been?” asked Austin, slowly sliding off of his horse. He kept a hold on the reins, slowly approaching the guard.

“I’ve been well,” he said with a nod. “Got married, and my wife and I had a little boy.”

“So I heard,” Austin replied with a nod. “Congratulations.”

“Austin, what are you doing here?” Roderick asked, glancing around. “This is the entrance to the Outlands.”

“I know,” Austin replied with a nod. He glanced towards the ground briefly before returning his gaze to his old friend. “I’ve decided to leave the Empire.”

The other man’s dark eyes went wide. “Austin-” he started, but the cloaked man held up a hand to silence him.

“Don’t try to convince me otherwise, I’ve made my decision. My mind has been made up for a couple of weeks now.”

“But - why?”

“It’s just...everything,” Austin breathed, shaking his head. It was all too much to explain in one sitting, at least in the kind of depth his issues deserved.

“Let me buy you a drink. Please - we’ll talk, just stay one more night. Come back to Ric City with me, you can tell me whatever it is that’s on your mind...”

“That’s very kind,” Austin said, shaking his head, “but I don’t want to waste your time. You won’t convince me.”

He could see the concern in the other elven man’s eyes, and he reached one arm out and placed it on his friend’s shoulder. At this point, the guard on the other side of the gate was eyeing him suspiciously, but said nothing.

“Austin, you don’t-”

“I do,” Austin replied.

“You know this is a one-way trip.”

“I do,” said Austin again.

Roderick sighed softly, hanging his head and nodding slightly. “Alright,” he said. “I - I probably shouldn’t tell you this...but if you keep to the road until you reach the coast and then follow the ocean North, you’ll eventually reach a river...Follow the river back inland and you’ll come to a settlement. It’s a four-day walk and it could be perilous, and I don’t know if you’ll want to stay there or not, but even if you don’t, they can help. It helps to be around people, to know people - they don’t have much, but it’s better than being out there on your own.”

Austin gave him a firm nod, reaching a hand out for a handshake. “I’ll do that, then,” he said. “Thank you for that information.”

“You don’t have to do this,” Roderick said, taking Austin’s hand in his. It was futile, though, because he already knew that Austin was going to say.

“Yes, I do.”

It would have been a four day walk just as Roderick had said, but Austin was lucky enough to have a horse. He could understand why Roderick would call it perilous, though he was fortunate not to have encountered any of these perils. The handful of rotting bodies he’d found scattered along the road, however, had not been so lucky. He was surprised that a cloaked man on horseback didn’t draw the attention of the bandits he’d been warned about, but relieved.

The landscape was drab and barren - devoid of much life, but for grass that was tinged yellow and trees that looked half-dead. Austin wasn’t sure what they may have used this place for before the Emperor declared it their dumping grounds for the Empire’s criminals and undesirables, but it probably had some sort of purpose. Once.

The land along the ocean was much nicer. The beaches were made of coarse sand, and Austin could imagine that maybe it had been some sort of a vacation land. Then again, there were beaches all over the Empire - nicer beaches than these.

As he rode along, he found his anger towards the Empire slowly fading. Of course he was still furious. He’d been lied to and exploited, and his King hadn’t helped him. Instead, King Neville had laughed in his face and taunted him further. There was more to it than that, but it had been the last straw for Austin Aries, who had ridden taken a boat to the Wolf Kingdom and then ridden all the way to Ric City and the border.

Being here now, though, it all felt...so far away. Even though the Empire was only a few days behind him, it felt distant. As if it could never hurt him again. It brought him a certain peace, and he was beginning to feel more confident in his decision.

The land along the river was much nicer than the land along the road. He still encountered a body or two, but at least the trees and grass were greener and the soil looked darker and more earthy. For a short while, he considered that the land might even be tillable, able to grow crops and plants. Upon reaching the town, though, he realized that someone had already beaten him to the idea.

It was a small village comprised of only a handful of buildings. Most central, though, was the farm. The crops seemed to stretch on for miles, as far as Austin could see. The barn was the largest building in town, followed by the charming but simple homestead nearby. Everything else was smaller - it was all much more crude, too, and it seemed to be built around the farm.

He saw a few people working in the fields, so he decided to approach them first. The instant they saw him approaching, though, they stopped what they were doing and lifted their pitchforks.

“Whoa, whoa,” he said quickly, slowing the horse to a stop and lifting his hands. “Not a bandit.”

“Who are you?” asked one of the men, a bulky brute with a shaven head. There was a strange, greyish tint to his skin, but when he opened his mouth to speak, Austin saw the telltale teeth - this man was half-orc.

“My name is Austin Aries,” he said, keeping his hands up so they’d know he meant no harm. “I’m a new outcast. The border guard told me how to find this place. And what is your name?”

The large man eyed him closely for a moment before lowering his pitchfork. “Ryback,” he replied, his voice low. “Come on - I’ll take you to see AJ and Cody.”

“AJ and Cody?” asked Austin, climbing down off his horse and leading it by the reins. He took care not to walk into the crops, though, and Ryback met him at the edge of the field. The other workers, at this point, had gone back to what they were doing.

“Yes,” he said with a nod. “Cody’s technically the mayor of the town, I suppose, but AJ’s the one who really runs things.”

The large man led Austin towards the homestead, climbing up the porch stairs and approaching the door. Before he could knock, though, it was opened. The woman on the other side was a dark-skinned fairy, her medium-sized wings pink and translucent with reddish tips. She wore trousers, which was uncommon in the Empire, with a white blouse and a tight-fitting brown leather tunic that came to her knees. She was eyeing Austin curiously.

“Ryback, who is this?” she asked, her voice soft.

“Says his name’s Austin,” Ryback replied. “He’s a newcomer.”

“Oh, you poor thing,” the woman said, her voice full of sympathy. “They didn’t hurt you when they brought you in, did they?”

“Oh, no - I wasn’t brought here. I came by choice,” Austin said. The woman smiled slightly, nodding.

“I see,” she said. “My husband and I did, too - oh, where are my manners? Come in, please! Come and have a cup of tea, and some lunch - I’m sure it’s been a long journey for you.”

“It has,” he said with a nod, stepping in past the small woman. She glanced at Ryback expectantly, but the big Orcish man shook his head.

“None for me, I’m on a roll with these crops,” he said with a chuckle. “Thank you though - I’ll be in later, if that’s alright.”

“Of course it’s alright,” the woman replied. As Ryback left, she turned her attention to Austin. “Come in, sit down - my name is Brandi, let me fix you something to eat and then we can talk.”

By the time Brandi had finished preparing lunch, a few of the workers had come in to join Austin for some food. Apparently she always fed the workers, so she soon had plates full of cooked fish and vegetables being passed around for everyone at the table.

“This place seems nice,” Austin said in a soft voice once everyone had settled down to eat. “It feels more like a community than anything in the Empire ever did.”

“That’s because we are a community,” came a voice from the doorway of the dining room. All heads turned, and there they saw a brown-haired man. He, like Brandi, was a fairy - his translucent wings were large and silvery in colour, with yellow tips and prominent red veins running through them. He had a smile on his lips. “Cody Rhodes,” he said, offering Austin a hand as he approached. “I’m Brandi’s husband.”

“Ah, Cody, yes,” said Austin, shaking his head. “Ryback did mention a Cody. The mayor, technically?”

“Technically, yes,” Cody replied with a chuckle. “My wife and I built this farm, and the others came on their own. Tricky thing is that the Outlands have no laws like the Empire, so nothing about land ownership...”

All at the table chuckled. “He’s real good about helping us out, though,” said Ryback.

“He is,” agreed another man at the table, a human whose words were spoken with an accent unfamiliar to Austin. “The name’s Alberto, by the way - but I doubt you’ll remember all the names you’re told on the first day.”

“I doubt it as well,” Austin agreed, and again, everyone laughed.

“We all work together and make things work,” Cody said, sitting down at the head seat of the table just as Brandi set a plate down at it. She leaned down and planted a kiss on his cheek before going to get a plate for herself. “Everyone here has a place, and a job - some way to contribute to the community. I believe that the only way to thrive is to work together and help one another.”

“A solid belief, and it would appear that putting it into practice has proven it thus far,” Austin said, and Cody gave a nod.

“It has,” he said. “But really, all I do is work the farm - AJ’s the one who really keeps them in line. You’ll meet her later.”

“I look forward to it,” Austin said before beginning to take a bite of his lunch.

“To be honest,” said Alberto between mouthfuls, “you probably shouldn’t.”

After lunch finished, the handful of workers who had come inside went back out to the fields. Cody joined them, letting Brandi give Austin a tour of the small village. He found that most people lived within their businesses, though the farm workers had a few crude cabins built for themselves, or in the few rooms offered in the sleepy little tavern.

“It’s good ale, really,” insisted the bartender, who’d somewhat drunkenly introduced himself as Alex Rah-ley.

“Riley,” Brandi had told Austin in a soft voice.

“Another drink,” said a man at the end of the bar, his voice sporting an accent as well.

“You’ve had enough, Adam,” said Alex, shaking his head.

“I agree,” Brandi said, approaching the drunk at the end of the bar and gently placing her hands on his shoulders. “Why don’t you get up to your room and get some sleep?”

“The rabbit...it’s dancing,” mumbled the man, Adam, pointing at Austin briefly before Brandi turned him around and pushed him gently towards where the rooms must have been. He stumbled a bit, but walked off.

“Rabbit?” Austin asked in a low voice.

“Adam Rose...” Brandi said, shaking her head. “I don’t even know what he got cast out for, I can only assume he was drunk when it happened. He’s rather insistent that he sees dancing animals the size of humans...I’m not sure if he’s crazy because he drinks, or if he drinks to combat the crazy.”

“Either one sounds plausible,” Austin said with a nod.

Next-door to the bar was the blacksmith - the Bullhammer, as the crudely-painted sign indicated. It was one of the nicer buildings in the town, though Brandi insisted that the town’s workers were constantly making improvements to their town’s structures, when they weren’t working to put up new ones. The smith was outside working at his forge, a bearded man with large gloves and a heavy leather apron on and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

“Wade,” said Brandi as they approached, smiling.

“Brandi, sweetheart - who’s this?” asked the man. He had an accent similar to Adam Rose’s, and Austin wondered where in the Empire they were from.

“This is Austin. He’s new to town,” Brandi replied.

“It’s good to meet you,” Austin said, offering a hand.

“You too,” said the man, Wade, as he took off one glove to shake Austin’s hand. “Looks like a fine blade you’ve got there,” he added, nodding towards Austin’s hip.

“Oh, yes,” Austin said, his free hand flying to the sheathed sword that he’d almost completely forgotten about. “It was my father’s - I take good care of it.”

“You know the trade? Maybe you could work for me,” Wade said with a chuckle.

“Maybe,” Austin said with a grin. “I’d have much to learn, though.”

“Wade Barrett makes tools for our workers,” Brandi explained to him, smiling. “He also makes weapons, though we don’t really have much need for them.”

“I can make armour too,” said Wade. “Anything you could ask for, really.”

“He’s limited by what the traveling merchant brings us, though,” Brandi pointed out, and Wade sighed.

“You don’t have to keep reminding me,” he said, and Brandi laughed.

“Brandi?” came a voice. Austin turned as Brandi did, seeing a rather beautiful young woman with dark hair, seductive eyes...and a small child.

“Yes?” asked Brandi, smiling.

“Who’s this?” the woman asked, eyeing Austin. Her pretty eyes became suspicious, and he smiled.

“New, and harmless, don’t worry,” he said.

“Yes, well, I didn’t ask you,” she said.

“Rosa, it’s alright,” Brandi said gently. “He’s just looking for a place to live, like everyone else here. He poses you and your daughter no threat.”

“Well, we’ll see about that,” Rosa said, shooting him one last glare before turning to leave.

“It was nice meeting you too,” Austin called after her, and Brandi giggled slightly.

“So, the houses,” Austin asked as he and Brandi walked through town. “How do you go about, you know, getting one?”

“It can be tricky, and it can take a while,” she said. “My husband and I were fortunate - he comes from wealth back in the Empire, see, so we bought all the equipment and supplies we’d be needing before we left. We brought it here with us, and together, we built our home, and then our barn - and then we planted the crops and started to grow things.”

“He comes from wealth?” asked Austin. “Why would someone with wealth want to leave the Empire?”

Brandi sighed softly. She briefly glanced around, as if afraid that someone might hear her, before turning back to him. “His father was King Dusty, ruler of the Kingdom of Dreams. Cody and his brother were princes, but after King Dusty died, instead of making either of them the Kings, the Emperor handed the Kingdom over to that Adrian Neville.”

“That scumbag’s the reason I came here in the first place,” Austin murmured, shaking his head. “I can’t imagine what your husband must have gone through when that happened.”

“To be honest, he wasn’t too upset - he never wanted to be King,” she said, shaking her head. “My brother-in-law, though, he had always wanted to be the King. Not for the power, no, but to follow in their father’s footsteps. Cody hated seeing that opportunity taken from his brother - he’d never been anything but loyal to the Emperor. That was when Cody decided to come out here. He wanted to leave it all behind - the Empire, his nobility, all of it. He wanted something new, a change, so we came out here to build a simple lives for ourselves.”

“That’s...oddly romantic,” murmured Austin with a nod. “Where does this AJ come into play?”

“She’s a friend,” Brandi said with a laugh. “She lives just outside of the village - we can go meet her.”

They headed back towards the river that Austin had first followed to get here, but this time, they went to the left of it, rather than the right. They walked mostly in silence, traveling for only a few minutes before turning to head a little ways North. Sure enough, he could see a cottage appearing not far away - it was a nicer one than the ones in the village, with smoke rising up from a small chimney.

The door opened before they got there, and a man eyed them closely. His hair was trimmed short but his beard was kept grown in somewhat, and from beneath the short sleeves of his tunic Austin could see a number of tattoos inked into his skin.

“Brandi,” he said with a nod.

“Punk,” Brandi responded, smiling. “Where’s AJ?”

“Inside, if you don’t mind waiting,” the man replied, stepping outside. “She’s just in the middle of a spell, and she’d rather you not interrupt.”

“Of course,” Brandi replied.

“Who’s this?” asked Punk, looking towards Austin.

“I’ve heard that a lot today,” Austin said with a chuckle before sticking out his hand. “The name’s Austin Aries.”

“CM Punk,” the other man replied. “You’ll meet my wife AJ soon enough, I suppose.”

“Is your wife a witch, then?” Austin asked. “You mentioned she was doing a spell-”

“No, no,” Punk said, shaking his head. “An elf, actually - like you.”

“Oh, it’s elven magic?” asked Austin. “That’s fascinating. I’m not too in tune with the powers myself - I should be, I know, but it was just never a priority for me in life.”

“It was one of her main priorities,” Punk said with a grin. “That and sewing - she loved to make clothing.”

“AJ was a seamstress back in the Empire,” Brandi said. “She owned a shop in the Capital, Black Widow Apparel.”

“What brought you two out here? If you don’t mind my asking,” Austin asked, and Punk glanced briefly away.

“I was cast out by the Emperor,” he said. “Got the letter the day of our wedding - they gave me twenty-four hours to pack up my things and leave, else they’d send the carriage for me.”

“The carriage,” Austin murmured. “I’ve heard about that.”

“It’s not supposed to be pleasant,” he said.

“It’s not,” Punk replied with a shake of his head. “Just ask Simon Gotch when you meet him - if you haven’t already. He’s barely been here a couple months, and he’s still pretty beat up from how they treated him to get him here.”

“To be fair, he’s kind of an asshole,” came a voice from behind him. Punk stepped aside, and there stood AJ. She was beautiful, her long, pointed ears sticking out from beneath loose waves of dark hair. She was dressed in a slim-fitting, short red dress with a black corset, and wrapped around her petite figure she had on a stole of black lace. Austin could immediately feel the dark magic radiating from her.

“You’re - you’re a dark elf,” he murmured, and AJ nodded.

“I am,” she replied, smirking. “Are you scared?”

Austin was silent a moment, considering her question. “No,” he said finally. “If the people in this village trust you, then you must be a good person.”

“That’s a good answer,” AJ said with a smile. “So you’re new around here, are you?”

“I am,” Austin replied with a nod.

“There are a few things you should know,” she said. “For starters, you do not take advantage of Cody and Brandi’s hospitality. They’re good people. You come to live in this town, you work to support it. You do your share around here. Nobody cares what you do, as long as it helps people.”

“I’m sure we can come up with some sort of arrangement,” Austin said. “I have no intentions of taking advantage of anyone here. It seems like a good and healthy community - I want to be a part of that.”

“Good,” AJ replied. “Second, if you have problems, you bring them to me first. Cody and Brandi have a lot of work to do, and as much as the people love them and respect them, I’m a bit better at settling disputes than they are.”

“You can say that again,” Brandi murmured with a chuckle.

“Understood?” AJ asked, looking straight at Austin.

“Understood,” he replied with a nod.

“Good,” she said again. “And third, if you plan to work with the rebellion, you make that information public. Ideally right now.”

“Well,” Austin said, “I wasn’t even considering the idea until you mentioned it.”

“Good,” AJ replied. “The Empire doesn’t bother us as long as we don’t bother them, but if we have anyone in town working with the rebellion, we like to know so we don’t have to claim responsibility for them. We don’t want to have any trouble with the Empire, and they’re not impressed with the rebellion right about now.”

“The rebellion leader’s courier, Mauro Ranallo, keeps coming into town trying to recruit people,” said Punk. “He’s a good man, and their cause is just, but we’re tying to take care of the people here and we don’t want any trouble.”

“I understand,” Austin said. “If I do consider joining them, I’ll be sure to inform you.”

“Good,” AJ said. “It’s getting late - you should probably get back before dark. Maybe help Brandi with the cooking until you sort out what your role in the village is going to be?”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” Brandi said quickly. “He’s had a long journey - I say we let him rest tonight. We can sort all this out come morning.”

AJ eyed Brandi closely for a moment before nodding. “Alright,” she said. “You’re right.”

“Thank you, AJ,” said Austin. “And Punk, and Brandi - I appreciate how welcoming you’ve all been. This place that you’ve all built...it’s amazing. I look forward to being a part of it.”

“Well, assuming you pull your weight, we look forward to having you,” said AJ, offering her hand politely. As Austin took it and gave it a shake, a smirk came to the woman’s lips. “Welcome to the Outlands.”

Tagging: @hardcorewwetrash @macfizzle @she-reigns-in-this-yard @xxshamelesspunk247xx @sonjashuterbugjohnson @sisteradelaide @queenreignsempire

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thetimespentaway-blog · 6 years

Text

Day Three - Beijing

We took a train to Beijing from Shanghai, and then had a cab driver in a large enough van to carry us and our belongings around escort us to the Great Wall of China. At the base of the pass we were visiting, I grabbed a coffee and a Snickers bar. It was maybe 7:00AM and after the show and the second time shift in our travels, I was not ready for much activity. The barista drew a smiley face in the foam of my coffee. I sipped and snacked and followed our bundled group out to the base of the stairs that led over the mountainous form of the Great Wall.

Juyongguan Pass is one of the three most famous passes of the Great Wall. There are a dozen or so ‘outpost’ like structures along the million-stair path that you can enter and climb. The vantage was breathtaking. The distance between each stair was never the same. Their heights were inconsistent. It made traveling up them even more tiring. Coupled with the fact that it was entirely freezing, it was not an easy hike. I took hundreds of photos, had a handful taken of myself, and Dave, Jeremy, and I reminisced on the history of the band and tried to wrap our heads around how the hell we got here. Carmen, Cody, and Will decided to make a full loop of the pass, and I opted to hang at the 500-some stair level. In hindsight, why the hell didn’t I just keep going?

Not too far above where I had decided was the farthest I needed to venture, we perused a souvenir shop built into the Great Wall. I grabbed a bunch of things here. Christmas, after all, was only a month away. I was starting to feel the pinch in my wallet and in the space of my roller-duffel and didn’t end up getting myself anything in particular to remember this moment. I also started to wonder how long the loop was that my friends had embarked on. We made our way down to the parking lot again and waited for the gang to arrive. They showed up, climbing up some unrelated wall and onto the road in front of the visitor center. Cody and Carmen had snagged actual pieces of the wall or some outpost to bring home with them. Dumb American tourists, all of us. Some time later, we got into town. Another 7 Days Inn awaited us. We somehow avoided Mark for a significant period of time and made our way down a series of streets to find a place to eat that we had seen on the way in - Satin’s Pizza. To this day, I’m not sure if they intended for it to be Satin or Satan, but either way, they had incredible pizza. It came in a skillet, personal pan-size, and it was nearly the best food I’d tasted in weeks. Of course, I tried my best to enjoy the culture and the cuisine of Japan and China, but no mystery dumpling could satisfy the cravings for creature comfort. I think we pledged to not tell Mark we had gone there if he asked, so that we wouldn’t insult his choice in restaurants.

In Beijing, we were billed much more appropriately than at the Shanghai show. There were more locals, and more importantly, a crowd. The venue had to have had about 200 people in it, and it was right down the street from our hotel. Scrawled across the wall of the green room was the logo for the band “ISSUES” in thick sharpie, who I can only presume had had the pleasure of playing this venue at some point in their career. I tried to order myself a beer, but I learned that I had no idea how to pronounce Tsingtao. Fortunately, through some finger pointing and nodding, I ended up successful. For the uninitiated, Tsingtao is pronounced something like “shing-dow,” not “sing-tau” as I originally presumed. I don’t know if there were just no bathrooms at the venue, or very poor ones, but I ended up walking to a public bathroom to take a piss after filling my bladder with the shitty beer. The aroma in that building was pungent, thick, and disgusting. The toilets were trowels in the floor, meant for squatting, and they were not, by any means, clean. It was a particularly disgusting experience. I decided I’d walk back to the hotel next time instead. Back at the show, my eye was caught. There was a caucasian girl there. Bright blonde hair, lipstick, dressed like she was headed for Warped Tour. My heart raced. Finally, someone who I haven’t shared a vehicle with for two weeks who I can speak in conversational English with. She was talking to someone who I thought looked like they were playing in one of the bands that night in Chinese, so I waited and then sprung my question upon her. “What brings you to China?” She looked confused. She responded, but I have no idea what she said. She replied to me in French. All I could muster was something like “oh! I thought you were American, too.” We did not keep this awkward interaction going. Defeated, I sauntered away to speak english with my friends again. Upstairs in the green room, Carmen was fiddling with a guitar strap that a local had let him borrow. For the life of him, he could not get it to stay on his guitar. We were all so used to straplocks and the assorted ways to keep our guitars attached to our bodies, but they were 3500 miles away. We’d just have to make do. The show itself was incredible. We had an awesome response from the crowd, who almost seemed to know what we were playing. They were so gracious, and even kept us out for an encore. On stage, though, trouble was brewing, as Carmen’s borrowed gear was not holding up. When we finished the last song in our set and started to hear the calls for another song, or encore, or however the hell you say it in Chinese, Carmen stormed off stage and retreated to the green room.

What the fuck? I thought it, maybe even out loud I said it. On stage, we were stunned. We made it look like we were going off stage for a quick huddle, but we booked it upstairs to console Carmen and get him to come out. This was the show we had been waiting for in China! Let’s go, man! Alas, Carmen refused to come back out on stage. We looked like stuck-up pricks when the chants for another song died without us returning to the stage, and instead heading to merch, where we could have minimal talks with the showgoers due to our obvious language barrier. Even as a translator in this case, Mark was decent, but not great. We did, however, meet someone who had been following the band since the first album - the one that we had agreed to remove from digital circulation after signing with CI - and who wanted to buy a copy of it. This was the single most awesome moment of the tour in China, and maybe even Asia as a whole for me. Speak Frantic, a 10-song full-length recorded and released in 2010 digitally, was the piece de resistance of my Carousel Kings career. Here, in Beijing, China, a country with virtually no free access to the internet, someone had found that album, purchased or stole it, listened, and managed to follow the band through the years and then see them come play some four years later at the Mao Livehouse. We took a picture, loaded him with merch, signed anything and everything he wanted, and were elated to have ever met him. Thanks, Speak Frantic China Guy. You fucking rule.

Did we go out later this night? I don’t know. I know the public bathrooms by the hotel stank to high heaven. The hotel itself, however, continued the trend of being as weird as everything else in China. I’d later find it to be the standard, but the bathroom in the hotel was not constructed with drywall, plaster, or concrete. The walls of the bathroom instead were a fuzzy glass, like you might expect on a shower door. That was weird enough, but when you walked in to the bathroom, you quickly realized that there was no separation whatsoever of the basic bathroom functions. First, a sink, attached to the wall. A toilet next to it. Above three feet beyond that, and six feet off the tile floor, was the shower head. No curtains, tubs, retention methods in the floor. Nothing. You could walk into the shower while you brushed your teeth, and guess what? Your roommate could all but watch. Not exactly what I picture as the pinnacle of privacy, but it was a step above the public disaster looming a block or so away. At least we had western-style toilets now.

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